“This is heaven”, said the priest, who took us up to the mountain. I look at him in disbelieve when he points to a direction. THere, through the thin mist, lies the town of Maumere. The roof of the houses look small from this far, making us feel like God. Beyond that is the void, the vast Hindi Ocean. Now I’m wondering, if heaven has this beautiful scenery
If heaven is identified solely based on number of Church, then Flores is definitely one. “There are more Church & monastery here than schools”, said Romo Paskal. We were driving with him in his old trusted white Kijang. Romo Paskal is the head priest of Carmelite Monastery, who was hosting us during our stay in Flores.
“The live here is not beautiful, however”, he said as we nearing Maumere. The small roof that we saw up high in the mountain turns into simple houses. “Most people are farmers who depends a lot to the nature”, he continues. ”How is the crop this year?”, I asked. “Unfortunately, nature hasn’t been so nice to us in a couple of year.” A bitter smile is clearly visible on his lip. “We had a food shortage few months ago. People just can’t afford to buy food when their crops failed”
We arrived at house of Pak Petrus, the headmaster of local community school. He and Romo Paskal set up a pre- school for the village around the Monastery, do the children can have basic education for their future. Without the pre-school, it would be impossible to continue to higher education. Pak Petrus has prepared a warm welcome for us: A cup of famous Flores Coffee perfectly complemented with a plate of fried banana.
Pak Petrus told us a lot about the school, about the kids, and about the teacher. “We are volunteer teacher here. We were not paid, but we do it for the future of the children. They are our future.” As the headmaster, he also had to run errands, taking care of the papers, while ensuring that everything running well. But we only see smile on his face, no tired look, no pity. As is he is doing it for a greater purpose.
We left Pak Petrus’ house with a renewed soul, renewed spirit which urge us to do something to realize the heaven on earth which we saw from up high in the mountain this morning
A trip on December 2006, written for Travel Writing Class, Ubud Writer Festival 2008. To help the school, visit http://ribbon-oflove.blogspot.com. Other photo is available at http://www.pbase.com/bennyc/in_flores_indonesia
Tags: blogsherpa, Flores, indonesia, maumere, nusa-tenggara
ly relevant for Indonesian Citizen applying for passport. Therefore, I decided to share in Bahasa. Those who need English translation are welcome to use Google Translator
