Good Morning!
In typical Ellery fashion, I am in the "post frequently" phase of one of my "post-nothing-and-then-post-frequently" cycles. I thought that, in addition to a little update on the last few days, I'd use this post to write out some things that I have been reflecting upon, particularly pertaining to my purpose for being here this year. Forgive me for any off-course ramblings that may result. :)
I forgot to mention in my last post one of the little ways that God was at work in my life here on Friday. I woke up feeling rather blue, facing my first day "alone" again after 19 days of the company of other SALTers and Andrew. While I thought I did a good job of covering up my feelings at school, the teachers were not fooled (though they were kind enough to not say anything about it in the moment). 9:30 is always break time at school, and as I was sitting down for the half an hour "istirahat", my phone beeped. I checked it to find a text from Riki, saying that she was in my host dad's store at the moment, as her host family was buying a new computer. Riki! From a village three hours away! What were the odds of that? I didn't ask questions, but fairly ran home to find Riki in the shop. Within five minutes, we rearranged both of our schedules to accommodate an impromptu lunch date, and then Riki joined me at the TK for the rest of the morning. It was at this point that the teachers mentioned how I had seemed quite depressed in the morning, but was looking much happier now. I felt a little bad about that (that the company of my host community couldn't perk me up the same way that a fellow SALTer could), but it is in those "low" moments that I really need someone with whom I can easily talk to (because speaking in a language other than one's native tongue requires a lot of extra concentration), and who understands where I'm coming from. Riki gave me some positive affirmation after watching me teach a lesson, and then we were off to have lunch together. Even though she had to leave around 3, having Riki here for those few hours made such a difference in my mood. It was one time when the Indonesian randomness of life just happened to work in our favour! I think the good Lord above knew what I needed, and sent Riki my way to fulfill that need. It definitely salvaged the day for me.
On Saturday morning, after teaching a quick lesson to TK-B (we're in the midst of an animal unit, and learned about cats on Saturday), I headed off on another Outbound adventure with my play group. This is the fourth trip of this nature that I have taken between Easter weekend and now, between TK, PPA, and youth. This time, we went to an adventure park that had a "ropes"activity, a playground, a petting zoo, paddle boat rides, and a splash pad. We spent the morning going through the activities (or more accurately, standing under the scrawny palm trees while the three year olds endured the heat) , following it up with lunch at the park, before heading back to the church. A particular highlight of this little endeavour was when the animal guy threw corn for the caged pigeons to consume, and they all flocked at once, swooping dangerously close to my face in their mad dash for food. Fun times indeed.
That Friday get-together with Riki was followed up by yet another impromptu visit on Saturday afternoon, from none other than my dear Laura. Some people from her school had a revival to attend at the Holy Stadium in Semarang, and they offered to drop her off at my house while that was going on. We hung out for awhile, and then headed over to church for youth, before coming back and eating dinner at my place. Laura left around 9, and I was able to chat with Andrew for the first time since he left, making Saturday a really great day overall!
Sunday morning was church as usual (I think the pastor had banked up some passion after a somewhat subdued service last week, and we were all the beneficiaries of that), and then it was out for lunch to celebrate Pak Har's birthday. Now if there is one thing I can tell you about my host dad, it is that he knows and loves his foods. We don't always see eye-to-eye when describing a food as "enak" ("delicious"), but when it comes to eating out, he usually hits the nail right on the head, and the result has been some pretty phenomenal meals here in Semarang. Sunday was no exception, and I found myself seated in a Chinese restaurant (my host family is Ethnic Chinese), with a spread of shrimp, beef, soup, and- the highlight of the meal- Peking duck, before me. I've never tried Peking duck before, but it was absolutely delicious. In fact the whole meal was phenomenal- there wasn't a thing that I didn't enjoy. (Much unlike an experience a few weeks ago where I was taken out for "Padang", a type of restaurant that serves a small plate of a whoooole bunch- 23 to be exact- different dishes, and has you pay for the ones you eat, while the others are served to another table. These dishes are served at the typical room temperature, and items range from goat stomach to intestines to some sort of hoof, and everything in between. I liked precisely one of the 23 dishes.) After Pak Har's birthday lunch, we stopped by the Chinese Traditional Market, which smelled very much like raw warm chicken meat (likely because there was raw warm chicken meat for sale). Many people at the market were excited by the sighting of a bule, and I was able to take a whole bunch of pictures as a result. From the market, we headed off for the weekly trip to the mall, then to the bookstore, and then back home again. We laid low for the afternoon and evening, and I was wildly unproductive with my time.
This morning I went to the TK rather than to Salatiga, as I normally would on a Monday, since I took last Thursday morning off to see Andrew off. Mondays are the kiddies' dance classes, and that is always a real treat to watch. I also learned how to cook a really delicious dessert/soup/beverage that Bu Intan has made several times this year, and that I really enjoy. I'm curious to see if I'll be able to find all of the ingredients for it back in Canada. If I can, I've found my substitute for hot chocolate and tea this winter! It's funny, before coming to Indonesia, and even in my first few months in the Indo, I thought that Canada doesn't lack anything, food-wise. Of course, I was coming at it from a Western food search perspective. Now, as I am trying to get my hands on some of my favourite Indonesian recipes, I find myself thinking, "man, I don't think I'm going to be able to get my hands on banana leaves or coconut jellies or "nangka" very easily." Even if I can find the ingredients, I have a feeling that they'll be rather costly. I cannot envision paying a lot for banana leaves, which are used here indispensably, found in even the cheapest dishes, and used to wrap food-to-go.
This afternoon consisted of a failed attempt to tackle the mess that is my room, and some searching online for Indonesian restaurants in Kitchener. The one that got good reviews costs $60-100 per person! I am going to have to make the most of this 2 months, food-wise especially...
Have a great day!
Love,
Ellery
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