Rainy Days, Indoor Plays

In recent weeks past Indonesia was surrounded by at least 4 cyclones. Cyclones have names, just like hurricanes. Cyclone Pam, Cyclone Nathan, and two others caused crazy winds, unpredictable weather, and hard rains. Large trees were blown over throughout our town. Neighbors were braving the winds and repairing roof damage. Temperatures were much cooler. I actually enjoyed the change in weather, but the way our house is set up the strong winds didn't blow directly into our house, like others experienced. Weather would change in a 20 minutes span... sunny, rain, heavy rain, wind, sunny again.

It was weird. 

So it made playing outside difficult. Kids would seek shelter under carports or trees to wait out the rain. Probably because they didn't want to go home, but might get in trouble if they were just soaked. So we opened up our gate and asked them to come play. The power was out that day, so leaving the front door open was no problem. Oh wait, that's NEVER a problem because we don't have central AC here. Neighborhood kids left their shoes outside and came inside. 

They love playing with all of Kate's toys. Balls, buses that playing nursery rhymes, toy pianos, and her set of cheap plastic letters and numbers. 

So I thought let's have an impromptu English language lesson. I grabbed one of Kate's alphabet concept books- you know the "A is for Apple, B is for Ball...". I said let's try to spell these words in English using the letters. We could only spell the words that did not have double consonants. 

It was interesting because the ones who were most interested were the boys who were not enrolled in school. They found the letters, spelled the words, and then pronounced the word in English. Then when we finished the book I asked them to make sure all the letters and numbers were there. We had an alphabet formed across the floor, and all were accounted for. 

They were eager to learn. I'm wondering what potential opportunities will unfold from cheap plastic letters and numbers. 

Did you hear the one about the duck?

Did you hear the one about the duck? For some reason it sounds like the beginning of a great joke to me with a punchline that will have you wetting your pants. But seriously, did you hear about the duck?

K and I were on our way home from playing soccer when I had to brake for a duck in the middle of the road near my neighborhood. Living here I've had to brake for many things: adults, kids, soccer balls, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, dogs, cats, goats, pigs, cows, chickens, rats, frogs, cockroaches (just kidding! I run those suckers over), and now I can add duck to my list. 

This braking felt weird. There's a lake "near" my house, but it's not close enough for that duck to get confused. There's no pond or other body of water large or small near by, so this duck in my neighborhood left me saying,"Huh, that's different." If I'm honest with myself, I probably say that many times through my day, week, or month. I'd be rich if I had money for every time I either said it or heard it said. 

K and I left the house again for a quick store trip and on our way home the duck was still there. It was a hot day and it had found a nice shaded spot in front of our neighbor's gate. K and I unloaded and I took her to see the duck. We have pictures of ducks in our books, but to see one in real life in our neighborhood was something to see up close. Also this duck was not like most ducks in picture books. 

Later that afternoon we went out again. I asked the kids in the neighborhood if they had seen the duck. We all talked about how strange it was that it was there. They ran to where it was and pointed to show us that he was still there. 

The next day he was gone. Just like that. Someone may have enjoyed a nice duck dinner or he may have just found waddled to another place. 

You never know what you'll see here. Sometimes it's strange or different and most of the time it's unexpected, but it's so fun to see the differences and examine them, admire them, and learn from them. 

Broken Shoes

A broken shoe is not an uncommon thing here. 

This is a sign that you've worn the same shoes for the past 2 or 3 years
 and it's almost time for you to return to your home country!

Sole separates from shoe

The heat and the humidity (H&H) melts away the glue that holds the shoe to its sole. H&H laugh when we spend money on shoes that are guaranteed not to separate! They accept our challenge and ALWAYS win. Here are a couple of my shoes that have lost the fight against H&H.

This happened while I was playing indoor soccer!

So I had been dragging my feet in search of a new pair of shoes that I liked and didn't have to spend a lot of extra money on. The day before I looked at the local sports store. I found one that I could live with, but they didn't have the shoe in my size. The other pair would force me never to look at my feet and just be thankful I wasn't barefoot. So I skipped on purchasing and walked out with my soles clapping with each step- a victory for them. 

While I was washing dishes, staring out my window, I saw a man walk by on the road. He was calling out "Sepatu", which is Indonesian for "shoe". When I say "calling out", he was really singing as he walked. He jingle was like this "Se-Pa-Toooooooo", which each syllable an octave above the previous. He was very fast, because by the time it registered in my head what he was singing and my running outside he was at the end of my street. I called to him,"Excuse me!" He turned around, and I waved at him. He was at my gate before I could gather my broken shoes. He walked with a stick that was balanced on his shoulder. The ends of the stick had boxes dangling from it. Inside those boxes were the materials that would be used to perform an operation on my shoes. He sat across from my house under the shade of the neighbor's starfruit tree and went to work. The operation lasted less than an hour, for he had skilled hands. I provided him with cold water, and left him with my shoes. 

The cost of repairing both shoes was less than the price of one new pair. I feel like I got a deal. I didn't even have to leave my house!

The shoes were glued and then stitched with matching thread. I'd say the operation was a success!