Movies, decorating, and angklungs. It's an artistic week

Sunday, July 31, 2022

What a great Sunday - we get to discuss difficult questions around the tables at BIC. The last Sunday might be my favorite day of the month. We call it Round Table Sunday, because we borrow Green Gate's tables for our morning gathering. But how can it be the end of July already?

Here's what I remember about the past week: The first half, we are gearing up for the reset of movie night, the most fun we have at our house. It's a soft launch, so only 45 people are permitted to attend. 

To take the pressure off preparation, I signed up for a free internet "botanical journal" class - 5 sessions about drawing, painting, and dying plants into a self-made journal. I start hopeful. I follow the instructions to bind a journal with various papers, scrap fabric, and leftover pages.

My journal takes days to dry. The cover starts to mold, though I put it on a stand and flip the pages to dry the inside faster. Ugh. 

It looks like organic garbage, cobbled, collaged, and doodled together. Page after page is neither interesting nor particularly artistic. (It's a mess, I admit it.) I'll complete the classes to acquire some new skills, but - wow - so far, this is nothing I'd want to keep.

Monday

W sends out the invitation and 80 sign the movie-night guest list before we know it. It's a long waiting list.

The BIC team comes over for lunch. We're welcoming Shibli and Herbert and saying goodbye to Kristi. She's been involved in so many events - it's hard to imagine that she's going home to the USA soon. We'll miss her!

Wednesday

The list is sorted out and we open our house -  after tearing apart the living room and dining area. My office is crammed with furniture and accessories. Our folding dining table gets rolled against one office wall.

The evening event is as much fun as we remember, though 45 people sound a lot quieter than the usual 70.  "We were going to come, says one friend, "but the list filled up so quickly. We decided to let others have the chance to attend." Nice guy.

I start cooking at before 7:00 a.m. and finish by 10:00. I cook a menu of dishes that people say are their favorites. Curried sausage. Spicy chicken. Peppery meatballs. Because I'm a mom, I also make sure there's a salad and vegetables, along with rice.

The rest of the morning is spent setting out cutlery, plates, condiments; planning the order of the buffet; printing signs with portion limits ("Curried Sausage, max 3, etc.) I cook the main dishes, and take a nap. 

IbuA and IbuS are lifesavers. They make rice, cut fruit and salad, and clean up. The old-timers can't wait to see them and waltz into the workspace to say hi.

It's fun to gather on the porch and in the house with the movie-night family and strangers. Bella introduces her fiancé; someone is saying goodbye before she moves to Kyrgyzstan; others update us on their jobs after graduation. Newbies sign the guest book so they'll know when they first came.

We eat dessert at intermission and hang out when the movie is over. It's almost 11:00 p.m. by the time the last people leave. Well worth staying up, I must say.

Friday

I know, I know, we skipped Thursday. We walked Thursday through the rice paddies and a forest to a waterfall - and back. It's a hard hike and we were weary. Here are a few pics. 

We even pose, just in case we need a pic for our upcoming (Sept) wedding anniversary.

People are working along the way, harvesting rice and selling snacks and souvenirs.

The group crowds into a little gazebo mid-field and ate a delicious lunch, prepared by a Sundanese  cook - delicious, esp since she's feeding about 15 of us.

On the way home, we spot this full pickup of workers. Forget safety gear - these guys are doing well to have bars around them.

Oh yeah, back to Friday. This is what the main room looks like once the people-hurricane passes.

Movie night provides a whole-house reset once a month. I've missed that in the 2.5 years we have been waiting to resume.

The helpers scrub down the floors, wash pillow and sofa covers, and put away stuff we won't use this month. Waldemar and PakG place the rugs and furniture, while IbuS hunts down the purple slipcover we haven't used in years. She wraps the big sofa pillows in bright purple sarongs from Bali.

I ask W not to take the keyboard out of its storage case. Let's see if I miss it. We purchased a good-quality keyboard when we arrived in Indonesia, against my better judgement. It's no piano and I have no inspiration to play it. So it sits there, waiting for someone to flip the switch on the back and the speakers to bring it to life. We'll get rid of it if it's just using space.

We need a break by noon, so W and I walk down the street to eat lunch at Ethnic. I crave a high-fat, high-protein hash-browns dish that's usually too much for me. I guess we've burned some energy this week!

When we come home, the dining room evolves from formerly green decor to blue and black.

Even the nook gets a shake-up with new rugs and a Papuan woven tablecloth.

Saturday

It's a full morning of writing August newsletters, finishing edits of someone's academic article (which I'm happy to send back to the journal editor), and talking on the phone. I fall into bed for a quick nap before we head out in early evening.

Robin's invited us to the reopening celebration of Angklung Udjo. This display of local music, dance, and tradition is outstanding. We start the evening with a delicious meal, eaten outside with Robin, Roy, Laura and other international and Indonesian friends.

It's full of gorgeous color and musicianship.

A cadre of policewomen dance a choreographed pattern, shaking the bamboo angklungs and stepping back and forth to a back-up band. We Westerners try to picture the response of Canadian, American, or European policewomen, asked to do the same thing. (Can you imagine them practicing and performing a dance for an audience on a night off?) Um, maybe not. It's a display of cultural harmony and cooperation. We enjoy it.

Due to Sunday obligations (to BIC at 7:00am), we have to leave the event early. We're not home until after 10:00pm and don't get to sleep for another hour.

Sunday

The dogs are always hopeful when someone pulls out the leashes. Our two sit near W so he can fasten the leash onto their collars. Sorry, guys. We're taking Casey back to the next dog-sitter this morning so W uncouples the two small leashes from each other.

Casey runs around Green Gate, trailing a leash in case she tries to run out the gate and we have to catch her while we're setting up. She has fun: most of the kids know her and she's got her own fan club. She naps in her crate during the BIC Gathering. Josh and Clau take her along to pass to her next family later this week.

Having an international community means welcoming strangers and letting friends go on their next journey. Today we say goodbye to Ibrahim, who's been a wonderful part of the BIC community. 

We congratulate Ibrahim on finishing his masters degree with lunch together after.

I plan to relax but work until almost 7:00pm. It's time to wrap up the day and do some reading. Maybe watch a Korean drama?

Read more:

*The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey. Joshua 24:24

Jesus answered Pilate, “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:37

Moravian Prayer: Gracious Father, you sent Jesus here for our sake, and we are so thankful. We cannot repay you for what you have done for us. We pray that, when we begin to witness to others, you give us the zeal to continue and inspire hearts. Amen.