Articles in Sumatra Part 01
Bales of Used Clothing
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
I have to concentrate really hard to think back to what happened yesterday. I’m not sure why. It could be because I’m very tired again. I’ve come down with some kind of cold or throat infection, and I had trouble sleeping. I’m pretty sure that I caught the cold from the woman that cut my hair. When I went into that salon …
Motorcycle English Club
Thursday, December 3, 2015
I’ve written a lot and thought a lot in recent days about cross-cultural communication problems, and yesterday was another perfect example of that. It involves the woman, Rismah, who had come to the hotel before to ask me to speak to her English class. I had heard nothing from Rismah since except a vague message on my phone about how she hoped …
A Shipbuilding Yard
Friday, December 4, 2015
It appears I may have opened the floodgates. I got a message from someone else on Facebook asking me if I would help them out with a school English project. They needed to interview a foreigner. I noticed that this person was friends with Rama, so they probably attend the same school. Rama told them about meeting me, and this person asked …
Tech Talk and More English Students
Saturday, December 5, 2015
I just hung up the phone after a 51-minute Skype chat with my brother back in Canada. Those calls are always interesting because I’m intensely aware of the vast difference between Canada and here. I wish I could convey what it was like standing on the balcony here in Sumatra while on the phone and describe everything that was going on around …
Markets and Lord of the Flies
Sunday, December 6, 2015
A powerful thunderstorm was raging when I woke up this morning and got out of bed. It will probably clear up in a while, but for now I’m inside and drinking coffee. I love the rain, so it’s no problem. And it means that there is a lot less traffic. My room is much quieter right now. I know that my nieghbors …
Does Budget Travel Skew Perceptions?
Monday, December 7, 2015
The rain did clear up yesterday, and I went for a short photowalk late in the afternoon. I went down a familiar market street through the fish district and then to the river. The streets were somewhat quiet. I assume that was because it was Sunday. The riverside, however, was very busy. There were more people there than I’ve ever seen, and …
A Fire and Wide-Angle Photography
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Another relatively quiet day yesterday. However, a couple of things happened. The biggest excitement occurred in the morning. I was sitting out on the balcony drinking a cup of coffee when I noticed a security guard at the bank across the street bending over something. I couldn’t see what it was he was doing, but suddenly there was a fairly loud noise …
Bracketing and AEL on My Olympus
Friday, December 11, 2015
Photography adventures continue more than anything else. I sat down with my camera and went over all the controls before I went out yesterday. I wanted to refresh my memory about all the things it can do and perhaps learn new things. To that end, I went online and read some articles with tips about how to use my particular camera better. …