Yani from Kalimantan Indonesia

Typing up some articles at La Cabana restaurant in Kuta, manager Yani from Balikpapan, Kalimantan, came and sat next to me. If you are ever lonely, bored, or just want to chat to someone, go to La Cabana, and Yani will spill the beans on everything that is happening in her life.

Born to a Catholic father and Muslim mother, Yani shook up the jelly beans jar, by marrying an Australian Buddhist, and having a son him. Single again, Yani is the peppy representative of La Cabana.

One subject that came up today, was Ramadan. Yani spent her first Ramadan in Bali last year. Kalimantan is Muslim and in the main towns, everyone is going to the mosque and worshipping. In the villages its even more intense. Yani told me that after morning prayers people must fast all day. After sundown people head to the mosque (masjid) to take part in prayers, then everyone in the village will meet and greet everyone else, offering them a thanks for Ramadan and apologising for past deeds. Yani said people will be crying they are so into it. After the session at the mosque, people will visit the graveyard and spend an hour giving thanks to their ancestors. I told Yani I have a piece of paper saying I am a certified Mus.

The food is something she misses. During Idul Fitri, the end of the holy month of Ramadan, people will visit neighbors, relatives and friends, who visit the house and enjoy special food. Yani said the food they cook is SO complicated and hard to make, but that doesn’t stop her auntie and granny, from spending enormous effort to make it. One dish she described was a dough made into 4 inch circles, which became a type of noodle, only better. It would be filled with fish, fresh water and other ingredients and cooked.

I reckon someone should get up to these areas in Indonesia, and check out the special food during the times of celebration. You don’t know how long they will be around.

Yani is going back to Kalimantan for 2 weeks, covering the week of idul Fitri, so she can be with her relatives.

(Photos coming)