When Christine Permatsari arrived in Okinawa this August, she found it to be not much different from home.

Christine Permatsari, a native of Indonesia now working in Haebaru, Okinawa, is reminded of home by the local houses . . . and pythons.

The humid climate was the same. The town of Haebaru, where she now lives, with its shaded streets overflowing with tropical vegetation, was similar to what she knew in Indonesia. As for the pace of life, it wasn't much different from Jakarta.