Indo-Living

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I wanted to update you all on my life here in Indonesia. It's been a month since I've left America and I have learned about their culture, food, and how to speak their language. It has not been easy. I've dealt with illnesses (YES ALREADY) and of course I miss my loved ones. But let's get to some snippets of my favorite memories so far.

This is a cute banner made of my cohort during one of my training sessions.

The first few days here I stayed in Surabaya which is a major city that is densely populated. Out the window of my bus, I could see SO MANY people riding motorcycles; they use that here more than they use cars. I even saw three people on one motorcycle with a tiny little baby between them! I was impressed because that takes skill. I can't even ride a bike correctly (I'll get into that in a second).

This was the day I had 102 fever and I didn't even know. At least I look cute right? Photo Credit: Anna Bondie, she the best!

After a few days in Surabaya, we traveled to Kediri, East Java and stayed at a beautiful hotel called Bukit Daun (If you're interested in going google it. WARNING: Women who visit you will have to cover up to respect their culture). When I was there I definitely felt spoiled, we had food served to us at 6:30, and there was a beautiful view of the pool while we practiced our Bahasa Indonesian. In one of the training sessions there we had to practice riding bikes as if we were in a city. So in this simulation we had people grabbing us and cutting us off and I was terrified. There were times that I almost fell over my bike and I told myself there is no way I would be able to ride my big in my village. (but let me tell you I'm definitely riding bikes all over the place now).

After the few days in this beautiful hotel, it was time to meet our host family for the next three months. On the bus ride to meet them I had a million thoughts running through my mind and there were so many reasons why. Here are the top three:

1. I barely knew the language

2. I wasn't sure what they were going to be like

3. I just wanted them to like me.

After a few weeks with them, I definitely felt comfortable in my new home. My Ibu Rini (Ibu = Mom) is always pushing me to practice my Bahasa Indonesian at home. She is so patient with me when I blank and don’t know what to say. There are so many silent moments at home when she is staring at me smiling and I'm going through every word in my mind searching for the right word to use to express my thoughts. My Bapak Adi (Bapak = Dad), is a funny man who has jokes and is very concerned about my well being. The day I got sick I had a fever of 102 and I tried to tell him  everything was okay, but he insisted that I call someone immediately and get help ASAP. These small moments to you all reading may not seem significant, but they were to me. I felt like I was a part of the family and people actually cared about my well being. It’s really important to have that here especially because I’m so far away from the people I love. Although I have struggled communicating with them they have had patience. Their actions definitely say a lot and now that I am beginning to understand them more I can tell that they mean well and want me to become the best citizen I can be here.

I almost forgot! The best thing that I did in the past week:

I was able to teach an English class with a colleague of mine and it was entertaining. My co-teacher was super helpful and we were a MF TEAM! When I say we were making it happen WE WERE MAKING THAT EDUCATION HAPPEN! We had to teach about colors a fruits and we literally showed the definition of flexibility. I have never had this much fun teaching in a while. And to make our experience even better, the children were engaged and had so much energy. After we taught our classes for the day I knew this was the right choice. Even though everyday may not be as great as this day I want to go through it. I want to meet these children and help them. I want to build relationships with people in my community. And I definitely want to represent America in this country. (Especially as a Latina because people don’t think of someone from Latin decent to be American).

This was a class of mine with my awesome co-teacher Deja <3

So for everyone back home, I have not forgotten you and if I haven't reached out it's because my three-month training is extremely intense/ important. I'm just trying to focus and be all the way in here, feel me? If you want to be able to message me every now and then feel free to download WhatsApp and I'll give you my Indonesian phone number! 

Love ya,

Brenda - xoxo