“It’s about the journey, not the destination.”

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Brough, childhood, culture, Elloughton, england, freedom, home, Indonesia, journey, seasons, travel

I’ve wanted to write this article for months now but nothing’s inspired me to start writing again. You see I was unhappy in England and had no motivation, which I thought would change when I moved back to Indonesia. Yes, I am much happier now that I’m in this laid back culture and the climate allows me to lead the lifestyle I love. However, it has not given me the motivation I thought I would get. They say ‘life is a journey not a destination’, which I used to stand by because I love to travel. I still love to travel but now there is a different reason why I love this quote.

Patience

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brokenpieces, dealingwithit, easywayout, emotions, experiences, fasting, goforit, happiness, hardtimes, home, Indonesia, intheend, learning, lessons, life, lifeskills, lifestooshort, makassar, patience, problems, quotes, stronger, struggles, time, travel, waiting

Someone once told me an old Indonesian quote “segalanya indah pada waktunya” which translates to “everything will be beautiful when the time comes”. Patience sounds so simple but it’s one of the hardest skills I’ve had to learn, and I’m still learning. It all started in Indonesia…

Home …

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countries, culture, england, family, food, friends, home, Indonesia, lifestyle, travel

How true is the phrase, ‘You don’t know what you have until it’s gone’?

Well, it’s become reality for me, that and reverse culture shock. Yes, reverse culture shock actually happens. Weird how you spend most of your life in one country, you move away for 3 years and then you come back to your home country and suddenly you can’t cope.

Can you make a change?

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environment, event, forests, friends, Indonesia, litter, makassar, music, musikhutan, nature, trees

Litter … how can anyone think this is a perfectly normal thing to do? Unfortunately, people act like it is. I have seen people throw crisp packets and bottles out their car window when driving along a busy street. Why do they do that? Is it because they don’t know the harm litter causes to the world, let alone making it an ugly place to live in.

Well, here in Indonesia, in a city called Makassar, a group of friends have taken that step to try and change this and educate people on the effects their actions are having on the environment.

Eat, Smoke and Leave

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culture, food, Indonesia, makassar, travel

It’s been 11 months now since I arrived here in Makassar and do you know what one of the hardest choices I’ve had to make each day is? Deciding what I want to eat. There are so many mouth-watering foods but sometimes you have to search hard to find them. It’s easy to eat the same dish every day. I’ve lived a staple diet of four main dishes since I’ve been here, which have included fried or BBQ chicken, fried rice, bakso and coto. Cooked on the side of the road, under plastic covers and next to the stoves, the rich aromas are hard to miss.

Of course none of these meals can go a miss without the famous samabals.

Does Distance Separate or Create

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distance, family, friends, relationships, traveling

It’s been a struggle writing recently. Not because I’ve had nothing to write about but because I’ve had so many things I’ve wanted to say that I’ve not known where to start. However, an event happened the other night that made me so happy. It was so simple, yet it brought so many thoughts into my mind.

Happiness is Simple

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children, creativity, happiness

As I drive down the wild and crazy roads of Makassar I see children playing and laughing on the streets. These children don’t have much money but I love to watch them play football in a car park or chasing each other around street restaurants and drink stands. They are having so much fun. You don’t see this anymore in England. Children in Hull are always inside, watching TV or playing on their computer games.

But it is actually these poorer children who have bigger smiles on their faces and enjoy life much more than the children I see playing on expensive phones and game consoles. I once saw a child here playing with some old sandals in the road. My friend said, ‘I feel so sorry for him.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ My friend said, ‘He doesn’t have anything else but those old flip flops to play with.’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. You know what I said,

Is Technology Really the Way Forward

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happiness, lifestyle, technology

Analogue; what do you think when you hear that? Do you think technology is the best thing that could have happened to us or do you think it would be a better place if we stuck with the basics?

You could say we have it all now; camera’s, smart phones, Ipad’s, digital TV’s, I could go on. But has technology advanced so much that we don’t use our brains anymore? Have we forgotten how to be creative and make things for ourselves?

Work Hard Play Hard

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culture, happiness, Indonesia, lifestyle, makassar, social

I am growing to love this city, Makassar, more and more every day. I would be lying if I said I don’t miss home though, because I do.Christmas has just passed and this holiday is very special to me, as it is all about friends and family. Christmas in England is so magical. A happy spirit surrounds the cities. It brings out the best in people, as they start to realize the good and bad in the world and become kind and stress free. But then it stops and once the 2 week Christmas period is over they go back to being work orientated and forgetting about what makes them happy.

Alien in Makassar

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culture, Indonesia, makassar, travel

‘What do westerners see when they come to Makassar?’ Is it because of the beautiful sunsets? Or is it because of the delicious food? Yes the city is amazing because of those two factors but I see so much more here.

Do you know what it feels like to be an Alien? In England we don’t blink an eyelid if we see someone who looks different to us. If they use English as a second language it is normal. To me it doesn’t matter what you look like or what language you speak we are all the same. But here, in Makassar, people stare at you everywhere you go and giggle when you try and speak the local language. It makes it difficult for me to properly settle in and call it home.  Yes, westerners may look different but that’s as far as it goes.