Assorted pictures of Jang village

Building Walls part 2 of 2

And with that, we were ready to get to work. Our job was to build a fifty-foot long wall on the fourth, open side of the school courtyard so as to separate it from the main pathway that was immediately adjacent to it. We started by digging a long trench twelve inches deep. While some of our students used the pick axes to dig the trench, others started hauling large bags of cement up from the storage shed at the bottom of the hill. Several of our boys were taking turns using the sledge hammer to break old pieces of concrete into smaller pieces of concrete that would be used as fill for the foundation.

Many of the local kids jumped in and made themselves useful. In fact, long after my eighth-graders were wiped out from working in the Indonesian heat, the local seven-year-old girls were still going strong hauling buckets of cement.

If you don’t believe in guardian angels that’s only because you haven’t been part of a service project where 18 eighth-graders and twice that many local kids are shoveling, swinging pick axes, and breaking up cement with a sledge hammer in a confined area.

I must confess that leading up to our trip, I was a little concerned about just how hard our kids would work considering that yard work, housework, and low-paying summer jobs are not a part of the growing-up experience in Hong Kong. But I was pleasantly surprised; our kids threw themselves into the work at hand. Unfortunately, by the time noon rolled around and it was time for us to begin packing up, we had only finished pouring the foundation. The pile of blocks that we had hauled and stacked lay untouched. The actual building of the wall would have to be done by the locals or by a future work group.

While a few of us rinsed cement off the shovels and packed up, most of our kids made their way onto the dirt volleyball court that was the courtyard. It was one mass jumble of our kids and the local kids. Some were playing tag, some were playing soccer. A few of the local girls were playing jacks using seashells. One of the staff members from Telunas tossed a Frisbee into the mix and some of our students were trying to teach the fine art of Frisbee throwing to a few local kids who I was told had probably never played Frisbee before.

And with that it was time to wrap it up. In the center of the courtyard, I organized my kids for our daily group photo. We had a hard time keeping the local kids out of the picture, they were so anxious to join in. After I got my picture of our students, we finally waved in the local kids and got a joint picture. We packed up all our equipment, but instead of walking directly to the boat we took the long circuitous route so that we could see a little more of the village and the countryside. We were followed by our own entourage of local kids.

They were sad to see us go, because now that we had left, their teachers were going to insist that school was back in session for the remainder of the afternoon.

Building Walls part 1 of 2

After breakfast, we reviewed the half dozen Indonesian words we had learned the night before and loaded up the boat. The kids were supposed to be in work clothes, but half of them were in overpriced Quicksilver t-shirts and new Nikes. I could see that the Telunas staff had loaded a half dozen shovels, several pick axes, and a sledge hammer into the front of the wooden boat.

The village was about 30 minutes away. A mix of people –young and old- were waiting for us on the dock when we arrived. We walked our way up hill and into the village. In the center of the village was the school complex made up of a central courtyard surrounded by school buildings on three sides. The teachers and principal must have declared it a school holiday, because even though all the kids were in uniform, they were milling about.

We were led directly into one of the classrooms for the opening formalities. Inside were desks, chairs, and few posters on the wall. This may be a poor, third-world village but like any self-respecting Indonesian village, they had an impressive-looking karaoke machine that was being used as a p.a. system. As my students were settling into their seats, Mike from Telunas waved me over indicating that I should join him and the headmaster at the large table up front. Apparently, I was going to be making a speech. It was pretty obvious, that out of the three chaperones from our school, I was being asked to say a few words because I was the sole male. Apparently the Equal Rights Amendment hasn’t made it to the outer reaches of Indonesia.

Students packed the doorway and filled up every window surrounding the room so that we could just see the tops of their heads peering over the window sill. With the help of a translator, I made a grandiose speech complementing the superintendent on the fine school, thanking them for inviting us, and about building long-lasting friendships between Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the United States. Mine was only one of several speeches.

Telunas Beach, Indonesia

Better Late than Never

We finally made it to the resort -about fourteen hours later than planned- but, we made it. It was just as I had pictured it: wooden, on stilts, and built over the ocean. The boat pulled up to the dock and we had to climb a six-foot ladder onto the dock. The Telunas Beach staff met us with cool, wet towels so we could refresh ourselves.

The resort at Telunas Beach has a rustic beauty to it that matches the pristine beach and verdant hills that frame it. The students all found their luggage that the staff had unloaded from the boat and we wheeled ourselves into the dining room where the staff had a late-morning, hot breakfast waiting for us.

Originally, today –Monday, was supposed to be a service day in a neighboring village but that plan had to be scuttled in light of yesterday’s travel odyssey. We let the kids get settled into their cabins. Each cabin has running water and electricity but no hot water. We gave our students the rest of the morning to run around, get familiar with their environs, and make their way down to the beach. At lunch we announced that –since none of us really got any sleep the night before- we were having a mandatory rest/nap time after lunch. I guess this is what happens when your co-leader is seven months pregnant. Naps for everyone. No exceptions. When we got back to Hong Kong, one of the boys wrote on his evaluation form “I learned that Mr. VanNoord is a very heavy sleeper.” My wife says I have The Gift. Sleep: anytime, anywhere. Darn right. I have like a black belt in sleep.

After dinner, Eric –assisted by his co-director Mike- led us in our service preparation which included an overview of the project (building a brick wall), language training (bagus means good), and culture training, (don’t pat the little kids on the head; when in doubt, smile, smile, smile).

Despite the naps we all were still exhausted. In your room by 9:00. Lights out at 10:00. Wake-up was to be at 6:30.

Images from an Indonesian Village

A Slight Change of Plans part 8 of 8

Finally, Eric announced that the tide was high enough and we could take off. The kids all packed up their belongings and lowered their suitcases into our boat. Eric said thanks and goodbye to the homeowner. Eric handed the homeowner an envelope. I thought it was a pretty shrewd of the local village elders to put us up in the one house in town that could house all of us even if the homeowner was a little off kilter. But the homeowner was going to get the last laugh though when he opens the envelope and finds that there is the equivalent of about US$50 -or about half a month’s income inside. Not bad for putting up with 25 unexpected houseguest –even if one of them did put a hole in your floor.

With everyone safely pack in the boat with life jackets on, we started motoring for the resort.

High tide.

No waves.

Plenty of light.