For Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, the years 2000-2002 were characterized by a painful and rocky transition to democracy, as well as by the difficult aftermath of 9/11. For Marta Hoilman, living in Jakarta during this time not only meant dealing with the ramifications of such historic events, but also meant grappling with the often maddening, frequently funny, and sometimes terrifying challenges of expatriate life in a developing country.
Just how do you maintain a low profile while being several heads taller and several shades blonder than the local population? What type of shoe is best to kill an Asian cockroach the size of a D battery? And what forces are behind the Great Fresca Drought?
The tales in Adventures in Indonesia chronicle with humor and generosity of spirit the follies, foibles and joys of expatriate life in Indonesia from presidential impeachment, to earthquakes and floods, through evacuation and familial separation.
Less