It's officially been a week since I said goodbye to my family and left for my journey in the Peace Corps. Last Thursday, September 19th, 2019, I had an early flight to Philadelphia which is where our staging day was located. Peace Corps Staging is when a new cohort gathers for a day of sessions about Peace Corps history, expectations, and more. As a huge history geek, I was more than thrilled to discover that our staging location was in Philadelphia. I found time to make a trip downtown Philly to visit Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Christ Church Cemetery, Carpenter's Hall, and more on September 20th. Later that day, all 72 of us loaded our MANY suitcases and departed for New York City where we flew of JFK that night.
In total, we traveled for more than 24 hours in the air. Our first of three flights was to Frankfurt, Germany. Then, after a two hour layover, we flew to Singapore. We had a quick layover in Singapore and barely made it to our last flight which brought us to Surabaya, Indonesia. We arrived in Indonesia on Sunday, September 22nd. Even though I hadn't had a full night's sleep in days, I was filled with energy and excitement when we first stepped foot on Indonesian soil. I had been dreaming of this place since February so it seemed surreal to finally arrive.
The next few days consisted of sessions including safety, medical, Peace Corps history, expectations, and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). We received items such as medical kits, mosquito nets, sim cards, bank accounts, debit cards, Indonesian Rupiah, and more. We were brought to the Peace Corps Indonesia Headquarters to complete some of the tasks mentioned above. Overall, it was an exciting but busy couple of days.
On Tuesday, September 24th, we packed up and moved to Kediri which is where we will be living until December. As we arrived at our beautiful hotel where we are spending our first few nights in Kediri, our language and cultural facilitators greeted us with traditional dances. As many of you would expect, I am spending every minute of free time in the pool either swimming laps or cooling down from the hot and humid weather.
The past two days (Wednesday and Thursday) have been packed with language training for at least 5-6 hours a day. At this point, I know how to introduce myself in Bahasa Indonesia, greetings, colors, numbers, some objects, family members, and we just started food. It's exciting but exhausting stuff. A couple of other volunteers and I were able to practice what language we've learned so far on a short trip to the local Indomaret for laundry detergent and ice cream.
The day that everyone has been waiting for is just around the corner. On Saturday, we move in with our host families for pre-service training. I am so eager to find out who my family is and so excited to improve my Bahasa and form relationships with my family members and others in the community. I'm hoping to be back next week to discuss my first week of living with my host family and my first full week of pre-service training. Until then, sampai jumpa!
It's wonderful to read about your experiences, and I love your excitement and enthusiasm. Keep the posts coming! Be safe!
What an adventure! Looking forward to hearing more and thanks for sharing. You are a special young lady❤
I'm so excited just reading about your journey! I look forward to your next update. Hati Hati (I hope that's correct in saying "take care". :)
Soo excited! You look like you are in heaven. We know you will be able to pick up the language so fast they will wonder if you were native to the islands. We can't wait to hear and see more, but try to get some sleep.
Everything looks amazing...I love the dolphins on the pool. What a perfect place for you to hang out. I can't wait to show Annie and Sam what you're up to. Sounds like you're busy but happy. So proud of you for doing this and for sharing your experience through your blog! Sending much love!