Things that are different: Going to the doctor

What is she doing?   Dr. Yos prepares Jonathan's DTP vaccine.

The lady in the head covering and flowered shirt is our new doctor! Jonathan is 15 months old and it was time for him to get his next round of shots. This dear lady was recommended to us because she routinely orders the Belgian vaccines that most foreigners like to give to their babies. We can get to her place via mini-bus with one connection, but Dave discovered a way that we can walk there by taking some of the smaller roads. So walk we did.....

Over the river...I mean ravine...

Past the cemetery....both Muslims and Christians are buried here

This "alley" is actually the main street for a whole neighborhood.  It works fine if your only transportation is a motorcycle, which is true for most people here!

We're almost there....just a little further.

Here we are at the Doctor's office!  She has clinic hours in the late afternoon! We arrived at about 4 pm.

In the waiting room....

Jonathan weighed 10.4 kg on Dr Yos' scale -- almost 23 pounds.  So she prepared the vaccines while we talked about her five grown daughters who all have PhDs.  She told us that she is 67 years old ....which is 12 years past retirement age in this country!  I'm thinking she must still be working to help pay for all those college educations!

And here is the second shot (varicella.)  Yep, he screamed, although we didn't get a picture of that part!

Now walking home.  I still have a hard time believing this is the most populated island on the planet, yet there can still be patches of thick jungle like this!  I expected a concrete jungle like Los Angeles!

Things that are different: Neighborhood work parties

Dave (in hat) cleans up with our neighbors

So the same neighborhood association that organizes the monthly baby clinics also arranges for a neighborhood work party every month or so. We usually get the official written invitation (complete with letterhead and offical stamp of the village leader) on a Saturday, calling for the work party to commence on Sunday morning at 7 am. Dave really enjoys these work parties because they happen at a good time for him and he can contribute to the effort while at the same time practice his Indonesian and meet our neighbors on a low key basis. Jonathan and I like to make a short appearance, and then head home for the baby's pre-church nap. (Okay, I must admit he is a toddler now, but we still like to get that nap in if we can!)

This week they were just doing superficial clean-up stuff -- picking up trash and leaves, cutting down the long grass, etc. Sometimes they do bigger things like dig drainage ditches or paint lines on the roads. They are always well attended -- I saw at least 20 people at work and more people were arriving as Jonathan and I were heading home.

The systems we have in America are nice, such as city street sweepers and road maintenance crews.....but at the same time, this is a great way for a community to take ownership of their space, hang out together and make fun out of a lot of hard work.