last night, we had solafide, which is an english language fellowship right near the christian college in town. i was helping lead worship, so i had to be there early to run through some of the songs. i got a ride with one of the other guitarists, melissa... it was pretty cloudy when we left, and her neighbor warned us that it might "hujan" (rain). we decided to try to beat it. she grabbed her rain poncho just in case. sure enough, soon after we left, it started sprinkling, and it steadily got faster and harder. we came to the first stoplight (about halfway there), and melissa threw on her poncho. i, unfortunately was on the back of her bike trying to hold two guitars - which were catching wind terribly - while attempting to stay balanced and actually on the bike. the light turned green, and the rain, which had obviously been watching the light too, let loose.
so now we were on one of the main roads in salatiga in pouring rain with buses and trucks flying by. i was soaked clear through everything in less than 10 seconds. we made it safely to sf.... but as i walked in, i felt like a little kid who jumped out of a swimming pool and ran into the house without bothering to dry off first. everywhere i went, a puddle was forming beneath me. the only dry part of me was my head, thanks to my clearly multitalented helmet. hoho got a towel for us, but our first concern was getting the guitars dry. melissa had gotten somewhat wet, but thanks to her poncho, she was nowhere near as wet as i. i went outside to wring my shirt out and tried to swick some of the water out of my jeans. it didn't do much.
so we had solafide. we led worship, and i forgot i was wet for most of that time. but when the speaker began to share with us and i set my guitar down and was no longer moving, but sitting still right inside the open door in the night air, i began to shiver uncontrollably. like that shivering that starts in your abs and makes your whole body shake. i don't think anybody noticed, especially since our australian friend who was sharing was 100% engaging and hilarious.
afterward, i was still pretty soaked, but my hunger overrided my uncomfortable-ness, and a bunch of us went out to eat. we had to ride through more rain to get there. and it was still raining when we finished. and believe it or not, when it rains at night here, it gets quite chilly. and plus, i'm acclimatized (aka: i'm a wimp when it dips below 75).
so pretty much as soon as we finished eating, rather than sticking around to hang out, melissa and i decided to head home to hot showers and warm beds. we didn't really take into account how miserable the ride home would be. we were both in wet t-shirts with no jackets riding in the open air. by the time we got home, i had been shivering so badly that the back of my neck was all knotted up and my abs were sore. i peeled off my wet clothes and sat in the shower for about 30 minutes. thank God for little things like hot water.
i laid out my things to dry, but when i woke up this morning, my jeans and my guitar case were still quite wet.
i never thought i'd be that cold in indonesia.
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