News From Biloxi

Got an e-mail from my sister Mary today. She is volunteering at the Biloxi Disaster Recovery Center assisting people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Her descriptions of the scene impressed me so much I felt her words should receive a wider audience, so I am re-publishing them here.

Joel

"Biloxi DRC: first day for me today. The organization I'm volunteering for had no other representatives here, so I was the only one, and its my first day, and I have no idea what exactly it is that I'm supposed to be doing. So I have spent my day talking to the others around me and getting as much of a sense of what they do as I can. Apparently I am going to have to develop my own assistance program here. A little moxi is required on my part. So far I haven't helped anyone-just learned alot.
The center that I'm at will be closing down at the end of May, so things are slowing down. In the last couple of weeks, they've let half the people who used to be working out of this site go, and the number of people coming in for assistance today has been modest. Right now people are at the stage where they have already applied for insurance, FEMA, etc, and they are finding out what they have to work with for any rebuilding. Many of the support issues at this time are related to helping people cope with the stress and anxiety. Mental health issues, post-traumatic stress, particularly veterans seem to be feeling it. There are many issues with homeowners insurance not covering or covering very little. FEMA grants are being issued but still doesn't cover the original cost of the structure. And of course there are those who fall through the cracks...who had a house but now its gone, they're on disability or SS, insurance won't cover, and the FEMA grant is too little to rebuild, and they can't get a mortgage because their income is too low. They don't know where to go. The casinos are moving in and taking advantage of the situation to buy up coastal property cheap.
The coastline is flattened...completely gone for miles. Only signs remain where businesses used to be; the Olive Gardens, McDonald's, gas stations, huge resorts. They are gone right down to the slab, just surrounded by piles of rubble. Cemetaries have been destroyed. Signs missing is a problem. I've had some trouble finding my hotel, and travel routes as a result. It's amazing. A main bridge on the hwy running along the coast from Biloxi to gulfport is gone. They say it will take three years to rebuild. The beach is beautiful though, fully groomed and gorgeous white sand. They're empty at the moment too, so even better. And A couple blocks in the city is active, and people are cleaning up and rebuilding. Apartments are just beginning to fill up again. But six months into it, there is clearly a long road ahead. Many, many FEMA travel trailers still in front of peoples homes. There are still a lot of people in other states.
I drove around and took a few pictures with my new digital camera, but haven't figured out how to download them. I'll have to read up on my manual in my hotel tonight.
I'll try to get something out later this week.
Ciaio!
Mary

Wedding ceremony

An Indonesian Wedding

I have joined the Indonesian Heritage Society, a group of Indonesians and expats who are interested in the learning more about the culture of Indonesia. Today was my first outing with the Explorer's Group. It is a wondeful mix of women from all over the world. I met some new friends from South Africa, Denmark and Japan. Our outing today was at a salon that catered to brides. Not only did they explain the customs of Indonesian weddings but they also had actors act out a typical ceremony in full dress. The customs and ceremony were beautiful. On the day before the wedding parents of both the bride and groom pour scented water over them to make them clean and pure for the upcoming wedding and the parents hand feed their children rice for the last time before they leave them.
On the wedding day tradition holds that the bride and groom may not be who they really are, maybe a spirit has taken over their appearence. To frighten or unmask the possible intruder the couple throws rolled up betel leaves at each other while chanting "for the rest of my life you are my only love and my wife/husband". The groom then steps on an egg to show his acceptance of the resposibility of being a father and husband and then wife washes his foot to demonstrate her faithfulness. The future husband must give all his income to his wife and he symbolizes this by pouring beans into a pocket, he is not supposed to spill the beans as that would be bad luck, then they give the beans to the bride's mother out of respect. Lastly the couple literally crawls on their knees over to each of their set of parents, this is called Sungkeman and they bow and kiss the hand of their parents to show respect and love.
I reflected on how much of the ceremony was spent showing respect to the parents. How different from our own culture where often the parents walk the child down the aisle and that is the last we see of them in the ceremony. The real treat in seeing all this is that even if we were invited to a real Indonesian wedding, we would not see this part of the ceremony, we would only see the more public prayers and then reception, as most of what I saw today is done privately with the family. It was a wonderful and respectful view into the importance of family in Indonesia

Jeepney transportation

Makati City

Manila

Greetings from Manila in the Philipines! We are in Makati City which is an upscale business district of Manila. Manila is similar to Jakarta, with extremes of poverty and wealth but I must confess it is a little cleaner than Jakarta, even the poor parts. There is a much stronger Spanish and American influence here, due to the long periods of rule by both countries. We went to Interamuros which is Old Manila, where the first original Spanish fort was built centuries ago. Learned a lot about their history sensed a bit of animosity towards Spain and the Catholic Church for all the years of torment they caused the Fillipinos.
Enjoy the Jeepneys, kind of "pimp my ride" like buses that owners fix up in their own expressive ways. They are every where and are usually jammed with riders.
They remind me of Herman Munster's car with flair.

Out and About in Singapore

Staying in Singapore

Spent a few quick days in Singapore and found it to be a beautiful, clean and multicultural city. People from all over the world live there so you feel like you are in more of a global community. We arrived and went on the Night Safari in which we took a tram through the night going past different animals, it was very nicely done, a bit Disney-esque even. The next day we went to Sentosa Island, a major site in World War II. We went through the fort there and enjoyed all the other tourist attractions in the area as well. Took a river boat tour through the city and met friends of ours for dinner on the river. Singapore is only an hour from Jakarta and flights are cheap so I am sure we will get back, there were a few things we would like to go back and do.
But a cab ride back to the hotel, shared with an embassy employee from Bejing summed it up for both of us. Singapore is lovely, clean and cosmopolitan, but after a couple of weeks there, I would be bored, it is too much like home. Jakarta, although dirty and crazy and out of control is still interesting to me and I look forward to going back.

The Land of the Motor Bike

Having now spent a month in Jakarta, I can say with some authority that the single most striking aspect of life in Indonesia is the dominance of the motor bike as a mode of transportation. That's Motor bike, not motorcycle. Motorbikes swarm like gnats through the streets of Jakarta, filling every available open space between cars. This simultaneously aggravates the already gridlocked traffic, while providing the rider with the best means of overcoming it. Some specifications:
Most popular model: Honda Supra Fit
Size: 110-125 cc
Seating Capacity: Seats a family of four comfortably. Children as young as two perched atop the driver's lap and clutching the handlebars for dear life are not an uncommon sight.

Road restrictions: You must be joking. I have seen them on freeways, trying to maintain 40 mph as cars whiz past at twice that. Sidewalks, when not filled with street peddlers, make a great way to travel against the flow of Satuh Arah (one way) traffic.

Cargo capacity: varies considerably based on the ingenuity of the rider. I have seen bikes with with what must be at least 600 lb. of material lashed saddlebag-style across the rear of the bike.








Fuel: regular gasoline (leaded). Pertamina, the state controlled oil monopoly, has fairly modern, though dirty and care-worn, stations located throughout the city. Or, if you are a desperate or trusting soul, you can buy your bensin from a street peddler in unmarked plastic one-liter bottles. 

Mountains of Tea

Took a trip to a place called Tamin Safari, I am sure the kids will blog about this as it was really fun, so watch for their reports. It was located at the base of a mountain and our driver, Haysim, asked if he could take us up over the mountain. So off we went. These mountains should be viewable from our apartment but the smog in Jakarta is so thick that I hear they only appear maybe three times a year.
We began to wind up this incredibly lush and green mountain with zig zagging lines of some sort of crop growing all up the side of the mountain. Trails wound through the crops as workers in traditional straw hats walked through checking the crops. I asked Haysim what they were growing and he said "Tea". As we ascended the mountain a thick cloud enveloped us and as we reached the top Haysim brought us to a private resort that apparently Chevron uses a lot for different functions. We went in and had coffee and listened to two gentlemen in traditional dress play a flute and a strange looking harp that looked like a small boat to me. It was a little windy at the top of the mountain and the door of the lobby was opened, literally clouds were blowing in the door, we got quite a kick out of that. Coming down from the mountain it felt like we were leaving a mystical, magical place.