Indonesia, Indonesia (Back to Hawai'i)

Honeymoon and Hostility

Upon arrival at the campus of the University of Hawai'i (or UH) in Honolulu in August 2001, the international students were greeted by the welcoming team of the International office. They had hired a few students to walk around dressed as the immigration form that we had to fill out. "If you look at my belly, you can see you have to write down your full name here". I wondered what I was doing there. After that followed a lecture on the processes an exchange student goes through when living abroad. First the Honeymoon phase where everything would be exciting and great. Then the Hostility phase where you begin to wonder why everything back home is done better.

And despite my initial skepticism it appeared to be true. Hawai'i was amazing at first; everything was beautiful (the beaches, the campus, the people), funny (people cutting their lawn with a tiny scissor while sitting on a cushion) and interesting (the Hawaiian language, the local mestizo culture). But after a few months the hostility phase kicked in; I found it hard to make real in-depth friendships with locals or Americans, my classes were too difficult (at first I was afraid to say anything in class) and the whole relaxed flip-flop existence was making me restless. Luckily the Honeymoon phase reappeared and after some months the two phases blended in together.

Why am I writing all this down? Well, now that I live in Indonesia, a country that I know so much more about than I did about Hawai'i, I find the same thing happens. Honeymoon and Hostility phases still keep interchanging. Indonesians are so open and hospitable. At the same time their nosy and aggressive in pressing their values on you. The food is great, but sometimes I long for cheese. I love walking through nature, but how come everyone throws their trash around. Every upside has a downside, or so it seems... In the posts 'Indonesia, Indonesia', I will share some snapshots of my (very subjective) observations with you.

East versus West?

Despite my Indonesian (Sundanese to be exact) roots, the first weeks in Indonesia have mostly made me aware of my infinite Dutchness. I eat rice for lunch, but really need bread for breakfast. I'm pretty laid back when it comes to timing, but if people don't show up for an appointment, I am agitated the rest of the day. With amazement I look at friends that discuss designing and printing 10.000 pamphlets to be distributed all over Indonesia. Before when? Oh, a week from today. Say what?! In the Netherlands we would have packed our bags and gone home (even though distribution "all over" the Netherlands is a whole lot easier). An endeavor like that within such a time frame is bound to fail. Well, not in Indonesia. Here, almost anything is possible. If you just push and shove on the right sides.

This TED India talk by Devdutt Pattanaik talks about these differences of perception. He describes an inherently different way of living. Neither way is good or bad; we just need to realize we have different set of myths we refer to.

Devdutt Pattanaik: East vs. West -- the myths that mystify | Video on TED.com

C'est magnifique!

Discovering a new side of my beloved motherland is more exhausting than I thought beforehand. Almost everything I do has a kodak moment in it or is worth a blog post. And I'm just talking about the little things here: Taking the ojek (motorbike taxi) through little streets and big lanes, speaking Indonesian all day long, lifting weights at a jam-packed gym and shopping at a huge Carrefour in an incredibly busy mall for instance. Mostly it's the interaction with Indonesians that leave a lasting impression: the salsa dance class instructor that yells: "Hey bule (whitey), don't forget the steps again!", friends that want to show the picture of a colleagues' freshly operated skull and myself repeatedly lying that I am married (because how can a thirty-year old NOT be married yet?!). So, when I get home, I hardly have the energy to read a book. But fortunately, there is other amusement. MAD MEN!

As my friend Miriam already described, Mad Men, is a great show. The politically incorrect macho behavior of the advertising hotshots in the Sixties (the secretaries are not just there to type, homosexuality is not tolerated and everyone smokes and drink all the time) makes you realize how much has changed over time. It makes me very happy to be living in this day and age.

The show has won several awards (including an Emmy and Golden Globes) and rightfully so. After escaping the reality here in Manhattan for an hour, I am ready to face Jakarta's craziness again.

Here's a scene from season three. Joan sings "Say-Mah-Nyee-Fee-k Oh law law law" and shows how our current image of (skinny) beauty is false. When it comes to thighs, I say: Hooray for the Sixties!

A world of want

How beautiful our planet is! Since last year, my world has gotten bigger. Being a 'culture' girl, I finally started appreciating nature more. The different shades of green, the soft winds, heavy rains capture me. I now enjoy taking walks through the woods, bike along the coastline and sit in ricefields. Hearing birds sing their pretty songs can really make my day. We should take care of our environment and cherish it.











Staying in Jakarta made me think even more than before about how sustainable our way of living is, or little sustainable, I should say. Everybody in Asia wants to have a big car and everyone around the world wants a blackberry. After watching Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff, the notion that we should seriously diminish our consumption cannot escape me anymore. But how? In this world of want, is there a way of not wanting? Is there a way back?

Would I myself be willing to consume less? If this means I should fly less often, would I? Currently, I am reading Jared Diamond's 'Collapse', a book on how some societies have a tendency to destroy themselves. Is that what we're doing? Well, naturally I haven't found an answer yet. But I do want to share a teaser of Annie Leonard's video.

How the gecko fights the crocodile

For the past weeks, Indonesian news has revolved around the battle between the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the police. President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has made fighting corruption his flagship issue and thus established the KPK some four years ago. The KPK has thusfar brought several corruption cases to light. Then in May this year, the KPK's good name came under threat as its chairman, Antasari Azhar, was accused of ordering the murder of Indonesian business man Nasruddin Zulkarnaen. Not only was this said to be a crime passionel (supposedly, Antasari had an affair with a 22-year-old golf caddie, who happened to be Nasruddin's third wife), it was also speculated that Nasruddin tried to bribe Antasari to stop pursuing him in a corruption case.

Well, this is only the beginning. The story involves many players and intrigues, which are for the large part hard to keep up with. Most importantly, the two deputy chairmen of the KPK, Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto, were accused of having accepted bribes. A high ranking police officier stated that the KPK and the Police relate to one another like a cicak (gecko) to a buaya (crocodile). It's a useless fight, or so he says.

Three star police general and national chief of detectives Susno Duadji illustrates

This analogy spoke to everyone's imagination and is now widely used. The extraordinary thing about it is that the public has risen to the defense of the KPK. Quiz participants on television wear black bands around their arms in solidarity with the KPK, students camp out in front of the KPK building and some were even on hungerstrike (?), NGO's organize press conferences to express their viewpoints and last week Sunday (at 7 am!) famous Indonesian bands (including the extremely popular rockband SLANK) performed at one of several demonstrations - this one attended by about a thousand people. 

And there's more: most surprisingly even is the online activity. As Indonesians too are active facebookers (membership rose with 800% over the past months, to 9 million), they have set up groups like 'Gerakan 1.000.000 Facebookers Dukung Chandra Hamzah & Bibit Samad Riyanto' which at time of writing already has over 1.2 million members. 

Two weeks ago SBY appointed eight experts (including renowned human rights lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution) to get to the bottom of things. After two rounds of examinations, the team has recommended that charges against the two suspected KPK leaders be dropped. Also, Susno Duadji quit after wiretapes came out, which shows him invoved in a large conspiracy to bring down the KPK. Well, in Dutch we say that a story has a tail if you expect something not be completely over. In this case, involving geckos and crocodiles, there is no doubt about it: there will be a long, long tail.

And it wouldn't be Indonesia, if there wouldn't be a song:

Home Sweet Home

It was my intention to highlight the beauty of the Netherlands, before heading off to distant lands. That didn't exactly work out. So now, while I slowly get used to Jakarta's craziness, I will reminisce about the beauty of my very own country. Even though I have just recently learned to appreciate its varied richness, I have been able to admire it quite a lot in the past months.

 

De Veluwe

Texel 

Veere

Hoorn

Let's take a walk

Some people say that the music of today is nothing compared to the classics. They feel that all popular music was somehow derived from the better original. And yes, to a large extent I agree. But sometimes, there is an artist that does something entirely new or that knows exactly how to revive that 'oldies' feel. Raphael Saadiq is one of them.

His album 'The way I see it' is one extended trip down memory lane for those of us that enjoy Motown classics. Last week, he played Amsterdam's Paradiso and it was a blast. His background singers were pumping with energy, the band played smooth and steady and Raphael was slick in his yellow suit.

Let's take a walk!


Performing my other favorite, Big Easy, live
Here you can find a 38 minute clip of Raphael playing at GoogleTalks.

And now that I'm on the subject of old music going new, I just need to praise Amy Winehouse for helping her goddaugther Dionne Bromfield record an album. Even though the 13-year-old singer still has a lot to learn, her potential sure is visible. Thanks, Amy! Now hope you sort yourself out for once and for all...