Oh, Cambodia. We got off on the wrong foot, but your charm shined through in the end. Continue reading
Cambodia / People / Photography / Southeast Asia / Travel
Author Archives: melanie aleman
People / Photography / Southeast Asia / Thailand / Travel
Thailand in 19 Photos and 1 Video
Thailand is a tourist’s playground. Getting around is simple and systematic. Travel agents can be found anywhere to help you arrange your transportation to any part of the country, including to its “isolated” islands. They speak good English. A system of planes, trains, buses and boats are coordinated efficiently and filled with tourists from all … Continue reading
Cambodia / Music / Peace Corps / People / Photography / Southeast Asia / Thailand / Travel / Vietnam
A Soundtrack for Southeast Asia (+Photos)
The music that characterized the events and cities I passed through in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. (Title links to song.) 1. “The Veldt (feat. Chris James)” – deadmau5 Album Title Goes Here was my album of choice during a sleepless overnight journey from Bangkok to South Thailand. 2. “Save the World (feat. John Martin)” – … Continue reading
Teacher Problems, #13
Cambodia / Peace Corps / People / Southeast Asia / Thailand / Travel / Vietnam
Peace Corps Ruined Travel For Me
During the two-week semester break from our schools, two volunteers and I backpacked across Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. All of us are now back in Indonesia—ready to complete the second year of our Peace Corps service—but upon traveling extensively outside of this country together, I’ve gained a lot of perspective on just how much Peace … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Teaching
Teacher Problems, #12
Bondowoso / Culture / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Teaching
Teacher Problems, #11
Indonesia / Lombok / People / Photography / Travel
Gili Trawangan in 5 Photos
A glimpse of a journey too amazing to justly capture through photographs. (For future travelers: Gili T was a great place to chill on the beach -due in large part to Karma Kayak – and to eat good food, but more pristine and desolate islands can be found elsewhere in Indonesia – i.e.: Flores.) Continue reading
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Photography / Travel
Climbing Kawah Ijen
I never thought I’d do this, I think amusedly to myself as I climb down a mountain at two in the morning with nothing but moonlight to brighten the darkness. I’m not thinking of scary movies, I keep on thinking, I’m not gonna get bitten by snakes. I’m just gonna get down and sleep in … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Peace Corps / People
Educating Boys and Empowering Women
In light of some other incidents that have happened this week with PCV female friends*, I took the following pretty hard. Today was the last day of teaching in one of my favorite classes. This class is full of boys in 11th grade—43 of them to be exact—and it has often crossed my mind, especially … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Teaching
Teacher Problems, #10
Culture / Daily Life / Indonesia / Jakarta / Peace Corps / People / Travel
Jakarta in 5 Photos
Bondowoso / Culture / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Photography / Religion
Sunday Mornings (or Arisan Burung)
In theory, Sunday mornings are the one time I get to sleep in and enjoy “the weekend.” That’s a nice dream, but the reality is that my sleep often gets interrupted by the chatter and laughter of men gathering outside my window for their Sunday routine: the arisan burung, or bird reunion. This bird reunion … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Culture / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Teaching
Teacher Problems, #9
Back in the day, teachers may have received apples from students. In Indonesia, entire classes of students celebrate certain events (such as getting through reciting the entire Al Qur’an) by giving all teachers food boxes. This is a common affair, but today I broke a record. Today alone, I received THREE food boxes and some … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Travel
One Year in Peace Corps Indonesia: Things I’ve Learned
My last blog post was primarily about exchanging time for money (i.e. jobs), or in my case as a PCV, exchanging time for experiences. However, there’s another element to this thought and that is how time is best spent. I’m generally content with all that I have accomplished in a year in Peace Corps. One … Continue reading
in the land of dragons 