Category: General

So the one of us who didn’t post that scathing review of our government earlier would like to make a few observations. (We don’t like to use “I” but I think I’ll make a brief exception here)
Today I had my first extensive solo venture in Jakarta and it was interesting. It’s really amazing how much you get heckled and stared at. I certainly don’t feel unsafe, but boy it’s a little disconcerting! For all you females out there, imagine walking by a construction site in a big city when the guys are all sitting on a wall eating their lunches. Then multiply by 10. It will take some getting used to for sure- I’m taking the advice of an experienced friend who is on her third trip here. Look mad and walk fast. It seems to work ok so far!
I also had an interesting time helping two Indonesian students edit their Fulbright applications today. Fulbright does not make it easy at all to apply and receive money to study in the US. They have been accepted for a grant, however they must get into a college through the regular admissions processes there or else they lose the grant. Pretty high stakes.
It’s hard enough for American students to figure out how to write good essays and personal statements (without the help of professional career counselors), imagine doing it in a foreign language. The people were so nice, it was kind of my first interaction with Indonesians our age. It boggles my mind thinking about the difficulties they will face even if admitted to schools in the US though. Coming from a country with such a weak currency it must be next to impossible to get by in an American University community. Makes me even more thankful for my situation……

After a hectic afternoon and evening yesterday, we finally started our first real day’s worth of work today. We both stayed at the Freedom Institute, with a brief interlude to find bed linens and money from an ATM that worked. However, things are good, and we’ve had no problems to speak of.

Except for the three mosques that woke us up at 4:15 this morning with their morning call to prayer. It’s not that we don’t like the mosques and the calls to prayer; in fact, we think that they are pretty. The problem is, there’s no standard call to prayer, so three at once quickly disintegrates into cacophony. We also had fun trying to work the washing machine this morning–when we return this afternoon, we will be able to tell if we have succeeded (or, alternatively, assess the damage).

The findings from today’s research: The Indonesian economy is one corrupt place. Bank Duta, for example, lost $419 million dollars in 1990, a fact made all the worse by the fact that its total asset portfolio was valued at a bit over $200 million dollars. Strangely, nothing happened, despite the fact that Bank Duta was Indonesia’s second biggest bank at the time. The major shareholders decided to float it a “grant,” and the stock market plugged along all hunky-dory. A totally unrelated side note is that Suharto owned three “charitable organizations” that each owned a third of the stock in the company.