Bria's Red White and Blue All American Tour

Sorry that I have abandoned this blog for so long. There is something about being in Bogor that makes me want to spend as little time on the computer as possible. I think this is because being in Bogor involves being in front of the computer all the time.

So, yes, just finished a stint in Bogor. I left Sungai Telang on the 11th of August, after a really wonderful and far too short week. Then to Bogor, where I was working on a paper I am co-writing with one of my supervisors on using Participatory Action Research to strengthen women’s positions in village decision making. I have also been wrestling with grad school applications. After a lot of thinking, wrestling is the right word. Some days my statement of purpose has the upper hand. Some days, I have the upper hand. Some day soon, I will Knock Out that statement of purpose. But that will probably not be today. Bogor was tough, actually. A whole lot of work in the office, which I just cannot stand. But, at the same time, I get to interact with people I have respected at a distance for a long time. I also got to spend some time with friends in Jakarta, people that I knew from Aceh, and I met two very nice boys who are funded by National Geographic to find an ape some believe exists. Romantic Adventure Lives!

BUT! And here is the kicker—I am coming back to America. I have tickets paid for by Save the Children that needed to be used, and a strong urge to visit the grad schools I am applying to. I also plan on not coming back for the long term until June or July 2006, so I really want to see friends and family. This means you. I will be everywhere:

September 9- 11: Los Angeles
September 11-12: Driving to San Francisco
September 13-17: Bay Area
September 17-30: This gets confusing. I will be in Boston, New Haven, Ithaca, NYC, and DC if I can figure out how to get there for the protest.
October 1-5: On the road to, and in, Ann Arbor, MI.
October 5-14: Madison, WI
October 14- onwards: Back to Indonesia

Am I nuts? Does this sound good? Can I stay with you?

And such is a very short run down of the adventures. I am giddy, nervous, excited, freaked out, the whole everything about coming back to America for a visit. I have never thought of America as a place to “visit” before—always a place I was coming back home to. But this time, most of my stuff stays in Indonesia…

And so the adventure continues.