I’ve created a mini-house tour over at flickr. I hope you’ll head over and enjoy. I think you will be suprised by how beautiful our house is–it’s the nicest one we’ve ever lived in, and probably ever will live in. God has really blessed us with this one.
There are quite a few mountains (and some that even smoke and spit every so often) in Central Java. Indonesian love climbing them, and so I thought I would give it a try too. We found a little Indonesia song about climbing these mountains. Basically it says: “Go up, go up to the mountain peak so tall, so very tall”. Where’s the part about walking all night and half the next day? I don’t see anything about sore knees, legs, ankles, or any other body part that moves while going up and coming down. If that little song held any of these important details, I wouldn’t have to write this post. But since it so loosely based on reality, I’ll have to fill you in.
After searching around my neighborhood for a vehicle to rent–one big enough to haul 12 of us to the town of Selo at the foot of Mount Merapi–I found that everyone was more than willing to refer a friend, a son, a brother, a neighbor with just the van I’m looking for. Inadvertently settling on an old diesel van, I moved on to the next task at hand, and after about 37 text messages I felt like everyone knew what was going on, knew where to be at what time for pickup, and who was paying for what, when, and how.
Ideally, I should have slept from that exact moment until the van came to pick me up at 10.00 pm. I didn’t. Instead I went swimming with Amy and G. Then I went to an Indonesian house warming party complete with fried foods, deserts, and other mid-ascent nightmare foods. When I was finally home again, I began to think about what I’d need for the big climb. Sitting in front of a new movie took me right about to my deadline.
The rain started as I closed the van door leaving our house. It steadily increased and intensified as we worked our way around the city picking up other climbers (3 from a hotel downtown, 3 from one house, 3 from another, and 1 from the last). We would have all fit nicely into the van except for the 3 man driving team that came with the van rental. As it turned out, the third crew member was essential to our safety as he became our human defroster wiping the windshield every 23 seconds until we reached Selo.
We pulled into our base camp at 12.30ish. We met our guides at their house where we had some tea and rested in their living room for an hour. Fortunately the rain had stopped by this point, but the constant thunder and lightning left us little hope of making it to the peak dry.
After a glass of warm tea, we slipped into our packs and started our ascent. The climb was constant for the first 2+ hours. We didn’t know until the next morning that our path basically followed a butruss-like finger of the mountain. At times we walked through deep gouged trails with muddy walls looming over our heads. Other times we walked through dripping trees or over randomly strewn boulders or whatever else we came across in the darkness.
to be continued…
G thinks learning English is #1 (or he missed when he was picking his nose)
About two months ago we agreed to “teach” English to the teenagers at our church. In reality all we offer is the chance to listen to and interact with native English speakers. The teens have all taken several years of English in school, but as far as I understand, all of that has been taught by non-native English speakers, and practiced with friends who are non-native English speakers. They have lots of technical knowledge, but aren’t comfortable speaking. Since we only meet two times a month, it in reality is mostly a chance for us to interact with them. Last Sunday we got together at our house. Michael taught for an hour and a half using a Bible Story from a kids book and expounding on it. I think it went really well. Afterwards the sixteen of us ate spaghetti and french bread (such an American meal, kidding), and hung out. Spaghetti is a strange thing for Indonesians so I hope they liked it. I forgot to have some rice too. I imagine they all went out and had rice after eating at our house.
mmm spaghetti (why didn't I just make nasi goreng??)
On a side note: if you can’t figure out what is wrong with our walls, it’s not a special technique. It’s simply the affect painting in rainy season. Moisture is seeping through the new paint and literally pushing it off the walls. It’s really too bad. I’m waiting for it to dry up so we can sand it and try repainting, but it rained heavily for 18 hours straight today so I’m not sure it will ever dry up.
Side note number two. Please pray for all of the kids that we are meeting with. They each have their own worries and concerns. But I pray that they will impact our world, starting with Indonesia, for the Lord. I pray that our small contribution in their lives can help them reach beyond themselves and impact others. Wouldn’t it be amazing if each one of them had a heart to reach others–the impact would be huge. Thanks for your prayers.
the MAKINGS of PEANUT SAUCE
Here are several of my favorite recipes (but I always say that):
AYAM BAKAR
7 cloves of garlic (bawang putih)
1 t salt (garam)
Smash in a mortar and pestle. Or use a garlic press.
9 (~2 lbs) assorted pieces of chicken (ayam)
2 c water (air)
smashed garlic and salt
1 onion, sliced (bawang bombay)
1 1/2 t ground coriander (ketumbar)
1/2 t turmeric (kunyit)
1 1/2 t cumin (this is unusual, but my helper likes the smell of it, and I love taste of it)
2 t teriyaki sauce
2 T sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
1 T brown sugar (gula jawa–a much milder form of brown sugar, from coconut trees)
1 lime leaf (daun jeruk–this might be optional if you can’t find it)
Boil uncovered in a wok, or large saucepan, until the water has reduced. Approximately 30 minutes. Bake on a baking sheet in a 400 F oven for 20 minutes, or until dark.
Rice (oh and some Ayam Bakar)
Serve with PECEL (salad made of various vegetables and peanut sauce)
Steam:
Cabbage (can also do steamed spinach)
Anise leaves
Bean Sprouts
Serve steamed vegetables with peanut sauce. I am still working on getting the peanut sauce recipe written up. In the meantime peanut sauce can be bought at Indonesian stores, or you can do a google search for it.
And serve with LIME TEA (Teh Jeruk)
1 c sugar (gula putih)
10 limes (jeruk nipis)
3-4 Jasmine tea bags (teh celup melati)
Heat about 2 c of water. Pour over the sugar and tea bags. Steep untill brownish. Squeeze the limes, and add to the tea. Fill the pitcher the rest of the way with cold water.
Last week G was crabby, quite crabby. He would whine and cry and not want to sleep. I think our house helpers got tired of it, or of seeing him in misery, so they suggested that I take him to go get a massage. So I thought why not try another Indonesian experience. My friends take their kids if they have been falling a lot, or if they are cranky. So we hopped on our motorbike and followed her to an unassuming little place. Inside were several Batik throws, and an old mat. With trepidation I gave G to her, and the masseuse mixed some beras kencur powder with water to rub on him. G hated it and bawled and fought and struggled. Michael says we will never do it again. But (possibly coincedentally) he is now doing a lot better.
- i wish he had enjoyed it some
I’ve also of and on felt under the weather. So people tell me that I probably have masuk angin(wind entered). Which seems to be a catch all disease. But the most common symptoms are bloating and gas (sorry fair reader). It’s thought to be caused by sitting under a fan, or in front of an open door when there is wind, or if a kid sits in the front of a motorcycle. Another treatment besides Jamu is to whistle (I’m not making this up). In fact Christians, well educated Doctorate types, also believe in Masuk Angin. I guess it’s a little bit like American’s belief of how the common cold is caused… So the treatment is some more beras kuncur powder mixed into a drink called jamu.
G has small bites all over his arms, and a rash all around his neck. So I’ve been taking our neighbors advice and rubbing Minyak Kayu Putih (Melaleuca Oil, apparently a cousin of Tea Tree Oil) all over him, his matress is going to get “sunned,” and he gets powdered after his bath, which is often three times a day because we take lots of baths around here now that it is hot. Maybe I should try beras kuncur.
Sorry it has been so long since we have posted. Our internet is a fickle thing, on its best days.
On to other news. I think I once heard it said that learning a new langauge increases the gray matter in your brain, and boosts your brain power. Fantastic! In fact you all should try it. Sign up for a course, watch a foreign movie with the subtitles turned off, buy a language course on CD, eat food at an International restaurant and offer to help wash up with the bilingual staff (kidding), buy your groceries at a ethnic grocery, watch Dora the Explorer…I hate to break it to you though, it’s really hard or next to impossible, to learn good language without living among native speakers. So why don’t you move over here with us. It’s good for your brain.
Here’s a test that I took yesterday. If you are planning on coming to Indonesia, don’t cheat, it won’t do you much good anyways.
As for me though, I feel that I am getting stupider. I am forgetting how to spell English, but I’m not learning how to properly spell Indonesian. My sentence structures in both languages is getting all messed up (as you might be able to tell). My brain is aching from all of the exercise (kepala pusing).
So maybe you should just take up juggling. It also has brain benefits.
There is a giant swamp (rawa) in the middle of our central Javanese valley called Rawa Pening…if you want to know where such a land form might have come from, read on. Below is the legend of Baruklenting and the creation of Rawa Pening (it’s a bit of a mix between King Arthur and the Lochness Monster with an Indonesian twist)…
- picture taken by John Hutteman
At one time, there was a village near Salatiga called Pening. The village of Pening sat on the valley floor, surrounded by thick, and wild jungle. In those wild jungles lived many wild animals.
On a certain occasion, some children of Pening ventured into those jungles to play. When they had played their way deep into the forest, it started to rain. It rained, and rained! The kids—like most of us—did not want to get soaked that day. They searched for a shelter and discovered a cave nearby. With childish haste, they all ran and crammed into the cave. All but one little boy. He was the stinky kid. Fortunately for him, the other children just wouldn’t let him into the already crowded cave.
I have decide to start a recipe section. The first recipe I want to share, was Debbie’s (Michael’s mom) favorite dish while she was here. I think she bought it 3 times, and they were only on Indonesian soil for 4 1/2 days.
mie goreng is number ONE
8 ounces fine egg noodles
1/2 lb chicken, boiled and shredded
4 tablespoons peanut oil (or palm oil)
3/4 cup onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 fresh red chili pepper, chopped and seeded or 3/4 teaspoon dry chili flakes
2 stalks celery, finely sliced (optional)
1 1/2 cups green cabbage, finely shredded
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
1/2 cup fried onion flakes (optional)
4 green onions, Sliced diagonally (optional)
8 slices cucumbers, thinly sliced (optional)
Directions
Boil the noodles as per instructions but do not over cook them. Rinse noodles in cold water, drain well. Heat oil in a large wok or frypan. add onion and fry until almost golden. Add chili & garlic, fry 2 minutes more. Add chicken, celery, and cabbage, cook for 2 minutes.The vegetables must still be crisp. Season with salt & pepper. Add soy sauce. Add noodles back to the pan, stir fry, turning the noodles into the mixture and cook until all is heated through. Turn into a heated serving dish Garnish & serve hot.
It is amazing, from 150,000 rp or approximately $15 we are able to buy all of this fresh produce from the market. There are papayas, watermelon, apples, pineapples, potatoes, green onions, bananas, coconut milk, rice noodles, avocados, green beans, peanuts, bean sprouts, etc. We are constantly blown away by the things we can buy for our measley $15.
- fresh from the market
But I do have to be honest and balance it with reality…once we go to the grocery store, or the import store we can easily blow all the rest of our food budget. For our $15 at the local grocery store we got: 2 kilos of flour (white, whole wheat is HARD to find), 2 kilos of sugar (but it is the nice unrefined kind), 8 rolls of toilet paper (single ply), cocoa powder, sambal (chile sauce), garlic flavored peanuts (I needed a snack), 1 liter of apple juice with added aloe vera (I’m not sure why), and 1 liter of orange juice, soap for washing the flour, soap for our clothes, and dish soap. If we had gone to the import store, the stash would have been really small…some cheese and maybe a can of cranberries.
the more expensive "necessities"
I have been thinking a lot about cutting down on what I consider necessities because my neighbors make so little money. A highly skilled carpenter makes $4 a day. It would take him a long time to be able to buy my small mound of groceries. If his family can do without some of it, maybe we can to. Its not something I like or something that comes naturally…I love spending money, especially when my money can go so far here. But I am at least praying and rethinking what I think is necessity.
Have a great day friends. It is off to school for Michael and I this morning.
A motorcylce is a motorcycle…unless you’ve had no wheels to call your own for two months. And then once the wheels were obtained, they had no engine to power them. And then came the day when the wheels and the engine were bought together–along with a pretty little seat and a horn. Now our little family is finally able to drive its little motorcycle off into the sunset…that is, when the storm clouds part long enough to see it.
at least it has racing wheels
UPDATE: here’s the asked for picture of our motorcylce. It is a small little thing (something like 125 something or others), it’s basically half scooter. We wanted to get something that I would be comfortable driving, but won’t stick out on the road. So far it has been fantastic; it can carry our little family easily, and as you can see it can also carry Michael and his dad.
We got our driver’s licenses last Saturday, and promptly bought a motorcycle Tuesday. Prior to that we were riding our bicycles to class (and other not so distant destinations). Nothing bad about that (mine is especially cool looking), but I didn’t like leaving 17 minutes early to pedal the 1 1/2 miles only to feel sticky and sweaty when we arrive there.
YES my bike has a doubling seat AND a basket!
If we wanted to go anywhere else we would “naik Angkot” as G likes to say, or jump on the public transport. We loved the chance to talk with our fellow riders, but didn’t love having to tote our jugs of juice and milk from one end of the town strip to the other. Sometimes they were rather cramped–my record was 19 adults (plus one not so little G).
a special kind of "angkot"...its empty!
Imagine taking a bus around your town–walking to the bus stops, and then walking to the stores, and then walking back. I am still planning on enjoying the camraderie of the angkot from time to time, but for now, I am glad that we have more options. Here’s a great article about the angkot, and impacting people around you.
