Some Madrasah Students Breaking it down to the Hokey Pokey
1. What's going on? - I've got a confession. I don't know -a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g about Indonesia's history, politics, and culture beyond what I can find in my Lonely Planet guide. The president... I'm pretty sure his initials are "SBY". Beyond that, though, things get a little hazy. I've confided my ignorance to the staff here, and in return, they've given me a pretty thick history text on loan from the office. I'm looking forward to understanding my surroundings a bit better.
2. Congestion - Indo sits right behind the U.S. in the number four spot of the world's population standings, so it's clearly a big archipelago, bridging Malaysia to Australia. However, I never realized that the majority of Indo's population is concentrated on just one island, Java. Traveling between Surabaya, Malang, and Pulau Sempu, it's amazing to see that the development never really stops. I get the feeling that--at least on this island--escaping civilization is pretty difficult.
3. (where's the) Diversity - When I see another "Bule" (whitey), I get very excited. However, these sightings are very rare, usually happening within a few hundred meters of Malang's Pizza Hut (the Bule's preferred habitat). After five weeks, I'm still expectantly waiting to catch my first glimpse of someone with dark skin who isn't a PCV. So far, no luck.
4. Importance of Faith - Indonesians all carry identity cards that are very similar to American drivers' licenses. However, there's one interesting piece of required information on those cards that we'd be reluctant to publicly broadcast in America: our religions. All Indonesians must officially identify themselves with some faith, be it Islam, Christianity, Catholicism (identified separately from "Christianity" here), Hinduism, Buddhism, or another belief system. Agnosticism and atheism aren't offered as choices.
