climate inaction

Big domestic news last week that the US Senate would not even debate climate change legislation in the upcoming weeks. This is extremely important news that I had to write about, all things considered with my work in Indonesia.

I'll explain what a little about what this means, legislatively, scientifically, socially and why I am beyond frustrated.

And if after you read you are as fired up as I am, PLEASE tell our President and/or your Senators that their behavior is cowardly, utterly moronic and a downright failure to our country's future. We can't wait any longer to pass STRONG laws limiting US carbon emissions. After much reflection and lost sleep on this topic, I whole-heartedly believe that the best thing you can do for the environment, right here right now, is tell your elected officials how important their action truly is. A few links to help share that message.

Environmental Defense Fund, write to President Obama

NRDC's Action Fund, easy way to find and call your Senators

A few other resources I like, from people way smarter than myself and even more fired up..

Op-ed piece from Tom Friedman, he has written a lot on this news

Another great opinion article about the Senate's failures

Building a Green Economy, a little long but highly informative piece on economics of Climate Change -from Paul Krugman



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Why news of Senate climate inaction sucks.

The House passed landmark energy legislation last year- June 26, 2009 to be exact - which, among other features, established a cap on carbon emissions in the US. The bill wasn't perfect but it was a very important start. Interesting, President Obama says in this article that he looked forward to the Senate taking similar action...

So history turns out that the Senate didn't blink at their own version of the legislation in 2009. What that meant is that another year went by and utilities, banks and businesses surrounding the energy world couldn't adequately plan for their long term investments. And even more sadly, the Senate's 2009 failure signaled to the international community at December's Copenhagen climate conference that the world's per capita largest emitter of greenhouse gases -America! -isn't serious about cleaning up their acts. SO why should China, or India, or developing countries like Indonesia care about doing their part to limit emissions if the big bully won't? In my opinion, they shouldn't.

Stalling business development and thwarting international negotiations on climate change are my two most frequently cited reasons for hating US inaction.. I've got plenty more in the arsenal if you ever want to hear em.

Welcome to 2010. There are murmurings around when a climate bill will be taken up by the Senate. Versions of a bill come and go, some hope around Earth Day that bipartisan legislation will be released, but then Lindsey Graham gets all pissed off about immigration, pulls his support, and the new bill never gets seen. More murmurings earlier this month about a bill, but they came crashing down last week when Harry Reid decided that there just weren't enough votes to pass legislation similar to what the house signed off on last year. Bill is dead, best we can hope for now is some half-assed response to the oil spill.

If you remember your civics from 5th grade, if the Senate doesn't pass a bill and reconcile it before the current congressional term ends January, the House will need to start over. Everyone will need to start over, because it is highly unlikely the House and Senate will remain with democratic majorities come November's mid-term elections. But the politics and interests are complicated: 44 Democratic Representatives voted against the bill in 2009, primarily from coal-producing states.

A little on the science. Recently it would appear that the atmosphere is telling us something. NOAA released yesterday a "State of the Climate" report which "draws on data for 10 key climate indicators that all point to the same finding: the scientific evidence that our world is warming is unmistakable."

Their report also states that:

“The records come from many institutions worldwide. They use data collected from diverse sources, including satellites, weather balloons, weather stations, ships, buoys and field surveys. These independently produced lines of evidence all point to the same conclusion: our planet is warming."



NOAA also recently reported that last month was the hottest June ever recorded worldwide, and 2010 is on track, yet again, to be the warmest year since records began.

If anyone wants more resources, please, I am happy to share. Or if you'd like a refresher on the incredibly basic physics behind the heat trapping properties of carbon dioxide, I am also more than happy to help. The science actually is pretty simple.

Oh and remember this past winter? While we shouldn't attribute one season's erratic weather to climate change, the likelihood of many seasons deviating from the norm is great.. ie, strong snowfalls in winter, stronger storm surges in summer, longer more intense heat waves.. we've seen this all in 2010.

I do not expect change to happen over night. Completely shifting our country's modes of energy generation, transportation options and agriculture sector will take time.. alot of time. So the longer the Senate/Congress/Obama (who deserves his fair share of blame) sit and stew on fossil fuel driven lobbying dollars, the longer making those investments for healthier environment is going to take. All the while, more heat trapping gases are released into the atmosphere, continuing to cook the planet as Paul Krugman so eloquently stated in the NYT this week.

Maybe it is just easy for me to see, someone who's dedicated some time in a place like Indonesia. There are roughly 100 million people here (in a "developing" country) who live without adequate health care, poor food access and little electricity. They deserve a better quality of life. The government here will continue to provide that for their people - and most of that growth will come from fossil fuel energy. Should the US decide to shape up, take the opportunity in developing a strong renewable energy sector seriously (which, can't happen until fossil fuels are more expensive), we could help provide cleaner, more affordable energy around the world to people who need it. Oh and in the meantime we can reduce our own country's impact as well.



Picture from a new coal-fired power plant we made a special trip to see, being built in rural East Java.. everyone nearby was so proud about this! I don't know how proud they will be when the nearby waterways and air are painfully polluted in the upcoming years.

Or how happy we will be looking back on the present. When the atmosphere was speaking to us, the world was warming, we knew the solutions yet took little action... So I repeat, if you care about the environment, right now the single most important thing you can do right now is tell your elected officials to DO THEIR JOBS. I'll include those links again from the top. Every email for phone call makes a difference!

Environmental Defense Fund, write to President Obama
NRDC's Action Fund, easy way to find and call your Senators

Bizarro things

Over the last two months in Indonesia I've encountered some odd and downright confusing cultural differences. I hope to others reading they will be as entertaining, even without experiencing their charming Southeast Asian context in person.

KFC on a Friday night: As I noted in my post about the US – England soccer game, the place to be on a weekend night is clearly KFC. They have live music and the place is full of people older than teenagers. Same thing for McDonalds, where they have wifi, flat screen TVs, live music, 24 hour delivery. Perhaps this is because bars are absent and people need somewhere to go to socialize? Unclear.



Cat tails & cat fights: Thin, non-friendly felines are abundant in Bogor. There are a few particularly feisty ones that live on our street and several times I have been violently awoken by the sound of their fighting. It’s loud and wild and scares the crap out of me. Wilder than any cat fight I ever heard in the Bx. Also most of the cat tails are oddly shaped, I have tried to snag pictures of this when I can.




Snake oil: I call it snake oil but it is actually cajuput oil, a very traditional medicine Indonesians use for EVERYTHING: stomach pain, bug bites,nausea, Galih even tried to rub it on Dan’s feet when he was throwing up all night in Pacitan. True story - snake oil is the solution for everything. Dan likens it to Indonesian icy hot and it does have some similar properties. I was intrigued by this so I bought some, 2 little bottles (pictured below) cost me a buck so I figured I would have to give it a shot. It does a fantastic job taking the itch out of bug bites and even helped with some of the minor stomach pain I've experienced. I am a believer- the snake oil is coming back to America.



What went on in the mall: We observed a very strange performance of what I assume is an Indonesian fairy tale happening at Botani Square one Sunday afternoon. I included some pictures of the witch, princess and cross dressing male. I tried to ask a few people what the story was but again this remains a mystery.




Music: I’ve heard EVERYTHING here.. from music that is HOT off the press (Literally heard Shakira’s Waka Waka every single day since I arrived last month) to the randomest old tunes. Examples:
-Keane, Everybody’s Changing. Heard in the supermarket, this is more than five years old and never got that popular in the US, I almost fell over when it came on
-Barenaked Ladies, Falling for the First Time. At the Jakarta airport, also confusing, this one is old and did it ever get that popular??
-I forget the artist but I believe its called ‘Crazy over you’ (chorus: crazy over you, my boo, ooh!) – at a restaurant.. so random, think this one’s several years old also
-TLC, Scrubs. In the 4 hr journey from Jogja to Pacitan a few weeks ago, I was so delirious I sang word for word and the driver thought I was crazy
-Ace of Base, Don’t Turn Around . Also heard on the radio in our drive from Jogja to Pacitan, again I proceeded to sing to this jam from my youth, utterly confusing our driver further

Internet/Cell phone plans: Made a few references already to my frustrations over this. All plans are pre-paid, fairly cheap just to text and make short calls but they still prove to be unbelievably confusing. Figuring out how internet works is by far the most confusing. We purchased modems (kind of like air cards you can use in USB plugs) that use the cell phone signal/sim card to run. We were told we purchased unlimited plans but they more or less ran out after our first week of modest use. And apparently after a certain download threshold the speech decreases significantly. I tried Telkomsel (largest provider here) which did not work in rural East Java.. for trip two I bought an XL (second largest provider here) sim card in hopes it would be better there, and it proved worse. I made peace with the fact that no matter where I am I will have issue with my cell provider: it is a universal, cross-cultural truth for me.

Dear Vodafone in Australia, AT&T and Verizon in the US, Telkomsel and XL in Indonesia,
I hate you all, equally.
Love, Andrea

sama sama means you’re welcome

While living in Australia I was struck how much their version of “you’re welcome” - “no worries” reflects the country’s friendly, laid back sentiments. Most of the time, the Aussies literally have no worries and sincerely mean it when they show gratitude for thanks in this way.

Sama sama is bahasa for “you’re welcome.” Literally translated it means “same same.” At first this seemed like a rather odd reply for giving thanks, but upon spending a little time in Indonesia it clicked for me. This is why I spent some more time thinking about why sama sama was so important to the Indonesia people. A little role play to demonstrate..

Andrea says: Terima kasih (Thank you)

X replies: Sama sama

What I hear in my head: NO, same same, thank YOU for your company

It’s as if they want to return the thanks to you, more so than with a “my pleasure” reply. It represents a stronger display of gratitude that reflects a deep rooted, caring nature of the people here.

It’s hard for me to point to one simple anecdote that’s led me to this little rant. Perhaps it’s the waiters who respond to my broken bahasa, attempting their broken English so I can actually understand what I’m ordering. Or the kindness all of our new friends display in helping us navigate the landscape here. Maybe its also the MANY simple activities that I could take care of myself (buying a few small items from the grocery store in Pacitan, for example) which have turned into full on group activities. Admittedly, being a ferociously independent person capable of doing most things on my own, this drove me crazy at first. Now that I understand (or at least I think I do!) the roots behind these overly friendly behaviors, I am trying to give up the caring and just accept the extra company!


Yes, people riding on top of train. This is a regular occurrence. Perhaps they are waving to thank me for taking their picture?


Dude selling eels at a market in Jakarta. Also, I imagine he's thanking me for taking his picture.. doubtful many people want to remember those eels.

Food from the field

And on to the food we’ve had all week. First, everyone seems to have the exact same dishes and cups and cup covers for the tea. Everyone. This is a close up shot, along with the remnants of my peanut snacking. You’ll notice these little cup covers in the background of basically every other picture I’ve taken here.. Must be a good business for whoever is makin em.



Slightly unrelated but in many homes I’ve observed random cultural icons that sneak their way into things: Garfield sheets, Little Mermaid Tupperware, Mickey Mouse T-shirts. These paired with the fact that 100% of the male farmers have full, thick mustaches and the time period that I’m in becomes highly unclear.

Snacks every day ranged from donuts to fried peanuts coated in flour (probably ate my weight’s worth of these) to bananas chips to sweet tea. Tea continues to be a must.

White rice ALWAYS comes with lunch. Other staples are tempe, tofu, noodles, vegetable soups in chicken broth or coconut milk, level of spices varied. Rahmi, Icha and Galih would always pre-warn me if something was too spicey for my non-Native tastes. Eggplant is included a few days in the vegetables and every time I go nuts. Fried bananas coated in flour were pretty common and they taste so much freaking better than anything I will ever be able to buy in the US. One day was also given quite possibly the most fabulous papaya ever, I think I embarrassed myself by how much I ate of it, if I did I really don’t care. Another day we had a fantastic fried fritter like object from corn, or at least I think it was corn.. either was it was delicious.

The women really fussed over me and made me feel like I was right at home in Maria’s kitchen being forced to eat until I’m full. One of the afternoons, after I finished my second helping of lunch, the mother of the house, grabbed my dish and without asking me filled it again with rice and noodles. I saw no other option than to finish my plate yet again. Good thing I like to eat.



In our final day of interviews,snacks were banana chips, peanuts, cassava chips and sweet tea. Finally by the end of the week I started exhibiting self-control with the snacking, striking a balance between being a polite guest and stuffing my face. That was UNTIL I tried the homemade cassava chips. They were spicy (chile) and sweet (coconut sugar) and put any potato chip I’ve ever had to shame. Lunch was extra delicious vegetable soup, coconut milk with green beans and eggplant (terong, which I again make a big fuss about) and fantastic tempe. I will learn how to make tempe before I come home.



Mrs. Narti (third from the left above) made the cassava chips and in addition to this out of this world skill, from her interview I can tell she is smart, resourceful and progressive- she uses climate forecasts and reports 3X the yields of her neighbors on the same amount of land. She also told me that her daughter saw me running one morning before she went to school and apparently waited for me in the afternoon! I’m flattered and demand a picture.



I think after my first week running around here people accepted that the American girl is crazy. So by the end of my stay here, EVERYONE honks and yells, sometimes in English, sometimes in Bahasa, sometimes in Javanese, or sometimes a blend of all: Good morning! Hello! Run run! Even with the tough hills and heat I keep a big smile on my face, as this greeting is universal.

There is something simple and honest and equally universal about breaking bread with folks that I just couldn’t get enough of this week.

More thoughts from the field

I’ve spent the last week listening to the final round of surveys with the farmers in the tiny Pringkuku village of rural East Java. Most of my days were spent at the homes of various farmer groups across the village, which of course entailed a smorgasbord of lunches and snacks. More on my favorites in the next post, but first a few shots of what the average day looked like.




Note: all the men are chain smoking.



I finally started to get some consistent answers from the people I spoke with, maybe this means I’m getting closer to the truth? For example, it’s been a struggle just to figure out where the rainfall data comes from, what department/agency reports it where, and who has the longest/most accurate records. This in itself was no small task and may be the most important work I’m able to complete here.

In terms of consistent answers from the dozens of farmers we’ve spoken to, it is difficult to propose ONE solution that would help every single person. We meet people with highly varied struggles and levels of sophistication, from those who simply start planting when their neighbors do, to those who know the sound of every single insect and what that means for the rains, to those who report that the climate forecasts are accurate 80% of the time.

After many more questions, patterns started to become slightly clearer. It’s become incredibly apparent to me here how closely many people’s livelihoods are tied to rainfall. For example, in years when rainfall is low, late or unreasonably intermittent and crop production suffers, farmers report many different and equally upsetting coping strategies: they sell their livestock, take loans from various places, get second jobs. Most are too afraid to deviate (read: unwilling to task risks that might be more profitable) from their usual cropping patterns or using different varieties because they have zero savings should their experiments fail. These are some of the responses that I’ve read numerous times in reports or journals. However the message really resonates when you sit face to face with a friendly Indonesian father and he tells you that his biggest worry is just to be able to afford education costs for his children, which are constantly increasing. Or when a woman tells you that she doesn’t qualify for health insurance so she is always concerned about how she would pay for health coverage if her daughters ever have an accident.

These confessions of concern remind me not only how similar the worries of people are across the globe- but also how important it is to try to find solutions to these struggles. I think I have a few answers for helping cope with climate difficulties, and plan to work hard over the final weeks of my internship to articulate those ideas so that perhaps someone will listen.

Return to Pacitan

I returned Sunday morning to Pacitan for another week or so to hear more farmer interviews and hunt down additional data.

I occasionally keep track of full day activities (chosen not to put these it on the blog because they are long!) to remember all of the highs, lows and oddities that happen in a single 24 hours of my present life. On my return to Pacitan I thought it appropriate to chronicle the full weekend so all could best understand my FULL journey.. as the whole weekend felt like one VERY long day.

Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early for arguably the best run I’ve had while here, 7 miles in the morning heat through the botanical gardens. I am literally high on endorphins and ready by 9am for our journey to visit Puncak mountain and the well-known Taman Safari Zoo several miles outside of Bogor. Being on Indo time, 9am turns into 11am, and we head out on angkot (public transport=small crowded vans) for the mountain. Despite warnings from a few folks about traffic due to the school holidays, we head out later than we should have. And we suffered for this mistake. Looking later I realize that Lonely Planet calls Puncak Pass “pandemonium” on the weekends. All signs point to epic fail on this mission.

Our first ankgot took about 45 minutes to travel roughly two miles. We end up walking another mile or so to get to the second angkot that we need and at this point, Dan starts warning us that we should turn around. I’m not believing him.. not yet. It’s before noon and we have the whole day ahead of us, how long could it possibly take??


Crammed in van #1, still all smiles

So it’s hot. I’ve already drank close to 3L of water for the day. We struggle to find an angkot for the second part of the route, one that’s not too crowded. But they all are packed, it’s a matter of just how uncomfortable you want to make yourself. Now it’s roughly 12:30. I’m starting to do the math. Another hour or two of traveling, several hours of waiting and crowds and heat and then several hours home and we may not be home until 10 or so. This isn’t working out well for my plan of an evening nap + 3rd place World Cup game + going straight to a 4:30am airport bus for my 7:45am flight to Jogja + several hours more travel to Pacitan. Realizing this, I jump on Dan’s bandwagon that we should abort mission. After we finally find one, angkot number two similarly is at a dead standstill. It appears that every man, woman, child and tourist in Indonesia ALSO planned to visit Punak this day. After another half an hour and a little whining on my part, Daniel exercises fantastic judgment and decides we really should abort and head up another time. So you have a sense of the journey…


Cars, people, motorcycles EVERYWHERE


On the way home- you can see the traffic we were sitting in earlier!

Upon our return to Bogor we have a marvelous lunch at Apple Pie, a uniquely themed restaurant that serves, you guessed it, mostly pies. By 3pm I’m happily home to nap a little and finish packing before dinner. The heat totally exhausted me and after our 3 hours of traveling to go nowhere, all I can manage to do the rest of the day is eat and nap and drink water.

Dinner is equally marvelous, a middle eastern restaurant with hookahs. Sisah in bahasa. We don’t have one but I am just happy to be in the presence of sisah. We head back to Dan’s house around 10, chat with the bros about music and and Obama and food safety and pollution which is enlightening. Apparently there is an Indonesian equivalent of the FDA but their rules are far less strict. I tell the bros who are studying agri-business and food safety that improving this problem should be their mission in life. Despite the stimulating discussion I am pooped. I decide to nap again before the 3rd place game and I get up to catch the second half AND importantly to skype with the EHT folks before Gina’s wedding. Skype is awesome. Seeing everybody all dressed up pretty and smiling was such a delight! Still so bummed to have been away from home for this!!

The bus to the airport is not too crowded and the AC is freezing. Apparently the only way to beat traffic is to head out before 5am. I arrive at the airport before 6am and its packed. I am convinced that 90% of travelers have the push carts full of huge stuffed suitcases and duct tapped boxes. It makes me feel like I actually pack lightly. Where are they going and what is in those boxes? Delightful things about travel here: security is painless and airport workers are helpful -including the very polite man who checked my boarding pass and told me I am beautiful, despite my messy side braid, glasses and bags under my eyes from lack of sleep. This is another clear case of attention invoked only by my US Passport. I also love that I can carry on as much fruit and water as I like. At that moment I had a fresh 1.5L bottle of water, three bananas, two apples, and an apple pie from Apple Pie some 16 hours ago.

On the flight, I sit next to a lovely couple who lives in Jogja. The husband’s English is pretty good and he strikes up conversation which I politely engage in despite the fact that exhaustion is really hitting me. He asks me about Obama- my second Obama conversation in less than 12 hours. I must say, most people love our President here (remember, Barry lived in Jakarta for a short time growing up) and it continues to be a pleasure traveling with a well respected President.

I arrive ahead of Galih who is coming to guide me the rest of the way to Pacitan where English gets less and less common. The Jogja airport is tiny. The food stinks (which is heartbreaking considering how wonderful the food actually is just a short cab ride away). Cabbies bug the hell out of me for a ride. I still love this airport because I’m familiar now and I got here all by myself. I sit down at a cafe to wait for Galih. It’s barely 9:30 in the morning. I’m hot, tired and hungry. My body has no idea what time it actually is, so I order salty meatball noodle (basko) soup and it is perfect.

Galih, set to meet me at 9, finally arrives at 12:30 due to traffic . Rahmi was due in around 11, she arrived at noon, also behind because of traffic. The car ride takes approximately 4 hours and I’m not entirely sure why, traffic partially to blame in Jogja city. On my trip home two weeks ago it took 2.5 hours roughly to get to Jogja from Pacitan I’ve decided that when I think I know how long something is going to take, I should add approximately 2-4 hours to that, and that is when I will arrive.

Sunday evening we had a little birthday party for Galih, his birthday was Friday the 9th. Last time I was here he told me (as we discussed our family and holiday traditions) that he NEVER had birthday parties growing up. I decided we needed to put an end to that. I make dinner and we celebrate with the apple pie I dragged here, as well as party hats, candles and noisemakers. I think the pictures speak for themselves.





By 9pm I am completely exhausted and as much as it pains me to admit it, I slept through the World Cup Final. Kick off was 1:30am my time and after my long weekend of heat, traffic and traveling, there was no way I could do two nights in a row of minimal sleep. Also I wrote earlier about the debacle of watching games in Pacitan on my last trip. It would have involved us crashing the neighbors house in the middle of the night, something else I wasn’t incredibly in the mood to do. I chose health over soccer, and considering how fabulously rested I felt on Monday morning, I know I made the right choice. We had a busy week of interviews ahead! Many more pictures and stories from it to come.

4th of July weekend: nothing happens quickly in Indonesia

I couldn't have scripted a better Fourth of July weekend, as it was a perfect blend of good old American celebration and Indonesian inability for anything to happen quickly. A quick rundown of activities-

Friday evening: I saw Eclipse. Not afraid to admit I liked it. I am probably so relieved to have time to see movies that the sheer act of attendance is beyond therapeutic for me. I swore I would never dabble in the Twilight series but I think I might need to now.

I alluded in an earlier post to my hatred for Telkmosel (cell/internet provider here) - they are the worst. In my attempts to get rid of them I have had to run around to multiple different stores.. after the movie I made my fourth stop to figure out how to fix my internet set up at home. This attempt took about an hour, but finally the problem was solved. Nothing happens quickly or easily. Thankfully to recover from that pain in the ass errand we had a delightful dinner in a new part of town and caught the Netherlands upset of Brazil. Wowza.

Saturday, Daniel and Tamara led us to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, a popular tourist spot outside of Jakarta. It's not too far but was a journey! We hopped on a bus - there are no schedules/just leave when their full- this meant we ended up standing the whole way, jumped off said bus while still moving because I am not quite sure that stops are defined, hopped on an angkot (small van that equates to mass transit) for a few more minutes until we arrived at our destination. Nothing happens quickly. On the way home we had a miserable time finding a cab or angkot back to the bus, so in the blazing heat/humidity we settled for a long walk + angkot + cab back to Bogor. Total travel time: 3+ hours to go back and forth, less than 50 miles total.

The best way I can describe Taman Mini Indonesia Indah is as Mini Epcot Center. It displays a home/small museum for all of the 34 provinces in the country, illustrating the rich diversity in cultures, food, tribes, traditions that have evolved across the 13,000+ islands here. I included a few of the many pics below.. The park also came equipped with paddle boats (my plan to do this got vetoed!), a sky gondola ride, a WATERPARK, and a magic kingdom-esque castle for kids in the center. Much better than
Disney, and much cheaper!







Sunday the 4th, we found a way to barbecue. This was essential. Daniel's FABULOUS Aunt and Uncle happen to live right across the street and welcomed us to take over their house and grill for an overindulgent afternoon. I can't remember the last time a 4th of July rolled around and I did not made my signature American flag cake. Although it was a little makeshift this year, I persevered!



Indonesian "why does this take so long" moments: Our morning grocery store run took more than than two hours even with a ride. We thought we got started prepping plenty early but it turns out American charcoal exists nowhere except America. Dan scrambled with his bros to find something suitable and managed to save the day. It was later than expected, thus proving yet again, that nothing happens quickly in Indonesia. Hopefully I come home a little more patient.





We ended the evening with a long group sing-a-long, mostly of American tunes that I cannot believe have made their way over here. Also unbelievable is the fact that more than half of our party can play the guitar and sing. This further emphasized for me that food, music and soccer really do unite the world. If my internet was a little faster I have many videos to share, but that may have to wait until I'm home. Nothing happens quickly.

This must be the only Fourth of July I've spent away from American independence.. I was bummed to miss this wonderful mid-summer tradition, but our new friends here help make it most wonderful for us!

Food Access

Food is funny. It is tied greatly to our cultures, families, religions and availability. My love of food is part of what drove me to this internship in the first place. Turns out the feeding myself piece of the trip has been a bit of a challenge.


I like coconuts.


Let me start by saying this: I’d like to think I’m a fairly liberal (by American standards) about trying daring food options and general concern for refrigeration. I’m not obsessed. Food can get left out, within reason. I’d rank myself (again, by Western standards) a 7 out of 10. However even with my liberal standards I am pretty sure all the “street meat,” which is a predominant food option in many parts of the country, would be shut down in 30 seconds by any Department of Health. I’m not exaggerating. My standards for what is acceptable have decreased infinitely.

Let me explain with an anecdotal story about a dinner we had a few weeks back in Bogor during which I thought I led us to a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant. Immediately after we sat down our friendly waiter asked if we wanted something… I assumed he asked if wanted menus, and I politely shook my head. Instead they brought out a smorgasboard of food. Maybe I should learn the word for menu. It did not appear so terrible at first, some hard boiled eggs, friend chicken, white rice, other assorted vegetables and meat items in spicy sauce that we couldn’t account for. We quickly realized that most of the food was cold, likely prepared hours (or worse, days!)ago... and we were charged by what we ate, which leads us to believe they reuse the food for other customers. Turns out this was NOT a Lonely Planet recommendation.

The quality of water paired with a lack of refrigeration creates a perfect recipe for travelers falling ill to painful stomach problems. THANKFULLY I have remained healthy the first month here. When you start to talk to the locals about the problems we weak stomached Americans have, it turns out many of them suffer from pain frequently, getting sick as often as once per week. This doesn’t seem normal to me.

Another anecdote comes from my time in Pacitan. We had a delightful woman from the community cooking for us and she did prepare a nice variety of foods, per my request and of course Galih’s uber concern for me staying happy and healthy. Aside from me begging for her to make vegetables, I would have been limited to rice and meat. The food access in this rural region struck me as extremely limited, which is so upsetting for a rich agricultural place! I asked many of the farmers what they grow during bad drought seasons (important for understanding climate coping strategies), and their reply was that they either grow nothing, or something with little nutritional content such as cassava. They also report in Pacitan that almost entirely all of the rice the farmers grown for self consumption. I can’t help but wonder and be worried that during these periods the food access is limited to fried cassava and rice. Many of the farmers have smaller vegetable gardens but nothing that is grown in large quantities. This lack of crop diversity is alarming and is an issue that I’m grappling with in my climate adapation assessment. Although the two may not seem linked, they are!

Runs to local small bodega-esque stores in Pacitan reveal a small amount of vegetables but a great amount of processed foods. It is sad that such a demand exist.. I’ve also been told that Pizza Hut is considered the best pizza in Indonesia. This makes my stomach turn over. Really? Dammit Fast Food Nation America!!! I could go on but I’ll leave it at dammit America!

Maybe I haven’t seen enough of a representative sample, but it feels to me that Bogor is at a crossroads, as its a city overburdened by the spillover from the close to 9 million crowd in Jakarta, 30 miles away but can take 3 hours with traffic. Bogor has some really great dining experiences (which, not to worry we are finding and enjoying!) but they are overshadowed in my opinion by the abundance of fast food and questionable street meat. If the people know the food can be extremely harmful, why isn’t more done to avoid it? It’s likely the same reason that trash collection is unreliable and pollution so rampant. I can’t pretend that in two short months here I will be able to answer these questions or enact change, but it is still very troubling for me as a foodie.

Despite the challenges, I have found some deliciousness in Indonesia. Fried tempe! Satay. Whatever the amazing peanut sauce is that they use many items here. The avocado juice which tastes more like a smoothie - found everywhere - is out of this world. Fried rice is so awesome, but I can’t eat it every meal or even day. Fresh fruit juices. Bananas in all kinds of desserts. Delicious. Enak.


Fried tempe and some kind of phenomenal rice-coconut milk this is supposed to be healthy treat.

Maybe my health thus far is a result of good fitness or extreme anal retentiveness about food and hygiene or just dumb luck. I am going to try like hell to keep it all up throughout the remainder of my trip. But I will never, ever take for granted the good fortune we have in the US never to worry about clean tap water or food served at a restaurant making you sick.