Synopsis of my Trip to Indonesia

Here's a not so brief synopsis of my outstanding vacation in
Indonesia...

 The economy...
Many people have asked "is the economic crisis as bad as they describe 
it on the news"? CNN tends to blow things out of proportion (like 5 
people standing on the street corner grousing about hard times is 
called a "riot".  and they show the same riot clip from one incident
in November every time there is the slightest amount of unrest).
However, life is very difficult for most Indonesians, with the rupiah
falling by a factor of 10, compared to the dollar.  A big part of the
problem is that Suharto's relatives control major banks, transportation
centers, you name it...and they've been skimming too much cream off the
top for too long.  And since they help keep Suharto in power, there's
not a lot of incentive for him to clean up the corruption....even when
the IMF is breathing down the back of his neck.  (and I'm not convinced
that the IMF is the answer to their problems either...the fox watching
the chickens.)  

Having said all that...there has been a drought in Indonesia, which has
made it more difficult to grow food.  And the number of hungry people has
increased a lot since the fall of the rupiah.  On the island of Sumba, a
good daily salary is $0.50-1.00 USD.  Pretty grim.  In Jakarta (island of Java),
a typical monthly salary is $50.00 USD.  Some things are cheaper over
there...pants that sell for $30-40 here cost $2.50-$3.00 on Bali.  And food
is much cheaper.  For example, a gourmet dinner for 4 was $22 (including 
several drinks per person...mine being papaya juice :-).  It would have 
been $100-$150 or easily more in the US.

 Where I went...and how I was treated
I spent a total of 3 days in Jakarta (on Java), 2 days in Kuta (on Bali),
and 12 days touring around Sumba.  My parents and I were on a small tour
led by my cousin, Cathy, who lives in Jakarta.  It was quite an experience
going to Sumba - a real "National Geographic" adventure!  

There are 22 kingdoms on Sumba.  3 of them have adopted my cousin 
as part of their family.  So, my parents and I were also considered 
"family", too.  And being "family", we were treated extra special.  
There were about 8 expatriates on the trip as well (from Scotland, 
South Africa, England, the Netherlands, Canada, Indonesia, U.S., 
etc.).  It would take forever to detail my experiences....
in short, it was great!  I took about 30 rolls of film, mostly slides.  

Do you want your head hanging from the village "skull tree"?
Each village we visited, we sat down and talked with the people, chewed
betel nut, and purchased textiles from them.  You don't just walk by and
wave like you're looking at animals at the zoo.  It is very important to
socialize and commune with the local people when you visit their village,
and also give a gift.  As a side note....chewing the betel nut makes you
salivate like crazy and your salive bright red.  When you go to a village
and are offered the betel nut to chew, you do NOT refuse.  Until about
30 years ago, if you refused to chew the betel nut, it was equivalent to
declaring war on the village.  And since the Sumbanese have been traditionally
known as headhunters....  Nowadays, if you refuse it's seen as HORRIBLY rude
and disrespectful.  So, you chew, grin, and bear it.  Don't worry, everyone 
else will have bright red stains on the front of their shirt, too (unless 
you've mastered the fine art of spitting).  Besides, you really wouldn't 
want to see old traditions revived and end up w/your head hanging from 
the skull tree in the center of the village!

 The riot...
I was only in one riot (On Sumba during the Pasola, an Indonesian style rodeo 
where they hurl insults and spears at the opposing team and try to knock 
them off their horse).  Well, the opposing team got pissed because they were 
losing and started throwing rocks.  People panicked and started yelling and
running.  (I stood there dumbfounded and didn't know what the heck to do).
The police settled things down quickly.   So, you can see that human nature 
isn't so different on the other side of the globe - we're just as bad, if
not worse when it comes to hockey.  One of the Pasola riders died from his
injuries (unrelated to the small riot).  This is not uncommon.

The people...
We are so incredibly spoiled in the US - it's unbelievable. The Indonesian 
people are financially extremely poor, but in terms of culture and
family values, incredibly rich.  Beautiful people!  Very kind and generous.
They invite you into their home and "what's theirs is yours".  I've never
been around such caring, giving, and non-judgemental people before.  Part
of the purpose for our trip was humanitarian (as well as to learn about their
culture).  Each of us brought things to give to the Sumbanese people. I
brought about 200 glass and polymer clay beads (on leather cords) that 
I'd made.  My parents brought a suitcase full of donated t-shirts and 
baseball caps from local businesses around Ritzville, WA. Somehow, it is
quite funny to see the local Sumbanese in "John Deere Tractors - 
Ritzville, WA" baseball caps.  Mom  (a retired teacher) also brought 
colored pens and pencils and other school supplies.  Another person 
brought a suitcase full of stuffed animals.  Another brought a suitcase
full of tennis balls.  Another person brought a suitcase full
of hand-me-down kids clothing, etc.  When we went to each village, we gave
people the stuff we brought.  Beads and baseball caps were the biggest hits,
but all items were greatly appreciated.  

The textiles...
The villagers sold us their textiles (hand spun, hand dyed, and hand 
woven), jewelry, carvings, etc.  Their ikat textiles are some of 
the most beautiful and unique in the world. I won the award for 
single-handedly boosting Sumba's GNP by 30%.  I bought about $800 
textiles (mostly) and beads from the local people.  I'd much rather 
support the small families than big corporate American firms.  
Every rupiah you spend with the parents goes to feed their children.  
To earn money for gradeschool, many young girls weave textiles in order 
to afford school.

Sleeping and eating in the villages
One of the nights, we stayed in the huts in the village - slept on their 
front porch w/the chickens, pigs, horses, and caribow (H20 buffalo) walking 
by all night long.  We ate in the villages as often (or more often) 
than we ate in restaurants.  The food in the villages was EXCEPTIONAL,
better than the restaurants.  However, you had to adjust your standards
of cleanliness.  If you got too anal-retentive or thought about diseases
too much, you'd just ruin your trip.  I'm sure I'm full of all sorts of
nasty parasites and other creepy crawlers.... I never got sick from eating
in the villages - ever.  The one time I did get sick was after eating
in a "fancy" restaurant.  So, I'll take the villages any day over the 
restaurants!

What the Indonesians thought of us...
I brought pictures of my life with me to show the locals in Indonesia (my 
cousin said that they are as curious about us as we are about them).  Of
course, this included some of my backpacking pictures and cat pictures.
Two things that Indonesians just don't understand are: 
  "why would you hike 30 miles with a 50 lb pack on your back in the
   wilderness for fun? (and did you eat that little weiner dog during 
   the trip?)"   Norm's miniature dachsund came w/us on one trip...we
   didn't have the heart to tell them that we carried the dog's food in
   our pack, too....
and 
  "why do you sleep with your animals? (do you sleep with your caribow, 
   pigs, and horses, as well as your dogs and cats?)"

Cats and dogs
I saw cats and dogs in Sumba.  Very thin for the most part (they eat
dogs).  The cats tend to have singed whiskers because they curl up too
near the cookfire.  When we had leftover food, we saved it for the cats
and dogs. The local people thought we were crazy, I'm sure. Most pets 
in the U.S. get more protein in a meal than the average Indonesian family.

In summary....
An awesome trip!  I can't wait to go back again.