Before I packed up my life and boarded the (four) planes to Indonesia, two family members jokingly told me, “I give it [my time in Indonesia] eight months”. Well, today officially marks the eighth month of service in Indonesia, and I’m glad to say I’m still here! It’s been a roller coaster ride. There’s highs and lows, always, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Not trying to sound cliche, but I have learned more about the world, about the United States, and about myself in the last eight months than I had in the prior 23 years of life at home. I’ve been faced with humility and have become so much more aware of my economic and racial privilege. I’ve seen poverty, I’ve seen community, and I’ve been immersed in a religion that I knew almost nothing about. Folks from home tend to comment about how I look different in photos here. My hair is darker and hasn’t seen a hair straightener in months, and my face seems a little thinner. Despite people’s good intentions, their positive comments usually are about how I look different. Not many people have asked me if I feel different, though, which I’ve noticed a much bigger change. Anyway, enough of this gooey sh…show of emotion. In honor of eight months of Peace Corps, here’s eight things I did in May:
1. Said goodbye to ID11's
This month was the end of service for the prior cohort, ID11, and everyone packed their belongings, headed to Surabaya, and rang the ceremonial gong (three times) to close out their service. Some are staying in Indonesia and teaching English, others are traveling for the next several months, and others sudah langsung pulang (they got right on that plane and headed straight home to the States). I had the chance to go to Kenzie’s going away party in Kediri. I hungout with other ID11s, and as they reflected on their two years of service, I was motivated and inspired by them even more after their last round of words of encouragement and advice. Good luck, ID11s!
2. Went to Madiun
I spent two nights in the city of Madiun, which is about two hours from site, for a town hall meeting with our country director. While it was fun being able to explore a new city, the few hours spent with our boss to chat about our experiences was much more helpful than anticipated. We got to talk about high and lows, and touched on difficulties we have faced so far. I’m glad I have region-mates (not sure that’s what you’d call them… the people that live closest to me in East Java) that are funny, kind and smart.
3. Did more site ID’s
Two days after arriving home from Madiun, Chelsea, Terrance (our site mate who has unfortunately closed service) and I joined Peace Corps staff in another site identification. Man, what a time. It’s always interesting interacting with Indonesians that have never met Americans before, as much as it is interesting going to a school that isn’t your own. It’s fairly common for Indonesians to have certain biases and stereotypes about American POC, or just Americans in general. This is something we, as volunteers, try to work on everyday. It was, well, an experience.
4. Complained about the end of Game of Thrones
I not mad, just disappointed.
The view of Mt. Lawu from the hotel in Madiun, sunrise on a run at site, my mushola at sunset.
5. Got postcards from home
Thank you to all the friends and family that took the time to write to my students in two of my classes. For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, I had two of classes, 69 students in total, write letters because that was the unit we were working on. They sent letters to my friends and family back in the States. The students that have received them (some were not in school this past week) were exceedingly excited. One student just stopped, looked at the photo, and screamed “NEW YORK, NEW YORK!” which I thought was cute.
6. Buka Bersama
We are deep into Ramadan, and the holiday that ends the holy month, Idul Fitri, is a week away. Traditionally, family and friends gather to “Buka Bersama” or break fast together. Every evening, the neighborhood kids gather at the steps of the mushola and break fast together with es buah and a small snack before they head home to eat dinner with their families. Last Tuesday, my school had its break fasting party, I entered the mosque for the first time, there were prayers, and we all ate together on the front lawn of the school. It was the closest I got to a Memorial Day barbecue.
That is a rooster, in a bag. Also some postcards and the kids gathering before breaking fast.
7. Hung out with the site mate
Although my site mate, Chelsea, and I live in the same kabupaten, or regency (NGANJUK REPRESENT), we still live about 1.5 hours from each other. We’re basically placed in the opposite corners of the regency, geographically. Last week I was able to hang out at her house though, and see much more of her site: her school, the Alfamart she walks to, and the draw dropping-ly beautiful view on the walk she takes. We went on walks for both the sunrise AND sunset, and it was breathtaking. God, this country is beautiful.
8. Hung out with the neighborhood kids some more!
As I mentioned, since the kids traditionally break fast together at the mushola that is located feet from my house, the kids love to visit me by popping their heads into my room from the window I like to keep open. Yes, they usually scare the s**t out of me, but I don’t really mind. They’ll ask me to play, or ask to borrow the Uno cards I have (which is precisely what happened as this post was published). Last week I made copies of States from a coloring book I brought from home and we learned more about a few of them.
Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to! While Ramadan comes to a close, I’m excited to spend next week with family celebrating the holiday. Then after that I’m headed to Surabaya, then the beach for five days. Sampai jumpa, friends!
