“Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not … Continue reading
Peace Corps is not a glamorous profession. There’s a lot of sweat (particularly in Indonesia), hard work and tears, but, if you’re lucky—like I am—certain people come into your life and bless the experience. They make all of this worth it and I have come to love and appreciate them in ways I didn’t know … Continue reading
As things wind down, more and more people have taken to asking me if I have any “regrets”—which I think is a mistranslation for an experience I never got to have while in Indonesia. It’s hard to think of anything (though I’m sure there are plenty), but while having this conversation with my friend, Bu … Continue reading
Frustration, frustration, frustrated. It’s hard to write about the hard parts of being a Peace Corps Volunteer without getting really negative, and negating all the good things—and there are many—but there are also some aspects of this PCV life that are intolerable. I’m in one of those moments. First and foremost, as a foreign volunteer … Continue reading
It started somewhere between reading Life of Pi and my in-depth explanation of the line ‘Life is but a dream’ to a classroom full of Indonesians singing “Row Your Boat.” Two events sketched an image in my mind that now I can’t stop seeing: Life is a calm or tumultuous sea, while each person is a … Continue reading
Ever since I had lunch with one of my best teacher friends and her family in a beach side cafe in Banyuwangi, the most eastern province in Java, I had it in my head that Bali – an island with an entirely different culture, religion and ambiance – is only a ferry ride away. In … Continue reading
I’ve resigned to the fact that 27 months is an insufficient amount of time to know any place well. I know I’m still in the dark about a lot of things that make Indonesia special and beautiful. In an effort to quickly learn about things I may be missing –and to get an insider’s perspective— … Continue reading
The other day my counterpart, Pak Warai, sat next to me as I prepared material for English club. Suddenly he asks, Mel, what can we do to make students study outside the classroom? Pak, I laughed, if we can solve that we would improve education all over the world! He sighed. I feel putus asa. … Continue reading
Early in my service, I noticed many of my students and teachers at my school had colorful things wrapped around their fingers that they were constantly pressing. These turned out to be a sort of tally counter specially designed to conveniently count – in the case of my Muslim students and teachers – their thoughts … Continue reading
The art of being uncomfortable is actually hard to master because humans are highly adaptable creatures. Still, rare is the individual that seeks to leave their comfort zone very often, and though I moved to Indonesia for two years, I’ve found I’m guilty of this, too. Without going into all of the sordid details, I … Continue reading
Warning: Do not read this if you want to keep the Santa dream alive. Blame it on globalization and too much Western television, but apparently, Muslim kids believe in Santa Claus. When I visited my host family in Malang, my 5-year old host niece and her posse overheard me talking about going home for Christmas. … Continue reading
Did you ever wonder why tea cups or coffee mugs often come with saucers? It always seemed rather superfluous to me – just another dish to wash. But in Indonesia they actually put the saucer to good use. Because most of the water used to prepare hot beverages is brought to a boil right before … Continue reading
Some days ago I was in the best sleeping position ever nestled in between pillows and a blanket. The spot was so sweet I couldn’t even sleep, as an ode to my body pillow flowed through my head. The ode was really terrible, and I’ll spare you from reading it, but here’s what I will … Continue reading
It has been exactly a year, almost to the day, that I wrote a post about weight and how Indonesians shamelessly comment on your appearance, particularly on how “fat” you look. Today, I am looking at this cultural issue from the other side of the coin. First of all, I haven’t been trying to lose … Continue reading
Warning: This post contains graphic images of a cow being slaughtered. After reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer and nearly becoming vegan in the process, it was quite ironic that I found myself in the middle of an animal sacrifice ritual. Let me clarify: Idul Adha is an important Muslim holiday that highlights the … Continue reading
in the land of dragons 