Well I am home now, adjusting to the cooler weather and savoring my excitement with all things "developed," which is not limited to showers, espresso machines, cars (with able drivers) and the abundance of good healthy foods. It has been incredibly uplifting to spend time with the people I missed, a week catching up with friends in San Francisco, a week visiting my sister in Los Angeles, and now back home where I dove headfirst into all the activities I missed in Indonesia: hiking and running with my dog Macy, planting a vegetable garden with my mom where she honored me with my very own Hori Hori Gardening Knife, relaxing at coffee shops with a good book (and not getting strange stares and 'new friends'), and enjoying good beer and wine with friends.
But after tasting the bananas here (didn't know how much good sun-ripening actually does for the fruit), skyping with my Jambi roommate Povi, facebook chatting with PKBI coworkers (this will be how I keep up my language skills this summer), and hearing stories from the field by my fellow volunteers, I find myself almost anxious to go back. This summer has an important purpose: refreshing myself and facing the dreaded GRE, but I am looking forward to the experiences that will come with working in Jakarta. A quick note on that since some people asked, I will be volunteering at the TIFA Foundation, an organization that works to strengthen democracy, civil society, and human rights in Indonesia- something I am very interested in learning more about and gaining practical experience.
So I will be taking a break from the blog as I enjoy life in the Pacific Northwest and will be coming back to this in September when I resume my work and adventures in Indonesia.
