Longing to be home of which not mine
My dedicated reader, mbak Ulm, posted a message urging me to update my blog, update it with my latest news. Ulm, not much to say but it is less exited to be here.
Hu,.. it is a very contradictive situation. One hand, I love to be here, with my family, Stefy and friends; yet, on the other hand, I hate to be far away from home, of which not mine: the Netherlands.
Since I am a woman, I will reveal my story easily, probably too easily; thus I better give you some highlights about my first three exiting days in Indonesia.
15 July 2006
I arrived safely in Juanda Airport, Surabaya. After long flight and long transit in Singapore, I was very relieved to be in Surabaya. My luggage appeared on time and was all complete. Thanks God for that! I am always petrified with my luggage when I travel.
My dad, mom and little sista, Joan, welcomed me. In the middle of the crowd, I embraced them. My little sista is not little anymore. With her dark, long hair, and new front teeth, she looked very different. I am happy to see her.
FYI, Bang Tepy, that cruel boyfriend I have (heheh), didn’t pick me up. He rather went to a wedding party than picked me up. Heheheh,.. just kidding. I knew it weeks before I went back to Indonesia. It was his good friend’s wedding party; it was important, too.
I was very exhausted.
I could no longer feel my bones supporting my whole body. I was so weak. I remembered I had not slept well for almost a week. My last few days in the Netherlands were spent by packing, being too exited and stressed.
When I got home, I unpacked my luggage. This was the most interesting part. I loved unpacking stuffs and presenting presents to my family. Joan unpacked her presents and was very exited.
I closed my day by going to bed very early. I was very tired. I phoned Bang Tepy before I went to bed saying hi to him and made appointment for the next day. We were going to church, the 6 AM service.
16 July 2006
Knock,.. knock,..
“Non, your friend is waiting outside.”
Freak, I am late!
It was quarter to six when my housemaid knocked my door letting me know that my friend was waiting for me. It was Stefy.
I was crawling (not literally, but probably limping) downstairs to meet him.
*Grinned*
“Stef, sorry, I am late. I am so sleepy.”
With his half-opened eyes, he replied “that’s all right”
Freak, I ruined my first meeting. I didn’t dress well and appeared late. Ck, ck,..ck,.bad bad! Thank goodness he was okay. :P
Stefy’s church was totally different than Crossroad. During the service, I was praying to God asking His direction: which church should I go. I really don’t mind to return to my old church or go to Stefy’s church, but I, personally, prefer to go to Crossroad-like church. I could experience God’s presence more in Crossroad. Yet, since God is everywhere, I should be able to experience His presence in any other church, too.
In the evening, there was my grandma’s party.
Honestly, I didn’t like it.
It was done in Indonesian way (of course), thus I had to greet everybody, I mean anybody, whom I don’t even know or have ever met some of them.
My mom kept calling my name and showing me off to her friends or relatives.
I didn’t like it. I wasn’t comfortable.
I reckon, 16 July was the date when I felt my first culture-shock and I missed my Diemerkade very much.
When I got back home, I starred at my phone, wondering “shall I call my ex-housemates?”
17 July 2006
I woke up quite late. I reckon I still had jetlag.
Can you imagine, last night, in the middle of the night, I woke up feeling hungry and couldn’t go back to sleep? If it is not because of stefy’s mom telling me that I got chubbier, I would grab some biscuits or any other food to ease my hunger. (heheh,.. it is partly just a joke). I managed to go back to sleep.
In the morning, I went to swim with Joan.
Finally, when I was in the Netherlands, I dreamt to swim outdoor, and now, my dream came true. In the end of the day, I got terrible sun-burn; yet I loved it. Heheheh,.. FYI, my skin is darker than Stefy (hopefully he wouldn’t reconsider me for this matter :P)
The second culture-shock attacked me.
In the afternoon, I would like to have an internet connection. Since Indonesia rarely has modem or excellent internet connection, my dad just has a modem. To install the modem and reconfigure it in my computer was such a pain. In the end, I still couldn’t manage it. Freak!
Then, my tears started going down, “I miss Ardy!”
In the Netherlands, if I have problem with my computer, I would go upstairs, knocking at Ardy’s door and asking for his help. Now, I don’t have Ardy, no Daniel, no IT experts. I miss my friends.
I ended up crying.
Good that I had an appointment with my good friends, who are actually Stefy’s friends from church, too. They were my friends who kept praying for me and supported me while I was in the Netherlands. This appointment kindof eased my sadness.
Here are some highlights of my first days in Indonesia. Some are good, others are terrible. Fewh… still difficult to adapt. Please do pray for me, I really need your prayer.
See you soon, as soon as I have a good internet connection.
Hu,.. it is a very contradictive situation. One hand, I love to be here, with my family, Stefy and friends; yet, on the other hand, I hate to be far away from home, of which not mine: the Netherlands.
Since I am a woman, I will reveal my story easily, probably too easily; thus I better give you some highlights about my first three exiting days in Indonesia.
15 July 2006
I arrived safely in Juanda Airport, Surabaya. After long flight and long transit in Singapore, I was very relieved to be in Surabaya. My luggage appeared on time and was all complete. Thanks God for that! I am always petrified with my luggage when I travel.
My dad, mom and little sista, Joan, welcomed me. In the middle of the crowd, I embraced them. My little sista is not little anymore. With her dark, long hair, and new front teeth, she looked very different. I am happy to see her.
FYI, Bang Tepy, that cruel boyfriend I have (heheh), didn’t pick me up. He rather went to a wedding party than picked me up. Heheheh,.. just kidding. I knew it weeks before I went back to Indonesia. It was his good friend’s wedding party; it was important, too.
I was very exhausted.
I could no longer feel my bones supporting my whole body. I was so weak. I remembered I had not slept well for almost a week. My last few days in the Netherlands were spent by packing, being too exited and stressed.
When I got home, I unpacked my luggage. This was the most interesting part. I loved unpacking stuffs and presenting presents to my family. Joan unpacked her presents and was very exited.
I closed my day by going to bed very early. I was very tired. I phoned Bang Tepy before I went to bed saying hi to him and made appointment for the next day. We were going to church, the 6 AM service.
16 July 2006
Knock,.. knock,..
“Non, your friend is waiting outside.”
Freak, I am late!
It was quarter to six when my housemaid knocked my door letting me know that my friend was waiting for me. It was Stefy.
I was crawling (not literally, but probably limping) downstairs to meet him.
*Grinned*
“Stef, sorry, I am late. I am so sleepy.”
With his half-opened eyes, he replied “that’s all right”
Freak, I ruined my first meeting. I didn’t dress well and appeared late. Ck, ck,..ck,.bad bad! Thank goodness he was okay. :P
Stefy’s church was totally different than Crossroad. During the service, I was praying to God asking His direction: which church should I go. I really don’t mind to return to my old church or go to Stefy’s church, but I, personally, prefer to go to Crossroad-like church. I could experience God’s presence more in Crossroad. Yet, since God is everywhere, I should be able to experience His presence in any other church, too.
In the evening, there was my grandma’s party.
Honestly, I didn’t like it.
It was done in Indonesian way (of course), thus I had to greet everybody, I mean anybody, whom I don’t even know or have ever met some of them.
My mom kept calling my name and showing me off to her friends or relatives.
I didn’t like it. I wasn’t comfortable.
I reckon, 16 July was the date when I felt my first culture-shock and I missed my Diemerkade very much.
When I got back home, I starred at my phone, wondering “shall I call my ex-housemates?”
17 July 2006
I woke up quite late. I reckon I still had jetlag.
Can you imagine, last night, in the middle of the night, I woke up feeling hungry and couldn’t go back to sleep? If it is not because of stefy’s mom telling me that I got chubbier, I would grab some biscuits or any other food to ease my hunger. (heheh,.. it is partly just a joke). I managed to go back to sleep.
In the morning, I went to swim with Joan.
Finally, when I was in the Netherlands, I dreamt to swim outdoor, and now, my dream came true. In the end of the day, I got terrible sun-burn; yet I loved it. Heheheh,.. FYI, my skin is darker than Stefy (hopefully he wouldn’t reconsider me for this matter :P)
The second culture-shock attacked me.
In the afternoon, I would like to have an internet connection. Since Indonesia rarely has modem or excellent internet connection, my dad just has a modem. To install the modem and reconfigure it in my computer was such a pain. In the end, I still couldn’t manage it. Freak!
Then, my tears started going down, “I miss Ardy!”
In the Netherlands, if I have problem with my computer, I would go upstairs, knocking at Ardy’s door and asking for his help. Now, I don’t have Ardy, no Daniel, no IT experts. I miss my friends.
I ended up crying.
Good that I had an appointment with my good friends, who are actually Stefy’s friends from church, too. They were my friends who kept praying for me and supported me while I was in the Netherlands. This appointment kindof eased my sadness.
Here are some highlights of my first days in Indonesia. Some are good, others are terrible. Fewh… still difficult to adapt. Please do pray for me, I really need your prayer.
See you soon, as soon as I have a good internet connection.
posted by Oma Nia at
7:17 AM
2 Comments:
mari berdoa.. semoga bu Nie diberi keringanan hati selalu olehNya.. melewati culture shock demi culture shock d indo :D (amin)
dan semoga para IT-ers kita, bisa pulang dan mengabdikan ilmunya di Indonesia tercinta.. (amin)
take care Nie :) i'll try to update my blog as well.. tp rada susah sih.. this week i hv to work 6 days -.-
mwah mwah.. Gbu :)
Nia,
I'm sure you'll get better. It's a normal feeling and by the time goes by, you will be able to adapt better. Don't let the situation steal the joy of the Lord! Enjoy your time back home. God bless ^^
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