We spent the second week of July in Lombok in the Sukarara Weaving Village. While in the weaving village we worked with the Bali reseller we were working with in the previous week and joined his resellers in Lombok. We spent most of the week shadowing him and his agents in Lombok in order to gauge how sales have been the past few months and new opportunities for growth.<\/p>\n
While in Sukarara we stayed with a family that was absolutely amazing. Pak Owan and family took us in and were very kind to us. I especially loved playing with their daughter Fuji. She was the funniest little kid I have ever seen. She had tons of fun copying my English phrases and I would try out my Bahasa on her. I think I picked up the most Indonesia here. Fuji is also very popular in her village. Nearly every day we were there, we met with one of her many friends and played games. I taught the girls \u201cRing Around the Rosie\u201d and the \u201cCha Cha\u201d and they taught me a few Sasak dances and songs. They also loved taking selfies with my iphone and playing Barbie games on my laptop all week long. Every night, we had iftar (breaking of the fast) with the family. The iftars reminded me a lot of what iftar is like back home for me during Ramadan. Ramadan is probably one of the only times of the year in which my entire family sits down together and shares a meal so being away from home I was longing for that experience. It was nice to be a part of that familiar experience, even if it was just for a week. Also hearing the taraweeh prayers at the various mosques and children playing with noisemakers every night reminded me of my time in Somalia.<\/p>\n
Half way through our stay in Lombok, the presidential election occurred. The election which was scheduled for the 9th<\/sup> of July was between two candidates Probowo and Jokowi. It is now the 21st<\/sup> of July as I type this blog post and we still do not know who the president is. Both candidates declared victory early on which made it difficult to determine who really did win. Also tv channels are supporting certain candidates so polls are skewed towards the candidate in which they support. I am really interested in finding out who won the election and the suspense has been killing me! Given Indonesia\u2019s size and growing economy, the president of this growing democracy will be a very prominent leader in both the Muslim world and among emerging economies. Lisa and I took election day (national holiday) to scope out the beaches with our boss for the week. Lombok has some amazing beaches with less tourists than Bali. Every single beach we went to was breathtaking.<\/p>\n Throughout the week working and promoting water filters during Ramadan was definitely a difficult task. The villages we traveled through were for the most part virtually shut down. There were very little shops open and almost everyone was inside their homes. Schools and offices were also closing earlier than they typically do. Even though given the difficulty of promoting the filters during Ramadan when a majority of the population is fasting, we were still able to sell a significant amount of filters to people in various villages in central Lombok.<\/p>\n The last day of our stay in Lombok we were treated to a lovely tour of the Sukarara Village by Fuji and her friends. Lisa and I were guided around the city by five very enthusiastic girls. At every turn, the girls introduced us to other members of the weaving village and pointed us out as \u201ctouris\u201d. Every now and then, they would suggest we take pictures of various sights along the stroll. We also stopped by and saw traditional weavers creating various items that they sell through the village cooperative. I bought a few bags and a wall hanging from the cooperative. I thought it was wonderful that the village was preserving its weaving culture but also allowing others to experience it and also attain income for the village. Occasionally the village does get tourists from around the world, who stop by and check out some of the wonderful weaving items.<\/p>\n Finally, after buying some items and walking around with the girls, it was time for Lisa and I to pack up and hit the road so we could catch a boat back to Bali from Sengigi. The family wished us \u201cSelemat Jalan\u201d which means safe travels and Fuji was really upset to see us go. We exchanged email information with the family and they told us were always welcome in the village if ever we return back to Lombok.<\/p>\n The week in Sukarara was also the first time during this experience in which I genuinely tried to practice my Bahasa. I watched tons of Indonesian television with Fuji and even started following a drama series about a girl who is turning into a monkey. I would also wake up about a few hours before work and go on a stroll around the village and send greetings to neighbors in the few phrases I knew. A few times people actually thought I was a local and told me I look like I could be Sasak.<\/p>\n Overall, Lombok was an extremely wonderful experience and really helped to get me over some homesickness I was feeling. It has been hard being around \u201cless Ramadan\u201d these past few weeks but being in Lombok really got me in the Ramadan spirit. Missing much of the fast has also been pretty spiritually taxing but I hope to make it up soon, inshallah (god willing). I have been fasting since I was about fifteen years old so Ramadan is a very important month for me and it has feels weird not participating. I almost feel like an outsider looking in. I know health wise though fasting would not be an option because my body is still adjusting to all this traveling! Fun fact by the end of this trip Lisa and I will have boarded an airplane 16 times. Yeah, 16 times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We spent the second week of July in Lombok in the Sukarara Weaving Village. While in the weaving village we worked with the Bali reseller we were working with in the previous week and joined his resellers in Lombok. We spent most of the week shadowing him and his agents in Lombok in order to … Continue reading Feeling at home in Lombok<\/span>