Traveling Seller

While my last blog was on the "five-legged seller," there's another type of seller in Indonesia that's just as common.  The "traveling seller" might be the best way to translate it from English, but "keliling" actually means to go around as in moving around traveling.  Therefore, "pedagang keliling" is a traveling/going around seller. 

There are various kinds of "traveling sellers," most of which sell food like bakso (meat balls in a broth), kue (cake), and a variety of other foods served up and sometimes cookked on the spot.  Other "traveling sellers" sell more fresh foods like vegetables and fruits or meats and tempe.  Others sell household goods and tools like brooms, mops, and dusters.  I've even seen some carrying light weight cabinets or book shelves!  Yeah, you can buy quite a bit from these men who walk by on the street haulering out whatever item they're selling so people know when to come out and buy. 

I recently noticed that the front of my shoes were pulling apart, and would probably be shot in less than a week, but then I remembed a traveling seller that walks by yelling "seeepatuuuu" = shoe!  And thought, why not, I'll visit with the next one that comes by and see if he can fix my shoes for reasonable price.  Sure enough, after bargaining for a couple minutes, we decided on $2 to sew up the front end of my shoes and use a little glue to hold some of the plastic together.  Its been a couple weeks and so far so good!  This young man seemed pretty skilled as a traveling shoe repairman and used a huge needle!

 

Five-Legged Seller

Pedagang kaki-lima translates to "five-legged seller" and is a common site in Indonesia.  So how do they get this name,? you may ask.  Take a look at the picture below.

Ok, let's count them up - 2 legs for the seller and.....oh, 3 tires on the cart, and there's your 5.

Many carts like this can be found being pushed around Bandung and cities all over Indonesia.  Yes, these sellers are in good shape as I would guess some of them travel miles in a day!  They also sell, cook, and often times prepare the food all from their cart!  That takes some skill that's often learned over years.  Many of these men have also developed a community or at least friendships with one another, especially if they tend to gather in one place.

I frequently visit a group of "five-legged sellers" that gather and sell their food in front of a local store.  This group includes the man with the blue hat on the left selling a dish that mixes potatoes, cabbage, tofu, and maybe a couple other foods with a sauce on top.  The men pictured below, along with a few others that frequently stop at this location, are also there.

Cilok is kind of like a small meat ball with a specific
sauce,only sold in small bags, like a snack

This seller sells a fried dough of sorts that is generally plain
testing, so the sauce that accompanies it is almost certain.

So how does this process work?

First the food must be prepared, thus most all carts are equipped with some a propane bottle for heating a frying pan or creating a kind of steaming machine to cook and keep the food warm.  Then its waiting time, which seems to consume most of the day for these sellers or pushing their cart along to the next spot.

Once someone comes along and places an order, then its time to bag up the food for take away or to serve it up in a plate to eat on the spot.  If eaten on the spot, then the sellers also must provide the eating utensils and some water and soap for cleaning afterwards.

When the foods bagged up or already eaten, its time to pay up.  Here you can see the exchange of money and plastic bag containing the food to be eaten later.

On right you can see a line of these sellers in a more permanent location beside a school, located on the right.  They are closed now, after school, and mainly only open for lunch, so the children can come out to eat.  Many schools are crowded with these five-legged sellers during lunch time, these just have a more permanent residence, which is likely to help with traffic.

Language School

Since arriving in Indonesia, language learning has been one of my main focuses, and much of that has happened through the language school I attend.  The school is only teaches Bahasa Indonesia and is run by all Indonesians, which makes it nice because we get to learn the language from native speakers, many of which have been there for years and know how to teach foreigners.  All students at the school are foreigners here for varying reasons, but the majority are here for business and community development work, both of which require learning the language first.  I have heard the nationality of students varies from year to year, but right now the approximate statistics are as follows, Koreans (50%), Americans (35%), with a mix of Aussies and Europeans to finish it off.  The age of students probably averages out in the upper 30s with several young families attending.

The school has 9 units total, each four weeks long with a three day to one week break following.  The number of students in each unit vary, with the average around 7 students in the earlier units and dropping to around 3 or 4 in the later units.  My group started with 9, has added some and lost some, and is now at 4.  This makes it nice to have a lower teacher to student ratio, thus more individual time with the teachers.  I am in a class with a couple from Belgium and a mother/wife from Korea.  We enjoy learning and laughing together!  Many of my closer relationships with foreigners are with students at language school, especially since we are having similar experiences.

The early units at the language school focused on listening and speaking, the same way we learn our first language.  We learned the basics and tried to practice our language every day with other Indonesians.  This continues to be the practice now that I am in Unit 5, but there is an added emphasis on reading and writing.  We start most classes with singing Indonesian songs, then a student gives a presentation followed by correction, and finish with the remaining and majority of the class time focused on the text for the day in smaller groups.  Here's a couple photos from school!

Unit 1 - a classmate giving his introduction or sharing his experience from the day before.

Unit 1 - One of my teachers instructing the class.  Notice the Christmas decorations.
Yes we celebrated together after school one day.

Unit 5 - Me giving a presentation to a few of my classmates.  One male student is taking the picture and the teachers are in the back noting my mistakes, so we can correct them together later.

Indian Music in Indonesia!?

The past few weeks its been difficult to turn on the tv and not hear the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" and see Norman Kamaru, a policeman from a small town on the island of Sulawesi who has made it big since a film of him lip-syncing "Chaiyya Chaiyya" on Youtube went viral a few weeks ago.  Now he has been seen on almost every celebrity show and the news tends to give updates on what he is doing.  It seems the country has fallen in love with his charismatic personality and singing style.  Check out his first clip below - its pretty funny and a catchy tune.

While Indian music can be heard in Indonesia, I wouldn't say its all that common, as Indonesian certainly has its own music and actually quite a variety of music as the different people groups and cultures of Indonesia have ranging styles and songs.  In Bandung, gamelan degung, gamelan salendro, and tembang sunda are the more traditional types of music (Music of Indonesia).  While these are heard at ceremonies, various events, and other traditional events, the internet and globalization in general has brought music from around the world.  For example, Justin Bieber recently made a stop in Jakarta for a concert and Michael Jackson was a big hit here in his day.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Upon arriving in Indonesia, one might see a variety of things that makes one scratch his head, like...

strings hanging from the power lines

...or what looks like paper in the trees (did someone get TPed?)

But one might begin to put the pieces together after seeing...

...these boys beside the street, one staring into the sky

...still don't know, no problem he looks confused too, but check out the boy on top of the fence, what's he doing?

Here's a closer look...

Check out the focus, and what's that in his hand? 

These boys are trying to get this activity started in an empty
lot after the early morning market has cleared out.  But their
KITES are still on the ground, looks like they need more wind.

And finally, I came upon these young men in an open field on the edge of town one day while walking home...

They can fly those kites from a distance...look closely

That young man wasn't alone, there's several with him in this open field, and many more that I saw in a field a little farther down the hill.

After talking with a few of these young men, I think they sometimes try to have a "fight" of sorts with their kites in the air.  If I'm not mistaken, that would sure take some flying skill.  All the kites I've seen are made of paper and light wood and cost 500 rupia (5 cents), but I'm told they can also be made of a light material that may also be used to make banners.  Overall it appears to be a fun activity enjoyed mainly by small boys and even some teenagers.  But watch out for those power lines...

Places for Soccer in Indonesia

As I've traveled around parts of Bandung, I continue to be amazed at the different places boys use to play soccer.  During my daily walks to school I often see them in the street or down their gang (a small street) kicking the ball back and forth or playing small game with a few friends.  Its usually only boys and they tend to play in the sandals most of them wear all day or barefoot.  There are a few places used for competitions, and those fields that I’ve seen tend to be overused and beaten down.

School - boys playing in front of the school on a sort of patio area

Back yard - a small game between 2 girls and 3 boys, no need for an even number

Gang - in the neighborhood near my house, a 4 man game

No out of bounce in this game, play it off the walls

Beside the river at a boarding school - this spot was cleared recently  so the boys would have a place to play.  Before they were using a small place, like a patio, in front of the school.  This spot is much bigger, but watch your step, out of bounds is the river on one side and a trash pile on the other.  I've seen them retrieving the ball from the river a few times!

In the neighborhood - no that's not a basketball goal, it’s a light on the left.  I have yet to pass here when its dark, but the light suggests they may play late.  It’s deserted now probably because they boys are at school.  This spot also has a small stream beside it, which the boys have to frequently retrieve the ball from.

In the neighborhood (close to my house) - this spot is just off the gang in front of one house (notice the gate) and behind another.  Nearly every afternoon these boys can be found here playing soccer.  Sometimes they'll make three teams and rotate, with the winner staying on.  If you kick it over the wall (on the left), you must climb the wall & retrieve it from the garden/weeds/deserted area on the other side.  The goal keeper on the right is wearing a replica red jersey from the national team who recently had a successful showing in the SE Asia tournament.

Large grass field - on the edge of town I came across this large grass lot with goals at either end.  The tall grass and trash on the field makes me think it probably hasn't been used in a while.

University field @ ITB - This field appears to be used quite often by teams of all ages and frequently.  Even though the middle of the field is worn to dirt, it's one of the few grass fields I've seen.

While I have yet to play seriously, I occasionally enjoy joining some of the boys near my house when they play a small game.  While my skills don't match their's, my size helps in the small spaces.  There is also a professional league in Indonesia, and the team in Bandung is called Persib.  Whenever they play, the game is on tv and watched by many in the city.  Yes, soccer is popular in Indonesia!

Sundanese Wedding

Recently I had the privilege to attend a traditional Sundanese (the local people group) wedding.  I didn't actually know the couple, but had befriended the bride's sister and her husband (pictured below).  The entire event, ceremony and reception, was held at the bride's family's house.  Therefore, many days of preparation were necessary leading up to this Saturday celebration.  I was invited to come early so I could see all that would take place.  When I arrived, chairs had been put set out for the guests, the food was cooked and waiting, and decorations were up.

Around 9am, the bride and her family were ready and awaiting the arrival of the groom and his family.  They seemed to be a little nervous, especially after he came a bit late, probably because of traffic.  

Eventually the groom and his family arrived with a line of family and friends behind them.  They were greeted by the family of the bride.  Both sets of parents were wearing similar clothing as can be seen in the photo above.  The mother of the bride placed a necklace of sorts made of flowers around the neck of the groom (wearing white).  After the "welcoming ceremony" the guests who followed the groom and his family seated themselves in the shade of a nearby building for the next half hour, as they listened as I think was a blessing and prayer was given for the new couple.

Following the ceremony outside, the event moved inside, where the groom was now joined by his bride.   They were seated side-by-side in front of a table with the village leader seated on the opposite side of the table and their families seated behind them.  There they completed what I would call the paper work, were prayed for once again, and made their vows.  After this ceremony, the reception began!  The bride and groom changed into red clothes instead of the white they were previously wearing and began to receive the guests.  They, along with their parents, greeted every person who attended, like a receiving line.  Some guests stopped for a picture too!

After greeting the bride and groom, people walked through the house to the dining area and enjoyed some delicious food!  This meal included a salad, potatoes, a mixed salad of meat and vegetables, and of course rice.

The reception lasted until about 3 or 4 in the afternoon.  Afterwards, the family relaxed together and the couple got a chance to eat.  Some of the family helped clean up, but the majority of the work was left for the newly married couple, who I was able to snap a couple of shots of afterwards.  They didn't have a honeymoon to hurry off to, but were washing the dishes from about 200 guests.