Laura Joy Land

Don't be fooled by the title of this post... I'm not going to get philosophical; I just have a few photos to share. The first is a tree that I pass on the 10 minute walk from school into town. Of course there are many of these trees, not just one. I love how green it is here. Here is the school swimming pool, which I'm told I'm free to use in the evening. Don't worry, I intend to, but first I need to find the time to buy a swimming costume since I forgot mine in Singapore.     To the right is the view around the swimming pool and the building in the corner is the school cafeteria, which serves delicious Indonesian food (along with a scary selection of sugary chocolatey sweets). One decent sized meal with a drink costs 15,000 rupiah, which is about 1 pound. This is the view from my washing machine :-)   I was amused by the choice of wash programs. I went with fuzzy, in case you were wondering :-) ...

Upon arrival in Singapore on Thursday evening, I met up with a good friend who moved here a few months ago. She took me out for a delicious local dinner and then we ventured up to a rooftop bar called Altitude. From there we had a good view over the city, and in the photo to the left you can see the F1 racing track, which was host to the grand prix in Singapore on Sunday. On Saturday I left the comfort of being with a friend, along with the convenient and futuresque Singapore, to begin a new chapter of my life on the island of Batam, Indonesia. The ferry took about one hour, but since Indonesia is one hour behind Singapore, it really took no time at all ;) I am not much of a picture taker. I forget to take them, and my camera is also not of the greatest quality (maybe because I haven't read the manual). Nevertheless, here are a few snapshots from my first weekend in Indonesia. Rex, my new boss and office-mate, gave me a fantastic tour, which included three islands, ...

Isn't it always the way, that the times really worthy of being recorded, written about or reflected upon, are the times when it's really hard to find the time? I have been home visiting family and friends, frantically trying to see everyone and also get last minute but very important things taken care of. Despite the stress of being such a busy bee, I have loved every minute of being here and catching up with the people I love. It is a confusing state I find myself in, feeling so sad to be going so far away from home, yet still wanting to do it, needing to in fact. Tomorrow I travel to see a dear friend (I'd say that even if she wasn't driving me to the airport) and her far too adorable son. On wednesday I fly, by thursday afternoon I'll be in Singapore, and on saturday I will arrive in Batam. Let the traveling commence!

A few months ago I was longing to leave Germany. Although that desire clearly had something to do with ending an eight-year relationship, it also had a lot to do with the weather! I was just daydreaming of beaches, picturing myself backpacking around NZ, pulling pints and picking fruit. It was fun to imagine the possibilities, but in reality I couldn’t afford to go anywhere for a while, so I figured I’d just stay put and save some pennies while grumbling my way through another cold dark wet winter in Bonn. I felt positive however, that there was something waiting for me, something I was destined to see or do. All my daydreams seemed unrealistic and I felt like I was being laughed at, as though something bigger than me and my tiny perspective was at work behind the scenes, smirking at me and my clichéd thoughts of escape. When I accepted the job in Batam it felt good. Unlike my previous daydreams, teaching in Indonesia had a weight to it, a purpose and a direction. I don’t know wh...