an entry somewhere else

I am once again passport-less. The sneaky guys at immigration stamped my entry/exit permit to expire 5 June. The chaps at foreign affairs stamped my residency permit to expire on 30 June. I’m leaving 22 June. This happened to nearly all the Fellows in Indonesia. This all translates into six or more passports times IDR200,000 each, or the act of putting a stamp in our passports could be free. This is not likely. I await patiently in Makassar…

Last weekend, I went up to Manado for rest, relaxation, and work. Twenty-four hours on Bunaken Island away from the hustle and bustle of Manado with friends was lovely. In fact, I can’t think of a bad thing in the four days. I went on official business and had to finish up a gift of books from the US Dept of State to the Manado Polytechnic University with a workshop on how the books can be used and abused. In fact, I have to give another one this Monday.

Last Friday was the closing ceremony for the language center of the university. I practiced up the first verse of a Buginese song and sung it terribly (no warm-up). Nevertheless, the 200 or so audience applauded my bad self. When I wrote to Scott before singing, he responded with something so very apt:

You’ll have to let me know how the song went. Ah, just like Nepal. You’re got yourself a pretty sweet set up. And let me tell you one thing, my friend, is that being a great success is only worthwhile when you’re not in the US and can brag about it.

He’s right.

Lastly, my friend, Dusty, sent a package before Christmas—music, movies, TV shows. Then he sent another after Christmas because that package never showed up. Within the span of a week, both packages showed up in Manado, more than six months after they were sent. Things do eventually arrive.

Blogroll addition: Yvette – yet another friend from Peace Corps Nepal. She’s getting her MBA from Georgetown but doing an unpaid internship in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Swell.