I’ve tried to start this blog post multiple times. I’ll write a sentence, delete the whole thing, then exit out of my notes on my computer and continue about my day. What a time the last month and a half has been (it's been three months now, I know).
The last time you heard from me the president wasn’t being impeached and we were in another decade. Since November, I've been trying to work on myself and refocus on my mental and physical health. When December hit, I was looking forward to my second year of service with better clarity, independence and confidence in my work and myself. But I also was mixed with excitement and anxiety of my two best friends coming to visit!! This was the first time I would have visitors, and I was wrecked with nerves thinking about welcoming Americans that are *not* Peace Corps Volunteers. What will they think about my house? The culture? The people? Will they take their single story back to the US and bring back stereotypes or negative experiences? Will they think I’ve changed as a person? Will we still get along after not seeing each other for over a year and after all I’ve experienced, learned and unlearned?
Of course, all those worries seemingly shed away the longer we were together and closer we got during our trip. I am so grateful that my two best friends from college came across the world, after multiple long haul flights, to see me, learn more about a new country and be forced out of their comfort zones. And they couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. The universe is interesting like that! Their comfort and support were gladly accepted and we had an unforgettable time that I know we’ll be telling our kids about at some point in the (very, very far) future.
So, with that, I know you, my devoted readers, are dying to get the scoop about what we did, where we went, what we ate and who we gossiped about. Just joking. First things first, I went to pick them up at the airport, Sara smashed her forehead directly into the corner of a trunk door. Fifteen minutes into the trip, we had blood, lots and lots of blood! This was going to be a trip. After about three hours traveling back to my site, we relaxed, chilled with family, shopped for fruit, ate good food and took lots and lots of photos. We took sunrise walks, visited school, and had plenty of time to catch up on all the missed time. We also cooked for my elementary school students to celebrate the end of the semester, laughing at kids putting kraft mac'n cheese in their PB&J sandwiches.
After two nights at site, we ended up right back where we started: at the airport. We took about an hour long flight to Labuan Bajo, Flores. Our days in LBJ included day cruises on an old rickety boat, snorkeling in crystal blue water, spotting sea turtles and so many tropical fish, sailing with pods of dolphins, seeing Komodo dragons, chasing manta rays in open water, hiking islands, dreamy sunsets, live bands, good drinks, and delicious food.
After our short time in Flores, we were off to, you guessed it, Bali. Our time there was perfect, unreal, unforgettable, awesome! We stayed at a private villa at the end of a narrow driveway behind a BBQ restaurant. I’m only telling you the details of the restaurant because there was a litter of 6-week old puppies that would greet us every time we walked out of our villa and into the parking lot of Wild Hog BBQ.
We ate delicious and fresh food, surfed, lounged on the beach (which was only a 5 minute walk from our villa), had massage after massage, explored Ubud, swam in our little pool, I got another tattoo (sorry Mom), we danced, laughed and had great good conversations. Not specifically in that order, though.
After Maddie and Sara headed back home to ol' “Jersey Baru” I got on a boat to hop, skip, jump over to Gili Trawangan. Trawangan, or Gili T, is one of the three Gili islands that are off the coast of Lombok. The island is famous for partying, and young drunken debauchery of sunburnt Brits and Aussies. But it was an great time to be with close friends and to celebrate my 24th birthday in a new place. Then it was time to head back to site a little sad, and a little blonder and tanner. But my travels didn’t stop there, because a few days later, I headed to another island off the coast of East Java with my friend Gina. Lot of airplanes, busses, boats, and taxi rides in December. My wallet was definitely empty but oh, my heart was full!
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I wrote the above post about a month ago and never got to finishing it. Things are happening fast over here, and I’ve refocused on my goals, rethought who I’m dependent on for support (hint: it’s me first), remembered my role as a volunteer and have encountered a newfound fulfillment for the work I am doing. My cup overflow-eth. I’ve also thought about what I am grateful for, both big and small, during my time here. Some things I’m grateful for include supportive family back home, new friends, people that listen, learning a new language, being able to travel, kind people, lessons going well, seeing students show improvement, not having diarrhea, not crying, a really really good book, strong wifi, Sunday morning bike rides, and the almond milk that I bought in Surabaya.
Things are going really, really well here. So, I hope you can forgive me for the blog hiatus. Here’s to another 10 months of service, and Insyallah, more blog posts.
