Well the moment I have been waiting for for so long has finally arrived. I have finished my tenure as a Fulbright ETA.
Let's pause for a satisfied, elated, relieved sigh.
I have a lot to say about many things I have experienced and observed over the last several months, but I'm going to hold my tongue until I'm safely back stateside and can speak my mind plainly. Until then, I'm going to travel around Indonesia and make some great memories. Stay tuned!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Food for Thought
Today I woke up at 6am, dragged myself out of bed, and stared out the window into the dark. I hate waking up before the sun rises. It's unnatural and depressing. Then I took a cold shower, got dressed, put on my jilbab, and drove to work for my 7:30am class.
I hate 7:30am. Actually, I hate any time before 9am. Man I miss college. If it weren't for the fact that my 7:30am class is with my advanced English 11th grade students, I would be really really mean. Fortunately, they're a good class. They are intelligent, thoughtful, interested in the world, and fun to talk to. I always enjoy teaching them and challenging them both in the English language and in their ideas. Today for my lesson, I told them that the Indonesian government has decided to give one of it's uninhabited islands to the UN for the creation of a new, international country with a population consisting of people from every country in the world. Then they broke up into groups and had to design their country. I gave them a series of topics to discuss, including things like political system, type of economy, official language, official religion, censorship, marriage laws, and industry. Everyone in the class agreed that democracy was the only option for a system of government with their reasoning being that every person has the right to participate in government.
I was surprised by many of their answers. Only one group said that there would be no official religion. The others mimicked Indonesian laws and said that there would be four official religions - Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. I reminded them that this is an international country and there would be people from Israel, for example, living there, and I asked if Judaism would be recognized. After a few minutes of discussion, they decided (begrudgingly) that Jewish people would be allowed to live in this country but only for a limited time and without the right to practice their religion. When I asked why, they couldn't answer. Not even in Indonesian. All they could say was that because it's not one of their chosen official religions.
When I got to the censorship question, I gave a little speech. Indonesia has a censorship board that monitors all forms of media and removes anything deemed immoral. This includes something as minor as pecks on the cheeks between a husband and wife in a movie on TV all the way to cutting out sex, violence, or drug use in movies in the theater (this policy is not consistently enforced, however). It is with this in mind that I gave my speech. I told them that there is a debate about censorship. Some people think it violates a person's right to make decisions for herself or himself or that it takes away freedom of expression for artists. Other people argue that it is a dangerous governmental practice because if it's not controlled, it can eventually erode the people's freedoms in regard to government. Still other people think that maintaining a certain moral fiber throughout a society with censorship is the responsibility of the government because the people cannot be trusted to make good decisions. I told them that they should decide which argument they agree with and make their censorship laws accordingly. Every single group agreed that morality is more important than freedom of choice or expression and that the government has a responsibility to enforce morality. They also decided that all forms of media - newspapers, books, movies, TV, magazines, internet - would be censored for kissing (PITY!), sex, drugs, violence, and other immoral acts. I asked them if a movie was portraying drugs in a negative light and showing the harm they do to people (Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting came to mind), would those still be allowed. They said no, absolutely no depictions of anything.
Finally we got to the issue of marriage laws. I told them they had to decide if there would be restrictions on who could be married in regard to religion, race, etc. The only restriction they chose was for religion (this also mimics Indonesian laws). Their argument was that in Islam, it is forbidden to marry a person who does not share the same religion. I asked them if these laws apply in religions other than Islam, but they ignored me. They continued to say, "A Muslim must marry a Muslim." It was like a broken record. So I asked the group that had chosen to abstain from an official religion if it was fair for them to impose a religious law in a country with no official religion. Again, the broken record.
The class's response to these questions really surprised me. I wasn't expecting them to be rebellious, American-style teenagers. They are very pious Muslims in a VERY strictly religious Muslim school. But I was still surprised. Since I have been teaching here, we've talked about a lot of things. Corruption, education, religious conflict, political freedom (and lack thereof), and religiously-based self-segregation are all topics of interest for these students. They often speak critically of these issues and offer up thoughtful, insightful solutions. Disagreements and debates between the students are not uncommon. In fact, their comments and suggestions seem more intelligent and realistic than some of the things their teachers say. Based on these past conversations, I was expecting at least some sort consideration of what is different. I continued to remind them that it was an international country in the hopes that they would talk about what it means for all sorts of people to come together and what kinds of problems might ensue from imposing rules that can exclude or alienate a great deal of people. Instead, they sounded like a propaganda piece for the current government.
I don't write this to try to make Islam look bad or further enforce the stereotype that Muslims are trying to take over the world. On the contrary. If you went into a Christian school here, you'd probably here similar answers in favor of Christianity (that's just a guess, though. I don't know any Christians here). What saddens me is that my students, who are full of questions and criticisms and ideas and confusion, are not taught or encouraged to think critically. On more than one occasion, they have been silenced by teachers for speaking to me about religious conflict or tension (Apparently it doesn't exist here *cough cough*). I don't know if they are silenced because they aren't supposed to talk about it at all or because the teachers want me to think everything is ok (like I don't read the news and experience life here). I often get the sense that I am lied to about many things regarding Indonesian government or culture, which is one of the reasons I don't feel like I can get a grasp on this place. But what kills me is that this country, like every other country in the world, is riddled with problems. Serious problems that need to be fixed in order for this country to become more developed. But how can they? How can they work to create effective and lasting solutions if they aren't taught to consider what is beyond their own world? It breaks my heart.
I hate 7:30am. Actually, I hate any time before 9am. Man I miss college. If it weren't for the fact that my 7:30am class is with my advanced English 11th grade students, I would be really really mean. Fortunately, they're a good class. They are intelligent, thoughtful, interested in the world, and fun to talk to. I always enjoy teaching them and challenging them both in the English language and in their ideas. Today for my lesson, I told them that the Indonesian government has decided to give one of it's uninhabited islands to the UN for the creation of a new, international country with a population consisting of people from every country in the world. Then they broke up into groups and had to design their country. I gave them a series of topics to discuss, including things like political system, type of economy, official language, official religion, censorship, marriage laws, and industry. Everyone in the class agreed that democracy was the only option for a system of government with their reasoning being that every person has the right to participate in government.
I was surprised by many of their answers. Only one group said that there would be no official religion. The others mimicked Indonesian laws and said that there would be four official religions - Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. I reminded them that this is an international country and there would be people from Israel, for example, living there, and I asked if Judaism would be recognized. After a few minutes of discussion, they decided (begrudgingly) that Jewish people would be allowed to live in this country but only for a limited time and without the right to practice their religion. When I asked why, they couldn't answer. Not even in Indonesian. All they could say was that because it's not one of their chosen official religions.
When I got to the censorship question, I gave a little speech. Indonesia has a censorship board that monitors all forms of media and removes anything deemed immoral. This includes something as minor as pecks on the cheeks between a husband and wife in a movie on TV all the way to cutting out sex, violence, or drug use in movies in the theater (this policy is not consistently enforced, however). It is with this in mind that I gave my speech. I told them that there is a debate about censorship. Some people think it violates a person's right to make decisions for herself or himself or that it takes away freedom of expression for artists. Other people argue that it is a dangerous governmental practice because if it's not controlled, it can eventually erode the people's freedoms in regard to government. Still other people think that maintaining a certain moral fiber throughout a society with censorship is the responsibility of the government because the people cannot be trusted to make good decisions. I told them that they should decide which argument they agree with and make their censorship laws accordingly. Every single group agreed that morality is more important than freedom of choice or expression and that the government has a responsibility to enforce morality. They also decided that all forms of media - newspapers, books, movies, TV, magazines, internet - would be censored for kissing (PITY!), sex, drugs, violence, and other immoral acts. I asked them if a movie was portraying drugs in a negative light and showing the harm they do to people (Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting came to mind), would those still be allowed. They said no, absolutely no depictions of anything.
Finally we got to the issue of marriage laws. I told them they had to decide if there would be restrictions on who could be married in regard to religion, race, etc. The only restriction they chose was for religion (this also mimics Indonesian laws). Their argument was that in Islam, it is forbidden to marry a person who does not share the same religion. I asked them if these laws apply in religions other than Islam, but they ignored me. They continued to say, "A Muslim must marry a Muslim." It was like a broken record. So I asked the group that had chosen to abstain from an official religion if it was fair for them to impose a religious law in a country with no official religion. Again, the broken record.
The class's response to these questions really surprised me. I wasn't expecting them to be rebellious, American-style teenagers. They are very pious Muslims in a VERY strictly religious Muslim school. But I was still surprised. Since I have been teaching here, we've talked about a lot of things. Corruption, education, religious conflict, political freedom (and lack thereof), and religiously-based self-segregation are all topics of interest for these students. They often speak critically of these issues and offer up thoughtful, insightful solutions. Disagreements and debates between the students are not uncommon. In fact, their comments and suggestions seem more intelligent and realistic than some of the things their teachers say. Based on these past conversations, I was expecting at least some sort consideration of what is different. I continued to remind them that it was an international country in the hopes that they would talk about what it means for all sorts of people to come together and what kinds of problems might ensue from imposing rules that can exclude or alienate a great deal of people. Instead, they sounded like a propaganda piece for the current government.
I don't write this to try to make Islam look bad or further enforce the stereotype that Muslims are trying to take over the world. On the contrary. If you went into a Christian school here, you'd probably here similar answers in favor of Christianity (that's just a guess, though. I don't know any Christians here). What saddens me is that my students, who are full of questions and criticisms and ideas and confusion, are not taught or encouraged to think critically. On more than one occasion, they have been silenced by teachers for speaking to me about religious conflict or tension (Apparently it doesn't exist here *cough cough*). I don't know if they are silenced because they aren't supposed to talk about it at all or because the teachers want me to think everything is ok (like I don't read the news and experience life here). I often get the sense that I am lied to about many things regarding Indonesian government or culture, which is one of the reasons I don't feel like I can get a grasp on this place. But what kills me is that this country, like every other country in the world, is riddled with problems. Serious problems that need to be fixed in order for this country to become more developed. But how can they? How can they work to create effective and lasting solutions if they aren't taught to consider what is beyond their own world? It breaks my heart.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Here It Comes!
One more week! woot WOOT! I'm so so so so so so so so so excited to be done. Although I do feel the occasional moment of nostalgia, most of the time I just want to do a little celebratory jig. I never thought this moment would get here!
I've already sent a menu to my parents of all the foods I want when I arrive. And when I say arrive, I mean in the airport before we even get to the car. The following items will probably do a number on my stomach, but let's face it - I've endured nine months of weekly bouts of diarrhea. It will almost be a sincere pleasure to endure gastrointestinal disfunction in the luxurious accommodations of a bathroom with a sink, toilet paper, a Western toilet, air conditioning, and a fan. Bring on the processed, preservative-filled, artery-clogging, FDA approved wonders of a Western diet!
1. More than anything, I want a bottle of wine. Or a box. I'm not picky. And if you're thinking of a welcome-home gift, I like Cabernet Sauvignon.
2. Taco Bell has been on my mind since I arrived in Indonesia on August 22, 2010. Yes, I am fully aware of the questionable meat in their tacos, but let's face it. I've been eating vegetables fertilized with human feces. I can take it.
3. I wouldn't be a Southerner if I didn't want biscuits, green beans, mac and cheese, squash casserole, fried okra, and creamed corn. Yummmmmmmy!
4. B.B.Q. Enough said.
5. And finally, to wash it all down (the wine will be my appetizer), a gigantic glass of Chick-Fil-A lemonade. Maybe coupled with a chicken biscuit.
You might be reading this and thinking, "Whoa fatty!" I don't care. You just don't understand. The closest thing we can get to American food is McDonald's and an Indonesian-friendly Pizza Hut (which means gross - people here eat tuna and corn on their pizza). I haven't come within a mile of anything even closely resembling the home-style soul food that we get back home. I'm salivating just thinking about it.
I've already sent a menu to my parents of all the foods I want when I arrive. And when I say arrive, I mean in the airport before we even get to the car. The following items will probably do a number on my stomach, but let's face it - I've endured nine months of weekly bouts of diarrhea. It will almost be a sincere pleasure to endure gastrointestinal disfunction in the luxurious accommodations of a bathroom with a sink, toilet paper, a Western toilet, air conditioning, and a fan. Bring on the processed, preservative-filled, artery-clogging, FDA approved wonders of a Western diet!
1. More than anything, I want a bottle of wine. Or a box. I'm not picky. And if you're thinking of a welcome-home gift, I like Cabernet Sauvignon.
2. Taco Bell has been on my mind since I arrived in Indonesia on August 22, 2010. Yes, I am fully aware of the questionable meat in their tacos, but let's face it. I've been eating vegetables fertilized with human feces. I can take it.
3. I wouldn't be a Southerner if I didn't want biscuits, green beans, mac and cheese, squash casserole, fried okra, and creamed corn. Yummmmmmmy!
4. B.B.Q. Enough said.
5. And finally, to wash it all down (the wine will be my appetizer), a gigantic glass of Chick-Fil-A lemonade. Maybe coupled with a chicken biscuit.
You might be reading this and thinking, "Whoa fatty!" I don't care. You just don't understand. The closest thing we can get to American food is McDonald's and an Indonesian-friendly Pizza Hut (which means gross - people here eat tuna and corn on their pizza). I haven't come within a mile of anything even closely resembling the home-style soul food that we get back home. I'm salivating just thinking about it.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Blah
Today is a blah day. I feel fat, my a/c is giving me congestion problems, I'm wearing dirty clothes because I've been too lazy to wash my clothes by hand, and nothing sounds better than sitting on my bed-turned-couch all day sipping tea and reading Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. But here I am, dressed for school (sans that horrific and HOT jilbab), typing on my blog and trying to think of games to play so I don't have to teach.
Thursdays are always blah days. My classes on Thursday are really bad. The students are unruly, discipline is nonexistent, and I spend most of my time waiting for them to be quiet. Here's an example:
A few months ago, I was doing an activity with this class that lets them talk and move around a lot. Unbeknownst to them, I'm always trying to find fun, energetic activities to connect to the lesson to accommodate their, well, spunk. It doesn't seem to matter what I do because I can't keep control of these students no matter what. And it's not just me - my co-teacher gave up on them before I even got here! A class usually has one or two bad students that rile up the class. Bond with them and your golden. But when a class of 43 students has 15 boys who would've been in alternative school in America at the age of 7, there's really no chance. Especially if you can't speak the same language. And when any form of discipline results in cheering and clapping from their cohorts, it all seems pretty pointless.
So on this particular day, we were doing an activity. The time was up and I needed them to sit down. Despite my many efforts of speaking to individual students, yelling over the noise, and attempting my pathetic teacher staredown, nothing worked. So finally I thought, "Hey, they just can't see me. I'll pull a soapbox!" And I stood on my chair to make the announcement.
Did this work? NO! I got their attention all right. They heard me speaking and they looked around to see me standing on the chair. For just one fleeting moment I thought I'd achieved success. And then a Dead Poet's Society scene unfolded. Only instead of me being the thought-provoking Robin Williams and my students feeling inspired by my wit, intelligence, and compassion, they jumped on their desks and started shouting at me and each other. I suppose it would be more accurate to liken it to the crucifixion trial of Jesus.
That's why I hate Thursdays.
Thursdays are always blah days. My classes on Thursday are really bad. The students are unruly, discipline is nonexistent, and I spend most of my time waiting for them to be quiet. Here's an example:
A few months ago, I was doing an activity with this class that lets them talk and move around a lot. Unbeknownst to them, I'm always trying to find fun, energetic activities to connect to the lesson to accommodate their, well, spunk. It doesn't seem to matter what I do because I can't keep control of these students no matter what. And it's not just me - my co-teacher gave up on them before I even got here! A class usually has one or two bad students that rile up the class. Bond with them and your golden. But when a class of 43 students has 15 boys who would've been in alternative school in America at the age of 7, there's really no chance. Especially if you can't speak the same language. And when any form of discipline results in cheering and clapping from their cohorts, it all seems pretty pointless.
So on this particular day, we were doing an activity. The time was up and I needed them to sit down. Despite my many efforts of speaking to individual students, yelling over the noise, and attempting my pathetic teacher staredown, nothing worked. So finally I thought, "Hey, they just can't see me. I'll pull a soapbox!" And I stood on my chair to make the announcement.
Did this work? NO! I got their attention all right. They heard me speaking and they looked around to see me standing on the chair. For just one fleeting moment I thought I'd achieved success. And then a Dead Poet's Society scene unfolded. Only instead of me being the thought-provoking Robin Williams and my students feeling inspired by my wit, intelligence, and compassion, they jumped on their desks and started shouting at me and each other. I suppose it would be more accurate to liken it to the crucifixion trial of Jesus.
That's why I hate Thursdays.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tales of Tails
Today I walked into class and was immediately met with a horrible, death-like stench. I asked the students to sweep the floor, hoping it was some rotten food that could be removed after a short cleaning session. As I supervised the girls (boys don't clean, of course) who were pushing around the scraps of paper, food wrappers, mothballs (don't ask), grains of rice, and food crumbs with the broom, I discovered the culprit. A group of boys was crouched in the corner. They surrounded the supply cabinet and, while laughing and whispering in Indonesian, kept poking at something inside. I peered over their shoulders and saw, with great surprise, a cat curled up inside the cabinet with six newborn kittens drinking milk from her teats. She had given birth the night before and stayed in the stinky, nasty, birthy rags she curled up in before. Yuck!
Cats are everywhere. Big ones, little ones, yellow ones, black ones, fat ones, starving ones, and oh-so-pregnant! ones. Maybe one out of 20 cats has a full tail. The rest have a variation of bobbed, zig-zagged, crimped, and just plain funky. Many a night we've spent discussing the possible causes of this strange disappearance. The Indonesians insist that the cats are born this way, but we see as many kittens as we do cats and the kittens keep their tails for at least the first five or six weeks. The kittens born in my classroom had full kitten-sized tails. So where do they go?
Speculation ranges from spontaneous detachment to traffic mishaps to cat fights to incest. There is compelling evidence for all four. Never fear! I will outline all of them.
Spontaneous detachment seems quite likely given the whole mystery surrounding this issue. One day it's there, the next it isn't! As I said, compelling evidence.
Given the commonly displayed crimped and zig-zagged tails we see, many of them violently bent at a right angle, I think it is safe to assume that these cats have encountered a fair amount of violence in their pathetic lives. Since the staple food in an Indonesian cat's diet is rice, we can all imagine what a food scarcity they are facing. Everywhere they go, they prowl around with hungry, sunken eyes, ribs showing through their patchy fur, and a little too much alleycat swagger in their walk. They circle the cast-aside banana leaves full of unwanted rice and threaten any fellow cat from stealing their prize. Needless to say, a loud food-fight RAAEEEEERRRRRRR is all too regular in schools, in restaurants, and in my trash bags. And when they're not fighting for food or giving birth inside my classroom's supply cabinet, they're darting through traffic in search of food or a suitable kitten-birthing cabinet. I'll never forget the time I was driving to the grocery store on my motorcycle and saw a roadkill cat in the middle of the road. It's fur was matted with blood, it's tail bent into the air like a flag pole, and it's eyes had popped out of its head, blowing around on the road, held on only by the bloody strings still attached inside the eye sockets. Not the best thing to see on your way to buy food, let me tell you!
Finally we have the incest theory. As soon as my friend suggested it, everything suddenly made sense. All the cats at my friends' dorm never leave. There are three females and one male (lucky guy) nicknamed Garfield for the uncanny resemblance (both in size and laziness - the only time we've ever seen him move is to impregnate a member of his harem). We've spoiled their boom-boom on many an occasion and even interrupted what I will always believe was a cat rape. This male cat has impregnated each of the females at least four times since I've been in Medan. And now their kittens are cats and making their own kittens. Who's the daddy? None other than Garfield.
This same scenario occurs at my school and in my neighborhood. The same males are impregnating the females, then they impregnate their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. And people say cats are intelligent!
Cats are everywhere. Big ones, little ones, yellow ones, black ones, fat ones, starving ones, and oh-so-pregnant! ones. Maybe one out of 20 cats has a full tail. The rest have a variation of bobbed, zig-zagged, crimped, and just plain funky. Many a night we've spent discussing the possible causes of this strange disappearance. The Indonesians insist that the cats are born this way, but we see as many kittens as we do cats and the kittens keep their tails for at least the first five or six weeks. The kittens born in my classroom had full kitten-sized tails. So where do they go?
Speculation ranges from spontaneous detachment to traffic mishaps to cat fights to incest. There is compelling evidence for all four. Never fear! I will outline all of them.
Spontaneous detachment seems quite likely given the whole mystery surrounding this issue. One day it's there, the next it isn't! As I said, compelling evidence.
Given the commonly displayed crimped and zig-zagged tails we see, many of them violently bent at a right angle, I think it is safe to assume that these cats have encountered a fair amount of violence in their pathetic lives. Since the staple food in an Indonesian cat's diet is rice, we can all imagine what a food scarcity they are facing. Everywhere they go, they prowl around with hungry, sunken eyes, ribs showing through their patchy fur, and a little too much alleycat swagger in their walk. They circle the cast-aside banana leaves full of unwanted rice and threaten any fellow cat from stealing their prize. Needless to say, a loud food-fight RAAEEEEERRRRRRR is all too regular in schools, in restaurants, and in my trash bags. And when they're not fighting for food or giving birth inside my classroom's supply cabinet, they're darting through traffic in search of food or a suitable kitten-birthing cabinet. I'll never forget the time I was driving to the grocery store on my motorcycle and saw a roadkill cat in the middle of the road. It's fur was matted with blood, it's tail bent into the air like a flag pole, and it's eyes had popped out of its head, blowing around on the road, held on only by the bloody strings still attached inside the eye sockets. Not the best thing to see on your way to buy food, let me tell you!
Finally we have the incest theory. As soon as my friend suggested it, everything suddenly made sense. All the cats at my friends' dorm never leave. There are three females and one male (lucky guy) nicknamed Garfield for the uncanny resemblance (both in size and laziness - the only time we've ever seen him move is to impregnate a member of his harem). We've spoiled their boom-boom on many an occasion and even interrupted what I will always believe was a cat rape. This male cat has impregnated each of the females at least four times since I've been in Medan. And now their kittens are cats and making their own kittens. Who's the daddy? None other than Garfield.
This same scenario occurs at my school and in my neighborhood. The same males are impregnating the females, then they impregnate their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. And people say cats are intelligent!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Boundaries, Anyone?
My latest conversation with an Indonesian cab driver:
Him: How old are you?
Me: 28.
Him: How long have you lived in Indonesia?
Me: 8 months.
Him: Who do you live with?
Me: My husband.
Him: Where is he from?
Me: America.
Him: How long have you been married?
Me: 8 years.
Him: Do you have any children?
Me: No, we're still waiting a long time yet.
Him: Oh, so you're a career woman.
Me: Yes.
Him: Good good. (thinking) So what do you use?
Me: What do you mean?
Him: Do you use condoms? Do you eat pills? How do you not have children?
Him: How old are you?
Me: 28.
Him: How long have you lived in Indonesia?
Me: 8 months.
Him: Who do you live with?
Me: My husband.
Him: Where is he from?
Me: America.
Him: How long have you been married?
Me: 8 years.
Him: Do you have any children?
Me: No, we're still waiting a long time yet.
Him: Oh, so you're a career woman.
Me: Yes.
Him: Good good. (thinking) So what do you use?
Me: What do you mean?
Him: Do you use condoms? Do you eat pills? How do you not have children?
Thursday, March 24, 2011
I'm BAAAACCCKKKK
Well, after a rather embarrassing four-month absence from the blogosphere, I have returned. Starting in November I sank into a deep resentment and unhappiness about life here. Since momma always said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," I took her advice and kept my silence.
Well, I've adjusted. Did you know it takes about six months to get used to a place? And now I'm used to it, but man oh man! I can't wait to be back in the good ol' USA. I still don't have a lot of nice things to say, but I'll try to mask it with my unmatchable wit and sense of humor (which, by the way, went MIA for about three months and still isn't what it usually is). Feel free to read between the lines, though.
Let me tell you about an ordinary day in the life of a white foreign woman in Medan, Indonesia is like:
Well, I've adjusted. Did you know it takes about six months to get used to a place? And now I'm used to it, but man oh man! I can't wait to be back in the good ol' USA. I still don't have a lot of nice things to say, but I'll try to mask it with my unmatchable wit and sense of humor (which, by the way, went MIA for about three months and still isn't what it usually is). Feel free to read between the lines, though.
Let me tell you about an ordinary day in the life of a white foreign woman in Medan, Indonesia is like:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)