Home Alone

Now that I have my own house in the village, life has changed dramatically. Before my only space was my room and my only quiet time was my siesta. Now I have lots of quiet in every day. This has its own ups and downs.

 Hanging out in the kitchen (D.Petterson)

Having more space to myself has made a huge difference to my energy levels. Before I was in a busy and noisy house. The people were lovely and I’m very thankful for the time spent building those relationships, but I felt like I was surviving each day and then crashing into bed. Now I need to be deliberate in going out to spend time with people. Often I end up back with the family I previously lived with, sitting in the kitchen and hanging out with the women as before. The difference is that when I leave, I return to a place of quiet.

Having more energy because I have more space allows me to focus more on language learning. Previously I was immersed in language all day long, but was often too tired to concentrate well. Now I have my blocks of language immersion, then time at home to go over my notes, listen to my recordings and slow language down to a speed that I can comprehend. Ideally, this means I am building up my language skills for the next round of immersion. Rather than drinking from the fire hose of language learning all day, I have breaks to try and sip at it instead. Being disciplined about continuing my learning at home is a challenge, as it is very easy for me to read a book in my own language rather than continue working at a new language.

Having my own kitchen gives me more control over my diet and the timing of my meals. Small things like familiar food and a variation from fish and sago make a big difference to my ability to focus on other things. The familiarity of food I cook and being able to eat earlier in the evening allow me to invest my energy better in the multitude of other unfamiliar things going on around me.

 Hanging out with the women (H.Schulz)

Returning from my first language learning trip, when I had lived with a family, I was exhausted. I hid in my house for two weeks as a hermit and only came out and socialised after that because I had to. Returning from my second language learning trip, when I was living on my own, I was out and enjoying the company of friends within a few days of my return. The biggest factor in the difference in my social energy levels on my return was having my own house. Having the space gave me the energy to better invest in relationships and language while in the village, even though it does take more discipline.