They don't protest like they used to

Friday was a day full of events. At 9 AM, I began looking for the protesters. They didn't show up. I received an email around 9:30 indicating it would start at 10 AM. At 10, still no one. A colleague then said they would arrive at 11:30. She was also full of information.

Protests - here they call them "demonstrations" - must first register with the police. If they don't, I imagine the police response to the gathering would not be as amenable and welcoming. The local Papuans had requested an 11:30 start time. I also learned that this is, indeed, an annual event. Typically, it starts at 11:30 and about 100 people arrive - mostly hungry college students. We give them a box lunch and they go away. It's usually completed by 12:30.

At 11-ish, we had a meeting to bid farewell to a local colleague who is taking an expat assignment in Africa. He has spent the last several years at our mine site and is looking forward to the opportunity. It is a major financial improvement for him. That, however, was not what he highlighted as the main benefit. For him, the thing he was most interested in was unfiltered internet access. His new boss is a friend of mine in the US. If the guy goes blind, I'll know what to tell his boss is the reason.

The farewell meeting took about 45 minutes, and then we gave everyone a box lunch - chicken, rice, and vegetables. I ate the PBJ sandwich I brought from home. Shortly after noon, I walked over to the window to witness the demonstration. I was very curious. Unfortunately, no one was there - not even the police. I asked what happened and was informed they had already left. I later learned from my driver that more police were present than actual demonstrators, so they didn't stay long. Must not be a lot of local support for giving Papuans a larger percentage of the mining profits.

At 4 PM, when I am usually walking out the door - especially on a Friday, we had another farewell event. Our CFO is also moving to our operations in Africa after 13 years in Indonesia. I didn't ask if he had read "The Poisonwood Bible". With an executive departure, the farewell meeting was much longer than the one for my IT colleague.

I had envisioned a brief speech thanking everyone, followed by some food and refreshments, and it would be over in thirty minutes. Nope - nothing is that quick in Indonesia.

It finally really started around 4:30. We had, literally, 30 minutes of prayers. As is the norm, first we had a Muslim prayer, then we had a Christian prayer. Speeches from four different executives thanking our CFO followed the prayers. Then they played a 15 minute video of his life in Indonesia. After the video was his speech, followed by a photo shoot with each of the departments that reported to him. I'm in one of them. By the time it was politically appropriate to leave, it was well past 5:45.

The behavior I witnessed at this event was fascinating. I'm not sure I'll ever fully appreciate the types of things that Indonesians - at least the ones I work with - find humorous. For example, the video started with a map of the world. A cartoon plane started from New Orleans and flew to Jakarta. At sight of this, the room erupted into raucous laughter. I'm racking my brain for what, possibly, was funny about that. I never did figure it out. Another surprising bout of laughter occurred during pictures. They started with the executive team and asked them all to come up front. I'd say at least 7 people around me either pretended to stand up, then turned around and laughed, or jokingly gestured for someone else to join the group. I'm not sure at what age feigning importance ceased to be humorous to me, but I know it was a long time ago.

As much as I try to understand the culture and appreciate its subtleties and nuances, I think there are just things I will never grasp, despite my best efforts. Much of it will come from frame of reference differences. Other challenges will come just from being raised as a competitive, ambitious, individualistic American. Witnessing adult professionals act in a way I think most Americans would view as childish behavior only reinforces for me how vast is the cultural divide. Sometimes, I just wish I could participate in the joke - whatever it is.