Malik Watkins's Bloglines

Now the journey continues from Seoul over the Yellow and East China Sea, by the Philippines and Malaysia, and seven hours later landing in Jakarta, Indonesia.  Wow!  Talk about being on the other side of the world!

So much focus is made on Islam and the Middle East, that it is easy to overlook the fact that Indonesia is the world’s largest Islamic country (population).  I imagine this ease is also facilitated by the general lack of knowledge existent regarding Indonesia.  In my preliminary research, I was somewhat surprised regarding how comparatively little information was available on Indonesia.  Of course I did find some information, but the world could benefit from quite a bit more.

Going through immigration, in contrast to South Korea, I was immediately reminded of Walmart back in Savannah.  You definitely don’t stop there if you are in a hurry.  While in the immigration line to get a VISA “On Arrival” and to have my documents reviewed for entry, people were jumping in and out of the lines, some of the immigration officers were busy doing everything but getting people processed…it was as if they enjoyed our company…to a degree anyway.  Literally, if you are standing in line, someone will walk right up to you and get in line in front of you.  If you don’t say anything then you will be that much further back in line…For God’s Sake Man, Speak Up for Yourself!!!! 🙂

Stepping outside the airport, you definitely get a different feel.  Not as rushed by individuals trying to make a living carrying luggage to and from the cars such as in Haiti or West Africa, but there were plenty of observers 🙂

After the drive into the city and walking up to the hotel “Nikko” Jakarta,

I was reminded of how some view advancement, sophistication, refinement and advancement or even something that is just different as a threat.  You get reminded of this whenever you go into a hotel or other buildings in this area and you have to pass yourself and your items through detectors.

Hotel “Nikko” is in the Thamrin business district which is not to far from one of the previous bombing sites.  Bali was bombed in ‘2002,’ and the Marriott and Ritz Carlton (Thamrin Business District) were bombed in ‘2009.’  As recent as September ‘2011’ a suicide bomber hit a church in central Java. Sending out good energy for the best….

While time and travel has taken its toll and I am feeling the exhaustion mounting, Hell, I’m in a completely different geographic and cultural dimension….Let me take a stroll!  🙂  Walking through the neighborhood, I decide that it would be good to get some food.  One thing I love about foreign travel is the opportunity to put on my “Anthony Bourdain” hat….I LOVE trying exotic foreign food 🙂  And so, I start hunting for food….Interesting about the parallels between here and Monrovia.  There are certain parts of Liberia, downtown Monrovia actually, where you won’t find Liberian food.  Guess they figure westerners and such desire food that reminds them of home.  Not me….I think it is an insult personally when you can’t find food native to a specific country in that country…never-the-less, that is just me!  And so, as I searched all I came across was Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hardee’s, Burger King, and McDonalds….what the HELL?  🙂  I didn’t come clear across the world for that…and so after some searching, I came across something local….well….let’s give it a shot!

I ordered the “Paket Bandeng Penyet Komplit”  Paket means combination…so I ordered a Combo: Spicy Fish Dinner including Rice and Vegetables.   Yeah…in case you didn’t know…I Roll Like That 🙂  I must say that it was very spicy….closed my throat briefly…but…It was DELICIOUS!…..I’m a believer 🙂  Fast food with a zing…and with vegetables…and it was fish that had been alive recently…and it wasn’t shaped like a square…and it had bones in it…ok…get the point!  Real Live Food!!!!  🙂  After satisfying my palate with some absolutely delicious local cuisine…it was time to take in some local sights:

Jakarta is a huge city, so traffic is still fairly heavy at night…the night time stroll was awesome…so bright, so sophisticated…so urban…very very nice….

This central area is where a lot of people congregate at night.  Underneath the statue is a large water pool.  Usually, the water spouts out through fountains and the lights set it off nicely.  Around the water area, there are young people playing guitars, kids singing, couples snuggling…tourists roaming…a very nice place to relax….there are also plenty of vendors hawking multiple things…like the vaunted ‘street food’ 🙂

Against better guidance, I also decided to take in some local street food.  All over the place, there are local vendors with carts that cook food right in front of you.  The challenge is that if you are weak in the stomach, then it can really spell disaster…but, it smelled so good that I decided to take the leap.  Proud to report, that I didn’t fall out and I made it to the next day “Big Smiles”…the food was ridiculous…if you love sesame oil, then you know what I am talking about!!!!

While I love these experiences because the cultural exposure allows for me to expand my breast, I also use the experiences to further develop my insight into economic dynamics resultant from seeing the “The Wealth of Nations” face-to-face.  However, I must say that with all of that reading…I can’t ever minimize the influence of Maya Angelou’s “All Gods Children Need Traveling Shoes.”  For it is easy to get caught up in our day to day activities, to become encompassed in the mundane, to become so self-impressed in our religions and self-righteousness that we forget about God’s children.

Seeing this family asleep on the walkway, while one of the children was still awake playing a few feet away, reminded me of how those who spend the days arguing about Christianity and Islam and all the other religions have time to do that because they have completely dismissed God’s children.  Let me never forget us also!  Thank You Maya Angelou!!!!

Time to Crash!  What a Day!  More later!

http://www.takingownership.org

Having spent such good and significant time in West Africa, it is easy to get used to the expectations and pace of international travel.  Although a person may not have been to Africa, Black Americans are socialized in a manner that creates expectations of what they will find if they were to ever get there.  These expectations may be rooted in reality or mere delusions; however, they do in fact exist.   However, traveling to Asia poses a difference in feeling….a brand new experience, for me anyway!  Just using the lens of a Black American may cause a person to miss what they need to see.  The Asian experience requires the Human Lens.  In fact, in hindsight, the African experience requires it also!  Those multiple experiences in West Africa contributed highly to the development of my Human lens.  Over these next few weeks, I will need it 🙂

I imagine that many of the things I will find will have their similarities to previous experiences; however, they will be unique all the same.  A few days ago, a friend of mine, “Consuela Ward” from Georgia Southern, sent me a quote – “The illiterate of the 21^st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”  This is applicable in so many ways, but it screams relevance when we refer to our own cultural norms and how our ways of thinking develop.  Particularly when we never leave our geographic or cultural comfort zones so that the dynamics supporting our own personal underdevelopment can be left with out affirmation.  Experiencing deep exposure to other cultures and other ways of living allows us to refine the perceptions that drive our decision making processes so that we can improve upon our ways of thinking.

And so another journey begins!  Sitting in the International Terminal of the airport in Atlanta reflecting on this new journey….I am watching everyone rushing about.  Going from terminal to terminal; rushing to their planes, rushing to eat…and such.  However, when you fly International, you tend to adopt a different pace.  You come to realize that nothing is about to happen quickly.  As opposed to rushing you learn to take in the moment.  And so as I watch the rush, suddenly everything seemed so surreal.  Although they were rushing around me, it was as if I could really see all that was transpiring from a distance…as if I wasn’t sitting there….and it dawned on me, that I really was on another journey…to a new place on our planet….but, also a new place inside of me.

If you are from the United States, and you first go to Africa, or similar countries…color jumps out at you because there can be such an absence of variation.  Here I stand now, about to dive head first into a sea of Asians :).  Absent the lens of being Black or American, you realize the depth of their culture…its breadth….its variations…the fact that it has its own life with people that have their own cultures and stories that date the ages.  Now an opportunity arises to test my own literacy.  Can I learn, unlearn and relearn?….Particularly when it comes to those perceptions that can make me more of a global citizen.  Can we learn those things that can make us better people?  Are we willing? Or are we stuck in the narrowness of thinking that comes from being complacent and not actively engaging those aspects of our world that sit outside of our immediate reach.  How more complete do we become as Human Beings when we can step outside of our own narrow bounds to assume and take in the life experiences of those who live in an opposite spectrum.  Over these next few weeks, that is one of the things I am curious to explore….

And so, the journey now continues…. 15 hours later I arrive in Seoul, Korea.

While that is fascinating, what is just as meaningful was the trip to get there.  Charting the course of the flight from Atlanta, we crossed over the United States into Canada.  Then flew over Alaska into the Arctic; down through Russia and China into Seoul/Incheon Airport!  While we didn’t land in any of those places, it certainly placed a different context on Adam Smith’s, “The Wealth of Nations”, Marx’s “Das Capital”, “The Great Documents of Western Civilization”, “The Beijing Consensus” and an entire host of other writings.

The accommodations are most excellent!  Some of these trips deal all too often with the down sides of things.  So, it is refreshing to experience such quality on the other side of the world.

Inside the Hotel:

Fascinating place…currently, they are working on building a train to connect the development around the city with other economic opportunities.  From a planners perspective, it is awesome to see the work starting from the ground up…including the model they are using.  Many cities in the U.S. talk about doing the same thing…They are actually doing it!  Most Impressive!

Not the best picture, but the lights represent where the train will run….ok, the planner in me got excited…will get back to the other stuff 🙂

One of the first things noticed about Seoul is how quiet it is.  I’m sure this can change with the context of the environment, but one of the first things that stands out is the lack of “White Noise.”…no one screaming on their cell phone as if no one else is in the room…as foreigners say “stupid Americans”…laughing…just joking…but no for real…they do say that 🙂  What also stands out is how seriously many South Koreans tend to take the task they are involved in.  From the start, the professionalism and customer service screams excellence!  The personal respect given, the significance of the ‘Bow’, really brings a lot to mind in terms of comparisons.

It seems that in South Korea, everything has its place!  There is a sense of order that permeates this society!  I expect that as I venture through Buddhist, Islamic and Hindu cultures…and cross comparison will yield some interesting initial observations.  In this context anyway!

There will be much more to post about South Korea; but for now we proceed!

First Session is over, and now the potential variability mentioned in the project kicks in.  Seoul, I’ll be back!  Stay tuned!

http://www.takingownership.org