On October 8, ETA Alex Bue went on a road trip with the students and teachers of SMAN 11 to Payakumbuh, famous for its cow farms, and Bukitinggi, famous for its heirloom Dutch clock tower. The two buses departed from Padang at 6:30 am on the five-hour drive through rice fields into the allegedly cool highlands of West Sumatera. On the way, they stopped several times for several kinds of noodles and picked up at least two different traveling bards, who for 15 minutes and some small change played their guitars and summoned up Indonesia’s collective fervor for karaoke. Fifty students and teachers sang greatest hits in their national and provincial languages, in what might be considered an example of the complicated ties that bind together this sprawling archipelago.

About six hours later the buses dipped into a huge green ravine and then stopped. Apart from the several mosques, the nearby durian dealers, the cloud-reflecting pools of water, the scene reminded Alex of America’s Grand Canyon. It’s not often one find himself in the middle of a prehistorically huge scar on the skin of the Earth. But aesthetic similarities aside, it is probable the canyon was reminiscent of home because Alex had found home again with the students of SMAN 11.

Alex Bue is currently teaching at SMAN 11 Padang, West Sumatra