Raining again today. A lot of rain here, lately. Once again, only got out of the house briefly. Went to a book store in Sanur that I had all but forgotten about, picked out a book in Indonesian by Ernest Hemingway, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, then got stuck in a coffee place while I waited for the rain to stop. Which it didn't.
Interesting to read Hemingway in Indonesian. Here's a writer who was very picky about choosing just the right words, and so one wonders how well the overall intent of these short stories is coming across. Read the first one, anyway (The Short Happy Life), which I remembered piece by piece as I read it. I suppose this is a bit of a cheat, in a way - to try to study reading in Indonesian when you already know the gist of what is going to be said. But, then again, it's helpful in another way, as it makes the reading go more smoothly when you are anticipating the narrative through memory.
In any case, it's nice to be reading again. I've missed it. There is not a great choice of books in English here, and, in any case, they are sold pretty much only at PeriPlus and are quite expensive. On the other hand, books in Indonesian are cheap in comparison and you have a much wider selection.
Headed for Ubud tomorrow, as I understand it from the wife, where we will have lunch and "nongkrong" (hang out) with friends. I'm down for it. Something different to do on a Saturday -- which will probably be a rainy one at that.
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