Joe's not leaving
One of the first expat Bloggers I discovered, Joe Friend, lives in Indonesia:
The US Embassy in Jakarta is asking American's to leave Indonesia if they don't absolutely have to be here. Our family is NOT leaving at this time, but we are making preparations to do what is needed in the future. (FWIW, this is the third or fourth time we've done this since we moved here in 1997). [So many islands...]
That's pretty amazing. Joe's a hell of a lot braver than I am. He's posted a lot of links about the bombing - he even talks about how he's been by that disco several times on trips to Bali. Though it's not the bombings that would scare me living there - it's just that he's an American with a large family living in such a potentially hostile environment. I'm not sure I could make the same decision.
You know... There's actually LOTS of bombings here in Madrid and in Spain. You probably don't notice them because they are so regular as to not be news outside the country, but they're for real. A week before my wedding here, a building was bombed that was less than a block away from the hotel where ALL my family was going to be staying. My first office was across the street from the Supreme Court where security is ALWAYS a constant reminder of the reality here. It's that sort of thing that definitely gives you pause. I've personally seen the after-results of two bombs... it's really such a waste.
Bleh... I'm going to put my head back in the sand now. This stuff isn't fun.
-Russ