Well, I'm back in Long Beach now - my mom is here for one more day and returning to Nebraska tomorrow (Monday) morning. Already getting swept up in all the things I need to be doing - at home, in the neighborhood, and in relation to my work. I'll set aside all my wonderful materials from my trip in Indonesia until June, because final revisions to my book on Second Life are due June 1. Then I'll go back to it with fresh eyes and start writing, and of course all the while staying in touch with my friends in Makassar and elsewhere in Indonesia.
It's going to be a challenge, this master plan of mine - to keep two research projects going for the next several years, one in Indonesia and one in a virtual world. But I find they each cast light on the other in interesting ways, and it keeps my busy mind occupied as well. So we'll see how it goes.
It was a wonderful, challenging, and deeply rewarding trip and I'm so glad I did it and that my mom got to come for the last two weeks. I don't know what's going to happen with this blog now. I've never yet been one for blogging my everyday life here in the USA, probably because I'm so busy here with my anthropological writing, but we'll see what happens. For now I'll leave this blog up as a record of my adventures.
Thanks to everyone who read this blog along the way and who have supported me throughout. My best wishes to you all. Terima kasih banyak semua!
Tom
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
We're in California!
We just got back to California a couple hours ago and are home. Off to supper soon so this will be short; just wanted to let everyone know we are home!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Back to the USA!
Tom and I will be heading to the airport in a few hours - the time has gone so quickly and we have done so much, that it will take some time to think about it all. It has been a wonderful trip, and I met so many interesting and kind people.
Last night Tom and I had dinner with one of his graduate students who is doing research here. We ate in an Indian restaurant where there were no prices on the menu - you paid what you thought the food was worth. It was very good and we took the subway back to the hotel.
This morning we took a walk in a park near the hotel and were able to see the Singapore skyline really well. The number of buildings and the uniqueness of the architecture is really remarkable.
Now for the long trip to Los Angeles - we leave this afternoon about 4 pm and we will be in Los Angeles at 5:30 pm. It's not really an hour and a half flight, it is more like 16 hours, but we cross the international dateline and several other magical things happen as we regain the day we lost when we travelled here.
On Monday, April 16 I will return to Omaha with a new appreciation of my life in America, and a deeper understanding of the lives other people have in this world. See you all soon - Neva.
Last night Tom and I had dinner with one of his graduate students who is doing research here. We ate in an Indian restaurant where there were no prices on the menu - you paid what you thought the food was worth. It was very good and we took the subway back to the hotel.
This morning we took a walk in a park near the hotel and were able to see the Singapore skyline really well. The number of buildings and the uniqueness of the architecture is really remarkable.
Now for the long trip to Los Angeles - we leave this afternoon about 4 pm and we will be in Los Angeles at 5:30 pm. It's not really an hour and a half flight, it is more like 16 hours, but we cross the international dateline and several other magical things happen as we regain the day we lost when we travelled here.
On Monday, April 16 I will return to Omaha with a new appreciation of my life in America, and a deeper understanding of the lives other people have in this world. See you all soon - Neva.
We're on our way!
We've had a wonderful couple of days in Singapore, lots of shopping and walking around, visiting a museum, and other fun too. Now it's Friday morning our time, and this afternoon we'll be getting on the big Singapore Airlines plane for the flight to Los Angeles! It's been a great time, but we're looking forward to getting home.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
First Night in Singapore
We got off the plane in Singapore and as usual, a bit of reverse culture shock, to be in a First World kind of environment. Mom was pretty bowled over by the Fullerton Hotel, where we're staying - a bit on the swank side, in a beautiful building that was originally Singapore's post office. I'd decided a while ago to treat myself and her and stay in a place a bit nicer than usual!
Mom helped herself to the robes and sandals and seemed to adjust to the luxury environment quite quickly.
We walked out for an evening meal along the beautiful waterfront, packed with outdoor restaurants serving amazing food. Singapore's reputation as possibly having the best food in the world is well-deserved.
Now two days of sightseeing and relaxing before the long flight home!
Mom helped herself to the robes and sandals and seemed to adjust to the luxury environment quite quickly.
We walked out for an evening meal along the beautiful waterfront, packed with outdoor restaurants serving amazing food. Singapore's reputation as possibly having the best food in the world is well-deserved.
Now two days of sightseeing and relaxing before the long flight home!
Last Days in Indonesia
As always, it was hard to say goodbye to everyone in Makassar, though I'll be happy to see Bill and everyone back in the US. On our last day in Makassar, mom and I made American food for the staff. Everyone had fun learning how to make penne pasta with red sauce and banana pudding.
The following morning, we went to the airport with Akbar (the director of YGC) and met a couple friends who work at the airport, and with a warm goodbye got on the plane for Jakarta. After 5 hours' layover, we got on the short one-hour flight to Singapore!
The following morning, we went to the airport with Akbar (the director of YGC) and met a couple friends who work at the airport, and with a warm goodbye got on the plane for Jakarta. After 5 hours' layover, we got on the short one-hour flight to Singapore!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Many Photo Opportunities
From Neva - As you can see I had many photo opportunities yesterday. Everyone wants to have their picture taken with us. It was great to see the customs of Indonesia and get to meet some more people. At the Mr and Mrs Makassar contest, we were introduced as honored guests, and one of the contestants acknowledged us in her introductory speech, and thanked us for coming. You see few "Westerners" here, and so they are anxious to meet us and they are very hospitable and kind.
It rained yesterday, and the humidity is always high, but Daryl told me that there was a low of 16 last night. Gee - hope it warms up or I will be in for a shock. One of the things about Indonesia that is unusual is that people take 3 or 4 baths a day to cool off and wash off the sweat. In the heat of the day, people stay in the shade and people get out usually just in the morning and evening to avoid the heat.
Yesterday we met with the HIV support group for positive women. Tom gave another talk explaining what HIV actually is, and there were many questions, and he was able to help clear up some misconceptions. The women were young and so they will have many problems to deal with in the future.
It rained yesterday, and the humidity is always high, but Daryl told me that there was a low of 16 last night. Gee - hope it warms up or I will be in for a shock. One of the things about Indonesia that is unusual is that people take 3 or 4 baths a day to cool off and wash off the sweat. In the heat of the day, people stay in the shade and people get out usually just in the morning and evening to avoid the heat.
Yesterday we met with the HIV support group for positive women. Tom gave another talk explaining what HIV actually is, and there were many questions, and he was able to help clear up some misconceptions. The women were young and so they will have many problems to deal with in the future.
Weddings and Contests
Our next-to-last full day yesterday and things are hectic with getting ready to leave. But got in lots of fun yesterday too. Went to a traditional neighborhood wedding - very simple, but lots of family and friends there. Had to wade through mud and water to get to the house and get in - the bride and groom were so happy we came.
The guy who did the makeup for the bride is a friend of YGC - he dressed mom up as a traditional Bugis bride for a quick photo opportunity.
In the evening we attended the Mr. and Mrs. Makassar beauty contest - lots of great traditional dresses and entertainment, food too. The pageant took five hours but was fun.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Hello from Neva
Tom did a great job of explaining the trip, but I just wanted to say hello and let you know things are going great. The bus trip was wonderful, because we could sit and look at the countryside as it changed from city to country- we also entered mountains and the views were really beautiful. I could also sit and watch small towns and the people in them as they went about their everyday life. When we arrived in Toraja, the rest of the group stayed at Dadang's family house, but Tom and I stayed in what we were told was a hotel. It turned out to be a spare bedroom in an orphanage! But it was fun to be there. The children seem well cared for and the older ones do the laundry and prepare the meals. Then when guests come like us, they have a bamboo orchestra and play for us and do a traditonal dance in the courtyard. In the same bedroom area we stayed in, there was a young couple from the Netherlands, so we could do some English communicating. The wife was working with the orphans - I am not sure what her husband was doing. They had been there a month and were leaving the day after we left.
We were provided with three meals by the family and all 20 of us would sit down and eat. The family would stand back and watch us eat and were so concerned that I was not getting enough rice. They were so helpful and would provide a drink whenever we would sit down. It was a very interesting experience and I got to know the group from Gaya Celebes much better. They are great people and are hard workers.
That's all for now. Talk with you later.
We were provided with three meals by the family and all 20 of us would sit down and eat. The family would stand back and watch us eat and were so concerned that I was not getting enough rice. They were so helpful and would provide a drink whenever we would sit down. It was a very interesting experience and I got to know the group from Gaya Celebes much better. They are great people and are hard workers.
That's all for now. Talk with you later.
Our adventures in Torajaland!
We are back from our wonderful four days in Tana Toraja (Torajaland)! I've got about 325 photos from the adventure - but my new camera's memory card messed up during the trip, so a couple short videos I made are so far un-downloadable. I'll try to get help with that when I'm back in the US. 22 of us went, a whole busload for the 8 hour trip each way...
The land of the Toraja ethnic group is up in the mountains in central Sulawesi. They are famous for their beautiful homes and carvings and their death rituals. We stayed at the traditional home of Dadang's family. Dadang is a staff member of Gaya Celebes.
Right in front of the house are some limestone megaliths placed there hundreds of years ago.
The view of the karst (limestone) mountains and rice paddies in every direction are breathtaking.
We had a great time meeting Dadang's family. Mom was especially taken by little Rio, one of Dadang's nephews.
The two full days we were there, we rented two vans and took everyone around on visits to interesting sites. For hundreds of years the Torajan people have buried their dead in limestone caves, some at ground level and some hundreds of feet in the air. They are buried in elaborate wooden coffins. As they rot over the centuries the bones fall out and mix together. In front of the caves they build effigies called tau-tau, about 3 feet high, in the image of the deceased, looking out over the rice fields.
Babies who die were often wrapped up in fabric and placed inside holes carved in giant forest trees, the hole covered with fiber until it closed of its own accord. These tree and cave burials still continue.
So much more to say about the trip but I'm quite busy with the preparations for returning to the USA, so I'll let Mom add an entry of her own.
The land of the Toraja ethnic group is up in the mountains in central Sulawesi. They are famous for their beautiful homes and carvings and their death rituals. We stayed at the traditional home of Dadang's family. Dadang is a staff member of Gaya Celebes.
Right in front of the house are some limestone megaliths placed there hundreds of years ago.
The view of the karst (limestone) mountains and rice paddies in every direction are breathtaking.
We had a great time meeting Dadang's family. Mom was especially taken by little Rio, one of Dadang's nephews.
The two full days we were there, we rented two vans and took everyone around on visits to interesting sites. For hundreds of years the Torajan people have buried their dead in limestone caves, some at ground level and some hundreds of feet in the air. They are buried in elaborate wooden coffins. As they rot over the centuries the bones fall out and mix together. In front of the caves they build effigies called tau-tau, about 3 feet high, in the image of the deceased, looking out over the rice fields.
Babies who die were often wrapped up in fabric and placed inside holes carved in giant forest trees, the hole covered with fiber until it closed of its own accord. These tree and cave burials still continue.
So much more to say about the trip but I'm quite busy with the preparations for returning to the USA, so I'll let Mom add an entry of her own.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
We'll be awol for 4 days...
My mother and I are having a great time - I just gave a talk at a local university and my mom came along for the ride. Tomorrow morning (April 3) early we're going with the whole stuff up to Torajaland, a beautiful hilly area about 8 hours from here, a favorite of tourists. 25 of us will be going up and we'll be returning the evening of April 6. I won't be taking the laptop. So it may be April 7, Indonesia time, before we post again to the blog. Don't worry - we should have some great photos!
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