Thank goodness the computer room with the high speed internet link is open once again! These are photos from our Saturday trip to Lagaboti and Belige, hooking around the southern edge of Lake Toba. We began by driving to Parapat and stopped by the towering statue of a Simulungin man and woman by the harbor.
The hats are of similar design to the ones we were given at the teacher meeting in Parapet last Thursday.
A picnic in Parapat. Nettie brought the pansit, which is noodles with bits of meat, wrapped up in neat packages.
The broth comes separately in a plastic bag, I assume to keep the banana leaf packages from leaking.
My eating technique is getting pretty solid. Pansit is best eaten (by me) using the spoon for support and the chop sticks for shoveling the noodles into my mouth. Of course there was chili pepper sauce, and Jacob and I had a dab or two.
Along the way we stopped at a rural pineapple stand. Right behind the stand we found a coffee bush.
Kristin tested the pineapples for ripeness.
Pineapples were also growing right behind the stand.
We continued to the grave of Nommensen, the missionary who spread Christianity through the area beginning in 1860.
This is the view of Lake Toba from the cemetery.
The entrance to the cemetery featured a roof in the same design as a Batak house.
Eggs are not refrigerated in Indonesia, at least until they reach our house.
These ladies are dressing in their cobias and are walking to a wedding. The lady on the right is balancing a tall sack of rice on her head...a Batak wedding tradition. (For those of you cynics out there, I am not kidding!)
Many beauty salons here feature images of Caucasian models. These faces, and ours, were pretty much the only white faces we saw for five weeks.
The Dean greatly admires Jacob and Jacob returns his admiration. Here the Dean decided that Jacob will make a great Ph.D. candidate.
We stopped for yet another group photo and shared a laugh with the Dean. He started calling me "brother-in-law" so I declared I was of the "hulu-hulu" family, which is the family of the bride. The family of the groom has to serve the "hulu-hulu" family, so I took a wise position.
This is one of the bamboo fishing traps.
This is at the beach where we swam. The deteriorated bathroom door was enough to keep us from even sticking our heads into this place.
How I miss the O'Hatnick dock! I was dreaming of a cold one while overlooking Lake Toba, but sadly there was nothing of the sort available. Not even tuak!
We gathered on the beach before hitting the water.
Of course Nancy and Jacob led the charge into the water, with Kristen joining them.
As they walked into the water all eyes from the snack bar above turned to watch.
After a brief rest in the shade, the Dean joined the swimming party. He also pulled off a remarkable change of clothing.
I was promised a great cup of coffee, but it turned out to be a "great cup of Indonesian coffee" which means lots of sugar and lots of floating grounds.
I let Nancy and Jacob test out the water before going in.
How I miss the O'Hatnick dock!
Then it was time for a great grilled fish dinner.
The little catfish looked pretty mean. I didn't get a taste of one because I was focused on more docile looking fish near me. Though this guy was fried, most of the fish was grilled.
After dinner Jacob and Kristen explored the front edge of the restaurant, which included a little fenced in wading area.
There are beautiful churches everywhere. Grandma Joan, I think you should visit.
This fellow got a little close for comfort, but seemed to be happy to ignore us.
Water buffalo in paradise. Why you have a water buffalo in your rice field, I don't know. Maybe it provides fertilizer.
Now just minutes later we are at Kristen's home and it is time to .... eat! Kristen's mother made some great Batak spaghetti for us. The sauce made your lips tingle, even in small quantities. Our friends just layered it on thick.
Here we are in Kristen's living room with her family.
Kristen's little brother made a special gift to Jacob of the family goldfish. Jacob had spotted it swimming in the water tank (large square tiled open container) in the bathroom and remarked on it. It was a touching gesture.
The family portrait. In addition to running three fish traps in Lake Toba, Kristin's father has a delivery service.
We visited the church where the Dean was baptized and Nalla went to primary school. The church has it's own rice field for income.
Our last group photo, in front of the church.
Music, the unifying element. Bataks love music, and Jacob made a quick friendship at the parsonage. That's a chicken looking on at the bottom of the photo.
The hats are of similar design to the ones we were given at the teacher meeting in Parapet last Thursday.
A picnic in Parapat. Nettie brought the pansit, which is noodles with bits of meat, wrapped up in neat packages.
The broth comes separately in a plastic bag, I assume to keep the banana leaf packages from leaking.
My eating technique is getting pretty solid. Pansit is best eaten (by me) using the spoon for support and the chop sticks for shoveling the noodles into my mouth. Of course there was chili pepper sauce, and Jacob and I had a dab or two.
Along the way we stopped at a rural pineapple stand. Right behind the stand we found a coffee bush.
Kristin tested the pineapples for ripeness.
Pineapples were also growing right behind the stand.
We continued to the grave of Nommensen, the missionary who spread Christianity through the area beginning in 1860.
This is the view of Lake Toba from the cemetery.
The entrance to the cemetery featured a roof in the same design as a Batak house.
Eggs are not refrigerated in Indonesia, at least until they reach our house.
These ladies are dressing in their cobias and are walking to a wedding. The lady on the right is balancing a tall sack of rice on her head...a Batak wedding tradition. (For those of you cynics out there, I am not kidding!)
Many beauty salons here feature images of Caucasian models. These faces, and ours, were pretty much the only white faces we saw for five weeks.
The Dean greatly admires Jacob and Jacob returns his admiration. Here the Dean decided that Jacob will make a great Ph.D. candidate.
We stopped for yet another group photo and shared a laugh with the Dean. He started calling me "brother-in-law" so I declared I was of the "hulu-hulu" family, which is the family of the bride. The family of the groom has to serve the "hulu-hulu" family, so I took a wise position.
This is one of the bamboo fishing traps.
This is at the beach where we swam. The deteriorated bathroom door was enough to keep us from even sticking our heads into this place.
How I miss the O'Hatnick dock! I was dreaming of a cold one while overlooking Lake Toba, but sadly there was nothing of the sort available. Not even tuak!
We gathered on the beach before hitting the water.
Of course Nancy and Jacob led the charge into the water, with Kristen joining them.
As they walked into the water all eyes from the snack bar above turned to watch.
After a brief rest in the shade, the Dean joined the swimming party. He also pulled off a remarkable change of clothing.
I was promised a great cup of coffee, but it turned out to be a "great cup of Indonesian coffee" which means lots of sugar and lots of floating grounds.
I let Nancy and Jacob test out the water before going in.
How I miss the O'Hatnick dock!
Then it was time for a great grilled fish dinner.
The little catfish looked pretty mean. I didn't get a taste of one because I was focused on more docile looking fish near me. Though this guy was fried, most of the fish was grilled.
After dinner Jacob and Kristen explored the front edge of the restaurant, which included a little fenced in wading area.
There are beautiful churches everywhere. Grandma Joan, I think you should visit.
This fellow got a little close for comfort, but seemed to be happy to ignore us.
Water buffalo in paradise. Why you have a water buffalo in your rice field, I don't know. Maybe it provides fertilizer.
Now just minutes later we are at Kristen's home and it is time to .... eat! Kristen's mother made some great Batak spaghetti for us. The sauce made your lips tingle, even in small quantities. Our friends just layered it on thick.
Here we are in Kristen's living room with her family.
Kristen's little brother made a special gift to Jacob of the family goldfish. Jacob had spotted it swimming in the water tank (large square tiled open container) in the bathroom and remarked on it. It was a touching gesture.
The family portrait. In addition to running three fish traps in Lake Toba, Kristin's father has a delivery service.
We visited the church where the Dean was baptized and Nalla went to primary school. The church has it's own rice field for income.
Our last group photo, in front of the church.
Music, the unifying element. Bataks love music, and Jacob made a quick friendship at the parsonage. That's a chicken looking on at the bottom of the photo.
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