First Day, Jakarta
5:30 am flying in from Perth,
half awake
first views
vast green-ness
rice fields, little villages--
dots on the green carpet
linked together by lines
of roads, rivers, canals
big city buildings in a
sparkling cluster
like a fairytale castle world
Jakarta airport
marble floors
spacious
great windows looking out
on beautiful gardens
welcome--selamat datang
Indonesians in beautiful batiks
Silver Bird taxi stuffed with
our 50 kilos each
takes us through modern central city
signs have a mixture of English and
Bahasa Indonesia--
Starbucks, Nestles, Coca Cola
Suddenly
off the highway
swarms of motor cyclists
weaving in and out of the cars
all wearing helmuts
drivers of both cars and bikes
have learned the art of
weaving through space
the next ring out from the center city
takes us by smaller buildings
little streetside family shops
familiar to Turkey, Mexico, China
flimsy, messy, and rough shod
after the gleaming inner city
now bicycles and little 3 person
taxi carts on side streets
And then, an hours drive
we arrive
at Wisma Subud
Ren's face lights up
He's been here before
the original Subud Center
once alive with spiritual excitement
now still lovely
but the buildings have aged
and the energetic center
has moved to Kalimantan
where we will live
The shift to this new cultural environment
is challenging not just by lack of sleep
I am busy listening to the language
happy that I can relax because
Ren speaks fluently
Quiet, gentle, smooth. lilting language
I can already pick out words
I have book-studied
My first sentence:
Saya mau kopi dan jalang jalang.
(I would like some coffee and a walk.)
Ren talks with people he remembers
from past trips. He is happy.
I feel like a puzzle just poured out of the box
We find our room in the guest house
It has blessed air conditioning
We sleep for two hours
I cannot seem to connect the pieces of me
in any way I recognize
Manage to get to the shower
Ahhh, what an integrative blessing--
water, sweet warm water
Now, for some kopi enok (coffee delicious)
Coffee with condensed milk...I like it!
Toast with chocolate and strawberry jam. Enok.
We walk around a bit
Internet off and on
Receive but cannot send
Patience and try it again is the required attitude
Tropical heat is quite remarkable
The air so heavy that
it takes more effort to move
air feels think like blood
so I lose a bit of my sense of embodiment
because the feeling inside my skin
is the same temperature and texture
as the temperature and texture
outside my skin
5:30 am flying in from Perth,
half awake
first views
vast green-ness
rice fields, little villages--
dots on the green carpet
linked together by lines
of roads, rivers, canals
big city buildings in a
sparkling cluster
like a fairytale castle world
Jakarta airport
marble floors
spacious
great windows looking out
on beautiful gardens
welcome--selamat datang
Indonesians in beautiful batiks
Silver Bird taxi stuffed with
our 50 kilos each
takes us through modern central city
signs have a mixture of English and
Bahasa Indonesia--
Starbucks, Nestles, Coca Cola
Suddenly
off the highway
swarms of motor cyclists
weaving in and out of the cars
all wearing helmuts
drivers of both cars and bikes
have learned the art of
weaving through space
the next ring out from the center city
takes us by smaller buildings
little streetside family shops
familiar to Turkey, Mexico, China
flimsy, messy, and rough shod
after the gleaming inner city
now bicycles and little 3 person
taxi carts on side streets
And then, an hours drive
we arrive
at Wisma Subud
Ren's face lights up
He's been here before
the original Subud Center
once alive with spiritual excitement
now still lovely
but the buildings have aged
and the energetic center
has moved to Kalimantan
where we will live
The shift to this new cultural environment
is challenging not just by lack of sleep
I am busy listening to the language
happy that I can relax because
Ren speaks fluently
Quiet, gentle, smooth. lilting language
I can already pick out words
I have book-studied
My first sentence:
Saya mau kopi dan jalang jalang.
(I would like some coffee and a walk.)
Ren talks with people he remembers
from past trips. He is happy.
I feel like a puzzle just poured out of the box
We find our room in the guest house
It has blessed air conditioning
We sleep for two hours
I cannot seem to connect the pieces of me
in any way I recognize
Manage to get to the shower
Ahhh, what an integrative blessing--
water, sweet warm water
Now, for some kopi enok (coffee delicious)
Coffee with condensed milk...I like it!
Toast with chocolate and strawberry jam. Enok.
We walk around a bit
Internet off and on
Receive but cannot send
Patience and try it again is the required attitude
Tropical heat is quite remarkable
The air so heavy that
it takes more effort to move
air feels think like blood
so I lose a bit of my sense of embodiment
because the feeling inside my skin
is the same temperature and texture
as the temperature and texture
outside my skin
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