In July we moved from Ambon to Ubud, Bali, where I started studying the language again. I finished up my work with Mercy Corps and my capstone project to complete my Masters, so now I am officially a Master!! I created a website to display my work, so if anyone is interested you can check it out at – tappmeyer.weebly.com/

It was great working with Mercy Corps – Ambon, I was very lucky to have a great group of co-workers!

Last day of work with Mercy Corps Ambon

After Ambon, we took a quick trip to Vietnam to renew our visas before settling into Ubud. We were able to travel from the Ho Chi Minh City in the south up to Hanoi in the north by bus and train. We both really enjoyed exploring Vietnam and learning about the history of the country. We explored the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta. We took an all day cooking class where we learned to shop for and cook 10 tasty Vietnamese dishes. We took a cruise through Halong Bay and rode a motorbike through the amazing rice fields of Sapa in the far north.

Little cutie we met on our drive through Sapa

A woman from a hill tribe in Sapa

Cooking up some delicious Vietnamese cuisine.

Emma…a lovely shop owner we befriended in Hoi An, Vietnam.

After Vietnam we came back to Ubud and I started language classes. Ubud is a very interesting place full of people seeking spiritual enlightenment, yogis, a plethora of organic restaurants, and cheap spa treatments on every corner. After living on a small island with little to no tourism it has been nice to have so many options for entertainment, food, and pampering. We are definitely thankful for our time living in Ambon and Yogyakarta and getting to know the culture and people of Indonesia as living in Ubud lends itself to meeting far more foreigners than Indonesians. However, we do live in the guesthouse of an amazing Indonesian family.  The owners always have a smile on their face and their adult son and wife live with them with their two young boys.  Yasser has of course befriended the son because he is a fisherman, so they both sit around making fishing lures together at night. It is definitely understandable why Ubud is a popular destination for many longterm travelers.   We will miss the interesting yoga classes, wide variety of fresh and tasty food, and of course the $7 massages and facials!

Sunset over the rice fields of Ubu

I am now finishing up the last requirements of my Boren Fellowship assignment and we are headed back to Missouri in October and hoping to visit Nicaragua in the near future as well.

Jumping for Joy..we’ve had an amazing year so far!