A weekend of new adventures, new friends, new words, and new foods

Lets go camping!!

Last week I got an invite to go camping with my language tutor, Fanny. She was going camping on a beach with some of her friends, including Ruth’s two older siblings, Adam and Tracy. It was reassuring to know that I would have two other native English speakers with me that could help me since most of Fanny’s friends weren’t completely fluent in English and I know almost no Indonesian.

We started the trip with an hour and thirty minute drive to the beach where the baptism had taken place. The drive there was filled with ukulele playing (they brought the ukulele instead of a guitar because of its small size), singing, percussion played on an empty water jug, rapid fire Indonesian conversations, and a smattering of English. I mainly enjoyed the novelty of the situation, the cool breeze, and the sometimes comedic singing. I couldn’t follow their conversations, but I could tell that they were all having a blast. I guess that happy company is contagious.

The view from our campsite

We arrived at the beach, gathered our stuff, and headed to our campsite. We climbed a gently sloping path through sparse trees before reaching the crest of a tall steep hill leading to small cove. I was a little astounded by how steep the path leading down the hill was, but with little hesitation, the Indonesians led the way down, carrying their packs and supplies, some carrying the large (approximately 5 gallon) water jugs, only slipping occasionally. Once we made it down to the small beach, we staked out the right hand side as our spot for the next 24-ish hours.

The women enjoyed some relaxation on the sand while the men set up our tent and worked on gathering fire wood and starting to prepare supper. I sat with Fanny for a while and we talked about basic subjects like our families, and what we liked to do. Fanny has a basic mastery of English, but still struggles at times.

After the sun had set, and twilight was truly setting in, she started to tell me her testimony. Fanny is attending a missionary school and will be leaving in February or March to serve as missionary, planting churches and spreading the gospel. She told me about how God had called her to the school and how he had eventually called her to go to the tribe. She had been worried about the financial aspect of going. Her church and family here won’t have the money to support her. Her mom reminded her that God had helped her to find the finances for her schooling and that he could do the same for missions work. Please pray for Fanny. She is a sweet, kind woman that loves God. I know that she will be a phenomenal witness for him and will do great things in his service.

No, he wasn't our supper or our lunch. He was just a very
very large and fluffy chicken that we spotted on the beach.

A little while later we enjoyed a supper of chicken (my portion was from the non-spicy batch that they made just for the foreigners among the group), rice, and sautéed greens. We spent the rest of the night singing, joking, and playing games. A few of the Indonesians spoke with me in English in hopes of making me feel more included and to practice their English.

We went to bed late and we rose early, just before the sun was peaking over the hills across the small bay from us. It was so peaceful to watch the sky slowly change colors and the sun slowly illuminating the worlds. After that we had a piecemeal breakfast and then ventured into the ocean. The ocean bottom was rocky and the surf was rough, so our swim didn’t last too long. We spent some more time singing and chatting and then took off a climb.

The small cove was situated between to rock outcroppings. We climbed over the ones to our left to a small cleft that had been worn into the rock. In the past, the group has jumped off the rocks and swam into the cave, but the ocean was too rough that day. We went back towards our camp spot and instead climbed back up the steep path and back to the main beach. From there we set off across another out cropping of rocks and then eventually back to camp.

At this point, it felt like it was 1:00 PM, but it was more like 10 AM. We did a bit more chatting and relaxing, had lunch (a close repeat to the previous night’s supper), and returned to relaxing, singing, and chatting, which eventually dissolved into napping. There were several trees that overhung the beach, providing enough shade that with the ocean breeze it was very comfortable.

I woke up to a selfie-athon. Fanny told me that Indonesians are fans of taking pictures and selfies. We must have taken 20-30 different selfies and photos on the beach. Some of us standing together, some of us laying on the ground, some of us scattered across the sand, some of just a couple people, some of people wearing each other’s silly hats. I’m not much of a picture person, I don’t like the way that I look in photos, but it was an entertaining and cheap way to pass the time. I think that by the end of this trip I will have mad selfie skills. :)

After that, we packed up and headed back home. I was completely worn out! Once I got home, I showered (becoming sand free for the first time in 24 hours), ate supper, and fell asleep. I slept 11 hours and still felt like I could have slept more.

A few new dishes

Fanny told me that I was becoming Indonesian when I asked to
take a picture. Unfortunately, everyone ended up with glowing
eyes. One of them joked that my friends were all vampires. 

That evening, I got a surprise visit from Fanny again. She popped in to invite me to go with her friends to try saraba, a hot drink made with ginger, lemon grass, and sweetened condensed milk. We went to a food cart along the road with tables behind it. The group ordered the drinks, fried bananas, fried tofu, and fried soy. All of the food was delicious! It was also accompanied by some good conversation. 

Jus avocado, artfully arranged by Sherry

The next day, I got the chance to try a few more Indonesian dishes. We had a rice dish that was made with coconut milk and saffron. There was also a type of fried soy that was pretty yummy too. Probably the most unusual item from lunch though was the jus avocado, a drink made from avocados, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate. It seemed like such an odd combination. I usually think of avocados as something that goes with Mexican food, sandwiches, or chips.  However, when I tasted it, I was surprised at just how good it was. It was thick and creamy, and the avocado was perfectly complimented by the chocolate.

Language learning 

I started my official Indonesian lessons the week before last. However, my attempts to learn the language started several months ago. Once I agreed to come to Indonesia, I started doing some research and found a free learning Indonesian podcast. The podcast was well done, and helped to kick start my language learning in two ways. The most obvious way was that it taught me a few basic phrases and vocabulary. The other great thing that it did was it exposed me to the sounds of Indonesian. Through listening to the Podcast and also occasionally listening to Indonesian radio, I became more familiar and comfortable with the sounds of Indonesian.

One of the things that also helps me is that this isn’t my first foreign language. I have been studying Spanish since 2002. Through that long study I have learned some skills and tricks that help me to learn languages, like using flash cards to study, and knowing the importance of continued exposure to the language. One other thing that is helpful is my desire to learn the language, which in my opinion is the most important resource that a language learner, and in fact all learners, can have.

Over the course of my time here, I have picked up on some Indonesian words. I’m a bit isolated from Indonesian in the house. If I were living with Indonesians or spending more time among them, I would have more of a sink or swim type situation that would force me into learning Indonesian much more quickly. However the language is still a big part of my life. I see Indonesian labels on the food, the neighbors speak Indonesian, if I watch cartoons on our tv, they are dubbed in Indonesian and the rest of the tv shows have Indonesian subtitles. Communicating with Indonesians is also a huge motivator. I want to be able to make my way around and make basic transactions on my own.

So, I digress. In the course of my lessons I have learned basic motion words (run, sit, stand), basic animals (cat, dog, cow), location words, and basic numbers. I’ve been working with Fanny. She speaks very little English during our lessons, which means that not only am I learning basic vocabulary, but I’m also learning question words like what, where, and how many. In the grand scheme of things, I haven’t learned much, but I’m proud of the little progress that I have made. 

One other good aspect of my language learning is that it is reminding me of what it was like to learn Spanish for the first time. I hope to teach Spanish one day, but since it has been so long since I was learning basic vocab and struggling to just communicate my basic thoughts, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how frustrating it can be when you don’t know the word that you need or the joy of remembering and correctly using a simple phrase. It’s been a very good reminder of just what a first year Spanish student might be going through.

Anything can be an adventure....

I’ve been in Indonesia for a month now. I have definitely settled in and am even starting to get used to the heat. I find myself thinking, “Oh, it’s not too bad today,” then I check the temps and find out that it’s still in the 90’s. I haven’t had any grand adventures in the last few weeks just some small ones, though anything can be an adventure with the right mind-set.

One of the adventures is language lessons. I started taking language lessons with Vanny. I've only had one so far, but I'm looking forward to learning more Indonesian.

The other thing that I did was attend an Indonesian church service and baptism at a beach. The Prior's two daughters also got baptized. The beach was about 2 hours from the house. The trip gave me a chance to see a little more of the area around Manado, including some more rural areas. Once we arrived at the beach, the church service began. I didn't understand much of the service, but I was able to experience an Indonesian service. Afterwards, we moved to the water. About 10 people were baptized. Afterwards we had a pot-luck. I tried a few things, but also had two servings of the nachos that Abby Prior made.

Here’s some recap of a few of my older adventures.

Hikes:

There is a missionary family from Australia nearby, the Priors that like to go on hikes and walks. They are good friends with Fred and Sherry and the family, so we’ve gone along on several of their walks. The first one was during my second week in Indonesia. We met up at the Priors house, where two locals (friends and neighbors of the Priors) joined us as our guides.

The last few feet of the trial

We decided to walk through the hills that day, so off we went. The walk started along the road, then we took a short cut through a couple yards. One thing that I’m learning about Indonesia is that the people here are more open about letting others on their property than in the US. For me, at least, it would be a little odd to just go traipsing across a stranger’s yard with permission, but it seems to be fairly normal here in Indonesia. After that we walked along the road for a little bit and then started through an open field like area and quickly made it to the hill part of the climb, which took us through coconut trees. There where giant piles of old coconut shells from when they had last harvested the coconuts.

Manado in the distance

At first the climb was easy, but it kept getting steeper and steeper, right up to the last few yards, which were pretty close to straight up and down. By that point I was beat, but I pushed on and with tired legs, and made the summit. The view was worth every single bit of effort. The hill wasn’t the highest in the area, but it did put us up above everything but one other mountain. You could everything. The sky, the coconut tree topped mountains, the volcano, the river, the houses, even all the way to Manado Bay, which was a glistening sliver against the horizon. We stayed for a while, taking in the view, chatting, resting, and rehydrating. We didn’t stay for sunset, but as the sun sank lower in the sky it blazed red. It was a beautiful view.

We re-did this exact hike this week because the Priors had a few friends in town from New Zealand. I jumped on the chance to re-do the hike, mainly because I wanted to take some pictures. I had forgotten my camera the first time, and also because it was a challenging walk. The second time wasn’t any easier. I was the slowest member of our group, and had to stop for the most breaks, but once again, I made it! My Fitbit tracker showed that we had gone up 260 ft.

The second hike that we did was the Tuesday before last and then again last Saturday. The Priors are part of an organization in Manado called the Hash House Harriers, an international walking group. They typically have a big hike and then socialize and eat afterwards. Abby, the mom of the Priors, and Sherry were organizing this hike, so Tuesday was our test run, and Saturday was the real thing. Both times we went out with the local guys who had led us on my first hike.

The walk took us through the fields and rice paddies near the house. It was a good thing that we had our guides with us, because the rice paddies are like a maze. We were walking through the fields on narrow 1-2 feet high partitions that they build up between the rice paddies. The “walls” are usually about 1-1.5 feet wide, but in places they have fallen away. You had to keep a close eye on where you were going or else you would end up with a shoe full of mud (which I did on both walks). There were also breaks in the walls for the water that is used to flood the rice paddies flows through. These were particularly treacherous in places because the tall grass that grew on some of the partitions made it near impossible to tell where they were.

I learned that the farmers stay in small huts in the middle of the rice fields once harvest time comes. This is so that they can keep the birds away from the rice. To do so, they create a pulley system of strings attached to balanced bamboo poles. When they pull the strings the bamboo poles move, scaring off the birds. An entire field can be guarded from one small hut in the middle with 30-40 strings meeting at the one point. It’s an ingenious system.

Food:

Fish, sambal, veggies, and rice

Manadonese food is known for its spiciness. Since most of the family I’m with don’t like spice, most of the food that we eat at home is mild. However, I’ve gotten some very spicy things when eating outside of the house. I went to Vanny’s birthday party, and her friends had made food for everyone. I tried to avoid the things that looked spicy, but I ended up accidentally getting a spicy potatoes. I took one bite, and I was done. It was so spicy that my lips were tingling for at least 30 minutes.

Restaurants are plentiful in Manado. The Manadonese seem to enjoy eating. There are a variety of American options (Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Wendy’s, KFC), but there are also many many local restaurants. I’ve only been to a few, but I’ve been told that most sell a version of nasi goreng, or fried rice. I’ve gotten this a couple times because it is a safe standard. You can get the meal with a variety of meats, but chicken is probably the most popular option. The meal comes with fried rice, a type of puffy rice crackers, your choice of meat, and a fried egg.

Some of the eating areas

Across the road from our house is a well-known fish restaurant. The restaurant has one central ordering and kitchen area. The sit down part of the restaurant is a bunch of small-ish pavilions that are built over top of a pond and are connected by walk ways. The restaurant is the equivalent of an Indonesian fast food place. The most popular dish at the restaurant is, of course, the fish, which is served with white rice, greens (cooked deliciously in butter, garlic, and onion) and sambal (a spicy sauce that the Indonesians use like ketchup). The unique thing about the fish, at least for an American, is that they don’t just serve you a fillet, they serve you the entire fish, head, eyes, tail, fins, bones, and all perfectly cooked. It’s not the most appetizing presentation in my opinion, but it was definitely good. We went again a few days later with the Prior's guests