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| Nothing is better than a home-cooked meal! Thank you Zulfah and family. |
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| Inside Tjong A Fie's Mansion, Central Medan. |
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| In the courtyard - gives you a sense of the size of things and the ornate decoration. I do love central courtyards! |
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| The ceilings have wonderful paintings on them of birds, flowers, and other wildlife. Each painting was completed using organic materials (paints made from plant leaves and flowers), according to our English-speaking guide. |
I am so lucky to have been placed with the most generous, fun, outgoing host-teacher: Ms. Siti Zulfah Sulaiman. She is absolutely wonderful and has been so thoughtful in every way since we met. It was very nice to be picked up by not only her, but by her husband, brother-in-law, two daughters, son, and nephew. It's a family-affair with Zulfah - not only does her own family come and go easily and constantly from her very comfortable and beautiful home, but everyone at school (students and teachers alike) clearly relies on her and sees her as their mother or sister as well. Her "mothering" of me began with the gift each mother I know and love provides as well: food! What a feast I enjoyed on Sunday night!!! Oh my...having been sick for a few days I had been off spices and variety and really hadn't enjoyed food as I properly and normally do...but all of that ended when I met Zulfah. She started me off with a very special food, a treat usually cooked during Ramadan and used to break the fast each day: bubur payahit or bubur pahit (I'm not sure). It's a sort of stew made of rice, beans (lentils?), potatoes, carrots, and very special spices which Zulfah has to get from a colleague at work as they are so rare. It is similar to dal bhat, but richer and even more flavorful. Delicious! Enak sukali! We also ate beef rendang (my favorite!), fresh coconut milk rice (yum!), a tempeh, dried fish, and peanut sambal, and some vegetable soup...with fresh papaya to finish. It was truly a royal feast and was so greatly appreciated and enjoyed!! And all this after a visit to Tjong A Fie's mansion - the home of Medan's own "Horatio Alger" - a Chinese merchant who worked his way up to become one of the most powerful and wealthy people in Medan at the turn of the 19th century. Zulfah is a supreme hostess - doing everything to make sure I am happy and comfortable...and putting up with my incessant questioning with good humor.
