• rice fields, music, food, and Minangkabau culture

I visited Solok City in West Sumatra during the Rang Solok Baralek Gadang festival from September 11 to September 13, 2025.

I walked through the large green rice fields of Hamparan Sawah Solok. Many Minangkabau people wore colorful traditional clothes. The women wore suntiang. These were large gold headpieces that looked like tall crowns. The men wore black taluk belanga shirts and special cloth around their waists.

I watched an important farming event called Bakawu. Local older people prayed together and shared food on banana leaves in the rice field. They thanked God for a good rice crop. People also made very large art figures from dry straw. The straw came from the rice fields after people picked the rice. I saw the figures in the fields, and they looked very interesting.

In the afternoon, I watched Silek Tuo, an old Minangkabau fighting art. Two fighters moved slowly before they fought. Their movements looked like a dance. Later, I sat with many local families and watched a Randai show. The actors stood in a large circle. They clapped their hands and hit their wide pants to make sounds. They also sang old local stories.

I tried some local Minangkabau food at the market. I ate spicy Rendang beef and hot Sate Padang with soft rice cakes. I also drank Teh Talua. It was sweet tea with egg yolk and fresh lime juice. The food was very tasty, and I enjoyed trying new local dishes.

I was very happy to see this local culture. More than ninety thousand local people and tourists came to the festival. People smiled and played traditional games together. They enjoyed the festival and their local culture. The festival was full of color. It was a great trip for me. I learned many new things about Indonesian culture and met new friends in Solok City. I wanted to stay longer because the people were very kind and friendly to visitors.

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How to form the past simple

We use the Past Simple for something that happened before now.

1. Regular verbs

For most verbs, add -ed.

• visit → visited
• walk → walked
• watch → watched
• play → played

Example:
I visited Solok.
I watched a Randai show.

2. Verbs ending in -e

Add -d.

• live → lived
• like → liked
• enjoy → enjoyed

3. Verbs ending in -y

If a verb ends in a consonant + y, change y to i and add -ed.

• try → tried
• study → studied

4. Irregular verbs – link

Some verbs do not use -ed. They have a different past form.

• see → saw
• eat → ate
• drink → drank
• wear → wore
• make → made
• meet → met

You need to learn these forms.

5. The verb be

be → was / were

• I/he/she/it → was
• you/we/they → were

Example:
I was happy.
They were friendly.

Important

The past form is the same for all people with most verbs:

• I visited
• you visited
• he visited
• we visited
• they visited

Only be changes: was / were.

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Verbs:

Infinitive	Past	A1 definition
visit	visited	to go to a place
be	was / were	to exist or to be in a place
walk	walked	to move on your feet
wear	wore	to have clothes on your body
look	looked	to use your eyes to see something
call	called	to give a name to something
pray	prayed	to speak to God
share	shared	to give some of something to other people
thank	thanked	to say that you are grateful
make	made	to create something
come	came	to move to a place
pick	picked	to take something from a plant
see	saw	to notice something with your eyes
watch	watched	to look at something for some time
move	moved	to change position
fight	fought	to use your body against another person
sit	sat	to be on a chair or the ground
stand	stood	to be on your feet
clap	clapped	to hit your hands together
hit	hit	to touch something hard with your hand
sing	sang	to make music with your voice
try	tried	to do or taste something for the first time
eat	ate	to put food in your mouth and swallow it
drink	drank	to take liquid into your mouth and swallow it
enjoy	enjoyed	to like something
learn	learned	to get new knowledge
meet	met	to see and talk to someone for the first time
want	wanted	to wish to have or do something
stay	stayed	to remain in a place
smile	smiled	to show happiness with your face
play	played	to do something for fun

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Vocabulary:

Word / phrase	A1 definition
an adventure	an exciting experience in a new place
traditional clothes	clothes that people wear as part of their culture
a headpiece	something that you wear on your head
a crown	a special hat worn by a king or queen
a waist	the middle part of your body, above your legs
an event	something special that happens at a particular time
a rice crop	rice that farmers grow in a field
an art figure	a large shape made as art
straw	dry plants left after farmers cut rice or other plants
fighting art	a traditional way of fighting using the body
a movement	a way of moving your body
an actor	a person who acts in a show or film
spicy	having a hot taste
egg yolk	the yellow part inside an egg
lime juice	liquid from a lime
to be tasty	to have a good taste

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Match the words with the definitions

Words

1. straw
2. visit
3. spicy
4. meet
5. a crown
6. watch
7. an event
8. eat
9. a waist
10. sing
11. a headpiece
12. enjoy
13. egg yolk
14. fight
15. traditional clothes
16. drink
17. a movement
18. make
19. tasty
20. an adventure

Definitions

A. to look at something for some time
B. the yellow part inside an egg
C. clothes that people wear as part of their culture
D. to go to a place
E. having a hot taste
F. to have a good taste
G. something special that happens at a particular time
H. to put food in your mouth and swallow it
I. to have fun doing something or to like something
J. a special hat worn by a king or queen
K. dry plants left after farmers cut rice or other plants
L. to see and talk to someone for the first time
M. a way of moving your body
N. to make something
O. an exciting experience in a new place
P. to make music with your voice
Q. to use your body against another person
R. to take liquid into your mouth and swallow it
S. something that you wear on your head
T. the middle part of your body, above your legs

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Answer key:
1-K, 2-D, 3-E, 4-L, 5-J, 6-A, 7-G,
8-H, 9-T, 10-P, 11-S, 12-I, 13-B, 14-Q, 15-C,
16-R, 17-M, 18-N, 19-F, 20-O
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Match the definitions with the words

Definitions

1. to exist or to be in a place
2. to give a name to something
3. to give some of something to other people
4. to create something
5. to move to a place
6. to notice something with your eyes
7. to change position
8. to be on a chair or the ground
9. to be on your feet
10. to hit your hands together
11. to touch something hard with your hand
12. to get new knowledge
13. to wish to have or do something
14. to remain in a place
15. to show happiness with your face
16. to do something for fun
17. rice that farmers grow in a field
18. a person who acts in a show or film
19. a traditional way of fighting using the body
20. liquid from a lime

Words

A. lime juice
B. smile
C. make
D. stand
E. rice crop
F. share
G. a fighting art
H. want
I. learn
J. call
K. hit
L. play
M. be
N. an actor
O. sit
P. stay
Q. move
R. clap
S. see
T. come

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Answer key:
1-M, 2-J, 3-F, 4-C, 5-T, 6-S, 7-Q, 8-O,
9-D, 10-R, 11-K, 12-I, 13-H, 14-P, 15-B,
16-L, 17-E, 18-N, 19-G, 20-A

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True or false

1. The festival took place in Solok City, West Sumatra.
2. The women wore small silver headpieces.
3. The festival took place from September 11 to September 13, 2025.
4. Bakawu is a modern music event.
5. People shared food on banana leaves in the rice field.
6. The straw figures were made from fresh rice.
7. Silek Tuo was an old Minangkabau fighting art.
8. The fighters moved very quickly before they fought.
9. The Randai actors stood in a large circle.
10. The actors did not sing any stories.
11. The writer ate spicy Rendang beef.
12. Teh Talua was sweet tea with egg yolk and fresh lime juice.
13. The writer did not enjoy trying local food.
14. More than ninety thousand people came to the festival.
15. The writer visited Solok City in East Java.
16. People played traditional games together.
17. The festival was without color.
18. The writer wanted to stay longer.
19. The local people were unfriendly to visitors.
20. The writer met new friends in Solok City.

___________________________

False: 2,4,6,8,10,13,15,17,19

___________________________

Correct version:

1. The festival took place in Solok City, West Sumatra.
2. The women wore small silver headpieces. True is: The women wore large gold headpieces.
3. The festival took place from September 11 to September 13, 2025.
4. Bakawu is a modern music event. True is: Bakawu is an important farming event.
5. People shared food on banana leaves in the rice field.
6. The straw figures were made from fresh rice. True is: The straw figures were made from dry straw.
7. Silek Tuo was an old Minangkabau fighting art.
8. The fighters moved very quickly before they fought. True is: The fighters moved slowly before they fought.
9. The Randai actors stood in a large circle.
10. The actors did not sing any stories. True is: The actors sang old local stories.
11. The writer ate spicy Rendang beef.
12. Teh Talua was sweet tea with egg yolk and fresh lime juice.
13. The writer did not enjoy trying local food. True is: The writer enjoyed trying new local dishes.
14. More than ninety thousand people came to the festival.
15. The writer visited Solok City in East Java. True is: The writer visited Solok City in West Sumatra.
16. People played traditional games together.
17. The festival was without color. True is: The festival was full of color.
18. The writer wanted to stay longer.
19. The local people were unfriendly to visitors. True is: The local people were very kind and friendly to visitors.
20. The writer met new friends in Solok City.

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Match the sentence halves

1. The writer visited Solok City
2. The women wore
3. People shared food
4. The straw figures came from
5. Silek Tuo was
6. The Randai actors stood
7. The writer ate
8. Teh Talua was
9. More than ninety thousand people
10. The writer wanted to stay

A. in a large circle.
B. longer because the people were kind.
C. spicy Rendang beef and Sate Padang.
D. large gold headpieces.
E. on banana leaves in the rice field.
F. came to the festival.
G. dry straw from the rice fields.
H. an old Minangkabau fighting art.
I. in West Sumatra.
J. sweet tea with egg yolk and lime juice.

__________________________

Answer key:
1-I, 2-D, 3-E, 4-G, 5-H, 6-A,
7-C, 8-J, 9-F, 10-B

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Choose the true statement

1.
A. The festival took place in Solok City, West Sumatra.
B. The festival took place in Bandung, West Java.

2.
A. The festival took place from September 15 to September 17, 2025.
B. The festival took place from September 11 to September 13, 2025.

3.
A. The women wore small silver hats.
B. The women wore large gold headpieces.

4.
A. The men wore black taluk belanga shirts.
B. The men wore white shirts and blue trousers.

5.
A. People shared food on large plates in a restaurant.
B. People shared food on banana leaves in the rice field.

6.
A. Bakawu was an important farming event.
B. Bakawu was a traditional dance show.

7.
A. The straw figures were made from dry straw.
B. The straw figures were made from fresh green grass.

8.
A. Silek Tuo was a new Indonesian sport.
B. Silek Tuo was an old Minangkabau fighting art.

9.
A. The Randai actors stood in a large circle.
B. The Randai actors sat in a small room.

10.
A. The writer ate spicy Rendang beef.
B. The writer ate sweet Rendang chicken.

11.
A. Teh Talua was hot coffee with milk.
B. Teh Talua was sweet tea with egg yolk and fresh lime juice.

12.
A. More than nine thousand people came to the festival.
B. More than ninety thousand people came to the festival.

13.
A. People played traditional games together.
B. People watched modern computer games together.

14.
A. The writer wanted to leave early because the people were unfriendly.
B. The writer wanted to stay longer because the people were very kind and friendly.

_____________________________

Answer key:
1-A, 2-B, 3-B, 4-A, 5-B, 6-A,
7-A, 8-B, 9-A, 10-A, 11-B,
12-B, 13-A, 14-B

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WH questions – answer in full sentences

1. Where did the writer visit?
2. When did the festival take place?
3. What did the women wear?
4. What did the men wear around their waists?
5. What did people do during Bakawu?
6. What were the large art figures made from?
7. What is Silek Tuo?
8. Where did the Randai actors stand?
9. What did the writer eat at the market?
10. What is Teh Talua?
11. How many people came to the festival?
12. Why did the writer want to stay longer?

___________________________

Correct answers:

1. Where did the writer visit? – The writer visited Solok City.
2. When did the festival take place? – The festival took place from September 11 to September 13, 2025.
3. What did the women wear? – The women wore large gold headpieces.
4. What did the men wear around their waists? – The men wore special cloth around their waists.
5. What did people do during Bakawu? – People prayed together and shared food on banana leaves.
6. What were the large art figures made from? – The large art figures were made from dry straw.
7. What is Silek Tuo? – Silek Tuo is an old Minangkabau fighting art.
8. Where did the Randai actors stand? – The Randai actors stood in a large circle.
9. What did the writer eat at the market? – The writer ate spicy Rendang beef and hot Sate Padang with soft rice cakes.
10. What is Teh Talua? – Teh Talua is sweet tea with egg yolk and fresh lime juice.
11. How many people came to the festival? – More than ninety thousand people came to the festival.
12. Why did the writer want to stay longer? – The writer wanted to stay longer because the people were very kind and friendly to visitors.

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Put the events in order

A. The writer watched a Randai show.
B. The writer tried local Minangkabau food at the market.
C. The writer visited Solok City during the festival.
D. The writer watched Silek Tuo.
E. The writer walked through the rice fields.
F. The writer saw large straw figures in the fields.
G. The writer drank Teh Talua.
H. The writer met new friends in Solok City.

________________________

Answer key: C, E, F, D, A, B, G, H

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Cause and result – match cause and result

1. People picked the rice. → ______
2. People wanted to thank God. → ______
3. The writer watched Silek Tuo. → ______
4. The Randai actors stood in a circle. → ______
5. The writer tried local food. → ______
6. The writer drank Teh Talua. → ______
7. More than 90,000 people came. → ______
8. The writer met local people. → ______

A. He learned about local culture.
B. They made large art figures from dry straw.
C. They came to enjoy the festival and local culture.
D. He tried a new local drink.
E. They prayed together and shared food.
F. He saw an old Minangkabau fighting art.
G. He enjoyed trying new local dishes.
H. They made a large circle for their show.

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Answer key:
1-B, 2-E, 3-F, 4-H, 5-G, 6-D, 7-C, 8-A

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Read each statement. Find a sentence or part of a sentence in the text that supports it.

1. The festival attracted a very large number of visitors.
   → ______
2. The women had unusual decorations on their heads.
   → ______
3. The farming ceremony included a religious activity.
   → ______
4. The artists used material from the rice harvest.
   → ______
5. The fighters used slow movements before the fight.
   → ______
6. The writer tasted more than one local dish.
   → ______
7. The traditional show included both movement and music.
   → ______
8. The writer felt positive about the people he met.
   → ______

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Answer key:

1. More than ninety thousand local people and tourists came to the festival.
2. These were large gold headpieces that looked like tall crowns.
3. Local older people prayed together and shared food on banana leaves in the rice field.
4. The straw came from the rice fields after people picked the rice.
5. Two fighters moved slowly before they fought.
6. I ate spicy Rendang beef and hot Sate Padang with soft rice cakes.
7. The actors clapped their hands and hit their wide pants to make sounds. They also sang old local stories.
8. The people were very kind and friendly to visitors.

####################

Match the questions and answers

Questions

1. Where did you visit during the festival?
2. When did the festival take place?
3. What did you see in the rice fields?
4. What did the women wear on their heads?
5. What happened during Bakawu?
6. What did the people thank God for?
7. How did the Silek Tuo fighters move?
8. What happened during the Randai show?
9. Which local dishes did you taste?
10. What ingredients were in Teh Talua?
11. How many people came to the festival?
12. Why did you want to stay longer?

Answers

A. The actors stood in a large circle, made sounds, and sang old local stories.

B. They were grateful to God for a good rice crop.

C. More than ninety thousand local people and tourists were there.

D. There were colorful traditional clothes and large straw figures in the rice fields.

E. Rendang beef and Sate Padang with soft rice cakes were my choices.

F. Their movements were slow before the fight.

G. It happened from September 11 to September 13, 2025.

H. The people were very kind and friendly to visitors.

I. They had large gold headpieces on their heads.

J. Solok City in West Sumatra was my destination.

K. Sweet tea, egg yolk, and fresh lime juice were its ingredients.

L. Older local people prayed together and shared food on banana leaves.

___________________________

Answer key:
1-J, 2-G, 3-D, 4-I, 5-L, 6-B, 7-F,
8-A, 9-E, 10-K, 11-C, 12-H
___________________________

Correct dialogue:

1. Where did you visit during the festival? – Solok City in West Sumatra was my destination.
2. When did the festival take place? – It happened from September 11 to September 13, 2025.
3. What did you see in the rice fields? – There were colorful traditional clothes and large straw figures in the rice fields.
4. What did the women wear on their heads? – They had large gold headpieces on their heads.
5. What happened during Bakawu? – Older local people prayed together and shared food on banana leaves.
6. What did the people thank God for? – They were grateful to God for a good rice crop.
7. How did the Silek Tuo fighters move? – Their movements were slow before the fight.
8. What happened during the Randai show? – The actors stood in a large circle, made sounds, and sang old local stories.
9. Which local dishes did you taste? – Rendang beef and Sate Padang with soft rice cakes were my choices.
10. What ingredients were in Teh Talua? – Sweet tea, egg yolk, and fresh lime juice were its ingredients.
11. How many people came to the festival? – More than ninety thousand local people and tourists were there.
12. Why did you want to stay longer? – The people were very kind and friendly to visitors.

#####################

I _____ (visit) Solok City in West Sumatra during the Rang Solok Baralek Gadang festival from September 11 to September 13, 2025. I _____ (see) many Minangkabau people wearing colorful traditional clothes. The women _____ (wear) large gold suntiang headpieces, and the men _____ (wear) black traditional shirts.

I _____ (watch) Bakawu, an important farming event. Older local people _____ (pray) together and _____ (share) food in the rice fields. I also _____ (see) large art figures made from dry rice straw.

In the afternoon, I _____ (watch) Silek Tuo, an old Minangkabau fighting art. Later, I _____ (watch) a Randai show with local families. The actors _____ (sing) old stories, _____ (clap) their hands, and _____ (move) in a large circle.

At the market, I _____ (try) Rendang beef, Sate Padang, and Teh Talua. I _____ (enjoy) the local food and the friendly people. More than ninety thousand people _____ (visit) the festival. It _____ (be) a colorful experience, and I _____ (learn) much about Minangkabau culture.

————————————

Correct version:

I visited Solok City in West Sumatra during the Rang Solok Baralek Gadang festival from September 11 to September 13, 2025. I saw many Minangkabau people wearing colorful traditional clothes. The women wore large gold suntiang headpieces, and the men wore black traditional shirts.

I watched Bakawu, an important farming event. Older local people prayed together and shared food in the rice fields. I also saw large art figures made from dry rice straw.

In the afternoon, I watched Silek Tuo, an old Minangkabau fighting art. Later, I watched a Randai show with local families. The actors sang old stories, clapped their hands, and moved in a large circle.

At the market, I tried Rendang beef, Sate Padang, and Teh Talua. I enjoyed the local food and the friendly people. More than ninety thousand people visited the festival. It was a colorful experience, and I learned much about Minangkabau culture.

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Remember how babies
learn a language:

Babies learn a language by listening.
They use their ears to hear sounds.
Their brain remembers these sounds.
Babies connect sounds with people and things.
They listen to their parents.
Then they copy the sounds they hear. They imitate words.
Slowly, babies learn to speak.

So,
LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN………………

SMFrockZ@gmx.at