Dearest Friends and Family,
Another year has come and past, and it is time to reflect on
how incredible and precious time can be. As I have gained and lost in so many
different areas of my life, I am both wishing I was home, and wishing I could
spend more of my life in new places.
I began the year in Bali with 2 friends I met in Albania. It
was so nice to see them, but something inside me was dying to get back to
Jakarta because I had a super cute boy waiting for me. Soon after I returned
(the same day) Matt and I started officially dating. I will say that our
relationship has been challenging in more ways than it has been easy, but I’m
crazy about him and feel lucky to have met him through a randomly connected
chain of friends.
Living in Jakarta has been a bit rough this year, and I’m
finding it very difficult to engage any of my passions here. This has led to
some really rough weeks, but I’m optimistic that it is the city and not the
general lifestyle that are bothering me. On the positive side I’m loving the
opportunity to experience teaching the same level at the same school for a
second year. I find more and more that it becomes easier once you know how a
school runs, and have the resources you need to set up a classroom to fit your
needs.
A little about my travels:
As I said, December was spent mostly on the beaches of Bali,
Lombok, and the Gili Islands, but I also did some hiking around Mount Bromo, an
active volcano, which was my favorite part of the holiday.
In March I traveled to Flores to hike on Komodo Island. My
friends from America came for a visit and came with. I got to do some
incredible snorkeling! I also went to Karimun Jawa with my co-workers, and
visited Semerang, which is the third biggest city on the island of Java.
Matt and I took a weekend getaway to Puncak, which was an
excellent escape from the heat and smog of the city. Up in the mountains we
occupied ourselves with some hiking and cuddling by our fireplace.
In April I took a short weekend trip to Singapore to meet
Matt’s parents. We spent our first day just walking around and exploring and on
the second day we headed to Legoland in Malaysia.
In July: Matt and I first travelled to Pangadaran, a small
beach city in south Java. We visited a national park to do some trekking, and
body rafted in the green valley and took a boat into the green canyon. The
sights were amazing.
Matt and I took a final trip to Malaysia and travelled to
Tioman island to take our dive course. After one day of diving I fell sick with
an ear infection. After leaving the island Matt got food poisoning, and the
last day there I threw up in the Planetarium bathroom after visiting the bird
park. I was ready to go home.
In October I traveled to Cambodia for my first solo trip. I
started in Siem Reap and enjoyed the beautiful wonders of the temples
surrounding me. Then I met up with 2 friends for a weekend in the Riverside
city of Kampot. We took motorbikes (I learned how to drive) into the national
park to enjoy the mountains and exploration of random deserted buildings. I
spent a few days on the beach, and soaked up the extremely sad history of this
beautiful country with several museum visits in the capitol.
The job search has begun and I can officially announce that
I will be moving to Singapore next year. This is the first time I have chosen a
specific country, instead of a general school type, and I’m still a bit nervous
about finding something that meets my needs and desires. Overall I have faith
that at some point the right job for me will come along.
For Christmas this year I will be travelling to Australia to meet Matt’s family and friends and soak up some sun. I cannot wait to see and experience all the things he keeps telling me about.
I hope you have an excellent holiday!
Tiara
And my advice for you this year is as follows:
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