Where are all the dogs?

10 Nov 13

            So there has been something weighing on my mind since I have been here.  It has been almost a month and I have only seen maybe 2 dogs.  When I was in Guatemala, I was immediately attacked by street dogs, and so I was prepared to dust off my old “dog repellant” techniques that I learned on my mission.  I have seen a lot of cats, but no dogs…Why?  So, I have asked around, and the only thing I have been told is that dogs are very dirt and Muslims are very conscious of cleanliness, and if a dog licks you, then you are dirty.  However, if you go to other parts of Indonesia there are dogs.  The reason why there are dogs in other parts is because the dogs are used as tools…not pets.  It then dawned on me that I had learned a lesson quite a long time ago in one of my Intl Relations classes…I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Mohammad had a cat, you know.  Since this is a largely Muslim country, it makes sense why there is not a large population of street dogs.

            The people at church have really opened up their arms of fellowship, as well as their homes.  Last Tuesday I was invited by the Relief Society president over to her house for a birthday celebration and the fact that they had the day off Tuesday due to the Arabic New Year, they held a bar-b-que.  Several people in the ward work for Conoco/Exxon and have been all over the world.  It rained pretty hard that day, but I was still able to catch a cab and attend the bar-b-que..  I must say, these Conoco folks are living life nice.  They have very glamorous houses, furnished with very beautiful furniture, and usually there is a pool in the back.  This particular family has been all over the world and their house is full of souvenirs from places like Doha, Germany, Japan, etc.  After dinner we played some good old-fashioned “Mexican Train Dominos.”  It was a really good time.

            

Over the last couple of days, I have had the opportunity of watching different Indonesian-produced movies in class.  The focus of all of these movies has been the issue of education, and how it has affected the overall development of the country.  It is very common for a child to not attend school, and this really hurts the country’s future.  These films have enlightened my understanding to the different efforts that have been taking place in this country to improve education.  Probably one of my favorite films is called “Laskar Pelangi” or “Rainbow Troops.”  It is about this tin mining town in the 1970’s that has several different elementary schools.  But the oldest Islamic school is “out-dated” and on the brink of falling apart.  It shows the contrast between a well-funded school and a school that suffers just to get chalk, but the school that lacks funds has children that really want to learn, and go to great lengths to attain their elementary school education.

            This weekend, the Breau family (Homestay I am staying at) held a party for friends, family and their servants.  It was really cool to see the servants kick back and not have to be working.  I was able to get to know them a little better, as well as meet some new people.  I had a chance to Facetime with Gretchen and I got to take her on a tour of the house…I could hear Elise in the background talking about the “mansion.”  I feel very fortunate and lucky to be staying here.  I will definitely request this Homestay for future trips and they will get a pretty sweet recommendation from me on Trip Advisor...