Indonesian lessons

4:13pm Wednesday July 8th, 2009

I'm officially feeling like I've settled in. I have more work to do in terms of fully integrating, ingratiating, and insinuating myself in the clinic, but I feel like I'm making headway (so many birth puns, so little time!) there.

My landlord Made came and visited me today and asked if I still wanted to rent Danielle's little apartment, so I'm moving across the compound later today. The new room is pretty neat and has a small kitchen, which I'm really going to appreciate, and the bed has mosquito netting, which I also really appreciate. There is a shower, but no bathtub, which I'm a little sad about, but I think I'll get over it. The apartment is situated next to the family temple and the grain storage loft, so there's lots of awesome stuff happening visually around my new digs and it has a large porch with a table and chairs for sitting, so Kira and I should be pretty comfy when she comes to visit. Made's visit also helped me solve a big Balinese mystery that has been haunting me since my second day here. On my porch, *something* has been lunching, and pooping, at night. I have never seen poop quite like this poop, and thought it might be a monkey or a large bird. Turns out its a bat. There are bats everywhere here and I love them. They're amazing. And I'm both a little creeped out and totally stoked that a bat has been hanging out on my porch every night, even if he was pooping all over the nice wicker chair that was out there.

My bahasa Indonesia (the language they speak here) is getting better. If, by better, I mean I can say "thank you" and "good morning" and "walking" and "good" and "mother" and "baby." But also, I've taken my relationship with my neighbor the woodcarver to the next level. This morning, I called my usual good morning to him and he beckoned me over. I tried to ask him about the big presidential election being held here today, but he didn't understand. I'm sorry, he told me the best he could, but maybe we could practice English and Bahasa together? I happily agreed and he told me how to say in a full sentence that I was walking to eat breakfast. I've forgotten it all, of course, because I was so excited we talking at all. He asked me to write down my name, and he wrote down his (again, I've forgotten because I'm a big jerk and was too busy grinning to think to write it down for myself) and we talked about me being a midwife at the clinic and being from California. He held my hands and peered at me over his glasses, grinning from ear to ear, and explained that he sees me walking "every day!" and every day, I look so "happy!" and he likes this about me. I didn't know how to explain to him that saying good morning to him every morning was the reason for my happiness, so I told him Bali makes me happy. He understood this. He told me how to say "see you later" (yeah, I forgot that too) and we high-fived, and of I went. I walked by again this afternoon and we shook hands and he asked me if I was going to Ubud. "Yes," I told him, "I'm going to Kafe." "Always, you are going to the cafe." he told me. "Yeah," I said. "Its true. I eat a lot." And then he told me how to say "good afternoon" (salemat soire) and I practiced it the whole way to the restaurant with everyone I passed.

I attended another birth last night -a VBAC with a very sweet second time mom. She progressed quickly and had her baby at almost exactly midnight. I sat with her through much of her labor and encouraged her as she pushed in a squat at the end of the bed. In the effort of one of her pushes, she farted loudly twice and the whole room of Indonesian midwives and the father of the baby dissolved into laughter. Seeing I wasn't laughing, the father of the baby tried to explain why they were laughing and told me "Pass wind!" which of course made me laugh and then the midwives started laughing again. One of the Indonesian midwives said a word in bahasa to me and asked "do you know?" I didn't so she told me it meant "laugh." "Laugh?" I said to her, confirming that's what she said. She shook her head vigorously "NO! 'Laugh' not 'love'!" she cried. "That's what I said." I told her. For some reason, she thought that was really funny and said something in bahasa that got the other midwives laughing and she laughed so hard she draped herself over my shoulders where I was sitting on the floor to hold her up. I didn't get the joke, but it always makes me smile to see someone laughing like that. The head was soon visible but I was surprised to learn I wasn't catching, when one of the other Indonesian midwives stepped in as the head was born. Whatever. It was fine, and the birth was lovely --slow shoulders and a deep tear but baby was quick to cry. The father wept over his wife and baby and it made me a little teary eyed too. I love it when the dads cry. I watched another masterful suturing job done by the midwife who took over the birth, feeling antsy to get some time practicing it myself. This morning, I visited the mother of that baby and the mother of the baby I caught the night before last and they were both very happy to see me and their babies looked great. Sometimes, in the deep concentration of labor and the shock of the immediate postpartum, I'm not sure if I was of any service, or I wonder if my presence had been more of an annoyance than helpful to the mothers I serve. But, when they greet me with big smiles and are eager to show me their babies, I know that I don't need to feel insecure. Its true that it is often long, frustrating, sometimes gross, and sometimes scary, but I love my job.

The full moon was last night, so I expect a slew of babies tonight or tomorrow so I'm eating a good meal (tomato soup, seared tuna, and the best drink ever: blended pineapple with coconut milk) and then heading back to the clinic after I move my things into the new place. It really is lovely here... my only complaint is that I'm not sharing it with anyone. The alone time is nice, but it gets boring and old. I'm really looking forward to Kira getting here, so I can say to her later "remember?" I've been here a week now, officially. It feels like longer. And shorter.