A “New Experience”

This is how I explained my desire to move out of Sumi’s house and into a smaller but quieter place with an Indonesian friend unconnected to PKBI.  I finally moved all my stuff yesterday and spent my first night of freedom watching movies and chatting with my new roommate Povi and a couple new friends.  It is hard to describe how relieving this move is for me, but maybe you caught on to how constricted I felt in my previous home.  While Sumi’s family is still incredibly warm and caring towards me and I am thankful for their patience with my strange ways over the past five months, I had to eventually come to terms with the fact that no matter how valuable the experience of living in a small village community is, I am an American woman.  I need the freedom to wear what I want (at least in the privacy of my own home), go where and when I want, eat when and what I want and not feel bad for choosing bread over rice one meal a day.  Even though the size of my new living space is smaller, it felt so much more liberating last night as I sat in a tank top and shorts sprawled out on the living room floor watching a movie with girls who were...gasp...smoking cigarettes!  This morning I was the first one to wake up at 7am to the birds chirping and it was such a contrast to the sound of heavy sweeping and feeling like I was the last person in the world to wake up if I didn’t get up with everyone at the 5am call to prayer.  It is also much cooler here than Sumi’s, a condition attributed to all the trees surrounding our building.  The trees are so rejuvenating, create a beautiful view outside my window, and give a sense of privacy that I desperately need in this city where I get unending attention from strangers.

My first couple days taking the public transportation to and from this new home, have opened my eyes to another side of Jambi.  After hearing the troubling story of a previous female volunteer’s unpleasant experience riding one of city’s angkots, color-coded VW buses that prowl the streets in search of passengers, I had at least unconsciously avoided them my first few months.  But this sense of warning quickly melted away as I got on the aqua blue one that goes right near by my office and chatted with some friendly women who paid my fare at the end of the trip.

So I am free and mobile.  Work is starting afresh with the New Year and my return from traveling.  I am excited for the next five months but I have a strong suspicion they will fly by.  Here's a few photos of the new place:

 

The walk in to the front of my building, my apartment is the second door on the right and there is an environmental NGO up on the second floor.

Our living room area with the tiny kitchen and bathroom in the back to the right and Povi's door on the left.

  

Catching Povi off guard this morning.

My new room, small but my own space and with this nice little view...