h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Expatriate life in Indonesia: some guidelines - A16592538
Author: Patrickgun - U6272523

I look forward to your comments.

Wow!

That is really good..


Please note, Patrick is a newbie and not used Guide ML.

Please be gentle with him

Hi Patrickgun,
welcome to H2 and PR.

Don't worry too much at this stafe about the guideML format, that can be sorted later by sub-eds if necessary. There is a guideML clinic and help page here..http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A187229

This is a good read, albeit rather long. Looking at the content there's probably scope for 2 articles on this subject. it needs some links to sites on Indonesia, again help is available if you need it, just ask here ok?

A few things to get started with for now anyway:-

No need for capital letters for the first line. In fact the first 2 lines could be made into one:-

"NOW THAT YOU’RE IN INDONESIA…

Here are some things that you’ll want to know…"

Now that you are in Indonesia here are some things that you'll want to know about to make your way around.

The second paragraph has a lot of repetition of hot and sunny, seems a bit like over kill really, perhaps reduce a few?

I'm not altogether certain the statement "Canadians frown on a stale beer fart smell" adds anything to the article.

You can remove the (aside and closing bracket, not really required.

As for the comment "it'll just encourage the little b*stard again I feel that adds nothing to the article frankly.

I dare say there will be more from other researchers/reviewers.

All the best with this.


ST.

Thank you for your input. I have incorporated the changes you have recommended; as well, I have the entry. Perhaps it is long; I,however, don't see a logical place to cut it in half.

If it ought to be 2 entries, would the editors not do that as part of the editorial process?

As you presumed, I have no idea how to insert links to this piece.

Thank you for your help.

It's a wonderful entry, and though it's long, it's so fascinating that I was sucked right into it, so I didn't mind the length.
It looks as if you've covered pretty much everything the uninitiated traveller should know before going to Indonesia, so well done.

Thank you very kindly.

Anybody else with more advice?

I'll try to read it again later today, to check a bit of spelling etc.

Small issue (toilet paper):

'Bring your own or learn to get used to the way that the Koran dictates...'

I'm not sure that it is Islamic specifically, but more of a cultural thing. Certainly in India and Nepal toilet paper isn't provided away from tourist centres, and no-one out there shakes hands left-handed. As India is primarily Hindu and Nepal a kind of Buddhist/Hindu mishmash, it seems strange to me that either would follow Koranic guidelines.

Perhaps that's true. However, it is also true that Islamic law dictates the use of the left hand and a stone, a bone, water, or a number of other household items and substances while explicitly and specifically forbidding the use of paper and the right hand. Some speculate that the origin of the prohibition was the relative scarcity of paper and therefore a scholarly preference for more intellectual uses for the commodity while others are just baffled. In any case, it is an Islamic prohibition, even if it is duplicated by other religions.

Good warning! Once I got...er...caught out with no toilet paper and there was no way I was going to use their filthy water! Made me very miserable, LOL. I also remember that at one place we went, they even had employed a person to stand by the toilets and point you to the correct one (male or female), as though you couldn't read the signs! (Hilariously, that was during my "tomboy" time, so I got an embarrassed glance instead of a proper direction.)

I haven't had time to read all the entry yet but it seems really cool! (I stayed there for a couple of weeks with an ex-pat friend, it was awesome.)

Perhaps you might like to mention, if you haven't already, that it's best for women to dress "modestly" when going out in public? Even though it's so hot, my friend was never allowed to wear tank tops or tiny skirts or anything, and we saw that some other foreigners who did got a bit of grief.

I remember how when I was going for a walk one time I saw a toddler crying, and then his mother saw me and pointed, and he suddenly stopped crying and looked incredibly shocked...apparently I was the first light-skinned person he'd ever seen and he was so surprised! Great expression on his face.

OK but enough with my nostalgia LOL...thanks for the good entry!

Thanks very much!

And I believe the entry does touch briefly upon the modesty of dress expected of women, so I hope that aspect is sufficiently covered.

It does indeed take one aback to find oneself such a centre of attraction simply for being white skinned! Even being constantly referred to (not maliciously, but affectionately) as a "buleh" is a little disconcerting when one finds out that the word literally means "albino".

Changes one's perspective.

Thanks for your kind comments!

PG

No problem, and thanks for the entry! I hope to read it in depth once my exams are done.

I was particularly surprised that I was so amusing to this child because a lot of the people there, while not "white", had quite light skin. But the look on the kid's face was fascinating!

I remember also that, coming from Australia, I suspect a lot of people didn't like us (our Embassy was bombed shortly afterwards), so sometimes we had to pretend to be from other countries.

Good luck with the entry!

How about using Headers and Subheaders? these can be made like this and

Patrickgun, please do *not* attempt to put headers in as suggested above. You would need to change the Entry over to GuideML to do this, and it is not at all necessary.

Opti, please ensure the Entry has been written in GuideML before you give advice like that, as if the author isn't sure what he/she is doing it can cause all sorts of problems.

Apologies... how do you check?

You can check by going to the entry and replacing the 'A' with the word 'test' - so for this one, you'd go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/test16592538 You'll then be able to see if the author has used any tags, and if they haven't it's probably wise not to suggest them. If there are tags and the like, then it's ok to offer GuideML advice, because we presume the author knows how to use them.

The reason is that if he/she has made a mistake in the GuideML, the page will not update and we will be unable to see what has been changed to sort it out. It can put that Researcher through a lot of strife if they are not confident with code.

You're right - it would have made the entry look much better, but please check first!

Having lived in nine countries, most of them Islamic - but also India - the proximity of wash basins to the place where you eat is entirely to do with the fact that the people eat with their hands - wash them before they eat and - as important - afterwards. Rice in the armpits tickles when it dries out.

Sometimes like on PS's the test thing doesn't work I would like to change my PS to include a picture of Dawn French in a tutu.

back to the entry

You want to test your PS, is that personal space? Can't you do testuserpage? Actually, why do you need to test it to get that picture, do you want the blob number or something, is it a blob? (Don't mind me, I might have forgotten things after my long absence.)