Keanekaragaman Hayati

Try to wrap your tongue around THAT one! I think it's the only word in the Indonesian language that gives me real problems... even after knowing it for almost a year, and no matter how slowly I attack it, I feel like my mouth fills with marbles, and I just can't spit it out!

Funny thing is that it means Biodiversity... kind of a key word in conservation! The other day I was speaking on stage to a group of about 300 people (at a Muslim gathering in Kalobo); you would have all had a good laugh seeing me struggling to pronouce KE-ANE-KA-RAGAM-AN HAYATI!

Sometimes I just cheat and indonesian-ize the word: Biodiversitas.