Things I have learned about myself

The past five months living in Indonesia have taught me some interesting things about myself.

I spent many hours a week cooking in Berlin. I haven't done any cooking since coming to Indonesia, other than prepare a cheese sandwich or a cup of tea. The strange thing is, I don't miss it. And I thought I enjoyed cooking.

I have not played an instrument since arriving here. I thought I would, hence I brought some guitar picks and a harmonica from Germany. But my house’s walls are paper thin.

I have instead taken up new activities, like swimming. I've never before enjoyed swimming but it consumes most of my free afternoons here now. I’ve also never cared for technical aspects of a sport, like how to swim efficiently, but I do now. I am reading a 300-page book full with illustrations about proper freestyle technique. 300 pages, no kidding. This may be a tautology but I am turning into a geek.

Being a geek, I figured I’d go all the way. So I have given my Mozilla Firefox a new “persona” (as it's called). There is a new layout to every week now.

I write a blog now. Mostly about things that aren't worth writing home about. And yet here I am doing it again.

I've started to enjoy eating food outside. (Possibly, because I can actually afford it.) There is a mall in Mataram in West-Lombok. I regularly enjoy strolling through it - if I can, once a week. I used to hate malls.

I have sinned twice and eaten McSundaes, breaking my 12-years old McDonald's boycott. (They don’t have McCafés here yet.) I have repeatedly been to Pizza Hut. And enjoyed it.

Here are things I miss:
I miss my bike rides. I miss returning home and the last stretch on a summer evening, or in the breezy smell of autumn or winter dark - any season really - across the cobble-stoned streets. I had customary routes through those treacherous cobblestone streets.

I miss sinking into the kitchen chair, the BBC broadcasts, making Rahmspinat with pasta. They have a water-spinach dish here called 'ceh kangkung'. It's excellent. But it's not the same.

I miss bumping into friends in the Kiez. But I don't miss the Kiez. I only miss my friends.

I never thought I was a latté lover but I do miss a good milky coffee now and then.

I miss seeing a good show. May it even be in a smoky bar.

And of course I miss seeing and hearing from all of you!