22.9.08

Home is where the rice is

Ah, Monterey at last. A taxi ride, two long-haul flights, and a shuttle journey were what it took to get to this city on the northern side of the Monterey Peninsula. As soon as I set my feet upon terra firma, I was without ado whisked away to my new dwelling: a two-bedroom apartment near Downtown Monterey.

I crash-landed on my bed as soon as I saw it, and passed out for Heaven knows how long. I lost my sense of time, and had a headache of a mother when I woke up. My flight from Jakarta was not the longest flight I had ever taken, but somehow it was the most tiring.

My new apartment mate advised me to fight the grogginess by going out to enjoy the sun. I obliged and strolled around the neighborhood, taking in the local scene and getting my bearing. The native were sure to welcome the newest member of the community, as an overeager pigeon unloaded its dump on my shaven head. Talking about Californian charm!

At first glance, Monterey was a small city with warm weather and pleasant ambiance. Due to the number of educational institutions in the city, there were many young students hovering around. Despite the size, it boasted itself as "The Language Capital of the World”, a statement that I’d be sure to verify during my sojourn here.

As my headache receded, my stomach growled and I realized that I had not eaten properly for hours. I went to do my grocery shopping and – being a compulsive shopper as always – ended up buying ingredients I didn’t really know how to concoct. Cooking was never really my talent, and I always managed to stay out of the kitchen.

Fortunately, people back at home had already foreseen this and had thus packed a box of truly Indonesian delight in my suitcase:


Now, it strongly occurred to me that there were one or two vital ingredients lacking on the box. I rummaged through the kitchen set of my apartment and voila! It’s Christmas on September:


A majestic, heaven-sent rice cooker! Hook it up with a sack of good old rice from the local grocery, and there you have it: the true and staple meaning of self-sustainment – Indonesian style! It felt like home already.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

random reason why rice cookers are awesome: it can also bake bread!!

RRR said...

It can? How? :-O