Hanya satu hare (Only one day)

Annie calls me for dinner. It’s simple Indonesian, just for first night. she apologizes. It smells and looks amazing.

We sit to eat. I grip my napkin in my lap with my left hand. Trying to distract it from helping me eat. (Right hand good, left hand bad). Naci puti (delicious white rice), topped with spicy tuna and a coconut curry of fresh Indonesian tofu (soft and tasty), tomatoes, and long beans (literally 2 foot beans, that we’d bought at the market earlier). I’ve been teaching myself to cook Indian food back home, from homemade masala and curries to paneer – suddenly inspired to start on Indonesian when I get back. Such beautiful flavors, simple ingredients: every bite is sensational.

Over and over I say the words: teri mi kasi, sapi, hujan, salamet pagi, salamet sore, salamet malam. Annie teaches me more words as we eat. I learn new names for animals, for fruit, for eating. I learn to say “No rain! No rain!” I learn to count to five. It’s not easy. The most simple things, not easy. I must try, make mistakes, be corrected, try again. Over and over. It’s like feeling my way around in the dark, trying to make the correct sound form on my tongue, when I am not sure what the correct sound is. When all it wants to do, is return to what it knows. I start writing down my new words so I can see them, not just feel them rolling around in my head.

I feel more like a child than ever before. Suddenly being cared for, cooked for, taught words and how things work. So many new things. And I let myself be cared for, cooked for and taught.

Annie is pleased I am trying to learn Indonesian. The woman who rents the house out has never tried. From my numbers, she teaches me to say: “It’s only been one day”. Hanya satu hare.

This first day, filled with so much. I can wonder what day two (Dua hare) will bring. Hanya satu hare.