Rebecca serves with her husband, Brad—pilot/mechanic and base manager—at the Palangkaraya floatplane base in Kalimantan, Indonesia. She enjoys getting below the surface to the heart of things, whether it’s during a history lesson with her kids, over tea with an Indonesian neighbor, or through her writing. Rebecca blogs at http://www.rebeccahopkins.org/news/.
I shouldn’t still be here in Indonesia.
It’s been eight years on the same narrow street on the same tiny island. And I just can’t believe it.
That’s twice as long as I’ve ever lived anywhere in my whole life.
As the daughter of an Army officer, I rarely lived anywhere longer than just a couple of […]
It’s dinner time. The setting equatorial sun—every day the same time all year long—and my three kids tell me it’s time. And if the “I’m so hungry, Mama” over and over didn’t clue me in, the nearby mosque’s evening call to prayer does.
Today’s dinner is rice and groundnut stew. It’s one of Brad’s favorites and […]
It all took some sorting out. My Indonesian friend kept going on and on about some mutual friend of ours who is sick. I kept smiling, nodding, trying to figure it out, feeling stupid. But I didn’t recognize the name.
And then I realized she was calling our friend by one of the three different […]
When I was getting ready to move to Indonesia, I was willing to give up pizza, my mom’s dirt cake and one-stop trips to Wal-Mart. But I had one hope in return—a fruit tree.
Any type of fruit would do—bananas, pineapple, coconut, or something else I didn’t yet know existed.
Thankfully, I ate pizza the first week […]
The woman bounced down the path, her arms pumping strong on her afternoon jog. She looked so fit. So light. So free.
I did my own bouncing as my 2-week-old baby fussed in the Baby Bjorn strapped to my chest. My 4-year-old son was taking his turn in the stroller. My 2-year-old walked beside me, holding […]
The corner store is smelly, and crowded with others like me—coming for something quick and small. Some vegetables to make dinner maybe. Gas for the stove. For me, I’m searching for more time—for my phone.
These are my neighbors. Some live in houses like mine—with furniture and plants and tiles on the floor. One of the […]