It’s a Friday night here, a little after 9p. I’ve got some bizarre concoction of liquors that is supposed to resemble Kahlua. It doesn’t and I don’t think I’ll be drinking much more of it. My day wasn’t all that exciting but did warrant a small tipple in the evening. Early wake up from the Christian sermon on loudspeaker, work out at the gym, work—two classes = 3.5 hours, visit a friend just out of the operating room at the hospital (appendicitis), mie bihun vegetarian for a lunch/dinner, shopping for some breakfast foods since I was down that way, and back home.
Tonight is the eve before Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, popularly known as SBY, will have raised the gas prices all over this land. The gas prices are heavily subsidized by the government here as part of public aid to the poor. Unfortunately, a blanket subsidy aids the rich (and me) as well. At the suggestion of the World Bank, SBY decreased subsidies earlier this year. The price of gas went up; the fares of public transport went up; the price of photocopies joined them. There have been daily demonstrations in Jakarta and many other parts of the country against the stoppage of subsidies. To counter the opposition, the government has attempted to give official documents to those who are under the poverty level here. The government has decreed that those holding the documents will receive 100,000 IDR (10USD) as a compensation toward the increase.
The lines for the gas station where longer than anything I have seen with people filling up multiple 55L jerry cans prior to the increase. It is a pure flood of people trying to squeeze the last drop. I have no doubt that the pumps will run dry sooner than they usually do each week. The increase is a double edged sword. It is sorely needed for the country to stop running a massive deficit, but the enormous number of people in poverty here definitely need some better help than 10USD a month.
There, I turned you ear for a bit…
While in Jakarta, I bought a wireless modem. The darn thing actually works; however, it is not compatible with my lowly Macintosh. It is the fastest internet I’ve used in Manado, and it’s at my fingertips when I’m at work. It does cost quite a bit more than going to the internet shop but I’m willing to pay the cost for the convenience. It amazes me that I can get this stuff in Indonesia but not in the US at a comparable price. Then again, I could just park outside a house with an unsecure wireless transmitter. I hope that I’ll be better in touch from here on out.