MUST BE THE SEASON OF THE PISSED

Dearest Friends,

Although the temps in Indonesia stay the same year-round, we most definitely had seasons on our Sumatran compound.  And, though I wasn't aware of it at the time, we were heading into the "stormy" season.

Even our easy-going Mr. Austin got his grump on this time of year -- especially when momma was forced to take away game privileges.

I suppose it is inevitable, when you take a disparate group of people, toss them into an enclosure (no matter how luxurious) and lock the gate on them, that, sooner or later, nerves are gonna fray.  Add to this that you have mixed together people from different countries, with different beliefs and customs; that we had no one else to socialize with other than the same people we worked with everyday, so it was impossible to get away from shop talk and rumors; that the teachers and doctor had no choice but to fraternize with their students' families and their patients, so they were never off duty; that gossip spread faster than the slash-and-burn fires which the farmers set, up on the hillsides above us, and that there was always lots going on to gossip about, and, well, it's easy to see how stress could build up after seven or eight months, and tempers would be lost.

On top of all that, we were all very homesick by then, and desperately looking forward to taking our annual home-leave as soon as school was out, but sad because we knew that some of the families would not be returning, and our kids might well end up in a class the following year with no one even close to their own age.  Most stressful of all was trying to work out the details of one's home-leave, and making all the arrangements.  In fact, as you will see in upcoming letters home, it was a bit of a nightmare!

Though we had nothing to compare it to at the time, our first spring on the compound was even more stressful than usual.  It turns out that the new school principal had actually be brought on board that year to "clean house"-- to make sure that the school received the desired accreditations -- and word had just leaked out that two of the current teaching couples (they hired only married couples) were to be let go at the end of the school year, and be replaced over the summer.  People who were good buddies with these teachers were livid at the news, and declared war on the principal and his wife.

I did my best to stay neutral, but was actually reduced to tears on one occasion.  I had planned a nice spring luncheon for everyone, before I even knew what was going on, and it turned into a major fiasco.  Half my guests refused to come if certain others were going to be there, and those who did come ended up arguing with one another.  By the time it was all over with, I was ready to be rid of the lot of them, and home leave couldn't possibly get there fast enough for me!

What I didn't know at the time was that this happened every year, and that after two or three months of me and my kids schlepping from one relative's house to another, trying not to overstay our welcome or get on their nerves; my trying to get the kids enrolled in camps and activities that they couldn't get overseas, and then having to figure out how to get them there; trying to shop for all the clothes, gifts, household items, etc. that we would need for the entire year, while staying within budget, and then managing to fit it all in our luggage; and trying to see everybody we needed to see, while balancing the amount of time we spent with each, so that no one got their feelings hurt, why, by August, I 'd be feeling pretty much the same way about all my kin folks as I had about my Indo-friends before we left, and I'd be running back to that compound with open arms!