all them bules

i've been thinking about something lately. being a bule in a place like indonesia it is inevitable that you will be stared, pointed, and yelled at. lots of people like to practice their english, yell stuff like "hey mister!" "how are you today?" and "i love you!" this was overwhelming for me at the beginning. whenever i saw other bules it was like we had a sort of camaraderie, everyone else stared at them too. however, as time has progressed i've noticed something to change. as i've become more indonesian, i find that i too stare and the bules. i don't really know why, they're just so foreign. haha. at the airport the other day i stared all the bules down and tried to guess where they were from and why they were in idonesia. i do it at malls too. its a fun little game. its funny to hear their accents when they speak bahasa. i know my accent is nowhere near perfect, but its funny all the same. what strange people the bules are. its going to weird me out to be back in america, suddenly surrounded by bules.

on another note, i became a victim of domestic abuse the other day. i was slapped in the face by my host sister's 2 year old daughter dewi.

the sky is closer to the ground here. i don't know how to explain it. maybe its the lack of mountains.or that the humidity magnifies the power of the sun. just being here you see it and you feel how air and earth are just so much closer and more connected, the clouds look so touchable. its so magical and fantastic. you have to come here to know what i mean.its really lovely. becoming a forest hermit just keeps getting more and more appealing... haha.

cheers

Life

well things have been happening. i cannot believe that its march. where has the time gone? honestly if i think about it i realize how long its been since i was at home but its all flown by like i wouldn't believe it.so yeah...crazy.

a couple weeks ago i went to a birthday party. there were 20 kids hiding in my friends room, and they all jumped out and yelled when she opened the door. she cut a cake and gave everyone a piece. when she was taking a picture with some people, they got some of the marshmallow creme frosting and rubbed in on her face and hair. they everyone started doing it and she had to go shower haha. it was really fun. all her friends were really nice to me and taught me slang. after she was clean a couple people took her outside and smashed eggs on her hair and down her back, making her need to go take another shower. one of the presents she got was the most amazing animal i have ever seen. i don't know its english name but in bahasa its called a kuskus. its...indescribable. it has tiny teeth so they feed it mashed up banana and papaya. i got to hold it and i honestly just wanted to steal it and take it home with me. it has sticky little hands and it climbed all over me so getting a picture was hard but we managed :)

yesterday we went to the airport to get my host brother and sister because they were coming home from mecca. while we were there i saw a vending machine that had beer in it for about $2. i couldn't help but imagine all the shenanigans that would ensue if that was in america...haha

everything is amazing. i don't know how i can come back from this, how i can go back to high school after this. i'm sort of dreading it. i think i'd like to just run away and be a jungle hermit. live with the animals and make a hut of sticks. that would be nice. 

sometime in april there's a trip with the afs people to bali. can't wait for that :) so until then, cheers