Happy New Year everyone! With the holiday season coming to a close, I thought I would write a blog post to update all of you on how I spent my first holiday season away from home. On December 5th, I arrived at my permanent site. I spent the following two weeks getting to know my host family, community, and school. The school semester was winding down and the students were taking exams. Therefore, I spent most of my time chatting with the teachers.
On December 20th, I left for a two day trip to Bandung with the teachers at my school and their families. This was the perfect opportunity for me to build relationships with the people I will be working with for the next two years. The first stop of the trip was to a hot springs. This was my first hot springs experience and it will definitely not be my last. It was so refreshing to swim and relax. We made it to the hotel later that day. That night, a group of us traveled to a cafe area that had a bunch of cool lights and good food. The next day was packed! We went to a beautiful garden and then headed to a floating market. Overall, it was an amazing trip and I'm really grateful I was invited to go!
After I returned, I spent the next couple of days in bed once again fighting off a virus that gave me another high fever. Luckily, I felt better in time for Christmas! On Christmas Eve, I went with my Ibu, her grandson, and some more family members to a local mall where we visited the arcade and watched the newest "Jumanji" movie. Since my family back home normally goes to see a movie on Christmas, it felt like the perfect day.
I woke up on Christmas morning and took an angkot (public transportation method) to meet 5 other volunteers for a fun day in the city. We started off at a Starbucks for breakfast and then walked to the Bogor Botanical Gardens. The gardens were stunning and we were surprised when we ran into none other than the President of Indonesia! He has a palace in the gardens and went out for a morning jog (with his bodyguards of course). It was a crazy experience! We went to Pizza Hut for lunch, walked around the local mall, and saw a movie at the theater.
To be honest, I was really not looking forward to Christmas because of the thought of my family celebrating and being together. However, getting together with the other volunteers who have now become some of my closest friends made EVERYTHING better. I feel very fortunate to have these amazing people in my life and wouldn't be able to make it through this insane experience without them.
Lastly, I traveled to Bandung once again to spend New Years with a group of about 20 volunteers. We had a really fun couple of days exploring the city and indulging in as much American food as we could find. The highlight for me was when a few of us spent a couple hours at a trampoline park and then ate Dairy Queen! Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures there.
Overall, I enjoyed the holiday season here in Indonesia but definitely missed taking part in all of the celebrations back home. I'm really excited to be back at school this week and doing what I love- teaching! I will be teaching 10 classes of 11th grade English this semester with one counterpart. Although I'm back at school, I have a couple of trips over the next two weeks. I will be headed back to Bandung this weekend (I know, again!?) for a meeting. I was invited to serve on the West Java English Writing Competition committee that Peace Corps hosts. I'm excited to get to know the other committee members and plan for the competition that is held later this year in March. A day after I return to site from Bandung, I am leaving with my students and teachers on a 4 day school study trip to Yogyakarta. I am so lucky for all of the opportunities to travel here! Thank you for reading and for your support! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season. -Niki
Merry Christmas and Happy 2020 Nikki. Great pictures. Travel is a wonderful thing and getting to meet the people of the World a fantastic experience. Looking forward to your next writing.