jepara

i went to the beach for vacation.
it was glorious.

i went to indonesian church for the first time.
i sang every song.
in indonesian and javanese.
i forgot that hati also means heart.
i wondered why we kept singing about our livers.
i seem to have a habit of becoming a part of the post-church receiving line.
i shook 200 hands.

i ate lunch with an indonesian family.
there were a lot of them.
and only a little food.
but they kept giving me more.

by 9 o'clock on sunday morning, i had already....
driven 2.5 hours
seen the sun rise
been to church
gone grocery shopping (3 times)
eaten lunch
gone silver shopping
seen a giant turtle at the coast
visited a sick man

conversation between me and a 4 year old in the pool:
bethanie: you're on my team!
me: what kind of a team? because if we're drug smuggling, i don't think i want to be involved in that.
bethanie: *stares at me blankly with her mouth drooping open*
me: *chuckles to self*
bethanie: oh! well. my drum doesn't muggle, so it's ok. you're on my team.

i played pool twice this weekend.
my game has not improved.
balls hit the floor.

i went for a long walk down the beach by myself yesterday morning.
i found a little sandal washed up on shore.
i started having so many thailand flashbacks.
i realized that i still haven't processed everything.
i never told anyone all that happened.
i still haven't cried for the things i saw there.

idul fitri started yesterday evening.
fireworks, rockets, and bombs were going off all night long.
as i fell asleep, i imagined that i was in London, circa 1943.
the walls of my house were shaking.
and i was heartsick for my lost neighbors.

charles and marie predicted that i will get married here.
they predicted the same thing about rio when she moved here.
her wedding is next week.

i can't figure out if today is tuesday or wednesday.
vacations have a way of doing that to you.

what about the golden years?

i realized something about myself last night, lying in bed, feeling exhausted beyond measure.
i love to be needed.
i need to be useful.
this revalation accompanied another.
i have not eaten dinner yet this week.

and these two revelations are inextricably intertwined.
i have been needed this week.
i have been stretched thin this week.
i have fallen asleep while walking home at night this week.
and i would not have it any other way.

but then i had to stop and think...
what about when i'm old?
what happens when i'm unable to be quite so useful?
when my eyes don't see the same?
when my ears don't hear the same?
when my mind doesn't think the same?
what then?

these are a few of my favorite things

riding a motorbike through the city at night is the most exhilarating thing...

next comes being aboard a fishing boat in the ocean with a bunch of leathery old fishermen and being the first one to spot those dolphins off the starboard side... and then keeping them my secret.

and then walking along all the narrow back roads, alleys, and paths through town...

being able to answer the questions that the indonesian people ask me as i walk along the road carries a sense of achievement all its own...

not getting any work done over the weekend because students keep coming to my room to hang out gives me a feeling of purpose which overshadows a lack of accomplishment...

and finally, sitting alone in my classroom, listening to bob dylan at the end of the day... that is positively euphoric.

i am NOT an extreme baller

3-on-3 basketball tournament this weekend.

game 1: 12 - 7 loss
game 2: 11 - 6 loss
game 3: a lot loss
game 4: 21 - 12 loss

i wish we had gotten to play the team of 7th graders.
i think we could have taken them down.
maybe.

this is us.
looking our best.
wet with sweat.
sun joon, me, won, joseph, joshua, yoojin, and glory.
me and the koreans.

excuse me?

indonesian friend: is it true that president bush dyes his hair based on who he is with?
me: what??
indonesian friend: my english professor told me that.
me: dyes his hair??
indonesian friend: yes. he might dye it gray if he is with old people and brown if he is with young people.
me: bush would look funny with brown hair.

this is why i'm..... cranky

so i just graduated from college, right?

in typical college student fashion, i'm pretty amazing at sleeping whenever and wherever and through anything.

even here. in the land of constant noise. i sleep through blaring karaoke. i sleep through the southern baptist dorm's dance parties. i sleep through the guards talking on their two ways. i sleep through the 4.30 am call to prayer. i'm just awesome at sleeping.

until this week.


i found my sleeping weakness. a creature so small, so weak, so unassuming....


not once, but TWICE this week, a mosquito has made its way into my bedroom.
the first time it happened at midnight.
that nearly imperceptible buzzing roused me from my slumber....i could hear it faintly, but i couldn't see it anywhere.
due to my rational fear of getting bit in my sleep, i nearly succeeded in suffocating myself under my blankets.
as i neared the point of asphyxiation, i decided that breathing sounded good, so i stuck my head out. just my head. and then i realized that the mosquito was sure to attack at any moment, most likely causing permanent disfiguration to my facial features. i quickly decided i would rather him eat my arms. so those came out too.
i fell asleep.
he bit.
i swung.
he laughed.
i fell asleep.
he bit.
i slapped.
he laughed.
i decided more decisive action was necessary.
i grabbed my pillow, one blanket, locked the mosquito in my bedroom, and slept on the couch.
which is a foot too short.


last night, there was a similar occurance. this time at 3 am. a diminuitive sound.... a buzzing... lurking danger.... i was wide awake instantly.
i decided i wasn't even about to mess around with sacrificing body parts in order to save others.
i just took off for the couch, shutting the door tightly behind me.
once there, however, i found that all of salatiga had met earlier that day and decided unanimously to do everything in their power to prevent me from sleeping.
first, the geckos started talking outside my window. they are always quiet at night.
then... AT TWO FORTY-FIVE IN THE MORNING someone had the audacity to practice drums. for AN HOUR. then a man in the street started yelling. a mournful, wailing sort of yell. this made the dogs all howl. and to make matters worse, two imams at two different mosques decided to have a screaming match over the pa systems that are typically reserved for call to prayer. it sounded a little something like this:
mosque 1: hello? hellohello..... hellohellohellohello!
mosque 2: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO! NO! NO!
mosque 1: YA YA YA YA YA YA YA YA!
mosque 2: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
mosque 1: HELLOHELLOHELLOHELLOHELLOHELLOHELLOHELLOHELLOHELLO!
mosque 2: nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
this went on for quite awhile. at least until i fell asleep. at about 3:45. finally.


i'm going to go eat some chocolate ice cream now.

huh?

"Warning: Ike may bring 'certain death'."
May? Certain?
Wait. I'm confused....
Some people are too stubborn.

After students predicted otherwise, we won the season opener varsity soccer game!
6 - 1
That is outstanding....

Then I stepped on Ji Hyun's heels all the way to the showers.

Then I ran from one end of campus to the other, looking for my neighbor who doesn't have a phone, so people were calling me with important messages for her. She was nowhere to be found.

Then I was sweating a lot.

So I cleaned out my desk drawers. It's about time....

In other news...
Last night I ran a mile and walked another.
Did 75 situps and 4.5 pushups.
Then promptly went to bed.
It's good to remind myself from time to time why I hate exercising.

Oh, and "hot guard" AND his wife now know that I refer to him as such. Thank you, Yohanes.

oh, my

we just killed a snake.
a very poisonous snake.
at the coffeeshop.
the kids found it.
i can't wait for my green boots to come.
why does mail have to take so long?
it's only the other side of the world...

*edit*
marie (the owner of the coffeeshop) did her research.
it was a blue temple viper.
if it bites, you die within minutes.
there is no known antidote.
her three year old daughter found it.
in the courtyard. in their home.
i've never been too wary of snakes.
all that is about to change.