On Monday I took a trip to the post office after school. I had a few things I wanted to send out, and enough time to make it downtown and back before the sun went down. I traveled by angkot from Lemabang (where I live) to Ampera, and there was a family from my neighborhood on my angkot, so I chitchatted with the mother and had a nice little talk. When traffic came to a stop, I decided to walk the remaining stretch. I got out at Pasar 16, a giant market with food, clothes, everything you can imagine for sale, and responded to all of the friendly "hey mister! how are you!" remarks I received. On my ten minute detour, I realized that I had a whole afternoon at my disposal, and I was already downtown, so I might as well make the most of it. My trip to the post office was quick and painless, and from there my adventure began.
I walked across the street to a big monument that I have driven buy plenty of times, but never stopped at. I went inside the gaited area to take a few pictures, and checked that off my Palembang to-do list. From the monument I could see the Ampera bridge, and I noticed people were walking across the bridge. I had never thought about people crossing the bridge by foot before, and the idea sounded delightful, so I crossed the necessary traffic to get to the bridge.
For being the only real bridge that connects North and South Palembang, I'm always surprised at how quick traffic moves across it. Once I hit the mid-point of the bridge, I came across some fruit vendors who were passing out fruit. I was initially very skeptical, but I noticed how all of the Indonesians were gladly taking it, and figured it would be ok. I accepted their slice of watermelon and asked them why they were passing out the fruit. They said they were done for the day and wanted to go home, and they were giving out what they didn't sell. We chatted a little about Palembang, then they were on their way. I enjoyed my watermelon and my view of the city, then tossed my rind into the river like everybody else. I had no intention of staying on the other side of the river for very long, because there really isn't much to offer. I knew that the average income was much lower, and because I didn't know much else I figured I'd do a quick loop to the other side of the bridge.
Once I got back to the North side, I continued on my trip. I went around the rest of traffic circle, and on to the giant mosque. I didn't want to go in the building and risk offending anyone, so I just snapped some pictures of the outside. I worked my way around to the front and got a nice picture of the giant fountain which is in the middle of the traffic circle I had been working my way around. I was just thinking how thirsty I was when I saw two men selling drinks on the corner, how perfect! I bought some water, chatted for a bit, then decided to head home. And luckily, the angkot I needed was routed right by the street I was on!
Once I got back to Lemabang, I had a delightful walk back to my house. I passed a fruit stand that I sometimes shop at and stopped to say hello. There was a new brown fruit that I'd never seen before, and when I asked about it, the guy handed one to me, along with a massive knife to peel it with. I took a seat while I talked to the guys and tried out my new fruit. We talked about my school and Palembang, and different fruits in America and Indonesia, then we started talking about my marital status. One of the guys insisted on driving me home, along with something else, but I had no idea what the other word meant, so I thought it best not to take him up on the ride. I thanked them for the fruit sample and was on my way. There was another fruit stand another few meters down the street with another new fruit, and when I asked the lady what it was, I got a free sample of that too! Neither fruit was worth buying... But I certainly appreciated the generosity of the vendors.
My last stop was the gado gado stand. I have become friends with three lovely ladies that make some pretty good gado gado, and I hadn't seen them in over a week, so it was time to say hello. When I got there, the women commented on how it had been so long since they'd seen me and how they missed me. They are very sweet. One of the things that is left on my Palembang to do list is make gado gado with these ladies. We chatted about my approaching departure, and made plans for a gado gado lesson. They were tickled by the idea and said I had to make sure to bring my camera for plenty of pictures.
Finally I was back in my neighborhood, high off of all the lovely interactions throughout the day, when I saw the neighbor I had met on the angkot earlier that afternoon! She pointed to the sky and referenced the rain we were about to have, and invited me to take shelter in her house. I thanked her but passed. Then I was greeted by the swarm of neighborhood kids, and prepped myself for a million high fives. I've recently started doing very high fives, where the kids have to jump to hit my hand, and they get a kick out of it. After my final high five I felt the first raindrop, and stepped in my house just in time.
It was quite the day with many wonderful interactions. The coolest part was that they were all in Indonesian! I've come a long ways since August.
I apologize for the lack of blogging these past few months! I plan on back tracking and catching up within the next week or so.
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