an entry somewhere else

Before Bangkok—I went and bought a motorcycle/scooter hybrid. I say hybrid because the darn thing has to be shifted manually but doesn’t have a clutch. Basically, one has to let off the gas all the way before the cycle will shift by the pedal. It was a bit scary to watch me at first, but after the first test drive I was money. I bought a 110cc Suzuki Shogun. Which brings me to a short story.

I made the deal and then had to figure out how I would come up with 6,700,000 rupiah. I had never tried to use my ATM card here more than once per day. ATMs here have different limits per withdrawal. Each bank establishes its own limit and the limits differ at each ATM. Confusing, I know. Anyway, I found an ATM in town that will give me 2 million per withdrawal. Swell. I got the first 2 million just fine. I tried again. Jackpot. Tried a third time. Denied. I tried four other bank ATMs. Denied. The fifth was the charmless one—it swallowed my card. On any day, this would be a problem, but I needed to a) get the rest of the rupiah to pay the guy I agreed to buy the bike from and b) get my ATM card back since I don’t have a back up and I was going to Bangkok. Remedy: call my ‘boss.’ I called her; she called her friend at the bank and got the ball rolling. We went to the main branch; we then had to call the man who services the ATM in Tomohon (a smaller city about 45 minutes away).

He needed to come back to Manado and drop off my card at the main branch. We went to the office, ate lunch and then I went back. My nifty photocopy of my passport did the trick for ID and I got my card back. Next step, call my brother to have him call the bank and tell them my card was not stolen; I was just testing their security. We’ll see if they don’t capture my card tomorrow because I borrowed 2.5 million from my boss to pay for what I couldn’t’ get from my account.

Bangkok— I met up with two other ELFs in Jakarta and we all flew from there to Bangkok together. Getting to the hotel was without a hitch and we all checked in quite nice. First evening activities started at the RELO officer’s flat a bit away from our hotel on Sukhumvit Rd. Dinner and networking with other ELFs and having a bit to eat.

It was getting late for me and many of us started to leave. I left to wait for my other partners in crime at the hotel bar. The bar, it seemed, was populated by a large amount of relief workers. I was chatting with one guy who was doing some work with body identification of the tsunami victims. By now, I can only take so much of carnage stories. I did hear a little bit of his effort and was then joined by the others. After that, I could let them talk with the guy and I could just sit. Chatting was never my strong suit.

Two days of meetings started the next day. The second day I went to the gym and began my foray into the Thai health system. I went to work out and, as I was performing a squat with weight that I’d used hundreds of times before, did something to my back. I must have looked funny walking out of the hotel gym bent at a 45 degree angle. I went back to my room and ran a hot shower at the point of my supreme ache and let that go before hobbling off to the meeting. Of course, I tell a few people and word gets around. The pain was only great when I tried to stand up straight. Sitting was fine. I end up changing my return ticket to go back to Jakarta and get checked out. The RELO officer from Thailand plays to my common sense and sends me to Bumrungrad Hospital to get checked out.

I roll in and get whisked upstairs to orthopedics. I fill out some forms and sit to wait. I wait about 30 minutes and get to see the doctor. I tell him what happened. He looks at me from his chair. I get on the examining table; he moves my legs about, and I cringe or don’t cringe. He pronounces an ‘acute back muscle strain,’ tells me I’m over the suggested weight for my height, signs a few papers, and sends me packing. I get a card and go to sit at the cashier’s area. My number comes up; I pay the fee: 100 THB for facility, 800 THB for doctor’s fee, and 1,240 THB for various medications. Total: 2,140 THB ~ 56USD. Never would I ever be seen so quickly and at such a highly-regarded hospital/doctor for this price. Now, I get to file an insurance claim since I went over the deductible limit of 25USD. This should be fun.

On another front, I took some money from the ATM and forgot my card in it. I didn’t notice til the next morning. I rang my brother and asked him to cancel it and get a new one to me pronto. Luckily, I still have some USD and Traveler’s Cheques (although TC are not often accepted in Indonesia). We’ll see how awful the exchange rate is and how long I can hold on to my rupiah before I get my card.

Manado—I’m back and ready. I took the last night with a muscle relaxant and a luxuriously long night in bed. The 4.45a call to prayer did wake me up. Luckily, I just waited for it end and went back to sleep.

I went to my supervisor’s house on Sunday to pick up my scooter (being taken for oil change and repairs by her driver) and my computer. We chatted for a while and I gave her and the driver oleh-oleh, the Indonesian term for souvenirs. It’s fun to say but not particularly fun to do. Anyhow, I found out I’ll be teaching another class off campus to some ‘pretty young women’ (her words, not mine) that work for some sort of company. I couldn’t say no. It should be fun to buzz along on my scooter in rush hour traffic. Can’t wait!