Postcard 3 - Presentation 'Once when I was in...' - 'Indonesia'

Dear John,

Weeks ago I wrote you two letters about travelling. Because of your last letter, I know that you are still thinking about writing travel stories. And as you know, you are always in my mind. Maybe that’s the reason for my own constant travel thoughts. When, years ago, somebody told me an interesting story about one of his or her travels, I got bored and started to forget the travel before it was ended. Nowadays, when someone wants to tell me about his or her journey, I’m really interested. And I know for sure this is because of your odd travel writing dreams.

Last week, Donna (remember, one of my study mates) told us about her Indonesia journey. In 2002 she went to Irian Jaya for a few months and, as she told us, ‘every day was an adventure’. Days were spent in the jungle and in other beautiful parts of the country. The tour guides were members of the local population and they were able to tell Donna lots of things she didn’t know before. The most striking element of her story for me was the description of the local population. They don’t wear any clothes, practically. The women were dressed in a skirt, made of leafs or other material, and the men only wore a penis sheath. And those penis sheaths were a really special part of the story. Did you know that there are different sizes, colours, models, etc.? I didn’t, but Donna told us the truth about it.

The penis sheath can be bigger or smaller, and can have all the colours in the world. Each tribe in Irian Jaya has its own kind of sheath. In that way, the men are recognisable by looking at their penis sheath. Everybody in Irian knows from a distance if a friend or an enemy is coming. There are also differences in model: one tribe has oblong sheaths, others can have winding models. To conclude: penis sheaths in Irian Jaya are not only used for hiding the penis, but also have a symbolic function: people are recognisable by their sheaths.

Sounds queer, doesn’t it? When you really want to become a travel writer, I have an advice for you: don’t go to Indonesia. Years ago you told me you really hate it to see undressed people in everyday life, and in Irian only the tourists are dressed.

All the best,
Neline