Friday, 24 February 2006 @ 3:15pm. I recently read in a magazine that Jim Valvano, a basketball coach for North Carolina State who died of cancer, once said, “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day.” I’ve tried to keep my blog positive for the most part, but in all honesty, researching and living abroad is hard. I was already at my wit’s end before I left Jakarta, looking forward to getting out of the city, but Makassar just pushed me over the edge instead of relaxing me. I cannot express how tired, hungry, frustrated, and just plain exhausted I am. There are times my self-esteem is not on the floor, it’s like beneath the floor or something. At the same time, on that very rare occasion that I actually obtain some data or some interesting piece of information from an interview or discussion, I’m in 7th heaven! The majority of my days consist of getting the basics: food, shelter, transportation, and maintaining my fragile mental health. Fortunately, I have two friends here in Makassar that help me to laugh about the craziness. I’m getting work done, but I really didn’t know it was going to be this difficult no matter where I am in Indonesia…