Indonesia, Democracy, and Tolerance

Tolerance

2010-01-27T02:34:00.000-08:00

Having arrived home the rest of this blog, which I do hope to continue by way of diary, will continue with some ex post writing.

One question: The notion of tolerance doesn't very well treat its own limits. In many of my talks on this trip I tried to get people to not think so much of what they would tolerate but what they would not tolerate.

My friend Arifin suggested that a Democracy comes with certain responsibilities -- and not be critical of religion was one of them. My own feeling is that criticism is a matter of respect -- you always criticize things you respect; you call them to something better and point out their flaws because you expect something better.

Limiting that criticism ahead of time simply prevents effective criticism.

History Presentation at my Friend Vipti's school

2010-01-21T00:44:00.000-08:00

We watched a presentation, in English, on US history at Vipti's school.

It was classic Indonesian powerpoint with a lot of color, background, and jumping letters. It took five minutes to load.

It was really good! The students in the class probably knew more about US history that US students! They covered the Revolution to the Civil War in 20 minutes. It was very impressive.

There were some funny interpretations

George Washington was "America's big commander"
Slavery was "taper bondage"
Carpetbaggers were an "ethnic group"

but the best was the discussion of anti-tax sentiments and the tea party -- with the text imposed over a background picture of Che Guevera (noted anti tax activist)

Rus' School

2010-01-21T00:32:00.000-08:00

My friend Rus (short for Rustiadi) is a teacher, administrator, and guidance counsellor at an Islamic boarding school. He fasts every other day and is a very devout Muslim. In the US "devout" does not always carry with it the image of funny, energetic, open, and generous -- one thinks of a serious mind focused on the after life -- but Rus is all of these things. If he can't make you feel good about the world no one can. We got a lot of questions about the Swiss vote on Minaret constructions (for which we were unqualified to answer); sex education; relations between the sexes (i.e. do people sleep together before marriage) and divorce.

The students, in single gender classes, were incredibly lively. Rus had them play a game where he would pose a question (it was a religion class and it was about the ritual washing before prayer (Wudu). Teams of students raced to answer the question and hand it in and he awarded points for the answers.

I was asked to collect on the second question and did so (I can stand and receive paper with the best of them) but I failed keep them in order of receipt -- I missed that part -- thereby screwing up the game. A deep cultural misunderstanding!

During question period -- there is always a question period -- students kept asking if I wanted to sit down. I am old in Indonesia and people just assume I'm frail -- it gets annoying (how are you? are you hot? Please sit down? Oh, that is so far.) and makes me want just pick up heavy loads and carry them around for no good reason.

At the end everyone did a kind of "clap clap clap YEAH" and, of course, I put this into my "indonesian culture is community oriented" box. Thought about writing about "indonesian group cheers" in my blog -- and the Rus told me he learned it at a Cincinnati Reds game last summer.

Education

2010-01-21T00:19:00.000-08:00

People argue forever over education -- its purposes, methods, costs, and functions. Although the word "indoctrination" is a bit strong -- and "critical thinking" is on the tongue of every teacher and administrator -- education does indoctrinate the student into the society. The burden of acceptable behavior is like strong air pressure -- influential but invisible.

The positive side of this is that belonging to a group or culture seems to be a human universal and that education, in preparing students for belonging, fills an important role. All of this is difficult to discuss in the US because of our culture of individualism (which we also pass on thru education --- and that is fine) -- but in Indonesia the notion of "this is our culture" or "of course we pass on our culture" isn't questioned -- they feel less guilt about being Indonesian than US schools often feel about being from the US.

Religious Education

2010-01-21T00:15:00.000-08:00

This is a grant that looks at the way in which Indonesia and the US handle religious diversity. The term “religious diversity” has a nice, polite, social science “lets all just love each other” feel but, in fact, coping with it has been an enormous historical challenge. It is about peace and war; belief, tolerance, and salvation.

Not a simple stew.

Both countries are large, religious, diverse, democracies.

The US takes a “negative” approach to religion – government stays away from issues of conscience and religion is not taught in a devotional way in the schools. This system is not without controversy; many of the more stringent forms of separation are recent; and, if given the chance, many in the US would make changes such as allowing prayer in the schools.

Indonesia takes a “positive’ approach. There is a “Ministry of Religious Education” responsible for religious education in the schools. Public schools all require religious education, and students pray each day (in a way – Islam, as the dominant religion, sets the schedule) and schools routinely have us visit the school Mosque (I haven’t been to a school without one) as well as the collection of Catholic or Christian students learning about their religion and praying.

The approaches are so different as to stun students when they hear about the other's practice – but they are rooted in history and culture and both are good faith efforts to solve the very difficult dilemma presented by the conflict between belief and freedom.

One freedom not evident in Indonesia (and this is an observation, not a criticism) is the freedom not to believe. You must declare a religion – it goes on your ID card (Islam, Christian, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Confucian).

I remember one school where we visited the Christian students while they were praying. There were 10 to 12 students and a teacher. The room was sparse but had a cross and a small Christmas tree. The call to prayers was very loud in that vicinity and one had the impression of a somewhat embattled minority – but I don’t think, in this case, that my impression was right. The students did not feel left out (although one girl said she could date a Muslim boy but not marry him, and she felt sad) and, overall, the system often works.

Scott Brown and Indonesia

2010-01-20T01:46:00.000-08:00

I was wrong. I have to figure out a way to debase myself in front of my parties and elections students to whom I said two or three times "Scott Brown has no chance". I was wrong.

In my defense, I did say that he was a very good candidate. But he couldn't win. I said that Coakley was the perfect demographic candidate for the primary (one woman, three men, had a head start -- short campaign) but not a great candidate -- in all that I was right -- but I thought she would win. I was wrong.

Almost everyone was wrong -- and some of those who were right are of the "all clocks are right twice a day" variety of right -- and very few people are owning up to it. The press is full of "the national media did not anticipate" -- just say it authors, you were wrong. You had no idea. You turned in your copy without looking and looked ahead to the next story. You were wrong. At least there is a lot of company.

Why? First of all, it isn't irrational to be wrong. The data, history, and early polls all reinforced the inevitable Coakley victory. Some of it -- maybe a lot -- has to do with the campaign.

Brian McGrory, in an funny if condescending article article in the Globe captures the campaign differences -- with Brown as the handsome stranger who captivates us by paying attention to our conversation at a party.

But it is also about issues -- and larger patterns of American politics. David Broder argues that Americans like a "supportive but not imperious government. His advice

"If I were President Obama, I would spend the next year showing how government can serve a humble, helpful and supportive role to the central institutions of American life. Even in blue states like Massachusetts, voters want a government that is energetic but limited — a servant, not a leviathan."

Although I think Brooks in on to some thing, I'm not sure what humble means -- we already have an enormous and powerful government and could never get rid of it -- it always surprises me when conservatives seem to deny this obvious fact -- but it also amazes me that liberals still look for top down national solutions in the face of their unpopularity.

But whatever it was, a diffuse sense of anger at the world, a poor campaign, opposition to health care -- a great republican campaign run by a talented and experienced group of republican operatives -- all of them are true-- Massachusetts has a Republican senator. What does this mean? Given that I was so wrong about the election, let me now attempt to be wrong about this as well. Here are a series of random thoughts.

Republicans will over interpret this election just like Democrats over interpreted the Obama victory. The interesting race last year was Clinton v Obama -- it was a high personal and political drama more than a contest of ideas. The general election was fairly close to a given. The Bush administration was largely seen as having failed at providing solutions to problems and they wanted to give someone else a chance. Obama's personality, ideology, and campaign all helped in his victory -- but it was a rejection, not an affirmation.

Americans are getting very hard to govern - if we take governance as actually "doing something". Obama did act quickly to pass a stimulus package (in a way different from what Bush would have been done but utilizing a precedent set by the Bush administration). There was (and should have been) an air of emergency about the economy. Aside from that, he has been given remarkably little time to work through his agenda. Talk all now seems to focus on the "fairness and democracy" of 41 senators (Scott Brown's chant "41" "41") stopping things. Past republican criticism for special rules for minorities has now changed to a concentrated concern for minority protection in the US senate. When our government debate is about overcoming a small minority in our already elected bodies, action is in the waiting room while process is given the interview -- and the job.

Obama has been far too nice. Here is a man elected by a reasonable majority -- elected to do something different -- and with an overwhelming majority in the house and the senate and his party can't pass their centerpiece legislation? If I was them, I would stuff it down the throats of republicans using every procedural trick they can -- the republicans would.

The democrats have no balls in this case. People don't care at all about process (for long -- sometimes they do in the short term) they care about results. If Democrats really believe in health care reform pass it and let the results speak for themselves -- people may well really like it once it isn't a theory any more. I'd rather lose defending an action then lose defending a possibility. Does anyone seriously think that Dems won't be attacked for supporting health care reform whether it passes or not? Do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may (I am not at all sure about the health care reform bill -- but if I was a supporter I would take the stance listed above). concern for minority rights and fairness have now appeared in new.

The Brown election will increase Democratic retirements and improve the quality of Republicans who decide to seek office. Good politicians are professionals and a professional knows when she has a chance to win. Brown's victory alters their calculations in the "if it can happen there" mode. A combination of dem retirments and better rep candidates reinforces the normal off-party gain -- and the Republicans pick up more seats.

Local MA republicans should now have a better poll of candidates as well -- although the party has never been good in translating such gains locally -- my gut feeling is that Deval Patrick and the House and Senate Dems (very few of whom have any real campaign experience) are in serious trouble.

The election of Brown may help Obama in Afghanistan. The Massachusetts electorate even applauded his support of waterboarding -- and may be yet another signal that despite a new and very different face, American foreign policy may not undergo a drastic change.

The republicans may do well in the mid-term elections but I still believe that they have a fundamental problem. Generational change on moral questions, and an aging and restive religious right, seriously hampers their national coalition. Being against Obama is a great short term strategy (unless he succeeds -- see above) but in the long run they need a broad, governing agenda -- and the coalition that was successful starting with Reagan is not what it was. Even Brown may find it hard to win re-election in liberal Massachusetts. One danger for the right is that this will be seen as reinforcing their agenda and they will, like the Democrats did in this campaign (It is rumored Coakley mocked Brown for shaking hands outside of a special Bruins game held outside of Fenway park and that she didn't know Curt Schilling played for the Red Sox -- both bizarre in the extreme if true) ignore the local elements of the campaign. They may well overreach and find, when they do, that there is no broad voter support there for a national campaign.

When I give my talk in Jakarta it will be to a largely Indonesian audience in love with President Obama. They have recently built a statue of him here (as a child, releasing a butterfly -- it is above -- I can't figure out how to place the picture in a different place) I will tell them that the Presidency is an institution and not a person. As human beings we naturally gravitate toward evaluating personality and character, but that elected officials are limited by public opinion, culture, and the power of other institutional leaders.

I will also say that the US is now experiencing rapid political change -- it has only been one year from the Obama inaugural to the Brown election; the change those two events suggest is startling -- but I think they both share in common a general discontent -- a discontent -- even anger -- that Obama didn't create -- but that he hasn't erased.

Talk at University

2010-01-16T19:07:00.000-08:00

I had been invited by my friend Wahyuddin to talk at the University where he teaches. Ahmad and Dhindin -- both former participants, are also at the school and I visited it last year at a different campus. The rector, who we met, had lived in Minnesota, spoke English, and vaguely remembered me. I am best remembered vaguely.

Through a miscommunication I had prepared a talk on President Obama's first year but the title turned out to be "Democracy and Tolerance: The American Experience". I worked on my talk off and on in the car and upon arrival it was a little bit more of a panel discussion where the rector, Wahyuddin, Sam, and Julienne all spoke and it was very good. My talk was short and was centered on the strangeness of tolerance. We all want it but the word is a little ambiguous --- you don't "tolerate" your friends. And, in fact, Old English usage is "bearing a hard burden". So the point is tolerance is hard.

I also argued it was a political virture, requiring the hard work of law, education, and respect for institutions. Finally, I suggested that the important question isn't tolerance, but what would you not tolerate -- are the boundary conditions -- the fence and enclosure -- of thoughts on tolerance acceptable and what political conversations and actions are available to increase the size of the fence in a way acceptable to (but not subservient to) the culture at large.

Athirah Makassar School Visit

2010-01-16T18:52:00.002-08:00

our first school visit in Makassar was to a private Islamic school. It was founded by Yusuf Kalla's family -- he is the former Vice President of Indonesia and the richest, and maybe most powerful, man on the Island of Sulawesi.

The school ws called the Athirah Islamic School
www.athirahmakassar.com

We were taken to an auditorium where the school officials, in a combination of Indonesian and English spoke of their desire to improve the English skills of their students "I can speak to my friends and family in my local language or Indonesian. I can speak to the world in English".

This is a big school, parent funded, with four campuses and all age groups. It is considered one of the finest schools in Indonsia. They too were very interested in Exchange programs, short and long, and an English teacher at their school. On a strange and embarrassing note -- the headmaster attended Ratna's party later in the trip and we didn't recognize him and say hi. This is the kind of social mistake one trys to avoid. I hope sending an email will help -- they were exceptionally well organized and would be an ideal school for some forms of partnership.

Makassar Visits and Activities January 15th, 16th 17th

2010-01-16T18:46:00.000-08:00

NOTE: One Day still needs to be added to this entry:

Today was exceptionally active. As a group we visited with three schools, a newspaper, and had a television interview. It is remarkable to me how hard it is to remember the schools we have visited so on this trip I have made more of an effort to enter the name, headmaster, address, and email of the school just to remember it.

This morning we visited SMA Negri 1 (Makassar).
Headmaster Drs. Herman Hadine, M. PD

The school had abut 800 students and they were in on a Saturday to work on extra projects, classes, and clubs. This is our friend Fitri’s school and the students were excellent. They were arrayed in a U shape instead of classroom seating and the students, juniors in high school, had a host of questions. After about an hour of questions we adjourned to a television interview in the same room. The man gave me 14 questions ahead of time and I asked how long the show was and he said “15 minutes”.

I left Sam and Julienne to go to a local paper and met with George Scholz of RELO (A State Department program designed to provide English language learning. It started very strangely with them telling us about their paper. It continued this way for a long time – they asked no questions – but were very proud of their text message/facebook program. They invite citizen texts about local government problems and corruption and try and get an answer from the town government right away (hey, what about this pot hole?) they print the question and the response in the paper. It has been a very popular and it made me think that their readers would love the chance to “ask an American a question” so I proposed a monthly facebook program where people would post questions to the Civic Initiative and to Alumni in the area. The questions might be about daily life or politics – and the paper loved the idea – they want to start right away.

In the afternoon I went to a vocational school
SMK 4 Makassar
Principal Asmah Baharudding
Assistant Rahmat Wiyrayo
rahmatwijaya68@yahoo.com
08124296961

This was a vocational school (business management, tourism, and technology). I told them I would send some books and ask about sending them an English language teacher.

I also will send them the debating material used by Nurul's group (the Sex Ed debate team) They were also very interested in an Exchange. The small group of student’s represented the schools debating club and they had a lot of questions about the US (questions in a separate post)

At night we went to Ratna’s house for a dinner party. It was a small, very neat and new house across from a Mosque along a narrow street. Over 20 people attended including three English teachers, all young women, from America. They were here for training and teach in different locations in Indonesia. The remarkable thing was that they were all from UMass – and didn’t know each other before coming. One even went to Amherst High School. That was the ultimate small world moment

January 17th
Typing, finances, and packing – we fly to Jogyakarta today on another roundabout trip leaving Makassar for Bali and then for Jogya – four hours for what could be a one hour flight. Note to self – tell travel agent next time to book other airlines (not Garuda) if convenient. I think I believed that Garuda was safer but I am not sure that is still true. Lion, SilkAir, and Merapi all seem good.

January 14th

2010-01-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

We packed, prepared for our flight, compared notes, and handled finances. The flight to Makassar from Balikpapan went through Jakarta which is like going to Washington, from Boston, through Pittsburg. Monsoon storms made the flight one of steady interest. We checked in at 12:30 am -- our local partner, Ratna Haris picked us up -- she must have been exhausted -- and the wind shaking our rooms continued the feeling of the flight. Our rooms thrust out into the ocean like an overbold small animal trapped on a thin stilt. and were held up on wooden stilts.

January 13th

2010-01-16T18:42:00.000-08:00

January 13 Balikpapan
This was our last day in Balikpapan and it was a very efficient and interesting trip. Having done this twice, you have the feeling you know what you are doing (sometimes true; sometimes dangerous).

SDN 001 is a very nice elementary school with a charismatic headmaster and a wealthy group of kids (many of the children had cell phones and blackberries)

We arrived and were greeted with traditional dance and music by the kids (the video is on Sam’s web site) and then the students came out, lined up perfectly (about 200 of them) sang songs, shouted back answers in unison, and sat with remarkable patience as about 7 adults (me included) spoke. The sea of uniforms and students perfectly lined up (they spaced each other out at arm’s length) then sitting at the same time and responding loudly, together, is a visual representation of a big difference between an American and Indonesian school – the “communal sense” and the “individualistic” sense. It is easy to make too much of this. Not all of the schools we have attended were as well organized, and American’s often show organized group behavior at rallies and meetings, so, while the difference is real, it is in no way absolute.

This was my first visit to an elementary school and I was frightened – “what am I going to do with little kids?” fortunately, Ms. Julienne, my colleague, is a third grade teacher (who speaks Indonesian as does Sam Camera) was a total stud and had pictures, pen pal programs, a book of greetings from her third grade children – everyone loved it.

I have never seen so many curious children. They stared at us; shook our hands – took pictures and could not decide whether to come with us or run away. There is a great picture of me (taken from above) surrounded by children.

In the afternoon we visited the school of our host’s children – and we also met his wife. I have known, and worked with Sam, for a number of year’s and have always enjoyed working with him but I had never met his wife. We were very excited to meet each other and, for reasons I can’t express, the meeting was emotional. This was not a poor school, but it was not rich, and many of the people, Sam included, felt the difference. Sam gave an emotional talk about how committed he and his family were to improving the school –and I spoke, saying that the school was in the hearts of the teachers and the students – a worn sentiment but one that was appropriate at the time. Short talks, toasts, and speeches often sound maudlin in the recounting but work well in the moment of delivery.

The school was more chaotic, but still good and the kids were incredibly cute and the administration committed to exchanges, international connection, and improvements.

That night we hosted a reception for local leaders participants, and families. It was remarkable to meet the families – they were so happy for the opportunity to see us talk to the people their husband or wife had met in America.

January 12th

2010-01-16T00:20:00.000-08:00

January 12
Visited SMAN 1, a high school where our friend Haryati teaches. On the plane over I talked about how American schools should integrate local environmental knowledge, biology, and work by having students farm or garden at some level. (hardly, I admit, an original idea) In Indonesia many schools do this. SMAN 1 has an enormous number of plants, maintained by the students, with the plant qualities used to illustrate local conditions, biology, and botany. We visited a number of classrooms and talked about the differences between US and Indonesian approaches to religion and the schools. You can see them struggling (and the teachers, and us) with the “positive” approach Indonesia employs with the government insuring equal access to religion in schools. Access is provided by state law and funding through the ministry of religious education. Teacher boards sometimes list the religion of the teacher (Muslim, Muslim, Muslim, Christian (protestant) and so on – and also have white board counts of their student’s religious affiliations (658 Muslims; 23 Protestants; 13 Catholics; 0 Buddhists – I don’t know why they listed a “0” – maybe in case one comes along)

The principal was very happy that his teacher went to the US and is willing to support American students who might come on exchange; even for short cultural visits. He knows a number of potential home stay opportunities and is very excited that we brought email addresses of American students who subsidies with a religious ministry and school.

It always fascinates me how much people want to improve their English. One teacher pulled me aside and asked a number of cultural and “slang” questions including:

-Is it ok to ask a woman her age?
(answer: many don’t care but safer not to if you can avoid it)

-Is it ok to say “hanky panky”
(answer: not many people say it anymore and it has vague meanings hidden and orchestrated bad-doings with historically remote sexual overtones. So, if another word works, and it is hard to imagine one couldn’t be found, he should avoid it.)

-Is it ok to ask people how much money they make? (answer: less of a taboo than it used to be but still best to be avoided unless asked the same question first)

In between school visits we visited the Mayor of Balikpapan. While in the waiting room there was an emotionally arresting painting (I can’t judge the style) of a Dyak (native people to Borneo) on a hill looking at the city. His back is turned to the viewer and you can see he is at the place where the forest ends at the clear cut logging line. The city looks as if it is growing toward him and, if you look closely, you can see that the bottom part of his leg is beginning to mesh with the ground underneath, like they are growing into each other. All of the US visitors saw this as an analogy of encroaching civilization driving out people more closely connected to the earth – maybe because of our own current understanding of the America’s but the Indonesians had a variety of opinions and didn’t inevitably see the man as I did.

The mayor turned out to be a very practical, experience operative who spent almost a full hour with us. He is very interested in exchanges and pledged his full support at finding accommodations for students. He is keenly interested in technical teaching help – Balikpapan is an industrial place with oil rigs off the coast. You can see them from the hotel. I was very encouraged with the meeting – and it was very refreshing to talk specifics.

SMKN 4 Nurul’s school HRM vocational debate club on sex education
In addition to meeting with students and talking about the things they picked up from the Democracy and Tolerance discussions with the students we also watched a debate on Sex Education (in English). This is a vocational school which specializes in Hotel and Restaurant management. The kids (seniors I think) were in two teams of four and they debated the motion “should sex education be taught in the schools”. They did a very nice job. The arguments were exactly the same as they are in the US. The pro side argued it would prevent the spread of disease; reduce unwanted pregnancy; and help to prevent sexual harassment. This last argument seemed their weakest and, during the question period, one of the audience went right after it. It was a more aggressive debate than I have witnessed in Indonesia before.

The “no sex ed” side had about one argument “more sex ed would lead to more sex”. They cited some arguments. First, the referred to a study in Dallas that suggested sex ed leads to earlier and more frequent sex. They also used the somewhat off-topic example of a science book in one of the local school libraries that contained “inappropriate descriptions.” Finally, they argued that 75% of the teens in Balikpapan have had sex. Some said “7500” others “75%” so we weren’t able to get a handle on that one. In all, the pro side had the better argument.

The similarity of the arguments (you can almost hear a conservative school committee member lamenting a lascivious book or an earnest liberal describing the brave new world of disease free happiness that would accompany government efforts) obscures and important institutional difference. In Indonesia, these kind of decisions are made at fairly high levels (even federal) while at the US the debates are often local. The localness seems right to me on this one. One function of federalism is to fob off these hot topics and let local standards serve as a basis for argument. It seems silly to me to not teach sex education in some manner but it seems even worse for the federal government to send people into conniptions by demanding they teach something they don’t want to. I admit this pro federalism argument could be thrown back to me in the extreme “well what is someone didn’t want to teach evolution”. I suppose I would say they are choosing to make their kinds non-competitive in science and that is their choice. A more difficult issue might be “what if they want to teach racism?” That is a much harder question. It is hard, but not impossible, to imagine it now. But an argument for federalism is not an argument for no standard setting at higher levels; it is an argument for making prudent choices about what merits such an effort.

Our friend Nurul was very proud of her students and I committed to looking for some Hotel and Restaurant books. The school has rooms where people can stay, and it has a practice bar and restaurant. People who have a particular view of Islam should take note that a frank (and detailed) debate on Sex Ed took place around the corner from a school with a practice mixed drink hotel bar.

Flight and Arrival in Balikpapan

2010-01-16T00:19:00.000-08:00

This flight seemed much easier than past flights. I wasn’t all that tired when I got to Singapore or Balikpapan. The jet lag is still brutal – and even as of this writing I am going to sleep at 9 and getting up at 4.

January 9th
Departed from Hartford on NW Flight 7249 at 8:00 am. After stops in Detroit and Tokyo we landed in Singapore at midnight on the 10th, stayed for a few hours in the Changi Crowne Plaze, and flew to Balikpapan on Monday, January 11th where we were greeted by our friend Syamsul (We call him “Sam” but in this blog, to make sure I don’t confuse him with Sam Camera I will call him “Som” which more closely matches the pronuciation. ) and our friends Haryati, Ashari, and Nurul. Sam, Haryati, and Nurul all came to the US. Ashari did not get his Visa in time and wasn’t able to join us.

We checked into the Grand Hotel (Le Grandeur Hotel) in Balikpapan and began planning for the week

Indonesian Trip 2010

2010-01-16T00:09:00.000-08:00

The new text here is being posted to a blog I did while speaking in 2008. This new data is actually not connected to that trip -- and to be more confusing -- it is related to a trip I took in 2009. The 2009 and 2010 (this trip) are both funded by a US State Department grant we call "Democracy and Tolerance: A Two Nation Exchange.
I did not keep a record of the 2009 trip on line.

The reason for attaching this to my 2008 trip is that many of my 2008 observations may be interesting in light of newer comments.

The following posts have the quality of a "We did this and then we did that" but I wanted to at least post events before I forgot them. Internet access is limited and it you can't ignore how tired you are after a day of meetings and talks in the midst of adjusting to jet lag -- your energy level does not always match the availability of technology.

The program “Democracy and Tolerance; A Two Nation Exchange” involves four separate trips.

The first was in February of 2009 and involved Newton teacher Michael Kozuch; Amherst teachers Samantha Camera, Tom Fricke and Kristen Iverson; and myself.

During that trip we traveled to Jakarta, Balikpapan, Makassar, and Jogyakarta. We learned as we went, made contacts in schools, and recruited teachers for the second trip when 15 Indonesian would come to the US for one month. Our fifteen friends arrived in June of 2010 and returned from Washington DC shortly after the Fourth of July.

Our 2010 trip, for which this blog is a record, is designed as a follow up to deepen partnerships and examine the use of curricula developed earlier, I am accompanied by Samantha Camera (again) and newcomer Julienne Webster. Both Sam and Julienne have lived in Indonesia and speak some Indonesian; both come from schools that are interested in building long term relationships with Indonesian schools; and both are committed to making western Massachusetts a center for the study of Indonesia.

For more information on our grant and past exchanges go to our Indonesian program website

My colleague Samantha Camera (Sam) is also keeping a blog for her students – she both is and has a camera – so for visuals both still and moving go see her site.

Islamic World

2008-03-03T00:15:00.000-08:00

I was frequently asked about whether the election will improve America's relations with the Islamic world. This is an impossible questions to answer -- of the opaque crystal ball variety -- but I tried to dissect it and by the end had at least put a finger on why it was hard to answer (aside from the fact it was a prediction)

1) Yes, at first. People all over the world, including in America, will feel like President Bush leaving will be like opening the windows after a long winter. Here, at least, it is a function of his being unpopular but also we just get tired of President's after eight years. To the extent that "problems with the Islamic world" is a reference to not looking President Bush the issue will be solved by his leaving.

2) But, maybe the question is difficult. indonesians really do feel a part of something called "Islam" in a way that very few (some, but not many) Americans, and even fewer Europeans feel they belong to something called "the Christian world". This sounds like a small thing but it is a major gap in conversation. I don't personally, think of policy toward the "Islamic world".

I think of North African policy or policy toward the Israeli's and Palestinians -- the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know we have a policy toward Kosovo and Chechnya and Kashmir. We have a Southeast Asian policy that encompasses Muslim Malaysia, Buddhist Thailand, Communist Vietnam, Catholic Philippines, Muslim Indonesia, and the hard drinkers in Australia. Our policy is situational, or regional, or nation specific -- not directed at pan-religious affiliations.

This isn't to say we aren't aware that people view "Islam" as a sort of unity nor that we are unaware of the effects our policies have on public perceptions. It isn't even to say that some efforts are made to craft initiatives that do address the Islamic world -- it is only to say that viewing the world as great religious blocks isn't or first instinct or the driver of our foreign policy.

There are, of course, Americans who argue that we are a "Christian" nation and, I'm sure, people who view our battles as blessed by God but these people are a minority (plus viewing yourself as a member of a "christian" nation is very different from feeling a deep sense of unity with the rest of the "christian" world).

I tried to state that the best I could and then gave what many of you will no doubt feel is a weak answer and that is, whoever is elected will have a chance to do things differently. They won't be trapped under eight years of decisions and promises and the rest of the world's views won't be hardened toward them. But, having said that, the world will be the same world. All of the candidates will support the existence of Israel -- all of them will work to negotiate a peace between Palestine and Israel. Much is made of the differences between McCain and Obama/Clinton on Iraq but I am hard pressed to see if there will be a genuine difference after the election -- maybe a matter of some months or weeks on troop removal, possibly McCain is more likely to establish a permanent base (like in Germany, Japan, Iceland, etc.) but all of them will still aggressively pursue the fighting in Afghanistan and the war on terror.

There is a possibility that Obama and Clinton may change the rhetoric of terrorism and give a more narrow definition to the term. I think Bush was trapped politically when he lumped all sorts of movements into the term "terrorist".

Finally, I stated that on economic issues McCain was a little more likely to support free trade agreements (the Indonesians favor them) so in terms of foreign policy -- they would like Obama or Clinton more - marginally and on economic issues they might like McCain more (even more marginally).

Israel and the "jewish lobby"

2008-03-02T02:28:00.000-08:00

This was by far the most difficult set of issues mainly because I wouldn’t give the same answers at home – because the context is different. When an American complains about Israel she is nervous about another nation influencing our foreign policy. When an Indonesian asks the question she means that we are paying Israel to stay in the Middle East instead of leaving and giving the land back to the Palestineans (to Germany or Austria per the suggestion of the Iranian President – a popular figure in Indonesia). I may be wrong, but I don’t think most Americans would want to stand by to see Israel destroyed.

Indonesians were not particularly open about what they would want to happen so when asked the “Israeli Lobby” or “Jewish Lobby” and its influence on the campaign I answered as follows.

There are a lot of lobbies in America that argue their point of view to the president, congress, and bureaucracy. Money is important and often wins the day. This isn’t fair and the power of some lobby groups, in my opinion, is one of the biggest failings of democracy. However, groups and interests organizing to put their point of view across is a vital feature of democracy and how one balances the power of money and the ability to argue is a major issue.

Jewish Americans and Israel have a potent and well organized lobby. However, they are probably more effective at public relations work and at lobbying congress on specific issues than affecting a race for the U.S. President. Jewish Americans themselves, although big supporters of Israel, will almost certainly vote heavily democratic, no matter who the democrats nominate.

It is easy to confuse cause and effect. American presidents have supported Israel since Truman not because there is a Jewish lobby but because they think it is the right (for whatever reason) thing to do.

Imagine this, if we stopped giving money to Israel, Palestine, and Egypt tomorrow there would still be a crisis in the Middle East – people aren’t fighting over trade barriers or tariffs – they are fighting over the very existence of their nation. I think the US could exert pressure on Indonesia to change a policy on, say, the price of sugar, but it could hardly persuade Indonesia to surrender territory to Malaysia. Israel and Palestine have to work it out themselves.

None of our candidates for president has a particularly unique policy toward Israel. In fact, they are very similar. I think a new president, any new president, will have the chance to start the peace process over but the issue is survival, the territory is tiny, and extremists on both sides, although small in number, exert influence through violence.

In a situation like this, the U.S. has less power than much of the world thinks. There is a feeling in Indonesia, and I’m sure in much the rest of the world, the US can do anything. This creates the odd situation of them wanting us to both stop breaking things and to do all of the fixing. At the heart of this is what I think is an over exaggeration of our power and an underestimate of the extent to which we simply respond to events. Power may show itself in the ability to act but certainly not in the ability to predict the outcomes of those actions.

One man asked a laundry list question
1) Attitude toward Islamic world
2) F 16 fighters to Indonesia
3) Bird Flu Vaccine
4) 1965 Coup and the CIA

I didn’t have much to add to 2, 3, and 4 but the underlying belief is “if Indonsian policy isn’t going well, or the world situation is wrong, or my history didn’t turn out the way I thought it should, it must be the fault of the US”.

This attitude is convenient for corporations and the government. Instead of being good corporate citizens or an efficient government they can use the “American Card” and divert attention away from their own issues. In many ways, America and Israel function for governments in Islamic nations (and, I believe, some corporations) like the issue of “moral values” does for Republicans. It keeps people on their side without having to actually do anything.

I got to thinking that the Bush administration has been very good for Iran. He got rid of Saddam Hussin and the Taliban – both thorns in Iran’s two sides – and he has provided the perfect foil for “blame politics”.

I do happen to believe that the US is screwing up a lot and that moral values is a legitimate political issue (I’m personally against them but I respect their right to be in the political arena and their importance to people) but they are clearly deployed to keep people under control. What would happen to the Iranian president if the US and Israeli suddenly became an Iranian ally? He would have to deliver on social and economic issues.

What the Indonesians ought to be looking closer at isn’t Israel, which has no impact on their future, but multi-national corporations intersecting with political corruption (including US corporations) stripping them of their natural resources.

Race and The Election

2008-03-02T02:11:00.000-08:00

Will being a black hurt Obama? Will being a woman hurt Hilary?

They meant this question in two ways – in terms of winning and in terms of governing. I told them that the presidency was an institution and that whoever took the office would be treated as president and I doubted that race or gender would effect their ability to govern and, in fact, might be an advantage in some situations. It is clear that Obama would have a real opening to Indonesia – they love him there – and might also make some real progress in Africa.

As far as getting elected I answered as follows – feel free to disagree

No, not a lot. In fact, I think that thus far race has been a positive for Obama. Imagine a white, four year senator from Illinois, named Bob Smith. Would he be running for president? No.

Of course there are people in our country who would not vote for an African American or a woman just like there are people in your country who might not vote for a woman or a catholic or someone from a province they didn’t respect and, of course, there is still racism and gender discrimination in the US but those people, mostly, already vote Republican (I hated to say that but I think it is true) so, in a two party system, the loss of their votes didn’t make any difference.

They may lose some votes from independents or democrats who were nervous about an African-American or a woman, but, in the two party calculus, they would probably pick up marginally more votes from independents and republicans who felt it was about time we did something different.

Name Cards

2008-03-02T02:10:00.000-08:00

Indonesia is a big name card culture (it is not alone of course). People like to exchange cards – so do Americans really – it is an efficient assist to our failing memories – but they are more diligent in remembering. I ran out of cards in Jakarta – note to self – bring more damn cards next time. In my luggage I had hundreds of cards . I hope to send all of them an email thanking them for their hospitality.

Last Day in Indonesia

2008-03-02T02:07:00.000-08:00

Friday, February 29th.
No meetings, up at 7:00, shopped in mall and walked around town, couldn’t even spend all of my own money. Went in bookstore again to look at anti American shit. Daydreamed about helping the poor and stopping illegal logging. Packed. God did I pack. One problem with this trip, maybe the only negative really, is the packing and unpacking. Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Pakanbaru, Singapore – six hotels in two weeks. And everywhere you receive a gift == plus you buy some things for people – you get name cards, receipts, paper of indeterminate importance, books in Indonesian, and your luggage multiplies like naughty small mammals left alone. Every night empty your pockets, sort your clothes, organize, and go to bed. When time comes to go you pack it all up in newer and more innovative, space-saving combinations, and move to the next place. I packed too much, I kept too much, and I carried too much.

Left the hotel at 3:30. I was on my own at that point – no one from the Embassy was around – although Rachma had organized a car for me no one in the hotel could either a) remember that she had or b) tell me that I was taking the car she had organized. This illustrates a basic rule of the inexperienced traveler – you only vaguely know what is going on. The only way to approach it I guess it to be clear about your goal (must get to airport at this time) and smile a lot and be a dumbass. I was a serviceable insistent, polite, dumbass.

Checking Into Aston in Pekanbaru

2008-03-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

Got to the Pekanbaru hotel and went thru the check in ritual. When you don’t speak the language, and are in another land, you really do rely on a combination of system, guesses, and ritualized kindness. Security and airport check in always has a rough family resemblance but the sequence of when things are done, their location, and their exact rituals vary. In Indonesia, before you check a bag they put a strap around it so there are little “strap counters” around. In the U.S. of course they want to get in your bag so you can’t even lock it. I think I put my carry on thru two metal detectors – once to get into the airport and the other to get into the gate area and once more to get into the gate itself – but the general attitude of the guards is more casual. You also have to pay a 3.00 airport tax and the location of payment seems to vary.

Let it be said here that the hardest country to get in and out of is the U.S. and this hurts our standing with visitors and potential students. Two people even asked about it during my talks. I never had to take off my shoes on this trip (I did see a woman take off her large boots in Singapore but you could have hidden a cannon in them) and the customs agents were always at least polite. I think I said earlier that in Hong Kong they give you candy. When they explain the rules for entering the US on the airplane (I’m typing this right after hearing it) people just start to laugh they are so complex. The best thing about the US is, well, the US.

People can disagree but, speaking from an Indonesian perspective – and I think a lot of other places as well – people that have visited the US have been amazed at how open and friendly the people are. Borat made fun of the US but can you imagine Cohen trying to even make the movie in France – no one would have talked to him – the movie would have been shorter than a commercial. I’m not saying the people are well informed or always sensitive but, generally, they do what they can to accommodate people’s religious and personal beliefs. I have seen this time and again in the programs run by the Civic Initiative and testified to universally by every visitor I met in Indonesia. There was no dissent on the issue. One man I met had lived in Dayton Ohio (I’m sorry if I’m repeating things I wrote earlier) for ten years. He said that he had never met the kind of open minded people like he did in Dayton. Now, my New England readers may snicker about the red necks in the heartland, but, in fact, people with strong religious beliefs connect BETTER with Indonesians, not a tolerant secular person. He said he met every week for coffee and cookies with an InterFaith council in Kettering, hosted by a local Protestant church, and attended by Catholics, protestants, Jews, and Muslims.

But when it comes to getting here – we look bad sometimes. This isn’t to deny that security isn’t critical nor to suggest that a threat doesn’t exist but everything exists in a balance.

Sumatra

2008-03-02T02:03:00.000-08:00

I flew to Sumatra thru Jakarta. By this time I was beginning to feel more at home. It is good that the trips we run are 6 weeks long. It takes a few weeks just to get used to your surroundings.

I was met at the airport by Rachma Jauanriata (sp). The consulate contact was sick. Rachma is an Indonesian national who works for the Consulate in Sumatra (city of Medan). She was the perfect host. Rachma had gone to high school in Indonesia and was trained as an architect. She not only got me to all of my events, she created a few new ones – setting up additional meetings with local political parties.

Surabaya, local areas, and Muslim Self Help

2008-03-02T01:55:00.000-08:00

Headed to the Denpassar airport with John Taylor for a flight to Surabaya. Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia and the figure that comes to mind while typing is 4000000 people. It is a business and manufacturing city – what places like Pittsburg and Buffalo and Cleveland must have been like when the plants still operated at full bore. Polluted, energetic, fast moving, crowded, it was a lot like Jakarta but less so. I stayed at another Marriot, very nice place with an incredible staff, but had very little time in the city.

I had gotten sick on Bali. When I get sick, even for a brief period, I completely forget what it is like to be well. I don’t know what that observation means but, at that point, I had forgotten what it was like to be well. But when I walked into the lobby, I felt better because a number of my friends were there. Jalu (who flew there to see me), Silfia, Ria, and Dian greeted me at the hotel. I went up and changed, came down, and they took me on a tour of their city. They had a driver from Ready Mix concrete. Dian had left school and was working with the concrete company teaching their employees English. I guess, but again, this is one of those things I only partly understood, she was able to use the driver at certain times. He (the driver) was a young guy who got completely lost and we found ourselves in the slums of Surabaya, by a large drainage canal.

Indonesian cities have grown so fast that the organizational structure is still based on a kind of village model. Each small area (I’m not an expert on this at all so I have to be vague) has some sort of voluntary government function. There is a watchman (sometimes paid, sometimes not, sometimes non-existent) and a guy who takes the garbage out to a place where, sometimes, the government picks it up – the trucks couldn’t get down the narrow streets and alleys. In a place I went in Jakarta, finding a well was a sort of public, local function also.

Anyway, I’m sure Indonesian experts are shaking their head at my ignorance – writing about things they have known about for years – but I can’t help thinking that some recognition of these local functions, and a not overly regulative form of support (buying new carts for the garbage guy) would be a good step toward developing democracy – but I say this without any knowledge at all – maybe they are doing that – this kind of comment is the danger of the two day observation.

I asked about Mosques and they seem to work more on the Catholic then the Protestant model. People go to their neighborhood Mosque. I was told by a number of people that they don’t “mosque shop” (I bet it happens though) but attend locally. The notion of breaking off from the congregation and forming a competing Mosque across the street from the old one, doesn’t seem common there – unlike in my home town of Springfield – four corners, four churches, Ohio.

Hinduism is very hard to understand from westerners raised in the Christian tradition – because of the multiple gods and the complexity – but Islam in some ways is very familiar. At the level of popular culture you could put a Muslim self help book (and there are a lot of them in the book stores) right next to a Christian self help book (and there are a lot of them in the book stores). “How to have a Muslim Marriage”; “Muslim Beauty”; “How to Be a More Attractive Muslimah” (muslim woman)” – inspirational books by the Muslim equivalent of Billy Graham – etc.

It took me a while but I did notice that the book store was similar to American book stores in that there were just a lot of books about religion in general. Christian, Buddhism -- Islamic biographies of Jesus. Indonesians as a whole are very interested in Religion. The state requires you to pick one of six for your identity card so it is obviously an identity issue of some importance. Jalu, my friend from Jakarta (who met me in Surabaya) bought me a book "Arok and Dedes" about Java in 1215. It was fascinating to read about both a) the importance of religion and b) the variety and permeability of beliefs -- different brands of Hinduism (Shiva vs Vishnu); Buddhism, local gods, and ancestor worship were intermingled and the source of political conflict. I'm sure it is a source of conversations and academic conferences to talk about the diverse religious history of Indonesia and modern forms of Fundamentalism.

One area where the similarities end is the arguments over the role of church and state but I’m not sure of the extent to which this is a religious or a historical development questions. I’ll wrestle with that later but suffice it to say that a lot of people felt the separation would cause the withering away of both and that corruption was due to a loss of religious fervor whereas my view is the complete opposite – that linkage causes a withering of both and that corruption has nothing to do with religion – in fact, if anything, a back of the envelope calculation would suggest that the less religious a country is the less corrupt (but this surely isn’t causal but reflects economic standing). This is the same mistake Romney made when he said freedom and religion depended on each other. Maybe the had a relationship at some point in the past for western nations, and maybe they are linked in some places at some times, but not in most places, right now.

Anyway, that long ramble took me away from the the trip with my friends. They took me out to dinner at a local place and I started to get sick again. I had an Indonesian dish, Nasi Goreng Ayam (Fried rice with Chicken) but I just pushed it around on my plate and then I said – we have to leave now. People came back to the hotel, came up and took a look at the room, and left for the lobby. I came down a little later but I was done. This was one of two low points – the other being mixing up Suharto and Sukarno in a political party meeting – and I feel really bad for my friends who often came, on scooters, a long way to see me – I was a disappointing guest.

The next evening, after my day’s events, I got a call from Ria. She had suggested she might come back but I had forgotten and was still ill. She was in the lobby with a young man who she had introduced me to the night before. I came down and talked for a while. It turned out they are engaged and she wanted me to meet him but, again, I was a disappointment. I was much improved the next day when I flew to Sumatra.

Political Parties

2008-03-02T01:48:00.000-08:00

Had two dinners on Bali – one with a political party group PKS and another with a group of academics. PKS is a political party. It is Islamic in its general view and against corruption. This, at least, is how they describe themselves. When I write that sentence “Islamic and Against Corruption” does it mean anything to you as you read it? Probably it means a lot and it means nothing. We all know what, very roughly, what “Islamic” means – pertaining to Islam. And we all know what “corruption” means.

When I met with other parties they explained their platforms in similar ways. "Islamic Values (sometimes "Indonesian Values" and against corruption. I didn't find any parties against islam or for corruption. Beyond that, they really can't tell you much about why they are different on policy issues from the other party. They are shifting alliances, some rooted in pre-existing national organizations (Golkar -- previous rulers and a few others aligned with national Islamic movements)Except we don’t.), some built a around leaders, some just trying to make their way in a new Democracy and all organized to take a share of power. Differentiation on policy ideas is not very strong and differentiation on performance will have to wait for more time.

Bali Tour

2008-03-02T01:45:00.001-08:00

Bali and Tour
Bali is a 90% Hindu island that is a part of an 80% Muslim nation. I never got a good answer as to why Bali remained Hindu (or became Hindu) while the island directly to its east, Lombok, became Muslim. Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as local versions of Animism were here long before Islam and I imagine that in a series of conflicts Hindus from Java crossed to Bali for protection and blended with the local culture. This all makes sense but why the Indonesian islands east of Bali became Muslim is harder to explain. How did Bali hold out? Why was it skipped over?

You know Bali is different the second you walk into the airport. There is incense burning and the people dress differently – more color, more what you might expect in India. There are also offerings everywhere – the first one I saw was to a small Frog statue on top of the Urinal in the mens room – next to a flat fish tank mounted on the wall. There are temples and statues all over – in the oddest, most unlikely spots – and every day some small dish with flowers and food (maybe food – I didn’t pick one apart so I couldn’t say exactly what was in the dish) appear. You can see the previous days offerings collected in trash pits. I can’t exaggerate how many offerings there are. When I spoke at University of Genesha in Singaraja, Bali, I was walking around giving my talk – I can’t sit still – and there was a little offering right in the middle of the floor. I tried to avoid stepping on it.

My good friend good friend Ratna Haris picked me up at my hotel at 10:00 on Saturday the 23rd and, along with her husband and two friends they made at their hotel, took me on a tour of Bali. This was incredibly nice of them. They rented a driver, (and they had flown their from their home city of Makassar), and took me to a large Hindu temple, a beautiful mountain lake, and a local market.

Begging

2008-03-02T01:44:00.001-08:00

Beggars
I’m not sure if any more people approached me for money in Indonesia then in New York City but there is a difference. In NYC or Boston most people asking for money are men with mental issues, substance abuse problems, or both. In Indonesia there are more children and severely handicapped people begging. I only make the comparison to indicate that our society, as rich as it is, fails to take care of a number of people and theirs, which has severe financial issues does as well. I met with a group of NGO leaders in Sumatra and there was a group who worked with women who had been beaten by their husbands. They asked about what happens to a woman in the US if they are poor and their husband is arrested (I mentioned the law requiring the police to detain a suspected abuser for a period of time) and they have no place to go. I thought about that for a while and answered that there were a lot of small, local, or state (or private) run groups to help but, in essence, in the U.S., like Indonesia, it is not a good spot to be in.

Sick and Disoriented

2008-03-02T01:42:00.000-08:00

Being Sick
Getting out of your hotel and trying new food and drinks is not risk free. I got sick in Bali and stayed that way for 72 hours. I brought an Anti-Biotic and that seemed to work. Luckily I was off for a day in Bali and didn’t have any sessions but when I did go to my next venue – Surabaya – I had an interesting two days of sessions. This is compounded a little by a topic I won’t discuss at length in a public blog – bathrooms.

The bathrooms I visited in Indonesia, even at gas stations, are as clean, or cleaner, then their American counter parts – in some places there is a person hanging around the bathroom who charges for use but they also clean it. I will leave the topic by saying that the methods are very different and that many Indonesian bathrooms, especially out of a big city, don’t use toilet paper and the toilet itself is flush to the ground. This, combined with a very hectic speaking schedule, and being sick, make for an interesting day.

Two old cultures, developing in isolation, both hygienic but simply dealing with things in a very different way.

Disorientation
When I first arrived in Jakarta I was completely disoriented. I didn’t know where to walk, how to cross a street, what was a store, what was a home – no concept of safety (Indonesia has petty crime but the rate of physical violence is low) – I couldn’t tell the difference between a yard and a sidewalk. Now that I have been here two weeks I am getting used to things but have to leave.

Food

2008-03-02T01:40:00.000-08:00

Food:
Food is an important social grease here in Indonesia and a big topic of conversation. There is food everywhere. Each meeting supplies a box snack which is pretty substantial. Some sort of dumplings, a sweet, small sandwich, fruit and a water cup. Water cups are ubiquitous and are simply purified water that you don’t open, you push the sharp end of a small straw into the top. In a country with a lot of water, no one can drink it from the tap – and water borne diseases are a real problem in a lot of areas. People really want you to try their food and will take you out and order for you and await a positive answer. We probably aren’t that different – we want people to like our country and our food. The difference probably is that Indonesian has a more diverse and older cultural history and their cuisine is really excellent with a lot of local variations. This isn’t to knock “American” food – but what is best in our food still reflects local, immigrant cultures – which is fine – but Indonesian food (which also reflects Indian, Malaysian, Arabic, Indigenous, etc. ) cultures is older and more settled in some ways.

The food is good and I will eat, and did eat, everything except Ox Tail Soup. I avoided that. More important than the food is the venue. I said above that food is everywhere and it is – hotels, restaurants, small food stalls, and portable carts. Boiled peanuts, boiled eggs, corn, rice, lamb, chicken, fish – it is available all the time in every location. I now know why Indonesian visitors are puzzled by how dead American cities look.

I didn’t really venture to try the portable carts. It is difficult when you really don’t know how to judge either food content or sanitation. I did go with my Pekanbaru contact, Racham, to a food stall for grilled lamb and it was one of the best meals I have had here (and they have all been good). I was served by a woman with an orange New York Yankees hat (note to self, start importing Red Sox hats and expand the nation) who just stared at me. Three teenagers moved to another booth so they could look, and try to figure out just what I was and what I was doing. I did the manly thing and picked up the dinner tab. It was $2.38. If you learned where to eat and shop – which wouldn’t take that long and would involve some errors of judgment for a while – you could live here very cheap by our standards. The hotel I’m writing from (in Pekanbaru, Sumartra) is 57.00 a night and they are running a special “third night free”.

Bali

2008-02-28T20:51:00.000-08:00

I had four events in Bali. The first was at Udayana University in Denpassar. This was a a little different because it was broadcast to two other Universities around Indonesia. Their grasp of the technology is very impressive and it went off better than I bet it would at an American University. There were about 40 people in the audience and maybe 5 to 10 at each of the other Universities.

The Hindus almost never asked about US Foreign Policy. All of those questions came from the TV screens behind me (there were two, one broadcast the other two places, the other screen my powerpoint) -- from Muslim students. The Hindu's tended to ask about our election, the hopes for their democracy, race and american politics, etc.

After Udayana University I had a television interview. They gave me six questions ahead of time. Four for me and two for Caryn McClelland, the Consul General out of Surabaya. The interviewer was the "face" -- I don't think he really knew what was going on and he conducted the interview in English. He plowed right ahead asking questions about Indonesian democracy which I wasn't really qualified to answer and then, predictably, asked me the Consul questions "Will the US build a new Consular Office on Bali?". I said, "That's not up to me, I don't work for the Government". and "Will the US have a consular officer on Bali" and I responded "I'm available, but, again, I don't work for the Government.".

The consul was not pleased (not about me) with the interviewer and the kid lined up again and asked her those questions and a few others.

One night I went to dinner with three (I think three) guys from PKS which is a Muslim political party -- a distinct minority in Bali -- and they said that "tensions had settled down since the Bali bombing'. Tourism is the economy on Bali and so far the people don't seem to resent it as residents in tourist areas sometimes do. So the Hindu majority was angry with the Muslim minority after the bombing -- which isn't fair as they had nothing to do with it -- but still a part of human nature. The site of the bombing has not been redeveloped. When I drove by there was an interfaith group singing peace songs -- but in the standard confused travel world I wasn't sure if that was the site but my driver vaguely suggested in English that it was.

My second larger event was on the other side of the island. The traffic was faster but the roads no wider -- and we went over very large hills in this case so it was always exciting. Very beautiful volcanic island. Around the top there were a number of monkees -- which I, as tourist loser, did not photograph, so you will have to take my word for it.

The University was in a non-tourist area and it was the first place I visited that was large and open. it was very beautiful. We met with the rector and had tea and entered the lecture hall. There were about 130 students and professors -- all of the students dressed in light blue and dark blue uniforms. This is the lecture hall with the offering on the floor. There were a few questions on the electoral college, Obama, race, and one odd question on "nude beaches" but maybe not so odd.

One of the parts of my talk is that Americans, and people everywhere, argue about Money, Security, and Identity. Money involves economic issues; security safety at home and abroad; and Identity questions about who we are as a people. Gun control, gay marriage, etc became much clearer to Indonesians when explained as identity issues because they have a lot of them as well. Both share a mutual suspicion that identity questions are used by politicians to hide failures in the other two areas but any intelligent observer has to admit that identity issues "who we are as a people" are real and important to many people.

So on Bali a lot of tourists sunbathe nude or partially nude and some local people find that offensive. it is a question of 'who they are and can they control that" thus, it has meaning to many people. I suggested that most people look better with their close on and, after a delay for translation, that got a really big laugh. People talk about overweight Americans --- I hear it from Europeans all the time -- but that must be because they have shipped all the fat europeans to Bali.

The rest of my two days there involved trying to run in the heat, getting sick. laying in the sun, reading, and taking my tour with Ratna Haris.

I went for a run along the beach. There just is NO place to run in the cities and the beach had a very nice brick runway that went a few miles in either direction. I hadn't run for two weeks and it was about 90 degrees so I thought I would take it easy. unfortunately, on the way back, I spaced out, and ran right past my hotel. it extended the run/walk by about 45 minutes. Despair set in.

Off to Bali

2008-02-27T17:24:00.000-08:00

I left Jakarta and flew to Bali on "Garuda" airlines. In one of those little things that throw you off, Indonesia has a dual security system. You go through a metal detector at the gate area but the actual gate is also an enclosed room and you go through it again. Like the anal american I am I wanted to be at the gate about 40 minutes ahead and discovered I was the only one there. Everyone, for some reason, likes to think their flight isn't "full" so I was low level happy about that.

But when it came time to board, Indonesians just appeared from everywhere. The plane was full. I was seated early. One good thing about Indonesia is that the anxiety of "Oh please don't let the huge guy sit next to me in the center isle" is greatly reduced. In fact, I think people looked at me that way.

Of course the logical reason behind the appearance is that they don't want to get to the gate and want to get up, walk around, and then have to go through gate security again. So they go into the enclosed gate at the same time boarding is taking place. This is a nice little cautionary about giving another culture advice -- you have to know all the little details of why people act as they do (logically at least within their systems of incentives). More serious comments on that and Indonesian campaigns later.

Embassy People

2008-02-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

I already mentioned my friends who took me all over Jakarta and Ancol (Sila, Hikmah, Yus, Saara, Shadli, Ika) and allowed me to see the city in a way that I never would have alone. I also want to mention the State Department people.

It is an interesting contrast between people and organization. Diplomacy and War are among the oldest functions of government and our state department our "senior" cabinet post. It was here that Jefferson served as our first Sec. of State. I'm not an expert at this subject but I would imagine that of all the departments speaking with "one voice" is critical while, recruiting top people is as well -- they move all over the world, need some facility with language and are required to do a remarkable array of tasks. Our Foreign Service, and the accompanying Civil Service are incredibly competent and qualified. But they operate within a pretty comprehensive bureaucracy that often makes simple things fairly difficult. The contrast between the talent level and the bureaucracy sometimes jarring.

I also want to mention the local people who work for the Embassy. These are often people (and the same was true in Russia) with wide experience in other fields, language skills, and managerial talent. I don't know for sure but I would guess that in a country with strong economic opportunities for people (Sweden?) the Embassy might have a harder time recruiting - but in Russia and Indonesia, countries with a strong educational system and a talented population, they have an chance to pick the best people -- and the embassies would literally fall apart without them.

Robyn Remeika and Fira in Jakarta (and I met Toto, Shita, and Ann Grimes there as well); John Taylor and Este in Surabaya and Bali, and Rachma Jaurinata in Sumatra all made the trip efficient and, I think, effective for themselves as well. I couldn't begin to record all they have done. I don't think Fira wants to run for office but I have worked hard on getting Este and Rachma into running for office -- they are the kind of candidates Indonesia needs. Este and Rachma were also my translators and did an outstanding job (I think). Talking to them after a presentation made my talks better and gave me a lot of insight into the issue behind the questions. I think they also blunted some of the hard edges of my answers (answers tend to get blunter by the time you are into the 15th repetition). Rachma was the only person from the Consulate I met in PekanBaru (sumartra) and she not only ran the program she, at my request, set up evening dinners with local party people that were very informative -- and I think interesting for them as well.

Final Days in Jakarta

2008-02-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

My final days in Jakarta saw me go to the Foreign Ministry to talk to their North American group, a non-governmental democracy organization, a newspaper interview, and the US Indonesian society. These were very different audiences from students.

I was surprised when I went to the Ministry that there was much less security than at my hotel. There was almost none I could detect. We pulled right up, I walked right in. No badge, no ID check. Can you imagine walking into the State Department like that?

My hotel has built its entrance out 50 feet from the actual lobby door. Your car has to go through a gate where the hood is opened and the undercarriage checked with mirrors and bomb detection devices (this was not true outside of Jakarta). When you get out you have to walk through a metal detector. The hotel was bombed a few times a little ways (years) back.

Humans are poor planners but good responders. Many here think that only westerners are targets because, well, that has been true -- but the local terrorist cells (of which the Indonesian government has been pretty effective in reducing and eliminating) are no happier with Indonesian foreign policy (the reality not the rhetoric) than with US foreign policy. If they were ever to gain strength again I would guess they might change tactics. The "shoe bomber" has now forced americans (no where else that I have found) to take off their shoes at airports -- thank god he didn't hide the bomb in his underwear.

The groups listed above were all educated, well informed about the US elections, and had strong views of the US foreign policy. The questions were the same but, for the first time, came not just the Jewish Lobby question but the "Jewish lobby influencing the campaign" question -- in this instance against Clinton. I will post my answer later in an "here is what I said feel free to disagree post".

US Indo was a very interesting group -- people who had the time to attend and had, for the most part, done very interesting things with their lives. More questions there about the technical aspects of elections and more at the Ministry about domestic views on foreign policy. There were almost thirty questions in all between the two groups.

The democracy group reminded me of similar groups in Russia. It was a little hard to determine their role and funding. They operated out of what appeared to be a house and had a nice meeting room and a very nice little library. The library was full of books on political philosophy, government, policy, etc. They had Habermas, Marx, Burke, Foucault, and a hundred other writers -- all available for student research. They also provided computers. The place was packed with researchers. Very impressive.

Their session was a little different with people presenting longer comments rather than questions and more of a discussion -- which sometimes didn't seem to ever touch -- ensued. One man asked a question so long that, in the course of it, I changed my mind as to whether he was a socialist, a communist, or a right wing fanatic twice in the course of his talk. At the end I just said "yes" and there was about a three second delay and then laughter.

The newspaper wanted to know who was going to win and why they were weak. Almost no one asks anything about McCain -- it is like he doesn't exist here -- it is all Clinton and Obama -- and Clinton only exists as a person that is currently making Obama more interesting by staying in the race.

Books

2008-02-26T16:49:00.001-08:00

I like to go into bookstores and see what the "hot sellers" are because they tell you a lot about what an area is thinking. I can't read Bahasa but some of the books don't take much imagination and once I had a translator.

The hot books in indonesia are about love, weight loss, being more religious, gossip, health, parenting, and making more money -- just like in the United States.

The difference is in the political book section. There the books seem to focus on how awful the US is, how great Ahmadinejād is, and Barack Obama.

One shelf featured five books (prominent -- I wasn't searching in the back) in order

Bush/Hitler a Comparison
a translation of Obama's memoirs "The Audacity of Hope" which translates into "The Audacity of Hope"
A book called "Ahmadinejād" Nuclear Savior
An Ahmadinejād comic book for kids
A book covering the mass murders caused by American presidents since Truman

Tour of China Town

2008-02-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

Jakarta is a business city -- a place people at every end of the economic chain find themselves in because they are there to make money. My understanding of the history of the city (which is weak) is that the Dutch built it up as a port to -- make money.

The older part of the city (which I heard referred to as Kuta, China Town, and the old city) is being redone as a tourist area but that is only the dream of some planner right now (and her imagination must be tremendous). You can hire a guide to drive you around (I suppose walk too but that option didn't occur to anyone) and point out things.

We went into two buildings -- a bank built by the dutch and a watch tower -- built by the Dutch. You could get a feeling for the early construction and the fort patterns used by the colonists but all was a confused jumble of shacks, trucks, and trash. One of the museums had come down in the rain. At the end of the town, on the ocean, is a working port and the combination of a (small) working port and the aspiration to be a tourist place has not worked well. Still, there is potential. One square had been nicely redone and given time it might turn into a nice area with some historical worth to both visitors and residents.

2008-02-26T16:39:00.000-08:00

University of Indonesia
Al Azhar was new and shiny. University of Indonesia was older and not as shiny but still a good University. Indonesian students often live at home and commute to school. They find the American style of the child going to college at 18 and being “on their own” to be strange, especially for women. This, no doubt, has economic and social roots. So the schools are commuter schools.

I still haven’t figured out the educational hierarchy with Rectors, Vice Rectors, Deans, teachers, professors, etc – but a lot of them have been to the U.S.. We all met in a small conference room before the meeting. Food, coffee, and tea are served and an introductory discussion initiated.

I’m always in a hurry. Indonesians, once off the scooter, are usually not, so there is a little dance. If it is a 9:00 talk I want to get there at 8:50 so I can set up. They want to get there at 9:15 and assume their technical people will set up for me. This almost never works but I will say that between the MAC PC issues, flash drives, speakers, etc. we have figured it out every time.

The classroom at UI looked just like a U.S. classroom – not a lecture hall but a room with desks seating about 40 people. The students looked just like US students – jeans, Tee Shirts. There was not much traditional muslim dress but Indonesian women, although they wear clothes very tight, do not show much skin – and comment about how their friends who have gone to America or become American dress in a more revealing manner.

My talk lasted about 50 minutes and then three students in the International Relations club gave a talk that lasted 10 minutes about U.S. Foreign Policy. They don’t like it. The usual questions appeared but they were very detailed. One student wanted to know about Barry Goldwater – I didn’t expect that. A female student questioned whether Obama being black would affect his governing were he elected. I said I didn’t think so and it might even be useful overseas to show a different face for America.

Students at both Universities were of the highest quality. Their questions were excellent and they were genuinely interested. There is a very different quality to Indonesian students. They are less “world weary” (how can you be world weary at 19?) and are more than happy to ask to take a picture with you and not at all embarrassed to send a follow up email or ask a question.

Boys usually ask the first questions but, with encouragement, women ask just as many. Both classes had a roughly equal number of men and women.

The Foreign Policy question always follow a pattern. I say I’m not a Foreign Policy expert but they ask and I give my opinion. I make it clear it is only my opinion and many in the U.S. would disagree with it and, in fact, on some issues I may be a clear minority. They appreciate that my answers are blunt and detailed and not particularly diplomatic. They are interested in:

1) The US/Muslim world relations in general
2) Palestine/Israel
3) Iraq
4) And to a lesser extent foreign trade/barriers

First Few Days and Al Azhar

2008-02-25T06:00:00.001-08:00

The first few days were very busy. In Jakarta I have spoken to the United States Indonesian Society (a group of people devoted to furthering connections between the two countries); the National Democratic Institute, the University of Indonesia, Al Azhar University, and the Foreign Ministry (equivalent to our State Department).

The University of Indonesia is a public school and Al Azhar privately funded.

I am here to talk about the American campaign and I have a computer presentation. In Jakarta the talks are not translated but I go very slow.

I have also created a presentation that is almost all pictures and numbers so my talk with it is very different from my talk without it so there is always a lot of fussing with technology.

In the other places they will be translated which means I have to cut them down in half. One important part of the talk are TV commercials I have for all of the major candidates – except for Governor Romney. I forgot those.

The Huckabee/Chuck Norris commercial is always a huge hit. Huckabee serves two purposes – the ad is really very funny and illustrates a lot about American politics (gun control, immigration, religion, the desire to like the candidate) AND everyone here knows Chuck Norris. He is more recognizable than all of the candidates except Obama.

The routine in Jakarta is to leave with plenty of time to get thru traffic. I didn’t find the people in Jakarta to be “late” or on “Indonesian Time”. People were early or late depending on traffic conditions. If you could improve the commute you would be president for life.

On arrival the driver negotiated a parking space with the person “in-charge” of the lot. Lots are unbelievably cramped and Indonesians may be the most talented parkers in the world. In fact, their driving skills in-toto are impressive. I have never seen anyone lose their temper in the face of the worst mess you have ever seen and driving is very aggressive. People pass all the time and EVERY Indonesian signal – flashing light, horn, whatever – means “I’m not slowing down.”. But they navigate in remarkably good humor. Its an odd combination of the calm and the frantic.

Parking lot people have vague functions. They wave you in various directions and sometimes the driver pays attention. They help you into the space even if you don’t need it, and they get a tip. They probably also watch over your car. In a city with 20 percent (estimates vary), such jobs are critical.

On arrival you are greeted by or taken to the people in charge. You sit down, exchange cards and talk. This is very helpful to a speaker because it gives you a chance to really know what people are interested in. A lot of Jakarta intellectuals have studied in the U.S.

My first trip was to Al Azhar University. It is a new school that combines Islamic Character education with Business and Engineering degrees. Companies donate to the school because they are looking for people with such skills. It is really an act of genius to combine the two – it makes everyone feel good and they raise a ton of money. The facilities were all new and the lecture hall was better than most at UMass.

The officials at Al Azhar had degrees from USC, MIT, and, I think, Ohio State. One had lived in Iowa in the Sixties as an exchange student and another had lived in Dayton Ohio for ten years. He had worked at the same place my father had.

The audience was about 50 people which included students and professionals. One former Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S. and various and sundry former cabinet officials were there. To my surprise (and joy) two of our Teacher Alumni were there so I didn’t feel so alone. I was a little nervous.

There was the usual fuddling about with technology. I have a Mac and they are all set up for PC. I also have commercials to show and need sound as well so there is always a little anxiety but people are very technically competent and I’m used to this part of the deal so we started on time. I spoke for 45 minutes on the structure of US elections, the candidates, the “two” campaigns, the candidates, advertising, voting, and, yes, the electoral college.

To explain the electoral college I had a slide with three blocks representing the states of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo – all with 1000 voters and 3 electoral votes and I worked out the situation if someone won two of them by 2 votes and lost the third by 600. They got that for the most part.

At the end the questions were taken by a moderator. In a lot of cases they take three questions at once and you then answer – this is pretty efficient.

Like academics everywhere they take a long time to ask the question and it is often in the form of “I have one question, but it has three parts”.

The first days questions were similar to what I got the rest of the time. Here is a flavor from Al Azhar University.

Will race hurt Obama?
Will gender hurt Clinton?
What are he strengths and weaknesses of the candidates?
Will American foreign policy change? (this was always hopeful)
What is the Electoral College again?
What about Native Americans?
Are the recent shootings of students at US colleges political?
What do you think about Indonesian democracy?
What could Indonesian democracy do differently?
Does the Jewish lobby have too much influence?
Why do Americans own guns?
What is the method of fundraising in the US (and the role of money in politics)?
Who will win?
Is two parties enough?
What are the differences between Republicans and Democrats?

Method

2008-02-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

I don’t remember where , but I read that irony was part of the post modern consciousness because we had so much information we were at the point where everything had been done and you had read about it. Knowing that everything you were doing had been done by someone else (and probably recorded in a more interesting way) forces you to bring something new to your experience and that is often an ironic distance. You know and you need to show you know – thus ironic distancing.

This is overdone but there is a feeling for me, as a traveler, that someone has always been there before, seen things more originally, and written about it in a more clever and entertaining manner. This isn’t the humble statement at the beginning of the note – it is just always there, making you worry if your experience is real, new, or original. This thought must drive a lot of adventure travel efforts (see the back of “Outside Magazine”).

The good of this drive for originality is that some writers do force us to see the world in a different way but part of this is that they combine doing something new with seeing it in an original manner. They try, with greater or lesser degrees of success, to see through a child’s eyes.

We have all had the experience of a little kid asking a question like “can you hit the moon with a rock?” The adult laughs and explains in a level of detail matched to the current adult energy level. But there is a thought that starts. How far away is the moon? How old is it? How did it get there? What is it? We can certainly find the answers to those in a book, and some people know them all, but the question serves to remind us of the power of wonder. The same effect happens when you travel in the U.S. with an international visitor and they ask a question about something you take for granted. You are forced (if you have any imagination – more about that later) to see it through new eyes.

So my goal here is to try to record things without irony. As a modern resident of a western nation that will be impossible – and in some cases irony is the only possible way to talk about a thing (like certain aspects of Indonesian and American politics. I will also try to not write as if I know more than I do. As an academic that may be impossible as well.

So from now on I’m going to try (it will be impossible) to capture what I’m doing and seeing with a “child’s eye”. I’m sure I will drop into American irony but you are what you are.

First Days

2008-02-19T17:38:00.000-08:00

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.

My Friends

2008-02-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

In my "first observations" note I described Jakarta but I did not come close to doing the city or the Indonesians justice. They will be the first to admit they have tremendous challenges -- they don't lack a sense of reality -- but it is a remarkable country and people.

The Civic Initiative has managed a number of programs for teachers and legislators in the US. People stay with us for six weeks weeks or so and the effort is intense for everyone involved.

Of the 24 teacher alumni, 23 have contacted me about my trip. They have taken me out every night I have been her, bought my dinner, purchased a phone and gave it to me, and showed me all over their city. They brought me food, umbrellas, and beer (quite a touching effort for an Irish American to receive beer from friends in a muslim country).

This paragraph above doesn't capture their kindness. Driving is always a challenge and they have driven me all over. Money is an issue but they have insisted on paying for everything. They have taken me to local eateries and ordered my food -- like people everywhere they are excited to show their country, their food, their daily life. They have organized my communications and made my stay here immeasurably better.

As teachers they have stayed out late on school nights (they get up at 5 am) and, even after dropping me off at 10 or 11 still face a long commute home. My friend Shadli (not a teacher -- a translator and pursuing his Masters in Economics has taken me all around and still remains one of the most acute political observers I have ever talked to.

Two of my friends came to my first talk and turned what could have been a nerve wracking experience into a near homecoming -- people were very surprised I knew people in the audience.

There is already an organized event to go out in Surabaya with four or five other teachers (Surabaya is another city on my stop) and one teacher is flying, with her husband, to Bali -- for one day -- to have breakfast with me -- again -- this is not an easy thing for them.

They have also shown me that what often appears a chaotic to an observer has a purpose, a history -- and isn't always changed so they have been the best tour guides possible.

The old joke

Heaven is:

Where the police are British,

the chefs are italian

the mechanics are German

the lovers are Irish-Americans

and everything is organized by the Swiss

should have the addition "and the ambassadors are Indonesian"

So to my Jakarta friends Ika, Saara, Hikmah, Shadli, Sila and Yus (Yus who, after seeing me, took 9 hour bus ride to a ferry; a ferry to Sumatra, and a 2 hour motorcyle ride home) you have taken a trip and turned it from an interesting opportunity into a lifetime event. Thanks!

First Impressions

2008-02-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

The trouble with traveling in the modern world is that everyone has been everyplace and written reports more exciting than the reports you will probably write. Magazines like "Outside" always publish incredibly interesting stories about incredibly interest people who traveled "extreme" like boating to New Guinea in a reed boat so they could take Psychotropic Plants during an Aboriginal ceremony before taking a fishing boat to Myamar and fomenting rebellion.

I flew from Hong Kong to Jakarta and landed on the 17th. Not only did I not build my own reed boat, but the state department picked me up and drove me to the hotel. Given the traffic that was probably a good thing. Cities like Lagos, Mumbai, and Jakarta are, and have been, growing beyond the physical space or government's capacities. For me to write about it leaves me open to the charge "wow, Mike went to Jakarta and realized it was large, chaotic, and poor." Well, I knew that but seeing is a different order from thinking.

The city has 12,000,000 people. Much of the growth has come since the 1980's. The population is very young and growing rapidly. Current estimates put Indonesian economic growth at 6.3%, which isn't bad, but the unemployment rate is 30%.

The cities physical resources are stretched to the limit. The roads are packed with cars, motorcycles, scooters, cabs, big buses, little buses, bikes, and small three wheeled orange transport vehicles. You can flag anyone down for a ride, at almost anytime, but with variable results. There are few traffic lights and drivers haven't fully grasped their purpose. This is just a blog where I'm typing quickly, and its purpose isn't to talk about traffic, but it is impossible to overestimate the chaos of transportation -- two political observations about it.

1) Mayors in the U.S. have known for a long time -- successful ones -- that gun control, war, and abortion get a lot of headlines but the day to day frustrations of a person's life has more of a political impact on opinion. People in Jakarta, without exception, talk about the traffic and it is a major frustration. No one knows exactly what to do about it, but it is on everyone's mind. Other daily frustrations include clean water, minor corruption (someone told me that Indonesia doesn't have organized crime, they have the police), and slow progress on construction projects.

2) People deal with it. Human beings are remarkably flexible and Indonesians -- and this is the most important point -- are very innovative. Scooter drivers will take people places for a negotiated fee -- there are all manners of transports and people know how to get around -- I wouldn't recommend experimenting for a tourist but if you live here -- well, you know how to live here -- and this leads me into the political part with one final observation --

2a) The place has an incredible amount of energy and a mixture of hope and disappointment. People are very proud of being Indonesian and the local area they are from, as well as being from Jakarta. All of my friends want me to like their city -- they are not blind to its faults -- but they also understand that there is hope. People start businesses everywhere -- there is a large, literate population, a decent education system, strong family culture, and a willingness to innovate at the individual level. Businesses are everywhere -- skyscrapers, malls and -- right next to them -- street huts with vendors selling everything from peanuts, boiled eggs, noodles, toys, and pirated viagra.

Small c capitalism is evident. In a city with millions of scooters there a also a lot of tiny -- tin three walled huts really -- that fix scooters. They are right on the road. A quick glance would reveal very little relationship with an "american business" -- we are talking about 5 x 10 at the most -- but I had a chance to talk to one guy for a while and it was fascinating. He has most of his own tools but scooter maintenance doesn't take much (there are a lot of reasons people have scooters). His rent is nearly zero because he isn't supposed to be there but moving wouldn't be difficult when required. He is right on the street and people can scoot in, have a seat -- he has a couple of stools -- get some noodles and meatballs or tea/soda at the stall next door -- and read a paper (people do a lot of newspaper/magazine reading) and scoot out. Because most of the traffic is either commuters or people taking commuters (or students) they follow the same patterns on the road every day and know where to find their mechanic -- so service does keep people coming back. Service, relaxation, a paper, low cost, high volume, and location. People figure things out.

I don't in any way mean this as an "everything is ok" note but writers so often focus on the negatives -- and often that is just because they don't spend enough time to see through chaos -- chaos is generally just one person not knowing what is going on yet -- and look to see where the people take their chances. I did visit a very poor area (I'm trying to avoid the word "slum" it is overused and people bring with it their own images). People lived, literally, on the margin.

It is the rainy season so puddles are everywhere and in this area they accumulated filth right away. People lived in huts constructed of metal, wood, or whatever else might be found. There was some electricity pirated off of local poles. Water was (and I never figured this out) either from a local well where people waited in line, a group shower -- again where people waited in line -- or collection systems to process rainwater. Jakarta is mostly BELOW sea level (think about that) and so you don't have to go down very far in your water search to find brackish, not fresh, water. There is no discernible pattern (again, to me, a quick visitor -- people knew where they were) and a lot of people with very little to do. Basic sanitation was an issue.

All of this is old news but, again, to see it -- and have a guide so you could talk to people -- was, at least for me, different. No one knows who will decide "the future of the world" or even whatever the hell that means -- but as much of the world looks at Bush, Kosovo, Terror, elections, etc. a lot of our the critical issues of our time == environmental questions; issues of political stability; demographics, health and disease and the romantic drama that can always be played out between the demagogue and desperate -- is happening in these megacities. George Orwell said "To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." so I feel a little less guilty making some observations that so many have made before me.

Draft Schedule

2008-02-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

Below is my draft scheduled for a trip to Indonesia. The trip is sponsored by the State Department. I will be addressing the general topic of campaigns in the U.S. and the 2008 presidential election more specifically.

In this blog I will record trips and events but I want to focus on the challenges of talking about the U.S. form of campaigning to an international audience and sharing the kind of questions that come up in each session.

Mike

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is home to over 13 million residents. Jakarta represents the diversity of Indonesia’s ethnic groups, it is a city teeming with activity.

Sunday, Feb 17

1:15 PM Arrive Jakarta on CX 777 from Hong Kong.
Met at airport by Assistant Cultural Attaché Robyn Remeika with
Embassy’s driver and vehicle, proceed to J.W. Marriott Hotel.

Accommodations: J.W. Marriott Hotel
Jalan Lingkar Mega Kuningan, Jakarta
Tel: (62-21) 579-88888, Fax: (62-21) 579-88833
Cost per night: $121.00 net
A breakfast buffet is included in the cost of your room.

Monday, Feb 18 (Presidents’ Day Holiday)

09:00-11:30 AM. Discussion and meeting at the Center for Strategic &
International Studies (CSIS)- (to be confirmed)
Inviting policy institute scholars, political parties,
election commission members, social activists, NGOs, and media
journalists.

Venue : CSIS Office. Jl. Tanah Abang III/23-27
Telephone: (62-21) 3865532 / 35
Contact: Mr. Bantarto Bandoro – Director of Operational,
Inquiring the Possibilities (mobile: 0818 48 3461)

12:00 PM Lunch

2:00-4:00 PM Discussion at the Freedom Institute (to be confirmed)

Address: Jl. Irian No.8 Menteng. Jakarta Pusat
Telephone: (62-21) 31909226/7
Contact Person:
Mr. Hamid Basyaib – Program Director (0816-1302-379).
Bp. Aan – Program Administrator (0817-851-050)

Tuesday, Feb 19

10:00 AM Guest lecture at Al Azhar University (to be confirmed)
Audience: 80-100 Graduate students, lecturers, and researchers.

Al Azhar University
Contact: Dr. Ir. Ahmad Husin Lubis, M.Sc. – Vice Rector for
Academic Affairs (Mobile: 0816-115-8834)
Follow-up with Bpk. Lutfi (staff)
Address: Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Kebayoran Lama, Jakarta Selatan
Telephone: (62-21) 7279-2753
Fax: (62-21) 724-4767

12:00 - 1:30 PM Lunch

2:00 – 4:00 PM Interactive discussion at Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU)
P3K2 Amerop (The Centre for Policy Analysis & Development on
American & European Regions) (confirmed)

Audience: 30 – 40 DEPLU mid- to high- level staff members and
selected individuals from political think tanks, political parties,
polling bodies, etc

Address: Ruang Sunda Kelapa, Gedung Utama DEPLU
Jl. Taman Pejambon 6
Contact person:
- Shirley Malinton, Deputy Head of Centre for American Regions
(0856-156-6878)
- Cahya : Staff P3K2 (0815-7459-7249)

Office Phone: (62-21) 3844584, 344-508 ext.5646

5:00 – 6:30 PM Guest lecture at University of Indonesia (confirmed)
Faculty of Social and Political Science (FISIP)
Audience: Approximately 100 Post-graduate students, lecturers,
and researchers.

Contact: Drs. Zainuddion Djafar, MA – Chairman, Dept of
International Relations, FISIP
Lina / Itje (staff)
Address: Gedung Paska Sarjana FISIP HI Lt.2&3
Universitas Indonesia, Jl. Salemba Raya.
Telephone: (62-21) 314-2285
Fax: (62-21) 314-2285

Wednesday, Feb 20

7:00 AM Media program (Possible live Metro TV interview) – (to be arranged and confirmed with IO Section)

10:00 – 11:45 AM Discussion and meeting with Mr. John A. Prasetio, Chairman of
International Department of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce
(KADIN). (confirmed)
Economic Section will join (name tba)
Venue: Menara KADIN Indonesia, 17th Fl
Jl. HR. Rasuna Said Blok X-5, Kav 2-3

Contact: Titi (Secr) – (62-21) 2553-5699
Ponny Widjaja (PA) – (62-21) 2553-5683/0818-893930

Status: KADIN has confirming its participation in the program,
will wait for the confirm time & format by 1ST of Feb.

12:00 PM LUNCH

2:00 - 3:30 PM Media roundtable with editorial board members at Kompas or
other media outlet (to be arranged and confirmed by IO Section)

Thursday, February 21

6:30 AM Leave hotel for airport with Embassy’s vehicle

8:10 AM Depart Jakarta for Denpasar on GA 402
10:55 AM Arrive Denpasar, Bali
12:00 PM Check in hotel

Accommodation:

12:30 - 1:45 PM Lunch

2:00 – 4:00 PM Udayana University, Denpasar

4:30 – 5:30 PM Media event (talk show at a local radio or TV), at radio Cassanova or RRI Bali

Friday, Feb. 22

7:00 – 10:00 AM Depart Denpasar for Singaraja

10:00 AM - Program at State Education University of Ganesha (UNDIKSHA)
12:00 PM Singaraja

12:30 – 2:00 PM Lunch with local KPU (General Election Commission) members and local politicians

2:00 - 5:00 PM Depart Singaraja for Denpasar

Saturday, Feb. 23 BALI - rest

Sunday, Feb. 24

4:00 PM Depart Denpasar for Surabaya by GA 3434:10 PM Arrive Surabaya

Accommodations: Majapahit Hotel (Confirmation No 177535)
Address: Jalan Tunjungan 65, Surabaya
Room rate: USD 90.00 net inclusive breakfasts
Hotel telephone: (62-31)5454-333, hotel fax (62-31)5454-111

Monday, Feb. 25

9:00 – 11:00 AM Guest lecture at International Relations - Airlangga University

11:30 AM – 12:30 Lunch

1:00 - 3:00 PM Presentation hosted by Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) of East Java

4:00 - 5:00 PM Talk show at JTV or SBO TV or Suara Surabaya Radio.

Tuesday, Feb 26

7:30 AM Leave hotel for airport

9:00 AM Leave Surabaya for Jakarta on GA 30910:20 AM Arrive Jakarta11:30 AM Leave Jakarta for Pekanbaru on GA 174
1:05 PM Arrive Pekanbaru

Met at airport by --- with

Accommodations:
Address:
Room rate: USD - - net inclusive breakfast

3:00-4:00 PM Presentation on
Candidates and Campaigns in U.S. Elections
Venue: Universitas Riau
Participant: Students and Activists

____________OR_________________

4.00 PM Interview with local Riau Post on U.S. Election 2008
Venue: Riau Post

7.30 PM Dinner with Local Political Party Leaders
Venue: TBD

Wednesday, Feb. 27

9.30 AM Session I Presentation on:
Voting Demographics: Using What You Know About Electorates
Venue: Public Library
Participant: Political party cadres

12.00 PM Lunch

1.30 PM Session II: Workshop: Effective Campaign Communications
Venue: Public Library
Participant: Political party cadres

TBD PM Live Radio Broadcast: Campaign 2008 – The U.S. Presidential
Election
Venue: TBD Station

Thursday, Feb. 28

9.30 AM Session I Presentation on Congressional Elections in the United
States
Venue: Riau Provincial Information Center
Participant: Public Services, Public Leaders, KPU, LSI

12.00 PM Lunch

1.30 PM Session II: Workshop: Q&A: The U.S. 2008 Presidential Election
Venue: Riau Provincial Information Center
Participant: Public Services, Public Leaders, KPU, LSI

TBD PM Local TV Broadcast Campaign 2008 – The U.S. Presidential
Election
Venue: TBD Station

Friday, Feb. 29

8.00 AM Breakfast with Leading media editors

9.30 AM Visit to Elephant Sanctuary, arranged by Chevron (optional)

12.00 PM Lunch with Chevron and Singaporean Consul (optional)

5.15 PM Depart Pekanbaru to Singapore with GA 844
7:15 PM Arrive Singapore