Laura Joy Land

There are many things that are now part of my everyday life in Indonesia that I never thought I'd do, or more accurately, never had a reason to think about whether I'd ever do or not. I never thought I'd be using motorbikes as my standard means of transportation. After years of nodding in amused agreement at Richard Dawkin's infallible logic, I didn't think I'd be going to church on a semi-regular basis, or feeling so good about it. I couldn't have guessed I'd enjoy cleaning someone else's house every weekend, while my own room feels less and less like home. I didn't suspect I'd be living in Indonesia, absolutely adoring the food...baby squid; avocado juice with chocolate sauce; hot orange juice; spicy aubergine, to name just a few of my favourites! I would've laughed in your face if you'd told me I'd enjoy going to karaoke booths. I never imagined I'd be teaching teachers, or loving my job so much despite so much resis...

The last time I made a firm new year's resolution and stuck to it was in 2006. I gave up all carbonated beverages for the year. I did it because I was so ashamed of my British teeth, and I did it because fizzy drinks make me bloated. I also did it to overcome my minor addiction to buying Cherry Cokes from the drinks machine outside my place of work. I was very proud of myself for sticking to that resolution for the whole year, minus one minor lapse in July when I sipped some excess Mr Pibb off the top of Jeff's drink at Pizza Shuttle... This year I have decided to make up for lost time by having multiple new year resolutions, which are... 1) Learn Indonesian! It appears to be a simple language to learn the basics of, and my kids love it when I tell them what words I have learned, so I have no excuse not to learn it. 2) Read at least two books each month, one for pleasure, one for work-related research. 3) Practice yoga every day. I could easily just bend over a...

"My young heart's in tatters and I'm sure that it will be a long time healing" Life gets mightily confusing sometimes. I am okay. In fact I'm more than okay. I am happy and so grateful for my life, past and present. But I am also hurting. There is a pain in my heart, a sorrow that can catch me unaware on an otherwise perfectly normal day. Other thoughts crowd me too. Thoughts of home. I daydream about moving back to Bristol, of being near my family and reconnecting with old friends. Living here is hard work. Learning about cultural differences is fascinating but it is also exhausting. I always have to assume that my actions and reactions are not perceived by those around me in the usual way and that how I perceive the actions and reactions of others will never be accurate. How can we form meaningful relationships with each other if we cannot understand each other? And yet somehow it is possible... After only 14 weeks here I'm sure these...

Two more days of work and then 12 days holiday. I'm more than ready to say goodbye to my desk after three weeks (three weeks!!) of no teaching due to two weeks of exams taking place and one week of....uh, post-exam taking place-stuff? I miss my students. I miss having an active job; a reason to come to work other than admin and research. I did not move to Indonesia for a desk-job. I am looking forward to spending as much of my holiday as possible sitting on a beach, drinking mango juice and learning Indonesian.  Tis the season to be jolly...

On Sunday I took a little trip to the ocean. Although I forgot my camera, my (unfortunately camera shy) friend snapped a few blurry blackberry photos for me... From this resort you can see the Singapore skyline really clearly. There's no beach, but there are Balinese style wooden huts and spa facilities. I just posed for photos, enjoyed an overpriced magnum truffle, and admired the view. Lovely Sunday :)

Laura's Mellow Monday Evening: Step-by-step Instructions. Be Laura. Be in a positive mood for the first time in a week. Take an impromptu nap after work. Take a 20 minute walk down the hill into town and over to Glashaus. Order a cold fruity tea and relaaaax. Eat a bit of scrumptious leftover Indian food with your hands. Get stuck into a good book for the first time in aaages. Don't think about anything more taxing than whether or not to have another tea. Yawn occasionally. Smile within.