I spent the last two days in Jakarta applying for a new passport. And to my happy surprise, they love Americans at the American Embassy! Instead of waiting in the hellishly long lines like everyone else (all Indonesian people) I was guided directly to the person I needed to talk to, who happily explained the passport replacement process.
The other folks at the US Embassy were not so lucky. Everyone who applied for a visa had to explain, in English, why the visa was necessary. If the person behind the visa window didn't think the applicant was qualified, she would ask harsh questions in quick succession. Applicants would become flustered, forget their English language, and most visa applicants were rejected. It would have been funny if people didn't look so sad after rejection...
Jakarta was a mini-vacation from Pontianak; vacation came mostly in the form of food. For breakfast I had coffee without sugar and coffee grounds (hard to find here in Ponti), lunch was south Indian, and dinner was exquisite Thai food plus a nice glass of wine. Now I'm back in Pontianak, after my workout at the mall gym, sipping mango juice and steeling myself for a wet ride back to the SIMPUR office -- a rainy night outside!
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