Wednesday, March 24, 2010

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

4 comments:

Mutti said...

I'm trying to picture the sky being closer to the ground and the air and earth being connected. . . but I can't get my bule brain around it!!!

:) love you,

M.

Hannah said...

Why were you slapped?!

You little bule.

Anonymous said...

this whole time i thought the term was "blue," not BULE!!!! hahahaha! i feel so foolish.

fernie your description in the last couple of sentences was totally stunning. that is some great writing right there! i'm so proud of you what a beautiful little paragraph-chen.

also: i LOVE that you are like "hey, i am an indonesian!" and that you don't feel like you're on the outside anymore. it's totally awesome that you feel so connected to that community and culture.

<3 all my love
coco

Olive said...

Thats how the sky felt in Costa Rica..its weird...thats really cool that youre finally feeling like youre apart of the culture! Now you can say youre of two nationalities!
Love you so much fern! I cant wait for you to come tell us all your amazing stories and help me on my way to my exchange!
Love, Livvy (forever a bule hahaha)