A Cultural Bit

588 days ago
	Well, sadly, Kikys father died last week. So she is off in Makassar for the funeral. He was fairly young by western standards but I guess he is about the average for Indonesians. To witness the funeral first hand as I did last weekend was a quite interesting thing. I liked many aspects of it. Firstly, the entire family gathers and sticks around till the early hours every day in the first week after the burial. This keeps the mourners busy but also gives them a sense of how much good they still have in their lives. Many people actually spend the night, so the floor at Kiky's father's house was literally covered in people (about 15 or so the second night... and it is a small place!). The process culminates on the 7th day, where a cow is sacrificed and eaten by those attending. The whole deal is a bit pricey and hectic, but it has its definite benefits. I also noticed this weekend some of the cultural habits I have picked up while living here. Most are really tiny, but some surprised even me! I have now done away with nodding to acknowledge something. Instead I do as the locals do and simply raise my eyebrows. This must have come about simply due to laziness, but in such a hot climate I can see the reasoning. I also caught myself wearing a sweater in the mid-day sun in order to protect my skin from the sun. Protection against the sun is all well and good, but it made me laugh when I thought that the exact same sweater was worn by me while snowboarding a few times. Incidentally, I didn't overheat and actually was quite comfy in the sweater despite the intensity of the heat. How I ever will become accustomed to the cool weather in Canada again, I don't know.