I'm so glad I came to Indonesia. I was pure luck I found myself here really. Had the friend I'm originally been here to visit Vietnam or Swaziland or elsewhere, I would certainly go and who knows what would have happened. Maybe I would have ended up falling in love with one of those places in the same way that I fell in love with Indonesia. Maybe I would have ended up back in England after two days. Who knows? All I know is that I can not imagine living anywhere else now and I love this country to death, warts and all.
We've all heard the "You know you have been in Indonesia for too long when ..." jokes. (My favorite is "You know you have been in Indonesia too long when footprints on toilet seats are yours. ') But there are some things that really give away the fact that you have been in Indonesia a very long time. For example, I remember watching the food in the window of a Padang restaurant shortly after my arrival and feeling physically ill at the thought of someone eating something that has been sitting in a window covered all day flies. Now I drool and feel hungry. I used to yell and make very rude gestures to motorcyclists who came to me the wrong way in a one way street. Now I'm one of those riders. I had trouble sleeping for a while after my arrival because of the noise of the mosques, now I do not notice at all, and in fact when I'm in a non-Muslim country without this one actually feels strange for a while. I think it's all about what you're used to.
There are many things I actually prefer Indonesia on my homeland. I was on a domestic flight in the last few days and the beautiful Ibu (more Indonesian lady) in the seat next to me ordered instant noodles. When the noodles were ready the flight attendant passed them through me and I looked back to stay out of the way in the case of hot water escaped from the plastic pot. As I did, I looked at the Ibu and smiled slightly as not to appear rude. She smiled back. After she had waited the standard three minutes she peeled off the top of the sheet, put the plastic fork inside and kept the noodles when I could see them. She looked at me and smiled and said: " Makan? "(roughly," Do you want some of my food? ") In the charming way only an Indonesian box. I smiled back and said" Silahkan "(roughly" thank you, I'm fine, please go ahead. "), which is the expected response. I like that. it's so wonderfully polite and so rooted in the basic need for human beings to share and take care of each other. Wonderful. (I often wonder what would happen if you just say "Cheers!" while Enters food and mocked it.)
But there is one thing more than any other that I love about this country. It is something that I can not now bear to be outside, and I can not imagine the life of me how I go in before coming here. I do not know not everyone gets by without it, and it is one of the cornerstones of civilization, in my opinion. I'm talking, of course, the spray butt. How the vast majority of the world has reached this point in history without this device? I'm really puzzled.
He reached the point where, when I'm traveling outside Indonesia, I use the bathrooms handicapped whenever possible so I can take apart and wash properly after dropping children the pool (if you get my meaning). If I can not find a disabled facility I have to rinse several times before rinsing again and use my hand to catch the water as it comes out and pick up in the right area (no, I can not in the toilet bowl !). Of course, this involves copious hand washing after which takes even more time. I do not know how many hours I spent in various non-Indonesian bathrooms precariously perched half-naked on a sink trying to reach the same result as the jet butt. Why is it not standard equipment on all toilets in the world? Maybe it does not exist in very cold countries, as an ice water jet in this particular field could induce a heart attack, but surely the hot water could be introduced into the system without too much difficulty? I do not really understand. Can anyone explain? (One of my friends calls the spray stick device "anti-slip". There is another very real advantage.)