Whew! What an eventful few days!
Friday, our shipment from Nigeria arrived at our door. It took 6 weeks to get from Nigeria to Jakarta and 2 months to get from Jakarta to Balikpapan ... customs issues, company issues, ... But now we are grateful to have the stuff that makes things seem more like home. And everything except the books is unpacked and in the proper places! Progress!
The shipment from the U.S. should be in Jakarta within the next 2 weeks! Progress!
We turned our rental car back to the owner last night. 'seemed that his price was too high but he wouldn't go down much. We just got tired of playing the pricing games so we quit playing! Progress!
No car, now ... Regress!
Because we don't have a car at the moment, there is no point in paying Soagi for driving (after all, we didn't hire him to be our gardener!) So, we let Soagi go this morning. We gave him a generous bonus and thanked him profusely. We are feeling very right about this decision, though we still think the guy is a sweetie. His timidity was causing us great concern as we were feeling increasingly more at risk in traffic. And he was becoming more and more "helpful" with the plants, doing things I didn't want ... planting some shoots in pots where I had seeds germinating and sticking all sorts of little, ugly plants in little, uglier pots! I have control of my plants back! Progress!
Today I hired a driver who is sometimes available to hire by the hourly rate of $5 -- his car, his fuel, ... not bad. The only issue is that he's not always available when we need a driver. But today, with this guy, Junaidi, driving I realized how v-e-r-y ssslllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooow Soagi drove. We did a route that would have taken Soagi 3 hours in 2 hours! Progress!
Today was also the annual meeting of our company's spouse organization. Elections of new leadership for the year. Same group that I was heavily involved with in Port Harcourt. Same group that caused great distress, disgust, and dismay. Sometimes the same problems occur in other locations. I wasn't feeling at all inclined to do a repeat! Some of the gals in the past week had told me that they all had come up with the great idea that Sharon should be the next coordinator. I tried to politely, but firmly, say "NO WAY, JOSE'!!!" But today, I had Jim praying for my ability to resist the coercive measures that they might employ. I tend to easily get sucked in when there is an obvious need ... I am pleased to report that I maintained my firm position of "No!" accompanied by a smile. A very capable gal who is even newer than I am had told me that she was determined to not get sucked into anything! She's already volunteered with another organization. Welllllllllll, she fell to the coercion. And she'll do very well. And I told her that I'd be there to support her. Progress!
The English class that I started teaching 2-ish weeks ago is gaining students. Three more gals said they were joining tomorrow. Fun, fun, fun! It makes their visiting at a luncheon meeting a little weird 'cuz after anything each one would say, they would turn to me to see if I nodded approval. But they are so motivated! Progress!
It's starting to feel cozy in our house. And Jim just got home so we need to finish "fixing" the dinner that Lusy prepared before she left. And then I'll work on final prep for teaching English tomorrow. Progress!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Stubbornness, Strong wills, and Surrender
"Amazingly, the One who demands the most surrender of my will is the One who wants and makes my will to be its strongest and best." John Ortberg
This little article by John Ortberg from Leadership Weekly Newsletter (an online subscription is available from the many options with Christianity Today) really grabbed my attention because I'd been mulling over character traits such as weakness, strength, stubbornness, humility, acceptance, etc. and how they relate to my struggles to adjust to this new place.
I think living, in general, in a developing-but-limited location would be much easier to handle if I was a bit (an understatement) more compliant and a bit less demanding in my expectations and desires. Yet, survivors/adapters in cross cultural living are usually highly resilient and strong. You can see the dilemma this mulling was creating in my thinking!
And then along came this article "The Strong Willed Leader" -- God's timing is perfect!
Now I can see that I was equating a surrendered will with a weak will. The life of a follower of Jesus is so filled with irony and paradox. The 2 Corinthians 12:10 stuff.
I have had blocks of time (moments or hours) in which I have struggled in my adjustments to this new place. Nigeria held similar struggles -- though the culture was VERY different there than it is, here! Even though the two locations are about as opposite as you could find, the fact remains that neither of them is "home". They are not part of my mind and heart's image of comfortable or familiar or "the way it should be". Neither place is "westernized" -- a condition which carries it's own mix of positives and negatives!
But Ortberg (another who has a Swedish heritage and, therefore, some level of stubbornness!) says, "At its heart, an indomitable will involves a sense of commitment; a binding of oneself to a task or a cause or a value so intensely that mere external forces are not allowed to sway or deter. At its best, in the words of Gerald May, it involves not willfulness but willingness—a giving of my will in the service of a greater mission."
And that's it! When I stubbornly and willfully demand (of God, or the air, or my husband, or the nearest whatever ...) that my life, here, meet an expectation or an image that I cherish in my heart or head -- I am guaranteed to be disappointed. When I indomitably and willingly commit to the reality in which God has placed me -- I am satisfied and sometimes, even, delighted. Oddly enough, the external forces only sway or deter the stubborn, those whose strength is great but not great enough to handle the slightest wave of the sea (James chapter 1 stuff) and not great enough to stay above the circumstances (Philippians chapter 4 stuff). To be missional is to be live apart from the circumstances.
Mmmmmm ... obviously I'm still mulling this over. I don't know if I'm communicating this with any clarity at all...
Your thoughts?
This little article by John Ortberg from Leadership Weekly Newsletter (an online subscription is available from the many options with Christianity Today) really grabbed my attention because I'd been mulling over character traits such as weakness, strength, stubbornness, humility, acceptance, etc. and how they relate to my struggles to adjust to this new place.
I think living, in general, in a developing-but-limited location would be much easier to handle if I was a bit (an understatement) more compliant and a bit less demanding in my expectations and desires. Yet, survivors/adapters in cross cultural living are usually highly resilient and strong. You can see the dilemma this mulling was creating in my thinking!
And then along came this article "The Strong Willed Leader" -- God's timing is perfect!
Now I can see that I was equating a surrendered will with a weak will. The life of a follower of Jesus is so filled with irony and paradox. The 2 Corinthians 12:10 stuff.
I have had blocks of time (moments or hours) in which I have struggled in my adjustments to this new place. Nigeria held similar struggles -- though the culture was VERY different there than it is, here! Even though the two locations are about as opposite as you could find, the fact remains that neither of them is "home". They are not part of my mind and heart's image of comfortable or familiar or "the way it should be". Neither place is "westernized" -- a condition which carries it's own mix of positives and negatives!
But Ortberg (another who has a Swedish heritage and, therefore, some level of stubbornness!) says, "At its heart, an indomitable will involves a sense of commitment; a binding of oneself to a task or a cause or a value so intensely that mere external forces are not allowed to sway or deter. At its best, in the words of Gerald May, it involves not willfulness but willingness—a giving of my will in the service of a greater mission."
And that's it! When I stubbornly and willfully demand (of God, or the air, or my husband, or the nearest whatever ...) that my life, here, meet an expectation or an image that I cherish in my heart or head -- I am guaranteed to be disappointed. When I indomitably and willingly commit to the reality in which God has placed me -- I am satisfied and sometimes, even, delighted. Oddly enough, the external forces only sway or deter the stubborn, those whose strength is great but not great enough to handle the slightest wave of the sea (James chapter 1 stuff) and not great enough to stay above the circumstances (Philippians chapter 4 stuff). To be missional is to be live apart from the circumstances.
Mmmmmm ... obviously I'm still mulling this over. I don't know if I'm communicating this with any clarity at all...
Your thoughts?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Soagi, Our Driver
Finally, I've got pictures of Soagi. As you can see, he's a tiny, old guy! He bows so much around me that he's kinda hunched over most of the time. It was nice to see him stand up with Jim for the photo.He seems older than he is, I believe. He walks with an old-man's shuffle and moves very slowly but I think he's just in his early 60s.
Soagi is a very devout Muslim.
Soagi has 5 children -- 3 boys and 2 girls. I think he has only 2 grandchildren. I believe only one daughter is married. #1 son is the chief mechanical engineer at the Novotel. #2 son is a pilot for Mandala Airlines and is based in Jakarta. I'm confused on the others -- a daughter works with computers, the other daughter -- I'm not sure. The youngest is his #3 son and he is a student at a university in Samarinda. He speaks almost exclusively about the boys. It took a long time to even hear anything about his wife. All that I now know is that he was married to her when they moved from the island of Java to Balikpapan in the 70s. He's most proud of #2 son -- the pilot. But he speaks of all three sons. The youngest is being assisted with university expenses by #1 and #2 sons and the oldest daughter.
The only other time he's mentioned his wife was when he told me that he has instructed her to never call him when he is working unless it is an emergency. But he takes phone calls ... He's very pro male in all of his perspectives, except, it seems, with me.
This will be an unusual relationship. Certainly not the open and family-like friendship I had with Jide. Oh, how I miss Jide! Between the language barriers and the cultural barriers, it's tough to get to know Soagi. But he keeps a constant smile on his face, seems overwhelmingly grateful for everything we do for him, and doesn't seem offended in the least that I don't dress as a proper Muslim woman would dress.
He's incredibly cautious, to the point of seeming fearful. I don't know if he drove for a Missus who was rude and demanding ... maybe that's it. But, he won't even put the car into drive until I've been seated and buckled for a while. Then he says, "Okay, Missus?" And I say "Okay." And we move. Jim quietly smirks at this whenever he witnesses it. If I just buckle up and say "okay," it's not enough ... he sticks to the routine -- we sit a bit (maybe he's praying a blessing on the car?) and then he says, "Okay, Missus?"
He's very protective of me. When Jim and I were hiking out and about on Saturday, Soagi was always hovering, saying things like "Be careful, Missus!" "Danger, Missus!" "I help, Missus!"
Again, I'm not sure what it is that drives his concerns but I can only assume that it's some kind of deep fear.
Another interesting tidbit -- he can only eat tidbits! He was, it seems, born at 7 months instead of 9 months. The way he explained it to me with broken English and Indonesian was interesting! I think I understood correctly. Anyway, he couldn't breast-feed (he demonstrated that one 'cuz he didn't know the English! that was weird!) so his mother raised him on cow's milk. But he's never been able to eat anything that's big -- only small fishes and shrimp. No beef, goat, etc. I don't even think he can eat chicken. I don't know why he can't eat small bites of big food but it's something to do with his digestion. He said that he gets sick. He can't have coffee, either. So, I don't know how often I'll buy him food when I'm out. I've already given him a can of iced coffee for when he broke his fast one day. Bummer. And I brought him some dinner once when he was going to be waiting for us to eat dinner. Fortunately it was little, rolled shrimp balls.
Soagi and Lusy are out running some errands right now -- going to the outdoor market that I prefer to avoid (I'm just not into the mixed odors of fresh fish, chicken, beef, durian, ... and the visual of rats scurrying around under the tables!), buying more bottles of water, and getting some photocopying done for my English class that starts tomorrow (yipppppppeeeeeeee!), ...
They seem to get along very well. Lusy helps translate when Soagi and I just can't get details clarified! (Like what days he wants off next week for Idul Fitri.)
And Soagi continues to baby all of my plants. He's nurturing some shoots he started -- he filled one entire long pot with mint shoots. If there's any mint in there at all, there's no point in planting anything else 'cuz the mint'll take over. So, after they've gotten strong I'll go out to a plant vendor and buy another pot and try to communicate that I'd like to grow some other herbs!
He's a sweetie ... it's just a bit exhausting being around him, though! We'll see how it goes ...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Deadlines, Demands, ... and all of that wonderful stuff!
Yippeeeeeeee! I have a class to teach!
I'm going to start teaching English to a group of Latino women who are here because they have husbands who work in the oil industry.
To have deadlines, to have people expecting me to produce results, to have expectations upon me, to have weekly demands for creativity and new ideas ... this is truly a wonderful way to live!
Yippppppppeeeeeeeeeeee!
Plus, it's a way to connect with some women. Considering the fact that in the past three months I've had very little human contact (except for our trip to the U.S.!) ... this is a very good thing!
Yippppppppeeeeeeeeeeee!
I'm going to start teaching English to a group of Latino women who are here because they have husbands who work in the oil industry.
To have deadlines, to have people expecting me to produce results, to have expectations upon me, to have weekly demands for creativity and new ideas ... this is truly a wonderful way to live!
Yippppppppeeeeeeeeeeee!
Plus, it's a way to connect with some women. Considering the fact that in the past three months I've had very little human contact (except for our trip to the U.S.!) ... this is a very good thing!
Yippppppppeeeeeeeeeeee!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday Outing
Japanese war memorial.
This guy was a pretty clever beggar. He spoke English rather well, boldly approached Jim and visited with him, let me take pictures, and then started singing "I Have a Dream" by Abba and in Mama Mia. He never asked for money but he certainly expected us to give him some. We did. And then he boarded the transport bus that was taking passengers across on the ferry. More entertaining to do!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Church and prayer
Welllllll, we went to church today. Didn't get there. But went!
And we had a full hour of prayer time, though.
I'd better explain:
Soagi has the day off. So in order to get to church we called Jim's company's pool car department. They didn't feel like being helpful and said that no car would be available until after lunch. So we called a taxi. They arrived after the time that the service was supposed to start but we were not dismayed, expecting it to be running on Indonesian time, anyway. However, we couldn't get in the "taksi" -- though it supposedly meets Jim's company's standards, there were no seatbelts. So we told them "no thank you" and went inside. After re-grouping, Jim decided that he'd get his driver's license and drive. The guy we rent the car from has given us his phone number and has said that he wants the headaches instead of us ... so we figured that if anything went wrong we'd just call him! So, Jim adjusted the seat as best he could so that he could FIT in the driver's seat. Which is on the right side of the car, of course. And traffic drives on the left, of course. That's not so bad 'cuz we've been in a bunch of countries in past years that have these standards -- Thailand, S. Africa, Australia, Tunisia, England, ... However, it was obviously going to be a challenge to use the clutch and make space for his knee, but he was confident that it'd work!!!
And, about 1/2 hour after the service was to start, we headed off to church.
This was the second church we've tried to visit. The first one ... well, no one ever showed up!
After much prayer and sweaty palms, with motorcylists zooming past us on both sides of the car and going any direction they felt like going, with the windshield wipers going in the midst of sunshine (whenever Jim wanted to let people know he was turning) ... we got to the location.
The advertising said, "Under the big tent."
No tent was obvious. Maybe it's not so big??? After 20 minutes of searching we gave up on the tent thing.
Headed back home. But to get there, we had to travel 10 minutes in the wrong direction, until we found a place to do a U-turn. That's a scary experience in itself -- cars zooming by, no space to turn, turning across two lanes, ... You get the picture.
And, speaking of the traffic -- why do they zip through a red light if they're going straight, only stopping if they're turning right??? We're clueless on that one.
We were gone a total of one hour. Hence the reference to the hour-long prayer meeting.
Most of the prayer was basically a repetition of, or a form of, "help us, Lord!!"
And He did!
So, I watched Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church broadcast from Texas. Never have seen it before. Amazingly enough, God used it in HUGE-O ways to minister straight to my heart!
I am blessed.
I am also very bewildered about these churches that take the trouble to advertise but don't exist!
And we had a full hour of prayer time, though.
I'd better explain:
Soagi has the day off. So in order to get to church we called Jim's company's pool car department. They didn't feel like being helpful and said that no car would be available until after lunch. So we called a taxi. They arrived after the time that the service was supposed to start but we were not dismayed, expecting it to be running on Indonesian time, anyway. However, we couldn't get in the "taksi" -- though it supposedly meets Jim's company's standards, there were no seatbelts. So we told them "no thank you" and went inside. After re-grouping, Jim decided that he'd get his driver's license and drive. The guy we rent the car from has given us his phone number and has said that he wants the headaches instead of us ... so we figured that if anything went wrong we'd just call him! So, Jim adjusted the seat as best he could so that he could FIT in the driver's seat. Which is on the right side of the car, of course. And traffic drives on the left, of course. That's not so bad 'cuz we've been in a bunch of countries in past years that have these standards -- Thailand, S. Africa, Australia, Tunisia, England, ... However, it was obviously going to be a challenge to use the clutch and make space for his knee, but he was confident that it'd work!!!
And, about 1/2 hour after the service was to start, we headed off to church.
This was the second church we've tried to visit. The first one ... well, no one ever showed up!
After much prayer and sweaty palms, with motorcylists zooming past us on both sides of the car and going any direction they felt like going, with the windshield wipers going in the midst of sunshine (whenever Jim wanted to let people know he was turning) ... we got to the location.
The advertising said, "Under the big tent."
No tent was obvious. Maybe it's not so big??? After 20 minutes of searching we gave up on the tent thing.
Headed back home. But to get there, we had to travel 10 minutes in the wrong direction, until we found a place to do a U-turn. That's a scary experience in itself -- cars zooming by, no space to turn, turning across two lanes, ... You get the picture.
And, speaking of the traffic -- why do they zip through a red light if they're going straight, only stopping if they're turning right??? We're clueless on that one.
We were gone a total of one hour. Hence the reference to the hour-long prayer meeting.
Most of the prayer was basically a repetition of, or a form of, "help us, Lord!!"
And He did!
So, I watched Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church broadcast from Texas. Never have seen it before. Amazingly enough, God used it in HUGE-O ways to minister straight to my heart!
I am blessed.
I am also very bewildered about these churches that take the trouble to advertise but don't exist!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Some furniture photos
Okay, Karissa, here are some shots of furniture thus far. If you asked, that means others would like to see things, aye? (I know you guys need a couch -- I sure wish it was cheap to get one shipped to you from here 'cuz it's soooooo cheap here!)
The house isn't decorated at all, yet, 'cuz we're awaiting our shipments. The shipment from Nigeria has been in port since the end of July! Customs games continue. We hope to get the boxes delivered before the end of Ramadan 'cuz no locals do any work around here for a few days due to all of the festivities. We'll see ... And the U.S. shipment is somewhere in the Pacific right now. (well, hopefully not "in"!)
1. The chair is one of the few remaining pieces we're using from what the company provides. It's hilarious to see Jim sit in it -- you can see how very low it is! The table next to it is a reproduction. I don't know if when you enlarge the pic you can see the beveled glass on every window. Really amazing workmanship. The cost, you wonder? $52!!!! With a tea serving tray on top, that I keep separate!
2. Antique cabinet, full pieces of teak with no splicing! You can see the small, white tea pot and two of the cups/saucers I wrote about earlier.
3. Living room. You can see the patio furniture outside the window. It's lovely rattan and some kind of grass. Glass top. Fabulous! (... and if you look closely, one of my orchids! I now have 5 orchids -- 3 are doing awesomely, thanks to Soagi. I'd better photograph them soon!) Inside -- rocker is antique with new leather; antique trunk came on a ship from England in the 1800s or earlier!
4. The couch. They made a slipcover in the lighter fabric that you see on one small pillow. I'm now awaiting the 6 dining chairs with "Italian" upholstery and with slipcovers.
5. Most of the good furniture that's made here was, and is, teak. Very dense and heavy. Side table also antique teak! Notice the pale blue inserts on the wall. They have little lights on the top of each that I'll have to photograph some evening. We textured and painted these last weekend so that we could get some color. I'm wanting to crochet a light blue throw but can't find any yarn on this whole island! I've found a source on the island of Java but the gal's ordering system is a bit fuzzy ... haven't heard back from her! 'might have to order from Australia and live with the import duties!
6. Tea cart was posted earlier, I know. But now the little wall piece is blue!! Kath, these things all look like they belong in your place, aye? My colors are heading more that way, it seems. I'll keep some brick red and a lot of blue in all of the accent pieces.
The two wing-back chairs we've had since the early 80s are in our U.S. shipment. Ichank will have them recovered (with slipcovers, too) when they get here. I've chosen the fabrics already. They'll be wide stripe-on-stripe (charcoal/brown; beige/beige) from "Italy!" and they'll match the small stripe-on-stripes on the dining chairs.
I'm definitely having fun with this! After feeling like we were living in hotels in Nigeria for 3 1/2 years (with standard company furniture and everything pretty basic) I guess I was ready to get things fixed up, again!
The house isn't decorated at all, yet, 'cuz we're awaiting our shipments. The shipment from Nigeria has been in port since the end of July! Customs games continue. We hope to get the boxes delivered before the end of Ramadan 'cuz no locals do any work around here for a few days due to all of the festivities. We'll see ... And the U.S. shipment is somewhere in the Pacific right now. (well, hopefully not "in"!)
1. The chair is one of the few remaining pieces we're using from what the company provides. It's hilarious to see Jim sit in it -- you can see how very low it is! The table next to it is a reproduction. I don't know if when you enlarge the pic you can see the beveled glass on every window. Really amazing workmanship. The cost, you wonder? $52!!!! With a tea serving tray on top, that I keep separate!
2. Antique cabinet, full pieces of teak with no splicing! You can see the small, white tea pot and two of the cups/saucers I wrote about earlier.
3. Living room. You can see the patio furniture outside the window. It's lovely rattan and some kind of grass. Glass top. Fabulous! (... and if you look closely, one of my orchids! I now have 5 orchids -- 3 are doing awesomely, thanks to Soagi. I'd better photograph them soon!) Inside -- rocker is antique with new leather; antique trunk came on a ship from England in the 1800s or earlier!
4. The couch. They made a slipcover in the lighter fabric that you see on one small pillow. I'm now awaiting the 6 dining chairs with "Italian" upholstery and with slipcovers.
5. Most of the good furniture that's made here was, and is, teak. Very dense and heavy. Side table also antique teak! Notice the pale blue inserts on the wall. They have little lights on the top of each that I'll have to photograph some evening. We textured and painted these last weekend so that we could get some color. I'm wanting to crochet a light blue throw but can't find any yarn on this whole island! I've found a source on the island of Java but the gal's ordering system is a bit fuzzy ... haven't heard back from her! 'might have to order from Australia and live with the import duties!
6. Tea cart was posted earlier, I know. But now the little wall piece is blue!! Kath, these things all look like they belong in your place, aye? My colors are heading more that way, it seems. I'll keep some brick red and a lot of blue in all of the accent pieces.
The two wing-back chairs we've had since the early 80s are in our U.S. shipment. Ichank will have them recovered (with slipcovers, too) when they get here. I've chosen the fabrics already. They'll be wide stripe-on-stripe (charcoal/brown; beige/beige) from "Italy!" and they'll match the small stripe-on-stripes on the dining chairs.
I'm definitely having fun with this! After feeling like we were living in hotels in Nigeria for 3 1/2 years (with standard company furniture and everything pretty basic) I guess I was ready to get things fixed up, again!
Monday, September 07, 2009
Global Economy
So, I've decided that there's no point in reading the labels of where things are made and making your purchasing decisions based upon what you read. The labels don't have to tell the truth. Evidently.
EVIDENCE ONE:
Indonesia is one of the largest exporters of textiles. 'didn't know that; did you?
So, after sampling some of what they have, I would agree that they produce lovely work. 'didn't know that; did you?
Most of the really great stuff comes from the island of Surabaya. The factories are mainly in that area and in Jakarta.
I had a couch made here at a local shop. (It just got delivered last week and I LOVE it! Custom made to fit Jim! About 1/4 to 1/6 the price of what it would have been in the U.S. and with dense Kalimantan teak, too!) They used great fabric that was made in Surabaya. I'm ordering some chairs with fabulous fabric from a factory in Jakarta. Oddly enough, the sample book for the fabric for the chairs says "Made in Italy."
The manager of the fabulous furniture shop said that the owner, an expat from Australia, said that when she was on a recent buying trip in England she noticed some very pricey fabrics in an upholstery shop and they all said "Made in England." She knew right away what factory in Surabaya they all came from; she knows their work very well. Price comparison? The "English" fabric had obscene mark ups!
I told the store manager that if the fabric samples said "Made in Indonesia" people would begin to appreciate the work of the Indonesians. He just politely laughed and said, "But Missus, then the price would be very small and the foreign companies not like that!"
EVIDENCE TWO:
In the same shop, on our first visit there in June, I bought a tea pot and some tea cups. (Shocking, I know!) Total price for the set of 6 cups and saucers and 1 small tea pot: under $30! Beautiful white bone china. The china is made by an Indonesian company -- St. James. Lovely stuff.
I was telling the manager how much I admired their designs and he said, with a mix of pride and frustration, "The factory is in Jakarta. You might know some of the other labels they produce. They make Royal Doulton and Gien."
"In the same factory?"
"Yes, Missus. And their sales representative just told me that soon they are going to put Indonesia only on the St. James' pieces they keep in Indonesia. The rest that used to say 'St. James, Indonesia' will say 'St. James, Made in the U.S.A.'"
Grrrrr!
And where do you think they say the Royal Doulton and Gien pieces are made? Yep, England and France, respectively!
I've been toying with the idea of reporting this to someone like CNN but I'd hate to put all of the employees out of business if the prices dropped with a "Made in Indonesia" label.
Quite the dilemma!
If only we could all shop directly from the source -- the prices would be better and we'd all know the truth! By the way, 90% of the world's rattan (pronounced "rah-tahn") comes from Indonesia and 80% of that comes from this island. Gorgeous stuff, here! We had a patio table and chairs made from a cute little family run place along the roadside -- custom fit for Jim, even, and for a great price! Though I'm frustrated by the whole global market thing, I'm grateful for this opportunity to get some great, quality deals!
EVIDENCE ONE:
Indonesia is one of the largest exporters of textiles. 'didn't know that; did you?
So, after sampling some of what they have, I would agree that they produce lovely work. 'didn't know that; did you?
Most of the really great stuff comes from the island of Surabaya. The factories are mainly in that area and in Jakarta.
I had a couch made here at a local shop. (It just got delivered last week and I LOVE it! Custom made to fit Jim! About 1/4 to 1/6 the price of what it would have been in the U.S. and with dense Kalimantan teak, too!) They used great fabric that was made in Surabaya. I'm ordering some chairs with fabulous fabric from a factory in Jakarta. Oddly enough, the sample book for the fabric for the chairs says "Made in Italy."
The manager of the fabulous furniture shop said that the owner, an expat from Australia, said that when she was on a recent buying trip in England she noticed some very pricey fabrics in an upholstery shop and they all said "Made in England." She knew right away what factory in Surabaya they all came from; she knows their work very well. Price comparison? The "English" fabric had obscene mark ups!
I told the store manager that if the fabric samples said "Made in Indonesia" people would begin to appreciate the work of the Indonesians. He just politely laughed and said, "But Missus, then the price would be very small and the foreign companies not like that!"
EVIDENCE TWO:
In the same shop, on our first visit there in June, I bought a tea pot and some tea cups. (Shocking, I know!) Total price for the set of 6 cups and saucers and 1 small tea pot: under $30! Beautiful white bone china. The china is made by an Indonesian company -- St. James. Lovely stuff.
I was telling the manager how much I admired their designs and he said, with a mix of pride and frustration, "The factory is in Jakarta. You might know some of the other labels they produce. They make Royal Doulton and Gien."
"In the same factory?"
"Yes, Missus. And their sales representative just told me that soon they are going to put Indonesia only on the St. James' pieces they keep in Indonesia. The rest that used to say 'St. James, Indonesia' will say 'St. James, Made in the U.S.A.'"
Grrrrr!
And where do you think they say the Royal Doulton and Gien pieces are made? Yep, England and France, respectively!
I've been toying with the idea of reporting this to someone like CNN but I'd hate to put all of the employees out of business if the prices dropped with a "Made in Indonesia" label.
Quite the dilemma!
If only we could all shop directly from the source -- the prices would be better and we'd all know the truth! By the way, 90% of the world's rattan (pronounced "rah-tahn") comes from Indonesia and 80% of that comes from this island. Gorgeous stuff, here! We had a patio table and chairs made from a cute little family run place along the roadside -- custom fit for Jim, even, and for a great price! Though I'm frustrated by the whole global market thing, I'm grateful for this opportunity to get some great, quality deals!
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