Suzie’s House 427 : In His Shoes
If there was one thing Ethan wanted to prove to the world, it was that he had the exact right amount of tolerance. Certainly a great deal more than his co-workers at American Family Insurance Group. But not so much tolerance that he would allow bad things to happen.
To quote some editor or another, “I like to keep an open mind, but not so open that my brains fall out.”
Religion in Indonesia
This was the most religion-oriented trip I’ve been on in a very long time. It’s not that the travel company focused on it. It’s that the country is very intense about religion.
It’s the kind of place where “What is your religion?” tends to come up soon after “Hello.” Normally that kind of environment makes me uncomfortable. In this case, I just kind of fell into the groove and let it go.
Not everyone in our group felt that way. There was some grumbling about proselytizing, particularly when we hit Bali. I’ve been subjected to much, much worse, and took the grumbles with a grain of salt.
We were told that the country had very good diversity in religion, and that for the most part they all got along. To me, it looked more like religion was stratified by principality.
Indonesia is a combination of countries. It has swallowed up Java, Bali, and a variety of island nations. Most of the people in Java are Muslim. Most in Bali are Hindu. We were told that Rinca was Christian, but we only passed a couple of churches. In one village they told us they had official sanction to combine their traditional animism with the Catholic Mass.
Most of the historical sites we visited were temples. Unlike Mongolia, we didn’t visit museums. Between the hijabs and the offerings, we could easily see the predominant religion simply by going down the street.
At one point we asked about the course of studies available at the universities. Apparently religion is always included. My knee-jerk reaction was to remind myself it isn’t illegal for Indonesia to require religious training in their school systems. They may even consider it a good thing.
A Random 13
1. I was working on my Jakarta post, but got too tired to finish it.
2. 
3. It seems like Photobucket is getting harder and harder to work with. Or maybe it’s just my ancient desktop.
Suzie’s House 426 : Three Cups of Tea
Pete placed three cups of tea on the coffee table. The first he put in front of Ethan, the latest lost puppy to be brought home by Gabriel. The second he gave to Gabriel. The last he kept for himself.
He wasn’t a bit surprised when Gabriel clasped his hands together, leaved forward with one of his rare smiles, and said, “I’ll go first.”
Mosquitoes in Indonesia
About a month before my trip I dutifully called the local health department’s travel nurse to make an appointment for whatever immunizations I might need. Turns out a month is not enough notice.
Ella
“Wow! Look at that ride! I want to go on it. Can I, Daddy? Can I? And the carousel, and the fun house, and roller coaster…” Ella dragged on her father’s hand in an effort to go everywhere at once.
“Slow down, Ella.”
“But tomorrow the fair goes away! What do we do then?” Ella threw her hands out in an exaggerated version of a gesture her mother often used.
“Well… I’ve been thinking. How would you like a carousel at our deli?”
“Nah! Who would go?”
Twenty years later, Ella’s Deli received an award as a city land mark.
The Hub: Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Photo credit: Ted Strutz
Suzie’s House 425 : A Certain Something
Ethan fell back a step. Two men were kissing right in front of him, one of whom had invited him to spend the night.
“Um…” He couldn’t quite keep the worry out of his voice.
He glanced at the trees surrounding the fancy, cubist-style condo on whose front step these two men were absorbed in such a public display of affection. One of them made a little moaning sound, and the hair on the back of Ethan’s neck stood on end. He glanced at the empty driveway leading to the underground parking.
The Straw Hat
I am fairly proud of my ability to pack. I know how to reinforce things so they are not as vulnerable, and how to condense clothing so it takes up less space but doesn’t turn into a completely wrinkled mess. So when I bought the straw hat, I knew it was going to be a challenge to get it home, but I expected to be up to the task.
First, I wore it a lot. For two thirds of the trip, my straw hat sat on the bus seat next to me or rode on the under-seat compartment on the planes I took. The only reason it didn’t go to Komodo with me was because I had a chance to pack it well and leave it with the travel agency, thus put it at less risk.
For the final flight home, I spent over two hours packing. Most of that time was devoted to constructing a nest in the checked luggage which would support and cushion the hat on the way home.
The most interesting thing about my coolie hat was the reaction from the locals. Coolie hats are still standard wear for farm hands. Farm hands are still in the lower classes in Indonesia.
For an obviously well fed American to go around wearing some thing clearly picked up in the morning market struck a lot of people as laughable. There was a certain amount of pointing and a lot of smiles.
I knew quite well what people were thinking, even if they insisted on doing it in three languages – none of which I speak. I smiled anyway. I’ve always been a little iconoclastic.
As for the condition of my straw hat on arrival at home? I think I did remarkably well.
A Clean Sweep
The Christmas gift turned out to be a roomba. What a time saver! She couldn’t wait to send it off around her house, cleaning all the carpets she’d so long neglected. Operation seemed simple enough. Just press the button, right? What did she need the instruction sheet for?
Ten minutes later the roomba took a nose dive down the stairs. Some people called it suicide.
The Hub: Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Photo credit: Marie Gail Stratford
Yeah, maybe it’s a little short this week. After years of writing stories in 55 words, 100 is sometimes too much.
13 Excuses
I was planning on doing a post about Jakarta today. Didn’t happen. Really, there’s no excuse, but I’ll make some up anyway.
Suzie’s House 424 : Nice Ride, Young Man
Ethan changed his mind about imposing on the nice young man who had given him a pizza. He didn’t feel right about taking so much. He had just stepped off the concrete square at the foot of the pizzeria’s back door when the young man came into the alley driving a Lamborghini.
Moon
I was going to talk about straw hats today, but last night was the blood harvest full eclipsed moon and I have a new-to-me lens. Yep, I’ve got a 55 to 100 zoom that I had never tried before. While Mr. Al was running around with his telescope, I went out to try out my lens. Here’s what I got.
This one was the first one I took. Notice the tree line along the bottom of the moon? It was already in eclipse when it rose.
We started off near the river. I took this, then we moved.
Doesn’t it look like someone took a bite out of it?
This was the last one I took. I took it from my front porch.
I have to say that the lens makes all the difference.e I have never in my life taken such good moon pictures. I’m very happy with it. 🙂
