Yesterday afternoon, the fellas from the banjar came by my door. The banjar is the name for the neighborhood association that collects monthly fees (though I'm not sure what the fee is for) and generally keeps an eye out for whatever. It is the banjar members that patrol at night and knock on the gateposts by the hour--clang! Jam satu (one o'clock). Clang, clang, clang, jam tiga. And so on. One gets used to it, such that he usually doesn't even wake up any more.
But on this visit, the banjar fellas weren't collecting the monthly fee. They were selling coupons, 10,000 Rupiah apiece, for a drawing later on where one might win a prize (or hadiah, present, as they called it).
Having some trouble in explaining to me what they were about, one of the fellas asked, "Do you speak English."
"Yes, of course," I said.
Immediately upon hearing my answer, the man's mouth fell open, a blankness clouding his face. It seemed that he had realized in that moment that though I may speak English, he did not.
Well, no worries. We conducted our business in Indonesian and I bought two hadiah tickets, hoping to win first prize, a car.
"Just park it here in the driveway," I said.
"One more coupon," they suggested. "The more you buy coupon, the more you win car."
But on this visit, the banjar fellas weren't collecting the monthly fee. They were selling coupons, 10,000 Rupiah apiece, for a drawing later on where one might win a prize (or hadiah, present, as they called it).
Having some trouble in explaining to me what they were about, one of the fellas asked, "Do you speak English."
"Yes, of course," I said.
Immediately upon hearing my answer, the man's mouth fell open, a blankness clouding his face. It seemed that he had realized in that moment that though I may speak English, he did not.
Well, no worries. We conducted our business in Indonesian and I bought two hadiah tickets, hoping to win first prize, a car.
"Just park it here in the driveway," I said.
"One more coupon," they suggested. "The more you buy coupon, the more you win car."
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