Not that I am keeping score. But I think someone was pretty lucky this week in Bajawa.
I was under the impression that the electric brown outs are rotational. Nevertheless, I am not sure who was charged with the calendar this past week. My ‘hood’ was without electric at least for a period of time every day. 7 days. My math skills may be rusty but statistically I would venture that the ration perhaps was a bit skewed. I went to sleep last night without and woke up this morning without (indeed it may have sprung into action sometime during my slumber but am doubtful). And it’s still out as I ponder dinner. Luckily my refrigerator is empty… although my rumbling stomach says that’s unlucky.
A bamboo hut with poured cement floors. No sofa, no chairs, just handmade woven straw mats for sitting. The walls ‘wallpapered’ with old Flores Pos newspapers. Rooms divided by soft curtains strung along string, flapping as the breeze flows effortlessly through the open doors and glassless windows. Roofs open and walls never meeting the ceiling. An ineffective attempt at privacy. In actuality it’s all just one big room, noise and mosquitoes travel without hindrance from room to room. No running water. Plastic containers are filled for the week from the community tank, natural springs, or during rainy seasons, the sky. Typical. Basic. Nevertheless, satellite dishes to tune into the families favorite Indonesian Karaoke television shows, are not unheard of. Taking a break from office work, I was called into the neighbors hut to catch a few songs and happened upon two noteworthy events.
The first notable thing on television...
Before flipping the channel, I caught a glimpse of a program. Bottlenecked LA. American cars. Lots of cars. Juxtaposition with an Indonesian gas station. The sign read, as is common: “Bensin Habis” (gas finished). The motorcycles and cargo trucks brimming of people lined up for probably a good mile or two. I read about the ‘energy crisis’ sweeping across the States and Europe. Someone is getting the last laugh at the SUV boom of yesterday. Indeed I empathize with the $3 plus gallon of gas. While still in the US, I terrifyingly watch the dollars escalate at the pump each time I filled my jeep… $60 is a small fortune for an unemployed bum. Three days ago, I filled up my motorcycle for 37,000 Rupiah (about the whopping equivalent of $4). Nevertheless, to put it into perspective I spent less than 35,000 Rupiah on food for the past two weeks. Not is fuel simply a strain on the pocketbook, sometimes it’s gone. “Habis.” Indonesia does not rely on imports of fuel to keep moving. It’s in the production game. By 2010 it is expected that the country will be producing over a million barrels of oil a day, with reliable speculation of new reserves being discovered on the remote islands or under expansive sea.
Seemingly the west is getting savvy on social responsibility. Or is that simply Hollywood? Who needs the Kyoto Treaty. Millennium Development Goal 7… what? Still a lingering question on the validity of climate change? Saving the environment and reducing our global footprint with our hybrid cars and commitment to alternative energy sources in bio-fuels. A good thing, right? Indeed, it seemed like only a step in the right direction. But as with many of the noblest intentions come unintended consequences. The new buzz on the headlines… Food Crises. The once superfluous crops were exported to the hungry of the global south. Now their going to feed our energy hunger at home. Where’s the next magic bullet?
No transport. Sitting by candle light. Cooking rice over a fire. That’s an energy crisis. That’s a food crisis. Living and working with a population stricken by poverty, by hunger, by a lack of energy and resources gives a new perspective. Instead of being angry with high prices and no fuel, they seem to accept it and move on. Life isn’t over. And perhaps tomorrow will be better.
And the second notable thing on television…
A DVD of “The Best Pop of Papua”… a classic no doubt. Music videos shot with home camcorders. The music not quite in sync. The delight of my day happened on track 4. A traditional dance and attired women of Papua. The music upbeat with Portuguese lyrics. Cut to a shot of the Eiffel Tower. The women now rapping in Indonesian. Their traditional colorful sarongs, beaded jewelry, and topless bodies replace by… OHIO STATE FOOTBALL JERSEYS! Go Bucks! Breaking into a cultural mishmash of a music video surely is no small feat. Nevertheless, my attempt to share my surprise, my excitement was seemingly lost in translation.
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