Another Year

I'm going into my second year in Yogyakarta, and despite staying in the same place, another chapter in my life is beginning.  It's a new book I'm writing.  The handwriting is uncertain; there are question marks all over the place.  But while the setting is the same, the characters will be different.

I'm closing the book of Boeing.  I'm closing the book of UNY.  And now here I am opening the book of Yayasan Dian Desa, an appropriate technology NGO where I will work for my second year in Indonesia.

My manager at Boeing emailed today with a closing checklist, and I paced around my house for about fifteen minutes, trying to keep my thoughts into perspective.  What is it that made me get cold feet all of a sudden?  What made me suddenly contact my professional mentors, hoping for some kind of reassurance that I'm not making the biggest mistake of my life?

I suppose there was always something psychologically safe about just one year in Indonesia.  I would come, get my feet wet, learn how to teach at a university.  And I would explore, meet people, try new things, see some of the most wonderful attractions the world has to offer.  But just as I'd be getting comfortable, I'd get back on a plane and go home.  Go home to the same job and salary and familiar routine.

Now that's all changing.   Now a job in Seattle is no longer guaranteed when I finally go back, and I'm saying goodbye to one of the most coveted companies to work for as an engineer.

In its place I'll be working at an NGO that seeks to promote improved cookstove designs for rural Indonesia, in the hopes of alleviating various health problems associated with traditional cookstoves.  My job title and responsibilities are still a little fuzzy to me, but I'm excited to give it my best shot.

Not to mention, there are still so many islands I need to see.