A Week of Goodbyes and Hellos!

Hello hello!!

I am writing this to you from my comfy cozy bed in my beautiful bedroom... in AKRON!!! One of my first blog posts last year was titled something similar to the title I used for this post, and I re-used it here because I find it very fitting. This week is indeed a time of Goodbyes and Hellos, though the complete reverse of last year's experience. It already has been a time of saying good-bye to my Indonesian home and all that that includes, and it will also be a time of saying good bye to the SALT participants of 2011 and 2012, some of whom I've grown very close with, and all of whom I respect and admire and have learned from over the past year. This week will also provide me with the opportunity to say hello to my family, my friends, my boyfriend, and so many others who I CANNOT WAIT to see!! It's pretty exciting to be on this side of things!

We arrived here in Akron on Thursday evening, after 41 (that is not a typo) hours of travel. We had a busy and slightly stressful morning in Salatiga on Wednesday, trying to get everything sorted and packed and brought back to the MCC office, but amidst the craziness, I also got a chance to take a few more bites of fresh and delicious mango, say my goodbyes to Ibu Christin and the boys (six-year old Peter took my departure a bit harder than I anticipated, and I wound up calling him from the airport to assure him that we would see each other again), and enjoy some delicious french toast made especially for us by Pak Chris and Ibu Henny, Dan and Jeanne's house helpers. We also ran into a small crisis when Pak Chris accidentally sprayed his daughter Grace with pepper spray (the container looked like a flashlight, and he had no way of knowing otherwise). The poor girl was in a lot of pain, but nothing that a bit of ice cream couldn't fix!

Most of the MCC staff came over to Dan and Jeanne's place to say good-bye to us, and after final rounds of hugs and well-wishes and promises to keep in touch, we were on the road just shortly after 2PM (Java time), headed to the airport. We were met there by a small group of people that included some of Jason's close friends and family, and my host parents, as well as Pak Herry and Ibu Linda. In their typical insanely generous spirit, my host parents brought us two pizzas from Pizza Hut to enjoy in the airport while we waited for our plane. We took some final pictures, said our final goodbyes, and headed through the gate to embark on our journey back home...

The flight from Semarang to Jakarta is just an hour long, but we wound up with an over seven hour layover in Jakarta as our flight was delayed. We were stuck with our luggage during that time, but we were ok to just hang out on a bench for most of that time. Luck was on our side during check-in, and we were able to bypass the regular line and head straight to the group check-in desk, which was empty. We finally boarded our flight with Qatar airlines (awesome airline, I'd totally recommend it!) at shortly past 2AM, and settled in for the nine hour flight to Doha. We landed at about 6:30AM Doha time, and it was already 35 degrees outside!! SO HOT! It was really cool to land in a country in the Middle East, as I've never seen anything in the Middle East before. It was a lot like what I had pictured it to be- really really dry and very white/beige. The nice thing about our delayed flight in Jakarta was that it consumed the time that we would have spent in layover in Doha. We had just enough time to go through security (TIGHT security in Doha, my goodness!! I was not used to that, coming from the lenient land of the Indo), and meet up with three other SALTers who had flown in from Vietnam and Nepal. It was really cool to meet up with them again!

Our flight from Doha to Washington DC took about 14 hours, and we were pretty drained by the time we arrived in Washington, where we met up with even more SALTers, bringing our total group to 12. We were extreeemely lucky to have a practically flawless travel experience, with no problems at immigration and everyone's luggage arriving (including all three pieces of my checked luggage... I'm not a light packer.). Someone met us in DC, and drove us back to Akron, stopping at a convenience store along the way. It was my first time in a North American convenience store in almost a year, and I cannot express how exciting (and even a bit overwhelming) something that small can be! I went for a bag of Smartfood and a water bottle, and enjoyed those in the car.

We arrived at MCC Akron around 8:30 PM on Thursday, and were a bit surprised to find the kitchen closed. This ended up not being a bad thing at all though, because it gave us an excuse to go out for dinner. My first dinner back in North America? Sonic! Nothing like a top quality chili cheese/frito topped hot dog, and cheesey tater tots to welcome one back to North America, right?? And it was DE.LIC.IOUS!!! It could also be justified by the 40 minute walk that it took to get there ;) It started raining while we were eating, and having no other option, we began our walk back in the rain. Just as we were starting out, a car pulled over and a lady rolled down her window and told us to get in. Under normal circumstances I would never hitch hike, but I felt pretty safe being in a group of 7 people. It turned out that the lady taught with a parent of one of the people in our group, which was a cool little connection to make. It was such an awesome welcome back into North America, with such kindness being displayed on our first night back. I went to bed around 11 and had a completely normal night sleep.

Friday morning at 7:30 presented me with the greatest treat I could possibly think of... BACON. Ohhhh, bacon, crispy salty bacon. What a breakfast!! Friday was free of any formal activities, providing us all with a chance to rest and start the road to recovery from jet lag, as well as start reconnecting with SALTers from other countries. It has been really interesting to realize that, while all of us had dramatically different SALT experiences, everyone shares common understandings and sympathies. It is really relieving to have this time to begin to readjust in such a relaxed setting, before going home and experiencing the excitement and challenges that come with returning from time abroad. We have been told that it is almost always more difficult to come home than it was to leave for a new country because one anticipates the new country to be different, but one cannot help but expect to be returning to the same life that they left behind when they began their time of service, and yet a year (or three years or five years or however many years spent abroad) has also passed at home, and with that come inevitable changes. I'm trying really hard to be aware of that reality, since it sounds like the reverse culture shock is an unavoidable part of the re-entry experience. I think it will be something that we're going to just have to take as it comes though, and for now I am not dwelling on the challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead, but am rather reveling in the absolute joy and relief that I feel right now in being back on home turf, and in all of the little things that never were exciting before, but are extremely exciting right now. (Like bacon, for example :p. And clean air. And quiet streets.)

Yesterday, Saturday, was the beginning of formal sessions, but they ended nice and early, providing lots of time for relaxation and chances to catch up on sleep. We went to the park, and I went for a few nice long walks, and took that time to just breathe in the clean air. The smell of the air was the first thing that hit me when I walked out of the DC airport. It just smells so CLEAN! We also walked to Turkey Hill, a convenience store, and I had an ice cream sandwich, which tasted absolutely heavenly. I have never been able to buy so much happiness for 70 cents before! Lunch yesterday was BLTs (more bacon!!) and dinner was enchiladas. Everything just tastes SO GOOD!!

Today we had pancakes and SAUSAGE for breakfast (I didn't realize how much I missed cheap and fatty breakfast meats!), and then began sessions for the day. Sessions today included a lot of "unpacking"- sharing how we were feeling about different things, what our frustrations and challenges and joys were during assignment, how we're feeling about being back, what we're nervous and excited for regarding heading back home, etc. In all honesty, I'm a bit sick of reflecting on my feelings and emotions (I had a lot of time to do that this year already), but we've been told that these sessions that may not seem helpful in the present are in fact quite helpful as we return back to our home communities, and since MCC has been doing orientations for quite a few years, I'm trusting that they're right about that. It's also really nice to hear the stories of others. There is a lot that I cannot relate to and a lot that I can relate to, and everything spoken is an opportunity to learn about others' experiences.

Mike and I have had a craving for Subway since February (when we went to Singapore), and we set out in search of Subway for dinner tonight rather than having dinner here. We got a bit sidetracked by an Italian restaurant, and wound up eating there instead. I had pizza, and I cannot tell you how delicious it was! Just incredible! I was struck by the portion sizes here... they are just HUGE! Portions in the Indo were like a third of the size of the portions I saw at that Italian restaurant.

Tomorrow is the last full day of orientation, and there are a bunch of sessions that I hope will be more lecture-style, and less interactive. One of them is supposed to be about how to share our stories when we get back home. We have been told that it can be really difficult to figure out how to respond to the questions we'll get at home, and I'm really eager to learn as much as possible from people here about how to effectively answer questions. I'm excited to get questions from people at home, and definitely hope that people will take an interest in my experience this year, and I really want to know how best to speak about this year in a way that answers questions concisely, while also doing justice to the experiences I've had and the stories that I am passionate about and eager to share. This experience of Serving and Learning Together certainly doesn't come to an end with the conclusion of orientation. That's both a daunting and awesome thought!

I'm over-the-top excited to get picked up by my parents on Tuesday morning, and head back to my beautiful little home town! The moments of seeing them for the first time, of driving down familiar streets, of pulling into my driveway, of stepping through my front door, of being greeted by my little sister (and maybe even more family??), of petting my cat, of eating my first home-cooked meal, are all moments that I have played and replayed in my mind for the last 11 months. There were times this year when I thought that this time would never come, and now it's here, and it's just as exciting as I was anticipating it to be! This week also brings with it some sadness, as I say good-bye to the remainder of my Indo Fam, the group of SALTers that have carried me through my toughest times this year, and who understand this experience and all that comes with it, more thoroughly than anyone else ever could. I'm really going to miss them, and it hurts to say good-bye. Despite that, I am so looking forward to the upcoming days of being reunited with family, with friends, with my boyfriend, and with my church community. I cannot wait to explore the places that are so important to me at home, to see my little Southern Ontario world with new eyes and new appreciation. It is a time of so much change and a cause for so much celebration and gratitude, and I am ready to embrace all of that in these upcoming days.

I am so grateful to each and every one of you for your thoughts and your prayers over this past year, and I am hoping that they continue during these weeks and months of readjustment and learning. Thank-you for reading my blog this year, and following me through my highs and lows. Thank-you for being willing to learn alongside me and for allowing my experiences to make their way into your own hearts and minds, and perhaps impact you in some way or another. The experience of SALT goes so far beyond myself. The purpose of SALT is to bridge communities, to learn from each other, and to gain a deeper understanding and thus appreciation and respect for our global family (a concept I still struggle with, and hope to keep grappling with). Blogging is one small way to help fulfill the purpose of SALT, and just by your willingness to read, you have engaged in that experience, and have in turn made this year even more worthwhile. Thank-you!!

As I mentioned before, I plan to post at least once more, maybe more, in the upcoming weeks and months. The experiences of this year are at their freshest right now, and are perhaps a bit too fresh to be able to process and understand. As I am able to start sorting through this year, I hope to blog a bit about the whole returning home process. Keep checking for new posts every once in awhile, because one will be coming! Until then, thank-you SO MUCH once more for your love and your support over this past year. You helped to carry me through, and I am forever grateful to you for that!

Looking forward to seeing many of you SO SOON!!!
With love and gratitude,
Ellery