airplane

selamat datang

jakarta.

. . .

hello 13th biggest city in the world.

hello traffic that just won’t budge.

hello beautiful, friendly people who sing when they talk.

hello early morning light.

hello delicious, sickly sweet, floral tea.

jakarta, i like you a lot already and cannot wait to see more of this beautiful country.

. . .

so, i made it safe. the trip was long – 25 hours inthree  planes, but i survived and have good memories along the way. nyc to dubai was the longest, but even that wasn’t terribly bad. i watched loads of good movies and sleep a little.  my time in dubai, although brief was inspiring. i loved seeing the place – especially this.

i got into jakarta last night at 10:45 or so and made it to this tiny, cheap airport hotel with this dude. he is in indo to surf for three months to work. it’s amazing to think people really do get to live like this!

i got up incredibly early this morning and after eating a breakfast of spicy rice //fried egg (sorry i don’t yet know the name. the woman just brought it to me this morning along with that delicious tea), i found a taxi and made it to this swanky, mid-range hostel. it is honestly nicer than most of the places kelsey paid 3x as much for in europe.

today’s agenda = a long walk, a good night’s sleep and a plan for getting here and here. and later. . . this place. . .

thanks for sharing in my journey. if you know of any places i should see // experience during these first few weeks, please let me know!

{i will try to post photos as soon as i can. i am traveling without my computer and small camera this time around, so photos will be sparce, but stay tuned for some as soon as possible.}

* also, special congrats to kelsey on her graduation {tomorrow, n.c. time}!

off to indonesia

“not i, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.
you must travel it by yourself.
it is not far. it is within reach.
perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.
perhaps it is everywhere – on water and land.”

– walt whitman

ten months ago, i was on a plane headed home. four a.m. tomorrow i’ll be boarding another plane. . . this time i’m heading east.

if all goes as planned, in two short days i’ll be in this crazy city!

in three weeks all seven of us {daniel, nicole, amirah, jen, kevin + greg} will be in indo starting work. . . but before that. . . i’ll be hitting up more of java, bali, and the gili islands. amirah gets in in a few weeks {*make sure to check out her fabulous blog !} and we are so excited to see the beaches and the bright, blue water together.

i think excitement stage finally set in this afternoon.  life = wild right now {visa//sub letter//credit card//financial aid issues all day! *note: if you know of anyone in chapel hill this summer without housing. let me know! i have an empty room and i’m getting desperate! everyone keeps backing down and it’s the cutest little house ever!}

yesterday, kels and i drove to d.c. and back and although my time was far from productive, it was still fun. how can i can complain when i had a few hours  here?!

i certainly didn’t think i would be on a plane ten months after the big bad gap year. i had thought i did a good job of convincing myself and everyone else around me that i would stay home for a while, but . . .

that didn’t last long.

i feel so  incredibly blessed and i really couldn’t be more excited. thanks everyone for your continued love and support.

indonesia – i cannot wait to meet you! next time i write i’ll be in a brand new place // new time zone.

cheers!

also:

+ sarah’s fab summer blog

+ this

{photos from doha and ameerika!}