Basketball

HI. Well, we are in the midst of a big basketball tournament. There must have been about 500 people here. The tournaments will be going on all weekend. We have our own penjaga (security guy) posted here at the hostel to make sure that no one goes in that isn’t supposed to. That is reassuring. I will take pictures tomorrow so you can see how crazy it is.
Garth is working hard on his sermon for Sunday. I am excited. He is nervous.
It is spirit week again for the High schoolers. Yesterday was dress up like your favorite teacher, today was dress like a school stereotype-like skaters, nerds, goody two shoes…tomorrow is twin day. The kids are so creative. They do fun games and contests throughout the day for everyone to participate in.
We asked one of our pembantus to go with us to the Pasar (market) today. There were things I had to buy that I have never bought before- like tempeh, and ikan (fish). I didn’t want to get the wrong thing, so Ibu Yulli went with us. We also needed to buy jeruk manis (green oranges), ketimun (cucumbers), pisang (bananas), buncis (green beans), kang kung (spinach) and bombay (onions). We went to a back part of the pasar that I have never been to before. It was quite unbelievable. It was like a slaughter house that hasn’t been cleaned in years. The smell, the flies, the meat sitting out in the heat, pools of blood all over the counters…I was very glad that I wasn’t trying to do this alone. Yulli bought some tengeri and had him fillet it and said she would cut it up at home. I was very thankful she didn’t buy any of the meat that had been sitting out. I try not to be too disgusted and grossed out because it will show on my face. It is not a reflection of the people-it is just their culture. Sometimes when we are walking through the pasar Cale will plug his nose. The smells here are amazingly pungent. I have a very sensitive nose. I can smell many things that Garth can’t. It can be a blessing and a curse.
Well, I am off to watch more of the games.
Love you all
Rachel