New normal: What's in that can?

Good luck in Indonesia if you've been used to tossing in "a can of this and that"...

Here is the sum total of a canned-goods aisle in a major supermarket. We might have 10-25 options. Indonesians buy their food "fresh" at local markets. Fish and chickens are heaped unrefrigerated in the 80o+ heat - with or without ice in the bin - besides stacked vegetables and spices. Drip. drip. (To keep our tummies happy, we buy meat from refrigerated cases in a supermarket.) But everything about cooking changes. An example? 10-minute chili (USA) involves rummaging through the kitchen cabinet. Toss together a can of corn, 1-2 cans of beans, tomato sauce, a few spices, fried onion, and browned ground beef. Simmer until ready to eat. I agonize. Should we make familiar foods, even if we find the ingredients? Each can costs $2-4, in a country where a worker earns $5-10/day. I splurge once in a while ... when we are overcome by cravings for what we remember.

New normal: (re)tired superheroes

On Jeans Street (where vendors sell clothing), shops sport massive superhero figures that tower above the doorways. This one tumbled from his height during a renovation. Ouch. Not so super.

New normal: where did the sidewalk go?

You're walking along like always when you notice 2 gaps in the sidewalk. The pavement has been undermined and washed away during rainy season. No one seems surprised, offended, or worried. Everyone avoids the holes without a second glance. You peek in: the bottom of the drainage canal is 3' below. Impatiens have already seeded the gutters and are starting to bloom. Yeah, good idea. Go around.

New normal: cattle fodder

Where does a farmer find food for his cows?

We'd buy feed at a farm supply store or let the cows graze in a meadow, right? Here, men and women cut 4-5' grass stalks in the jungle clearings with machetes. The grass is loaded into a frame and hoisted onto the shoulder to be walked out to the stall. If the grass is being sold, waiting motorcyclists put the frame over their shoulders and away they go = wide transportation. Note the 2 dark heaps of grass in the frame and the tin can tied to the wood. The can acts as a speaker for the man's portable radio.

New normal: scooting through the rain

Only in the tropics...

Need a new vehicle? This motor scooter is the equivalent of a Western sports car. A two-seater, the umbrella secured to the base replaces a windshield, and its wire basket subs for a mini-trunk. Whee! Away we go.

New normal: iced drinks

It may be hot outside, but what's in that refreshing drink?

Why think twice before ordering iced drinks from street vendors

Here an ice vendor chips blocks of ice on the littered city sidewalk before delivering it (via motorcycle) to street vendors.

New normal: what's for lunch?

Craving a little duck, pork, chicken, or beef for lunch?

What's for lunch? (and what's in the restaurant window?) We stroll up to a Chinese-run restaurant and there they hang: piglets, a slab of beef, ducks, and chickens. We indicate which we'd like. Yum yum. (Surprising how quickly you get used to seeing your food "pre-plate" ...)