It's cold here. Fresh, crisp, American fall cool, sans colored leaves and pre-winter chills. The weather in Toraja is perfect - sometimes sunny and warm without being unbearably hot and humid, sometimes cool and moist, like an autumn rainy day. I wake up burrowed under my thick blankets and step out of bed into the crisp, cold morning air. It's too cold to take a shower in the morning from my low pressure shower. It's so cold, in fact, that I heat my water and pour it into a large plastic bin, so I can scoop it over my head with a plastic scooper. No long showers here.
I live in a village, approximately 2 kilometers from Rantepao, the largest town in the province of Toraja, South Sulawesi. Town is an overstatement, I think, since Rantepao is about 1/8 the size of Bontang, the town in which I lived last year in Kalimantan (Borneo). Rantepao is a town of contradictory ideas. There are so many bule here - foreigners from America, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and other places - who tour around to see Torajan mountains and funerals. I have yet to sit in a cafe in which I am the only non-Indonesian person there and I'm not sure . The prices in the local warungs reflect the tourism industry - nasi goreng (fried rice) costs about Rp. 20.000, groceries cost double what they did in Kalimantan, and everyone solicits me on the streets for ojek rides, tourist excursions, etc. I'm not used to this side of Indonesia.
At the same time, I can't find yogurt or fresh milk, among other items non-existent in my village. In fact, I buy most of my groceries in Makassar, a large city and international hub 8 hours away, due to the limited supplies of necessities I can't find here. The roads are tiny and crowded, bustling with sitors (motorbikes pushing covered seated carts around town), motorbikes, cars, and the occasional truck full of kerbau (buffalo) in the back, heading to a funeral. There are lots of small shops with everything imagineable - mechanics shops with pipes, tires, and appliance pieces (imagine the mechanics/plumbing/construction sections of Home Depot thrown together in a space the size of a convenience store), and housewares shops with plastic tubs, dishes, rugs, ovens, stoves, and shelves. Shopping in Rantepao (in any Indonesian community for that matter) is like rummage sale/Goodwill/secondhand shopping. It's chaotic and crazy - everything crammed together in tiny, barely walkable aisles, dishes piled next to cleaning supplies that are randomly placed in front of feminine care products.
Begitu. It's like that. I love it. Shopping for even basic necessities is like an unexpected treasure hunt - you find things you need and want in places you'd never expect. The other day, I found Fillippo Bergio Italian olive oil next to bottles of sambal (chile sauce), chocolate chips on the top shelf above instant noodles, and Pepsi wedged between chocolate milk and beer in the tiny local grocery store. The ability to find tems available on a day to day basis changes constantly - one day you might find spaghetti noodles, the next day they're gone and you won't see them for two months. Imagine if Kroger or Meijer or Whole Foods suddenly stopped providing cheese, noodles, or some other item for a few weeks. Hence I stock up on products I like when I find them. I never know what will be available in my grocery store.
Rantepao is a bustling little town, due (I think) to the influx of tourists and constant funeral preparations. However, the town still retains its village-like mentality and charm. When I drive around with my counterpart, he always rolls the car window down to extend greetings to his friends and neighbors around town. The employees of every store I visit know Pak Marthen and SMA Kristen Barana'. Random people I meet in warungs (small cafes), on ojeks (motorcycle drivers who act as taxis), on the streets...all know "Mr. Ezra," my friend and fellow ETA from last year. I love the close-knit feel of the community - it's much more communal than Bontang. Also, people use the local language much more frequently here than in Bontang, probably due to the fact that most people here speak the same language, Bahasa Toraja, because they're Torajan. Bontang is very ethnically diverse, with Dayak, Kutai, Banjar, Bugis, Javanese, Torajan, Minahasan, Balinese, and Batak people all living together in the same town. Everyone spoke Bahasa Indonesia in order to understand each other. Here in Rantepao, people interchangeably use Bahasa Toraja and Bahasa Indonesia, even mixing the two languages together. It's a fascinating place to live and I can't wait to learn more about the culture.
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