This Sunday a number of students from SMA5 participated in a speech competition. There were a number of different competitions happening- story telling, spoof, speech, debate, environmental, medical, the last two were presentations in Indonesian, but the rest were all in English. The competition started about 2 hours late, and ended (for me) with a sort of talent show put on by the host school. The other teachers from my school had mysteriously vanished, and the students were all either engaged in the show or wandering around the school. I am happy to to go to events and support my school, and watching my students perform is simply delightful. But long, drawn out speeches in Indonesian from assistant headmasters, or unrehearsed fashion shows by unknown students are not the type of thing I fancy on a Sunday afternoon.
I was upset about being deserted by the other teacher without so much as an SMS, especially because they had left without providing details on transportation for myself and the students back to school. After a few unanswered calls, I decided to take a page from their book and head home . I have a rough idea of Palembang's lay out at this point, and knew different landmarks and angkot routes (plus I had plenty of daylight and money for a cab ride in case I got turned around) so I set out. I was going to hop on an angkot, but I had been sitting all day, and I realized I knew how to get home from where I was, so I started walking.
It was quite warm 2 degrees south of the equator at 2pm, but I am quite used to sweating at this point, so I didn't mind. After about 15 minutes I was in a much better mood, and thoroughly enjoyed my entire walk. I witness a minor traffic accident involving a delivery motorbike spilling food all over, which was too bad, but no real trouble. I stopped in at a cemetery, which is something I had been wanting to do since I arrived. They are packed pull of colorful headstone/planters and so much vegetation (see below)! I also got to peak over fences that I normally zoom by, and noticed all sorts of pretty places hidden back there.
Another thing I've wanted to do for awhile is try rambutan. It is a fruit, which name comes from the word rambut, or "hair". And if you take a look below, you'll see why. As far as I understood, they were similar to lychees, but looked way cool. I stopped at my usually fruit stand, but they were all out. They spent a few minutes trying to get me to buy durian, but I politely declined. They did give me a few samples and it was the best durian I had tried yet! Sweet, not too fragrant, I might actually buy some next time. (Durian comes from the word duri, meaning "spike/spikey").
Luckily fresh fruit and fruit stands are abundant here, so a few meters down the I found a stall stocked with rambutan. I bought 2 kilos of this neat looking fruit from a nice old lady and participated in some chit chat. She asked where I was going (a common question), and I told her I lived near SMA 5. This stall was maybe a ten minute walk from my house, but she was saying it was so so far, and she wanted to help me get an ojek or bachek. I told her no thank you, I want to walk, I like to walk, I need to walk, but to no avail. After at least 5 minutes of trying to explain how I really wanted to walk home, I gave in and let her son take me and my rambutan home. I was ready to tell her that I had just walked 3 miles from SMA18, but I was afraid she might think I was positively insane. So I accepted her kindness and enjoyed my delicious new fruit.
To see relevant photos (plus photos of my students!) check this out:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151273735519217.455528.713004216&type=1&l=6a9913c1e4
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