Week 12: A Partnership with Mrs. Dina

If my little family and I could settle in Indonesia, if we could make a living by introducing this beautiful country to tourists from all over the world, if the money we raise could help the children of our village build a better future — these are the dreams that carry me forward. For a long time, I racked my brains over what activities we could do with the children of the village. Often shy and reserved, they would not have been easy for groups of visually impaired travelers to interact with. It would have taken imagination and skill to connect with them in a satisfying way. If all our adventurers agree to the change, it will be much easier to share an enriching moment with high school students. They will probably have plenty of questions about France, and we, for our part, will be very happy to learn more about their daily lives. Mrs. Dina, whom I know well, is also a wonderful person who will welcome us like royalty in her modest home. She and her husband run a small home-based food business. They sell a traditional fish dish from Sumatra that we'll be able to enjoy right there for dinner.

A Warm Family

Mrs. Dina is actually a former colleague of my wife's. Before coming to France, Nenden taught geography at a tutoring center. The two young women taught evening classes at the same school. They later became friends. I've met her myself several times, both before and after my wedding. She is married to a very jovial man from the island of Sumatra, with whom I get along very well, even though he doesn't speak a word of English and his Indonesian is hard to understand because of his accent. They have a fifteen-year-old son who competes in taekwondo. All three of them have had to face a particularly cruel family tragedy, but they have come through this ordeal with admirable dignity. I would be delighted to involve them in our group trips to Java, because they deserve to be known.

Promising Cultural Exchanges

If our fifteen registered travelers are all excited about the idea, we will update the itinerary and add this new stop to the journey. I'll ask everyone to send us questions about the lives of young Indonesians, and Mrs. Dina will do the same with her students. That way, we'll be able to draw inspiration from each other's paths and broaden our knowledge of the world a little more. Personally, I'd love for them to play me their favorite song of the moment or tell me about the country they dream of visiting. Who knows, maybe one day Java Horizon will make the journey the other way and invite Javanese people to visit France. Maybe we'll also be able to stay in touch by phone and keep this correspondence going over time. Exciting prospects that I can't wait to get started on.

Discovering Empek-Empek

Mrs. Dina's husband grew up in the Palembang area, in southern Sumatra. The traditional dish of that region is Empek Empek. It consists of fish-filled tapioca fritters bathed in a tasty sweet-and-sour sauce. When they settled in Bandung, the couple quite naturally decided to start making and delivering this specialty, which I absolutely love. Java Horizon's clients will therefore have the chance to taste this typical dish right in the chef's home and to hear him talk about his childhood in the north of the archipelago.

Coming up this week

Jaya Kelana Indonesia, our partner travel agency, had a few administrative details to sort out with its bank in order to receive international payments. These steps should be completed in the coming days, which will allow us to collect our clients' first monthly installments. The all-inclusive 13-day package costs €1,150 including tax. For my part, I'll take the time to explain to them how the Wise app works. It's the best tool on the market for making international transactions with low fees. Going through traditional banks for this kind of operation is far too expensive.