Selamat siang and more

Turn around twice and 2 weeks of language school have flown by. Kristi and I pass our first test and make it through into the rough beginning of the next phase: so many new words. It's more fun learning this time around. A few highlights of the past weeks:

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

The crates of glass purchased in Bali arrive, a week late. Before the delivery man leaves, Pak G pries the wood frame open to see how the glass and wood supports have fared. Inspector Caninen Gypsy gives his 2c. Everything looks fine until we take the bowls out.

The other people's purchases are fine. A bowl that I hand-picked has smashed in transit. The handblown glass may have been too thin. There's no possible rescue.

I toss the glass and prop the leftover wood support on a shelf in the nook. The nook is an interesting corner, even if the quilt on the table isn't going as quickly as hoped. There's been little time to sit and stitch.

Thursday

Last Thursday we walked through forest and tea fields. The stoney roads are killers of shoes and foot soles. Our feet were sore the next day from the constant adjustments to uneven rocky surfaces.

One highlight was this massive root system - we scrambled up toward the tree trunk for a photo.

This week we're on different terrain entirely in the mountains. First we have to balance our way through the rice fields for a couple of kilometers. In some places, the trail is barely a foot wide.

In other places, the balancing act is about gripping the oddly-shaped rocks of the trail with our shoes so we don't fall into the mud of the rice paddies. The fields are newly planted with seedlings.

Our destination is a waterfall.

There and back, we negotiate bridges. Most are bamboo - some even have a one-stalk railing for a light grip. It won't do anything to keep you from falling into the river if you tip over, though.

Friday

The flowers from last week at BIC are fading but still ok. After class, I update them for the weekend ahead.

20 long-stemmed roses ($5) come every few weeks from Ruth's farmer friends. Today, after we poke a dozen or more roses into the oasis to refresh the bouquet, it refreshed. We won't order a new arrangement for Sunday.

Saturday

Everything grows here, even the moss on the brick supporting the washing machine on the rooftop terrace.

Beside the entry, there's a selection of leaves for flower arranging.

And the trees are decked in glorious blooms again. Seems like every time we have a few days of rain, there's a new burst of color.

The cicadas strum their chests in a continual racket as rainy season draws to a close.  This 4" one, lying on his back in the road, tipped himself back upright and toddled off into the grass.

It's a dual holiday - Ramadan month for Muslims and the Easter season for followers of Jesus. Traffic is picking up, whether it's motorcycles (driven equally by men and women of all ages), motorcycle "pickup trucks," or regular vehicles.

W makes pizza dough while I chop the toppings. We enjoy a pizza night with houseguests who arrive from the train station in mid-afternoon.

Sunday

Sam speaks at BIC for Palm Sunday. Afterward, we eat a good lunch at Ethnic with teammates. The young adults hung out at our place last Sunday, so this is their week off.

Later in the day, we're have dinner at Nara Park with new friends.

Kristi is amused by her chocolate milkshake, which has a cone tipped on top.

Monday

On the morning walk, W and I notice the beauty - a double-hibiscus bloom

and a frogger who didn't make it. He's elegant in death.

The mushrooms are out in fields and forest.

I cancel some early meetings to send off our weekend guests. Messages and agendas are arranged between conversations. The connections and appointments for the week ahead begin to fall into place.

Once our friends head out to a clothing outlet on the way to the train station, Kristi and I hop onto Zoom for our third week of language school.

I take a few minutes during a tea break to swap the Bali sarongs on the LR pillows. I'm ready for a  lighter palette - it's mindless relaxation to move a space around.

The doctoral student whose dissertation I'm supervising comes over in the afternoon. He leaves with direction for the next steps and renewed enthusiasm for his worthy project. I'm glad.

Kristi and I study into the evening. There's so much to absorb.

Read more:

*Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord. Psalm 31:24

*Through Jesus Christ we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. Romans 5:2

Moravian Prayer: O God, infuse a measure of patience in us, a confident expectation of your promises. Strengthen us—body, mind, and spirit—and bring us comfort, Lord, with your unending love. Amen.