This morning when I woke I heard what sounded like heavy rain so thought I would stay in bed as long as Samudra would allow before it was time for his nanny to arrive. I gave him a bath and then opened the bedroom door as we were going to the table for me to give him some food. As soon as I took my first step out the door I slipped in what I assumed was some spilt water, until my other foot landed and made a big splash! I looked down to see that infact the whole dining area was flooded. I called out to Putra to wake up and then began the big group effort of clearing everything out and mopping up the floors. It wasn’t rain I had heard this morning but a pipe or something from the fish pond in the dining area had sprayed water everywhere and it had also run downstairs to the room below, thanks to the turtle knocking some tiles over.
I spent the day infront of my computer again with many interruptions from Samudra crying and needing cuddles, which I didn’t mind at all. I miss our daily adventures out on the streets and once I am more up to date with things we will be out there again exploring. I don’t want to miss a thing with him as this time is so precious that he is still so small and easily carried around.
I had been invited by Eric of www.thespacewanderer.com to go to see the film premiere of the documentary ‘Jalanan’ at Epicentrum tonight and so we asked Kakek, Nenek and Ras (our nanny) to come to the mall so they could look after Samudra while Putra and I were at the cinema with Eric. I didn’t really know much about this film beforehand, only that it was about some street performers and had won some awards and I had been looking forward to seeing it. It was filmed over a period of 6 years so I can really appreciate how much work has gone into it after watching Putra making documentaries, and I can say that all the hard work was definately worth it. It followed the lives of Boni, Titi and Ho all individually as they played their music busking around Jakarta and showed their daily lives and personal stories. This documentary made me laugh at the characters pure honesty and humour and made me cry seeing how people must struggle living on the streets of Jakarta. I realised that I have been living in a bubble here for the past two years as I was sick in bed while pregnant and now it’s a bit too tricky to go exploring too far while Samudra is so young. I used to be more exposed to the streets outside of this area, but although I can see many people begging and the conditions of the kampungs close by, I guess I had forgotten just what life is like for so many people living it hard here. There are so many incredibly wealthy people here, and so many living below the poverty line, and whenever I am out walking the streets the people are very welcoming and quick to offer smiles, so it’s easy to overlook the actual struggles they must face on a daily basis in order to survive. This film showed the real lifestyles of people in Jakarta, their musical talent, and was heart wrenching and uplifting at the same time. I highly recommend watching it if you get the opportunity.
We didn’t have the chance to stay around for the media interviews and music following the film as we received a message to say Samudra was crying too much, so we ran off to find him and take him home again. What a great way to end the day.
I hope you had a beautiful day wherever in the world you are.
Day 70: A standing ovation for the characters and film maker Daniel Ziv.
Day 70: With Eric from www.thespacewanderer.com. Happiness.
Day 70: With Boni, one of Jalanan’s main characters. Happiness.
Day 70: With Boni’s daughter. Happiness.
Day 70: Boni, Asra, Ho and me. Happiness.
