Christmas concludes on a high note

As I mentioned in my last post, customs was holding the box with our Christmas gifts.  We did not receive this box in time for Christmas morning.  I had to make a choice:  explain to my daughter why she did not receive the only gift she asked Santa to bring her (and then give it to her later when it finally arrived) or buy her one so she would have a very memorable Christmas morning.  I opted for the latter and we spent Friday afternoon searching every mall nearby for a dollhouse.  We finally found a store selling one made with the same level of quality we were seeking.  Thankfully, they were running a special that bundled three rooms worth of furniture.

Christmas morning, I was up at 4 AM (insomnia) and the kids joined me around 7.  I carried our son down the stairs and set him on the ground.  The minute he was free from my grasp, he rushed over to a zebra we re-gifted him (our daughter never took to it) and bounced up and down on it like it had been his for an eternity.  Our daughter couldn't decide whether to run to her bike or play with her doll house - she opted for the bike first.

After twenty minutes admiring and marvelling over Santa's deliveries, we opened the gifts we received from family (the ones that actually made it to us).  Two hours later, we were finished.  I don't think I've ever opened that many presents in one sitting.  Usually, we are opening presents at three or four different events.  Opening them all at the same time is a bit overwhelming.  Looking out at all our Christmas bounty while living in such a poor country, really made me feel gluttonous....it didn't help that I spent a day's wages for my driver to have someone wrap my wife's presents for me.

The kids, however, loved every minute of it.

 

 

Christmas night, as we were preparing for our dinner, our long awaited box arrived.  Digging through the thirteen new gifts was like another visit from Santa.  Everything was in there - including the lotion.  It was nice to have them on Christmas Day, even though we didn't get them for Christmas morning. 

(Discussing our experience with one of our neighbors I learned that he, too, had a box containing Christmas gifts held in customs for nearly four weeks.  The shipping agency he used asked if he wanted to pay a fee to help expedite.  He refused.  They then told him customs was requiring an import tax.  He asked for the specific law detailing what he owed.  When they provided the law - in Indonesian - it indicated he owed nothing.  He personally made a visit to customs, asked to speak with a senior officer, showed him the law and asked him to explain why it was being held for additional fees.  Only then did they release it to him with no further requirements.  He mentioned a few other expats had experienced similar problems.  It appears there was a concerted effort by customs officers to either: 1) put a strain on the celebration of a Christian holiday; 2) use it for monetary gain.  And this is why business don't come to Indonesia.)

For us, it didn't matter.  We still had a great Christmas.

Jakarta Life

The rain has returned and is a welcome reminder of what life would be like had a large metropolis not replaced a tropical rain forest. Afternoon skies quickly darken and change from an amber haze to a charcoal overcast that cleans the city of particulate matter and washes away the grime. It never stays long and the air always smells cleaner, crisper, and more refreshing when it's over.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I both read a book about Jakarta (she read it first and insisted I read it). To my amusement, it alerted me to the fact that Jakartan's love to stage protests. In fact, protests have become as essential to Indonesian national politics as attack ads are in the U.S. I've seen two protests since reading that book. In the first protest, about two dozen people dressed in white T-shirts protested outside a government agency building. A person dressed in a grim reaper costume waved menacingly at passing cars. I never did learn what the protest was about.

Earlier this week I saw yet another protest. This time, everyone was dressed in red and grey camouflage - the only place I think that would provide ample cloaking opportunities is Sedona or the Grand Canyon, but I digress. This time, I did learn the nature of the protest, and American soap operas would be jealous. The protesters were standing outside the gates of the Malaysian embassy about half a mile up the street from my office. For those of you who don't know much about Malaysia, it is a devoutly Muslim nation ruled by a monarch. Recently, a local woman married one of the sons of the king - a Malaysian Prince. About a week ago, as they enjoyed conjugal relations, the prince suffered a heart attack. They rushed him, accompanied by his wife, to medical facilities in Singapore (the Mayo-clinic of Southeast Asia). Once in Singapore, the woman decided this was an excellent opportunity to escape her marriage and return to Indonesia. International scandal ignited! The protesters were picketing the embassy in support of her decision to flee the marriage.

If that wasn't enough social and cultural intrigue for the week, there was an interesting article in the Jakarta Post over the weekend. A 32 year old woman didn't enjoy her treatment at a hospital and sent an email to her friends to complain. Her friends then forwarded the email, who then forwarded the email like a viral chain letter or one of those silly "send this to 30 people or you will die" messages we've all received. Apparently, that was enough to trigger a libel lawsuit under an Electronic Information Act passed in 2008. She actually went to jail for sharing her experience with her friends! With friends like those, who needs enemies?

I also learned this week that customs did not open or confiscate anything from my shipment; DHL did. They take complete responsibility for anything we receive, so they inspect anything and remove contraband. Alcohol is one of the items considered verboten, and they will not ship it. Good for Indonesia, bad for my Seagram's craving.

I did, however, find a new liquor store. Much like the Kemang Duty Free near my house, this Duty Free is also in a nondescript building with no windows and only accepts cash payments. Before selling to me they wanted to see my KITAS, which is my local ID. I was extremely pleased with the pricing. A bottle of Smirnoff vanilla vodka was $15 - cheaper than in the U.S. I shared the location with a colleague who advised I should stock up while we can still buy alcohol. With the presidential elections looming, this window of opportunity may exist for a very short time before the new officials shut everything down until they've arranged the proper under the table and over the table compensations.

Another observation I made this week is how quickly people seek out others just like themselves. When I lived in Arizona, some of my friends and colleagues came from other countries - India, Pakistan, Armenia, Russia, Argentina. When they would invite me to a party, I would meet several other people from India, Pakistan, Armenia, etc. I never knew there were such large communities of these various nationalities living in Phoenix. I also thought it a bit odd that, instead of making friends locally, they sought friends who came from their home country.

At my daughter's birthday party I looked around the room. We had a few of my colleagues - locals - and we had invited a few more who were unable to attend for one reason or another, but white faces definitely dominated the room. We even had guests who originally come from the next block over from our house in Mesa!

Now that I have lived abroad, I have a better appreciation for why people seek their own. We immediately have something in common, we have many shared values that are unique to our culture, and it allows us to feel closer to home. One other quick note - a westerner definitely learns what it is like to be a minority. We feel discrimination for being unlike the locals. Luckily, we're at the top of the economic food chain, so the discrimination is we are charged higher prices. If we were at the bottom of the economic food chain, I'm not sure I would be so willing to endure the obvious double standard.

Tomorrow I'll talk about the trends I alluded to in my last post. I need to download a few more graphics first. For now, just enjoy these pictures that remind me of actual Indonesian experiences (though none, to my knowledge, are actually from Indonesia)


Who says there's no such thing as a free ride?




Something tells me this one is from Singapore.




This is what happens when you don't have OSHA, can't sue your employer, and MUST get something done TODAY!




I wonder how it relieves pain?




Now that's a pot hole!!

Many Packages Arrive

I had other things I wanted to discuss today - how similar people find each other, people being jailed for defamation, interesting trends, capacity of humans to adapt. The arrival of a large, 40lb box of gifts and food from the US compels me to delay those discussions to a later date.

The long awaited care package and birthday gifts arrived today with much excitement. I finally have cinnamon gum and no longer need to languish with such flavors as "blueberry mint", "sweet mint", "strawberry" and "orange". To my disappointment, my wife informed me she, too, wanted cinnamon gum, so I think we have enough to last us through the end of July. We also now have an abundance of Mexican food and bagels - enough to last us through the end of June, anyway.

More importantly, we also received many gifts for our daughter, who was absolutely delighted to open as many gifts today as she had received at her party on Saturday - and she still hasn't received the gifts from us! We decided we are not giving her anything for Christmas - she has too much already.

With every package she opened, she became more and more thrilled. "Look mom, another train set!" "Ooooh, dress up!" She loved it all, and she immediately recognized Thomas the Train. As I had feared, she also now has three different types of trains - Lego (normal and Thomas), wooden (that I bought) and the plastic version of Thomas the Train. We have more track than space, and we've already dedicated a room to her trains. She loves them all, though, so we'll have to figure something out.

The biggest gain for all of us in the gifts are the ones that will keep her entertained in the car in the packed Jakarta traffic. Her mind needs constant activity or she whines and fidgets, basically making the life of all other passengers (and restaurant guests) miserable. She's not quite old enough for "20 Questions" or to read quietly, and "I spy with my little eye" only entertains her for about ten minutes, so the water-based, reusable coloring books, magnetic dress-up books and etch-a-sketch like toys should work wonders in the car. If none of those work, we'll have to resort to the portable DVD player that we've been trying to avoid.

One other item to note for future shipments - every single item had been opened. All of the wrapped gifts had been opened - but not unwrapped - inspected, and put back in the box. All of the food had been opened and inspected. What I need to find out tomorrow is if that was done by my company, or by customs in Indonesia - or possibly both. I have learned, however, that packages sent with an itemized, detailed shipping invoice - especially if it is direct from the supplier - both breeze through customs and tend to be left alone.

Thanks to everyone who sent the food and gifts. They are a much appreciated reminder of home. (Pictures of our daughter enjoying the gifts will be posted later this week).