dagblog - Comments for "Six Months In: Thoughts and Reflections on Living as an Ex-Pat in Indonesia"

Thank you for sharing good

discount ghd — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 07:45:11 +0000

In reply to Six Months In: Thoughts and Reflections on Living as an Ex-Pat in Indonesia

Thank you for sharing good articles, posts and more are waiting.I will read another time.

Orlando -- I have every

wws — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:02:43 +0000

Orlando -- I have every confidence in you....but just in case you should find yourself in that sort of situation again -- without a friend as back up -- please remember the sensible advice offered in self-defense classes: "PEKN" -- which does not refer to peeking, or looking at anything, but rather is a reminder to "Poke Eyes/Knee Nuts." I hope this is helpful.

And, yes, the Tarsirs are adorable.

That is seriously

CVille Dem — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:43:32 +0000

In reply to Hi CVille! Glad to see you at

That is seriously frightening. Glad you are not traveling solo, and that your friend scared him off. Those little tarsirs seem to be worth the fright though since everything was ok in the end. Keep up the good work and I look forward to all you write.

Yeah, me too. But I never

Orlando — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:20:32 +0000

In reply to Yikes. Glad you're alright,

Yeah, me too. But I never felt in danger because I knew my friend could hear the whole thing and would have come to my assistance if necessary. He was just an old drunk and, although it's the first time I've ever been offered money, it's not the first time I've had to fend off advances.

Also, did I mention tarsirs? So cute! And so tiny.

Yikes. Glad you're alright,

Atheist — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:11:39 +0000

In reply to Hi CVille! Glad to see you at

Yikes. Glad you're alright, O.

Hi CVille! Glad to see you at

Orlando — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:06:25 +0000

In reply to Orlando, I always enjoy your

Hi CVille! Glad to see you at Dag. Yes, I am teaching in Jakarta and I love it--the job and the place. I especially love September, because I am travelling a lot and working not very much at all! Thanks for the kind words. I will definitely keep writing about my Indonesian experiences when my holidays are over.

For now though, here's a new tidbit. I spent last night at a hotel in Manado after a day hiking through a rain forest to see tarsirs (amazing!). I was the first one up this morning, so I went down to breakfast early. At breakfast, I met a man from Kelimantan (the Indonesian side of Borneo). For a while, he just sat at his table and stared at me while I tried to ignore how uncomfortable it made me. Eventually, he started talking to me. It was only 9 am, but he was already drunk. He asked me for my room number, which I declined to give him. I was polite, but I left as soon as possible. I got back to my room and then left again to get a drink of water. He was outside my door. Ick.

After getting some water and agreeing to pose for a picture, he tried to kiss me. Seriously gross. Then, he flashed a thick wad of bills and offered to pay me if I slept with him. First time that's ever happened!

In all seriousness, it was a little bit disconcerting. When I opened the door to my room to go back in, he tried to force himself in. I would never have opened the door if my friend wasn't already inside, but she was and she scared the crap out of him with a serious mom voice: "You CANNOT come in here, mister."

Just another experience to add to the list.

Orlando, I always enjoy your

CVille Dem — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:49:34 +0000

In reply to Six Months In: Thoughts and Reflections on Living as an Ex-Pat in Indonesia

Orlando, I always enjoy your journals and you have a particular way of including the reader that many writers do not; I felt like I was right therenwith you -- orangutans, stinky canals, and the unexpected island adventure. I couldn't quite picture the naked dudes walking down the street...maybe next time (could you perhaps be a little more descriptive on this?) Thank you so much for this. I wish I had written more when I was traveling the world. Most of my writing was in letters I hand-wrote to friends and family. One good friend saved my letters and gave them to me for Christmas after a 2 - year stint. It was the best gift I can remember. Please keep sharing your thoughts and observations! So many people just can't forgive other places for not being "the same." Your ability to just take it all in will insure that you make the most of this opportunity. I may have missed something you posted earlier --are you teaching?

I haven't gotten to Bandung

Orlando — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 02:12:53 +0000

In reply to Thanks for this - I worked in

I haven't gotten to Bandung yet, but I've been to Bogor, Bromo (the photo above), and into the mountains near Pelabuhan Ratu. It's amazing to me how much difference a few degrees make. I even get chilly in Jakarta when it drops below 85!

I love your idea for a Blade Runner sequel. I think there are definitely some areas that would be perfect! Maybe impatience isn't the best description, but they are, as a culture, definitely ready to fight (metaphorically) for place. Traffic is another example. If drivers, especially on motorcycles, had a tiny bit more patience, maybe traffic would flow a little more, instead of becoming a five-lane-out-of-three, lane-crossing free-for-all.

Then again, maybe it would just come to an utter standstill. I'm just thankful I don't have to drive.

Thanks for this - I worked in

Steve — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:32:18 +0000

In reply to Six Months In: Thoughts and Reflections on Living as an Ex-Pat in Indonesia

Thanks for this - I worked in Bandung (with plenty of trips to Jakarta) for about 6 months leading up to the KrisMon in 1997. It was a crazy, wonderful time. It was nice to take a trip back to the days of the buleh tax, open sewers, and the friendliest people I've ever met, along with great food and some of the worst desserts I've ever seen.

I'm glad you like Jakarta - I always described it as the place I would use to film the sequel to Blade Runner; some kind of steamy, post-apocalyptic urban hell-zone. But it's a tough place to visit when you are used to the mountains in Bandung.

I was going to say that I didn't think people were impatient; I just don't think the concept of queueing is really particularly well-grounded in Indonesia or many other parts of the world, so you just kind of fight for a spot, with no disrespect intended. That said, I also remember how you could never get in an elevator without someone pressing the button for their floor approximately one million times.

As to the language, it's

Orlando — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:18:59 +0000

In reply to Thanks for the update, O. It

As to the language, it's really a dialect of the Malaysian language, which is generally referred to as "Bahasa" even though that is just the word for language. I'm not sure whether the language was spoken on the mainland or in the islands first. I'm sure each side would claim it for their own. There is a certain amount of good-natured animosity between the populations of the two countries.

The best part of Bahasa Indonesia (as opposed to Bahasa Ingriss--or English) is that there are no verb tenses, which means no long hours spent memorizing and practicing conjugation. I go today, I go now, I go yesterday, I will go, I already go, I not yet go. That and the fact that it's a Romanized alphabet makes it pretty straightforward to learn.

As for timidity, I think it's more about complicated lives. How many times in a life does one have the opportunity to just pick up and leave. Once, maybe twice, if you're extremely lucky. For me, luck is a much bigger part of the equation than bravery, I assure you!