run.

Around the alun-alun they have installed new public fitness furnitures in the colours of McDonalds – not dissimilar to the sticks at the end of Tullamarine freeways just a few minutes from my place in Melbourne. The colours made Krijn very happy because he has thought about putting Ronald McDonalds around the city.

After my usual half hour routine, I tried out using these fitness tools. After a while, I felt that my left fingers were sticking to the grip and I thought somewhere between madness and amazement, Gees, these things are new and people stuck chewing gum on it already?

I pulled my hand and looked at my fingers. I realized I’ve just got a souvenir. Later, from Dilan’s mother, who was coming earlier than usual to wait on her toys under one of the big trees (they’re selling them, not playing with them) because her husband was going to the bank, I learned that these things were freshly painted – they were painted yesterday.

Some of the women I met were regulars – they would go to alun-alun to do their morning walk every morning. I saw someone with 3 dogs – a small black one, a big patchy brown one, and a medium brown one. One of them was named Timo – I think the medium brown one. They live very close to the alun-alun.

When we went back, Rodney was there and he asked me whether we were the only Westerners there. It was quite an interesting moment as I was trying to discern whether I was a Westerner. That reminded me to the moment a bum in Boston called me, derogatorily or so it was supposed to be, and Indian.

Some of the ladies in the alun-alun said they thought I was Japanese. So boring (but well, just wait until they hear my name). Not Dilan’s mother, though. She was bringing Dilan around to try out the fitness tools. She just took it for granted that I speak Indonesian extremely fluently despite my looks, and immediately started discussing about living costs and the expensive school fees with me.

It was interesting that I couldn’t make out what her accent sounded like. She was originally from Cianjur, and her husband was from Jogja. They have lived for a few years in Makassar until the tsunami hit Aceh and people were starting to be afraid that it will hit Sulawesi (where Makassar is) as well. So they decided to move back to Jogja, right before the earthquake hit Jogja. Their house, however, because it is in the North, wasn’t affected at all.

Dilan was 5. He looked taller than an average 5 y.o. but he couldn’t speak his name clearly yet, his mom said.

A bike passed by – it was painted with those quite brand-ish colours resembling the fitness tools – and Ron McD. I thought the owner might have been one of the people hired to paint the fitness tools.