Is July about to elapse with only one post so far? That’s not very impressive… There hasn’t been much to report but hopefully that will be changing. I’ve saved most of my vacation time for the second half of the contract, and will fly to Yogjakarta in middle Java in a few weeks, returning to Bali by train (ferry and Bemo), stopping off to check out still slightly active volcanic Mt. Bromo.

Also found out good friends Billy and Xuan are coming for an extended stay in September to get Dive Master certification. I’m very psyched to have them in the area! Part of the joy of seeing cool shit is sharing it. But I’m resistant to let them talk me into actually diving – an expensive habit I don’t need. Hopefully I can stay in my economic class simply snorkeling on the surface and in the shallows. But I will travel with them to Sulawesi, Kalimantan (which you may know as Borneo) or Flores/Kimono/Rican etc. for dives.

I also move this weekend. Found another place, slightly bigger and higher rent, but with no electric bill, so less $ overall per month. Something tells me I’ll miss the “unlimited laundry for a flat rate” deal I’ve got going with my landlady though…

I’ve been pulled over 3 times in the last 24 hours. I didn’t pay a “fine” (bribe) any of the three, as I have the registration for the motorbike and my fake Australian drivers license. But it pisses me off anyway. The two yesterday were roadblocks where they pull everyone over on the bypass, en route to Padang Bai for some snorkeling – which was choice btw. I met a girl with an underwater camera, and was psyched at the possibility of sharing some of the neon, tropical wonder I saw down there. But back on land I unfortunately realized her shots were mostly shit, so I didn’t bother asking her to email them to me.

And then on the way to work this morning a traffic cop pulled me aside again. No, pig, I am not a fucking Australian here on a 10 day vacation, I have my documents, and you aren’t making any lunch money off me. When he had the nerve to ask me “Where are you going?” (which is an annoyingly common question here, yelled at you by vendors all day long in certain areas) I said in surly fashion “To work!” , though I wanted to say “Up your mother’s ass!”. It’s not my fault you aren’t paid shit and part of your income is based on extortion. But I know the game, quit wasting my time. It has nothing to do with anti-terror security, or road safety. Indonesians are allowed to run red lights and ride without helmets. Any Buleh seen doing so is stopped and fined. And of course when they aren’t around, everyone drives in classic Asian chaos style. Death Race 2011.

Add to this my apartment is starting to hassle me about not having something called a kipom. They mentioned it when I moved in, it’s like a residency permit for the banjar – a combination of the neighborhood watch and the mafia. But I never got one, as I was told by other teachers it wasn’t unnecessary for non-Indonesians. After all, I do have my kitas, work permit, and that should be enough. So six months rent paying has gone on with no problem, but I recently outed myself. Last month they started building vertical barricade bars at the top of the street. “That’s trouble”, I thought. But they have remained opened, I assumed for show only. But now they built a little guard hut, and I know wouldn’t go through all the effort to not make a check point. When I asked the landlady about it, figuring I’d soon have trouble coming and going without being able to show my kipom, she assured me not to worry about it. But the next day, the landlady for the other side of the building came to me, “Oh sir, you don’t have a kipom?” We argued about it a bit, as it hasn’t mattered until now, and then I told them I’ll move out at the end of the month. There is no lease after all. The kipom is only revenue for the banjar, who do nothing for me. It’s an absurdly safe neighborhood anyway. But now I’m expecting the guido fuckers to show up at my door any day looking for their $15 extortion tax. And of course it’s the “high season” and will be hard to find another place to move. But on principle I’m gonna look in these next three weeks before possibly giving in and jumping through their stupid hoop.

Last year, living in China, there was some bullshit that went on, but other than some website blockage, which wasn’t hard to get around, it never had to do with the govt. If anything, cops looked away when I rode by. Overall, there was a thankful vibe in general that I’d come to teach the useful skill of English in their country. I know there is corruption in the party, but it’s reserved for higher ups. No one came trying to dig a few bucks out of my pocket. Vendors were generally scrupulous too – though I think that had to do with the province, Shandong, who’s people are famously provincial but honest.
Here, whitey is only seen as someone to lean on, get a buck out of one way or the other. Indonesians bitch about corruption too, as they also fall victim, but there is a fatalistic “What can one do? Such is life” attitude. As an American, I’m used to certain “fine print” scams: insurance industry, credit card/banking industry, airlines losing your luggage or canceling flights, cable/cell phone companies etc etc. But when it comes to cops, I can’t get comfortable with one trying to shake me down. Make that constantly trying to shake me down.