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Friday, May 14, 2010

Comings and Goings

***Random sidenote*** Because we live in Asia, blogger.com automatically assumes that we speak/read Indonesian. This makes me feel really good, because I know which buttons to push to make it continue to think that :) It also makes me feel like I'm fluent, while in reality we're waaaaaay off from that!

It's that time of year where most of the people are "going" instead of "coming". They are going on furloughs, summer vacations that last anywhere from 1 week to 3 months, and some are going home with no plans of return. It's the last group that I'm sad to see go.

It's strange, because we have many aquaintances and a few that we would consider friends. We don't live in a place where all of us are in the same spot. We are spread out all over town... and even though our town isn't that big, it's kinda scary to brave the traffic... and by traffic I mean motorbikes coming the wrong direction on your side of the road, wait what side of the road is that? right or left? Exactly...

The school year is winding down. This is great, because ALL of us are ready for a break :) Some of my students are already on vacation, and while I want to slip into that mindset, it's my responsibility to remind them "not yet" over and over daily.

Students are going on furloughs, too. Friends are going home for good. I think this is one of the most difficult things that I have had to/am/will continue to face during our time overseas. Nothing is permanent- duct tape melts, liquid evaporates much quicker here, even permanent markers can be rubbed away. People are no different. Last year when we arrived this had no effect on me, because we didn't know anyone. How can you be sad when you have no relationships? This year is different. Our closest friends are returning and not coming back. Strange enough, they are in their late 40's and early 50's, but they like the same things we do... same tv shows, same movies, same jokes, same foods. So, for this reason, I'm not looking forward to summer.

It's intimadating inviting new families for dinner, because I have no idea how much to cook if it's more than 2 people. How do you entertain children when you want to get to know their parents but you don't have toys or kids of your own? Seriously, we might be the only couple in the province without kids by choice (at this point in our lives, and we are happy :) ). This makes it difficult to have that instant connection.

This summer could change all of that. We want to have people over for dinner and to play games more often this summer. We want to make ourselves more available to hang out. I want to build up enough courage to say,"Hey, want to hang out even if it's at your house?"

So pray for us, because I believe summer can be an exciting time but it can also be very lonely. No one likes to feel lonely.

We're going to a going away party tonight. I made a video of our friend's 18 years of service here. I've never made a video before, so it was fun to learn something new.
 
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