Aug. 26th, 2011 09:16 pm
Selamat jalan!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
muckefuckLast week, scurrying to the el, I ran into a former student employee of mine. He had me at a disadvantage; it was several minutes after we parted before I recalled him name and I probably never would've remembered he was a journalism student if he hadn't told me he was being sent to Jakarta as part of a pilot placement programme. It was a freaky coincidence, because another student of mine--this one slated to return in the fall--was just there doing some volunteer work for her church.
A couple years ago now, my coworker Mr Smith decided he would likely never learn Indonesian and gave me about a dozen volumes he'd bought when he'd thought he would. I told my ex-worker he'd be welcome to these and he promised to stop by. I wasn't sure he would, but I brought back the textbook I'd found most helpful during my brief flirtation with the language in January just in case. Today he came by to collect it, along with a couple of skimpy phrasebooks he said he'd give to his two fellow participants.
He says he hasn't committed to blogging the experience yet since there's nothing sadder than saying you will and then letting it die after a couple months. I envied him for arriving the day before the likely date of Eid and cautioned him about the briar patch of Indonesian forms of address. ("I'll read that chapter before I get there," he promised.) The whole conversation gave me a vicarious thrill, reminding me of when I thought about taking a job abroad after graduation (they were certainly thin enough on the ground here!) but ultimately decided it wasn't the best move for me.
A couple years ago now, my coworker Mr Smith decided he would likely never learn Indonesian and gave me about a dozen volumes he'd bought when he'd thought he would. I told my ex-worker he'd be welcome to these and he promised to stop by. I wasn't sure he would, but I brought back the textbook I'd found most helpful during my brief flirtation with the language in January just in case. Today he came by to collect it, along with a couple of skimpy phrasebooks he said he'd give to his two fellow participants.
He says he hasn't committed to blogging the experience yet since there's nothing sadder than saying you will and then letting it die after a couple months. I envied him for arriving the day before the likely date of Eid and cautioned him about the briar patch of Indonesian forms of address. ("I'll read that chapter before I get there," he promised.) The whole conversation gave me a vicarious thrill, reminding me of when I thought about taking a job abroad after graduation (they were certainly thin enough on the ground here!) but ultimately decided it wasn't the best move for me.
Tags: