beginning in on Indonesia

 this is what i did at work on Monday & Tuesday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLebPgy0KKE

i will begin going into depth on some of the things that impacted me on my trip to Indonesia as the memories begin to crowd. one of the most startling things i had to deal with was my privilege and wealth.
i said this already on my public blog, but HOLY SHIT. i don't know why the terrible depths of poverty wasn't more clear to me before. it's not like i haven't had exposure to low SES--in fact, my parents immigrated to America with $200, $100 of which my father gave to the church. i grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood, in a rodent infested apartment, eating government cheese and drinking powdered milk.
while i was counseling, most of my clients came from similar situations.
so little money, so few resources. life was hard. life IS hard.

but, the depths of poverty i saw in Indonesia... damn.
even the poorest people in the States are fairly wealthy compared to the low SES population i hung with on Java and Bali. my heart clenches and my breath feels constricted when i think about the hunger i witnessed. certainly not the worst of the worst, but these hungry people i came to call my *friends*.

this trip really opened my eyes a little bit more to what the world is: a fucked up and unfair place. but it's also a beautiful place, with beautiful people who are generous despite the fact that there is so little food.