That's about the only good news I can give you as of right now. School's going well and what not, but the turmoil around us is mounting and we've had to start altering our lifestyle due to safety issues.
For those of you that have had your head in the sand the past couple weeks (like my students, who somehow know nothing about what's going on), the riots over the 'Innocence of Muslims' viral video have spread to Southeast Asia. Indonesia, being 85-90% Muslim, has also seen its fair share of disdain as well. Last Friday started with a peaceful demonstration to show their dislike over the video. However, this past Monday's demonstration turned from march to riot very quickly. Burning of US flags, burning of pictures of President Obama, etc.
The view of Americans has never been good in predominantly Muslim countries. We understood that going in, but every Indonesian thus far has made us feel welcome in their country. Even if 120,000 people were part of this riot, that's only 1% of the entire population of Jakarta (yeah, I know. Crazy). Every country and religion has extremists (as clearly evident with the ass clown that made that video), but the actions of the few should not reflect the attitudes of the many. We can only hope, as we're in Indonesia, people understand that. We're absolutely being smart about this. I don't want anyone to worry. I'll just stop listening to "Livin
in America" with the volume turned up all the way, I'll buy a fake Canadian passport (that should make Talia and Ben happy at least) and, if anyone asks, french fries and gravy is my new favorite dish.
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