Sign Language for Dummies

Mona and I went downtown to run some errands today. Mona's been trying to get a haircut for a couple of months, and again today the salon was "tutup," closed. We were there at 10:30 a.m. At what time are they open? The woman in a mumbled Javanese-Indonesian dialect said to return on Saturday. Guess that's what we'll do.

We also got an Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia)lesson from Ibu Jimi, a local seamstress. She knew several English words dealing with her occupation, but not much else. As Mona is now down to two pair of pants, we signed our way through the process of ordering a few new pairs and some new shirts. Ever tried to mime "tight"? We bought some lovely fabric a month ago with some money from our parents for my birthday. And since our sizes are not on the common rack, the seamstress is a good route; especially as it's cheaper than buying from American department stores.

Tomorrow I need to go to the bank, and plan to take some time to capture some cultural snapshots en route. I've discovered that my fresh-off-the-boat eye has turned on me. I no longer notice the glaring differences between Indo and the states. "So there are 20 people in a mini-van or a family of 5 on a moped. Is there something wrong with that?" I'm hoping that seeing Javanese life through a camera lens will recultivate the norms of my mother culture.