one year in

A year ago today, I stepped foot into this beautiful, hot, wonderful country. It’s unbelievable that that much time has already passed. It’s been full of laughter, awe, worship, tears, challenges, and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

10 things I love about this country (aside from the people):

• The cicaks – these little geckos not only eat the mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue, but I also think they’re super cute.
• The food – when I first arrived in this country, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of the food. It was a lot of rice, and it was spicy. But now, it is some of the best food in the world.
• Fresh fruit juice - Divine.
• Speaking in another language – Okay, so I’m far from fluent, but it’s still really cool to be able to understand and even slightly communicate in another language.
• Driving a motorcycle – Yeah, there are some times when I fear for my life and others when I battle road rage, but all in all, it’s a rather fun experience.
• The landscape – Turn one direction, mountains. Another, the beach. Does it get any better?
• Batik fabric – this beautiful fabric is wonderful, and each province has their own unique style.
• Greeting friends with a cheek-to-cheek embrace – I loved this when I was in France, and I was thrilled to discover it’s here as well.
• Being community-oriented – Honestly, this took me a while to adjust to: neighbors coming in and peeking in my room, asking about every little thing, etc. My housemates have stories of, while battling dengue, waking up to find neighbors standing over the beds, watching them. Now, though, it’s a source of comfort. Our neighbors have our backs. The first two weeks after we moved in, the little ibu next door sat outside our gate every night, making sure we got home safely. Relationships matter.
• Dependence on the Lord – There is absolutely no denying our dependence on the Lord in this country. Day in and day out, it is very clear: WE NEED HIM. Need Him for sanity, need Him for comfort, need Him for strength, need Him to do it all really… In the States, that fact can be clouded, but here, it is very, very evident.

10 things that have changed:

• Ideas of cold - 70 degrees is coooold. Guess that’s what happens when you live in 90-degree weather with high humidity year round. When we went up to the mountains, I wore a sweater and shivered.
• How comfortable I am with physical contact with the same gender - It’s a totally normal thing now to walk hand-in-hand with a good girl friend. Nothing is thought of it. Extremely awkward at first, now it’s a common thing even among my American girl friends.
• My eating habits - Remember when you were a kid and your parents always scolded you for eating with your hands? Yeah. Forget that.
• The definition of an address - Want to know what we say when we give our address? It’s the blue and grey house next to the red house in the neighborhood behind the orange building on this one street. To receive a package, I get a text message from the post office telling me to come pick one up. To pay bills, I take last month’s bill down the street to a guy’s house who has a computer set up in his living room. Mailboxes are a thing of the past.
• My idea of showering - Warm water spraying down automatically from a shower head above me is a faint memory. Now, my arms get a daily workout as I dump cold water over my head. It’s rather refreshing in the middle of blazing hot day in the tropics though.
• My cooking abilities - Not that I’m this awesome cook or anything, but through being under some pretty awesome ladies, I can now successfully make some things taste like America (some things).
• My driving abilities – Piggybacking off of loving to drive above, my driving abilities have also changed drastically… and not necessarily in a good way. I’m a lot more aggressive now… I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in trouble when I get back to the States.
• Handshakes - After lightly shaking someone’s hand, you bring your own up to your chest. Please don’t think I’m weird if I come back and do this. It’s a really hard habit to break.
• Standards for movies - Going to the theater here is a magical experience – It’s dark, they’re speaking in English, we’re eating candy and movie popcorn… It’s almost like being in America, and it’s worth watching movies that I would never consider seeing if I was actually back in the States. 
• Ideas of cleanliness - When it comes to the bathroom, wet is clean. If the food has no roaches, it’s good. Ants? Extra protein.

It's been a crazy year, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here and witness what the Father's doing. Thank you, Asia, for making me more like Him. I'm looking forward to the year to come.


"And we know that for those who love G-d all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If G-d is for us, who can be against us?"
- Rom 8:28-31

motorcycle girl

I am now a motorcycle girl. Before you start picturing leather jackets and skull caps, though, maybe you should take a look at the little dinker of a thing they call a motorcycle. It's more or less a bicycle with a motor attached.

Driving here is not a leisure activity. It's fun, sure, but I do not do it to relax like I did in the States.

People are pretty much crazy. And not because they speed and do crazy tricks, cause a lot don't. It's little stuff. It's not wearing a helmet. It's driving on the wrong side of the median. It's not looking before you pull out in front of someone. It's making two lanes into three... four... five lanes. You quickly learn the dimensions of your vehicle and just how much space you need to get through or around or by someone. And it's cramming four people on a two person bike. I've seen entire families on a motorcycle - the Dad drives, a child in his lap in front, Momma in the back, and a baby in between. And none wearing helmets. Seriously.

For me, the rule is: no sudden movements. Don't do anything that would surprise anyone. If you're going to pull out in front of someone, do it confidently but not suddenly. If a car comes ridiculously close to you, don't jerk over to the side, because you'll take out the motorcyclist who's next to you. As long as you pay attention to what's going on around you and stay calm, you'll be fine.

I've got a confession to make: more ugliness has come out in me while driving here than it ever did in the States. If I ever need to be reminded of what I've been saved from, all I gotta do is go for a drive. That being said, my pr-yer life has also increased greatly since I've been on the bike, haha. I am extremely grateful, though, for being able to drive, as well as for the four months I had riding in this craziness without having to manage it myself. Dad knew what he was doing. :)

Usually I wear long-sleeves while I drive for two reasons: more protection and people can't tell as easily that I'm an American, haha.

And now for some photos of one of the cutest girls in the world - meet Loren. She's the daughter of one of the Ibu's in my life, and she is the most adorable thing. Once so shy she wouldn't speak a word or even come close to me, she now chatters endlessly about things beyond my language capabilities. Love this girl.

 

Also, if any of you are interested, I try to send out a monthly email (really it's become every 6 weeks - my bad) with more specifics on life and work here. If you'd like to be added to the list, just shoot me an email at: rachel_stone26@eku.edu.

Language school day 1: "Ah, bay, chay, day..."

Little else is more humbling than having to relearn the alphabet.

Day one of language school is officially over. Even though our lesson was only two hours long, we learned a TON of stuff. Okay, maybe "learn" is not the right word. There are a lot of new words floating around in my brain. Whether or not I've learned them is another issue.

The other part of our schooling is spending two hours out in the community trying to use what we learned. I can see how this is extremely beneficial for language learning. However, for an introvert, this is also very uncomfortable, for lack of better words. I like to have everything perfect before I try it out. So, here I am, carrying around my little cheat sheet, walking through the market that's two blocks down from our house, and all these people are staring at me, and I just want to hide. Morgan, on the other hand, is thrilled to be able to speak to the people, even if we do only know three phrases, and is walking fearlessly up to people right and left. I do a little pep talk to gather enough courage to walk up to an ibu, or older woman, on the side of the street. By the time I stumble through my second phrase, a small crowd has gathered to listen to the buleh, and they're all laughing at me, who knows why exactly.

After a couple attempts, we enter a local department store and walk up to the friendly workers who are hanging around. Talking to people who smile at you and don't gather crowds is a lot easier. After a while, the people whom Morgan has already talked to spot me wandering and run up, stand in front of me, and smile, waiting for me to practice my horrible language skills. Thank you, Morgan, for making the rest of my day a hundred times easier.

Despite being absolutely exhausting and challenging, in more ways than one, today was a very successful day. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel at the end of the week, but I'm just taking it day by day. Perlahan-lahan - Slowly, step by step.

"G-d is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency at all times, you may abound in every good work." 2 Cor. 9:8