6 Weeks
By: Nikki O. Palisoc
6 weeks was all it took for me to fall in love.
No, this is not a story about a boy and a girl falling in love.
This is a story of a girl, falling in love with places and strangers.
It took months of thinking and dreading whether I should go through with it or not. And then I just woke up and made up my mind to go, as if on a whim. I applied, got interviewed, got matched, applied for a visa, bought tickets and got oriented in little over a week. I felt nervous and excited at the same time.
Before the plane took off, I was trying to ease my mind. I told myself, âYou can do this. Itâs going to be great.â
I was seriously trying to psyche myself out.
When I arrived at Soekerno Hatta Airport, I took a deep breath, taking the new air in. My host sister, Dinda, along with her friends and two of the OCs picked me up at 1 AM. And then we went straight to my hostâs house.
First ever indescribable experience in Jakarta was when we had to stay at the yard for 3 whole hours. Dindaâs grandmother locked the house from the inside so the keys were pretty much useless at that point. Plus, her grandma was in deep sleep.
So there we were, WAITING⊠Oh my goodness, waiting is like a popular thing there⊠Everyoneâs almost into it. We were there and since it was a garden, it was normal to have insects flying around. But man oh man, these mosquitoes were like Tracker Jackers from Hunger games. They were fat and just wouldnât give up. I didnât want to complain because that would be so rude of me. So while she kept apologizing for the situation, I just nodded and said it was alright, even though my exposed feet were pretty much swollen and red because these âtracker jackersâ were attacking it. It was seriously weird, awkward and funny.
Hours flew by with me settling in the new house. My host family was so kind to me, I consider myself lucky to have had them take me in.
Moving on to the welcoming dinner, we were asked to meet up in 7/11. I came first so I just sat there drinking a weird-tasting tea which I regretted buying, waiting for them. To be honest, I didnât know who I was waiting for. In our little WhatsApp group, the other EPs were talking to each other like they already knew one another before. Since I was the last girl to arrive so far, I felt like an outcast.
Nobody noticed or knew me apart from Hani, the OC who interviewed me. I think I waited 25 minutes when this group of people arrived. They were all speaking English in different accents so it wasnât hard to notice them. I donât know how long they just sat there beside me talking while I was having my own mental argument whether I should talk to them or not âcause I wasnât even sure if they were the people I was supposed to meet up with.
Another 15 minutes flew by, as they were about to leave, Hani came in and introduced me to them. Finally, I thought. They were all pretty nice and polite. We all went to Senayan City for the dinner. It was in a food court and I didnât know what to order so I went for something familiar, Kung Pao chicken. It was alright, but halfway through the dinner, I choked on a chilli pepper. My eyes were tearing up and my throat hurt like hell. But I tried my best not to let them notice it. I couldnât eat anymore after that and told them I was full. How embarrassing.
Days flew by like shopping money. We did talk shows, NGO and IGO visits, school visits and campaigning. I ate a lot of Indonesian or IndoChinese food. Iâve done a lot of new things that I would probably never ever do in my own country. Like riding an ojek --without a helmet at times, may I add. Or going around the city in the middle of the night by motorcycle (oh gosh, if mom could read this, sheâd probably get an aneurism). Or sleeping over at a friendâs dorm, two nights in a row.
I have to say, being there was quite unreal. Itâs a whole new environment, whole new people, whole new language, a whole new me.
And meeting the people Iâve met was just brilliant, pure perfection. I expected to make some friends, maybe 2 or 4. But never have I thought that Iâd be close to every single person in my project. I mean, weâre practically family now.
Itâs like every moment is not enough. We try to capture every single memory by pictures, âcause we have a LOT! But itâs just not enough.
You know how people usually ask you after a trip, âhow was it? â, âwas the place nice?â, âdid the food taste good?â, and you answer with typical tourist stuff like, âyes, it was. And the temples were amazing," or âfood in this restaurant was greatâ.
Well, I have far better things to say, and I think thatâs whatâs good about the exchange. You immerse yourself in the culture completely, not just see the good parts.
Each experience good and bad, from being congratulated and admired for our advocacies to having migraines and stomach problems, from visiting temples to waiting at 7/11 from 7 to 11, itâs all so unforgettable.Â
And as this love story came to a close, I canât help but wonder when I might come back there again, or when I will cross paths with the people Iâve met there.
Itâs so tragic, not knowing. But absolutely romantic and exciting as well. And I just canât wait for the sequel.
Take the great leap forward! Sign-up now at http://tinyurl.com/globalcitizenorientation to start your AIESEC journey!