AMERIKA EN CANADA - ZOMERREIZEN
Reisbureau Holwerda R.V.
Surabaya - long ago and far away
Wij verzorgen bovendien:
When I first saw Surabaya the circumstances were not very auspicious. In De
cember 1945 I was transferred from Batavia, where as a N.I.C.A. officer I had
been doing all sorts of odd jobs, distributing kettles of sayur to various camps
and, on one memorable occasion, assisting a fellow-officer who had been selec
ted for the job because he was an electrical engineer, to put light bulbs in
the chandeliers of the Governor General's palace. My job was to hold the ladder,
and while he was up there, screwing diligently, some one took a pot shot at him!
which fortunately missed. He slid down the ladder, shook his fist and shouted:
Damn it, a man can t even put in a bulb in this blasted country without getting
shot at!"
How can zo'n verhaal in het Engels in
Moesson? Even lui, even uitleggen ja.
Deze bijdrage van de heer Lettinga hoor
de eigenlijk in het Soerabaja-nummer,
maar moest wegens gebrek aan plaats
ruimte worden aangehouden (als zoveel
andere kopij). Lettinga is leraar Engels
op de Ketabang-HBS geweest, wie ken
de hem niet na de oorlog? Ook van de
radio om zijn film- en muziekpraatje op
de radio. We laten hem hier aan het
woord in de taal die hij de na-oorlogse
Soerabajaanse jeugd heeft onderwezen.
Leuk voor de kinderen en kleinkinderen
in Amerika!
I had also taught at the Kramat Camp
school, and was then sent to Surabaya
to assist Mr. Dobbenga, the Head of
the Education Department there, in
starting secondary education again.
Night was falling when we arrived at
Udjong Airfield, and it was an eerie
experience to drive through a ghost
town in the dusk. The city had been
evacuated after the murder of the Bri
tish general Mallaby and, apart from
the Ghurka troops, there was only a
small group of officers and Dutch of
ficials, all quartered in the Oranje Ho
tel. The streets were deserted, all the
shops were shut except for one Chi
nese ice cream parlour on Tundjungan,
Hoenkwee Huis, opposite Kolff's book
shop which was then the centre of my
activities as 'Chief Book Department'.
They possessed a grammophone and
one record, which they played conti
nuously, and so the strains of "Rose,
Rose, I love you" are indelibly stam
ped on my mind forever.
Gradually, order was restored and un
der the dynamic leadership of Gene
ral Mansergh reconstruction began.
Most of the Ghurkas left, people came
back from the camps and their chil
dren had to have schools. Electric
trams were running again as were the
trains, the shops and passars were
crowded, and people moved from ho
tels into houses. Our H.B.S. left the
temporary Praban quarters and was
established in its proper building. I got
an old "Indisch" house in the Gubeng
quarter, Celebesstraat 71. In those
days furniture was no problem, for you
could get that from the A.M.A.C.A.B.
stores; but keeping it was, for if the
former owner returned and located it,
he could claim itand so goodbye
to two bookcases and the piano!
In spite of such small contretemps it
was one of the happiest periods of my
life, for things were improving day by
day and we were all pulling together,
experiencing the joy of doing a worth
while job.
In 1952 I was transferred to Semarang
and after that to Batavia (or rather
Jakarta). But, as the song has it, I
left my heart in Surabaya. As a native
of that most dynamic seaport Rotter
dam I felt at home in its Indonesian
counterpart, where the dynamism was
gently tempered by the climate and
the more philosophical outlook of the
inhabitants. I have now been back in
this chilly country for more than twenty
years, but almost every night I dream
of being back in a hotel in Surabaya:
and if I were granted a last wish, it
would be to turn the clock back to
1948.
I would travel home to Indonesia by
WILLEM R.UYS or ORANJE in the
genial company of all those dear
friends and gentle people I used to
know. I would arrive in Surabaya by
K.P.M. steamer and take a betjak to
the Hotel Brantas, where I used to
stay. I would have iced coffee at Hel-
lendoorn's and later a Chinese dinner
downtown. Then for a film to the Rex
cinema, as I used to do professionally
then, and from there on to the Club.
I would dance once more on the 'Eitje',
and tell my partner about the time
when on the dance floor a gentleman
stepped on his partner's long skirt,
which came off and revealed to all the
world that for reasons of her own, she
wore nothing underneath. Poor wo
man: we did not see her at the Club
for months!
And finally I would go back to the
old house and sit on the 'platje' in a
krossi malas with a cool drink, and
listen to the night sounds: the chirping
of the crickets, the mournful cries of
the bullfrogs, the whisper of the wind
in the tjemaras; and in the distance
the call of the sate vendor: "K...i...ip!
Kip sonder k. ,o...p!
It would be such a blessed way to end
my days on earth.
F. LETTINGA
Amsterdam - New York v.v.
Amsterdam - Miami v.v.
Amsterdam - Los Angeles v.v.
Amsterdam - Chicago v.v.
Amsterdam - Houston v.v.
v.a. f 985,Amsterdam - Detroit v.vv.a. 933,
v.a. 1238,Amsterdam - Toronto v.v. v.a. 933,
v.a. f 1515,Amsterdam - Calgary v.v. v.a. f 1193,
v.a. f 1225,Amsterdam - Vancouver v.v. v.a. 1295,
v.a. f 1549,Andere bestemmingen op aanvraag.
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