Now that I have traveled to so many places, its hard to wow me. Instead I try to enjoy the simple pleasures and slower paces of places. In Indonesia, that means:
-hearing Islamic call to prayer echoing from multiple mosques over ripe lush green rice fields in Lombok as the sun sets
-seeing how coffee, cashews and cocoa are harvested in different villages sprinkled among other crops, trees and houses at different climates and altitudes than I've seen before
-learning about leaves that can be rubbed to take away a sting, or chewed on to stop intestinal illnesses. (We, in the West, think we know all the answers, but in truth, people have been finding cures and solutions long before we did.)
-tossing mangos to wild porcupines in a cave so they would stick around long enough for us to be able to look at them and yes, I really did wish I could pet them because they were sooooo cute!
-hearing Islamic call to prayer echoing from multiple mosques over ripe lush green rice fields in Lombok as the sun sets
-seeing how coffee, cashews and cocoa are harvested in different villages sprinkled among other crops, trees and houses at different climates and altitudes than I've seen before
-learning about leaves that can be rubbed to take away a sting, or chewed on to stop intestinal illnesses. (We, in the West, think we know all the answers, but in truth, people have been finding cures and solutions long before we did.)
-tossing mangos to wild porcupines in a cave so they would stick around long enough for us to be able to look at them and yes, I really did wish I could pet them because they were sooooo cute!
- getting up in the wee wee hours of the morning to hike up a volcano and watch the sun rise.
-holding spiders that were the size of my hand. (They told me it was safe!)
-hoping on the back of a motorbike to travel off into the hills of Sulawesi to attend traditional funerals and see animal sacrifice first hand. (Ok this one really did WOW!!!! me!) (Read more here)
-posing for photos like a superstar with groups of Indonesians who all have cameras and smart phones to capture our meeting. (Read more here)
-wandering through markets seeing the different ways food is displayed, cut up, piled high... and then to contrast that, visiting the malls in Jakarta that are fancier and shinier than anything I have ever seen in the US.
And always examining the different faces, taking photos, trying to capture the subtle and dramatic differences between people and places so that I can share them with you.
-hoping on the back of a motorbike to travel off into the hills of Sulawesi to attend traditional funerals and see animal sacrifice first hand. (Ok this one really did WOW!!!! me!) (Read more here)
-posing for photos like a superstar with groups of Indonesians who all have cameras and smart phones to capture our meeting. (Read more here)
-wandering through markets seeing the different ways food is displayed, cut up, piled high... and then to contrast that, visiting the malls in Jakarta that are fancier and shinier than anything I have ever seen in the US.
And always examining the different faces, taking photos, trying to capture the subtle and dramatic differences between people and places so that I can share them with you.
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