When it comes down to it, any job is the exchange of your precious finite time for a certain amount of money. Lucky are those who get paid well for their time, and especially those who enjoy what they are doing. I believe that any job worth doing, one should be willing to do for … Continue reading
My decreased blogging has not been in vain. Over the past three months, five other volunteers near my area and I have been working incredibly hard to organize a leadership camp for 10th and 11th grade girls held at my school, MAN Bondowoso, from Thursday, March 28th to Sunday, March 31st. Since November of last … Continue reading
Mold is the ABSOLUTE WORST thing about living in Indonesia. I clean and wipe it off daily and safeguard my clothes and shoes to my best ability and it still grows. I’m over the rainy season. Nothing is ever dry! Does anyone know how to stop this madness?!? Continue reading
Leaving Indonesia after almost a year of Peace Corps was more needed than I could’ve imagined. Right before parting, I was feeling rather irritable at everything here, mostly the food, the rain, the mold and the motorcycles—one, which crashed into me while I rode my bike the day before my trip. (I’m fine, it was … Continue reading
For a multitude of reasons – some of which are admittedly strange – elephants have been on my brain. So when I encountered this poem back in January, I paid extra attention. This poem then led to an entire month of English Club focusing on poetry, which culminated in some pretty decent rhymes (for the … Continue reading
A short video I made last semester – December 2012 – of my Indonesian students in English club attempting to say “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” In return, I attempt (and fail miserably) to say the Madurese equivalent of a complicated and nonsensical phrase, which is so difficult it can’t even be spelled. Continue reading
Awhile back, I mentioned that my strategy for dealing with my first Christmas away from home was to ignore it completely, to have it go by as if it were any other day. I’m happy to say this didn’t occur. Spending Christmas in Riung certainly made the holiday different than anything I’ve ever experienced, but … Continue reading
In Flores, our crew kept a reoccurring conversation on what our spirit animals would be. For some of us, our spirit animals were immediately fitting, some were inconclusive and for others, it continues to evolve. I still believe my spirit animal is a black jaguar, and though there is some debate, what’s inarguable is that … Continue reading
When I first received my invitation to join Peace Corps Indonesia, it was never a question on whether I wanted to serve as a volunteer. I did, however, question the location. To help with this big decision, I went out and bought a Lonely Planet book. I hadn’t made a commitment yet, and I was … Continue reading
Here are a few images of a few of the stunning sunrises and sunsets I photographed during our trip. In Kelimutu— In Kanawa— In Komodo National Park— On New Year’s Day in Kanawa— * for more logistical details about traveling to Flores check out this blog post. Continue reading
I said before that Riung wasn’t what I expected. I still maintain that; yet, Riung has a special place in my heart and here’s why. Riung, a small fishing village in the northeast side of Flores, is a two-warung town— which means it’s tiny. There’s also a small market, a BRI bank, a handful of … Continue reading
in the land of dragons 