Nuts and Bolts

Thank you all for taking the time to read about what I'm doing and thinking.  I am grateful to have so many friends and acquaintances who have expressed an interest in keeping up with me and my experiences.

It has recently dawned on me (primarily due to the number of emails and Facebook messages I've answered) that some of you don't really know how I got to Indonesia, what I'm doing or maybe even why I chose this path.  This posting is an attempt to answer those questions.  It's a little long, but comprehensive (relatively :-)  If you have questions or if you think I've omitted something, please feel free to post in the comments and I'll get right on it!

2007 was a year of transition.  My ten-year marriage had ended, my daughter graduated from high school and my position as a development associate was eliminated (oh yeah, and my car blew up, the day I lost my job...weird, huh?) Being a person of faith, I considered the magnitude of those events and decided that it meant I needed to refocus my energies.  I took a job at a restaurant opening in my neighborhood.  I had read good things and the owner seemed to be a great guy.  I thought it would be the perfect place for me to plan my future.  (I was right)

During the two and half years of my employment, I worked as much as I could, but still managed to get out and about.  I traveled to Mexico, Costa Rica, Minneapolis, Japan and New Orleans - not to mention the fun trips to the mountains and beach.  I really enjoyed life, made many new friends and never lost sight of the fact that I was supposed to be planning my future.

I thought seriously about law school, grad school and selling the house to move to Costa Rica, among other things, but as idealistically dreamy as I am, I'm also rather practical (I hear some of you laughing - but I'm serious!)  It dawned upon me that no matter the direction or station of my life, one thing has always been a constant: my faith in God; more recently, my relationship with the church as the body for that faith.  Things were beginning to come together.  I had been a member of my church, Plaza Presbyterian,  for almost 10 years, served as an Elder and a member of the choir, as well.  I remembered that the Presbyterian Church (USA) had an active and respectable World Mission program.  http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/global/   In April of 2009, I began the application process.

In the fall of 2009, I went to Louisville, Kentucky to spend two and a half days interviewing for the two positions to which I had applied.  One I thought was consistent with my experience in planning and one seemed to be a good fit for my new endeavor, teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (certified in August of 2009).  As I sat in the waiting area, I knew that I was on the right path - on the table were a New York Times and Atlantic magazine.  (My undergraduate degree was in political science)

The discernment process was long, thoughtful and full of unexpected "ah-ha moments"!  There is a saying that God doesn't call the prepared, He prepares the called.  It was, and continues to be, a humbling process.  People who know me know that I'm not perfect - I struggle, as many of us do - I think too much, love a lot and strive to be a light, but alas, I am human :-)

The path to Indonesia, honestly, was not the one that I originally thought was the way. I had NO experience with that language (French and Spanish, yes, but an Austronesian-Malay-based language? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_language  Not so much!)

As time progressed and I learned more, both actually and spiritually, it became evident that I should be in Indonesia.  In April of 2010, I was offered the position as English Teacher and Teacher Trainer serving with longterm partners, Duta Wacana (sounds like "Dootah Wa-CHA-na"), a private Christian university www.ukdw.ac.id and  ICRS (Indonesian Consortium of Religious Studies www.icrs.ugm.ac.id), a consortium of three universities that offers an international PhD program in inter-religious studies.

I have been here a little over two weeks now.  During the week, I split my time between Duta Wacana and ICRS, as well as take Bahasa Indonesia (language) lessons, manage a daily walking regimen and update my Facebook page regularly, among other things.  I've been fortunate to participate on two social/cultural tours sponsored by ICRS, I've gone to a couple of really cool art events and yesterday with the head of the English Department of Duta Wacana and his wife, I got to experience a program celebrating Chinese New Year's hosted by the students of Duta Wacana.

If you've visited my Facebook page, you've seen that I live in a beautiful guest house.  There are scholars from around the world, mostly from the US right now, but there is also a lovely woman from Myanmar, who enrich my experience and help me adjust.

I am thankful to be here - I am grateful for the relationships that have sustained me over the years and for the new ones that are so special to me now.  As I mentioned before, it's only been a little over two weeks, so my perspective is one of newness, adjustment and gratitude.

If you'd like to continue with me on my journey, please choose to "follow" this blog or to friend me on Facebook.  I love to share, grow and learn.  Thank you for your time, prayers and happy thoughts!