This is another installment of Cedar’s Digest, a series of poetic stories about the experiences my husband, Ren Ruslan Feldman, and I are having living for six months in Central Borneo. We are volunteer teachers in a small, innovative Indonesian school. The school is child-centered with a focus on hands-on learning and character development. Classes are taught in English and Indonesian.
Indonesian Food
guavas and white rice
pineapples and chicken
green beans and river fish
carrots and bananas
white bread and eggs
tofu and tempeh
mango juice and limes
noodles and eggplant
cucumbers and tomatoes
potatoes and basil leaves
bits of beef and tiny shrimp
UHT milk and rice chips
corn and sweet potatoes
onions and red pepper
watermelon and coconut
canned mushrooms and asparagus
magic herbs mashed together
with a stone mortar and pestle
very hot sauce (sambal)
now, using these ingredients
fry the meat, tofu, or fish,
slice and boil the vegetables
and serve over white rice
or make a soup or stew
and pour over white rice
have coffee, tea, or water
THAT’S ABOUT IT!
HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE
begin with what you have at hand
cut 4-inch diameter trees
sit in your yard
and shave the bark off
use these for the structural framing
add slats of rough hewn wood
leave holes for windows
that can be closed with wooden slats
floor of dirt or slats if the house is on stilts
thatch the roof and front porch with sticks and grasses
with increasing prosperity:
frame the windows
add louvers above the windows
to catch the breezes
add glass
open the front like a garage opening
and start a little shop
exchange rough siding for lap siding
add bright colored paint
lime green, sky blue, peach
exchange thatch for corrugated tin roof
raise the peak to hold the hot air as it rises
extend the roof for more shade
tear it all down and begin anew
use cinderblocks for the walls
sturdy posts for roof
tiles for roofing
on both ends of the roof ridge
add windows and louvers
that open and shut
add screens
add a fancy carved wooden door
add smooth cement coating
to the outside walls
add more ground floor rooms
possibly a second floor
THAT’S ABOUT IT!
Indonesian Food
guavas and white rice
pineapples and chicken
green beans and river fish
carrots and bananas
white bread and eggs
tofu and tempeh
mango juice and limes
noodles and eggplant
cucumbers and tomatoes
potatoes and basil leaves
bits of beef and tiny shrimp
UHT milk and rice chips
corn and sweet potatoes
onions and red pepper
watermelon and coconut
canned mushrooms and asparagus
magic herbs mashed together
with a stone mortar and pestle
very hot sauce (sambal)
now, using these ingredients
fry the meat, tofu, or fish,
slice and boil the vegetables
and serve over white rice
or make a soup or stew
and pour over white rice
have coffee, tea, or water
THAT’S ABOUT IT!
HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE
begin with what you have at hand
cut 4-inch diameter trees
sit in your yard
and shave the bark off
use these for the structural framing
add slats of rough hewn wood
leave holes for windows
that can be closed with wooden slats
floor of dirt or slats if the house is on stilts
thatch the roof and front porch with sticks and grasses
with increasing prosperity:
frame the windows
add louvers above the windows
to catch the breezes
add glass
open the front like a garage opening
and start a little shop
exchange rough siding for lap siding
add bright colored paint
lime green, sky blue, peach
exchange thatch for corrugated tin roof
raise the peak to hold the hot air as it rises
extend the roof for more shade
tear it all down and begin anew
use cinderblocks for the walls
sturdy posts for roof
tiles for roofing
on both ends of the roof ridge
add windows and louvers
that open and shut
add screens
add a fancy carved wooden door
add smooth cement coating
to the outside walls
add more ground floor rooms
possibly a second floor
THAT’S ABOUT IT!
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