Being called a 'bulot'
Earlier this week, I wrote an article about walking down the streets of Ende on the island of Flores in Indonesia. Ende, though not spectacularly beautiful, gave me a very interesting experience while being the only westerner in town. Though I enjoyed this experience, and felt I did a good job living it, Ende wasn't done teaching me lessons. After feeling so much love from a town and the people who inhabit it, I realized that not everyone was being respectful.
After having such a good time feeling famous while trying to purchase a new laptop, I found a few locals wanting to talk who gave me bad vibes. I’m a person who rolls on others' energy, and even more so when traveling, if I get a gut feeling about someone or something, I normally try to steer clear.
The guys didn't seem all that interested in foreigners, but made a distinct move to come over to me, say hello and call me bulot. I had never heard this word before, but how it was said with a smirk, and said repeatedly, I knew it probably wasn't all that respectful. I decided to leave the street after this time, and hide from the heat and hustlers in my hotel.
Upon speaking with one of the employees at my hotel, the world bulot isn't a positive word at all. In fact, the word bulot means “a person without tradition or culture.” I was pissed, to say the least, when I heard the definition. I was leaving Ende the next morning, and my initial love for the dusty, hectic city began to wain very quickly. A bad taste had replaced what used to taste so sweet.
While I was initially upset with what I heard in Ende, the fact is, traveling is complex. The amount of boundaries and borders, both physical and social, that are crossed, as well as disparity in between people, is overwhelming. I didn't enjoy being called bulot, but there is a probably a reason this word came in to existence, and my assumption is it is related to those who came before me to build the church with images of white Jesus in the middle of town.
Though I did feel disrespected, I think the lesson learned here is that each experience traveling brings forth a lot of complex learning and emotion, and taking the time to really analyze it is key. Some experiences are going to be negative, but it doesn't mean their impact can’t be positive in the long run.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
