Looking Diak, Fitting in

There's something pleasantly comforting about showing up in a foreign country and people looking at you as if you belong. Maybe not so much in America, it's a melting pot anyway. But I guess some places have more distinct impressions of what people look like in relation to who they are.

As many people as I've encountered here in Indonesia, it seems difficult for them to fathom that I'm American and that both of my parents are Chinese and American too! Walking through the neighborhood with my limited Indonesian, people are generally really friendly. They think I'm one of them, Indonesian. When I went to Kalimantan, from the moment I walked in the door, they thought I was Diak (original people of that island)! For the first few days, I couldn't hardly communicate with them. Our brief conversations would go back and forth with great smiles and laughter: "Diak" and "Tidak" (No). Eventually, I stepped out and was able to find out their names and a few of their backgrounds. And I'm not sure what exactly contributed to make the connection that we formed, but by the time we left, we were all enhancing our language skills - English for them and Indonesian for me. They were asking me to come back to teach English for 3 months. I don't know that I could do it.

As much as I already miss the river... where people and pigs use holes in the floor for the toilet, this same water is used to cook, take showers and do laundry... Even the well water, though clearer than the river water, is still brown and has a "natural" scent and added texture... Not smooth like clear water... Trash and plastic bottles are collected in the swampy water under the houses, just like you would see in a green peace promotion. The trash simply just collects there.

In the middle of the night, if you had to use the bathroom, you'd have to go outside to the squat pot house where you pour in buckets of water to flush, which is still better than a hole-in-the-ground outhouse. Mosquitoes carry malaria.

Now, maybe swimming in the river would be different, because you could shower afterwards. During sunset, you can't tell what color the water is because the beautiful colors of purple and orange are reflected in the water. And after an afternoon in the heat and feeling sticky from the humidity, a dip in the water would be refreshing! Not that I could with my leg still healing.

But the people were full of life and joy. That in itself is worth the visit. And even the potential to return.