2010 in Review

 On the last day of the year I've decided to take some time to review and reflect on what's happened in my life in 2010.

The beginning of the year found me moving home for my final semester at Kansas State University (KSU).  I was student teaching at Junction City High School, so I moved back in with Mom and Dad for the next ten months.  The spring semester of 2010 was probably the semester where I learned the most during my five years at KSU, as I was able to apply some of the principles learned in previous semesters, work with students for an extended period of time, and learn from other teachers.  The time at home also brought the opportunity to be closer to family which I enjoyed!  My first niece was born in February and I liked to visit my grandmother in Chapman on the way home from school.

Graduation finally arrived in May, which brought the closing of 5 good years in Manhattan, KS at KSU.  Those years are filled with some fun memories and undoubtedly served to prepare me for the rest of my life.  Back on the farm, I was able to help out with some of the spring planting and look for a summer job before taking off to Indonesia, all the time enjoying Mom's homemade cook'n!

The Rocky Mountains continue to amaze this Kansas boy. 

The late spring through early fall found me on the road traveling to Colorado three times, Garden City, KS twice, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and around north central Kansas.

All the traveling put some miles on the car and allowed me to get familiar with the lonely highways of western Kansas and eastern Colorado.

From the end of July through mid-October I picked up a part-time job building fence while preparing to leave for Indonesia.  This was a busy and difficult time as there were some long days and many goodbyes.  Now I have been in Bandung, Indonesia for 1.5 months!

My brothers & me

Bandung, Indonesia

2011 will certainly be different as I live in Indonesia for the next two years, but I think it will be just as joyful!

Sign of the Times

Learning the Indonesian language has also provided opportunity to build relationships!  In my first few weeks in Bandung, I enjoyed practicing the language with people in the neighborhood close to where I live.  I have gotten to know multiple students who are studying in Bandung, children, small business owners, and families.  To my surprise I was not the only Caucasian living in the area.  Actually, there are two men, one from Oregon and another from South Africa, who are married to two Indonesian women from the neighborhood.  I had the opportunity to meet and visit with both couples and even attended the traditional Sundanese wedding reception of one (the Sundanese are the ethnic group native to West Java).  Interestingly enough both couples originally met via chat services online!  They both plan to live in their respective countries, the U.S. and South Africa, but with plans to visit and likely return to live in Indonesia.  

Indonesian Host Family

My first two weeks in Indonesia were spent living with an Indonesian host family.  This was a great experience as it gave me some insight into an Indonesian family and they were just fun people to live with.  In the mornings, we all tended to be gone - their daughter to school, me to language school, the father to work, and the mother to various activities.  The evenings were enjoyed together as we ate supper and then tended to talk for quite some time into the evening.  Thankfully they all spoke English very well so we were able to communicate easily, and they were kind enough to help me get started with my language learning.  Here's a photo of me with the family.

This is taken from the top of their house looking over the valley behind their house.  Bandung is located near several mountains and is at a higher elevation than many other cities in Java.  Therefore the weather here is quite enjoyable, especially compared to the rest of a predominately hot and humid Indonesia.

My stay with the family also corresponded with my host father's birthday, so I enjoyed celebrating with them. We had a big meal of Indonesian food with some other family members and then enjoyed a cheesecake for dessert!

Overall it was a wonderful way to spend my first two weeks and I greatly appreciated the hospitality of this family.  They are still close, as I now live right down the street in a house with three Indonesian college students!

Beginning a Journey in Indonesia

I arrived in Indonesia on November 17, 2010 and have now been living in Bandung for almost six weeks.

First thing first - Where is Indonesia?  Here's a couple maps to help get your bearings.

 I'm living on the island of Java (Jawa), in the province called West Java, in the city of Bandung.

You may have heard of Indonesia through the news in recent years because of the natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes that tend to occur in places like this near the Pacific Ring of Fire.  I have yet to experience any of these, but recent volcano eruptions on the island of Java have made international news.  The most recent was a small eruption in East Java from Mount Bromo.

The focus for me in the first year here will be learning the language and culture.  There have been a lot of fun experiences thus far and I hope to share many with you.