Thursday, February 10, 2022
We're staying in the neighborhood for today's walk. At the beginning of the walk are poorer homes, a longer walk from resources.
We can look down to a cafe - uneven steps to get there and a banner pinned to the wall.
Or look up on the other side of the crossroad to an alley that climbs back up to the main streets.
Across the river is a whole community of houses made of whatever their dwellers have found.
This old bridge connects people from one side of the river to the other.
There's no standard plan.
On the path, a man proudly poses with the chicken tucked under his arm.
Some build above the canal with concrete ramps to their houses. Others extend their terraces over the cement channel.
We pause to over look an educational area - the government is encouraging eco-walks, which is why the path is beautifully paved. However, there are posts with no more wire cable strung through them (rusted away or carried off) or bamboo ledges you don't want to lean against. A man is bathing (naked from the waist down) in the dirty water below.
At the education station, there are beautiful bonsai plants in process.
Someone is barbecuing fish in his barrel.
We walk down to say hi.
The living green wall is stunning, along the tunnel that shapes the side of the mountain.
There are ducks of various sizes and kinds.
Some have to be shooed off the path so we can cross.
The old Dutch locks regulate the rainfall so the riverbanks are not swept away.
We used to have to balance on the narrow wall along the lock mechanism to get down the trail. Look at the nice bridge they made for people once we were there ... but how the bamboo slats are worn. If you fall through, you'll be a long way down in the water-diversion canal.
At the top of the path is a house and shop. Look at those foundations - would you build your home on top of such uneven concrete pilings, on top of the wall?
On the 10' wall beside the house is a sloping wall with a 2' ledge. A little boy - 2 years old? - runs on the ledge and runs away when he sees me pick up my phone camera.
We go down the street a hundred meters to the community park. Squatter homes were moved to make way for this public space by the last mayor, a trained architect who wanted to beautify the city.
The terrace is full on the weekend. Today, a camera crew is filming a band.
Teras Cikapundung has a 20' high wall with fish sculptures on one side.
The other side has a mural.
These 6' tall carved stands carry large potted plants.
We note the intersection of the beautiful riverwalk with the busy street as we walk to the cafe. It narrows and has broken off street side. To pass and continue up the street, you have to step around and up a little pointed curb.
When we look down from the coffee shop on the street, the river below is beautiful. Tall trees hang over the banks at the turn in the river.
This is a green city - with swaths of jungle between heavily populated villages.
It's frequent that the washbasin has mothballs in it to prevent roaches from coming up the drains into the room.
The park below is a destination before our snack. From above, the squares of the walk are symmetrical and straight.
On the way back, we see this beautiful reed siding.
Walking through the family graveyards, we wonder at the red-leafed plants between graves.
The uneven steps narrow and narrow between graves to a dirt trail. Watch your feet.
Here's another narrow (no-rail) staircase that we avoid for a wider option.
In the evening, before bedtime, I nail up a few paintings. Though the frames are different sizes, the canvases are the same. I aim to get them level.
The art draws the eye through the living room toward the back of the kitchen cabinets.
The wall opposite gets the small wayang puppet we found in a furniture worksheet, ages ago. Propped on pushpins so I don't damage the antique, the handle disrupts the zig-zag of the staircase just enough to merit a second look.
The bouquet of roses, pussy willows, and mums from Imlek (Lunar New Year) last week is still fresh and beautiful. Ibu Grandy uses fresh flowers. We always appreciate her creativity.
Termites felled a papaya tree with 9 fruits on it, over a week ago. I took all the papayas, scattered across the lawn, and put them in a tray to see if they will ripen. "If not, is it garbage?" I ask the helper. IbuS says no, they can be cooked. I give them each a fruit for their family.
IbuA, who is cooking today, gets to work on a coconut creamed green papaya dish for lunch. "Better still if it is made with chicken," she says. Ok, so get some chicken from the freezer. She makes enough for 3 bags - which will go into the freezer once they cool. Some day we won't have time to cook when company comes. We'll have creamed papaya chicken.
She's also cooks rendang, the traditional spiced beef of Indonesia. She slices a roast and starts the slow cooker with a paste of spices and leaves. There's another half-bowl of strong-smelling paste beside the pot.
"Put in the rest once the water boils off," she instructs me. "Add water if it seems dry." I've got time for a nap after supper, and there's still water in the pot.
After an hour's sleep, the alarm rings for my appointment with a spiritual director on the other side of the planet. She's getting up early, while I'm at the end of the day. She reads scripture and asks for my responses. My heart is touched and my mind buzzes with the idea of God with us.
In the kitchen, I add the paste to the slow-cooker. The smell of rendang fills the house. It's late before I get to sleep.
Friday
As we walk through the streets in the early morning, many wonders catch the eye. Look at these pods on a tree.
This cafe has an open courtyard. The weather is good enough here to dine outdoors all year long ... provided it's not raining.
These wild roses juxtapose with broken paving.
We notice a strange stairway, without a landing at the door. The balcony beside it extends "not quite" to the second step from the top. To get into the building from that balcony, you step across space to the top step. I hope the door opens in ...
"Good for young people though, isn't it? They will be quite agile," says my walking buddy.
We stop to explore some governments houses. Each one is named for a flower: Dalia, Orchid, Rose, etc. They have several guest rooms and ensures. There's no stove in the kitchen "but you can have catering" for up to 12 in one kind of house and up to 16 in another. It would be great for a convention; at about $10 per person (full house), it's a deal, especially with a gazebo for barbecues and a big yard to hang out in.
Bags of building supplies lie heaped along the lanes. It makes the already narrow roads impassible for cars.
Lots of decisions to make today, across continents and the city. I get to most things on the to-do list and shelve the rest for tomorrow.
The Bandung Book Group meets online this afternoon, discussing Katya and the Sun. The author's description, the interpersonal challenges (including with a robotic companion,) the ethics and dangers in genetic engineering, and family dysfunctions make this an interesting discussion.
Read more:
**The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings. Pslam 115:16
*From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. Luke 12:48
*I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2: 1-6
*Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and
all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 5:11-14
Moravian Prayer; Almighty God, help us to be good stewards of this world that you have created for us. You have given us the responsibility of cherishing it as a precious gift. Please help us to preserve the earth and all that is in it to honor and glorify you. Amen.
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