CHAPTER 5 PERRY'S JOURNEY TO BANDUNG

Perry's trip to Bandung turned out not to be as smooth as expected. At that time the best transportation between Sumatra and Java was by ship, and even then only once every ten days or two weeks, sometimes even a month. So thorough preparation needs to be done well.

In his journey to Bandung, Perry got a traveling companion named Dewasa Siringo-ringo, a classmate who planned to go to Muntok, Bangka Island, to sell books during the holidays. Because they heard people say that shopping in Singapore can get cheap goods with good quality when the ship stops, they intended to get a passport so they can go ashore when the ship stops. At that time, every passenger who wanted to board the ship had to have a travel letter from the police or a passport. To buy ship tickets, they must be able to show their travel document or passport. Because the time gap between the day the passport was completed and the day it was collected was two days, Perry chose to go home first to his parents' house in Simangar-angar, Sumbul Pegagan, Sidikalang to say goodbye.

They arrived on the day to collect their passports at Immigration, which turned out to be very close to the departure time of their ship to Belawan. To make it easier, they plan to take their passports first thing in the morning then rush to the KPM (Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij)/Pelni office to buy tickets, and the ship will depart in the afternoon. Perry left in the early morning from Sumbul to Medan by bus, but suddenly there was a problem with his journey when the bus he was traveling in broke down in the Sibolangit area, Kabupated Karo. The bus crew was busy repairing it. But after the bus resumed the travel, it didn't take long before it broke down again, this happened several times.

Finally Perry arrived in Medan when it was past noon, the Immigration office was closed. He couldn't take his passport and of course he couldn't buy a ticket, because he didn't have a travel document. When he met with Dewasa Siringo-ringo, he found that his friend had taken his passport and bought a ship ticket at Belawan and was ready to leave that afternoon.

Instantly, Perry's mind was covered in chaos, so he was in confusion, and all his efforts seemed to be in vain, especially facing the fact that the next voyage was two, three weeks or even a month away. This means that he will be late for the probationary period at the Nursing School, Bandung Adventist Hospital. It briefly crossed his mind whether God had not given him a way to become a nursing student.

In the midst of this confusion, apparently the owner of the house where he and Dewasa Siringgo-Ringgo met heard him and tried to help provide a solution. The man suggested that the two of them go together to the port of Belawan, and when the passengers are invited to board the ship, they would both get on the ship. One would be a passenger, the other would be acting as seeing off the passenger. At that time, people seeing off passengers could still enter the ship. When the announcement tells such people to get off, do not get off, he said. If there is a ticket inspection, that's when Perru would buy a ticket even though the price will be much more expensive. That's common, he said. In the midst of the confusion he faced, Perry felt that was the only way to overcome this problem, even though he had to lie a little.

Finally he and Dewasa Siringo-ringo decided to go to Belawan that way. Not long after the ship departed, an announcement was heard for passengers to take their afternoon meal. All passengers bring their own tickets to take food from the kitchen. Without thinking, they took food for two people, when they had finished eating, it was announced that all passengers on deck were required to line up towards the door while showing their respective tickets, and at the door there was an officer standing. Then Perry told the officer honestly that he did not have a ticket. The officer without saying a word told him to stand next to him until the inspection process was complete.

After he was finished he was taken to the ship captain's office; In that room, Perry was confronted by the Captain and his staff, all of whom were Dutch. After being asked to sit down, the Captain said, "You got on the ship without a ticket, didn't you?", he honestly explained the reason why he had to go to Java to study in Bandung, and couldn't wait for the next cruise because next week the Nursing School will begin his probationary period.

Hearing the reasons he expressed, the Captain stopped and did not continue his conversation. Perry heard the captain speaking to one of his staff in Dutch which he could not understand. Then the person came out and came with a glass of milk and two pieces of white bread and invited him to eat the bread and drink the milk. The Captain then pointed to the badge pinned to Perry's chest and asked what it was. He explained to the Captain that the "North Sumatra Training School" badge was the badge of his former school in Pematangsiantar.

The Captain then asked again, "Don't you know that people who don't have tickets will be imprisoned on this ship and tomorrow will be handed over to the police at the port of Singapore and will be locked up there?" Then Perry answered that he didn't know. What he knows is that tickets can be purchased on board. Next, the captain of the ship ordered one of his staff to ask him for a ticket amounting to twice the usual price. What then happened was that Perry took all the money out of his pocket, he even turned his pocket cloth over to show that the money he had at that time was only Rp. 28;- which is not even enough to buy the normal price of Rp. 35,- .

Seeing this, the Captain became angry and accused him of lying. Because he had the intention of buying a ticket on land and because he knew that school fees were not cheap, it was impossible if Perry didn't have the money. Perry then explained that the school he was going to in Bandung did not require him to spend any money and his money was reduced because he had expenses while on the ship. After hearing the story, the Captain's anger subsided a little, then he gave Perry a ticket for meals while on the ship.

Finally the ship arrived at Muntok, Bangka Island, his friend Dewasa had to get off because he had reached his destination. Now he is alone, without any companions. Various things were racing through Perry's mind, he was thinking about what his fate would be like next. He does not have any certificate, apart from an invitation from the Nursing School, Bandung Adventist Hospital. How would he get to Bandung from Tanjung Priok? Then when he arrives in Jakarta, where should he go? A number of questions continued to arise and sink in his mind, like the foam of the waves on the sea he was sailing.

However, good luck this time came to him. At the end of his time on the ship, he suddenly found two young men picking at his suitcase. Suspicious of the two people's behavior, Perry shouted at them asking who they were and what they meant by the suitcase. Perry Siboro also explained that he didn't have anything so he didn't need to bother unpacking the suitcase.

However, it turned out that they were actually looking for an empty suitcase to entrust the items they brought. Then he said that this couldn't be done because he didn't have certainty that he would be in Tanjung Priok, he didn't have a certificate, and there was no one to pick him up in Tanjung Priok. Unexpectedly, they said it wasn't a problem. Apart from that, they also asked Perry's purpose in coming to Jakarta. They said that Perry's entire trip would not be a problem when he arrived in Jakarta. The condition was that he agreed to lend space in his suitcase for some sandals. They even said they would arrange a trip to Bandung. They also offered that if he could wait, they could go together to Bandung in two or three days. Only later did Perry realize that they were apparently traders/smugglers between Singapore, Jakarta and Belawan.

Hearing their offer, and remembering that his situation in Jakarta was unclear, moreover, they offered to let Perry move with them to Class I on the ship even though it was at a risk that Perry himself could not imagine, in the end he agreed to their offer. Even though he was a little worried, it turned out that when I got off at Tanjung Priok, all the processes went smoothly. They don't go through the procedures that ordinary passengers have to go through. Even on land there was a car waiting and taking him to the center of the city. At that time Perry really didn't know where they were taking him.

That night he was given a place to stay at an inn, after the suitcase he was using was returned. They also gave him three pairs of sandals, which he didn't really care about at that time because all he was thinking about at that time was how he could get through that night and continue his journey to Bandung safely.

Because he was still carrying the tension from the ship to land, Perry didn't sleep very soundly that night. His mind and heart were still uneasy thinking about what fate would bring him next. Are these all signs from God? That worry gradually disappeared, when the next day they came to the inn where he was staying and said to be ready to be taken to the Senen train station. They also bought him a ticket to Bandung and even gave him some money as payment for what he did yesterday. He continued his journey to Bandung by train. Arriving in Bandung City, he had no difficulty getting to the Adventist Hospital, using a pedicab from the station. At that time the Adventist Hospital was still located in the Taman Sari area, while now the Adventist Hospital has moved to Jalan Cihampelas.

As soon as he arrived at his destination, Perry reported to the school and he was then put into the school dormitory. Since then, after a long struggle from a village in Dairi Regency, North Sumatra, Perry has become a prospective student at the School of Nursing at the Bandung Adventist Hospital. Despite the various ups and downs and obstacles that came his way during his education, finally in 1960 he was able to finish school with distinction.