Village Visit

A couple weeks ago we went to village an hour away from Lubuklinggau. We were invited by a girl whose face I couldn't even remember - we weren't sure what to expect. We drove and stopped to ask directions, and drove and stopped to ask if we were close, and Sean kept getting a clearer and clearer idea that we were getting close, and we weren't lost. We arrived when a wedding was taking place (we didn't go - we didn't know where it was) and learned quickly that no white people had ever visited this village - we were the first! It's so incredible to think this is still possible.

We followed our friend on a motorcycle to find her house. We sat down and within minutes were offered durian! Morgan was so brave he just grabbed it without thinking and took a big bite. Then came the familiar freaked-out face as his western body screamed with the horror of what hit his taste buds. It's truly an indescribable experience (and not everyone has that experience, but most westerners tell a similar story… To find the Wikipedia article click here). Sean had to move the car so while we were by ourselves I made all the kids try it. Ella screamed and cried. Thankfully no one threw up. I took a bite just out of guilt of what I had just made my babies put into their mouth and honestly thought it was not as bad as the first time. But the taste after just one bite was still in my mouth until I went to bed.

Once the wedding was over, word got out that some bule (white people) were there things got a little crazy. I'm not sure I can describe it well. Ella was with my friend and her sister who was Morgan's age. This was good because she could be protected from being completely mobbed. She had someone carry her and let her do what she wanted and loved it. Morgan was with Sean the whole time loving it as well. On this trip he discovered he really can have conservations with people and he enjoyed it! He did everything Sean did. They ended up being at a different house (maybe elders cause they were older and appeared to have all dishes for the village). So they were with men who were smoking up a storm.

I was back and forth between houses as the Grandma kept coming to get me and wanting me to eat! At least her food was good (probably left over from the wedding), though there was lots of durian. Then I helped Samuel teach kids a game to try to break the ice. The kids there did not even speak much Indonesian so they were really scared of our kids. Samuel did well but was shy too. Then he and Will hung out and had about thirty people around them. They played some soccer as well. I was talking with all sorts of ladies. We ended up being invited to two lunches just minutes apart and had to eat at both of them. I was so full!

Then after 4 hours we were able to leave but they gave us a gift of four durian! So our car smelled like durian, sort of like rotten onions. We ended up giving them to someone once we were well away from the village. It was fun to see that the boys were proud of what they did! Ella just wanted to know when we were going back. These were real big steps in the kids adjustments of living here and we were so thankful it was such a positive experience. But the day wasn't over yet.

We drove back an hour to hotel and rested about an hour before we went to another friend's house who invited all her friends to speak to us. We thought maybe three or four people… no, maybe fifteen or twenty. Thankfully it was in a neighborhood where Sam and Will could go play soccer. The university students loved Morgan and he had a crowd around him for almost two hours. He just hung out and talked. Ella had a hard time being friendly at first but warned up some by the end. Sean had a good conversation with some of the students who want to start an English school and want him to teach. I enjoyed talking to the many women there as well and hearing where they were from and practicing English with them.

This is a small glance into our day in Lubuklinggau. It was exciting to be together as a family and meeting new people. We hope to even be able to go back to the village and even do a home stay there at some point. Thanks for sharing our fun adventure!