Somehow, the handful of months between March and July have passed as if they were days, and here I find myself back in the United States, a bona fide “Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.”
But before I sum up my final Peace Corps Indonesia thoughts and experiences (or perhaps in an effort to avoid undertaking that impossible task), I want to share some of the highlights of my final months – the last checks-off my bucket list, if you will.
***
Summiting Java’s Highest Volcano
First, let me take you back to Christmas Day 2015. With gravel in my shoes and the sun rising over Indonesia’s tallest volcanic peak, I summited Mount Semeru. The wind was frigid, the views were breathtaking, and the victory was sweet. Holidays away from family and friends can be tough, but spending the day off the grid and sharing in the simple joy of my fellow hikers as we finally reached the peak was something special.
***
Getting Lost in the Rhythm of Balinese Kecak Dance
Kecak dance combines dance, body-percussion, and drama. A ring of men sits around the “stage” area while clapping, clicking, chanting, and occasionally singing while the characters of the drama dance in and out of the circles. Oil lamps burn in the center and bathe the faces of dancers, singers, and percussionists in an enchanting, flickering light that seems to join in the rhythm of the dance. Kecak dance is a staple of Balinese culture, and transforms the tourist haunts of Bali into sacred spaces steeped in harmony, movement, and story.
***
Baking an Apple Pie
PCV Danielle and Ibu Linda hard at work.
The more astute among my readers may have just taken a moment to blurt out, “Apple pie isn’t Indonesian!” But before you click away and never return, let me explain. Goal Two of Peace Corps reads, “To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served.” Central to my personal identity as an American is my love of baking and eating pies. In a desert of ovens, however, sharing that part of America wasn’t so easy. But fortune smiled upon me when I started attending a church in Ngawi city that had, what else, AN OVEN! It was a treat – to the soul and palate – to bake and share a pie with my Indonesian church family.
***
Learning to Make Batik Fabric
Indonesians, especially on Java, take pride in their beautiful and varied batiks. The colorful textiles form an integral part of national dress – I’ve seen farmers in the fields wearing old batik and pictures of President Jokowi shaking hands with foreign dignitaries while clad in the creatively drawn and richly died fabric. My experience in Indonesia wouldn’t have been complete had I not learned and attempted the batik-making process myself. The visit of a good college friend presented the prefect opportunity, and we spent an afternoon trying our hand at drawing with hot wax and mixing and dabbing various dyes onto our own, personal squares of cotton. It was equal parts of heat, color, frustration, and education – a fitting metaphor for my time spent in Indonesia.
***
Becoming a Javanese Diva
Me with some of my graduating students.
Batik is all fine and good, but when Indonesian women really want to dress to impress, they pull out their eye-shadow, hair spray, and kebayas. Originating from the Javanese Majapahit Kingdom, kebayas range in design and extravagance based on location. On their home island of Java, the glitzier the better. In anticipation of 9th grade graduation, the women at my school decided to go all out and wear kebayas (the men looked rather dapper themselves in suits and ties). That meant going on a special search for a kebaya that would fit a non-South East Asian giant like me. The one we found was golden – figuratively and literally. I’ll always fondly remember the shocked faces of my students when they saw me walk out of the teacher’s office. Trading in my pony-tail and canvas shoes for rhinestone studded hair clips and fake eye-lashes, it was pretty fun to be a diva for a day.
***
Diving and Taking Relaxation to the Next Level in Raja Ampat
Our porch-front beach.
The big finale! Having successfully completed two years of Peace Corps service in Indonesia, I headed straight for island and underwater paradise in West Papua. Raja Ampat is famous among divers for having some of the best reefs and marine life in the world, not to mention breath-taking beaches and crystal clear water. From the hammock stretching across the porch of my peacefully simple bungalow, I read, napped, and allowed my thoughts to wander among 27 months’ worth of Indonesian memories. The reverie of gentle waves smoothing the sand and the sun drifting between exquisite sunrises and –sets was only broken by delicious meals, good conversation, and world-class dives. It would be pretty easy to lose all sense of time and urgency out there in the islands of Raja Ampat, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I wake up to the sparkling waters and swaying breezes of West Papua again someday.
Peace out, Indonesia! (Photo Cred: E. Braaksma)
If nothing else, my final months in Indonesia were a reminder of how much I’ve yet to discover in Indonesia – a land impossibly rich in culture, language, art, flavor, and nature.
Worth a Journey 