A Friday off. I had planned on working the day, got in a few hours and then headed out to some neighborhood festivities.
All of the houses fly their red and white flags. However, in Aceh, things here are more about the games than about the Independence. That has to do with the fact that, while there has been a peace deal, many of the people of Aceh still feel very little tie to Indonesia and are still hoping for independence. Anyways, the games were fun. When we arrived they were just wrapping up the last of the kids games - nail on a stick, swung at a water balloon by blindfolded kids. Probably not the safest game out there.
We then had a men's football (soccer) match played in sarongs. The real excitement of the game was that when the music started the men had to stop playing the game and dance instead. Fun indeed. Although, unfortunately not the best soccer players or dancer.
Next activity was a real highlight... Men climbing a well greased coc
onut tree trunk. The men climbed atop of each other in hopes of reaching the top of the pole - roughly 45 feet high. As you can see in the picture, they climbed onto each others shoulders one man at a time. The challenge is that the pole is covered in some mysterious thick black grease. It must have taken about 3o minutes for the first group to get someone to reach the top - they just kept sliding down the pole.
Upon reaching the top of the pole, the lucky fellow got to play with all of the goodies stored at the top. First prize - a 1 liter bottle of Sprite which he shook up and spayed all over the people below. He then pulled down the umbrellas and plastic balls. The guys kept trying to climb the second pole, but were never able to master it. So at the end of the night, they just tried to pull it down.
onut tree trunk. The men climbed atop of each other in hopes of reaching the top of the pole - roughly 45 feet high. As you can see in the picture, they climbed onto each others shoulders one man at a time. The challenge is that the pole is covered in some mysterious thick black grease. It must have taken about 3o minutes for the first group to get someone to reach the top - they just kept sliding down the pole.Upon reaching the top of the pole, the lucky fellow got to play with all of the goodies stored at the top. First prize - a 1 liter bottle of Sprite which he shook up and spayed all over the people below. He then pulled down the umbrellas and plastic balls. The guys kept trying to climb the second pole, but were never able to master it. So at the end of the night, they just tried to pull it down. So, it was a fun day out.
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