After months of planning and research, three weeks of orientation in Jakarta, and almost a year training with one of the best radio programs in the US, I still lacked the one skill I needed to get things off the ground here in Sekayu: pouring cement. Luckily, I've had the help of an entire village to help me with this skill and lay the foundation - literally - for the first student radio station in Sekayu, Indonesia.

As a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, I'll facilitate this process while teaching journalism and English to roughly 200 high school students. In return, I get to spend ten months learning the language and culture of the world's largest Muslim population - a population that has, without exception, welcomed me wherever I go. It's like "Minnesota Nice" on steroids.

I'd really like to take credit for the media blitz here in Sekayu, but the truth is: I'm still not sure how or why it happened, which pretty much sums up my experience so far. I walk around stuttering, sweating and wondering what the hell is going on. And then, when I'm looking the other way or am busy worrying about something else, like fish tails in my soup, things miraculously come together.

I spent the first three weeks here meeting people, getting comfortable (and laughed at) in the classroom, and trying to express my interest in radio. I soon realized, however, that I could barely order a meal in Bahasa Indonesian (the national language) much less expect to organize a media project for 200 students. But a few days ago, after another botched attempt at ordering lunch, I returned to school to find three guys unloading sections of a very small radio tower! After asking a lot of questions, and understanding none of the answers, I rolled up my sleeves and did my best to help out. Unfortunately, my construction skills are even worse than my Bahasa Indonesia skills. But after three days and a lot of crossed wires, we're on the air!

The tower (see picture below) looks more like one of the student's science fair projects than the future of free speech for a young democracy. But once up and running, it will broadcast the opinions, interests and ideas of a generation to a listening audience of ten kilometers (about 6 miles), which will be more than enough to cover this friendly little village.

Stay Tuned,

John