Up the hill?

It has proven tenuous, my situation within this training. When Megan mentioned the multifaith workshop on supporting LGBT individuals and people living with HIV/AIDS, I wasn't sure how to feel. I was nervous about the combination of the two communities, and I wanted to make sure that the workshop did not replicate earlier cultural narratives about LGBT as illness, HIV/AIDS as Gay diseases, and HIV/AIDS as death sentences. At Haverford, I was able to take courses on Gender, Queer Movements, Identity and Representation, as well as courses on HIV/AIDS. My experiences in Cape Town increased my awareness of the two topics, so I decided to offer my perspective, and hope that I could contribute something that isn't already over-represented.

The workshop takes place in Kaliurang, a hill resort town nestled on the side of Mt. Merapi, the volcano that puffs away on Yogya's horizon. The workshop consists of six days of lectures and discussions, followed by four days of live-ins where the participants move in and live with LGBT individuals and people living with HIV/AIDS. I am responsible for a series of presentations about gender and queer theory, and I've spent too much of the last week preparing powerpoint presentations (I HATE POWERPOINT). Yesterday, after stopping in the office, I grabbed a change of clothes, my toothbrush, hopped on my motorbike, and drove straight north, going up and up and up and up. The drive is beautiful, exiting the heat, traffic and pollution of Yogya, heading further into forest. Finally, after a grueling hour ride (for my bike! it wasn't so bad for me!), I pulled into the driveway for the Inn and stumbled into a room full of motivated, young activists representing the six government-approved religions (Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Confucianism).

Coming to the end of the second day, and knowing that I will leave in the morning to head back to my life in Yogya, I'm exhausted yet happy to have met some interesting, engaging individuals. It has been interesting watching them grapple with social-constructionist theories of sex, gender and sexuality, and it will be a relief to return to my research, which feels much calmer in comparison.