Craig has arrived!

Craig is here for a brief visit, as he was "in the neighborhood" on a business trip in China. He arrived in Medan on Friday and thanks to Anton and family, we were able to transport him to Siantar. Friday evening we introduced him to many friends, and took him downtown with the micro-bus to enjoy some noodles and rice.

A Short Experience as Tourists

Our good friends the Liao family invited us to go on a short holiday to the mountain resort of Simalem and the tourist town of Brastagi.

Siantar is listed by the full name of Pematangsiantar (lower right in black), Berastagi (Brastagi) is to the left, directly about the metropolis of Kabanjahe, and Medan is at the top centerish. The red roads are pretty bad with stretches of awful, while the yellow roads are more potholes with road signs than anything.

It could be that we were most intrigued by the idea of going somewhere in Indonesia that wasn’t cooking hot. They showed us pictures from a visit the year before where everyone was wearing jackets and hoods. Of course when we packed for Indonesia we didn’t bring many warm clothes, but we figured it couldn’t be too cold.

We never really understood what we were getting into when we agreed to go. We are used to not fully understanding what’s going to happen, even up until the moment it happens, so this was just par for the course.

Another factor involved in this trip was the fact that we needed to pick up Craig at the Medan airport on Friday. More on that later.

Miss Kihm serves Chinese noodles before the journey.

Anton arranged to pick us up at 6:30 on Wednesday morning. The arrangement was for them to bring several desert bread options and we would eat in the car. When Anton arrived he announced that we would be returning to family Noodle Shop 55 to pick up Jimmy and his mother. Then when we got there, it was determined that we would eat a big noodle dinner there. Eating a heavy breakfast of noodles vs. a few bites of bread is very different. So we consumed our large bowl of noodles, tossed the last items in the car and headed for the mountains.

Jimmy, the newlyweds Ivanna and Anton, and Miss Khim.

The group included Anton and his wife Ivanna, Jimmy and the mother Miss Kihm, and us. The father, Mr. Liao, stayed at home to mind the noodle shop.

We headed out from Siantar on the road to Parapet. Then when we were outside the city we veered directly south in the direction of Brastagi. The road was already not as good as the one to Parapet. Along the way the road varied from a narrow two lane to one big pot hole after another with just a little bit of asphalt visible. We waded our way through the traffic in several small villages, and Anton, our driver, somehow knew most of the turns to take. Of course there were no signs. I asked several times about how this could be the main road to a major tourist area, and was reminded that this was a secondary road, that most visitors come on another road directly from Medan.

We first arrived at the resort area of Simalem. Though I had seen the map on the Internet, I wasn’t really clear about the resort, and of course I didn’t know what we would do there. We got out of the car and the temperature was great. It was really cool. What a joy! Everyone quickly put on another layer of clothing, but I enjoyed the coolness.

We wandered around various places in the resort area. The story was that some Singapore investors convinced the Indonesian government to sell them this huge tract of land, overlooking Lake Toba. The idea was that they would open up a casino as a tourist magnet for the resort. But the government didn’t grant the license for the casino, so the resort is now being built up more slowly than planned.

We were practically the only visitors in the huge area, which included many different little attractions: a zoo with five or six cages containing a total of five or six birds, a green house with a few aisles of flowering plants, an outdoor exercise area, a small golf course, an “agro-tourism” small farm, a very small handicrafts display, several beautiful vistas, etc.

The whole grounds were laid out in a most exquisite way, with elaborate lighting stands, sidewalks laid out with tile, many gardens and beautiful landscaping, and many, many workers to help with the attractions and manicure the grounds.

Jacob overlooks the waters of Lake Toba.

We visited a huge temple that was under construction and many years away from completion.

Lunch included rice, chicken and these spicy little
mini-fishes, with their dark eyeballs peering out!

It began to rain and we ate the lunch in the car that the Liao father packed for us. Miss Kihm thought it was really funny that we were eating in the car. Evidently that is not done very much here. We assured her that this would be normal in America, though we would eat while going somewhere.

We finished out exploration of the resort by following the road up, up, and up to the top of the One Tree Hill. They weren’t lying, but the top of the hill looked like it had been flattened out with a bulldozer, with a mound of dirt left that was maybe 20 feet high, with one scraggly pine tree. It wasn’t the majestic tree I had anticipated, and the area was more of a unpaved parking lot that anything. So much for a scenic lookout point in Indonesia. Needless to say there was no sign or information about what you were seeing far below. But the view was spectacular.

The view from there on top was very foggy, though you could make out the outline of Lake Toba far below. Though the view was partially obscured it was still interesting to be able to view Lake Toba from so far above.

From there we pressed on to Brastagi. We went directly to the market, which was presented as the big attraction of the city.

It was a huge fruit and vegetable market, all contained within a city square, covered by a patchwork of metal roofing and tarps. This was a key element, as it was now raining steadily. We wandered through the massive piles of oranges and other fruits.

The vendors all had big knives and would quickly slice off a taste of whatever item you wanted. Miss Kihm knew what she wanted, not surprise there, and soon had purchased enough fruit to feed the family for a week. In contrast to the Siantar market, the vendors were very friendly, perhaps having to be more outgoing due to the tourist nature of the area.

While leaving the market Anton took us to a few tables which were the cute pet vendors.

They were selling rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, and one beautiful dog. Apparently Anton likes these pets and of course with Jacob we had to stay there for a long time. While we were admiring the fuzzy critters we were approached by two “elders” from the Mormon church, two kids on their missionary time. One from the US, the other from the Philippines. It felt awkward that they wanted to spend more than a minute saying hi. Like they were really going to convince us to come check out their church. I also wasn’t interested in making small talk with them but we were polite.

Anton led us to a little snack bar where they served boiled and grilled corn on the cob. It was pretty good but there wasn’t any butter and of course for an American that was a real shortcoming. A positive aspect was the horses. Being a tourist area, your kids can take rides on little horses around the market area. So as you finish your corn on the cob, you simply walk to the curb and hold out the cob and the horse comes and eats it.

Nancy has her hood up to ward off the cold,
and maybe also for protection from the Telle-tubbies.

From there it was on to the villa, which Anton’s family rented for the evening. Think of renting a condo in downtown Gatlinburg, sort of. There was plenty of room, acres of tile floors, a great area to play cards, and Telle-Tubby sheets on our bed. We took that as an indication that the sheets may be 20 plus years old, in addition to confirming that the owners had no taste. Jacob admitted that the vacum cleaner character always gave him the creeps and I learned that there was such a character.

We went cruising the town after everyone had a rest, and Anton ended up driving down the sidewalk and parking right in front of the restaurant, a highlight of a difficult driving day.

The next morning we hung around the villa as everyone slowly woke up. Miss Kihm broke out the leftovers from yesterday’s lunch, and I sliced up some of my bread, which was well received with the Skippy peanut butter found in a local shop the night before. Skippy is pretty pricey here, just in case you were thinking I’d bring you some home as a gift.

The flip flops of the monks are lined up behind us.

First stop for the day was the huge Golden Temple. It reminded us in color and form of the Golden Stupa in Vientienne, Laos. We saw that on the hottest day of our lives, and therefore we really enjoyed the temperature at the temple, which was quite comfortable. Getting to the temple was a bit challenging, as there was no sign leading to it, and the road, more of a path than anything, led through the strawberry fields.

Jacob sprints up the hill, up from the bottom of the ravine behind the temple. High overhead is the footbridge that spans the ravine.

We arrived and ooohed and aaaahed at the immense golden structure and spire. The upside: there was an elaborate prayer ceremony going on, with what looked like a hundred participants processing around outside and then inside the temple. The downside: due to this ceremony we couldn’t go in. Not a problem, as there was plenty to see walking around the grounds outside. Everything was clean and manicured to perfection. It was a very harmonious environment, the perfect setting for monks to reflect, or whatever it is they do.

From there, we returned to the city market to get a few souvenirs. We reconfirmed our findings from last year, which included the fact that finding a t-shirt in my size is next to impossible here. Then it was off to Medan on the “good” road. It was a long and arduous journey. Highlights: many monkeys along the side of the road as we wound down the mountain through the forest. Other than that, it was a long process of passing big trucks, only to then be behind the next truck.

We arrived in Medan and then had the pleasure of big city traffic for what seemed like an hour. Stopped at a vegetarian restaurant for lunch, in a nice gesture to Nancy. Then on to the upscale mega mall, which was a real treat and totally out of character for what we know of Indonesia. It was nicer than any mall in America, reminding me of one I used to enjoy in Singapore. It included a several western franchises, including Pizza Hut, A&W, KFC, and, interestingly enough, Ace Hardware. Of course it had a Starbucks and I was able to log on and connect with Craig in Singapore. How exciting.

While I was logged on and making sure Craig was still on the same arrival schedule for tomorrow, it was decided that some of us would remain in Medan for the night, and Nancy and Jacob, along with Miss Kihm, would return to Siantar via taxi. That sounded like an outrageously expensive idea to me, but it turns out to be really cheap. I don’t know how the taxi company makes enough to pay for the driver, gas, and pothole damage repair at the amount they charged, but that is not my concern.

The upside: I got to enjoy the night in a hotel with hot and cold running water, a real shower, a flush western style toilet plus real Air Conditioning and non-stop internet access. Almost like home!

Many thanks to the Liao family for their friendship and generous sharing. Nancy did her best to pick up some of the bills during this trip and Miss Kihm always won. We will have to think of others ways to show our gratitude. 

Jacob's New Garden

Jacob has now established garden locations on two continents! Talk about a major expansion. You may recall that he planted his Knoxville garden this spring with the help of our guest from Japan, Mizuki. See our blog "Friedrich Family In America" for details!

Now he has toiled in the rich earth of Indonesia to establish his Siantar plot. With the assistance of Siska, and pretty much the entire Siahan contingent of Lolo, Dippos, Fine, Johannes and Leonni, Jacob planted a wide variety of vegetables and herbs on Sunday evening.

The garden is located next to the Siahan home and canteen, where they serve snacks, drinks and good food to the students of Nommensen.

This crew worked until twilight and then some.








While Jacob supervised the planting, Logo and Dippos manned the machete.

They cut long poles of bamboo into short sections, then from them created stakes. These stakes were used to form a perimeter around the garden, which didn’t look like enough to keep out the geese and the chickens.

Jacob reports that a chicken or two have been smart enough to find
their way through the fence. But the geese remain on the outside. 

What we have learned, however, is that the geese and the chickens aren’t as smart as the varmits in East Tennessee, and a simple series of pickets is just enough to keep them away. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the seeds to germinate, and then to track the growth during July.

The garden contains Pumpkin, squash, peas, basil, cilantro and dill.

An Adventure to the Market and a Fried Chicken Feast

An Adventure to the Market and the Fried Chicken Feast June 24

 On Sunday we had a great morning joining Widia at the HKPB church just beyond the seminary for Sunday School before church.

The Bible passages used in church we recognizable, that is, the books and verses were  actually some of the same in our lectionary series. Not that we recognized them when they were read in Indonesian, or when the minister preached about Job for a long time in Indonesian. But we could read in our Bibles and try to guess what was being said.

As had been arranged several days before, we gathered at home after church and waited for Siska to come over, so we could go to the market together and get ingredients for the chicken feast. As we approached the house we saw and heard the weed wacker and knew that our grounds were being trimmed, just as they were the first Sunday of our residence last year. The worker uses a gas powered, metal blade tipped trimmer to cut all the grass and also the scrubs. He trims and shapes everything but the trees. The trimmer is a wicked machine and the worker wears a motorcycle helmet for protection. Something bad must have happened to him in the past. It has to be really hot with that helmet on. 

I should add that the grass mountain is right outside our bedroom windows!

After the guy trims the neighborhood then he rakes / sweeps the grass into a huge pile. This being Indonesia, he then burns it! No composting here! Remembering what happened after the grass trimming last year, we asked Marnala to instruct the worker not to light up the grass pile today.  Last year we were practically smoked out of our house for several hours as the smoldering pile sent thick smoke through our windows that can’t be closed. Success! The worker did not light up the pile, and maybe we can light it up as we leave for Berstagi on Wednesday. Two days should be long enough for the smoke to clear.

Siska and Nancy enjoy the bumpy ride on the microbus.

Siska arrived at noon, as did Marnala, Anna and Esra. The entourage was growing. Esra returned home and we headed to the front of campus to catch the microbus. As usual, one pulled up literally within seconds and we were off. These rides which seemed so long last year, cramped up uncomfortably in a hot van, now are very short. We are tickled when we big Americans fold over and literally crawl in, and the native Indonesians sitting inside don’t slide over or make room to keep us from climbing on top of them. Maybe they are so shocked to see us that they just freeze. Who knows. I’d think they’d quickly slide to the back just out of a sense of self preservation.

We arrived at the market and marched through a series of narrow alleys and aisles between stalls. There were enough people to make navigation difficult, but nothing like the crowds we’ve experienced in the past, when you had to push your way through.

The transactions went quickly. It didn’t seem like Marnala ever did  any negotiating (maybe that’s just for non-food items) and we quickly found the vegetables, spices, bananas, and then it was time for the chicken. Siska went directly to one of many different chicken vendors, which I took that as a good sign of an ongoing relationship (top quality chicken).

I assume the guy sold both raw dead chicken and fresh live chickens, as he had cages with live chickens on top right next to his counter. Awesome merchandising! Perhaps Siska had phoned ahead (?) as the vendor had a whole chicken, plucked and waiting, no head or feet thank goodness, waiting for us. Siska asked him to cut it up, and asked me how much we wanted.  A kilogram seems to be what everyone orders for everything. He chopped it up into big pieces and then weighed it. Of course it was more than a kilogram, and being a great merchandiser, he cut off a big chunk of the breast (that we wanted) and took it off the scale. If we wanted that part we had to get the whole chicken. That wasn’t hard, we’d just have more leftovers. Of course I didn’t know that everyone was joining us for the chicken feast, making leftovers very scarce. Evidently raw chicken juice isn’t viewed with the same trepidation here as in America, and the vendor set the plastic bag containing the chopped up chicken down, right into the chicken juice, before handing it to Siska. When we returned to the house I had to emphasize that the raw chopped chicken should be isolated from raw chopped pineapple…which they did, but kind of scratched their head over my requirement.

With chicken in hand, we made a stop at the pineapple section and Siska and Marnala quickly agreed on a very large one. It turned out to be good but not out of this world delicious. Next time we will have to request two smaller ones. Siska bought some frozen French fries from a “normal” store outside the market before we jumped in the microbus and returned home. Marnala arranged for the microbus to deliver us directly to our front door, which is about  500 meters from the front gate of Nommensen.

Back at the house, Esra rejoined the group and a cooking frenzy began immediately. That’s when we realized that we were going to eat this huge meal in the mid-afternoon (rather than American dinner time), and that everyone was going to be joining us. It took about an hour for Siska to create her tastyy treat of fried chicken, French fries, and sliced tomatoes.

I liked the way Siska cooked the chicken first without any coating, then added the coating and deep fried it a second time. The result was chicken cooked through and through, with a very crispy skin.

The whole gang gathered in our tiny little kitchen with the big wok snapping and cracking with what seemed like a gallon of boiling oil.

Marnala cut up the pineapple in her expert style, with Jacob watching her every move, while Anna assisted in the breading of the chicken.

Nancy and I tried to stay out of the fray and sat a safe distance away in the living room.

Just like on the Iron Chef television show, plates of food began materializing on our dining room table, and soon the feast was on. Jacob said the prayer and then everyone paused. We weren’t sure if they were waiting for me, the Papa, to take food first and take the first bite. The pause didn’t last for long but it was noticeable. I must have stepped in because soon everyone was gorging themselves and conversation ceased.

Afterwards Nancy joined the contingent in the kitchen to clean up. In Batak tradition I am not allowed in the kitchen, so I continued to enjoy my spot in the living room.

Many thanks to Siska for her fine shopping and cooking of the feast. She is a great friend to have, and will always be remembered as the leader of the brave first group that came over to introduce themselves to us last year.

Hitting The Radio Waves of Siantar

On Thursday we renewed some friendships from last year and joined Berta for her radio show.

Here we are at the radio station, with Santoli on the left and Augustina and Marnala on the right. Augustina is a student at Nommensen who also works at the radio station. Santoli is a local teacher and photographer who is the DJ for our appearances.

We always enjoy the adventure of visiting the radio station, having Jacob play a few songs, and answering questions from listeners.

It was great to see Santoli and Sinyo again, and to know that the station is continuing with it's mission to provide Christian music during the late afternoon time slot. It has rained almost every afternoon or evening this week, and the downpour started while we were on the radio on Thursday.

Nancy "hams it up" with her noodles and chop sticks. Don't worry, she was only posing for the picture. Nancy  is usually the epitome of proper dining etiquette.

After the radio show we stopped at a nearby noodle shop for our first Chinese noodle dinner of the trip. What a treat that was!

Going With The Flow

Going With The Flow June 23

We’ve recognized that the greatest challenge for us as we live in Siantar is just giving up any thought of “control” and being flexible to react to the unexpected in a positive way. It’s really hard not to push back with the attitude of “why is this happening to me right now?” when something happens to shatter our illusion of a predictable world and our sense of control.

As I write this a rooster struts by our open front door and let’s loose with a loud “cockadoodledoo!” as if to put an exclamation point on my thoughts.

This morning Nancy and I were ready to enjoy a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs. The eggs were in a bowl, ready to be cooked. I went to start the propane stove and…no flame, no gas. I looked at the tank, which is so big that the thought of it being empty is inconceivable. The arrow on the meter pointed to red. Actually to the far side of red. It was empty. No eggs for breakfast, and for the moment, no baking of the bread which was rising on schedule to be baked right after the eggs cooked. No problem, with the eggs and the dough stored back in the refrigerator, we enjoyed our new menu of bread and strawberry jam. Some of our unpredictable moments can be countered with our abundance of options, but not always. (In the time it has taken to write this report, our next door neighbor Putra has loaded the huge but empty tank onto his motor bike and returned with it full. Thank you for your very fast work Putra!)

Sometimes unpredictable moments can only be handled with a “hmmmm, that was weird!” For instance, two nights ago we were sitting in our living room, doing a little reading before bed. We are used to the cultur here where it is OK to visit friends in the (dark) evening without an appointment or calling ahead. So whenever a van or motor scooter pulls up to our house we are ready for the knock at the door. We were ready for the knock when the door swung open and an unknown middle aged man, lit cigarette dangling from his lips (a redundant statement here) steps into our living room. He looked surprised to see us, and I believe I said something loudly that didn’t include “may the Lord be with you”. He apparently either didn’t speak English or was scared by our furious response, and he quickly retreated back out the door. We looked at each other and tried not to be shaken, and that is life here. We believe he was likely a visiting lecturer or worker for the university who is temporarily quartered in the rooms accessed at the back of our house. We are now starting to lock the door in the evening as we learn from our experiences.

Last night we had a ferocious thunderstorm with lightning, high wind and prolonged heavy rain. We love to hear the sound of the rain drumming on the rusted metal roof. We gathered on the covered front porch, much like we would at home, and enjoyed the overwhelming power of the storm. After about a half hour the wind shifted and the rain began coming sideways, forcing us to move inside. You may recall that our home is open air. There are glass windows, but each is topped with a transom which is just screened. Though these are right under the eaves, the sideways rain still found it’s way in. Not to worry, a little water on the tile floor is not a big issue. It was a bit of blessing as it served to pre-soak our dirty clothes waiting to be laundered. Then we check in the kitchen and the water was dripping down from the ceiling. This was a bigger concern, but something that could be addressed with a carefully placed pot on the floor and a watchful eye on the ceiling section. The ceilings here look like homemade drop ceilings, with a crisscross of wood strips holding large panels in place. We’ve seen enough ceilings with broken or missing panels to know that they are not permanent. Anyway, our ceiling remained intact, and by morning the water that had splashed out of the pot onto the floor was almost dry.

Another unpredicted event from the storm was the power going out. It was just like the power going out in America, in the dark of the evening. We sat in the darkness and waited, hoping it was just a brief flash of time without power. We talked for a little bit, discussed how our flashlights were at home in America, along with my nice raincoat, hat, and several others things we intended to bring but left behind. We have little clip on reading lights and those served as flashlights. Jacob was working on his computer, and had his I-touch handy, and they added to our available light. Thankfully it was nearing bedtime (9 pm) anyway, so after about 30 minutes of bumping around in the dark we called it a night. The power returned around 3 in the morning so there must actually be an emergency crew that the power company has available in the middle of the night. We noticed during our morning walk that many tree branches were broken during the storm. I imagine many people in Siantar were without power for some time. The positive aspect is that we have no electric clocks that plug into the wall here. So there was no need to reset the time on the microwave, stove, coffee maker, alarm clock, etc. Life here is much more simple.

We don’t pretend to have control of our schedules. Granted, when folks invite us to events, we can always decide if it is a good idea, and check to make sure it doesn’t conflict with something we’ve already agreed to do. But many times invitations come at the last minute (or actually after the last minute) and we aren’t quite prepared to shift that quickly. A few days ago we were returning from our morning walk at 7:30 and saw Mam’Reina at our front door. We met her on the walk and she asked if we would join her Pragmatics class that morning. We asked about the time….when did it start? She said “7:30” but not with any urgency. It’s Indonesian time, no need to get worried about getting things going at the actual start time. We told her we’d love to join, after we had a bite of breakfast. So it all worked out, it just wasn’t something we had planned for.

Sometimes we attend classes and our purpose is only to “make commens….(comments)”. We listen to presentations from students and give feedback. Other times we will walk into the class and the teacher will introduce us, or ask us to introduce ourselves, and then step quietly to the side. This is sort of the “guest speaker” lesson plan we have in America, where you invite the guest speaker to your class and they take over. The only problem is we haven’t been able to predict when we will be expected to take over the class. This is challenging to step into a class where you know almost nothing about the students, know very little about the subject matter and what has been covered most recently, and do something meaningful for the students. We are great at improv but it would be nice to have a little warning.

When we arrived one week ago we noticed that our house was missing three light bulbs (this means darkness in kitchen, living room and Jacob’s bathroom), and a desk from Jacob’s room was also missing. We gently mentioned these things and we believe the message was received. Several days later nothing had changed, and I mentioned to Dean Tagor about our need for the desk, as Jacob has much homework to do. He immediately made a phone call to his staff and assured me it would be taken care of. Then later in the week Marnala was visiting, and we mentioned the light bulb issue to her. She called out to Putra, spoke with him briefly, and within five minutes we had a light bulb in our kitchen (with 15’ high ceilings it’s an effort to install a light bulb…so we don’t know how he did it). That was several days ago. At this point, no desk and still a need for two light bulbs. There has to be a reason why we can get one light bulb installed with Marnala’s help, but not the other two. As for the desk, I have seen literally dozens of desks and tables around campus that would work. We can’t understand the delay, and we recognize we have no control over the timing or even whether these things will be taken care of.

A final point about the unpredictable nature of life here is the mastery / non-mastery of English in the people we meet. We can walk down the road on campus, make eye contact with hundreds of students, smile and say “hello” and try to connect with them. Most respond with “how are you?” but cannot say anything more than that. In a group of students there is usually one who is brave to speak, and the rest take a step back, not wanting to be embarrassed by being unable to hold up their end of the conversation. Then, unpredictably, we will bump into someone who is truly fluent and they will want to talk. And talk. And talk. This is always exciting to actually connect with someone, but I haven’t been able to predict who it is going to be. I always feel rude when I end the conversation after about 15 or 20 minutes. Though I am always gracious and polite in explaining where I am going or what I must do, I still feel like I am cutting them off. Since there is little sense of time here I believe some of the conversations would continue literally forever.

So that is life in Siantar and at Nommensen. We are enjoying it and are much more comfortable than last year, since we know the lay of the land and how things work…though of course there are continuing mysteries. 

Notes - June 20 - Nancy

Such joy to reconnect and spend time with friends! We have had many visitors the past two days, including: Hanna, Widia, Monfride, Christophorus, and Immanuel – friends from the English Club and fellow Sunday School teachers! Later Ester, Ludwig, Tika and Rosinta came by to spend time, practice English and catch-up on everyone’s lives.  

The next day: Siska, Lolo, and Eduardo came by to invite us to a seminar;  

Mam Reina and Berta (on her new motorbike!) came by to invite us to join their classes and Berta’s radio program;



Pina and Esra came by and joined Jacob in discussing seeds, planting, and eventually the afternoon turned into a full fledged concert of beautiful singing. 

After the seminar (more on that later) and music-fest, students Ester, Loudewyk, and Rosinta came by. We sat on our front porch where a warm breeze was blowing (at least it was a breeze!) and talked about their studies. Jacob showed them his summer reading/essay assignments and they were fascinated. We were able to share with them English text books they had requested which we were able to easily purchase (Amazon.com) back home and bring with us. They were thrilled with the books! The joy in their faces was priceless!

In the evening, we hear another motorscooter pull up in front of the house and Anton and Miss Kihm arrive, sharing traditional Chinese dumpling. We hear about their customs, admire Anton and Ivana’s gorgeous wedding albums (and I mean gorgeous!), and make plans for the English speech competition we will help judge later this week.

As ELCA missionaries, we were told our assignment was “to be.” As Americans, that is really, really hard to understand.  We want to build, create, do something tangible!  But “being” is what we have done best the past two days. We welcome friends in the name of Christ, we love our neighbors as ourselves, we walk with our friends – sharing time, music, language, memories, and simple gifts. Yes, Christ is present.

Wildlife Update

Wildlife Update Siantar June 2012

I’m sure everyone is waiting impatiently to find out about the wildlife we have experienced in Siantar and here is the summary.

1. the progeny of Boris: no truly large spiders have been sighted, though Jacob did hunt one down in our dining area and sent it to join Boris in that great spider web in the sky,

2. Lizards: none have been spotted inside the house. We wonder about our “friend” of last year, the alpha lizard. There are many small lizards on the ceiling of our porch, but none inside. We imagine they must be hiding in the ceiling and will join us at some point.

3. Nasty scabby dogs: mysteriously the really awful dogs of last year have not been seen. There are some dogs roaming around but they look relatively well cared for.

4. Nasty bobtail cats: one prowls near our porch but only one. A fair trade off for the nasty scabby dog that slept on our porch last year.

5. Geese: the domestic geese that last year were penned up outside the Siahaan’s home/canteen are now roaming freely, though they stick pretty close to home.

6. Chickens/roosters: we don’t understand who owns these chickens, but there are a half dozen roaming around our house. Maybe they belong to Putra, our next door neighbor.

7. Frogs: a countless number of frogs appeared last night (outside, thank goodness!) following the heavy rains of Tuesday night. Some were as big as your fist. Jacob insisted on picking up several.

8. Slugs: yes, I said slugs. We saw many of these last year on the sidewalks. Last night Nancy noticed that one had crawled up through the drain in our bathroom. I am so proud of her, she disposed of it herself!

9. Miscellaneous bugs and ants: in plentiful supply, including mosquitoes following the big rain.

10. Song birds outside our bedroom window: they perform for us every morning, starting at 5, beautiful concert!

11. Monkeys: we only see these when we travel to Lake Toba, I don’t think any live in the city here.

12. Sponge Bob Squarepants: spotted yesterday. That guy is still popular around here, the cartoons must be in heavy play on the satellite feed here.

A "Quick" Return to Medan - Jim

Today is Wednesday, June 19^th. We’ve been here since late Sunday afternoon and we are starting to feel a lot more human. It is very difficult to process this world and appreciate it when you are jet lagged and on the verge of exhaustion. Last night we enjoyed a great rainstorm. The timing was perfect as, before the storm, we took our first microbus ride to the CFC (California Fried Chicken) and done a little more looking through one of the grocery stores. Of course it’s hard to find some items but all in all what we need is available in the stores. The rain started a few minutes after our return and in a short period of time ratcheted up to a real downpour. The sound on our tin roof is great, it made us just stop and enjoy it.

Yesterday I was blessed to be taken back to Medan by Dean Tagor, who volunteered without hesitation to help us find our one piece of lost luggage. It took us a full day to realize we were missing the bag. Nancy went through in her head what we didn’t have, in terms of stuff, and we finally concluded that it was all packed in one bag, and when we checked our bags on hand vs. our baggage tags, the light bulb went on. Sometimes we are slow. I went to the Dean yesterday and asked for his help. In America you’d make a few phone calls, be put on hold for a long time, and find the luggage. Here you have to assume that the folks at the Medan airport still have it tucked away, and then drive all the way up there and track it down. That’s what we did. It’s such an ordeal to drive up there and back that we’d have just written off the luggage, but it contained many books we bought at request of our student friends, and also Nancy’s clothes. That clinched it, I didn’t want to see Nancy in the same clothes for six weeks!

We left at 5:45 in the darkness. We had a few false starts before leaving the campus, and then headed out at high speed (our course). The trip up to Medan went fairly quickly without any traffic jams or delays. The roads vary from pot hole filled gravel/asphalt mixes (thankfully only for short stretches) to relatively smooth but narrow two laners with no line down the middle and no shoulders, to the toll road, similar to a four lane interstate highway in a rural US area. We topped out at a maximum speed of 140 km/hr. on this toll road, very impressive performance for a vehicle that I wouldn’t consider to be high performance.

We stopped in a village to satisfy the Dean’s craving for a fried banana. He returned to the car with a sack full of snacks, including: things resembling hash brown patties, only containing rice, fried patties containing ground green beans, and a mixture of rice and coconut, wrapped in banana leaves. But no fried bananas, they must have been sold out. I ate those things until I was full, without really making a dent in the pile. They were good if you are starving, but the oil and the coconut make them a bit rich for my taste. The Dean was up to the challenge and finished off the rest before we reached the airport.

We arrived at the airport around 10, so that was about 4 hours of travel. Whew! At the airport Dean Tagor explained what we were looking for to a security officer, who quickly walked us through the restricted area to the international baggage claim and the Lost and Found office (for your visualization, this entire area of the baggage claim could easily fit into a basketball court, the airport is much smaller than McGhee Tyson even though Medan is a city of 4 million). I think the lady was sleeping in the Lost and Found office because as we came around the corner I saw her feet we on the desk. She was very nice and when Dean Tagor said “Friedrich” her ears perked up and she knew which bag was ours. There it was! The red bag was found! After a few formalities of paperwork we were out the door, and back on the road by 10:30.

Sometimes traffic in Medan is orderly, other times not so much. Some intersections are just  uncontrolled cross roads, leading to exciting times!

I suggested we at least have a cup of coffee in Medan to make it feel like we had been there for more than 15 minutes, but the Dean was anxious to return immediately. My buns were already numb, having not recovered from our airplane time, but I reluctantly agreed. So we jumped back in the van and started the trek home. We were about half way home when the traffic jam happened. The roads jam up for a variety of reasons around here. It seems that in this one area there was some sort of political rally, and there were cars and motorcycles turning into an assembly grounds. Near that was also a piece of equipment clearing out the roadside ditch. Whatever the cause, we spent an hour going very very slowly. At one point an ambulance passed us, traveling in the lane for traffic in the opposite direction. After just a moment of hesitation, Dean Tagor swung into the same line and joined the parade, traveling at a reasonably fast pace. So there were three lanes traveling in our direction and still two lanes coming in the opposite direction, with one of them forced over to the shoulder. After a few kilometers our lane morphed back over to the correct side of the road, and then rematerialized in the third lane quickly. Of course I was looking around for the police, but apparently this driving behavior is not grounds for punishment here.

Even with these extraordinary actions we still took a long time returning. There’s always something interesting to see, such as the guys standing in the middle of the road, filling in pot holes with sand. They’ve got a great strategy, you have to stop because they’re blocking traffic, and they only move when you give them money. Dean Tagor commented that they were doing a public service and gladly shared some money with them. I can’t imagine there’s much sand left in those pot holes after our big rain last night. At one point one lane of the highway was blocked with piles of sand, which would be used to form a shoulder at some point in the future. This contributed to the driving challenge, and I’m glad I wasn’t the driver.

Since it was mid-afternoon we stopped for lunch at the Bayou Lagoon, which is not a typical Indonesian place. It’s a concept that may work in America. It includes the great outdoor swimming pool with designated areas for little kids and grownups. 


It features a big bucket that gradually fills up with water and then dumps over, with the water splashing off a roof and onto the swimmers below.
 Several nice dining areas overlook the pool. I bet how it works is the families come, the mothers and children swim, and the men sit in the dining areas and smoke and eat (drinking in public just doesn’t happen around here, unless you are at a tuak shack…more on that later).

We enjoyed a great meal, including two types of fish, chicken with a spicy sauce, and greens. Of course rice was included, it always is. I convinced Dean Tagor to have mango juice, and it was so thick you almost needed a spoon to enjoy it.

After that feast we were back on the road, and limped into Nommensen around 4. We were just minutes away from Nommensen when Dean Tagor received a phone call, informing him that he was required to return to Medan tomorrow for a meeting. He assured me that this was alright, that he was happy to have taken care of our luggage. We are so thankful for his willingness to help.

Journal - June 15 - 19... Nancy

Friday, June 15

The wonderful Pastor Amy picks us up at 6:00 am and drives us to the airport. Amazingly, all our flights were on time! We flew from Knoxville to Houston where we had a long layover, Houston to Moscow – where we had an 1 ½ hour layover to switch planes –Moscow to Singapore – another 1 ½ hour layover – and then to Medan, Indonesia. We arrived in Medan at 8:00 am Sunday, June 17^th.  With the 13 hour time difference, it made for a mere 38 hour travel adventure. Yes, we are tired.

Sunday, June 17

We easily glide through immigration, thanks to our nifty 60-day visas arranged by the ELCA. Collecting our luggage was rushed and chaotic with many people in a small area, a young man with a cart grabbing our luggage and piling it high, and a rush through customs where the agent only opened one suitcase. We push through the people into the hot Indonesian morning and see familiar, smiling faces! Dean Tagor and Pina (his niece) are there to greet us. With warm handshakes and big hugs from Dean Tagor, we slice through the people and traffic toward his car in the crowded lot. The luggage guy is following, the cart hits a pot hole, our luggage falls off and is quickly re-piled. We cram our bags and bodies into Dean Tagor’s official Nommensen University Van (don’t think American size van) and head toward Siantar. Medan, the huge capital city of North Sumatra, is bustling with Sunday morning markets and shoppers. Dean Tagor knows every shortcut between Medan and Siantar, and it still is a 3-hour journey of twists, turns, and jarring bumps.

We arrive around 12:15 pm at our familiar little guest house. It looks welcoming, thought stifling hot this time of day. Dean Tagor agrees to return at 1:30 to take us to lunch, giving us time to unpack a few things and wash two days of grime off our bodies.

Dean Tagor, his wife Reina, and 11 year old daughter Esra pick us up and take us to run a few key errands: first, we go to the ATM so we can get Rupiahs, the Indonesian currency. It still amazes me that my Knoxville Jefferson Federal bank card can spit out rupiahs. With money in hand, we then stop by the mobile (cell phone) store, a small open air shop on the corner of two very busy streets. With motor bikes rushing by and horns honking, we all pack into the tiny area, get a sim card and add minutes to our phone from last year. Then, off to a delicious lunch with cold fruit juice drinks, plenty of rice, vegetables, and fish.

Jacob and his buddy Dean Tagor, with the beautiful fish waiting to be eaten. The drinks are some kind of white fruit, which the Dean said helps to burn off your fat! We won't be needing too much of that after a few weeks here!

By this time, we are so jet-lagged and exhausted, Dean Tagor drops us off back at home - it’s time to collapse. Without unloading or unpacking anything else, we crawl on top of our beds and basically pass out. We awake a few hours later to the sounds of basketballs on the court just 30-feet outside our front yard and children’s laughter. The neighbor kids play on our porch and on the stone pathway between our house and the basketball court. They are adorable, but maybe more so after we have some rest!

We slowly unpack things, drink lots of water, take a short walk and greet a few friends from last year. Then, back to bed. We are sound asleep by 9:00 pm when Anton and his family stop by. Jim jumps up to say hello – but I cannot drag my body out of bed. Of course they understand, and we set up a dinner-date with them for tomorrow. During all of this, Jacob is sound asleep and stays asleep through the entire night.

Monday, June 18

We are wide awake by 4:30 am and enjoy listening to the familiar sounds of life in Siantar: the unusual birds, the motor bikes, the roosters, the 5:00 am call of the mosque, a baby crying in the distance… We sit on the front porch and enjoy the comfortable morning temperature, read a little and begin to unpack. It is then that we realize things are missing. I’m assuming in my frantic WOW activities and rush to get out the door, I left stuff at the house in Knoxville. Then we all realize we are actually missing an entire suitcase with our: first aid kit (including Pepto-bismal and other intestinal type meds: critical!), 6-7 English textbooks we brought for our friends, Jacob’s vegetable seeds to plant, several other Bibles, goodies to share with the local children, and all my shirts.  This becomes a project for Jim and Dean Tagor to tackle! Stay tuned.

At 8:00 am we attend the worship and prayer service in the open courtyard for the incoming freshman. They will be taking their entrance exam today. The Dean says only about 80% will pass and be able to attend University.
The students all stand in straight lines during the service, and the Muslim students politely bow their heads during times of hymns and prayer. It is hot and the students must be totally stressed out, but they participate fully in the singing and prayers. At the end, we wish them Selamat Ujian (good luck on your test!) and they head to the Mensa (big, open air classroom) to take their tests.

Jacob, Jim and I greet old friends (Hormoko, Baris, Nettie, Esther, Rosinta, and others!) and then walk to the market for some simple food supplies. As we walked through the campus, it appears trashed from the weekend activities: hundreds of water cups scattered around the soccer field, food and paper trash in the lawns. But this morning, a team of University workers was methodically sweeping it all up.

A quick nap. Lunch of crackers with our contraband peanut butter, and then some time spent in the “hot spot” where we could get on the internet.

The table looked beautiful and we were ready to eat!

Dinner was a feast hosted by Ms. Kihm and her son Anton and wife Ivana, Jimmy (who just graduated senior high), Ivana’s parents, plus a cousin, a friend, a Scottish gentleman (George) and his Indonesian wife… a true international affair! The meal was a Chinese offering done only for special occasions, with special pots of water boiling over cookers in the middle of the table, and many ingredients to cook and consume. Some of the ingredients included various cabbages and greens, broccoli, shrimp, fish stomach, pig stomach, crab, tofu, and others. It was delicious (my selection didn’t include the various “stomach” items) and made for a wonderful evening.

This is the famous Mrs. Khim in the middle, with her husband to the left and youngest son (nephew?) to the right. She held this feast in the middle of their family noddle shop, with all the tables moved together and the cookers and pots in the middle.

 Tuesday, June 19

Jim and Dean Tagor made a road trip to the Medan airport to find the missing suitcase – and believe it or not – it was there! Yes, there was a lost and found. No, they didn’t have a phone or anyway of tracking it without physically showing up. So, after leaving at 5:45 am, the boys returned at 3:00 pm with the suitcase. Incredible. Jim can tell this story for a long time – the roads, the traffic, the conversation. Dean Tagor was extremely generous with his time – we can’t thank him enough.

Jacob scoops some frozen fries at the Ramayana grocery store.

Jacob and I spent the day meeting with students from the English Club and doing some shopping for basic cleaning supplies and basic food. At the local grocery store – Siantar’s version of WalMart – we found most everything we needed. However, this big store doesn’t carry any vegetables or fresh meat. That must be purchased at the market, and we don’t go to the local market without a “local” with us. Marnala is the best to shop with. Boy can she negotiate!

It’s a hot day. Even the college students from the English Club declared it “hot.” The soccer game is starting up on the campus field. It all looks so normal to us this year: no nets, big roots, students playing without shoes… they are having a blast!

An evening walk, a visit with Singhaam (our neighbor) and family, and a visit to Dean Tagor, Reina, Esra, Pina, and Marnala. Then we hopped on the microbus (our favorite) and rode down to CFC for fried chicken! All chicken is served with a cup of rice – and of course no utensils.  The microbus was just as exciting as we remembered – loud, cramped, fast, and entertaining. We came home by 9:30 and crawled into bed.

A Very Full Van

Here we are at the Medan airport with all our luggage jammed into the back of Dean Tagor's van. I say all of our luggage, but we have discovered that one suitcase is missing! Talk about a chore, trying to track down lost baggage in Indonesia. On Tuesday (tomorrow) Dean Tagor and I will make the long drive back to Medan and see if we can find the bag at the airport. Of course, it could be in Houston, Moscow, or Singapore, but we're betting (hoping) it's there in Medan.

Ready to Board Plane for Medan

We have arrived in Singapore and are now boarding the plane for Medan, Indonesia. We are numb but awake!

On Our Way

Leaving the Knoxville airport, bright(?) and early, so that we can sit in Houston for most of the day. That's our friend Terry the bellman. Thanks to Pastor Amy for the lift to the airport.

Here's our Singapore Airlines plane in Houston. This vessel will be our home for the next 24 hours. Good old row 52, I'm sure it's the last row right by the bathrooms. But maybe everyone will fall asleep and not come back and visit us. Of course the plane is sold out completely. Enjoyed a nice snack while watch the European soccer matches on TV. Arriving in Medan, Indonesia in about 36 hours after a few pit stops in Moscow and Singapore. We don't know what to expect in Moscow, having never been there before.

Ready to Go!

We're enjoying our last day of the comforts of home as we prepare to spend the next two days sitting in airplanes and waiting in airports. If only Indonesia was just a bit closer! With all our suitcases it feels like we are moving half the world over there. We've arranged our drive to the airport (thank you, Pastor Amy) and our pickup from the Medan airport (thank you, Dean Tagor). Now we just have to check our lists for the hundredth time and let God take control. That's the biggest deal for us in the trip is giving up control. Yeah, there's the heat and the food and the lizards and the spiders, maybe those are all part of the control issue too. So pray for us to relax and let God take over.

Background Information on Siantar / Indonesia

If you are looking for some background on where we are going, check out our postings on the blog from last year. A good starting point is http://friedrichfamilytravels.blogspot.com/2011/06/visas-have-arrived.html .