Selamat tinggal

Tonight, it rained.  In many ways, I wish it rained more in Jakarta because the rain usually cools the city down a little bit.  Tonight, however, the rain made the short walk to dinner much more treacherous (walking around Jakarta isn't easy in the first place) because puddles appeared in all the cracks in the pavement.  The rain falling and the puddles made it difficult to see the holes in the "sidewalk".  These holes open right into the sewer system.  Falling into one would definitely lead to an extended stay in Singapore!

Tomorrow is my last day in Indonesia; I can't believe it is already time to leave!  I have learned so much about Indonesian culture, history, and of course, civ-mil during my time here.  To summarize some of my feelings about Indonesia, I'll make two lists:

Things I will miss about Indonesia when I return to the US:

• the wide variety of fruit juices at restaurants
• cheap cabs
• meeting friendly Indonesians, either on the street or in meetings
• batik everywhere
• using colorful currency
• navigating a language barrier; this may not be true for everyone, but sometimes I think it can be a fun challenge to try to communicate with someone without a common language

Things I will not miss about Indonesia:

• the traffic/pollution
• deciding whether or not to risk it with ice in a drink
• mosquito bites (fortunately, there is no risk of malaria in Jakarta)

I'll be on my way back to Boston in less than 48 hours, until next time Indonesia!