My post below seems to have attracted more comments than most because I referred to Indonesia as my home.
However, I really wanted to examine whether we expats, visitors, residents - or whatever label gets pinned on us - view our lives here similarly. This is why I posted my emailed reply to Dalton Tanonaka whose column in this month's Weekender magazine had 35 questions pertaining to the imponderables that we expats, visitors, residents, whatever, regularly consider.
Rob Baiton is the only reader who has taken up the challenge I set - question 29 is "a frequent topic on Jakartass".
And Rob's answer, which I've edited out of the comments, is spot on ...because you need a mobile phone for each aspect of your life, namely: one for family, one for work, one for your friends, one for your friends that you do not want anyone to know about, and one for just about any other reason you can think of.
One of my funniest memories was when I was at an immigration office and getting grilled by an officer who had at least three phones. The funny is that while she was chastising me about leaving my renewal to the last minute all three of her phones went off. Even funnier still was that this was not an unusual occurrence because everyone new what to do. All her underlings jumped up and answered their respective phones...
Dalton's question was - Why is there a need for more than two cell phones? Or one for that matter?
I'd add 'vanity' to Rob's list, or maybe stupidity. I remember one occasion waiting to board an elevator in an office tower watching an exec. texting on two phones and pressing the lift call button with an elbow.
If you can come up with more of Dalton's questions please leave them in the comments to this post.
And if you want to continue the 'debate' about non-Indonesians calling Indonesia home, please leave them here.
