AMINEF Education Fair- February 26

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take all of my English Club students, so Bu Eni and I chose the two students who had been most vocal about wanting to study abroad prior to hearing about the Education Fair. Eko and Putri, both very promising students, were ecstatic when we extended the invitation. It would be in Surabaya, so we’d have to miss the last 2 periods of the day, but what high school student doesn’t mind skipping out a bit early? The remaining days between sharing the news and the actual trip were full of questions: Ms. Maggie, what should I wear? Ms. Maggie, what do I need to prepare? Ms. Maggie, should I bring anything? Ms. Maggie, how will we get there? Ms. Maggie, tell me once more, what time should we meet to leave?

Their enthusiasm was tangible, and increased even more once we found out Bu S would be able to join us as a representative for her school. So after lunch on Saturday (Indonesian time) we met in front of our school’s mosque, loaded into Bu Eni’s car, and headed off to Surabaya to find out how to make one’s study abroad dreams a reality.

The fair itself was a bit overwhelming. It was held at the esteemed Marriott Hotel where we had to walk through metal detectors and were surrounded by more foreigners than I’ve seen in the last 6 months combined. A bit of sensory overload for my students, but they did great. They spoke with several American university representatives in English, met Lauren, Nisha and Angela, as well as their students, and overall conducted themselves in a very mature manner. Then we joined some of the Peace Corps staff and headed over to the General Consul’s residence as part of a special invitation to meet returned Indonesian exchange students as well as American Ambassador Marciel who had traveled in from Jakarta.

Sure, it was cool for me to meet the new Ambassador, but it was so much more wonderful to see how Eko and Putri responded to having not only the opportunity to meet him in person, but also the chance to speak to returned exchange students. It was the next step in realizing their aspiration to travel outside of Indonesia. I could feel the excitement radiating from them once we got back into the car, somewhat speechless trying to comprehend the significance of what had just happened. Declarations like “one of the best days of my life” and “that was so cool” echoed through the car. I had no doubt before the Surabaya trip that they would be successful with whatever path they decide to follow in the future, this just gave them a little more encouragement to take the path less traveled…a sensible man once said it makes all the difference.

Bu Eni, Bu S, Me, Ambassador Marciel, Putri, Eko

My host mom has been in the hospital for the last 48 hours due to some bleeding during her first trimester. At times I forget that I’m living outside of the ‘developed world’; I have so many modern conveniences at my site, that sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’m in Peace Corps. But instances like this remind me that I am living in the developing world. Health information isn’t always as accessible or up-to-date as it is in other countries and oftentimes myths take more precedence than scientific truth. If this had happened in the US, I can almost guarantee that the woman would have immediately spoken with a doctor, but here she waited almost 2 days before consulting anyone. I haven’t been completely filled in on the details, and I’m not sure what her reasoning for waiting was, but I do know that my host mom has miscarried in the past, and I’m scared for her. Maybe a condition that is relatively easy to diagnose in the US like placenta previa, is more difficult to treat here. Indonesian hospitals are generally overcrowded- I’ve seen rooms with almost 20 patients in addition to their 3-4 family members taking care of them; there’s little to no privacy depending on how much one is able to pay; and the sanitary conditions are subpar by American standards. I hate not knowing her status or being able to help out. Her husband has spent a majority of his time at the hospital with her, so there has been a severe void in communication between my house and the actual situation. I’m worried. I know how much she wants this baby.