After that I was / a woman alone carrying her bag

[moireach]

Hi, I'm in Indonesia. I got here a week ago, after a grueling 2+ days of straight travel: DC to London to Singapore to Jakarta to Ambon, the little city on an island in Maluku province, way in the east of the country

Comments

[mandysbitch]

The east? You can't be more than four hours away from Perth! And flights are cheap! Come visit!

[moireach]

Yeah, kind of dead north of Darwin, I think! And ooh, are they?? I really wanted to come to Australia after the summer, but couldn't find any cheap flights (at least compared to going to, say, Thailand) -- I was looking at flying into Melbourne, though, I think. Lured by the rumors of amazing coffee culture!

[_jems_]

That's horrible that your living situation ended up entirely different from what you were promised. Is there no chance you can get what they told you from the start? I mean, that right there would send me straight home, but then again, I don't really enjoy those kinds of things and wouldn't have gone in the first place (moving to a foreign country right on the cusp of becoming a teenager and having no say in the matter means I don't actively look for similar experiences as an adult). I hope that things work out for you whatever you choose to do about the situation. It looks really pretty from the pics you've been posting on Tumblr, so that's gotta be a plus, right?

Best wishes on your marriage!

[moireach]

Ugh, thanks -- for a bunch of reasons related to 'I need people to explain how things work to me,' I think this living situation is probably best, even if not what I wanted. But still frustrating! Remind me where you moved as a teen, was it to the US?

Yeah, the views here are gorgeous! In the city itself is pretty dirty and smelly, but I guess that's kind of par for the course for any city!

[irishmizzy]

Augh, oh man, M, that sounds UNREAL, I'm sorry it's the opposite of what you wanted. :( It sounds so cool but I know that if I were in your situation I'd be equally homesick and sad, especially because of the whole noncon surprise homestay + food. YIKES. Hopefully it gets a little bit better (or, you know, exponentially better) every day. <3<3<3<3

[moireach]

Awww, your icon. THANKS, MAN, I hope it does!

[brinshannara]

Sorry you're having such a hard time of it. If you like, I can get my friend Vishnu to email you to maybe help with the coping/adjustment. He's a native Indonesian, fully bilingual and well-versed in life in the West. He lives in Jakarta, but he's a good guy to have on your side in a situation like this.

Let me know.

[moireach]

Hey thanks so much -- I think I'm okay for now, but I'll let you know if that changes. Appreciate it! I don't think I realized Vishnu was from Indonesia, that's so funny.

[brinshannara]

No worries. I knew having a friend from Indonesia would come in handy someday! ;)

PS: The mysterious object is a toothbrush holder.

http://www.nagata.co.id/laundry/laundry5.html

[moireach]

Whoa, it totally is, and that's the exact one! How did you find it?!

[furies]

oh, m. so sad. i would be crying. noncon with food homestay? yeah. crying. except i would be trying to do it quietly while staring at a wall in bed. plus, i am really bad with spices, so i think i would really be a mess.

i have friends that live in indonesia. not on your island in particular, but ones that went to high school with me and so are a good mix of east and west. i also have lots of people in singapore and hong kong. (and other random places "nearby".) if you want, i can connect you with them.

(i also have a friend from college that works in the state department and is posted in taipei. my geography sucks, but let me know if any of those places would be helpful.)

[moireach]

Thanks so much, I appreciate it -- I'll let you know!