Road Trip

Our Security Guard poses for a picture at the rest stop halfway between Rumbai and Duri
Yo-Yo the Bowler

This weekend the teachers (and teacher families) from Rumbai hopped on a greyhound style bus and saddled up for our three hour ride to Duri. Some of you may be asking "why?". Well for you in the back; I am glad you asked. We went for our first of two teacher inservice days with our sister school. Rumbai and Duri are kind of like two schools in the same school district.

The two schools are located about 50 km apart. Three hours to travel 50 km seems like a long time. Well you would be right if you were traveling somewhere other than a third world country. Our three hour tour felt a little like Gilligan's trip. So many things to tell.

When we got on the bus at school we were greeted by a kid that looked about 17 in a military uniform carrying an Automatic Rifle. When I asked what he was doing here I was told that he would literally be riding "shotgun." He was our security. I was unaware we were going to need it. Luckily we didn't.

Once we were all settled we started off. We have several members of our staff and their families that get car sick. If you get motion sickness this trip might not be for you. There are several factors working against you.

1. Hairpin turns and the snake like layout of Sumatran roads. There seems to be not one stretch of road here that goes straight for more than 500 meters.

2. If you are used to two lane (or larger) roads with shoulders on both sides stick to North America. The average road here is about 1 3/4 lanes. The other quaint characteristic is that there are no lane lines painted on the road.

3. Road Maintenance: There isn't any. Pot holes, washouts, and ruts, oh, my!

4. Traffic: This was quite possibly the scariest amusement park ride I have ever been on. What? It wasn't the Indiana Jones ride? Wow! Being aboard a charter bus passing a logging truck around a blind corner with oncoming traffic trying the same crazy maneuver 47 times during the course of your trip can wear on you. There were times we would all look at each other as if to say, "that was close." After a while we quit watching the road. Our blood pressure thanked us.

Once we got to Duri the teacher's without children were dropped off at their hotel and the rest of us were taken to our guest houses. The Duri camp is about 3-4 times the size of Rumbai. We drove about 10 minutes away from the school to the outskirts of the camp to our houses. We get to our house and walk in. It was a very small three bedroom house which seemed just fine for a two night stay. After about 30 minutes to settle in we were all taken to the swimming pool for a BBQ with all of the Duri teachers and their families. It was great. The food was good and for new people like Kathi and I we were able to meet the Duri teachers who were all awesome.

After the party we headed back to our house for some shut eye. Once there Kade started the water in the walk in shower for a quick rinse off of the pool water. The drain did not work for some reason. We were unaware of this for some time because when we walked in to get Brooklyn in we were greeted by a flooded bathroom. The biggest problem in this is that they only gave us 3 towels and it wasn't like it was a hotel and we could call down for some more.

They did not have a queen bed for Kathi and I, but a slightly larger than twin mattress. This was going to be tricky. When we pulled back the sheets we were greeted by several spiders and a nice colony of ants. Now living in the tropics you expect ants and spiders all over; even in your house, but one place you don't want them is your bed! This house was beginning to seem a bit underwhelming.

The final nail in the coffin came when in the morning after Kathi and I got about 2 hours of sleep apiece between dodging bugs and each other's elbows in the twin bed. I walk in to Kade's room to wake him up and there is a horrible moldy smell in his room. My first thought is to try and recall just what Kade ate at that BBQ when I hear water dripping. I then look up at the wall mounted A/C and see that has a continual drip of stinky water coming from it that has been dripping all night and has been soaked up by the mattress and pillow just underneath it. I then think to myself that this couldn't have been good for the kid who is allergic to mold. Kade is a trooper and got up and out of there pretty quick.

Those of you who know Kathi well, know that she views camping about like most people view Swine Flu. She will try avoiding it at all costs. If the bed bugs didn't seal the deal this finally did. We talked to the Principal of Duri and he made some magic and got us into a guest house much closer to the school and in much, much better shape. Even a queen bed! Thanks Jeff!

On Saturday all of the teachers were in meetings from 8:00-3:30. This meant that the kids needed to be taken care of. The Duri teachers arranged Ibu's to take care of the kids. 3 years old to 1st grade were at one house. 2nd grade to 4th grade in another and 5th-8th in another. So the Getzinger crew was split 3 ways. Brooklyn did well but was definitely worn out by the end of the day. Kade was in hog heaven being able to play with the older boys and basically spent all day outside. Sydney was excited but got a little nervous when the girls were scheduled to go to the local paintball field to get a few games in. She was actually very nervous about how the paint ball might hurt even though Kathi and I were pushing hard for her to try it. When we saw her at the end of the day she was all smiles showing off her war wounds where she had been hit by the paintballs. I asked her if she hit anybody? Her response, "I think so but I really didn't move around too much. I hid behind stuff and prayed!"

After the meetings the Duri teachers booked the bowling alley for all of the families. They all brought pizza and beverages and the kids and parents bowled the night away. After that we all headed back to our beds for a good (finally) night's sleep.

We hopped back on the bus at 9:00 am on Sunday and made the 3 hour tour back. This time we all tried not to watch the road just the jungle around us. We had a very full weekend and are hoping that we have a good week. We hope you do too!