A Strangely Familiar Place
"I've been here before. This seems so familiar," I thought as I stepped off the plane and on to the airport. It was 2 AM, and my team and I had just arrived in our destination. As we were standing in the immigration line, I looked around me and one word instantly came to my mind: home. I'm home, but then again I'm not. It was all so confusing. Everything seems so familiar--the atmosphere, the people, the foreigners (oh wait, no, they're my team for the summer)--but then again everything is so foreign. It took us a good half hour until we finally met the team leader for the field, and we drove a forty-five minute drive from the airport to a small city where we would spend our summer. For safety reasons, I would refer to this country as Mara, and the town I am currently in I would refer to as MA-254. It was early Sunday morning.
A few hours later my teammate and I got up, quite unexpectedly I should say, and took a flight of stairs to where our field mentors were staying. Apparently we were late for something. It was 11 o'clock. It was from this point on that my field mentors set the tone for this internship. My field mentors clearly declared that this is not a short term missions trip, but this is an internship. There is significant difference between the two. The rest of the day consisted of a lot of activities and talks specially tailored to keep all four of us awake throughout the day. Monday was when school will start for all four of us, so our mentors made it very clear that we have to get a good night's sleep. Then evening came, and we went to bed at a decent time.
The rest of the week consisted of school, shopping, meeting new people, and cooking. Everything was not too far away in MA-254, which is a huge advantage in living in a small town in the Middle East. My team and I would walk to and from school, the store, and other places whenever we needed to go somewhere. I noticed that I was getting darker, which means my sunblock isn't working as well as it should. But then again I spent a considerable amount of time in the sun yesterday (Saturday).
My field mentors and one other missionary took this team of interns out for an adventure. The place was absolutely gorgeous, but the obstacles were daunting. It was basically a whitewater rafting adventure without the raft. One has to literally wade through gushing currents and nasty pebbles that get into his Chacos and climb through ridiculously large rocks. I'll give you guys a hint: I wasn't the best intern for that adventure. I came back with random bruises and scars and a slightly tanner pair of legs. I wasn't too happy with the physical results, but it was a fantastic team building experience.
This first week on the field has been quite challenging, but fortunately I got to talk to my dad about this. He reminded me that although time seems to be dragging on day by day, it would soon be time to say goodbye. Two months is a long yet extremely short time to get to know people. Despite of the reality I'm facing over mission life, I'm still excited to see how the weeks will unfold.
Everything in Mara reminds me of life back in Indonesia. Even in school. I've been noticing that there are a handful of words I've learned and picked up that are really close to Indonesian words. I've decided that one cannot handle Indonesia if he can't handle life in Mara. The streets, the people, the culture, the language are all strangely familiar aspects. Sometimes it's an advantage, yet other times it throws me off. The other day I woke up, thinking I was in my bed back in Bintan. I looked over and saw my teammate sleeping. It took me a good minute or two to reorient myself that I am in the Middle East. There has been numerous times where I had to remind myself that I am in the Middle East and not in Indonesia. Yeah, my life has a couple interesting stories.
May God reveal Himself, and may these next two months be all about Him and none about me.
A few hours later my teammate and I got up, quite unexpectedly I should say, and took a flight of stairs to where our field mentors were staying. Apparently we were late for something. It was 11 o'clock. It was from this point on that my field mentors set the tone for this internship. My field mentors clearly declared that this is not a short term missions trip, but this is an internship. There is significant difference between the two. The rest of the day consisted of a lot of activities and talks specially tailored to keep all four of us awake throughout the day. Monday was when school will start for all four of us, so our mentors made it very clear that we have to get a good night's sleep. Then evening came, and we went to bed at a decent time.
The rest of the week consisted of school, shopping, meeting new people, and cooking. Everything was not too far away in MA-254, which is a huge advantage in living in a small town in the Middle East. My team and I would walk to and from school, the store, and other places whenever we needed to go somewhere. I noticed that I was getting darker, which means my sunblock isn't working as well as it should. But then again I spent a considerable amount of time in the sun yesterday (Saturday).
My field mentors and one other missionary took this team of interns out for an adventure. The place was absolutely gorgeous, but the obstacles were daunting. It was basically a whitewater rafting adventure without the raft. One has to literally wade through gushing currents and nasty pebbles that get into his Chacos and climb through ridiculously large rocks. I'll give you guys a hint: I wasn't the best intern for that adventure. I came back with random bruises and scars and a slightly tanner pair of legs. I wasn't too happy with the physical results, but it was a fantastic team building experience.
This first week on the field has been quite challenging, but fortunately I got to talk to my dad about this. He reminded me that although time seems to be dragging on day by day, it would soon be time to say goodbye. Two months is a long yet extremely short time to get to know people. Despite of the reality I'm facing over mission life, I'm still excited to see how the weeks will unfold.
Everything in Mara reminds me of life back in Indonesia. Even in school. I've been noticing that there are a handful of words I've learned and picked up that are really close to Indonesian words. I've decided that one cannot handle Indonesia if he can't handle life in Mara. The streets, the people, the culture, the language are all strangely familiar aspects. Sometimes it's an advantage, yet other times it throws me off. The other day I woke up, thinking I was in my bed back in Bintan. I looked over and saw my teammate sleeping. It took me a good minute or two to reorient myself that I am in the Middle East. There has been numerous times where I had to remind myself that I am in the Middle East and not in Indonesia. Yeah, my life has a couple interesting stories.
May God reveal Himself, and may these next two months be all about Him and none about me.
-Renata Palit,
June 8, 2014
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