The One Year Mark

It's official. I've been in the Peace Corps for a solid year. March 15 marks the anniversary of the day I left New York City and slowly made my way to Indonesia. Like most Peace Corps Volunteers, I have changed. I've grown more confident. I've become a better friend. I've become a stronger family member. I am equally happy being single and in a relationship. I can communicate and work effectively with people that are different from me. Oh, and I've learned to enjoy TSwift's music. That, by far, is probably the biggest change to be quite honest.

But I'm not the only one changing. My world has flipped upside down and so has the world that I left behind. My family is moving in all sorts of good directions and I've been witnessing it through Skype.  Sister #1 is moving to a new house in Connecticut and leaving her urban days behind. Sister #2 is living in Boston and has added a few more stamps into her passport. Sister #3 has a new apartment and boyfriend. My brother-in-law got a new job. My parents have a new flat in India that is waiting for me when I visit in November. And oh! I have 2 new family members that I haven't officially met yet. Here's a picture of them below!

Avi (the big one) is Sister #3's boyfriend and Ari (the little one) is Sister #1's new baby. Yes, Ari and Avi are actually the names of my 2 new family members. I can't make this shit up.

It's strange to think that I have additional family members. I will go home and shake hands with two new Patels. This past year, they were successfully integrating themselves into my family while I was busy successfully integrating into my Indonesian community. What a thought.

Obviously I've learned a lot in my year in the Peace Corps. Here's four great lessons I've learned so far:

1) I will not perish if there is no toilet paper: My biggest fear before I came here was not having access to toilet paper. I thought I could buy some and sneak it into my house. I wanted to be this TP ninja that could get away without touching her poop for 2 years. Nope. I was forced to face my biggest fear. And I got used to it. I proudly wipe my butt with my left hand and then wash my hand with soap and water. And you know what? It's not that bad. Think about it this way: if you get poop on your hands, are you going to wipe it off with TP or with soap and water?


2) Bald is beautiful: The night before I left America, I gathered some Peace Corps Volunteers in a hotel room in San Fransisco and went V-For-Vendetta-Natalie-Portman on their asses, A fellow volunteer, Anna Lee, helped me shave my head. Before this, I always assumed my hair was my best feature. It was long, thick, silky Indian hair. Of coruse I loved it! Shaving it made me redefine what beauty and feminism means to me. I won't shave my head in the near future, but if I could go back in time I would do it all over again!

PCVs Kirby and Stephanie watch me cut the first chunk of hair. Anna Lee is on the far right waiting with the clippers

3) The only constant is constant change: The photo I shared in this blog says it alone. I left for 12 months and gained 2 family members. People move. People graduate. People have babies. People break up. People marry. People join the Peace Corps and leave for 2 years. Learn to embrace changes and roll with the punches.

4) It's okay to not be ok: This is one idea I have struggled with in the past. I used to think, "Why should I be sad when I have so much to be grateful for?" Well, sometimes life SUCKS. You have a bad day, a bad week, a bad month, and sometimes a bad year. It happens to everyone. I used to judge people when they reacted negatively to a situation. But now I'm bigger than that. I try my best to treat people with kindess when they are going through a rough time. I'm not always patient and kind, but I try my best. I'm learning how to treat others well.

The Move

I moved out of my house yesterday. It's not that I wasn't comfortable there. Actually, I was very comfortable. I lived in a clean house. The bathroom and kitchen were huge. The house was always spotless. The neighbors were friendly. My family had goats in the back. I simply wanted to move to get another experience.

I thought this would cause drama between my old host family and my new host family. To my surprise, it didn't. My regional manager from Peace Corps, Wawan, came to inspect my new house and to speak with both host families. When he talked to my old family, they kept insisting that I was family. They told me multiple times that I am welcome into their house whenever I wanted. My host mom also invited me to contnue playing volleyball with her every evening. I couldn't sleep well on my last night in her house. I knew I would miss them.

But I don't miss them too much simply because I live 0.5 kilometers away. I moved into a house that it right across the street from my school. I moved there because my counterpart, Bunda, is very close with the family that lives there. I have spent a lot of time with this family and I thought it'd be an intereting experience to be able to live in 2 different households during my 24 months in Panggul.

A little about my new famly:
Host dad: He's the gardener at my school. He's a very calm, humble man. Today I found out that his sister is the next door neighbor at my old house. When I took a look at him today, I realized they had similar features. I had no idea they were related (and I've known both of them for about 10 months).

Host mom: She owns a toko (small store) in front of our house. She sells candy, oil, gum, coffee, and fruit. She's also very humble and friendly.

Diah: She is my host sister. She is a senior at my school. She is currently waiting for college acceptance letters.

Nova: She is a boarder at the house. She is another student at my high school. Her parents pay for her to stay at the house so that it will be easy for her to go to school. She typically goes home on the weekends to visit her family.

I already feel very at home here. I have known the family since the first day at my site. I still have to unpack, so there's not much else to report. 

The Things I Do

Integrating into my village was a difficult task at first. I didn't know what clubs to join or if I should create my own. I didn't know whom I should trust. I was overwhelmed and a little lost. But I've found several activities that keep me busy throughout my weeks at site. These activities have helped me meet new people and form new friendships. I am still slowly integrating and expanding my social network. I was relatively shy at first (who wouldn't be when they are moving across the globe and spit out into a village!?), but now I feel like I have a few circles of people that I can hang out with. Here's a list of things I do inside and outside of my village:

Group Activities:
1) PKK: I don't know what it stands for, but it's essentially a club for older women. My host mom is the leader of our village's PKK, so I go with her to every meeting. The group meets typically once a month. We sing songs, talk about the new events going on in the village, and share any issues that we think are important. During our first meeting, my host mom encouraged all the other women to walk everywhere instead of taking their motorcycles. She used me as a leading example since I go for evening walks up the mountain.

2) Volleyball: Some people in my village play volleyball or soccer near the elementary school every day at 4pm. I don't enjoy playing sports, so I mostly go for a good laugh and to get laughed at. It's a fun time, minus all the bruises on my arms.

3) Guru-Guru Aerobics: The female teachers at my school hire an aerobics instructor to come to school every Mondays and Fridays. We use the media room at the school and close the doors, which means I'm allowed to wear shorts and a tank top for this sweaty work out.

4) Prayer Group: My counterpart takes me with her to pray every Sunday night at 7pm. The prayer group changes houses each week. The location of the prayer group rotates between the houses of the prayer group members. We read a part of the Qur'an every week and then enjoy some tea, coffee, and snacks. We read the same script every week, which means I'm slowly starting  to memorize a tiny bit of the Qur'an! Side note: I am required to wear a  hijab for this event.

5) Go to School: DUH! That's what I'm here for! That's what my visa claims I do. I teach! However, class frequently gets shortened or cancelled. I still go to school, though. I say hello to all of the teachers and students. During my first semester here, I was glued to my computer. I was so overwhelmed by what was going on around me that I would show up to school, open up my laptop, and not talk to anyone. This semester is a whole lot better. I feel very comfortable at school and I joke around with the teachers and students. In fact, today I got bored at school so I went into a random classroom and taught the students how to play 7 Up. I may not always be teaching them English, but just spending time with the teachers and students easily turns into a party.

Things I like to do Alone:

1) Go to the beach: I can't swim in the water because the current is too strong. However, I like to sit on the beach, crack open a good book, and sip coconut milk straight from the coconut. It only costs me 60 cents for the coconut, but I usually stay there for hours

2) Hike up the mountain: I've tried to get students to join me on this hike, but everyone always complains that its too hot or too difficult. I will get a group together next semester, Ishallah (if it is God's will)

3) Yoga: Locals are interested when I tell them I do yoga in my room, but I'm not anywhere close to being an instructor. I want to learn more about yoga before I go ahead and include people in this activity. However, I do plan on holding a yoga seminar at my school.

4) Writing: I write frequently about my experience and about my revelations about life (I have MANY revelations here). I also write in my blog, but of course you already knew that.

5) Read: I LOVE reading here. I have been flying through books. Right now I'm on my sixteenth book since I've arrive at site. I'm reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (my sister's favorite book). My goal is to finish 75 books before I depart from Indonesia in June 2016. Wish me luck and please give me any good suggestions!

Things I'm Involved with in the Peace Corps:

1) Alternate Warden: An alternate warden means that I am responsible for the whereabouts of the other volunteers in my area in case of an emergency. I act as a messenger to the Peace Corps to let them know if each volunteer is safe. We had a drill last month which ran very smoothly. I hope there is never any real emergency, but you never know when living in the Ring of Fire!

2) Resource Volunteer: A resource volunteer is a volunteer who helps with training the new incoming volunteers. I'm so excited to meet the incoming group! Get ready, ID9, just a few more days until your arrival!

3)  Host Country Hero Conference: I applied for Host Country Hero not knowing what the heck it was. It turns out that I will be on a panel with Peace Corps Volunteers and their counterparts from Benin and Georgia. We will be video chatting with students in Washington D.C. to celebrate Peace Corps Week (the anniversary of JFK issuing an executive order to establish the Peace Corps).

4) World Wise Schools: I partnered up with a teacher from my high school (go Wheeler!). Our students have been writing letter back and forth. We also sent videos to each other letting our students learn about different cultures. It's been a rewarding exchange and I hope to carry the pen pals into the upcoming year. 

That pretty much sums up what I do and think about in the Peace Corps. I feel very involved in my school (more than I did last semester) and I feel like I'm meeting a lot of interesting people in my area. I also feel very honored to be selected to help train the income group of volunteers. I'm really excited for their arrival! Additionally, I'm still thinking about my HIV/AIDs project. However, this project is losing a bit of steam. Not to worry, my counterpart and I will keep it going! I have faith.