The flow of thought

Stream of consciousness, if you are brave enough to follow it to its often surprising end, is a good thing. Unfortunate circumstances at work had me typing a phrase in an email that caused me to pause and take a mental journey of connected and unrelated thoughts. Here is how it went:

"thought through, though"- This was the phrase I typed in my email. It reminded me of a conversation I had with another expat earlier in the week. We were discussing the difficulty of learning different languages. Those three words demonstrate how utterly ridiculous is the English language. Each of those words differs by a mere letter yet their meanings and their pronunciations vary vastly. How could one expect an outsider to learn our language?

Language is very much a product of our surroundings. I have read that Eskimos, for example, have over one hundred words for "ice". There is the dark ice that, when present on a river, means it is safe to cross. There is the white, flaky ice that is easy to pack and make an igloo. Then there is the floating ice that brings walrus. Most of us only need the term "ice" - frozen water. For them, it has much more meaning.

Over the years of studying various languages, I've developed a few favorites of my own. In Spanish, I've always liked the word "auscutarle" (which, either the Spanish book I had in High School made up, or I did, because I can't confirm it is a word anymore) because it meant "to listen to your heart with a stethoscope". I always liked the efficiency of such a word. In French, I like "petite morts", which, literally translated means "little death" but they use for the word "orgasm". Leave it to the French to make something exquisite, morbid - though maybe the idea is that you leave your body behind for a moment.

With Indonesian, I've learned to appreciate the construct of the language, the concept of quantity, and their unabashed humility in borrowing words from other languages. With Indonesian, I don't have to worry about verb conjugation. The verb has one spelling, one tense, and it applies to all. "Tahu" is "to know". Saya tahu, kau tahu, kita tahu - I know, he/she knows, we know. To say "I already knew" you say "Saya sudah tahu". The verb never changes. Efficient.

Efficiency with numbers and quantity is even more impressive. Most languages I've studied all have their own way of counting from 1 to 10. And from 20 up, they say the ten-based word, or the hundred-based word and add the other numbers "twenty-one" or "one hundred twenty one". But for 11-15, they like to make up words for some reason. The Indonesian language takes its lead from the abacus. Indonesians count from one to nine, and then start over, but they tell you how many of everything they have. Eleven is "sebelah" (one teen), Twelve is "dua belah" (two teen), etc. To say 295 you say "dua ratus sembilan puluh lima" - two hundred(s) nine ten(s) five. For pluralization, why mess with determining if we use an "s", or an "es", or even an "i", like "fungi". It is much simpler to just say the word twice. "Anak" is child. "Anak-anak" is children. "Apel" is "apple". "Apel-apel" is "apples".

Which leads me to the third thing I like about the Indonesian language (and, ties back to the comment about the Eskimos) - their language grew based on their frame of reference. Indonesia doesn't have strawberries or apples. They didn't have taxis or buses or beer or antibiotics. So, when foreign cultures introduced them, instead of defining their own words for them, they just borrowed the word used by the person introducing it to them, and spelled it according to the Indonesian alphabet. So:

Apple = apel
Strawberry = stroberi
Taxi = taksi
Bus = bus
Beer = bir
Antibiotic = antibiotik
Sexy = seksi

Finally, this trail ended with an affirmation of sorts. External influences are a good thing. They provide perspective and introduce new ideas. I am absolutely shocked that Indonesia has a law that says if you learned your medicinal skill outside of Indonesia, you cannot practice it in Indonesia - ever. So, if Indonesia has no brain surgeons, they never will, even if someone licensed to practice medicine here goes abroad for a few years to learn it. Of course, external influences can also be bad - just ask Native Americans what alcohol did for them. Overall, however, it enriches us and helps us better understand, and appreciate, our own culture and belief systems. Here is a brief list of what I've learned to appreciate:

Things I prefer about Jakarta:

1) If you do something stupid, and get hurt, it's your fault. You don't get to sue anyone for not protecting you from your own stupidity. You don't even get the chance to force a company to decide between a settlement and legal fees.

2) The government recognizes the importance of keeping bare necessities - food, basic health care, fuel - accessible to all of its people. Seeing a doctor is a $20 charge - and that's not with the copay. Probably related to #1.

3) Community is more important than self, so everyone is very friendly and accommodating.

4) The corruption is open, obvious and manageable.

5) People are content with their lot in life and aren't always scamming for that extra inch on the ladder.

Things I prefer about the US

1) If a company or person conceals information that would have helped you to prevent injury, or exhibits careless disregard, you can sue them for damages. This keeps them honest, for the most part.

2) Government tries to refrain from interfering with the natural forces of the market so prices are set by supply and demand instead of a government floor or ceiling.

3) We celebrate individual achievement and recognize differences as a positive, not a negative.

4) We hold on to the ideal that an underpaid bureaucrat offered big money by a profitable enterprise will, through dedication to and love for country, decline the big payday. Laughable, admittedly, but still laudable.

5) Origin of birth has no bearing on your ability to be a great success. Merit and recognition of opportunity determines your success.

It is very true that you don't know what you have until you don't have it. Being in Indonesia, there is much I miss about the US - and it isn't just food or entertainment or people. I miss relatively smog free skies and acceptable levels of cleanliness everywhere I go. I miss being able to walk into any establishment and not being noticed because I'm the only white face. I miss being able to go somewhere and not see people without worrying about catching malaria or being attacked by a wild jungle animal.

Of course, when I'm in the US, there are things I miss about Indonesia: having a driver, $20 massage, getting a five course meal for $15 including tip.

In the end, I've gained more than I've lost regardless of where I am. I have perspective and experience to draw from, memories that only disease can eliminate, and a deeper appreciation for how I came to be the person I am.