Our Last Hours in Siantar

Before we left for the airport on Friday we had several hours to finish our packing, say a last goodbye to friends, and explore a few last spots in the neighborhood.

This is the canteen in the woods / jungle. We walked by the path every day during two years of visits, but never walked the 50 meter long uneven twisting path to check it out. This was as close as we got...it has a bit of the haunted look.

Speaking of the haunted look, here I am seated on the steps of the Menza building, which is a huge classroom flanked by the spooky and abandoned tower. We have asked many people about this tower and all we have learned is that it was used for faculty housing years ago. Apparently there were better housing options available, so it went unused and has fallen into disrepair. There's a big metal door with a large lock blocking access and unfortunately we were not able to explore inside. We did not have internet access from our home and had to either sit on these steps or be nearby on campus in order to connect with the wi-fi hot spot. 

There are four or five of these "wi-fi huts" which are a new addition to the campus. The idea is that students can use these gathering spots to talk and also access the internet. During the school day they were often jammed with many students, so they are a successful addition to the landscape. I rarely used these as I didn't like the idea of putting my feet into the center area, where I couldn't see what might be in there.

There are still several concrete benches remaining on campus and these were good  hot spot locations. Of course the seating arrangements were less than perfect, as sitting on rebar protruding from concrete can get to be uncomfortable.

These are the last two loaves of bread, baked early Friday morning. 

Our last Pulpy Mango drink. These are delicious, packed with sugar!

The Siahaan family presented us with an ulos, a wonderful symbol of thanks and family unity. Many thanks to our dear friends the Siahaans. Of course Siska is not a Siahaan yet but is engaged to Lolo.

We will miss you Marnala!

Sun shared a beautiful ulos from her family. 

You can see in the background to the right that we haven't finished packing yet!

The car was packed with our luggage and as a final send off, the neighborhood children came running over. Pastor Turnip led us in a departure prayer. We already miss our favorite children, who greeted us several times a day as we walked by their homes.