i've been asked this question countless times since i arrived

(this is second only to the other question which i have always been asked : 'do you have a boyfriend?')

'aren't/weren't you afraid (of coming to Indonesia)? And why here?'

So why really did i come?

here in the following i list the reasons, not in order of importance:

1. i was able to take annual leave

2. i want to take a different kind of holiday

3. i had already been to Jogja before and it is/was no longer that foreign to me

4. the aeroplane tickets were cheap

5. it was/is for a meaningful cause

6. i wanted to travel away from Singapore alone for once

7. i managed to get information about where i could volunteer and stay

8. i had learnt Malay before and thought Indonesian shouldn't be so difficult (yeah, right)

9. it was a little on a whim/impulse (i want to do it, so i do it)

10. it's near solo, which i have awesome and fond memories of.

summing all these up it's really basically that everything fell into place.

I can't explain things quite so elaborately if i am speaking in real life and according to social norms and expectations i have to give a 2-3 minute standard answer-

nothing that i usually do can be explained/attributed to one sole cause/reason;

it is almost always a carefully thought-out process of pros and cons,

and/or perhaps a group of causes that relate to the actual result.

I guess there's only one thing for which i have only one reason for which i do it.

and that is if i like somebody.

I either like a person or not, it's not complicated and there's nothing to it, really.

No primary reason no cause, no pros no cons.

I remember talking to J about this once-

i used the term 'irrational strong attraction',

because it's the most apt way i can phrase it.

but that's not really relevant anyway.

and so i've explained why i am here.

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i ate serabi notosuman today!

senang :)

and i'm going to menanang tomorrow!