Reflections on Our Team Retreat

Selamat Sore!

It has been quite awhile since I’ve had the chance to post on my blog, so I’m sorry to those of you who follow regularly and may have stopped checking as a result of such a huge gap in posts! It has been difficult to find the time, between the four day MCC team retreat,and a trip to Semarang to get more visa photos taken (they gave us a sheet of 20 passport photos at orientation in Akron for such purposes, but of course, each country and each form has different requirements for size, background colour, facial expression, etc. etc.. If you receive a letter with a very solemn 2x2 photo of myself, it’s because I have 20 useless passport pictures to use at my whim).

This past Thursday to Sunday was MCC Team Retreat. I had no idea what this meant, other than that we would all be together- the entire MCC team, even Catherine and Allan, who are serving on another island- and would spend a few days talking about MCC and issues relevant to Indonesia. What I did not know was that we would be staying at an absolutely beautiful (yet very economical, in keeping with MCC’s beliefs about being good stewards of our money) hotel/conference centre high in the mountains in the town of Bandungan- it was cold enough to wear a sweater!

Before I start with my explanation of the weekend, I have to interject to let you all know just how incredible it felt to receive my first package EVER via mail, on Wednesday afternoon. My mom sent me a package full of DELICIOUS foods (namely Kraft Dinner), along with a beautiful card. I still get excited thinking about it! Thank you SO much, Mumsie! You have no idea how happy it made me!!

On Thursday morning, Laura and I met up at the corner as usual, and caught the #9 angkota to Karen and Major’s for 7AM for “Prayer and Pancakes” (a weekly tradition). This week I had volunteered to lead prayer (which meant stepping waaaay outside my comfort zone as leading such things is really not something I feel at ease doing). During our prayer time, I borrowed an idea that Nicole had come up with, to name three things that we are thankful for in Indonesia and/or things that we will miss when we leave, in order to remind ourselves of the blessings that this country is providing us. The idea was birthed in response to a conversation that we had that started off slightly negative, and went downhill from there. We realized how easy it is to slip into negative thought patterns and comparisons to home, and Nicole decided that we needed to put an end to that. It was awesome to hear the ideas people came up with during prayers, and it set a positive tone for our weekend together.

We left straight from Karen and Major’s by van, and arrived in Bandungan around 9:30 AM. I was blown away when we arrived! It. Was. Stunning. Ibu Retno, who works with MCC, had booked us the main house and two “condos” at the Azaya Hotel and Conference Centre. The condos had three bedrooms each, with balconies overlooking the gardens, the playgrounds, and the cages of peacocks (caged birds and animals seem to be commonly found at such places). There was a pool, tennis courts, and a beautiful outdoor dining area. The best part was that for the first two nights, we had the place to ourselves! It was almost quiet, which is a rare find in this country. Our meetings were held in the main house, which had many bedrooms and a huge living room.

The view from our balcony at the hotel

Our condo! 

Thursday morning and afternoon were spent participating in two sessions about teaching English in Indonesia. The sessions were led by Catherine, who has been teaching English as a Second Language for years, and specifically in Indonesia for the last year and a half. She was incredibly engaging and offered many practical ideas, and I was amazed at how much I learned from her.

Friday, I must admit, was a day that tested the limits of my patience and self-control. Those of you who know me well will know that sitting still and paying attention for any extended period of time is not a gift I’ve been blessed with, and is an issue that I’ve confronted multiple times since my arrival in Indonesia. I confronted it once again on Friday, and it almost got the better of me- After ten and a half hours of sessions (minus a one hour break for lunch, and two short tea breaks) I honestly thought I might go crazy. I envied Sharya, Sushant and Priti’s 10 month old son, who could get away with crying whenever he felt so inclined.

Despite the mounting frustration and the resulting twitch that had seized my eye by 6:30 PM, I did pick up on some really interesting bits of information. The sessions we had were primarily on trauma healing, which is something I am very interested in, and which were led by a really fun and enthusiastic young Indonesian woman who has had experience in the field. I discovered that the methods of trauma healing used in Indonesia are so different from those I’ve been taught in Canada. I think that the reasons for that lie in the differences, generally speaking, between Indonesian and Canadian culture and history. Where Canadians are quite direct and blunt in their words and actions, Indonesians value saving face and often use a much more indirect approach. The speaker said that it was rare that a Javanese person would tell you that they have a problem- you can only see it in their eyes and demeanor. Another reason for the differences- one that I never considered- is that many Indonesian people have experienced the same traumas, and have experienced traumas multiple times throughout life. Between natural and human-induced crises, many Indonesians have suffered losses and lived through experiences that I can only try to imagine. It emphasized, to me, the importance of locals helping locals, and highlighted yet again the lack of necessity- and even the potential danger- for foreigners to swoop in and try to impart their “wisdom” upon people without taking the time to learn the culture and the history, which I realized will take much longer than the year that I have here. MCC works primarily with partner organizations here in Indonesia, which means that the power and decision-making and the front line work remains with the Indonesian population. I think that’s how it should be.

Saturday began with a 6AM hike to see the Gedong Songo Temples (which I had seen during my week in Semarang) and a swim in the Hot Spring pool. The temples were beautiful (as they were the first time), but the highlight was the hot spring. I had never swam in a hot spring before, and we had quite the adventure getting into the pool in the first place (it wasn’t open, so we went in through an “alternative entrance” and enjoyed the pool to ourselves). The smell wasn’t the most pleasant, but we were assured that the benefits to the skin would compensate for the odour. I have high hopes for that flawless complexion to hit in the next few days.

An up-close shot at the Gedong Songo Temples

A little blurry, but Lweendo, Allan, and I hanging out in the Hot Spring!

After our early morning swim, we returned to the hotel in time for breakfast before sessions started. I was leery of more sessions, given what had happened the day before, but I wound up being absolutely blown away by the message that was spoken. In fact, it radically altered my perceptions of the Muslim population in Indonesia, and challenged my beliefs and actions as a peace-loving Mennonite. I am in the midst of typing up a summary and reflection on the discussion, and I will post it to my blog as soon as I have it done!

The YALTers led the worship service closed that the weekend, and then we all headed to an incredible restaurant that served THE most delicious fish I have ever eaten in my life!!

I ate a chicken foot!

Don't be deceived by its appearance- this fish tasted INCREDIBLE!

We returned home, and Laura joined me for the night as my family had to go to Semarang for the evening. We seized the opportunity to crack open a box of KD, and savoured every single noodle. It was a perfectly blissful evening!

Enjoying the KD from Mom!

This week has not been filled with too much excitement, save a visit to Semarang to get visa photos and fingerprints taken. The process went shockingly fast- we were in and out, with six people needing to go through the procedure, within 20 minutes.

Tonight is another highlight of an evening as we're celebrating Thanksgiving, my number one most favourite holiday EVER! We're having chicken, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, homemade buns, salad, veggies, cranberry sauce, gravy, pie, fudge, homemade ice cream, mangoes, watermelon, and Tim Horton's coffee!! My mouth is literally watering just thinking about it!!!

On Friday night, we're hiking Mount Merbabu (a six hour night hike) to watch the sun rise over Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes. It is going to be a brutal hike, but worth every second, and I am really looking forward to it!

I'll conclude this post with a few photos that don't really fit into the rest of the post, but that may be of interest to some of you!

Pak Lilik and Ibu Christine's house- my house (and by far the most adorable house) in Salatiga! (The window to the right of the door is my room)

My adik laki-laki ("little brother"), Steven

Peter! (And Pak Lilik in the background)

Trying on batik gear in Solo (I bought the pants and they're amazing!)

Intestines and quail eggs! Examples of foods that are left out for the next customer at a warung.

This is more my style.... Enjoying the most delicious pizza on earth at O Solo Mio

Happy Thanksgiving to my family and Canadian friends!!!! Have an AWESOME weekend! Looking forward to getting in touch again next week!

Love,
Ellery