Selamat datang kembali ke blog saya
You’re probably wondering now: ‘Does she speak Indonesian fluently yet?’ The answer is simple — and perhaps a little disappointing: No. Although I might be a language genius in theory (please let me keep that illusion), I have to admit that I teach English here. Consequently, I don’t use Indonesian nearly enough in my daily life. As we all know, the best way to learn a language is to be exposed to it every day. That’s exactly what I’m working on right now. I’m gently but firmly encouraging my Indonesian colleagues and friends to speak more Indonesian with me and to correct me when I confidently spout grammatical nonsense. After all, progress doesn’t happen by itself.
I’ve been here for five months now. Which also means: HALFWAY THROUGH! On the one hand, it’s amazing how quickly time flies. You blink and, bang: February 2026. On the other hand, it also feels as though I’ve been here forever. Time has somehow become a very strange concept. By the way: Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had as unforgettable a holiday as I did. While we’re on the subject, I’ll tell you a bit about Christmas here in Tobelo and how I spent it.
Christmas
The holidays here start as early as mid-December and last until mid-January. For universities and high schools, that’s completely normal. To us, that sounds like an absolute dream. But, as we only work at the university and high school, it meant one thing above all for us: lots of free time. And by ‘loads’, I really mean ‘loads’. At first, of course, it was wonderful. We went to the beach almost every day, relaxed, and pretended that we were on an endless holiday. After a while, though, I found it a bit too quiet. I never thought I’d complain about having too much time at the beach. We were invited to Christmas parties on many days, but these usually didn’t start until 6 pm. So, we decided to take a short trip to Ternate with our mentor.
From the 22nd to the 24th of December, we had the chance to experience a different part of Indonesia. Ternate is predominantly Muslim, which you notice straight away with fewer churches and more mosques, not to mention the completely different townscape. (Wow! I never thought I’d actually use that word myself after Merz’s comment about townscapes.) There is also a sultan, though he now holds only symbolic and historical significance. He no longer wields political power. The most famous sultan was Baabullah, who once liberated Ternate from the Portuguese. The airport in Ternate is named after him. In short, experiencing history first-hand rather than just hearing about it was quite impressive.
On 24 December, we returned to Tobelo and immediately felt the Christmas spirit. On Christmas Eve, we went to church. It was actually the first time I had ever been in a church on Christmas Eve. It was incredibly special and peaceful, and somehow very soothing. It’s a moment that will stay with me. On 25 December, the church was packed. We could barely find a seat because it felt as though the whole town was there. The streets were empty — everyone had been waiting for this day. After the two-hour service, what I can only describe as a marathon of congratulations and house-to-house visits began. Doors stood open and everyone visited each other, so the likelihood of being alone at Christmas dropped to zero. What particularly moved me was seeing Christians and Muslims celebrating together. They invite each other to religious festivals and celebrate them together. This sense of it being a matter of course inspired me deeply. I have firmly resolved to bring this gesture back with me to Germany and put it into practice there. Perhaps then we will realise that it is not religions that are the problem, but rather us humans and our ways of thinking.
Gifts hardly play a role here. Food, on the other hand, plays a very big role. You definitely won’t go hungry at Christmas in Tobelo. Every house is open and everyone is welcome — you don’t even need to let anyone know before dropping by. The generosity and hospitality here is simply next level.
New Year’s Eve
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you anything about New Year’s Eve in Tobelo. Why? Because I seized the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eat a shawarma in Kuala Lumpur and wash it down with some ayran. Priorities have to be set! I’ve also had an insatiable craving for Greek yoghurt for the past five months so that I can make my own ayran. Unfortunately, they don’t have it in Tobelo. Yes, folks. These are currently my biggest problems in life. I really hope God continues to bless me with only such problems!
Amen.
Mid-term seminar
Our mid-term seminar took place in Makassar, Sulawesi, and I was really looking forward to it. Finally, I got to see Ibu Gustina again, meet the lovely Regine (who was attending her first seminar in Indonesia) and catch up with my fellow volunteers. The seminar was the perfect opportunity to exchange ideas, share experiences and just let it all out. To be honest, I found it a bit hard to fly back to my placement afterwards. However, I’m now very glad to be back in my daily routine. On the last day of the seminar, Ibu Gustina wanted to lift our spirits, so she took us to the cinema. We watched the film Unexpected Family. What we didn’t know was that the film is very emotional. ‘Some’ of us left the cinema in tears. Not me, of course… Nevertheless, the film immediately became one of my favourites. Thank you, Ibu! After the seminar, some volunteers decided to explore Makassar and the surrounding area. I spent a day in Rammang Rammang Karst Village and visited the Bantimurung waterfall on my last day there. That was my first waterfall in Indonesia, and hopefully not my last! (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.) Then, on 17 January, we “kidnapped” Ibu Gustina and Régine and took them to Tobelo to show them the most beautiful nature on earth (in my opinion, at least). They didn’t say no. Surprising. On 20 January, sadly, we had to say goodbye again and return to our everyday lives.
But:
Ramadan is just around the corner.
I’m sure I’ll be back soon with new impressions, stories, and experiences. So stay tuned and I’ll see you next time!
With love,
Aya
This text was automatically translated using an AI-powered translation system.
