Beautiful Bali

At about 8:30 tonight Bali was bombed again. Jimbaran, a resort area south of the main city of Denpasar was hit, as was the tourist haven of Kuta. In Kuta, a restaurant in the town square was hit, not too far down the street from the Hard Rock Hotel and Cafe, an area we've been in many times. We don't know much else at this point.

Watching BBC and CNN footage of stores and restaurants I've visited mangled almost beyond recognition, with shattered glass and charred bits of wood and tangled metal, I am not afraid. I'm heartbroken.

Upon hearing the news, I sat down and wept. Not tears of fear: tears of anger, outrage and sadness.

Most of the world does not see Indonesia for what it is. Most of the world hears Indonesia and either thinks, "Where?" or immediately thinks of news stories of extremism, terrorism and destruction.

Indonesia is not a hellhole. Indonesia is my home, and I love it fiercely.

Looking past the dim view the world media paints of Indonesia, a person will find a beautiful country, rich in culture, tradition and some of the nicest people on the planet. Indonesia has its problems, but what country doesn't?

Please know that we are OK. We aren't in Bali this week and as far as we know all of our friends and students are fine.

I'm worried, though, about the kind Kuta shopkeepers and restaurant workers who remember our faces, despite the thousands they must see each month, and greet us cheerfully each time we return to Bali. I'm worried about the people who will suffer because their source of income, tourism, will be hit terribly hard.

There are awful people in the world, people who will stop at nothing to prove whatever point it is they feel they have to make. I don't understand it, but I refuse to live in fear. A college professor once said to me, on Sept. 11, 2001, that if we live in fear then the terrorists win.

I am not afraid. Before we come home, whether for the summer or for good, we will go to Bali again. We will wander the streets, visit the shops and eat in the restaurants. We will smile and chat with the shopkeepers we know. They will, as is the polite Indonesian way, thank us profusely for coming and apologize in case we are worried about bombs.

Those are Indonesian people, you understand, not the extremists who are hell-bent on destruction and death. People who kill and destroy belong to no one.

Please keep Indonesia in your prayers. Pray for the hurt, pray for the scared, pray for those who have suffered either loss of life or property and income, pray for everyone here. Pray, especially, for those who think blowing up buildings or buses or trains and killing innocent people is the only way to have their voices heard.

Most importantly, please do not judge Indonesia or Indonesians by what has happened. Right now, we are not afraid to live in Indonesia-we are blessed to live here.