Sole City?

how do you pick one?

Bandung's got sole.  And lots of it. Maybe not the kind you're thinking of, but if you're in need of some new treads, I can tell you exactly where to go. The cobbler's street is Jalan Sukajadi and if you’re in need of a quick fix, this is the place you'll find it.

definitely not soled out

 A few days ago, I noticed that on one of my favorite (and most comfortable) pairs of shoes there was a spot that was coming unstitched. I’ve been wanting to grab a few shots of these tiny shoe hospitals for a while anyway, so it seemed like the perfect excuse to go. So today I had Dadang take me down to Sukajadi street so that I could get my shoe repaired. 

athletic shoes repaired here

cobblers have sole

Dadang had the idea to let him ask the price, since he too has figured out that I being Caucasian will have to pay several times the going rate. Since my Bahasa is pitiful, I was all for it and I used the time instead to snap a few quick photos. Before getting out of the car, I asked him how much he thought the repair would cost. He estimated maybe 5,000 rupiah (approximately 59 cents). I gave him a 5,000 rupiah bill and within 5 minutes he and my shoe were ready to go!

all kinds of sole

I didn’t bother to ask him for the change although who knows, there may have been some. Ha! Whatever, I feel quite certain he got the job done a lot cheaper than I could have!

an honest day's work

A Fulbright Update

Several of you have asked about the nature of Ronnie’s work here. Rather than trying to explain it myself, I asked him to write a brief description of his work as a Fulbright Scholar in West Java. I am happy to report that his experience here has been very rewarding and he feels as if he has already accomplished all he has set out to do. However, he is obligated to do it again with a different group of students in the spring semester.

Ronnie

engineering conference room at ITB

I’m a Fulbright Scholar at Institut Teknologi Bandung teaching and doing research in the Informatics Department. Teaching wise, I have a class of 19 senior Informatics majors that I am teaching the mechanics and soft-skills of global software development and international teaming. I lecture once a week and then have the students speak about research papers which I assign them to read. 

Research wise, as part of the course I’m teaching, I team the ITB students with honors students back in Computer Science at TAMU in College Station to work jointly on software development projects (3 projects so far). They put into practice what they’ve learned in the classroom. They love the opportunity to work with someone from a different country. As they do their projects, I’m collecting research data from the students regarding their work preferences and I hope to relate overall team performance to individual preference. There are also 19 students at TAMU this fall, and we are using another class of 100+ students as a control group (all doing the same projects except without international team members). I’ll file an interim report in January and a final report next summer. Hopefully, we’ll publish a paper or two on the research.

Ronnie speaking to Engineering faculty and graduating seniors

graduating seniors, Informatics Department, ITB

Engineering Day - ITB

 

Given all that, Jan and I also cultural ambassadors. We are representative of America to the Indonesians. They want to know what we think of Indonesia. They like the fact that we are studying their language. They are a friendly people in general. Jan can say a lot more about where we are and she does through her blog.

Jan:

Overall, it has been a mutually positive experience for both Ronnie and the students at ITB alike. Last night, I was entering student comments into a program on his computer. I thought you might enjoy hearing the names of his students: Nikolaus, Bobby, Darwin, Gregorius, Raka, Muhammad, Rifky, William, Zain, Archie, Ecky, Timotius, Hendra, Shirley, Marvello, Fransiska, Rizky, Thoriq and Dimas. You can read some of their comments about the class on AMINEF's Facebook page.

 

Qurban Bayrami

Here in Bandung, anything and everything gets transported on motor scooters. We thought we had seen it all. People riding with birdcages on their backs, families of 5 crowded on, hauling all kinds of building materials, an office chair, foods, you name it. Then a couple of weeks ago when we were riding in traffic, Ronnie asked if I saw the ram riding on the motor scooter. By the time he said it, it had already disappeared into traffic, but I was relieved to hear it was only riding as a passenger! ha

Since that first spotting, we began noticing more and more rams tied to posts along road sides all over the city. We also saw a few emaciated looking cows gathered as well. We finally figured out that these animals were for sale and would be sacrificed at the mass slaughtering of animals for the Muslim holiday Qurban Bayrami (Eid-al-Adha in Arabic).

it's holiday time again!

I'll admit I had never heard of this holiday before we started seeing the signs, but after googling I discovered that Qurban literally means an act performed to seek Allah’s pleasure. That act is the sacrificing of an animal slaughtered for Allah's sake. Muslims are expected to buy one of these rams and sacrifice it approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan (Eid-ul-Fitr).

Forgive me while I plagiarize a bit but according to the Quran "the archangel Jebrail, having appeared in Ibrahim's dream, gave him a commandment of Allah who wanted to strengthen the faith through a sacrifice of his firstborn Ishmael. The prophet obeyed, but at the last moment, when he drew a knife over his son, the baby was replaced with a lamb."

Hmm....the story sounds familiar, but with several critical differences - the biggest one being the son's name. This explains a lot!

grazing peacefully

Anyway, Qurban (also sometimes called the Festival of Sacrifice) is an important holiday for the Muslims. The meat from the slaughtered animal is supposed to be divided into 3 parts. The family retains one third of the share. Another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors, and the other third is given to the poor. That's the idea anyway.

hmm...am I a sapi or a domba?

Neither our driver nor our cleaning lady can afford to purchase a ram. So rather than sacrificing an animal and sharing it, I suspect that they will both be on the receiving end.

I was happy when I realized we would be in Singapore this weekend. It was nice not having to hear the constant and loud prayers associated with this holiday. Our friends who were here and in Jakarta reported that the calls/singing were nonstop and LOUD, so much so that they got very little sleep. My understanding is that they will go on for 2-3 days. I'm sure they are similar to the ones during Ramadan that almost drove us batty! With no AC, it's impossible NOT to hear them but now that we are in rainy season, the rain helps to muffle the sounds a bit - that and closing the windows. After hours of hearing the horrible moaning/droaning sounds, it's enough to make you want to jump off the nearest bridge.

On the way back from the airport, we saw a lot of men under a tent near our apartment and asked our driver what was going on. Dadang explained that the sacrifices were being carried out. We were glad we missed that.

they have no idea what's up

Little India

colorful printed saris

Today we visited Singapore's Little India and China Town. Both of these shopping areas definitely cater to the locals but they also provide a great opportunity for visitors to get to kind of mingle with people who call this island home. Singapore is made up primarily of 3 main people groups - Chinese, Malays and Indians. Though both markets clientele was pretty much what you would expect, it was kind of fun to observe some Chinese folks shopping in Little India and some Indians shopping in China Town! ha

Having been to mainland China, Singapore's China Town was a bit of a disappointment. Even compared to China Town in San Francisco and Vancouver it wasn't all that exciting. To me, it just felt  like a tourist trap for those who want a taste of China without having to actually go there.

Little India's decorated Serangoon Road 

incense burning to the elephant god

On the other hand, I found Little India more of an authentic destination for Singapore's Indian population. Approximately 400,000 people (nearly 10% of Singapore's entire population) are Indian. They are Singapore's third largest people group after Chinese and Malays.

We began our visit to Little India with a walk through the market. I was amazed that it was relatively clean and though much larger, smelled light years better than the  market in Bandung. It was bustling with locals buying  fruit, vegetables and meat. Butchers were handling lots and lots of fresh seafood, chicken and mutton (no beef - remember they are Hindu).

woman sells banana leaves used in cooking

fresh fish

not so sure about this one??

Along the outer edge of the market were rows of small shops where people were making and selling floral offerings. Other shops carried traditional clothing and fabrics, spices and foods used in Indian cooking, hardware and other stores you'd find in pretty much any community.

press on facial ornamentation

bindis by the boxload

After leaving the market, we walked down Serangoon Road, the main street that runs through Little India. It was still colorfully decorated from the recent Deepavali celebrations, a Hindu holiday which takes place in October. We observed people working and shopping and going to worship at Shree Lakshminarayan Temple. 

Shree Lakshminarayan Temple

Thanks to Google, I learned that Deepavali is one of the biggest Hindu celebrations of the year. Sometimes called the "Festival of Lights" this holiday is tied to the victory of the Hindu's Lord Rama over the demon Ravana and his triumphant return from exile (and it goes on and on....) Anyway, to make Lord Rama's return as easy and safe as possible, his subjects lit the way with thousands of oil lamps, thus the reason for all the lights.

floral offerings for sale

fashions for men, women and children

Indian shop keeper

There's just so much cultural diversity on this island! It has been a wonderful getaway. We've enjoyed walking along the streets without receiving stares. We've also enjoyed eating at California Pizza (2x's), Starbucks, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts and Hard Rock Cafe. Yeah! We've had fresh salads and brushed our teeth with tap water for the first time in 3 months! Ahhh..... it's been a wonderful 3 days. Tomorrow, it's back to Bandung but then we get to begin our countdown to Christmas! YAY!!!

Singapore Reprieve

flying Air Asian from Bandung

Yesterday we flew to Singapore (about 1.5 hour flight) to treat ourselves to a weekend getaway from Bandung! It feels GREAT to be back in “civilization” again!! The first thing we did after checking into our hotel was head to Hard Rock Café for some nachos and bbq ribs! It was nice to walk down the street and not be stared at! And I thrilled to see the beautiful Christmas decorations on the streets and in the stores - and talk about the stores!! It’s truly a feast for our eyes to be in a clean, modern city after spending several months in Indonesia.

                                                   

the shopping is incredible - and incredibly expensive!

Christmas is everywhere!

stores decorated

On our drive in from the airport yesterday, we got our first glimpse of the famous Marina Bay hotel, a 200 meter high sky park which looks like a cruise ship poised atop 3 tall towers.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Bay_Sands (for more info)

I’m hoping to get a better view of it from the ferris wheel later today if the weather allows.

view of Marina Bay Hotel through ferris wheel

Our cab driver was a hoot! He gave us an overview of the city during the 20 minute drive from the airport, speaking about 10 decibels above what was needed with us just a couple of feet away in the back seat. I commented that he should have been a tour guide and he said “NO! If I did that, I would have to scream too loud!” Later when I told him his English was perfect, he replied with a high pitched “Whooo! My Engwish is rubbish!!” (this is exactly how he said it)

no durians in cab - thank you!

 

But he did tell us some interesting things about Singapore. For example, foreigners can enter the casinos here for free, but locals must pay $100 per visit. This is to discourage the citizens of Singapore from developing gambling addictions. No foreigners can drive cabs - only Singaporean citizens. This is a government rule and to my way of thinking, protects jobs of its local citizens. He was also quick to warn us that smoking is prohibited within 5 meters of office buildings, restaurants, etc.

Singapore is often referred to as a Fine City with a double play on the word “fine.” There are some very specific reasons why Singapore is such a safe and clean city. Much of it has to do with the government imposing fines on citizens who engage in behaviors that are not allowed. I found these on the web.

* Jaywalking is not allowed - $500 fine.

* Bringing in or having chewing gum is entirely forbidden in Singapore.

* Littering fines are  $500 to $1,000 for first time offenders.

* Smoking in undesignated areas carries a fine of up to $1000 while the throwing of cigarette butts on the floor will be construed as littering and carries a fine of up to $300.

* Spitting can carry fine up to $300

* DO NOT IN ANY WAY GET INVOLVED WITH ANY DRUGS. Being caught with the smallest amount of drugs will face death penalty.

We'll definitely need to watch our "p's & q's" while we're in Singapore! We plan to take the hop on/ hop off bus tour today and do a little sight seeing. The Botanical Gardens are supposedly awesome and we hope to visit those this afternoon if it's not raining. And even if it rains all weekend, it’s just a pleasure to be in such a CLEAN city for a change!

Money Money Money

I don't think we've ever had to handle as much cash as we have to handle here. It seems we are constantly doling out cash for one thing or another. Consequently, we're always searching for an ATM machine. With the exception of the grocery store, we use cash for just about everything we buy. We pay for our water, electricity, internet and propane with cash. We pay for the laundry with cash. We pay Ibu Aisah for her cleaning and transportation with cash. Every time we turn around we're forking over cash to parking lot attendants and people who help us back out into the traffic. Ronnie's swim lessons are paid in cash. Of course we pay for things we buy along the street or at the market (pineapples, bananas, papayas) with cash as well.




The rupiah (Rp) is the official currency here. It is issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia. The conversion rate to US dollars right now is 8785. Of course this rate is always fluctuating. Since I try not to buy anything without having a pretty good idea of what I'm spending in US dollars, this means a lot of calculating on my part. I'm constantly whipping out my hand phone and dividing whatever the price is by the number above. A few times I have made huge errors in my calculations - usually from putting in too many 0's or not enough. For example, I refused to buy lettuce one day because I thought it was $11. I was relieved later to discover it was only about a dollar! 

Before we got a car/driver, I was always with Ronnie when we went out so I didn't have to learn to handle cash as quickly as he did. I prefer carrying only my camera in crowds vs trying to manage a purse with cash, credit cards, etc. in addition to my camera. I am usually distracted by what is going on around me (read photo ops) and I feel quite vulnerable when I am carrying both. But now that we have a driver and I'm venturing out a lot more without Ronnie, I've had no choice but to learn to handle and carry cash. Ronnie is happy about that, as he was getting really tired of my asking "is that the blue one?"

The thing that is tricky about handling Indonesian money (besides the constant need for conversion) is that it FEELS like you have so much more than you actually do. Last week I handed Dadang (our driver) some coins for parking lot attendants. He got so tickled when he saw what I handed him. Apparently it was only a few pennies. HA!

You’re looking at my change from our laundry bill here. I gave him a 50.000 rupiah bill  (approximately $5.50 US). This is what I got back - around 22.000 rupiah. A 2000-rupiah note is worth a little less than 25 cents! Hopefully this will give you a visual of why it always feels like you have more money than you really do. Actually, I am a millionaire many times over here! One million rupiah is roughly $114. Oh, and one more thing...I'm not sure what their coins are made of, but they are so light in weight, they feel like children's play money!

To further my point, the amount shown below is approximately $16US. I counted it to be $4US but Ronnie pointed out that the bill on the left was 100,000, not 10,000! See how much difference one little "0" can make? It's very easy to make a mistake! A few times I have handed a clerk a bill and was surprised to get back a huge amount of change (I gave her much more than I needed to) but the other day at lunch, I got confused and handed the cashier maybe a tenth of my bill total! Over or underpayment, it is still embarrassing. I'm just so thankful I can use my credit card at the supermarket. I think my brain would explode if I had to count out that much in cash!

approximately $16US

By the way, we are loving our new Capital One cards. We got them before we left because they supposedly are the only credit card company that charges no international fees. Not only does it save us in that way, but on my card alone I've already earned enough airline miles for a free ticket (within US). Woohoo!

Sidewalk Cooking

popular style double cooker carried over shoulder

I am continually amazed at the many ways Indonesians come up with to make money. Bandung is Indonesia's third largest city with a population of over 2 million people. And it seems that most of them are outside at any given time! There is never a time - day or night - that Indonesians are not buying food from vendors along the sides of the road.


These vendors (usually men) work late into the night under crude hanging bulbs, then hurry to the market early the next morning to buy supplies and start the cycle over again. I read where one man, before he started working for a Christian, non-profit quilt company, sold soup on the roadside for (what would amount to) 50 cents a day, which was not enough to feed his family. I can't imagine that any of these roadside operations would make much by American standards, but then this is not in America and somehow they do manage to survive.

makeshift grill for roasting corn

Rainy season has officially arrived in Bandung. That means that it rains some portion of every day. When it begins to rain, the food vendors cover their offerings with a tarp or piece of plastic and wait for the rain to stop. Then they uncover it and cook some more.

squeeze a lotta chili sauce!

here's the deal...

Some of their operations are rather crude, but hey, whatever it takes to get the job done or rather the food cooked. There are the gerobaks (rolling food carts) and there are the ones where the food cooking/heating/serving containers are hung from both ends of a stick that is balanced across the shoulder (see photo at top). Then there are the ones who just set up a tiny makeshift grill and grill corn or strips of chicken or rabbit on a bamboo skewer.

cooking on a narrow grate - fish rolled up inside banana leaves

dough wrapped fried pisang (bananas)

One thing I might add is that I sometimes observe sidewalk cooks washing utensils right there on the spot. I feel quite certain that the water they are using is neither bottled, filtered or boiled. Some wash water is too nasty for words. So even if some of these foods look tempting on occasion, sidewalk sanitation leaves a lot to be desired and unwanted cooties can easily show up in your digestive track as a result. I have only been tempted to try 2 items (martabak manis and fried bananas wrapped in a thin dough). They were both good and hopefully the heat took care of any bugs that may have been lurking.

school children wait on fried bananas on their lunch break