My yoga friend is going to the US for a month holiday next week. I figured that he would at least spend Rp 30.000.000 or more for the ticket and accommodation? Then on my way home last night from a yoga class, at about 9.15 pm, I came across an old man sitting under a traffic light on the crossroad, on his lap was a high pile of newspapers.
So I imagined that this old man couldn’t sell all those newspapers, and at this hour, the chance could have been slim. Then I figured again that if this man could sell about 100 papers a day (I have no idea if it’s difficult to reach that number or not because there should be more than one sellers walking around the traffic lights), he might bring home around Rp 20.000 or a little bit more?
Once on a Saturday morning, I was waiting for a bus at a bus-stop and I couldn’t help but notice a toy-balloon seller on the busy street. For about 45 minutes I had been waiting for the bus, this guy didn’t manage to sell even one balloon. He patiently walked from the traffic light to the end of the cars’ queue which was like a half kilometers long. I thought he must have reached Bogor doing that all day. (Bogor is about 200 kms away from Jakarta). Often the driver or the passengers in a car don’t even move or blink when he was offering the balloons. But there were also some people who smiled and said no. Well, but at least they smiled.
Anyway, I really do admire their perseverance, endurance, patience, or whatever it is, to survive. For two meals a day, or three meals a day if they are lucky.
Life is so extreme. Ones can spend so much money easily while others don’t know if they can eat tomorrow.
And I wish I were living on a mountain… being silly 
