Baby Tata

When I was back in Yogya in late November, I had the opportunity to have dinner with Ria, my language teacher from August.  She is the one who did the short language lesson posted here.  Anyhow, she and her husband had recently adopted a baby girl.  They have had tried to have babies of their own for a long time but have been able to.  They have also been waiting to adopt for a very long time because the law  here requires that the religion of the adoptive parents be the same as the birth parents.  The wish is for the child to grow up  in the same religion they would have  if their birth parents had been able to keep them.

 

The baby is called Tata.  She was one and half months old at the time and I was very pleased to be able to hold her.  Her mom shot the video.  At the end the video shows her father.   I have the parent’s permission to share this video with you all.

They brought along their daytime "nanny" who they pay  the locally high rate of about $50 a month.

An Honored Guest, again.

I recently spoke at the Anthropology Department at the University of North Sumatra.  Afterwards I was presented with another Ulos.  This one is from the Mandeling subgroup of Batak.  Each subgroup or Marga has their own distinctive style.  Further there are different kinds of ulos depending on the occasions: honoring someone, marriage, a funeral or a wedding.

volcano

This is Deer Crater in Central Java.  It is called Deer Crater, because it has moved from its original location.  Indonesia has many volcanoes.  In fact, it part of the Ring of Fire, a circle of volcanic activity.

 

Up On The Roof

Ok, some of you have asked how come I have busy streets in front of my house and rice fields behind it.  So here a rooftop view of my neighborhood.

A Cheesburger in Paradise

A bit of silliness.  It is funny how food that you might not  like much or eat much at home become symbols of home.  I have hunted fro good burgers.  Which for those of you who know about my diet changes in the last 2 years is pretty darn funny.