Indonesia

We're back. My first impression of Indonesia upon our re-entry was: chaos. Welcome to Indonesia = Welcome to chaos. Luggage strewn all over the International Arrivals hall, baggage men all over the place trying to help us for an extra buck, dozens of taxi drivers approaching us as we leave the arrivals hall, mayhem as we walk toward the Domestic area because of mass reconstruction due to a fire a few weeks ago, trying to speak on a land phone to connect with a co-worker in a loud, crowded restaurant full of cigarette smoke, line-ups that aren't really line-ups at all as we approach the airline desk to change our tickets due to our lost luggage, computers down at the airline desk, massive bottleneck at the one door entry-way into the Domestic Departures area and a delay of one hour by the airline to fly us over to Nias. Why the delay? That's just how they work.

Of course, all of this is very normal for the Polonia Airport in Medan.

My first impressions of Nias Island as I returned (without Russ because he stayed in Medan to wait for our lost luggage) surprised me a little. I was acutely aware of the things I like about Nias and the things I dislike. I like the humidity. I don't like how it makes our clothes smell musty and feel damp, but I like how it makes me feel. My skin feels hydrated, my hair feels healthy and it's easy to breathe. I like the clean air. I love the ocean and all the greenery. I dislike the smell of Nias. It has this nauseating smell in the air, I think caused by a combination of all the rubber trees and pigs. I dislike the stares from people. I dislike how many men grow a few of their finger nails very long.

All in all, it's good to be back. We definitely have purpose and fulfillment in what we do here. I know we will be busy. We have a home here, a routine and really great staff to make our jobs quite interesting and enjoyable. We have each other. Russ has another year & a half to plan the perfect hunting trip before he will actually get to realize that plan and I have another year to figure out what my perfect job and career path will be when we return to Canada. When it comes right down to it, Russ & I are extremely blessed with the opportunities we have here, the travelling we get to do and the people we get to meet. Bottom line is, I'm happy to be here. I'm eager to see this project through and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, doing anything else with my life right now. I just realized that in this very moment.