Sumba culture

Hey everyone,
First off, Merry Christmas from Bali! I've already mentioned that I'm not really celebrating Christmas, but it's still pretty cool to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt and be glad there is AC on Christmas day, and oh yeah I was walking on the beach and swimming in the tropical water on Christmas Eve!
I'm actually only in Bali for transit. I'm coming from Sumba where Ashley and I traveled. It was a really interesting experience. Ashley and I managed the entire trip where the best English we ran across was a 17year old boy (i.e. our Bahasa Indo is better than we thought!). And not only did we survive, but we really enjoyed ourselves (though there were several times it looked like going to Sumba or doing whatever we had decided on was the wrong choice). We got into Sumba really only having decided that we wanted to stay in the western portion because we had a limited amount of time. We ended up taking a business class style bus to the town we wanted and stumbled into a hotel. That afternoon we toured around a bit on the back of ojecks (motorcycle taxis) led by the LP (lonely planet), Before that however we had found a traditional village, literally a 5 minute walk from our hotel and in the middle of the city. As touristy as this would be in the U.S., it felt legit there, and the people were really nice. We spent at least a n hour sitting and chatting with the people there (largely some of the children, both because they had some English and just because it made it less awkward). That village ended up being a good warmer up for us because throughout the rest of the time on Sumba we spent a lot of time sitting and chatting with people and entering villages; figuring out when to give gifts, what to give, etc is a bit difficult, especially when at least for me, I'm trying not to seem like some big shot westerner coming in and throwing money around. It's impossible not to look like a rich westerner though because there is definitely significant poverty there (maybe I just noticed it more since we were more immersed in it). On that note, I'm not sure I would have wanted to go to a location that was much more remote than Sumba without significantly more preparation, but Sumba was perfect; it felt like we were really getting in and meeting people, but there was enough of an infrastructure that it was still somewhat possible. Coming in the low season but before the rainy season (which was supposedly late this year) was a big help as well. Supposedly the people in Sumba see 'many' bules, but I have a feeling their defn of many maybe a little diff than mine.
Ok this is getting long so I'll just list the highlights:
-an amazing 'drop hole' cave and waterfall that was a former power plant and current washing hole.
-A stunning, deserted, white sand, crystal clear beach
-spending hours just chatting with everyday people
-the stunning traditional houses and huge stone/cement tomb/megaliths
-GORGEOUS sunsets over a sea that continued all the way to Africa (kinda cool!)
-Befriending the local 17year old who came from a pretty big family that had nothing (the father was the seeming breadwinner and he collected coconuts for a living). We took him various places for a little more than a day and he acted as a voluntary guide. Ashley also had the fantastic idea to give a cell phone for a Christmas present. It may seem a little ridiculous, but handphones are hugely popular in Indonesia and the kid really had next to nothing. It was a pretty nice feeling, even if I'm not celebrating Christmas!
-And oh yeah, should also mention we did a village stay! You know, no big deal! What that means is that we spent one night hanging out with some local villagers in their home, slept in their traditional bamboo home (the horses and pig were underneath), chatted with them all evening, ate dinner with them, and then gave in and bought some Oleh-oleh from them (basically we got a very unique experience, that is about as authentic as you can get without being an anthropologist (ran into one of those, flying from Flores), and they got more money than they would have earned any other way > everyone was happy!).

Ok I guess that's about enough for now!

The take home is that I'm safe, sound, and having an amazing time!

Happy holidays to all
-Aaron