this post, go here.
April 9th, 2009 - If yesterday was the reason I bought a motorcycle today is the reason for all the sojourning. A friend of a friend (i.e. a borderline stranger) met me in Bima (Sumbawa) and was gracious enough to give me a tour and introduce me to his family members . . . . all of them. Imin is a decent fellow. He is twenty-three-years-old and teaches English to high school students in Bima.
Unfortunately, his English is not quite what you might expect, especially from a teacher. In fact most of our conversations ended in confusion (mostly for me). Money is tight and you make do with what you have. If I could sit still for more than ten minutes I would spend a few weeks improving Imin's English. Where's the Peace Corps when you need them?
He picked me up around 7:30 am and we headed off to the outskirts of Bima. In all we visited his aunts, uncles, father, stepmother, mother, stepfather, and his brother. We made the rounds. I think it impossible to exaggerate the rarity of a tourist, especially one of a western ilk, visiting villages in the countryside of Bima just for the hell of it. Development workers? Sure, but not a 'tourist'. People did not just stare, they pretty much stopped whatever they were doing and became motionless, at least for a couple of seconds.
