Camping Burly Style

Last week I had a chance to get away and go camping with a group of friends. We decided we'd try to be a little "burly." It started slow, but we got a little burlier as things went along. Here are the results:

With the rain pounding down outside, staying inside the tent, snuggling up together, and singing songs... not burly.

Stroking the gotee you don't have... not burly.

Covering up your nose cause your buddy broke wind inside the tent... not burly also.

Arm wrestling with herniating effort... burly.

A plastic bag on your head so your hair doesn't get wet... um, maybe not so burly.

Playing some tackle American football... burly.


A swollen left hand from football... burly.

Gross-looking blisters from boiling water on the campfire... burly.



The "Leaves of the Loom" Adam line of loincloth... burly.

Two friends eating earthworms... burly.

One of them throwing it up when it activates the gag reflex by wriggling in his throat... still burly.

People Pics

Ladies at a "Wedding Eve Party"
The village "elder of traditions" is on the far right. He was pretty excited that I was able to attend this traditional wedding, and that I wore the traditional cloth around my neck.

That's a knife tucked under his arm - at a wedding.

Grandmas still love me.

Batak Karo Wedding

When I visited my friend Eko's village in early January, I had the opportunity to observe a traditional Batak Karo wedding. Batak Karo is the name of the ethnic group in this area of North Sumatra. This first picture is from the "wedding's eve" ceremony held the night before the wedding. The families of both bride and groom gather and, in an exchange of formalities, share the characteristics that make their relative a good candidate for marriage. This began with a huge meal around 6 in the evening, and didn't end until nearly 10pm.

On the actual wedding day, the bride and groom (on the right) approached the wedding place as the leaders of a long procession, flanked to the right and left by the groom's brothers and their wives, and trailed by nearly 200 relatives. When they drew near, they started a traditional dance, and danced all the way down the "aisle" (although its not a church building).

These are a few of the trailing relatives bringing rice and floor mats which will later be used in the "New Home Opening" ceremony/ritual for the newlywed couple.

Similar to America traditions, the bride's family sits on one side while the groom's family fills the other. The ceremony and meals last from morning until night. And you thought hour-long weddings in the States were long! In the background of this picture you can observe the groom and bride, along with the groom's brothers and their wives, preparing for a dance where people come and slip money between their fingers as their wedding gift.

Waterfall

Eko and I
By observing the people in the lower righthand corner, you can get a perspective on the incredible height of this waterfall, resulting in a power-washer type effect at the bottom.

Burial Traditions

As I traveled around the countryside near my friend's village, I was intrigued by the tombs (like the one above) that dotted the landscape. Almost every 100-300 meters or so there seemed to be another tomb, often in the middle of a rice or corn field or orange orchard. It was explained to me that these gravesites are placed in the middle of fields in order to bring the blessings of a bountiful harvest. Family members of the deceased bring not only flowers, but also food to place on the tomb. Most of the graves are quite extravagant as well, some with a tiled roof as large as a regular house (the above example is actually quite simple compared to others). In fact, it seems like these people often spend more money on these "houses for the dead" than they do on houses for the living. This seemed ridiculous to me, but as one friend explained it, that's because we Americans are future-oriented whereas Asians tend to be past-orientated. We primarily value and prepare for that which will happen in the future, while Asians value and remember that which has happened in the past.

Where's the Animal?

Just for kicks, see if you can spot the animal in this picture.

Thrill Ride

My two-hour trip from Medan to Seberaya was one of the most memorable of my life. When I arrived at the bus station, I was a little confused how the system worked. Do I buy a ticket? Do I have to wait in line? There just seemed to be a mass of people roaming about with no apparant order or purpose, but with a definite sense of jumpiness and anxiety. I soon found out why. The colorful buses showed up every half hour or so, and its important that you're not napping when they do. I was busy talking to a older man when the first one showed up. I finished my conversation politely and moved toward the bus, only to realize that it was already being swarmed by about 3 times more people than it could hold. I finally got to the door of the bus, only to realize it was far too packed full of humanity for me to squeeze my way inside. A self-appointed director asked if I wanted to ride on top of the bus. It sounded fun to me, but I declined when I realized what my parents would say if they knew I did. Despite my refusal, a good 10 or more young men climbed up on top to enjoy the ride from the second deck.

After another 30 minute wait, a new bus showed up. This time I was ready - but too polite. I let several old ladies go in front of me, only to have one of them later yell at me and push me out of the bus when I tried to get in. The scene was crazy. Well over 100 people were pushing and shoving to try and enter the same bus (that holds maybe 35 tops). Indonesians prefer to make their lines wide rather than long. One mother opened a bus window from the outside and started throwing her young kids in through the window so that they could save her a seat. People climbed over top of each other trying to get a seat. Being the confused American only led to scowls, not an empty seat. I retreated and waited til the next bus came along.

Fortunately the third bus was a charm. I was one of the last people on, and ended up sitting on my bag in the aisle, wedged between the two seats on either side. The curvy, narrow, and steep road up into the mountains was taken at full speed, and our bus often passed other cars on blind curves, only to barely miss the oncoming macro-sized truck that was screaming down the road. In Indonesia you don't need Worlds of Fun or 6-Flags for thrill-rides. Just take an 80 cent bus ride for 2 hours and you have all the thrills you need for a few days.