There are 40 plus blokes on the block next door building a rock fence. From 7am until 6pm, it is a cacophony of hammer on rock. Chip, chip, bash, bash, chip, chip. The laughter and banter between them is insistent, however as they are speaking Delha, the local dialect, we don’t understand a word. Delha is a vowel driven language, with many words totally deplete of consonants. Any local under 70 years old is bi-lingual, using Bahasa Indonesia to talk to us, or to someone from another region. Unfortunately, their preference to speak Delha between themselves means we miss the immersion effect that accelerates learning a new language.
Dry stone walls are standard throughout the village, in part to define boundaries, but mainly to keep out the pigs and goats that roam freely. In reality, unless the wall is 6 foot high, the goats enjoy the challenge and jump straight over. The pigs have a harder time of it, and try to head butt through the gate.
Our front wall serves as a grandstand. Not only do spectators get to watch the construction, they get to watch me doing utterly normal things that are strangely captivating.
Dry stone walls are standard throughout the village, in part to define boundaries, but mainly to keep out the pigs and goats that roam freely. In reality, unless the wall is 6 foot high, the goats enjoy the challenge and jump straight over. The pigs have a harder time of it, and try to head butt through the gate.
Our front wall serves as a grandstand. Not only do spectators get to watch the construction, they get to watch me doing utterly normal things that are strangely captivating.
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thanks for taking the time