Seat Backs and Tray Tables

The last familiar face I saw was my mother's as she waved frantically from the other side of the TSA area at Cleveland Hopkins Airport.  It's with that excitement I feel sent by the people back home, both from Cleveland and Philadelphia.  The image makes me laugh, because it's quintessentially Linda, but I'll hold onto it until I return.  

From that point on is like a dream- I don't know how many hours I passed in half-consciousness, from Los Angeles to Taipei to Jakarta.  Besides some sticky fingers among the checked luggage people, the trip was smooth.  The food, not so much. 

Stepping off the plane the air coated my skin, stumbling through imigrisi with my stubborn baggage, I had no problems.  A tough looking, blue-eyed Westerner (who seemed to know my name, so I trusted him) put me on a taxi and sent me into the heart of Jakarta- The Big Durian.  I've never seen driving like this.  Ask me about it later.  I spent about 36 hours there staying at a missionary hostel, more or less, run by an older woman by the name of Edai.  This wonderful woman is a wealth of information about the region and the goings-on amongst the expat community.  Plus, she took me out to dinner- Burger King.  She paid the bill and said something along the lines of 'that'll be the last you taste of that for who knows how long'.  I walked around central Jakarta for some time the next day before speeding off to the airport again.  I felt some pride responding to the driver with 'domestic terminal'.  That pride quickly deflated at the Merpati Airlines counter as I realized I could barely communicate with the attendant.  

There was a sequence of glorified puddle jumps through that night, wonton fluctuations in temperatures on board, nodding in and out of neck-numbing sleep, and peculiar and delicious snacks.  By far it was the most interesting set of flight's I've ever taken.  The population on board thinned and the skin of the travelers grew darker as we travelled East through the islands.  During the last leg the woman sitting next to me surprised me with bahasa inglisi and we had a delightful conversation- by the way, I'm pretty sure every Indonesian is incredibly friendly, even the little pick-pockets in the park in Jakarta.  They'd probably rob you, but leave you with enough rupiah for a taxi ride home and a popsicle.

Since I've been here in Papua I've been working through a crowd of old missionaries.  It's a strange and strong community here in Sentani, and I've got a lot to learn.  Behind me are deep dark mountains stretching steeply into a big bright sky.  Proud Pacific clouds float low in the dark blue, and the sun shines brightest when the rain cascades down onto the corrugated steel above our heads.  In the next few days I have to find a way over those mountains into the Baliem Valley, and I'll let you know how that goes.