so tomorrow, i'm heading off to jogjakarta with three girls and we're permanently saying goodbye to sindangsari, our temporary home. YES!! it's been great, but i miss cleanliness and we've had the entire month to think about where to go and what to do. no really, i almost have certain sections memorized. pg 481 describes how to get from bali to lombok (way more expensive than i thought. crap). creeped out? ha. and unfortunately, instead of learning bahasa indonesian, carolien and i have been addicted to crossword puzzles and i've expanded my english vocabulary from this experience.
but aside from ironic learning habits, i had a really great time here. the type of great time that i cant really describe because you have to know the people, kind of like how The Office wouldn't be funny if you didn't know every character's quirks. i'm glad we're leaving so i can avoid eating fried and super sugary food (indonesian staples), be confident about my supply of running water, and end this month long diarrhea streak. yet, i'll definitely be sad the leave all of our indonesian friends... a kinder culture does not exist.
today, we had our final event. events/presentations are always really interesting here because the indonesian interns hold the meetings in bahasa, so we never really know what's going to happen the day of. the grand finale of the internship was a festival organized primarily by the education group to promote acceptance of disabilities. there's a local school here for handicapped children, and we initially thought there were huge stigmas against them. turns out, those stigmas don't exist, so we pretty much through one big party. my favorite part was when three little boys dressed in leopard print dresses and white/blue crowns danced to shakira's waka waka. told you that song was everywhere. also, a girl born without arms was selling her paintings. they're really beautiful, and she demonstrated painting with her toes. cool shit.
goodbye village. im storing my large suitcase and traveling with my backpack, so i you don't get a present when i get back, you know why.
I am sooooooo delighted to know you are alive and well. Really enjoyed reading your blog. What about money/travellers checks? Enjoy and be safe. We are enjoying summer. Landscaping job is going on around the fall. New deck job starts tommorrow. Sprinkler guy will also be here tommorrow. And Ba has her ortho appointment tommorrow.See you soon. Love Dad
ReplyDeleteLike dad, I am also delighted to know that you still exist. When you come home, I'll throw you a "Congrats for not dying" party.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the composition of the phrase
"...long diarrhea streak" made me laugh. I visualized it before I could stop myself.
Right now, I'm at work. Remember when you used to keep me company on Gchat...? That was nice. Mom still hasn't figured it out.
I spent 4 hours making gazpacho last night, and I ended up w/ over 2 gallons of it. I used about a dozen tomatoes as the base, but it ended up green b/c I put in a pound of spinach plus cilantro.
And last week, I went to Princeton and walked around the art museum. They have pottery from 6000 BC, which is when pottery was "invented."
Have fun, and can't wait to see you!
Love,
Pooja.
Ok now i am super MAD. I just posted a coment (real good one too) and error came and didn't go through. its 3am and i am very sleepy.
ReplyDeleteso how are you doing? it was good to hear your voice finally!. any way fried brain gini is out of the village now. I am glad you found nice place with better toilet. you better take care of your 'streak' or else you are going to become another you know who! (only one guess aloud) any way take care and spend all the money. (just don't tell daddy and dada). I love and will talk to you soon. bye good night.
love mommy