Jawa

This week I received literally dozens of messages wondering if I was affected by either the earthquake, tsunami or one of two volcanic eruptions that struck Indonesia recently. Luckily, I wasn't. Thank you all so much for the concern.

I knew almost nothing about Indonesia when I applied for my Fulbright grant almost exactly a year ago today. I chose it if only because I knew it was a less competitive place to get a grant to, and that it has the world's largest Muslim population. So, here are some of the things I have learned in the short two and a half month period I have been here.

About Indonesia:
Population: 240, 000, 000 (making it the fourth most populous country on earth, behind China, India and the US)
Number of Islands: 17,500
Timezones: 3
Independence in 1945 after 350 years of Dutch rule
Currency: Rupiah (about 9,000 Rp = $ 1)
Over 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia, but only one (Bahasa Indonesia) is spoken by almost the entire population as the result of government programs to encourage nationalist identification.
The island I live on, Java, is the world's most populous with over 130,000,000 people. Javanese culture is historically, economically, politically, and just about everythingly the most central culture to the development of the country. Only one of the Indonesian presidents was not born on the Island of Java.
86% of the population is Muslim, 9% some form of Christian, 3% Hindu and 2% Buddhist. I should mention that Indonesian Muslims, from my experiences here, generally embody every open-minded, progressive and welcoming attitude possible. In one notable example I think I can demonstrate this. One day I was wandering around a mall here with some Indonesian friends and I saw the one woman I have seen here wearing a Burka (full body covering). While I turned my head in amazement, it was nothing next to the reaction of the Indonesians I saw who were significantly more shocked than I was.
I should also include a brief point. In Islam, alcohol is harem or forbidden. As a result, maybe three in four Indonesians will never try any form of alcohol. The side effect being that it is very hard to find a drink. I live in a city of over four million people, and I could count the number of bars on one hand.

Some Geography:
Indonesia is huge. To fly from Papua, on the right side of this map to Aceh, on the left side of this map would take 8 hours on the fastest jetliner. Thats longer than a flight from Miami to Seattle.
In this map I live in the province of East Java or Jawa Timur. My house is located in Indonesia's second largest city, Surabaya.

Here is a map of Surabaya, I live in 7d, south of the river from the zoo.
http://www.sparklingsurabaya.com/tourist_map/

So there it is, Indonesia.

Also, before I go. While I live in a huge city with its own wikipedia page and a fleet of airconditioned taxis, my experience is by no means the average. Most ETA's are located in either rural or undeveloped areas, necessitating the use of motorbikes, lacking air conditioning and especially access to internet.
One night a few weekends ago, I texted another ETA telling him that I was getting drinks with another American friend. He responds as such: "Drinks with another American? our lives are so different, I'm sitting in another blackout on my island of a few hundred people that I can't leave if I wanted to because there is no boat tomorrow, potato, pahtato."
Anyway, I feel guilty about painting by default a pretty incomplete picture of Indonesia, so I have included links to some pretty good blogs for you to read to get a fuller picture of life in the archipelago.

Rick Ferrera, Maluku (Eastern Indonesia)
http://rickferrera.wordpress.com/

JT Erbaugh, Pati, Central Java
http://patitime.blogspot.com/

Alison Dierlinger, Lombok, Nusa Tenggara
http://alisondieringer.wordpress.com/

Emily Ziedler, Palembang, Sumarta
http://indoemily.wordpress.com/

Indonesia's national motto is Bhinekka Tunggal Ika, a Javanese expression that literally means "unity in diversity." Indonesians seem to be universally strengthened by the adversity they face. They respond to challenges like these tragedies with remarkable unity that can bring millions of people together. I hope that through reading more you can find the motivation to come visit the country that warns travelers they are visiting a place that is "dangerously beautiful."