Back to my roots

This was originally posted on October 9th, 2008.


Hey folks!
I've found a regular internet cafe nearby; it's not free, but the bandwidth is pretty normal compared to the free hotspot - no way I can view pics or video clips... And there was an outage last night. (Yes, I sat there in the dark with several other laptop users. And the only light was provided by some of the laptop screens running on battieries - like mine.)



The journey was long; mom and I traveled for 27 hours, from the moment we left my friend's house to the moment we arrived at my grandfather's house. My mom and my grandfather cried when they saw eachother again, and my heart broke: it's become more obvious that my grandfather is getting old (at 84 he's considered very old - many people in this country die in their 60s, or younger...). He appologized to me he's been sick on and off and is now sleeping away most of his days. I tried to comfort him and tell him that there is no need in appologizing for that, and that I was glad to see him again. He really is a shadow of his former (virile) self, and I'm afraid that the next time I travel to Indonesia it will be to attend his funeral. My mom would probably repremand me for saying this, but in her heart she knows this may be very very real.
The past several days a lot of family memebers came over to visit us, asking us when we are coming them: I let mom handle that part of the visit We are now in the process of buying a used car (cheaper than renting one) which will allow mom and I to travel to Yogyakarta and Bali. And even though everybody is really nice, I cannot help but notice that even though I look the same on the outside, I am very different on the inside. While I understand the cultural differences and accept them, they have trouble grasping the fact that I am not an Asian. (Truth is I am not really a "Westerner" either, but I have less trouble fitting in.) Also, I had forgotten how important religion is to the people here: people ask which one you practice. To me that is a bit of a weird concept, because I don't care about that. I care about people respecting eachother regardless. I even saw what appears to be a "Muslim hood". At first I thought it was strange (since the majority of the people here are Muslim), but then I thought maybe it's not so different from the "coloured hoods" in the US.



In Indonesia time is a different concept altogether, or so it seems. I'm glad that I decided to not let that get in the way: people take their time, and don't seem to be in a hurry. I'm on vacation and I don't mind the time - until October 31st (mom and I will go back to the Netherlands then).



Well, that's it for now. More updates - with pictures - later!