When I cut the dragon fruit incorrectly, Christina who was helping to prepare food looked over and said that I have wasted much of the goodness. I never learned the correct way to cut it. In some ways I feel a bit incomplete in my heritage. When asked where I am from I respond with a foreign ascent in Indonesian ‘I am a local’. They laugh and smirk ‘local from where’.
There are many looking to find the deeper meaning to the lives and self. I am ok with keeping it simple and I think it starts with learning how to prepare a dragon fruit properly without wasting all the good stuff. In time I will become more Indonesian by absorbing the culture that surrounds me. I have to be proactive and welcoming. I have intentionally avoided living in a predominantly expat area, so that I can amerce myself more in the local society. I am blessed to have experienced an amazing western life, but there is a longing for me to discover the Indonesian elements of my person. I think this evolution can be a very beautiful and rewarding. One that I hope to pass on and share with my children. Despite my crazy work life I would like to settle down and have a family one day.