Jumat @ UKSW 6 Nov - final day

Hard to believe that this day has arrived and, as the cliche goes, arrived so quickly. Have been saying goodbye to different classes all week. Today, mostly saying goodbye to staff: Selamat jalan, they'd say to me, as I'm the one leaving, to which I reply, Selamat tinggal, because the are the ones staying.

I've valued the time I've had here and the friendships that I've made. It was great to have another Aussie to talk to, here, and to debrief. From the moment I said "G'day" to Duncan, as he was walking down the corridor, to his automatic response to it, it was obvious that we'd spend time together. I really enjoyed being in his class, especially when we demonstrated to the students how Aussies speak. One demonstration sentence was "Put that in the refrigerator." I said to him, pointing at the long word, "What's that?" We'd only ever use "fridge". When we did that sentence in the class, we cracked up because it's such an unusual thing to say. So we told the class to ignore that word and use "fridge." Great to hear a class say, "Put that in the fridge." Duncan's signed on for another year, which gives him certainty, as well as challenges. If you're ever in Canberra, Duncan, drop by. Frances, Rudi, Joseph, and Grace have been wonderful colleagues - all young lecturers, all with experience of graduate study in the West, and some with ambitions to return. But the entire faculty have made me feel welcomed. Ibu Ina was really keen to learn.

Most of the day spent in the office next door working on a Critical Thinking talk that I have to give at BINUS in Jakarta.

Duncan and I lunched at the warung tahu campur out the front of campus. Food excellent of course. Pak Hendro also arrived, independently - he eats there once a week. Duncan taught me that Javanese way of saying "thanks" (marta nuwan). So pleased was I with saying this to Pak Min and so surprised were they that I said it (much laughter), that I walked out without paying! Duncan reminded me that 12.000 rupiah was required!

My pronunciation of bahasa has improved, according to Duncan. For the first three weeks, I kept mentioning a place called "Georgia," as if I were referring to the US state. Now, I say "Yogya." My mouth and tongue feel comfortable rolling the syllables around, clipping the "k" sound at the end of words.

Offices are empty - it's 3.30pm. Out in the corridor the Drama class is rehearsing its version of Midsummer Night's Dream - in English, not Shakespearean English. Better sign off from here. Clean my desk. Return keys to the office. Catch the angkota for the last time. Besok, ke Solo. Tomorrow, to Solo.