A Night On Guard Duty
by nigel on 16-Jun-2013
Just over a week ago a copy of the roster for Saturday night guard duty arrived and I was not on it.
Once a month the men of the houses on the estate meet and discuss estate business, pay for the communal facilities as well as do that most Indonesian of communal activities, eat.
The first I attended in full, where I was welcomed to the estate, I made a little speech in my best Indonesian "My name is Nigel, I am from New Zealand and I do not speak much Indonesian". Then I sat quietly and tried to recognise words.
The second I attended for an hour or so until it was past sleeping time and then apologised and left.
The third I missed the notice and failed to attend but it was at this meeting that the rostering of the men on guard duty was decided upon.
We became aware of this when the roster arrived with an explanation that in order to give the regular guards some time off each week that groups of 4 would do guard duty between 10pm and 4am on a Saturday night. I was not on the list.
A visit to the committee head later to indicate that we were part of the community and thus I wished to do my bit and I am added as a fifth member for the following weekend.
So Saturday I grabbed extra sleep during the day in order to help with the overnight shift and duly at 10pm I reported to the gatehouse where there is only the guard. Despite our lack of much common language I come away, as apparently duty starts at midnight.
Two hours later, after more sleeping, I return to the gate house where the guard and eight other residents are sitting on mats playing or watching a game of dominoes with the TV on in the corner (Spain vs Norway, under 21's competition).
Handshakes all round and I sit down with them.
A second game starts with me as one of the four players.
More than two hours pass in this way, my lack of Indonesian is only a minor impediment, and after a while I work out that the aim of the dominoes game as played here is not to get rid of your tiles but to prevent others from getting rid of theirs and the counters you receive at the beginning are to score this. Of course changing my strategy to accommodate this knowledge results in my losing more frequently.
A few more people arrive, some wander off and at one point we are thirteen people playing, chatting away and with most of the others smoking. The guard who I had understood was having time off is always there.
Eventually our game ends, I am told to go home and the guard gets up to do a round of the estate, unaccompanied by his stand-ins.
Once a month the men of the houses on the estate meet and discuss estate business, pay for the communal facilities as well as do that most Indonesian of communal activities, eat.
The first I attended in full, where I was welcomed to the estate, I made a little speech in my best Indonesian "My name is Nigel, I am from New Zealand and I do not speak much Indonesian". Then I sat quietly and tried to recognise words.
The second I attended for an hour or so until it was past sleeping time and then apologised and left.
The third I missed the notice and failed to attend but it was at this meeting that the rostering of the men on guard duty was decided upon.
We became aware of this when the roster arrived with an explanation that in order to give the regular guards some time off each week that groups of 4 would do guard duty between 10pm and 4am on a Saturday night. I was not on the list.
A visit to the committee head later to indicate that we were part of the community and thus I wished to do my bit and I am added as a fifth member for the following weekend.
So Saturday I grabbed extra sleep during the day in order to help with the overnight shift and duly at 10pm I reported to the gatehouse where there is only the guard. Despite our lack of much common language I come away, as apparently duty starts at midnight.
Two hours later, after more sleeping, I return to the gate house where the guard and eight other residents are sitting on mats playing or watching a game of dominoes with the TV on in the corner (Spain vs Norway, under 21's competition).
Handshakes all round and I sit down with them.
A second game starts with me as one of the four players.
More than two hours pass in this way, my lack of Indonesian is only a minor impediment, and after a while I work out that the aim of the dominoes game as played here is not to get rid of your tiles but to prevent others from getting rid of theirs and the counters you receive at the beginning are to score this. Of course changing my strategy to accommodate this knowledge results in my losing more frequently.
A few more people arrive, some wander off and at one point we are thirteen people playing, chatting away and with most of the others smoking. The guard who I had understood was having time off is always there.
Eventually our game ends, I am told to go home and the guard gets up to do a round of the estate, unaccompanied by his stand-ins.