When a remote tropical island is too remote

This is the second remote tropical island that I've lived on in the past 15 years - the other one was New Guinea (considerably more remote than Sumbawa). I stayed in New Guinea for nine years, and I've been here for 16 months and would like to stay for years if this teaching position works out. So it should be apparent that I enjoy living on remote tropical islands. But...

There are times when I would like to be back in San Francisco or Chicago or even Bali. When is a tropical island too remote?

When...

1. you want a double cheeseburger and a large order of fries from McDonalds.

2. you have an overwhelming hardware store attack (this may only be understood by men).

3. you've read each of the books in your personal library three times.

4. you'd like to talk to someone who speaks English and does not work with you.

5. you'd like to have a discussion with someone who reads non-fiction books.

6. you'd sell your youngest child for a container of fresh pasteurized milk.

7. you'd like to buy a few packs of baseball cards to see if you can get an Albert Pujols.

8. reading a Sunday Times in bed seems like the height of living.

9. having a telephone in your house seems really important.

10. you can forget that Bush is still the president of the United States.

Definitions and Parameters

Actually, the title of this blog, Life in the Tropics, is probably a bit too broad for what I am actually writing about – well, planning on writing about since I really haven’t done much writing since I started this as an experiment last month. The topic is analogous to saying that I’m writing about Life in America. America is a large country with a diverse population and diverse climates and environments. If, for instance, I lived in Chicago, I would write something quite different than if I lived in Florida. Similarly, if I lived in a ritzy suburb of New York, I would write something significantly different than if I lived in a trailer park in Rohnert Park outside of San Francisco.

Ok. Now back to the tropics. If I lived in Jakarta with a population of over 10 million, that’s in the tropical zone, but it’s significantly different than living on a remote (which is how Sumbawa and the neighboring islands are sometimes referred to) island with a total population of 800,000. Then, too, there are the other countries in this part of the world like Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore (which I have an intense desire to visit right now for some reason). And, there are tropical areas in other parts of the world than Southeast Asia – the Caribbean for instance.

So to get this more precise. This blog is mainly about Life on a Tropical Island. The connotations that go with that phrase mirror what I am trying to write about: living on a tropical island, rural life, the life of a bule (white person) in Indonesia. Just what are the associations that stick to the phrase “life on a tropical island?” Sunshine, blue water, rolling white waves crashing on a white sand beach, wispy clouds painted on a pale blue sky, heat, brown-skinned natives, coconut trees swaying in a gentle breeze, tropical sex.

Now that the boundaries are somewhat set, let’s see what comes next.