So this is likely my final post from Indonesia. I am sure many of you are wondering whether it was worth it. That's a hard question to answer. The simple answer is that if I knew exactly what it would be like, I probably would not have come. But the complicated answer is that if we had this opportunity and let it go by, we would have forever wondered about it and probably kicked ourselves. It certainly has not been terrible. I have learned a lot about Asia and I think this will be Asia's century. We have felt very valued. My volunteer work has kept my time occupied. I was thinking about all the stuff I have done for Education USA and the list includes seven talks on writing a college essay or statement of purpose, workshops on choosing a college in the US, preparing for the TOEFL test, scholarship opportunities, three radio talk shows, two college fairs, talks on English literature, preparing a resume, visits to high schools, and judging a middle school debate, among others. I have been in literally a thousand photos. The downside as I have mentioned is that there are very few Westerners here and so things that we are used to like fashion and food and public green spaces are hard to find. Relying on taxis is getting old. We have had great friendships with the other Fulbrighters and supported each other as we deal with the lack of support from Aminef in Jakarta.
But it's time to come home.
What I will miss:
The Indonesian people
Fruit. A huge variety of wonderful, different fruit.
What I won't miss
Earsplittingly loud music
Public toilets
Sidewalks that are unwalkable
Indonesian food- there must be a reason we eat other Asian foods like Thai, Vietnamese, etc., but Indonesian food has never made it in America.
Corruption. It doesn't affect us directly, but Indonesia could be a really great country. It has natural resources and great beauty and hard working people, but corruption skims off money that could be spent on infrastructure and education. The newspapers are full of stories of corruption every day, so it's not hidden, but turning things around is very difficult.
What I am looking forward to:
My kitchen, especially a full size refrigerator ( with automatic ice maker), dishwasher, and garbage disposal.
Paper towels. Try living without paper towels for a year.
Drinking water from the tap
My garden
Driving myself somewhere. Anywhere.
So I say "Sayonara, Surabaya".
