♥
Thursday, January 06, 2011
5:06 PM family love back in indo, and for always.
Once the plane touched down, I knew I’m home. Smiling, I could’t take my eyes off the padi fields outside, complete with the small worn down attap houses and scarecrows in all costumes.
The smell of the dusty air, the conversations all around me in Bahasa, the slow officers at the airport, all are part of the place I’ve spent my amazing childhood.
Met with 4th uncle’s family (Xian, Yangyi), Vero and dad’s bestfriend for a sumptuous lunch before taking the ride back to grandparent’s place. It will be a mystery if I don’t put on weight when I’m back home, with the amount of things I eat, along with bits of sambal chilli with every bite!
4 hours of journey back to Pemangkat was exhilarating. The whole time, I just looked out of the window, with coconut trees, padi fields, telephone wires stretched parallel to the road we’re on, many attap houses and colourful villager’s cement houses planted all around.
Now and then, I see GKKB churches at every village, and I will make a small little prayer for the villagers residing there (: The Lord’s grace is sufficient for me, for them, for the world.
Smiling grandpa and grandma welcomed us. Dinner, where dad cooked paku vegetables. And many sharings. Told grandpa that I’m going Europe, and his eyebrows spelled his tinge of worry for me, but the light smile was a reassuring one that I’ll be alright (:
And t’was the lingering family warmth that accompanied me to sleep that night, on the wooden bed and thin mattress, but comfy, with the rustic smell of village.
And a prayer, that this trip back home will be a blessed one.
Day 2 back home - Friday (Pemangkat 17.12.10)Sitting at the backporch of my grandparents’ place now, is a feeling i can never describe.
I’ve grown up playing at this backporch everytime I’m back here in Pemangkat village. From cooking games when I was little, reading novels, till recording my thoughts on my macbook now, oh how time flies!
Many things have changed. All my aunts used to live here, but some have migrated to Jakarta. Breakfast was classic Pemangkat char kway tiao by 5th aunt (:
Grandma showed me the tapioca plants which she has planted especially just for us, and we’re gonna eat them tonight (: It takes 3 months for the tapioca to grow, and it dawns on me how long have i not been planting anything. Used to help daddy plant kangkong in Pontianak last time. But in Singapore? No way am I gonna plant anything I guess ): There isn’t even a speck of soil for me to start with.
Daddy drove us to eat bakso sapi for lunch, super yummy (: Ate the whole bowl, and they gave us 10 bakso each! GASP! And the chilli’s amazing!
We then visited 5th aunt’s shop, followed by 1st aunt’s bicycle shop where I’d my cup of authentic Pemangkat coffee. And lastly, 6th aunt’s place where we had coconut juice and her hand-made goreng pisang, fresh, hot and crispy from the wok! ((:
We head on to Sambas to find Ko Wery (RSU St Elizabeth Hospital) adn we’d a tour of Sambas! Pasar of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia where there’re this big snake and 2 chameleons for sale! Followed by Ko’s private clinic (4pm-9pm every weekday), afterwhich charkwaytiao at the pondok opposite Koko’s hospital!
Was really glad to see Koko after 6 years, really (: Daddy preached at Pemuda’s service at night on Amazing Grace, and it helped me ponder how unworthy I am to receive His amazing grace.
At night, we ate noodles again cos I was far too hungry, ohmy! haha.
Day 3 back home (Friday 18.12.10)
Went to 6th aunt’s house to see mama and kuku made “choypaupan” followed by “choypaupan” fiesta for lunch! Yummy (:
Then I really just slacked at kuku’s place and had a short catchup with cece Afun, whom I’ve not seen for 2 full years ever since my last trip to Jakarta in 2008! Lovely!
went to buy stationery for France too! 10 books which cost just $4 in total and 12 pens for Rp. 22,000 ($4)! cheap and simple, just enough for taking notes in France I hope!
Went for crabhunt (: and it’s amazing to see daddy and 6th kuku went into the crab pool to pick the crabs! Daddy was joing as tour guide the whole journey back and forth! We’d crab party at night! AWESOME :D
Daddy cooked crabs, tapioca leaves, and of course the most wonderful chilli with belachan and “kim khiuk fan” (special nice smelling leaves)
(: internet cae after that for one hour with bro, and off to sleep!
Day 4 back home (Sunday 19.12.10)
Went to church, and played song for dad and mum’s singspiration!
Lunch at tanjung batu with Djimin sukgong and sukpo - not a very healthy lunch though cos of all the fried stuffs, but nice nevertheless!
Spent the entire afternoon making christmas cards! Played with stamps, red and green. The more I draw, the more ideas I have and the happier I am...
Celebrated grandpa’s 86 birthday today! Loads of people in the house, chitter-chatter non-stop! but best of all, it’s catching up with Koko Wery and ce Afun (: Love my cousins to bits, really! The feeling of being together with them and all the little things we shared with each other are just so simply laughable, and lovely - family warmth, as always, amen (:
Day 5 back home (Monday 20.12.10)
Waited the whole morning for people to help us shift house! (and they only came at 4pm! oh my) Got the chance to drop by internet kiosk again, but it’s so steaming hot i felt like I was burning, plus the countless mosquito bites, haha.
Ate yam mian and our favourite rojak with extra apples from daddy (: whoah! seriously, spicy and crispy at the same time!
When the shifting finally happened, there were akin mini chaos here and there. 5th aunt’s house’s really huge and majestic. It costs $10,000 overall and 3 years to build (we’ll never get a house as big as this in Singapore with such a cost, really). Had a wonderful dinner with 5th aunt and uncle, Ce Rini and Ce Suny’s families and their lively kids!
Went out with Ce Rini at night to buy fruits and milk to make ‘chendol alike’ but with fruits and sago-like ingredients (: Ate Apam Kachang (yummy!) too.
Ce Suny sang for us the song which she has written for the choir in church, and it’s a beautiful song- entitled “the best present”, which is Christ our Lord. Her passion to write music, and her passion to serve the Lord, never failed to inspire us to continue staying strong in our walk and service to our Lord.
Had another round of bakso outside 5th aunt’s shop! Ce Suny said the bakso stall’s the best in Pemangkat and it’s as old as Ko Wery! Haha, it’s his favourite bakso too! Philo ate 2 big bowls, oh my, with loads and loads of kechup (black sauce)!
Had a peaceful night (shared the same room with bro), with a little prayer that grandpa and grandma may adapt fast enough into this new house, and stay joyful, everyday, every moment.
(:
i am so blessed. thankyou, Lord.
Labels: family
♥
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Day 1 back home - Thursday (Pontianak 16.12.10)Once the plane touched down, I knew I’m home. Smiling, I could’t take my eyes off the padi fields outside, complete with the small worn down attap houses and scarecrows in all costumes.
The smell of the dusty air, the conversations all around me in Bahasa, the slow officers at the airport, all are part of the place I’ve spent my amazing childhood.
Met with 4th uncle’s family (Xian, Yangyi), Vero and dad’s bestfriend for a sumptuous lunch before taking the ride back to grandparent’s place. It will be a mystery if I don’t put on weight when I’m back home, with the amount of things I eat, along with bits of sambal chilli with every bite!
4 hours of journey back to Pemangkat was exhilarating. The whole time, I just looked out of the window, with coconut trees, padi fields, telephone wires stretched parallel to the road we’re on, many attap houses and colourful villager’s cement houses planted all around.
Now and then, I see GKKB churches at every village, and I will make a small little prayer for the villagers residing there (: The Lord’s grace is sufficient for me, for them, for the world.
Smiling grandpa and grandma welcomed us. Dinner, where dad cooked paku vegetables. And many sharings. Told grandpa that I’m going Europe, and his eyebrows spelled his tinge of worry for me, but the light smile was a reassuring one that I’ll be alright (:
And t’was the lingering family warmth that accompanied me to sleep that night, on the wooden bed and thin mattress, but comfy, with the rustic smell of village.
And a prayer, that this trip back home will be a blessed one.
Day 2 back home - Friday (Pemangkat 17.12.10)Sitting at the backporch of my grandparents’ place now, is a feeling i can never describe.
I’ve grown up playing at this backporch everytime I’m back here in Pemangkat village. From cooking games when I was little, reading novels, till recording my thoughts on my macbook now, oh how time flies!
Many things have changed. All my aunts used to live here, but some have migrated to Jakarta. Breakfast was classic Pemangkat char kway tiao by 5th aunt (:
Grandma showed me the tapioca plants which she has planted especially just for us, and we’re gonna eat them tonight (: It takes 3 months for the tapioca to grow, and it dawns on me how long have i not been planting anything. Used to help daddy plant kangkong in Pontianak last time. But in Singapore? No way am I gonna plant anything I guess ): There isn’t even a speck of soil for me to start with.
Daddy drove us to eat bakso sapi for lunch, super yummy (: Ate the whole bowl, and they gave us 10 bakso each! GASP! And the chilli’s amazing!
We then visited 5th aunt’s shop, followed by 1st aunt’s bicycle shop where I’d my cup of authentic Pemangkat coffee. And lastly, 6th aunt’s place where we had coconut juice and her hand-made goreng pisang, fresh, hot and crispy from the wok! ((:
We head on to Sambas to find Ko Wery (RSU St Elizabeth Hospital) adn we’d a tour of Sambas! Pasar of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia where there’re this big snake and 2 chameleons for sale! Followed by Ko’s private clinic (4pm-9pm every weekday), afterwhich charkwaytiao at the pondok opposite Koko’s hospital!
Was really glad to see Koko after 6 years, really (: Daddy preached at Pemuda’s service at night on Amazing Grace, and it helped me ponder how unworthy I am to receive His amazing grace.
At night, we ate noodles again cos I was far too hungry, ohmy! haha.
Day 3 back home (Friday 18.12.10)
Went to 6th aunt’s house to see mama and kuku made “choypaupan” followed by “choypaupan” fiesta for lunch! Yummy (:
Then I really just slacked at kuku’s place and had a short catchup with cece Afun, whom I’ve not seen for 2 full years ever since my last trip to Jakarta in 2008! Lovely!
went to buy stationery for France too! 10 books which cost just $4 in total and 12 pens for Rp. 22,000 ($4)! cheap and simple, just enough for taking notes in France I hope!
Went for crabhunt (: and it’s amazing to see daddy and 6th kuku went into the crab pool to pick the crabs! Daddy was joing as tour guide the whole journey back and forth! We’d crab party at night! AWESOME :D
Daddy cooked crabs, tapioca leaves, and of course the most wonderful chilli with belachan and “kim khiuk fan” (special nice smelling leaves)
(: internet cae after that for one hour with bro, and off to sleep!
Day 4 back home (Sunday 19.12.10)
Went to church, and played song for dad and mum’s singspiration!
Lunch at tanjung batu with Djimin sukgong and sukpo - not a very healthy lunch though cos of all the fried stuffs, but nice nevertheless!
Spent the entire afternoon making christmas cards! Played with stamps, red and green. The more I draw, the more ideas I have and the happier I am...
Celebrated grandpa’s 86 birthday today! Loads of people in the house, chitter-chatter non-stop! but best of all, it’s catching up with Koko Wery and ce Afun (: Love my cousins to bits, really! The feeling of being together with them and all the little things we shared with each other are just so simply laughable, and lovely - family warmth, as always, amen (:
Day 5 back home (Monday 20.12.10)
Waited the whole morning for people to help us shift house! (and they only came at 4pm! oh my) Got the chance to drop by internet kiosk again, but it’s so steaming hot i felt like I was burning, plus the countless mosquito bites, haha.
Ate yam mian and our favourite rojak with extra apples from daddy (: whoah! seriously, spicy and crispy at the same time!
When the shifting finally happened, there were akin mini chaos here and there. 5th aunt’s house’s really huge and majestic. It costs $10,000 overall and 3 years to build (we’ll never get a house as big as this in Singapore with such a cost, really). Had a wonderful dinner with 5th aunt and uncle, Ce Rini and Ce Suny’s families and their lively kids!
Went out with Ce Rini at night to buy fruits and milk to make ‘chendol alike’ but with fruits and sago-like ingredients (: Ate Apam Kachang (yummy!) too.
Ce Suny sang for us the song which she has written for the choir in church, and it’s a beautiful song- entitled “the best present”, which is Christ our Lord. Her passion to write music, and her passion to serve the Lord, never failed to inspire us to continue staying strong in our walk and service to our Lord.
Had another round of bakso outside 5th aunt’s shop! Ce Suny said the bakso stall’s the best in Pemangkat and it’s as old as Ko Wery! Haha, it’s his favourite bakso too! Philo ate 2 big bowls, oh my, with loads and loads of kechup (black sauce)!
Had a peaceful night (shared the same room with bro), with a little prayer that grandpa and grandma may adapt fast enough into this new house, and stay joyful, everyday, every moment.
(:
i am so blessed. thankyou, Lord.
Labels: family
