Sunday, 1Oct06
Highlights: 3am Sahur with the Rochmadis, power out, hung out with Nina, lost phone, police looking for bribe, dinner
Waking up at 3a.m. today wasn’t nearly as bad when I had my whole host family up with me, eating together. (= They are all very happy & impressed that I’m willing to observe the fasting month with them. It’s having more of a bonding effect than I expected a week ago. We all went back to sleep at 4.
The power mysteriously went out around town & on UGM campus last night, and again today,,, so the servers were down & no internet action for 2 days. =/ That’s ok. I had some catching up to do with other paperwork this morning.
I grabbed Nina after she came back to life at the ripe hour of 12 noon. Ha ha. There’s not much going on in the afternoon these days- as most Indonesians aren’t out & about during the peak hours of the day during fasting month. Conserving energy, extra trips to the mosque, and waiting for the sun to go down mostly.
To kill a little time, I challenged Nina to a basketball shooting game at the mall arcade. I wasn’t expecting the beating I got,, 4 times in a row! But humility comes free today. Uggh!
Traffic lights are often hard to see here, and on the way home I nearly missed one. I say nearly because I came to a stop,, (well past the line, of course),, but just proceeded left at the intersection… like taking a right at a red light. Crossed no lanes of traffic,, no danger to anyone.
1km down the road, a polisi chased us down, looking to charge us a fine. Hmmm. A fine? For what? I see people making left hand turns on red lights all the time! They don’t even slow down!
“you’re not allowed to turn at THIS red light.” Says the cop.
“where’s the sign that says so?” says I.
You can see where this is going.
I have heard it is common practice for police to look for ways to supplement their low income by looking for ways to hand out ‘fines’. These fines, by the way,, can be negotiated,, and are usually paid at the “scene of the crime”,,, in cash. Whatever amount of cash the polisi can get out of you. It travels in a direct path from one pocket to another.
I call it corruption. Here, it’s accepted practice. I was about to get pissed off,,, but Nina talked him into letting us go.
Just as I was cooling off, further down the road… we realized Nina didn’t have her cell phone. =/ ugghh! Back to the mall.. no joy. Back to the pos polisi.. no joy.
A girlfriend without her cell-phone is an unhappy girlfriend. I couldn’t have that,,, so we went down the street & picked out a new 2nd hand cell-phone. That means she has to get a new phone number, and lost all the contact listings in her old phone.. ahhh! Sucks. But if that’s the worst thing that happens to us this weekend- it was still a great weekend. (=
When the sound comes from the mosque to open the fast,,, the streets empty with a quickness! Everyone dashes for home, or the nearest plate of food, pretty much. Ha ha.
Nina & I stood by the front door to our favorite traditional Javanese food place (by the rice field on Jl. Kaliurang), but it was PACKED! Had to wait a ½ hour or so. Food never tasted so good!
Highlights: 3am Sahur with the Rochmadis, power out, hung out with Nina, lost phone, police looking for bribe, dinner
Waking up at 3a.m. today wasn’t nearly as bad when I had my whole host family up with me, eating together. (= They are all very happy & impressed that I’m willing to observe the fasting month with them. It’s having more of a bonding effect than I expected a week ago. We all went back to sleep at 4.
The power mysteriously went out around town & on UGM campus last night, and again today,,, so the servers were down & no internet action for 2 days. =/ That’s ok. I had some catching up to do with other paperwork this morning.
I grabbed Nina after she came back to life at the ripe hour of 12 noon. Ha ha. There’s not much going on in the afternoon these days- as most Indonesians aren’t out & about during the peak hours of the day during fasting month. Conserving energy, extra trips to the mosque, and waiting for the sun to go down mostly.
To kill a little time, I challenged Nina to a basketball shooting game at the mall arcade. I wasn’t expecting the beating I got,, 4 times in a row! But humility comes free today. Uggh!
Traffic lights are often hard to see here, and on the way home I nearly missed one. I say nearly because I came to a stop,, (well past the line, of course),, but just proceeded left at the intersection… like taking a right at a red light. Crossed no lanes of traffic,, no danger to anyone.
1km down the road, a polisi chased us down, looking to charge us a fine. Hmmm. A fine? For what? I see people making left hand turns on red lights all the time! They don’t even slow down!
“you’re not allowed to turn at THIS red light.” Says the cop.
“where’s the sign that says so?” says I.
You can see where this is going.
I have heard it is common practice for police to look for ways to supplement their low income by looking for ways to hand out ‘fines’. These fines, by the way,, can be negotiated,, and are usually paid at the “scene of the crime”,,, in cash. Whatever amount of cash the polisi can get out of you. It travels in a direct path from one pocket to another.
I call it corruption. Here, it’s accepted practice. I was about to get pissed off,,, but Nina talked him into letting us go.
Just as I was cooling off, further down the road… we realized Nina didn’t have her cell phone. =/ ugghh! Back to the mall.. no joy. Back to the pos polisi.. no joy.
A girlfriend without her cell-phone is an unhappy girlfriend. I couldn’t have that,,, so we went down the street & picked out a new 2nd hand cell-phone. That means she has to get a new phone number, and lost all the contact listings in her old phone.. ahhh! Sucks. But if that’s the worst thing that happens to us this weekend- it was still a great weekend. (=
When the sound comes from the mosque to open the fast,,, the streets empty with a quickness! Everyone dashes for home, or the nearest plate of food, pretty much. Ha ha.
Nina & I stood by the front door to our favorite traditional Javanese food place (by the rice field on Jl. Kaliurang), but it was PACKED! Had to wait a ½ hour or so. Food never tasted so good!
posted by jonathan adventures at 2:08 PM
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