I was reading some article on the internet yesterday about how Obama once mentioned that he ate dog as a child growing up in Indonesia. Several people commented, saying how barbaric the practice is and how they can't believe they ever voted for such a heartless beast.
Well, get ready for a shocker, American friends.
I EAT DOG TOO.
In fact, I had it for dinner last night.
To be honest, it's not usually a food I would choose if there is other stuff on the menu. I LIKE the taste of dog meat, and I like the spices it is traditionally cooked in. But if you've ever seen me eat meat, you will know how meticulous I am in cutting away every single piece of fat, gristle, and bone before I will eat it. Unfortunately, the typical way to cook dog here is to just hack it up into random cubes, then cook it in a bunch of dark colored spices, thus making it impossible to differentiate between the meat, the fat, and the bone (often sharp shards of bone). Most Indonesians just pop a piece in their mouth and suck on it until all the meat and fat is gone, and then spit the bits of bone out. Yaaaaa, even after 6 years of living here, I can't bring myself to do that.
But I was eating at a friend's house last night, and what was on the table was an entire platter of dog. So I ate the dog. And if you think I am crazy or gross or heartless... well, that's fine. I'm not going to eat YOUR dog.
The reason I ate there last night was because we were having Bible study there. A man who used to be Muslim but converted to Christianity came and spoke. I honestly only understood about half of what he was saying, because he used Javanese (rather than Indonesian) a lot of the time. At one point though, he was talking about how when he was younger, he studied to be a dukun (witch doctor). And he turned to me and said, "What is your name?" I told him (for the fourth time), and he proceeded to say, "Dukuns don't like you. No. Because they have no power over you. They don't know how to curse you. They can't do it." I don't really know where that came from, but it was good to hear, I suppose. I am uncurseable.
Conversely, my church has been on this huge kick lately of using Americans as examples of immoral living or of what NOT to do. For example, last week, the sermon was on not using the Lord's name in vain. And the pastor used the example (based on movies he had watched) of how Americans commonly use phrases like, "Oh, my God!" And that is wrong and in direct violation of God's law.
Obviously, what he is saying is true. That is a common phrase in American English. However, it also has an equivalent in Indonesian and Javanese, which I hear equally as often. So why are we picking on Americans?
The worst time was several weeks ago when the person preaching started talking about how God values relationship. "OK. Agree so far." But the world we live in today has greatly devalued intimate relationship. "Mmhmm. Still going strong." In America, they even have such things as sperm banks! "Uh, where is this going?" The reason is because American women want to have babies, but they refuse to commit or submit to a man. "NO." They want the reward without doing any of the work. "WUT?"
As the only American - and the only white person - in my church, AND a female, that was a tough sermon to sit through. I really have no idea where all these Indonesian pastors are getting their information from. But it is about to drive me crazy. I hope this trend ends soon. And I hope that I am living in such a way that the other people in my church know that not ALL Americans are the way they are portrayed from the pulpit.
And one more sad news before I get to the fun stuff. I recently learned that I live in a country where proselytizing a child carries a heavier prison sentence than molesting a child. How does THAT make sense?
Now for a few lighter oddities.
Indonesian children LOVE flying kites. I see them everywhere. Since Indonesians tend to not have yards, most kids fly their kites in the street. I've always wondered what would happen if the kite was nosediving and the string got low enough to the ground right as a motorist drove by. And how fast would a vehicle have to be traveling in order for the kite string to decapitate someone who clotheslined themselves on it? Well, IT FINALLY HAPPENED.
No, I did not decapitate myself. But I clotheslined myself IN THE FACE on a dumb kite string. You can't see those things! They're so fine! But it hurt my nose and jerked the string out of the hands of the kid holding the reel. I was even wearing a helmet! I will now be much more cautious around children flying kites in the street.
And speaking of things hitting me in the face while driving...
I went out last Saturday evening. It was already dark when I left, and not too far from my house, I was distracted by a man standing beside the road. Now, a man is not an uncommon sight. I mean, I live on the most densely populated island in the world. But THIS man... this man was wearing cowboy hats and boots and was blowing bubbles. A 60 YEAR OLD MAN. On the streetside! I was trying to wrap my brain around this when all of a sudden, I hit a rainstorm. But it wasn't really a rainstorm. It was a BUBBLE STORM! I was driving through a storm of bubbles, and they were hitting me in the face, popping on my cheeks!
After I made it through, I thought to myself, "It's a good thing I didn't crash. Because nobody would have believed me when I explained why."
Last week, we had Monday off of school, but Ibu Sri (my helper) came in to work. I sat around my house and chatted with her while she did all my chores (just kidding), and she told me about how just the week before, she had been cooking when a 2 foot long snake slithered out of my bedroom and into the kitchen!! That would have been the same week I found a snakeskin laying on the sidewalk in front of my house. Then yesterday, I came home from school to find a note from Ibu Sri warning me to be careful because earlier that day, she had left my house for 10 minutes and when she came back, she found a "big enough" snakeskin laying out front! So basically, there is a large snake stalking my house. That is fantastic news. If one of my cats goes missing, I guess I'll know why...
One more story - last week, I got a FIVE PAGE LETTER. From a former student! I just want to point out how awesome this is. Because how many of you ever intentionally kept in touch with your high school math teacher when you were in college? None, am I right? This is such a special place, and I have such great kids, and I am already turning into an emotional wreck at the thought of them leaving. GAH.
(Also, I would like to give a shout out to my grandma and sister who also sent me handwritten notes last week! You guys are awesome too!)
OKbye.
