Back in Salatiga...

Hello Hello!

I am writing this post from my absolute favourite spot in Indonesia- the massive day bed in Dan and Jeanne's screened-in back porch. Over this past year, I have seen some jaw-droppingly beautiful places and experienced many incredible things, but nothing can compare with that feeling of complete contentment that comes from being surrounded by good company, good food, and a comfy cozy environment. It feels good to be back!

I got back to Salatiga around noon on Thursday. My last day in Semarang included a Dim Sum breakfast (Chinese food, which is a favourite of my host parents, who are ethnic Chinese themselves), an incredible Italian lunch, a farewell presentation from the kiddies at PPA, and dinner at a warung, where I tried pigeon for the first time- and LOVED it! Why don't we eat pigeon at home? It would solve that issue of excessive pigeons in big cities, and they really are delicious little birds! A bit oily, but super crispy skin! Absolutely delicious. My host parents made me a beautiful photo album as a going-away gift (among a few other things, because they consistently take generosity to a whole new level), and in addition to their gifts, people dropped by all evening and even the morning of my departure, with last-minute kenang-kenangan that they wanted me to take home. I think I received as many gifts in the last few weeks as I have in all my 21 birthdays combined. Or at least close to it ;)

My host parents and pastor's wife brought me to Salatiga, and we picked Nicole up on the way. Nancy, Mike, and Laura were already here, and my host family treated us all to lunch at "Bizztro" (double Z) before dropping us all off at the MCC office and saying our final (or semi-final, because I think they are coming to the airport on Wednesday) good-byes. They made sure to stress that we- all of us YALTers, as well as my family and friends- always have a home in Indonesia if our travels should ever lead us back here. I know that that is an absolutely sincere offer, and I really hope to get a chance to take them up on it in the future.

While it was sad to say good-bye to the host family, it was AWESOME to be reunited with the team, particularly Mike, who we haven't seen in over two months. Our YALT team gets along incredibly well, and they truly feel like a little family for me here. We spent most of our afternoon on Thursday just catching up and going through our luggage and re-packing (well at least I did). In the evening, all of us went to the Pancisila for dinner. The Pancisila is like the city centre, with a huge inner green surrounded by a wide band of sidewalk. A lot of food vendors gather there in the evenings. The food is really cheap and really delicious, and it's a lot of fun to sit on the mats that are set up, and listen to street performers and watch kids race around on ATVs. It's a bit of an experience every time! Later in the evening, the last of the team- Lweendo, Jason, and Riki- arrived back safe and sound after a loooong day on the road. We all chatted for awhile, then watched Mama Mia before heading to bed.

Friday was a busy busy day, with a baby shower planned for the early afternoon, and the YALT send-off dinner in the evening. Karen and Major's baby was due a few days ago, and we had the shower planned for Friday the 13th, with our fingers crossed that little baby Edward would hold off on making his appearance until after the shower was over. It turns out that Friday the 13th isn't nearly as unlucky as people think it is, for Edward cooperated and the shower went off beautifully! Nicole and Nancy were in charge of decorations for the Shaun the Sheep themed shower (a British claymation kids show that is similar to Wallace and Grommit, and is extremely popular here), and they went ALL OUT. The back porch was completely transformed! Laura and I were in charge of food and games, but so many people helped out to make it all come together. We had a water balloon toss (re-named "Don't Break Your Water"... that was actually the only game) and enjoyed some delicious foods, including our "Shaun the Sheep Shaped Cupcake Cake", which turned out beautifully! It was a lot of fun, and a lot of the MCC staff were able to make it.

Our YALT dinner took place that evening, as Nicole had to depart earlier than the rest of us (Saturday morning) because she was here on a different visa than the rest of us. The original plan was to go out for dinner, but plans were changed, and instead the MCC staff cooked us an INCREDIBLE meal of homemade satay with peanut sauce, vegetable curry, puri (?), a type of Indian bread, mint chutney, rice, and for dessert, a chocolate birthday cake (for both Riki and I), and cookies. The meal was SO much better than a restaurant ever could have been, and it was quite a treat to be able to just sit back and enjoy while the rest of the MCC staff did the work. (Thank-you!!). A slideshow was also put together, and I was struck by just how much our little Indo fam has gone through together this year, ranging from really awesome to really challenging, and everything in between. I feel SO blessed to have had these people in my life this year, and I cannot express how much I'm going to miss them when we have to say all of our good-byes. (And going back to the food part of this event, I'll also add that that satay grill that I mentioned in my last post wound up being put to good use on Friday night, and I feel a bit less like a fool for purchasing such a seemingly useless item!)

I woke up at 3AM on Saturday morning, along with Mike, Laura, and Riki, to accompany Nicole to the Semarang airport. The Indonesian YAMEN team (consisting of Nancy, Lweendo, and Nicole) have their re-orientation in Cambodia rather than the US, where it is hard to get visas, so Nicole was headed there to wait for Nancy and Lweendo so that they could begin their re-orientation activities. Nicole was really sad to leave early, and we were really sad to send her off, but she's made it safely to Cambodia (arrived at the wrong airport and had to bus 8 hours to Phnom Penh, but she handled the little mix-up with the stoicism that Nicole is known for), and hopefully she'll be able to at least get some time to relax and enjoy these few days. We arrived back from the airport and I slept until almost noon, and then Laura, Mike, and I walked to Bu Wati for grilled chicken and rice. From there, we headed to a fun little souvenir shop, and then walked to Laura's old host family's home (she stayed with a host family during language training back in September/October) to say thank-you and good-bye. Her old host family runs an orphanage out of their home, and they currently have 19 children between the ages of 5 months and senior high school. Laura isn't exactly a big fan of children (to put it lightly), but I was thrilled for the chance to hold a few babies, which I haven't actually had that many opportunities to do this year! We had a nice little visit and then headed back to the Jantzi's for a bit of a break before dinner. Dinner was nasi goreng at Karen and Major's, followed by a time of answering random questions in order to prepare us for the questions that people at home may ask us upon our return. I'm curious about how many of those questions we'll get when we get back! All year we've been answering questions that people here have had about life in Canada. It will be interesting to see what the flipside looks like! We played some Dutch Blitz in the evening and then came back and watched a movie before bed.

We were at Karen and Major's again this morning, for pancakes and a time of worship. We did that in place of attending an actual church service, and us YALTers who have spent quite a bit of time introducing ourselves and re-answering questions and sitting through really really long sermons in Bahasa Indonesia, were quite grateful that this alternative was provided. We sang a bit, and Sushant gave a message about how God turns our failures into successes, and how even though we may feel like we failed either in specific situations or in our overall year of service (or both), this year was not about what we were able to accomplish, but what God was wanting to accomplish through us. I felt like it was a much-needed reminder that it is not my place to judge whether this year was a success or a failure; I wasn't placed in Indonesia to accomplish my own goals. I was placed here for reasons beyond my understanding, that I cannot possibly have a clear vision of. It's a relief to know that, because if the success of this year was measured by my own accomplishments, I would be coming home a very guilt-ridden, defeated, frustrated, and dissatisfied young woman.

After breakfast, five of us took the bus to Semarang, with the intention of grabbing lunch and seeing a movie. We wound up just grabbing lunch, as the theatre was absolutely packed. There was a really cool craft show going on too, and we wandered through that a bit before heading back up to Salatiga. Tonight, the plan is to have dinner at the Pancisila and then play some games at Karen and Major's. I cannot think of a more enjoyable way to spend an evening here in Salatiga!

I have my exit interview with MCC tomorrow afternoon, and in the evening, Mike, Laura, and I are having dinner with my host sister Valen, and her friend. We're trying a new place that gets so busy that she asked us what we'd like to eat from there today so that she could order in advance. (The options were fried rice, fried noodles, or fried rice/noodles... they do two things, but they must do 'em well!!)

I'm hoping to post once more while I'm here- I'm not ready to end the in-Indonesia portion of my blog yet!

I hope you're all well and happy! Thanks for reading!
Have a great day!

Lots of love,
Ellery