Things to Think About

Coming back to a place after being away for a while is always bittersweet. Pontianak is no exception.

I flew from Jakarta to Pontianak Saturday night, and arrived to see a couple of my good friends waiting eagerly at the gate. After greeting Indonesian style (no hugging, just double-cheek fake kisses for the girls, and handshakes for the guys), we loaded my three huge bags of equipment into the only taxi that would take us (the others all demanded that the bags be divided among two taxis). Driving to the office was like coming home - mostly because I could suddenly see the stars and hear the crickets again after far too long in airports and Jakarta, both bereft of natural life. Pontianak seems very welcoming - last year I was overwhelmed and more than a bit scared arriving in a place where I knew no one!

Bang Umar and Ka Tia, plus their two daughters, met me at the office. Living with them is kind of like living with an older sibling - they are too young to be my parents, but definitely older than I, both in responsibility and age. I dropped my bags in the spare room and we went to buy some food - mixed stir fried veggies - before I fell into bed, exhausted.

Somehow I'd forgotten the tiredness that comes with speaking a foreign language all day. This year is immeasurably (or perhaps very measurably - in hundreds of words) better than the past because I can speak and understand everyday conversations. However, far more effort is required to understand Indonesian than English. If I zone out, even for a moment, I lose the train of conversation and have to stop whoever is talking to me, saying "sorry, can you repeat what you just said?"

At the airport I was accosted by a number of people, who all wanted to speak with the white girl. The photo-takers mobbed me at one point, and I stood with a forced smile on my face while they all posed for photos. Photo-taking in Indonesia, as in the US, often comes with a snowball effect - one person wants a photos, and then her friend, and suddenly half the airport! So if you see random photos of a curly-haired buleh in the hands of someone from Sumatra, don't be surprised =)

More tomorrow - I start the Pontianak visa process in the morning, and will be playing with sulfuric acid in the afternoon. Fun times in the equator city!