Other than that I am constantly impressed by the popularity of the United States in this corner of the world. I don't know if its because Obama lived here as a child or for some other reason, but I have been told several times by different people that America is their favorite country and that they would like nothing better than to visit. People are always excited to hear about New York and frequently want to hear about what people wear and listen to for music. I even got asked about Texas and if there are really cowboys there. Whatever issues the US has with its image in some nations, it seems to have not reached here. My American passport is surely a huge benefit. I don't advertise where I'm from but people always want to know and I don't hide it. There was a waitress about a week ago that was so excited that we were American she could barely contain herself and every time she came by the table she wanted to practice her english and talk about something American. In one sense its sad to see the pollution of our culture here, but other hand, its nice for people to be as excited about my culture as I am about theirs. Its a welcome break from the open disdain you often see in other western countries. Whatever you have heard about the world being a dangerous place and unsafe for Americans because people hate our country or whatever, it simply isn't true. In fact, the "safer" and more westernized a country, the lower its opinion probably is of Americans. I won't go so far to say all these warnings about how dangerous the rest of the world is, is malicious propaganda, but I will say its misguided, at least here. I am also confident that this popularity is not on account of the generosity of my wallet, as I have yet to be overcharged and I am frequently given things for free and undercharged if anything. It should also be noted that I am in a Muslim country and if anywhere, this should be an area that Americans are not welcome. Indonesia is often cited as the potential future "hotbed" of terror, but I see no evidence of that. Indonesians have many different faiths and your religion is not something that keeps anyone apart. The country is too diverse. I see young muslim couples out on dates all the time and the advertisements on the tv are probably more risque than at home. Perhaps the laws of this country are conservative, but at least in Bogor, the people aren't. If there is one thing that harms the standing of America here, its the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The negative affect that a failure to achieve a 2 state solution has on America's standing abroad cannot be overstated. We rarely broach the subject but from the few times it has come up, Indonesians cannot understand how the US has been unable to broker a peace accord.
Some things don't change no matter where you are. One of the country's top musicians was just involved in a sex tape scandal. The country is ablaze with gossip and this kind of thing seems to be a national pastime. The primary response to the scandal among locals? Bemusement.
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