Reflections after living in Indonesia for over six months

I passed the 6-month mark of my contract on February 22 (Ari was here with me when it happened! But that’s a whole nother blog post). And I was thinking how interesting it is to look back on how my priorities have changed as I’ve adapted (or refused to adapt) to living in a really foreign culture. There are some things I’ve grown accustomed to that really frustrated me at the beginning of my contract, and there are other things that didn’t bother me at first, but now I can’t stand. Allow me to enumerate them in a semi-coherent list.

Things I thought I couldn’t handle at first, but eventually got over:

• ·      Not having a bedside table or reading lamp. (I just use the glow light on my Nook or use my headlamp.)
• ·      My neighbor knocking on my door at 5am to deliver water. (Just roll out of bed and get it.)
• ·      Jogging outside (as long as I get out before 8am!).
• ·      Not having internet in my room. (That was a difficult one to get over.)
• ·      Students texting me at all hours to ask me questions ranging from urgent to “Good evening, Miss. What are you doing right now?”

Things I didn’t mind at first but can’t stand now:

• ·      Being asked to speak at a conference and having it run hours over the time that they told me it would end (I realize Indonesia has “rubber time,” but I just can’t always accept it!)
• ·      Being asked to attend a day-long conference that is conducted entirely in Indonesian. (This only happened once, but it will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! Why was I even invited??)
• ·      Getting across a really crowded/polluted street to go to the closest grocery store. (I got fed up with the effort of crossing the street; now I just prefer to pick up my groceries when I’m already out for a movie or using wifi.)

Thing that has stayed pretty much the same:

• ·      Being amused/mildly annoyed/pissed off at people randomly yelling “Hey Mister!” or “How are you?” at me. It all depends on my mood.

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So those are fairly short lists, I guess. Overall, I think I’ve been able to adapt to the most important aspects of the culture when it comes down to working and building personal and professional relationships in a foreign country.  And I realize that last sentence sounds like it belongs in a resume. But it’s true!