bensin

usually i loathe going to buy gas. all gas stations in indonesia are full service. all you have to do is pull your bike up, pop open the seat (because the tank is under it), take off the cap, tell them how much you want, and they fill you up. unfortunately, the pump attendants always seem to be young men of the leering type. and buying gas turns into the inquisition. i almost always get asked questions like why are you here? where are you from? how old are you? are you single? how long have you lived here? how long are you planning to live here? do you speak indonesian? (even though the entire interrogation up to this point has, in fact, been conducted in indonesian) sometimes they sprinkle a few other comments, just to spice things up. one of the best things i've heard to date was the guy from the next pump over from me who made it VERY clear that his dream is to have a baby with a white woman. um... good luck?

the other gas buying option is to purchase it from any number of people along the street. it seems that every 100 m or so there is someone selling it out of a stand in their front yard. kind of like a lemonade stand. they go buy it from the gas station, put it in 1 liter glass bottles, jack the price up a nickel, and they're good to go. in light of the information presented in the paragraph above, i often opt to buy my gas from the sweet old lady down the street. i'm pretty sure she mixes some water in with her gas, but she doesn't come on to me, so it's still the more convenient option.

yesterday i was on my way out the gate when the guard asked where i was going (normal conversation). i happened to look down at my gas guage and quickly declared, "to buy gas!" i was BELOW the red zone, beneath E. so i headed to the old lady on the corner. and just my luck, she was closed. so with a resigned sigh and a roll of the eyes in anticipation of what was inevitably to come, i headed to the gas station.

i pulled up in line behind 3 other bikes. but as i did so, a smallish javanese man poked his head around from behind the pump and waved me over. politely, i went. and there were no bikes waiting on his side! (rare) so i happily pushed my bike up to the pump. the man smiled at me, missing a few teeth here and there. he was about 30, btw. i braced myself, smiled back, and knocked the kickstand down with my foot. our conversation went a little something like this:

him: halo! (*toothless grin*)
me: halo...
him: berapa? (how much do you want)
me: oh, sebentar... (just a sec.... *i rummage around in my pocket to see exactly how much i have wadded up in the bottom*)
him: oke. permisi... saya buka. (excuse me, i'll open it. *he gently tugs my keys out of my hand and unlocks and opens the seat for me!)
me: uhhh... ada tigabelas. (i've got 13. *meaning, give me rp13,000 worth. about 3 liters. enough to fill my bike.)
him: oke! kalo bahasa inggris gimana? tigabelas ribu. (how do you say that in english? thirteen thousand.)
me: thirteen thousand.
him: dirteen tousan.
me: betul! (right. *thumbs up*)
him: bisa bahasa jawa? (can you speak javanese?)
me: durung (not yet (in javanese). *much more polite than flat out saying NO*)
him: *big laugh over me using javanese to say i don't speak javanese* pintar! (smart!)
me: haha... makasih. (thanks)
him: kalo mau beli bensin, tumbas. (if you want to buy gas, tombas.)
me: tumbas?
him: ya! pintar sekali! (yes. so smart!)
me: uhh... tumbas. itu bahasa jowo, ya? (that's javanese, right?)
him: iya! (yeah)

by this time, he had finished filling my tank and someone had pulled up and was waiting behind me. so i thanked him, got my keys back, and pushed my bike forward to screw the cap back on and start the bike up. we said our goodbyes and i headed out.

that guy made my day. he was all smiles. he wasn't leering at me. he didn't interrogate me. he didn't try to come on to me. he let me teach him something. and he taught me something in return! now the only question is: what did he teach me, exactly? what does tumbas mean? it has to do with buying gas... but it's not the word for gas. gas in javanese is bensin, same as in indonesian. hmm... i have a new mystery...