Recent happenings in Debo/Indonesia world:
The past few weeks have flown by, which is good because that means I’m adapting.
I FINALLY got a chance to explore Batu (the nearest city). Bought some ballin’ Indonesian pants and rode a ratchety Ferris (Ferrish) Wheel.
My body is acclimating to the heat and 75ºF is now cold to me. Wutisdislife... Those cold mandis didn’t bother me whatsoever when I first got here but I’m finding them a wee bit nipply nowadays. I didn’t think to pack a hoodie (did I mention it’s 75º?) so I snuggle up in a big scarf my best frand in the world bought me before I left. It’s like sleeping in a hug and it makes me happy!
There’s an earwig crawling around under my keys as I type this. Will bug guts hurt the inside of my lappy? If not, I'm envisioning the most epic game of whack-a-mole.
Some days I’ll come home and I my Ibu will hand me a chocolate cake. Those are the best of days! She calls it a brownie (pronounced: bro-ny).
There are boxes that randomly show up in my house. The boxes are always full of various “sweets.” Sweets is in quotes because I’m never entirely sure what they are and every box is a palatal adventure (not guaranteed to be an excellent one). Every time a box shows up my host sisters sit down with me so I can “ini apa?” everything. All the little girls that hang out at my house beg me to try each treat so they can laugh at my facial expression. Most have the consistency of flan. Some contain unknown fillings (occasionally ground chicken). Most are coated in sugar and/or coconut. All are brightly colored. The green muffins are my favorite. They’re delish. The green bread is not so delish. The other day, my Ibu tells me to follow her if I want to eat. I was pretty confused because we never go anywhere to eat and I couldn’t understand where exactly we were going but I hadn’t had dinner yet and I’m pretty fond of food. We walk around the corner and go into a building with tons of people. At the end of the ever-present gauntlet of handshakes and smiles, my Ibu sits me down at a table and hands me a brownie. A bell is rung and everyone stands up and gets into a line to get food. The whole event kind of reminded me of a potluck. As soon as I finished eating my Ibu rushed me out of the building. On my way out I was handed one of those boxes. MY VERY OWN BOX! The next day I asked our cultural liaison what the event was. Apparently I had attended my first circumcision. Moral of the story: circumcision boxes are the best of boxes.
Sunburns/tan lines are not a familiar concept in Indonesia. I’ve developed a pretty fabulous farmers tan since I’ve been here and my family is forever cracking themselves up with the joke that I’m becoming an Indonesian flag (red and white).
Differences: People eat avocados with sugar or juice them here. I miss guacamole but man... avocado juice is the bomb! I could drink it semoa hari satiap hari (All day everyday!)! Also, carrots are considered sweet and commonly put in oatmeal. Word.