Today is our last day of classes, here at AMINEF, our last day of ETA Orientation before we depart to our various sites across Indonesia. I am really excited about what is coming, yet I am a little sad to say goodbye to the native English speakers who have been my companions for the past month.

I leave on Friday morning, and together, Ethan and I will fly to Padang. There, we will part ways; Ethan will be taken to his beach-front abode, and I will take another form of transport 60km inland and upward to the cozy hilltown of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra. I have seen a few pictures of the housing that awaits me there; it is quaint, but nice. I am told that I am a five-minute walk from the trademark monument Jam Gadang-- the giant clock tower that characterizes the city. I have a bank of windows that face the street, a private access (or accomodations are being made, so I hear), a western toilet, and a shower! These last two are especially nice surprises; I did not expect these up until Nelly told me that my housing would have them. Rizma also told me that the landlord is purchasing a new bed for me, and that, although I have no kitchen, I will have a miniature refrigerator and a sink separate from the bathroom. It isn't my own house or apartment as I'd hoped (I will be living on the second floor of a banker's house), but it is more than I asked for.

My time here in Jakarta has been well-spent. I can feel the changes in my perception shifting as I learn and accept more about my ethnic identity. I realized the other day, for instance, that I did not come here to be an Indonesian, nor did I come here to pretend that I am a bule, but I came here to realize that am a both and Indonesian and a white person. I must be able to embrace both sides of my ethnic heritage, or the conflict within me will never resolve itself. That seems overly dramatic, and the 'battle' imagery was uncalled for, but sometimes I do feel like a woman torn. I feel sometimes that this is the real reason I have come here, without knowing it.

Bukittinggi is close to Padang, but it is even closer to Pariaman, where my Daddy was born and raised. I think that there is much to be learned, especially so close to the source. I have already gone visiting my father's older sister, Zuraida and her family, and Edi and his family, and my father's oldest brother, Basarudin and his family. I still have two aunts (with extensive families), and a grandmother left to visit in Pariaman. I feel like a youth on a quest to find peace with her cultural identity-- doesn't that sound like a byline for a dramatic movie?

I have one more thing I have to do before I leave AMINEF, and then I am heading back to the hotel to start re-packing trunks that are sure NOT to hold all of my things. Not only that, but there is a 30kilo weight limit on my baggage to Padang-- which I have exceeded by more than double. Nelly says to convince the ticketer that I am a volunteer, a student, here to help the Indonesian government through teaching, and to show a copy of my Presidential stay permit. We'll see how well that goes!

Even though I 'blogged' earlier, it is now evening, and I have time to write again. I am fulfilling my promise to be more consistent. I realized today how dependent upon technology I've become. This weekend felt like I was waiting to just to use the internet at AMINEF, and right now, I can't wait until I get to class tomorrow so that I can upload this blog. In addition to that, my expensive laptop computer, even more expensive digital camera, and i-Pod mp3 player have all accompanied me to Indonesia to assistant teach 10th grade English-- in a classroom that almost certainly doesn't have air conditioning or flush toilets. When did this dependence form? And how can I even think of wanting to join the Peace Corps after this Fulbright with such an addiction to technology?
It is amazing, however, the things that technology can do. I have not felt homesick even once yet, because I have been constantly connected to home. Through emails, facebook, cell phone text messages, I have had conversations with people I love and even seen their lovely faces. I am grateful that I have even limited access to this in Jakarta, and I fear the adjustment that awaits me in less technology-riddles Bukittinggi.
I want to talk now about a different kind of adjustment; an adjustment to the new type of high-speed learning which I am being subjected to in my classes. I feared my ability to learn quickly would be problematic before I left the states, and it turns out that if not entirely true, the fear is debilitating my learning process. Today, for example, I felt like I had missed a week of classes because I barely understood anything that was said in Indonesian. It's about time that I didn't get by on my genes and unequal classmates. In this world full of scholars, it seems I will have to work, finally. It seems that on-the-spot just will not work here; and well and good because it is not just my education that will be at stake this year.

This weekend was nice and refreshing. I attempted to sleep in on Saturday morning, but only lasted until 7:45. I went back to sleep, but it was a real effort to stay abed. I ended up lazing around all day, cleaning at times, reorganizing my computer files and cleaning up my messes. I was truly satisfied after I got my things in order. I've taken to grifting the teeny jelly jars at breakfast, which are good for two purposes. 1) Eating jelly or honey later with bread in my room, and 2) I enjoy reusing the little glass jars. Around the hotel pool grow these beautiful tropical flowers, from which the buds regularly fall off. At night, I like to go around and collect them, but they last longer in my room in water. I've already monopolized all of the drinking glasses intended for the minibar drinks, so the jelly jars are just perfect. The lids are the perfect size to hold a tea-lite candle, too, and as I've taken the ceramic candle holder that is standard in my room, it's a good thing. (PS I think the cleaning lady finally doesn't hate me; today, she replaced the exhausted tea-lite with TWO new ones).
Anyway, I better go. Lunch ended a while ago, and it's just no good to blog while Ibu Luci is trying to talk.

It is lunch time. I've got about fifteen minutes to write this post. I have been so neglectful in keeping this blog up to date! BUT I am super overjoyed that I can now use the wireless at AMINEF. I was online earlier today on AIM with Melis, and it was good to hear from someone at "home," even if he's not even in Texas. Now, Melanie is online, and it is super good to hear from her, too. She and Court were definitely a part of my daily life this summer, and I am going through a sort of withdrawal. I miss our times at Starbucks.
I am slowly acclimating to life in Jakarta. Slowly. Everything is so busy here, so dirty, and so hectic. There is always a chance to buy-- buy, buy, buy, on every corner. It makes for a consumer-driven life that leaves me with a bad taste-- and odour-- in my mouth and on my clothes. And they say that America is consumer-driven.
I have decided that I need a better way to budget my stipend. Although at first glance, it seems small, in Indonesia it should be more than sufficient. I have to account for bills and carpayments back home, however, so mine is cut in half. Yesterday I spent Rp. 650,000 (Approximately $70 USD) on three handcrafted wayang (Javanese shadow puppets made of buffalo skin), and although I don't regret the purchase, I do realize that I need to be more careful. I cannot spend everyday as though it was a holiday.

Today began kind of late. I dragged myself out of bed almost 30 minutes late, after waking up 2 minutes before my alarm was to go off. This, in turn, made me late for breakfast, so I ended up eating some of it in the taxi on the way to AMINEF. Our first lesson was a brief talk with Mike McCoy, and was almost nearly useless to me. There was no information in particular that I could use, and so I was glad it was only thirty minutes.

We had Bahasa Indonesia class for an hour and a half, and I am again struck by how insubstantial my vocabulary is. It seems like I accrue knowledge of new words all the time, but yet whenever there is a time to practically apply my language skills, I crash and burn.

We spent a fair amount of time next on the practice of teaching, just discussing our experiences and observations in Bogor. Really, I think any kind of interactive work would improve these classes, but when I think about it in terms of what do I have to do? the steps are still very vague. I keep thinking that I won’t be able to start working until I get to my assignment, but really, that’s kind of waiting to the last minute, isn’t it? By the time I get there, it will be too late to find out how I should do my job.

About other things, I have yet to experience true homesickness, although having to use the mahndi at my aunt and uncle’s house was traumatic enough to be close. Not as traumatic as having to use the squatty potty yesterday at Regina Pacis sans toilet paper. Pyuck.

I have very little complaints about the other Fulbrighters and am genuinely enjoying my experiences here. It would be hard not too—we’re staying at a five-star hotel, we rarely walk anywhere, we don’t do our own laundry and we eat every meal out. Having someone make your bed everyday tends to put you in the mind frame to overlook a few personality quirks that otherwise would really bother me.

The internet thing is really bothering me, though, and I’m beginning to weigh the price of a taxi to Sarinah to use the $5.00 / 3 hour wireless against the joy of not having to leave my hotel and paying the $12.00 / hour wireless. I haven’t gotten desperate enough to pay the hotel’s extravagant fees yet, but I’m getting close. Yesterday I took the time to go to Sarinah and was still unable to check my email. Talk about frustrating. On the plus side, the computers at 24 have USB ports, so I could upload pictures and blogs. We’ll see. Everything’s going to change when I move to Bukittinggi, anyway, so I’m not going to try to get used to things in Jakarta.