medan

list 1. or, things you can learn from indonesian taxi drivers.

1. their entire life story. plus their entire family’s life story.

2. everything you could ever want to know about the town you are currently in. for example, medan is the third largest city in indonesia, 2.5 million people live here, many of whom are of chinese ancestry but actually still speak chinese as their first language. also, they will feel free to tell you that you don’t really want to go to the place you are going because some other place would be much better for your assumed needs.

3. what to eat to help you poop more lancar (fluently/smoothly). seriously. i got this lecture from a cab driver today.

4. christians and muslims are the same. we are all going to heaven. it doesn’t matter how you get there. the only bad people are the terrorists.

5. it is the government’s fault that there are poor people in indonesia.

6. i look like a muslim. apparently. because my cab driver asked me if i am one.

7. their phone numbers, which they freely give out. in case you need a ride in the future, of course.

8. indonesia is very kaya (rich). the only problem is that the people don’t know  how to use it, and so that’s why such a rich country has so many poor people.

list 2. or, all the things i bought for less than $30 and why i love indonesia.

1. a pair of nice, heavy duty, rubber workboots for the farm.

2. aloe lotion, facewash, shampoo, conditioner, a toothbrush, a bottle of listerine.

3. a big container of vaseline petroleum jelly which i have been looking for for quite a long time now. i found it imported at a drugstore!

4. five mini heads of cheese.

5. two rolls of toilet paper. (all i am allowing myself for the next month)

6. three packs of indomie (indonesian ramen. but actually good.)

7. a heavy duty 1 liter water bottle.

8. some craft stuff to work on in the evenings.

9. two 30 minute rides in a taxi.

writing this while i don’t have internet. staying in someone’s house in medan. will post later. headed to tarutung via jumper flight in the morning. been up since 4 am.

EDIT – made it here safely, settled into my one room. i have my own bathroom! no bath, but a squatty and a faucet coming out of the wall to fill up buckets for flushing with. need to wash my windows. ate pork for lunch. (first time i’ve had pork in months) and now heading up to the farm to visit with cows. posting now…