Exploring Indonesia Through a New Lens

Today’s post is written by Evan King, who is doing his service in Yogyakarta.

During service, I have not been given as much opportunity to interact with my host family because, during the week, I am living at Bumi Cendekia, an Islamic boarding school which is commonly known as a Pesantren in Indonesia. That being said, I still attempt to make the most out of my experiences with them every weekend. My host family consists of just two parents at home, because their three children are out of the house. On my second weekend with my host family, they decided that we should go biking around Yogyakarta. Excitedly, I jumped on the idea, because biking is one of my favorite things to do when I am in the U.S, but I haven’t been able to do it here. After being in the same city for the past eight weeks, this seemed like a great way to see the area in a different way and begin to create a bond with my host family.

Photo of me and my host family next to the Yogyakarta City Sign!

That next morning, I got up at around 5:30 AM, ate a small breakfast, and was immediately on my way to embark on this new adventure. When we were biking, I felt like I was seeing a completely different city. I had walked and driven through practically the entire city on numerous occasions, but this felt unlike those times. I felt as though all of my stress and anxieties had flown away, and all I could focus on was the beautiful area around me. We passed by every major part of the city, and even though I had seen each of these multiple times, I never appreciated them as much as I did at that moment. In Indonesia, it is very common to travel using motorcycles, so that is my normal way to get around the city. That can also be very beautiful, but there was something about the act of biking, with the breeze on my face, the slow pace of the bike, and my constant awareness of all of my surroundings that made everything around me so much more stunning.

After we biked for about 2 hours, we stopped at a restaurant my host parents had never been to (a new one!), where I got to enjoy amazing bakso with my host family. We hung out at the restaurant long after we had finished our food, and just enjoyed each other’s company and conversations. We returned home after the restaurant. Overall, I felt extremely satisfied with the moments I got to share with my host parents, even if it was only for three hours in the morning.

The amazing bakso that
I had with my host family
(Iced lemon tea not pictured) 

This outing with my host family not only allowed me to get a lot closer to them, but also really gave me a sense of joy and peace. The transition from study to service was very difficult for me, leaving all of my friends, my past host family, and everything else that was helping me feel comfortable in a new country. There were plenty of times within this first week of service where it  almost felt impossible and I felt extremely lost. Getting to share this experience with my host family felt like it flipped a switch in me. It helped me to realize that I could do this. In the whole scheme of things, this may seem like a small moment compared to everything else I am experiencing in Indonesia, but this really felt like a turning point within my service term. I was able to recognize that my experiences during service will not always be perfect and some aspects of it will feel extremely difficult, but I will still push through these challenges and know that they are temporary. My goal throughout the remainder of my time in Indonesia will be to really cherish the moments like that bike ride where I have found pure happiness and comfort.