an entry somewhere else

Yes, it was bound to occur; someone was bound to scrape together the scratch for a plane ticket to Indonesia. In this case, it’s two persons—my best friend from the early years and his quite adorable wife that puts up with me whenever I visit. This is the first set of visitors I will have had since I’ve become a transient resident of the states. Of course, this is bringing forth a couple of questions: 1) what the hell am I going to show them in such a short time especially after they just vacationed in French Polynesia last fall? and 2) why hasn’t someone visited me before?

The first question is terribly vexing. Makassar itself isn’t a focal point of tourism; it’s merely a stopover for going north to Tana Toraja. Sure, there’s an old Dutch fort, a harbor with traditional Buginese ships, exquisite islands out a few kilometers, coto Makassar, excellent seafood. After that, Makassar is staid. Itinieraries may have to include sending them off to Bali, the hamlet of Ubud in particular, while I teach and take care of business here. I also plan to take them to the university one day for a true culture shock. I’m not sure if either of them have even met someone of the Muslim faith before.

The second question has been understandable from the beginning, financial constraints. I have been living at nearly the complete opposite side of the earth for most of my friends and only a few loving people have looked into plane tickets. I can’t blame them; were I in the US I would be in much the same. I would probably need a car and the obligatory car insurance, have to pay rent, wash my own clothes, clean my own apartment. Yes, returning to the US does seem fraught with burdens…

My houseboy has not returned this week. He has my clothes washed and folded somewhere and the carboys of drinking water are empty. It’s probably rather good that I yet have a social life.