Language Study – Day 8

This was my first venture out into the kampong (neighborhood) on what I thought was a picture taking expedition, but turned into language practice. I live in the same area as the language school I am attending. Evidently, the folks around here are used to the white people coming around between 4 – 6 p.m., because I was greeted by everyone with eager faces waiting the days round of questions. In fact, most of them already know what the day’s questions will be. At this point, though, all I have been taught is basically how to greet your neighbors, how to greet good friends you haven’t seen in a long time and how to greet strangers. Not a whole lot of conversation going on at this point. But I was greeted by total strangers with the informal greetings for neighbors that you see on a daily basis. It does boost one’s confidence though to find everyone so eager to talk to you, instead of running into their homes.

So after my first encounter and running out of things to say, I was stopped by two ladies playing ping pong. A little ping pong never hurt, and where my verbal skills lacked hopefully my pitiful playing skills would fill in for some entertainment. Now remember I thought I was going on a photo expedition, so I have a friend’s digital camera with me. I couldn’t decide if I needed the regular lenses or the wide angel, so I decided to bring my purse, fully-loaded, along as a camera bag. As I pick up the ping pong paddle, I set my purse down on the ground, which evidently was a no-no. My new friend, Ibu Linda, shook her head, picked up my purse and handed it to her neighbor, who was standing there. “She hold for you,” she said. I agreed with a pleasant smile on my face at their thoughtfulness as a knot forms in stomach and my Dad’s voice rings in my ear about how this is probably not a safe situation. I tried with all my might to play ping pong, practice language, keep a watchful eye on my bag, pray and pretend like all this was normal all at the same time. In between serves, Ibu Linda and I discussed her children and where I was from. But, I have to admit that the panic and worry got to me and I quickly came up with the word for tomorrow. So with a promise for a rematch tomorrow I reclaimed my purse, and carefully determined that it at least still weighed the same. I also made a pact with myself to leave the purse at home tomorrow. Lessons learned. . . .