First Days

The twelve hour time difference is a lot but at least you know the time is the same number at home -- just not the same am or pm.  

On a vacation you aren't expected to function much but this is a high function expectation trip. With the confusion that attends jet lag layered on top of new money, lack of general physical orientation, different plugs and currents, the difficulties of communicating with home just getting your stuff together takes time.  

I also have to make  sure my handouts, computer program and presentation, videos, flash drive, MAC adapter, etc are always ready to go and  try and keep up with the news.  So life is always moving little things around from one place to another.

My first meeting was a small one -- a group of party leaders and academics.  We met at the hotel and I talked for 10 or 15 minutes and then we opened it up for questions.  They were very well informed.  A few had lived in the U.S. -- some for many years -- and their questions proved to be a nice introduction to future questions.  They asked:

1) Will the next President change American's foreign policy. Foreign Policy means, to them

a) Relations with the Islamic World

b) Iraq

c) Palestine/Israel

d) Trade policy and multi-lateralism in Southeast Asia

2) Race and Gender in the American Elections

3) The electoral college

4) Money in American Elections

5) My thoughts on the applicability of the American model of democracy in Indonesian -- which is sometimes a sub-set of a larger question "hey, what is the deal with this democracy thing anyway"

I will cover all of these in more detail later after I have a few more meetings -- but there is one question that comes up all the time and I find it a little strange -- "What is the power of the Jewish Lobby" in the United States and one of the reasons is the nature of the question. The power of lobbies; and the power of foreign lobbies, is a legitimate one but the question often seems to be hinting a the "jewish worldwide conspiracy" question.  It is also a little jarring given that, in almost every other way, the people I have talked to are better informed about the election than Americans.