genius

ok, i've never made like a really bad language mistake here. i don't wanna brag or anything, but i'm basically amazing. actually, not even close. i get corrected a lot, but by the grace of God i've at least never done anything as humiliating as that one guy who used to live here who accidentally told his whole church he couldn't get up and speak in front of them because his genitals were too big.

but today.... it's a really good thing i was talking to someone i know well, hotjaga, or else this could have been really embarrassing. we were talking about what we can do to help over at merapi and what connections we have there and what is needed. and i was trying to say that i heard they need cooks for the kitchens - they have more than enough food, just not enough people to cook it - and people with nursing skills to do basic first aid.

perawat = nurse
perawan = virgin

guess what i said they need a lot of in the evacuee camps?

reasons why me and hotjaga are good friends - when i said that, without blinking an eye, he calmly corrected me, "perawat". i paused mid-sentence, mouth open, head cocked to the side, contemplating what he had just said versus what i had just said. and i suddenly realized my error and just grinned at him sheepishly. he grinned back and told me to keep explaining. moment over.

oya - i commented to marie earlier today that living in indonesia does weird things to your definition of normal. like we couldn't really hear merapi before, but all day today, it's been like canonfire from that direction. and it feels expected, normal. nobody is panicking. we hear a volcano exploding and it's business as usual. i think i was feeling tremors in my bed last night, and i slept tight, no bad dreams about violent earthquakes swallowing us all. last time i saw a demon, i woke up during the night and saw it standing next to me. i rolled over, said a prayer, and fell right back asleep. because when you live in indonesia, things like this just become a part of life. accept it and move on.