On Kupang

In all the excitement about English camp, I didn't have a chance to talk about the city of Kupang. It is a small, sleepy city, but it is blog-worthy for a few reasons.

The first reason is pictured above: Pasar Malam, or night market. The ETAs stationed in the city suggested this as our Saturday night dining option. It is one long street lined on both sides with food vendors. On first arrival, I immediately felt like I was transported back to my hometown's yearly street fair. There were a few noticeable differences, though. A) There were no carnies or over-sized, purple teddy bears. B). The dining options were displayed in front of each vendor on ice. Kupang is settled on the beach, so it's big on seafood fare. Mia (ETA) and I went to one such vendor and picked out the best looking fish we could find (Umm...the red one? Good thing Mia was an old pro at this by now). The fish was delicious, though I lost my appetite (and ability to look at Mia's pearl earrings without retching) after Jonthon dug the eye out of Mia's fish and ate it.

Then there was the popular public transportation option called the bemo. Bemos are small buses with benches on both sides and no door, so passengers can hop on and off with ease. Mini-buses are actually found all over Indonesia, but bemos are...unique. They are so unique that they are mentioned in Lonely Planet as a bass-thumping, decal-covered, must-experience wonders. Indeed, they are pimped out with flashing lights, deafening bass systems, and so many stickers that you can't see in or out. So, naturally, we had to try one. For about ten cents each, Jonthon, Victor, and I squeezed into a bemo. The slightly embarrassing/hilarious part was that since we are all about two to one on a size ratio with your average Asian, four or five school kids gave up their seats and hung out the door so the bules could have a seat. And then...more piled in. What?!?! There were folks sitting on top of folks and touching in ways that would be a living hell for anyone with a 'personal space' issue.We just thought it was really, really funny.




The third and final stand-out point of Kupang is that it is one of the few pockets of Christianity found in Indonesia. The archipelago is the fourth largest Muslim nation in the world, but there are some very large sectors where missionaries came in and spread Christianity. We saw only one mosque and very few hijabs (head scarves), but we did see lot's of this:

Many of the bemos had similar Christian art, and you couldn't walk my too many shops without hearing praise music (in Indonesian, but it turns out Christian praise music sounds just about the same everywhere). The best part for me was on Sunday morning when Jonthon and I were taking ojeks into town to meet with Victor and Mia to prepare for camp. Families, dressed in their Sunday best with Bibles in hand, were strolling to church. There are churches in Jakarta; I've been to a few, but this was different. A feeling of joy and comfort flowed over me as I watched the familiar procession. I know it sounds hokey, but it really affected me. It was almost a sense of being home...I knew this. Just watching them, I felt like I fit in more than I had in the last five months.

So, between street fairs, vehicles breaking local sound ordinances, and Sunday morning church, Kupang is closer to home than any place I've been in Indonesia so far. Nice.