The day I've been waiting for... Kind of

I got home from Erika’s just after midnight, and there on my computer keyboard was a letter from ACICIS!!! I was accepted!!! Well… the letter inside wasn’t actually addressed to me, but there is a contact list of everyone else participating, and my details were on it, so I guess that’s good enough!! The girl I was talking about earlier, Lara, well she was on the list too!!! Maybe I can get in touch with her before we leave!!

The orientation is a little earlier than I thought it would be though, it starts on the 24^th of January, so I’m hoping to be in Bali on the 22^nd, so I can spend a day or 2 with Rocky. Bad news tho… I was hoping to visit Erika in Malaysia before I went to Indo, but that’s looking almost impossible now, cause I don’t get back from Queensland until the 15^th of January, so it wont leave much time, and also getting my passport back in time may be troublesome.

Anyway, I want to remain optimistic and pumped about it, so the point is…

I AM GOING TO INDONESIA!!!!!

Lestari Widyastuti

Two days ago, I received a text from Louise telling me that Lestari had passed away. I didn't know her, but I was still saddened by this news. Lestari was a long time employee of ACICIS, she had been working with them for over 10 years. I had heard about her from various people who had already had the ACICIS experience and also read about her in past students blogs.

"Lestari was ACICIS, could anything really have run without her? " ~Wayne Palmer

After reading the things people had to say, I realized that Lestari didn't just work for ACICIS, she was like a second mother to the students. She provided support and assistance when students needed it most, but not only that, she was a friend to them.

"Senyumnya Lestari adalah senyum pertama yang aku lihat waktu aku tiba di Yogyakarta...Senyum itulah yang menanamkan sebuah ide di otakku: mungkin saja ada sesuatu yang bukan asing di tengah tempat yang asing ini." ~ Luke Arnold
(Lestari's smile was the first I saw when I arrived in Yogyakarta... It was that smile that planted a thought in my mind: maybe there's something thats not that different in the midst of this foreign place.)

I was looking forward to meeting Lestari next year... It truly is sad to hear of such an amazing woman and to find that she has passed away, especially at the young age of just 39.

"Lestari was one of the greatest friends I made in my time over in Jogja, and this news is just devastating." ~Willy Kornoff

These quotes are taken from just a few of the condolences sent to ACICIS. Upon reading them, it is easy to see how much Lestari meant to not only the ACICIS program, on a more personal level, how much she meant to the students, staff and anyone who came in touch with her. Many more condolences can be found on the ACICIS website,

"In every end of semester student survey Lestari was always rated the highest of anyone at ACICIS. Always." ~David Armstrong

There is no doubt that Lestari will be greatly missed by all