The other day I tried explaining the term “island fever” to one of my best friends as we drove to a reservoir.
“Island fever,” I said. “Is there a term for it in Indonesian? It’s when you’ve been in a small space for too long and need to get away.”
“You mean ‘claustrophobia’?” she asked. […]
We had only been living on this little Indonesian island for a couple of weeks, but I noticed it right away. The prolonged stares, every pair of eyes on me in the parking lot as I tried to back out of a difficult spot, people pointing me out to their friends and yelling “Hello Mister,” […]
Our family returned to Indonesia just three weeks ago after a nice furlough time in the United States. I’m not going to lie. It’s been a rough transition back to life in Central Borneo.
We arrived back to our city of Palangkaraya at just the wrong time—smoky season is in full swing. This is the ugliest […]
Rebecca on an MAF flight to Kampung Baru.
I’m about to enter my tenth year of life in Indonesia and it’s making me feel a bit nostalgic for those early, sweaty, confusing, exciting days when I first came here. But then I remember how far I’ve come and what I’ve learned and how I […]
I’m going to tell you the least cool thing about me: I love Facebook, and I have very few thoughtful qualms about technology. Both have enhanced my life overseas so much, it’s hard for me to be anything but positive. Here’s the short list of reasons why I think of Facebook as a gift.
My friends […]
I pack Evan’s backpack and hope I remembered everything on the list. This week is my firstborn son’s very first day of school in a two-room schoolhouse on our small island in Indonesia. And I’d hate for my baby to not have his pencil box.
Many things in our lives are normal, like the fact that […]