Back from the States

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Hello again

Sorry I have done such a poor job of updating my blog. I just returned from a whirlwind trip to the States - I visited nine states for ten medical school interviews in two and half weeks. It was quite a trip.

As far as I know, the interviews went well. While I am a bit worse for the wear, I am excited to be back and re-immersing. I think the hardest part of the adjustment to life in Bontang is over, which means I have much to look forward to.

When my interviewers asked about Bontang, I found myself describing the unique nature of the city. That is, as I have said before, Bontang is a city of migrants; forty years ago, there was no Bontang. As such, Bontang is composed of Indonesians from all over this archipelago nation.

This diversity has had interesting consequences for the development of Bontang, one of the most visible being cooperation between religions. While in some areas in Indonesia Christians and Muslims are involved in lengthy conflicts, here relations seem perfectly amicable. Ten or twenty years ago, when Bontang was much smaller, it was not uncommon for a Christian and a Muslim to marry, despite government recommendations that people marry within their own religion. While I have no idea how common inter-religion marrying was/is, one of the teachers I know, a Catholic, is currently engaged to be married to a Muslim man.

If I sound surprised about this, it is just that Bontang is a relatively religious city. While religion may be losing its influence in national politics (I recently read that secular parties are leading religious parties in political polls), many people I know are still very connected to their religion. When I take roll in class, for example, the religion of each of the students is written next to their names. When talking to a fellow teacher about life in Bontang, he stated one of things he likes most about Bontang is the support it provides for the practice of Islam. In his hometown, if you went to mosque before dawn, you would find yourself without a lot of company; here, the mosques are packed before the sun peaks its head above the horizon. Here, many Christians fast for lent.

Despite all of this, I have yet to see or experience any religious intolerance. We all could learn a thing or two from the general “cultural competence” of the people I have met - they are both aware and accepting of differences in religion, food, dress, and social-customs.

Beyond being comfortable with such differences, people seem to embrace them. To raise money for a new Catholic church, the congregation held a show of traditional Indonesian dances. At church, the choir director was wearing a batik shirt from his hometown in Lombok. When I discussed culture with my students, several of the Christian students, upon the request of their Muslim friends, described how pork tastes (Muslims do not eat pork).

Among the things I am looking forward to now that I am back in Indonesia, I am hoping to obtain a more nuanced understanding of inter-religion relations, relations between conservative and liberal members of the same religion, and the role of religion in health, healing, sickness, and death.

Your jet-lagged friend,

Kerry

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Comments

[Mom]

It's about time!
I'm glad that you are settling back in...and arrived safe and sound. Nice post. Thx. Love you, Mom