Bren

                                             by: Brenda Lee Nieves My eyes open and the first thing I see is the tiny holes in my bug net. I wonder what type of insects are able to get through those holes while I sleep. I lean closer because I am so focused on this one tiny hole. I think there's a bug stuck. Did this little fucker try to invade my fortress while I slept? Smack Smack Smack.  Ibu's sandals hit the floor. I can hear her talking to our neighbors. Her voice is so much better than my phone alarm. Beep Beep Beep. "shit!" it's 6:30 I need to hurry! I get dressed faster than an Indonesian cat jumping away from people. (that's pretty fast) I walk into the dining room and there's Bu staring at me with her kind eyes. her:  Bawa Makan? me:  ya                      ...the only ...

The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Indonesian Government. So I've been living in Indonesia for over 100 days....to be honest with you all, it feels like I just got here. I mean yes I learned the language and know a bit about the culture, but things still feel new to me. I was recently told by a PCV veteran that the feeling will go away (I can't wait) I’ve been living in my permanent site (Tasikmalaya, Karangjaya) for about a month now (I think)...I haven’t been counting. All I know is that I got here just a few days before Christmas. I was not looking forward to the holidays, but they were better than expected. This is in front of what would be called their town hall. It's absolutely beautiful. For Christmas, I went to Tasikmalaya City with a volunteer named Mahogoni. We had a Christmas Eve dinner and hung out in this huge mall. Since this country is predomi...

The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Indonesian Government. 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...

By: Brenda Nieves Before I get into the topic of letting go I thought it would be important to tell you why I was thinking about it so much. Soooooo, I got a, “big-girl-job” to teach English in Indonesia with the Peace Corps. This was literally the dream job I have always wanted. I feel so blessed to have the this-this opportunity. However, the thought of leaving my friends, family, and loved ones behind were lingering in my mind. I wasn’t sure how to approach this situation, so I literally had to think about what, “letting go” meant to me. The photo was taken by Damon Mackin @legaltrapmack Letting go was pretty hard for me. ***WARNING IT'S ABOUT TO GET DEEP*** I was in a relationship that was extremely toxic. I was cheated on and it took a toll on me. I tried to hold on to what I had and it made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, ugly, and worthless in every capacity. I wanted to let go, but I felt like if I did I would have to end many relationships around me. I f...

I decided to write this blog because if you didn’t notice already I am a college graduate! #Lit #Finally #FMLStudentloans Although this is indeed wonderful news there is something that isn’t talked about, so I thought it would be beneficial to address this wonderful thing called post-graduate depression. (Photos by @legaltrapmack) My thoughts: When I was told about post-graduate depression I definitely didn’t think it existed or that it would ever happen to me...but look at me now. This feeling felt like a ton of bricks and they came before graduation. I was worried about my personal relationship, friendships, and life decisions. I had thoughts like: is this the right decision, do I really want to go on this path in life, why did I come to college, and why am I not as excited to graduate college. There was even a moment where I cried because I couldn’t find socks in the morning ( don’t judge me ). It wasn’t until someone told me that they ask themselves these questions and...