Gili Air: Storm

Our next stopover point for the trip was Gili Air. You’ll be surprised to find out, based on the title, that the skies were perfectly blue the whole time I was there. I was looking the most forward to this portion of the trip. The main reason being that the island is completely walk able in 90 minutes and there are no motorized vehicles allowed. I was excited to do some self-exploration here. Are you kidding me? Somewhere I could walk around and not get honked at/almost run over by cars? I was looking very forward to finding some nice places to read and write.

dirt paths

After arriving at our hostel I left pretty quickly, taking my bike (free rental with the bungalow rental) and taking random turns at every dirt path I met. I had no idea where I was going, but what did I care? I had nowhere to be, and no one to answer to. I came across many a wild, but tame animal, lots of Indonesians doing farm work/cooking, and a few men carrying machetes who said “Siang!” (good afternoon) as I passed. Eventually I came to a beach on the other side of the island and decided that this would be the perfect place to have a beer as my lunch for the day (I had previously stopped for gelato.) I asked for a large Bintang at a random bar, because this one had some nice shaded bungalows overlooking the beach where I could sit and read. They said the large Bintang wasn’t cold, so I began looking in their fridge and what should I see but Storm beer!

So a little side note to explain my excitement: Being me, when I first began researching Indonesia I researched the beer. No surprise there. I found this beer rating site and on it the Storm Iron Stout had the highest rating of all Indonesian made beers. It had even won international awards. So, of course I’ve been looking for it since I arrived. No success in Jakarta, but I did manage to find the Storm IPA which was delicious. The problem is that the bar I found it at only had 2 left, and I drank them both. I’ve been asking all over since then, but everywhere seems to be out. I did some research online and found a forum that said that the company has recently gone out of business. I was very depressed. A girl can really only drink so much pilsner before wanting to swear off beer completely.

Storm IPA!

Since I saw it in the fridge at this random bar, on this random beach, on this random island, I decided to try the Stout. Being a Stout fan and all, I have to say I did not enjoy it. Mostly because the beach is the complete wrong setting for such a heavy beer. Lucky for me, I had seen several other kinds in the fridge so I asked for an IPA. They did not have it. I was starting to lose hope. The white guy behind me said he’d have it later that night. I mentioned I was a huge beer fan, particularly of IPA and he responded by saying I must be a very smart girl and introducing himself as the co-owner of the Storm Brewing company. He told me about the 5 beers they brewed, and I decided to try a bronze ale. He of course yelled at the poor Indonesian bartender for not serving it in a glass the way it was meant to be served.

We had a nice chat about the beers, how they are brewed (all natural) and about the law suit they are currently going through. I asked if the company was shutting down and he informed that it is not likely. Mostly he said I would see Storm beer disappear for 3-6 months, and then hopefully it would re-emerge. Can you say relief. I might be able to go to a bar and drink a decent beer in a few months! Robert ended up finding me and low and behold, the guy is also a DJ, and him and Robert had tons to talk about. After trying all of the beer I’d have to say that the Bronze is my favorite. What the Storm IPA lacks in flavor is made up for in this hoppy red ale. Yummy!

Enjoying my beer in the water

After a few more beers I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and it was now 5:00pm, so Robert and I made the best of our slightly goofy bike ride back to the bungalow to pick up Scott for dinner. We ended up eating at a very chill place and all getting delicious prawns, rice, and veggies. It was a satisfying meal but I was still starving since I hadn’t really eaten all day. I opted to head back to the beach joint for 2 cold IPAs. We rode the bikes home in the pitch black under the stars. I almost wiped out a few times, mostly because I was slightly intoxicated, but also because I kept wanting to look up at the stars.

sunset

The following morning I woke up with a migraine, after listing to pounding trance music from a distance until late into the night, and not being able to sleep. I pounded water, drank a coffee, put on my suit, and headed out to find breakfast. I ate in a bungalow along the shore and had a veggie omelet and orange juice for about $4. We are talking fresh squeezed orange juice here, by the way. I managed to bike almost the entire perimeter of the island, stopping to take pictures, and to walk it through the super sandy spots, in about an hour. I sat at a bar and drank a fresh bloody mary (they cut the tomatoes in front of me, and blended them to make juice) and read. Then, I needed more water, so I went back to the hostel and skyped with my mom, had a bit of me time to write, and then went to meet Scott and Robert for lunch.

should have named this bike....

I had a delicious veggie wrap and salad and pineapple juice for $5. Where is the food culture in Jakarta? I need more than Nasi Goreng world!

After watching the sea for a few hours while Scott and Robert played chess I decided to head home to do some serious writing. I was really needing this me time after 12 days, and I was desperate for time to write. Perfect afternoon in the garden. Just me, my thoughts, some music, coffee, and the occasional interruption by the world’s cutest person ever sending me text messages.

Then I decided to head back out to do a little more exploring, grab an ice cream and watch the sunset, however this was quickly interrupted by a teeny tiny bit of rain. I biked back to the hostel and opted to lay in the hammock and read until it was time for dinner. We took the back roads back to a restaurant and sat and played cards while we sipped on drinks and ate food. Eventually I was tired enough to leave the gang and head home. After my scary bike ride in the dark (I was not slightly intoxicated and thus largely aware of the darkness that encompassed me) I got through the gate only to realize I had no key. Lucky for me the owner was doing some late night gardening work and ran and got the spare while I sat and looked at stars. Once inside I almost immediately passed out.

Breakfast!

The following morning I woke up, did some reading, ate breakfast with Scott and Robert and got ready to journey on, to legendary Gili Trawangan.  

Kuta beach Lombok: Happy Super Fun Day

Getting to Kuta, Lombok was a bit of a hassle, mostly because it ended up costing us more than we thought it would. Our hotel was pretty gross, and the sink was being held apart by ducked taped, but we figured we could make it work. Once we arrived we put on our beach gear and headed to the beach, stopping along the way for some delicious seafood lunch. The beach was met with swarming herds of Indonesians attempting to sell us things. We did end up buying some deliciously sweet coconut lime drinks, and after sitting for a few short minutes Robert went in for a swim. I was looking around and noticed I was the only Bule girl in sight and all the other women were either swimming fully clothed or not swimming at all. So I opted to simply cut my losses and swim in my dress. It felt a bit ridiculous, but also kind of cool, and on the plus side, the dress was then wet and cool for the rest of the evening, however you all know how I feel about sitting in salt water. Gross!

Christmas morning breakfast!

We stopped at a cool surfer bar for some cocktails, and I indulged in a double espresso. On the way home I stopped off to indulge some more and purchased an $18 bottle of wine. I figured it was Christmas day, and Christmas day deserved wine. Back at the hotel I took a look in the mirror and realized I was actually insanely sun burnt, so I opted to save the majority of the wine and began chugging a few liters of water.

I sat on the balcony and skyped (the internet connection wasn’t the best) while Robert and Scott swam in the pool. After an hour or so we decided to head to dinner and stopped at Sunset café, which had rave reviews for their beef burgers, which, regrettably were unavailable for whatever reason, so I had some yummy pasta instead. We watched bats fly around our heads, the sunset, and stared intently as geckos ate their prey. At this point we were all exhausted and had no idea how we were going to make it to our Christmas day skype sessions that evening. We all did, though we struggled to stay awake, chugging on insane amounts of water as we waited.

Awesome tree!

The next morning was super happy fun day! We went back to the surfer bar and had some delicious morning smoothies and then headed up the coast to find a beach to relax on for the rest of the day. After some serious trekking through the sand (I say this because the walk was almost as bad as hiking Bromo), we managed to find a shady spot to relax and explore. The morning was filled with staring at clouds, discovering critters, giggling contentedly and re-applying drastic amounts of sunscreen. The sandy sunscreen application was my least favorite part, and I’m sure my facial expressions as I rubbed it in were hilarious.

Our beach for the day!

Eventually we all got hungry and had to eat some food. Opting to take the road over the sandy beach, we soon were dripping with sweat and had to stop to get ice cream, and soon after choose the nearest restaurant to chug a fresh fruit juice and indulge in pizza and burgers. Yummy! We were perfectly fine to hang at the hotel the rest of the afternoon lounging by the poolside and sipping on drinks. When we reached hunger again we headed to a nearby woodfire pizza place and I devoured a whole pizza. The 100 meter walk home was exhausting enough to make us all ready for bed at about 8:00pm. It is incredible what sunshine can do to your body.

Rocking like a sink, sinking like a rock!

Ubud, Bali: High Five Alive!

Once again, we had to wake up super duper early to travel. Our ride to the airport did not show up on time, so we ended up calling a taxi, which was easy enough. We arrived with plenty of time to check in, have a double espresso and baked item, and still sit and relax for a bit. Our plane was incredibly scary, and small. They had to attach propellers and before we took off I told Scott and Robert that if they survived and I didn’t they should tell my family that I loved them. It was actually way better than I thought, but I was thankful to arrive, and was equally thankful that my bag was the first off the luggage cart. "High Five Alive!" Our driver was waiting with my name on a piece of paper and we were quickly escorted to his van and on the road.

coffee plantation....not the actual one, but still beautiful!

Along the way he asked us the usual questions about where we were from, what our plans were, and also attempted to sell himself as a driver for us for the next few days. We started asking about some of the places we could see, and when he mentioned the coffee plantation we all showed immediate interest. He mentioned Kopi Lukwak, and then agreed to take us there, no cost. After a brief tour of an example plantation where lots of spices and fruit trees were growing, we got to taste their different flavored teas and coffees and we all sampled Luwak coffee for 50,000 rupiah (5USD). It was made in a very different fashion at this place as opposed to the place in Jogjakarta and I felt like it was very scientific. We stopped at the gift shop, and I was proud of myself for buying absolutely nothing, and not falling into a tourist trap!

Upon arrival at our hostel we all began speaking in awe of the extreme splendor of the greenery. I seriously felt like I was in a temple from the moment I walked in. Our room was quite large and we had a nice small table over looking the gardens. Immediately all I wanted to do was sit, drink coffee, and read/write in this spot. Good thing the boys were on board.

Since we had been up for about 8 hours we were getting quite hungry so we went in search of food. All my body was craving was veggies and fruit and luckily I was able to get an Avocado juice, and salad, which was followed by some honey dew slush, all for about $5. I was already thinking I could live here and then we started exploring other random hostels/homestay’s gardens. It’s great because you can walk in anywhere and explore, and no one bothers you. I seriously wanted to ask “Berapah” (how much?) for ones of the tree houses I saw. I could easily spend the rest of my life here, just walking around the streets, and taking trips to the forests and fields a few hours away. We stopped at the supermarket to buy a kettle ($3) wine ($13) a bit of fruit (40 cents) some yogurt for my tummy (40cents) and some other random necessities such as mixers for our liter of gin, and water.

Exploring my future dining room. (Roberts picture)

Upon arriving back at the hostel we made coffee, chatted about our plans for our time here and smoked a few cigarettes. (I’d be lying if I said I didn’t buy a few packs on this trip.) Then we opened the wine and put on some music to read and write to.

Eventually we left to get some dinner and on the way managed to stop at several bars/cafes for various coffees and drinks. It felt like a typical Robert, Scott and Tiara day of drinking/exploring, which was just what I wanted. One of our stops included a view overlooking rice fields.

Eventually we opted to return back to our hostel to start drinking our large bottle of gin. “Starting” led to nearly finishing the entire bottle in one night, plus after already having several drinks together, while out. It was just what I needed as we discussed everything going on in our lives and I got lots of good advice. It was ultimately the perfect night for the three of us to have together.

Crazy tree. All those things hanging down are roots!

I woke up decently early the next morning to find my computer completely dead, and was unable to turn it on. With a frustrating start to the day we tried to troubleshoot a bit, but I opted to not let it ruin the day, and soon after enjoying our delivered tea and breakfast on our balcony (I KNOW!!!!) we headed to the Monkey Forest. Basically there were tons of monkeys in the trees and on the streets eating breakfast. Some points were scary as the monkeys tend to think if you reach for anything (camera, tissue, chapstick) it means you have food you would like to give them.

yummy!

What I found more fascinating than the animals was the general nature around me, and the stone statues.  The trees were large and for most you could not tell where the original trunk was as so many roots had grown in all directions. The statues were mostly of hindu gods, but all were carved to the point where I just wanted to sit and stare at them while trying to figure out the story behind them. It was very fascinating to me. We spent a few hours exploring, returned to our bar overlooking the rice paddies and had American breakfast for about $4.

Loved this statue for some reason

Post second breakfast we went back to the hostel for awhile. I took full advantage of the peaceful garden and headed out with my book and iPod. I was unable to read anything as I was falling in love with music over and over again. It is truly amazing what new people and places can do to old music. I couldn’t stop smiling and thinking about my awesome life, until eventually Robert came out and pointed out an adorable cat. We spent the next hour trying to lure the cat over towards us so we could pet it. Problematically, the neighborhood dog came over and chased the cats away, so we played with him instead. Basically we adopted him for the next hour and let him hang with us in our room while we researched what to do next.

Reading in the garden. Thanks for the great picture Robert!

We headed to an art gallery just down the road, paid our 5 dollars to get in and spend the next hours wandering around looking and Balinese art, most of it related to Hindu gods and stories. Our entrance fee also included a coffee outside next to a beautiful garden. On the way home we stopped for a Mexican dinner which was very satisfying as I was able to get a taco salad. I’ve been trying to keep up the fruits and vegetables for this trip.

On the way home we stopped to purchase another bottle of wine (I have tasted and now cannot stop!) and as it started to pour rain from the sky we stopped to get a dessert of shredded coconut filled crepes with coconut ice cream to top them off. Seriously Ubud? Stop having such delicious food!

Finally we had to make a dash for the hostel, which meant we all got completely soaked. We spent our evening scoping out our choices for the following day: Rice paddy tour, walking around and exploring, or spa. We opted to do the rice paddy tour even though it would cost us more.

We woke up the next morning and I was able to have a quick skype with my mom (thanks for letting me borrow your computer Robert!) before we headed out to meet our driver. The morning was very rainy and thus the tour was awful. We were hardly able to see anything, and we got suckered into paying 9 dollars for a disgusting buffet. This was the most I had spent on a meal in Ubud and it was, by far, the worst one. Arriving, back to the hostel at about 1:00pm and decided to head out to explore the other side of the city, which was incredible. Our main stop was the used bookstore, which was stocked decently with literature from many languages, followed by a small snack of Indian food and chai tea. 

Rice Paddy

Once home, I found my computer magically working, which was a very nice surprise. Robert and I headed out for a 2 hour spa treatment, which was by far the best spa treatment I have ever had. The massage was the perfect intensity, and was followed by a skin soothing body wrap, shower and hot bath in a bathtub filled with flower petals. This all cost me a total of $13 and left me super relaxed.

I had been eyeing up a delicious vegan restaurant a few time as we passed it, mostly because they had pumpkin soup and that sounded too good to pass up. It was a very short walk away, so we settled on heading there, sans rain coats. I had the pumpkin soup, some mushroom cream sauce pasta and a slice of delicious carrot cake. It wasn’t as good as my pumpkin soup, or the carrot cake from back home, but it was pretty satisfying overall. When we finished it was pouring rain, so we had to walk home in it as we had made the awful decision to leave our jackets at home.

Ubud was the perfect combination of my favorite parts of all the places I have lived. It had the hippie café/bar feel of Minneapolis, combined with the walk ability of Tirana and the culture of Indonesia (notice I didn’t say Jakarta) has to offer. I honestly felt like I could potentially live there for a good portion of my life, just studying Indonesian history and Hinduism while walking the streets sipping on coffee and tea, while writing.

I am in love with you Ubud!

I’ll be glad to go back with my parents when they come to visit and hopefully, as it won’t be rainy season I’ll be able to do some further explorations of northern Bali.

Mount Bromo

The three of us woke up at about 7 to finish packing and head to the train station. As always we were way ahead of schedule, so I sat down to eat the best chocolate donut of my life. The train was actually very nice. We traveled executive class, so they had individual seats, pillows, air conditioning, and tv. They played Mr. Bean and a documentary about Indonesia, but mostly I just passed the time reading. When we arrived in Probolinngo we caught a small van/car to the "bus station." Basically a guy ripped us off and took us to a travel agent, so we ended up paying a bit more to get a private van with 2 fellow travelers who were on their honeymoon. What a fantastic honeymoon! Before leaving we decided to eat some food and stocked our bellies full of this delicious nasi, which was basically noodles and rice covered in peanut sauce, all for the equivalent of 50 cents. It was so good!

The trip up the mountainside was rough, mostly because it was raining and our driver was super crazy! It was a good thing we all never get carsick anymore thanks to Albanian roads.
Once at our hotel we checked in, figured out our plans for the following day, and headed out to get hiking supplies(food) and enjoyable evening on our patio supplies (beer.) The evening was spent just talking, while looking out over the mountainside and sipping beers/smoking cigarettes. Eventually we went and got some dinner at the restaurant. This place served the second best bowl of chicken noodle soup I have ever had! (My mom's wins) Plus, it was cold and rainy, so soup was the perfect meal. It was all I ate the entire weekend, other than snacks and the free breakfast.

hiking boots where they belong!!

We went to bed at around 9 and woke up at midnight to set out for our hike to the top of the mountain. I was so groggy and felt disgusting, but the hike under the moonlight and stars was surprisingly welcomed. The mist kept coming and covering up all of our sight and then all the sudden it would clear and you'd look up and be dumbfounded at how gorgeous the mountain looked in the moonlight. We were so hot hiking that we ended up doing the majority of the 7km in just our t-shirts. I couldn't believe that anyone had told me I'd need a winter jacket. It took far less time to reach the top than we thought it would so we had to sit there from 2:30 to 5:00 with nothing to do but kick back and drink whiskey, which made me feel groggier. I was finally chilled to the bone and really wishing I had a cuddle buddy.

hiking boots at the top!

We spent the time sharing stories from Albania, including a list of all the random places I had peed. I did my best to walk around and do some jumping, and eventually some ladies came down from further up the mountainside to set up a coffee/hot noodle warung. That was the best cup of coffee I have ever had, though in reality it was just instant coffee in the right time and place. It was so misty and cloudy, that we didn't get to see the sunrise, but we did get to see the light rise through the mist, and eventually the clouds cleared enough to allow us to get some nice pictures.

The hike back down the mountainside was gorgeous. I think I'll just let the pictures do the talking for this one.

Robert's photo of us on the way back down

Beautiful!

14 kilometers down, a whole volcano to go! Next on the agenda was a breakfast of coffee and noodles at the hotel, followed by a hike across the valley to the volcano. When I first found out I was coming to Jakarta and started doing research, one of the main things that peaked my interest was volcano hiking. I'm so glad I finally got to do this!

sacrifices on the mountain

The hike across the valley was quick and painless. We passed the time tossing around volcanic rocks, which weight very little. You can throw the big ones and still feel the earth rumble under your feet. It's pretty cool. The hike to the top was exhausting, especially the 141 steps (I counted) but well worth the view. All along the volcano rim people had left sacrifices of food, flowers, money, and incense. One man was walking into the crater to pick up trash. What a crazy!!!

We decided to take an unmarked path back down which was the best decision ever. We spent our time in the volcano path just exploring until we managed to come out just before it started to sprinkle. The hike back across the valley was quick and followed by the absolute worst part: the hike up the mountain to get to the hotel. Going down had been bad enough, but the hike up left me drenched in sweat and feeling like I was going to pass out.

Roberts photo of me on the way down!

Upon reaching the room I chugged water and lay on the bed for about 30 minutes before we all went to the restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately it was Friday and prayer time so we spent the next hour drinking beer and playing cards while we waited for the cook to get back and make us chicken noodle soup and a fruit platter. I was in desperate need for something other than carbs, which was hard to come by. At this point we went back to our room to sleep until morning.

I was woke up 2 hours later (5:30pm) by some very loud children, and my grumbling belly. Its surprising how hungry hiking 25KM(15 miles) will make you. So we went back down to the restaurant for more soup and coffee, and Scott and Robert managed to find me chocolate cookies to satisfy my cravings. Then we were able to sleep until 6am the next day.

Faces were stuffed with more noodles, eggs, and coffee and we met a very nice girl from the Netherlands on our shuttle to the train. We spent our 3 hours at the train station drinking beer and coffee. Scott managed to find me an apple and I was lucky enough to hear an ice cream cart so I could finally get the ice cream I had been craving. I also made really good friends with this cat at the train station and let her play with my broken purse for about 30 minutes.

Kitty!

My body is sore all over, but I'm surprised I'm not in more pain. I think my ass hurts the most. I am writing this blog on a train(thanks technology!)  We are heading back to Surabaya to pick up our laundry, order McDonalds, and re-pack. We leave for Bali at 3am tomorrow morning!

Albanian Reunion!

I woke up early and exhausted from staying up texting the night before my flight. Damn you technology, wandering mind, excellent conversations, and bottle of whiskey! My airport tradition is donuts and coffee, however I managed to completely forget to purchase one until I was past security and unable to go back and grab one. I sat and watched How I Met Your Mother on my computer until the flight boarded, and then attempted to snooze a bit on the flight. They first thing I did upon landing was purchase a donut and coffee. Robert was waiting on the other side of baggage claim with a large hug and big smile. It was excellent to just be in a cab talking to him for an hour or so, catching up on life. After arriving at the apartment we headed out on the bike in search of decently priced liquor. We were largely successful, and I really enjoyed the limited traffic and cruising on the back of the bike.

Post successful journey I was hungry, so we walked across the street to the mall and had a Quickly bubble tea with mint extract and chicken salad at a restaurant. The restaurant had board games on the table, so we got to play snakes and ladders while we waited. I also got to ride the biggest escalator in Southeast Asia. It took forever and Robert and I ended up walking down it, instead of waiting. When we arrived back home, Scott came soon after and we, of course started drinking our bottle of whiskey! Robert and Scott also managed to make a super delicious dinner of chicken curry while we drank, and when we were part way through the whiskey we got to skype with Cortney! All 4 of us back together again! Technology rocks! The cards came out and we played presidents and assholes while we finished the whiskey and started the gin. Scott had to work the next morning, so at around 10 he headed to bed and Robert and I decided to head out to purchase cigarettes at a Warung(small local food/coffee/cigarette shop) and go for a swim.

Ermagherd! Indernesier!!!!

We sat down at the Warung to have a coffee with some of the locals and one of them gave us a present! After finishing our coffee we took the presents back to the apartment and jumped into the pool to do the typical Tiara/Robert late night soul-mate chat. It was wonderful and I confessed my deepest secret to him, and when I did he told me that my face showed it, and all my worries and doubts faded.

The bad decisions continued when we realized we were out of cigarettes, and we decided to head back out on the bike in the rain to get more. We stopped on the grass barrier in the middle of the road to lay on the grass and smoke in our soaking wet clothes. At this point we checked the time and opted to head to bed since it was 2:00 am.

I woke up the next morning feeling not super awesome, but good considering the night before. After a few cups of coffee we managed to get our shit together and headed to a very hung-over breakfast at McDonalds, and then back over to the liquor store to stock up on booze for the next two weeks.

Eventually we managed to get back to the house and continued to lay around and do nothing for the whole day. I had no energy to pack or accomplish anything of sorts, but we did sit down to discuss our trip for the next few days and I got some Scott and Robert cuddle time, followed by an airport skype chat with my new favorite person.

right where we belong!

Titi (the secretary at Scott’s school) came over and ordered pizza for us and we partook of almost all the pizza, but made sure to save just enough for breakfast. The rest of the evening consisted largely of doing nothing, which was just what we needed.

It feels strange to be in the company of old friends in a new place. I missed them so much, and sometimes I feel like nothing has changed and other times I feel like everything has changed. There are great little indications of Albania around the apartment, and Scott and Robert have, of course, managed to hang a giant map of Indonesia up, and get pets! I feel so insanely happy and lucky to be here! Tomorrow I set out to hike up an active volcano!!!!

Selamat Hari Natal!

Friends and Family,

I hope these words find you all in good health and spirits. Life just keeps moving like a roller coaster and I can’t tell from one day to the next when it will slow down, or whether I’ll be chugging up to the top, or screaming in joy to the bottom. I kicked off the 2013 year losing and finding myself on the streets of European cities with my brother. We spent time sipping wine in Madrid, enjoying beer in Belgium, drinking coffee in Amsterdam, exploring the monuments and partying in Germany (which is my favorite country ever) and sledding down the Swiss Alps. We managed to cram all this into about 12 days thanks to the awesome train systems, and our ability to survive on little sleep and espressos in between. Unforgettable. 

   

In the spring I was able to take a road trip to Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina with some fellow teachers and new friends. We spent our time on the coastline in Montenegro, and hiked to the top of a fortress. After exploring the history of Bosnia through a 10 hour tour in Mostar, and a far shorter tour of Sarajevo I was left with some sort of emotional attachment to the country. It has such a remarkable history that I never would have acknowledged if I hadn’t traveled there.

Montenegro

From January to May I continued to teach 1^st grade and began my final college course to receive my Masters of Education. I decided to begin applying for jobs in other countries, in hopes of expanding my experiences and advancing my career with professional development. I finished up my spring in Albania, traveling to Permet, Kosovo, and Berat, which included a rafting trip in the Osumi Canyon (amazing!) I ended my contract 3 weeks early to head back to the US and prepare to move to Indonesia, where I accepted a job, teaching grade 1 at a school called Royal Primary Academy.

Goodbye celebrations

Though my time in the states was short, it was precisely what I needed. I spent the greater part of it with family, drinking IPAs and eating all the food I had craved. While there I realized that someday, eventually, I hope to live back in the US, preferably in the Midwest near my family, but for now my explorations of this vast world continue. Also, no promises as my dreams seem to often change.

Beach time with my favorite kidos :)

I flew to Jakarta on July 1^st and began my new job on July 4^th. The job has been a lot more demanding than in Albania, but also far more advantageous to my professional growth. The adjustment to living in Jakarta was much easier, and I have made yet another great cluster of friends.

Friends!

I’ve done a bit of traveling around the city, and to a few trip to the Thousand Islands just off the coast. By far the best trip was to Jogjakarta, which is famous for holding the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Visiting all the temples and the surrounding nature helped me soak up a bit of the culture, though I have only skimmed the surface of all that is here.

Arjuna Temple 

As you can guess the last year of my life has been quite life changing in many ways. I’ve studied a lot and discovered many new things about myself, including a few things I realize will never change. I will always be a beer drinking, bluegrass loving, Packer fan, however, I continue to set goals and push my limits. So what’s next, you may ask. I’d love to answer that question, but cannot. Jakarta until July 2015 and then we will see.

Holiday Photo

“You cannot escape life however you may try. As long as you live, whether in a town or in a cave, you have to face it and live it. Real life is the present moment—not the memories of the past, which is dead and gone, nor the dreams of the future, which is not yet born. One who lives in the present moment lives the real life, and he is happiest.”

    

So I aim to live in the present, though, try as I might, is harder than it seems. There is so much left to discover about the world, and myself. So I’m trying to live by a few new ideas and philosophies:

In that last year I have been surrounded by beauty so many times, and I continue to appreciate how insanely lucky I am to be 23 and living out my dreams, with the incredible support from my friends and family, old and new.

This Christmas I will be traveling with some friends from Albania to Mount Bromo to watch the sunset at the top. Then we will head to the beaches of Bali, Lombok, and the Gili Islands. If you find yourself in the neighborhood of Southeast Asia stop by! We have an extra bed and a couch.

With all my love,
One very happy girl!

Folkie

After perusing my most recent playlist at the gym this morning I realized that I can no longer claim that bluegrass is my favorite music. I am officially a Folkie, aka a folk music fan.

Basically I make these mixes by adding a song to them when I realize I'm in love with it. I fall in love. A lot. With songs that is. They are my favorite thing in the whole wide world. One of the hardest things about living abroad is finding and discovering music. Thankfully I've managed to discover 8-tracks, and I have the best brother in the whole wide world who add music to my drop-box for me at the most needed times. The following songs are my favorites on my Indonesia mix, which is a work in progress, still after 5 months.

This is my most recent love. My brother dropped it in my box 2 days ago and I know all of the lyrics. My roommate even recognizes it. Put it on repeat right?
Quotable:
"As I sit on the edge of this dirty old bar
Trying to work some things out and not getting too far
As I drown out the voices that are keeping me down
There's a muse all alone on the other side of town
And if I was thinking I'd be thinking thank God, whoever you are
For all the whiskey in this dirty old bar.
The times like these, so sad and so true
Thinkins the last thing that you want to do."
Sometimes I just wish I could get out of my head and enjoy things as they come. I tend to way over-analyze everything. Incredible moments happen and I feel like I'm on the brink of discovering something about myself, but I just can't grasp it. Maybe I need to drink more whiskey or find some dirtier bars.

I have days dedicated to Bob Dylan now. I always enjoyed his music, but since moving to Indonesia I have been falling in love with songs all the time. This song is the ultimate break-up song, and while I haven't broken up with anyone in a very long time, I truly feel the lyrics of this song now.
Quotable: "Well it ain't no use to sit and wonder why babe."
               "I'm walking down that long and lonesome road babe.
                Where I'm bound I just can't tell."

Last year, post Christmas trip I listened to one Willy tea song on repeat 76 times without a break. I was obsessed. I finally purchased an album upon my arrival here. My mix currently has 3 Willy Tea songs on it.
Quotable: "I ain't perfect you can tell by my songs."

Sufjan is probably one of the best artists ever. When I listen to his music, I always have to pause what I'm doing and just feel it. And I always seem to find lyrics I want to get tattooed on my body. Dang!
Quotable: "Trusting things beyond mistake."