Greetings from MY WORLDS #1
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CURRENT LOCATION: Bali, Indonesia
LOCAL TIME: 11h30
LOCAL TEMPERATURE: 25 degrees
CURRENTLY READING: Africa is not a Country - Dipo Faloyinrber
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Hello there,
It's been quite a while since I wrote my last newsletter (and I think I started it with the exact same sentence). I'm not going to lie that it has proved difficult to write these regularly. While I don’t want to force myself to write them, I do really enjoy putting together an update of my adventures. As my past month was split between Asia and Europe, I had no excuse to not write a “Greetings From ME”!
World 1 - My Sumba Life
Sewing workshops to make scrunchies from old sarung
Three months is a good amount of time to understand a place, to feel what it's like to live here and to consider: Hestie did you actually make the right decision, or was it all a crazy idea? I do think it's still a bit (or a bit much?) out of the norm to move to a place like Sumba, but it just feels right. I'm super proud of all the things I've already been able to establish at the foundation, from creating a versatile curriculum for my core module in sustainability, to setting up various upcycling workshops with the students (we make tote bags, hair ties, hats, cutlery holders, …), to working hard on reducing our generated waste and avoiding plastic. I work a lot (here in Sumba we have a 6 out of 7 work week) but because I can see and feel the impact of my work, I have the energy to keep going.
Garden Tour in Nikoi
In the first week of October, I was lucky enough to attend Long Run’s annual meeting. This organisation is a pioneer in responsible tourism and brought its members together in Nikoi (an Indonesian island you can reach by boat from Singapore) for 5 days of seminars, talks and workshops. Nikoi is the prime example of eco-friendly travel, and the stay there was extremely helpful and inspiring for the work we want to do at SHF.
Just before and after the meeting I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Singapore, and I won't lie that this perfectly organised and clean megacity couldn't be more different from Sumba. I was overwhelmed by how quiet it was, how full the supermarkets were (really, over 50 kinds of yoghurt to choose from while there are none on Sumba lol) and by all the rules the nation has put in place (antoher thing Sumba is not best at).
But it was a good bridge between my “world 2” to which I would soon travel: yes, I went back home.
World 2 - Back home: Two weeks in Belgium and Paris
Graduation at IFM!
Since I was already in Singapore, I took the opportunity to travel back home. I had a busy schedule: my graduation ceremony at IFM, my father’s birthday, an event where I spoke about my research, and most importantly, reuniting with many friends and family members both in Belgium and Paris.
It were two fantastic weeks that warmed my heart (!!!). The honest exchanges with the people I love most and who know me best are priceless. After living in Paris for three years, it was also nice to be back and visit some familiar places. It’s reassuring to realise that not much has actually changed and that I felt quite natural to just resume my life in Paris.
And since these weeks were filled with so many meaningful moments, it was inevitable that the extremely fast pace at which I was travelling would catch up with me sooner or later. When it did, I realised how “radically” I had changed my life by moving to Sumba. My heart felt warm after seeing everyone I loved, but soon it started to ache a little because I knew another goodbye was coming.That’s part of the game, but that doesn’t mean it makes it any less difficult.
Freedom is what I strive for, and being free to do what I do gives me an extreme sense of joy. And although I feel that I have been able to close some things after my visit back home (as I write this I am already back in Indonesia), I don’t need to close this chapter of my life completely (and I don’t want to). I want to be in Sumba and take full advantage of my opportunities there (on a personal and professional level), but I have no intention of closing myself off completely. Yes, there may be no wifi in Sumba and yes, the time difference makes it difficult, but you won’t get rid of me that easily (hehe). So many memories worth cherishing of these past weeks, and so many more to come, wherever I might be.
With that being said, you'll be reading me again soon (or at least sooner)!
A big hug and thank you to everyone who made my time back home so memorable,
Hestie -x-
