Tis the Season...?

Sitting in my living room in shorts and a T-shirt with the windows open trying to catch a breeze to cool my perspiring body was not the ideal setting for writing Christmas cards. There is a lot to be said for the lead up to Christmas to get you in the festive mood, and I have not had that preparation in the eternal summer that is Indonesia. I’m sure all of you at home hiding from the cold in the heated comfort of your homes are thinking “yea, whatever Kelsey, I would gladly take your 90 degree weather” and I have to say it’s pretty nice; but, honestly it just isn’t Christmas. So, since it doesn’t feel like the season to sing carols or decorate a tree or drink steaming hot chocolate while watching the Bel Air parade; tis the season to travel. Exams at SMK 1 begin this Friday, which means that my duties as an ETA are finished for the semester. The two weeks of exams coupled with the ten day semester break leaves me with about three weeks to do what I want, and I want to see the rest of this country. This Friday I will travel to Medan, a city in Sumatra just north of Pekanbaru, and I will spend nine days exploring that region including the Bukit Lawang Orangutan conservatory, and Lake Toba, the largest lake in Asia that is situated inside the crater of an ancient volcano. I will then travel to the island of Java and spend Christmas with some of my best friends; although I’m not sure if an actual plan for this leg of the trip has been secured. We will finish up our tour with a boat ride to Bali where we will meet up with even more ETA’s and spend New Years in style, American style at least. I am more than excited for my journey to begin, and I will try my hardest to update everyone while I am away. In the spirit of packing light I will not be taking my laptop, so if you don’t receive e mails for awhile please do not worry. I will have my cell phone so if anyone feels the need to check in with me you are more than welcome to call 62 0821 1036 2282. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! XOXO

Bulehs in Bunaken

If you asked me at this time last year what I would be doing for Thanksgiving in one year, I never in my wildest dreams would I have answered “oh, I’ll most likely be cooking Thanksgiving dinner in a kitchen on a remote island where I can hear the waves with a few good friends that I haven’t met yet;” however, that’s exactly what I was doing.  Thanksgiving morning instead of watching the Macy’s parade, nine of us boarded a boat with a dread-locked and tattooed Indonesian to travel to the Seabreeze resort on Bunaken Island.  The boat ride itself was fantastic with gorgeous mountain views and sea chantey sing alongs; but, it was made even more fantastic by the fact that as we got closer to shore we could look into the crystal blue water at coral reefs. We were greeted by Terry, the Australian owner of Seabreeze, and after settling into our family bungalow a few of us went to work cooking Thanksgiving dinner which was punctuated by swim breaks in the ocean that surged directly under our kitchen. Cooking dinner was a challenge in an Indonesian kitchen without an oven or large range; but, we pulled it together and the Ibu-Ibu who cook in the resort were gracious enough to cook our chickens over an open fire for us.  We shared our tradition with Terry and his family, the staff, and the one couple who were staying at the resort with us at the time. Since we were the only group staying at the Seabreeze for the remainder of our stay, we had the staff and their boats at our disposal. Friday morning began with an early morning dolphin tour where we literally saw hundreds of dolphins at play in the open ocean. The rest of our trip was just as amazing with snorkeling to see Discovery channel quality marine life and coral reefs and swimming in turquoise water; but, most of all just loving life and each other’s company, and not feeling like such a buleh.  It was difficult to return to the real world especially since everyone at my school is appalled by my tan (my Ibu asked me today when my skin would “go back to normal”). At any rate the memories made on this trip will be more than enough to hold me over until our next rendezvous which surprisingly begins next week.