Because of a few more classes being added to my workload, in part caused by one of the other teachers resigning, my teaching schedule has filled up quite a bit since the start of the year. Because my teaching schedule has filled up, and I’m actually having to work for the majority of my working hours here (what a pity), I haven’t taken much time to write like I did before. There have been some great changes to my routine in the last few months. I’m settled into a pleasant little townhouse in the Karawaci area, about thirty minutes from my school. I’m back teaching two days a week at the other school in PIK that I was at when I first came to this country. I’m able to regularly attend two different Bible studies that are both wonderful sources of community and encouragement in my relationship with God. Playing the board game Risk with some good friends of mine here has become a regular...

I’ve always loved the thought of taking open-ended, spontaneous trips without a set destination in mind and no hard timeline to dictate what I can and cannot do. Now that I’m a grown-up, sort of, there is theoretically nothing stopping me from doing just such a thing, except, you know, limited money and a job and responsibilities that all chip away from having total liberty with an itinerary. That of course, will always be the case, meaning that there’s really no good reason not to make the most of the opportunities you have right now. The day after Christmas, I set out on that sort of trip.

Getting up some time between sunrise and sleeping in, I stuffed a backpack with a couple books, a few changes of clothes and other necessities, and started walking. An ojek, angkot, bus, ferry, and another bus later, spending approximately seven dollars and ten hours in getting there, I was in...

Since moving to the new school at Alam Sutera about six weeks ago, things have been fairly slow. This location just opened in May, so the enrollment numbers are much lower than the school I was teaching at for the first month and a half after I arrived. That means fewer students, and a whole lot more time sitting around without much to do during the work day. That is expected to change as the number of students increases over the next year. I started driving the school’s motorcycle/ scooter as a way of exploring the area and getting away from school from time to time and that has been a welcome respite. I’ve also taken a couple of short trips since moving here. The first was a very spur of the moment visa run to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The second was later that same week when a friend of mine from Church, Nate, and I tacked a couple extra days onto a group whitewater rafting trip we were...

I started a blog largely as a means of recording what my experience living on almost literally the opposite side of the world from where I grew up is like. So far, I’ve followed through on that only up to the point where the plane actually landed. I’ve never been good at keeping a journal. I think it feels kind of strange to keep notes on the seemingly normal occurrences of day to day life, and in a lot of ways, that’s what it has felt like here for me. Normal. I’m surrounded by a language I came here not knowing more than a word of and am very, very slowly making headway in learning it. Normal. To go to Church, I hop in one of the beat-up red vans with two benches full of people in the back that go down my street, followed by mounting the back of one of the countless motorcycles whose riders make their uang rokok (cigarette money) by bringing strangers from point A to point B, followed...

5 August 2014 6:56pm Lansing, MI

Three whole Tigers games will have taken place between the time that I leave this here airport and the time that I arrive in Jakarta. Tonight is David Price’s first game pitching for them. That would be a cool one to watch. I should be able to at least catch the highlights at O’Hare. I digress. This is going to be a very long series of flights. Four flights and five separate airports will I pass through. I don’t mind long flights, but this might push it. Right now I’m more just excited about flying to some new places, getting some legit sushi at the Tokyo airport, and having lots of time to do some reading I’ve been neglecting lately. The fact that I’m moving to a drastically different country where I don’t know anyone hasn’t much sank in.

5 August 2014 9:16pm Chicago, IL

Flight delay. I’m using the time to research blog sites and set one up...