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February 27, 2005

back from kalimantan

Got back from Kalimantan this afternoon. I managed to get a flight back to jakarta; my dad was getting upset because I stayed so long here. Was sad to leave as it's such a beautiful place. Back to smoggy "macet" Jakarta again... *sigh*

February 26 2005

I am writing this in Kalimantan, not knowing when I will be able to post it online.

I've been here a few days, and I'm loving it. Walking, mountain-biking, swimming, sunbathing, taking photographs, doing amazing latihan kejiwaan with the others. I am thinking of taking Robert here after our Bali trip, and we'll stay at the Eco Village, and then take day trips down the river, where it really looks like the Amazon in all the documentary movies. Here I am surrounded by lush green scenery. Fresh air. The sun is much much stronger here than in Java or Bali. This place is amazing. It's a very special place. What an experience it is to live here and to grow up here.

The da Silvas
It has been good to see Hamid and Isti, and Ema and Lucas again. I stayed with them in Rungan Sari.

Isti has lost a lot of weight due to her month-long stay in Aceh; she had a difficult time there, and sometimes when I see her, I feel that she is so fragile. She's been busy running around organizing the Subud congress so I haven't chatted to her all that much.

Lucas is so tall and so handsome! Still quiet, but he'd walk with me in the afternoons when I need company. Ema as pretty as ever. Hamid only arrived today although he'd been in Jakarta earlier during the week, having business meetings, I guess, with my dad. I asked him to be the witness at my wedding and he said yes! Yay! He will be in Portugal next week but promised to be back in time for the wedding. :-)

Emalia
Em is so great, she needs a subchapter all about her. She picked me up at the airport, saw me, big hug and kiss, then laughed at how pale I am. "Dasar bule loe," she said in perfect Indonesian whilst showing off her tan.

*ema dan gue tuh hobi banget cela-celaan... kalo elo ga ngerti background keluarga kita, elo mungkin mikir kalo kita berdua tuh rasis abis, abis kita emang suka nyela each other dgn kata-kata seperti yg diatas*

As usual, after I arrived, Ema goes through the clothes in my suitcase; she picks my Diesel kickboxing pants and pink Bollywood flip-flops that João bought me in Rio de Janeiro and goes out to meet her friends. Typical. She is just like Yacinta; invading my wardrobe and borrowing my clothes. They're my sisters though, and I cannot imagine them any other way.

Ema is the girl who went trekking in the Borneo rainforest wearing my Evisu jeans! My special limited edition kimono-lined Evisu jeans! I only found out because she posted a picture in her photoblogof her wearing my jeans in the forest :-S

Ema then proceeds to go through my iTunes collection; she decided she liked most of my music and transferred them into her iBook and she's been playing them constantly. She also hijacked my digital camera for a couple of days because her dad had not yet arrived with her new camera. She made me the best brownies ever though and we stayed up late eating brownies and drinking milk, listening to Hamid's stories.

The Creepy-Crawlies
There is plenty of creepy-crawlies. The bugs here are way bigger than the European ones. The bees are the size of my thumb. The milipedes and centipedes are fat and look crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The beetles all come out at night and they are huge; their bodies are the size of my index finger, but they are pretty stupid and are always flying into things. I really hate the thought that one would fly into my hair and get tangled up. Eek!

It's scary walking in the dark, because you have to watch where you are going. Ema stepped on a snake when she was looking at bats in the sky and the snake bit her. Oh but don't worry, the snake slithered off before it could release any poison. Ema was also stung by wasps yesterday at the swimming pool. Poor thing.

Meeting New People
As with any Subud event, you're bound to meet new people. I met so many interesting individuals during my stay in Kalimantan. Gaye Thakvisin, who runs Kalimantan Meeting Centre and has been in Kalimantan for 3 years. Stephanie from Devon, who's teaching at the international school in Rungan Sari for 6 months. Mas Madji and Mbak Amy, Mbak Lita, all of Tante Isti's family. Ani and Manda Geiger.

There was not a lot of Subud youth present, in contrast to the European events when there is always a lot of young people around. I was kind of disappointed as I was hoping to meet more of the Indonesian Subud youth *abis dari dulu kok kaya'nya subud youth yg gue kenal ga ada yg orang indonesia deh*

Also at the swimming pool I met Ethan, an American guy living in Bali. He teaches tai-chi and wing-chun and makes wooden dummies and sparring equipment for export. He speaks bahasa Indonesia very well, after living here for 11 years. We are going to take a boat trip down the Sei Gohong river today.

*oh ya, keluarga disini udah pada tau gue mau nikah, jadi mereka suka ngeledekin gue dan Ethan. istilah mereka tuh: nyari selingkuhan terakhir sebelum nikah. yeeee.... tadi aja pas gue lunch di latihan hall bersama Ethan, Mbak Amy was making googly eyes at me*

Getting Sunburned;
Ethan and I got pretty sunburned at the pool. I hardly ever burn and just to be safe, I put on sunblock twice all over, and still I succumbed to the Kalimantan sun. Ethan was in the kiddy pool, sunbathing in shallow water, and he's very used to the Balinese sun, but really, the Kalimantan sun just turned both of us bright red. I could not even sleep on my back last night. I've put on some cooling aloe vera on my skin, and after-sun lotion. My arms and legs are a very nice bronze, but my back is a bright red and is very sore.

When I got home and Ema saw how sunburned I was, she said, "Dasar bule loe, emang ga tahan bermatahari-ria." Aaarrrggghhhh... sebellll....

_______________

More stories later as I update the visual blog. I'm a bit busy this week as we get closer to the wedding date. Robert arrives on Wednesday. Yay!

Posted by Yasmina at February 27, 2005 10:30 PM

Comments

Posted by: Lely at February 28, 2005 07:05 AM

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Posted by: direct tv receiver at March 8, 2005 10:37 PM