Smiles + Durian = Sickness!

While leaving Padang, I got my first experience with the famed sense of Indonesian direction and time.  As I left the hotel, I asked the front desk which direction to the bus station.  The confidently pointed the opposite direction of what I expected, and when I acted surprised, they confirmed that indeed I did have to walk back towards town.  With no street signs and no map, I really had no choice but to take their advice.  I walked for about 15 minutes before stopping to use an ATM and ask the nearby security guard (my first full conversation in Indonesian!).  Of course, he pointed back the direction I had come and said I could walk there in 15 minutes.  I knew it had to be a bit farther than that, but walked on anyway.  90 minutes later, dripping sweat from the midday heat, I arrived at Minang station and hopped a van to Bukittinggi.

The driver immediately took off going way too fast for the crowded streets.  I've been in my fair share of seemingly dangerous transportation...Indian rickshaws, Philippine fishing boats, Thai tuk-tuks, West African bush taxis...but this was the first time I was actually convinced I might not make it out alive.  Catastrophic vehicle accidents are somewhat commonplace here.  Somehow, we made it without too much trouble.  We were only in two accidents (we were hit twice), which were handled quickly and surprisingly civilly.  As was standard in Indonesia, I was dropped off at a random intersection with no street signs, no map, and no one who could direct me.  I finally broke down and opened up my computer/GPS to figure out what I was doing.  I turned out to be about two miles away from the center of town, and again, walked it in the heat.  When I finally got my bearings and found a hotel, I took a cool shower and headed out on the town.

Taufik, Me, Haswin, Suyarif, and Adjiz.  I only look autistic.

In my first two hours of walking, I met Taufik and Suyarif.  They were English students in the local university and wanted to practice their English with a native speaker.  Ok.  Sure.  Let's go have some dinner.   Friends Adjiz and Haswin joined us, and the total bill for dinner and fruit juice came to a whopping $3.34.  My treat.  After that, Taufik suggested that I come visit their English class tomorrow.  Hmmm...well that doesn't really sound like something that I'd do.  What's that?  You have a beautiful English teacher?  I guess I could stop by.  And then we can take a tour around the town and we can show you all the sights?  I kind of had plans, but I guess I could use some help trying new foods and such.  And then you can stay at our boarding house tonight?  Ohhh...totally not on my agenda, but probably a good thing to do, right?  And then this weekend we can go visit my family in their village?  Way out of my plans, but an opportunity I shouldn't pass up I guess.  

Visit to the local river where we let fish nibble our feet.

And that was that.  The next 4 days were a whirlwind of activities with Taufik and Suyarif hanging on my every word.  Every bite of food I tried, they asked "Do you love it!?"  It was exhausting being the center of attention for days at a time, and when the weekend rolled around, I was kind of dreading spending two days with his family.  Unfortunately, I felt that I owed it to these guys to go visit the family, and I got the impression that Taufik didn't have a chance to go home too often (the bus fare is $2.75 each way).  Without getting into too much detail, I visited the farm, saw what life was like in a local village, and ate way too much food.  I even got an offer to marry his younger sister.  It was explained to me that she's only 12 now, but in six years, I'll be 34 and she will be 18.  Perfect!  The family approves!

Grandma and grandpa.  Very nice people.

Two days of sitting and smiling while the entire extended family chattered on in Indonesian was a little too much for me, and on the afternoon we were to leave, I finally came down with a bit of a cold/headache/dizziness.  I blame it on smiling too much.  Nonetheless, it was a good excuse to get out of there and also to have a hotel room to myself in Bukittinggi.  The thought of spending a night without sharing a bed with one or two other people hadn't even crossed these guys' minds, so I was glad for the excuse to get a room to myself for a few hours.  In the end, I learned a lot about Indonesian/Muslim culture, and hopefully made some lifelong friends.

This poor girl doesn't know what she's in for!

Durian.  King of fruits!