Name: Liana Engie

Teaching placement in Indonesia: 2011-2012 in Pontianak, Kalimantan Barat (first ETA there!)

Current city and job: I’m currently living in Jakarta, Indonesia and have just completed a position building the Faculty of Science and Technology at a new university here. In mid-April I’ll be moving to the US and either working at a computational biology or biophysics research job, or entering graduate school. As you can see I’m still deciding; you caught me in a transitional period.

Life after Fulbright:

I stayed in Indonesia for years beyond what I anticipated. Living and working here has been great. Lots of ups and downs; there are many reasons why I’m sad to leave and why I’m excited to go home. I’m very glad to have done the Fulbright before living in Jakarta. It gives me an expat experience that very few people have as well as the comfort to be able to navigate easily outside the more ritzy, mall-based Jakarta lifestyle. There’s so much of Indonesian life that I feel like many foreigners miss out on, even those who live here for a while. It’s such a shame! I’ve tried to keep exploring different parts and aspects of Jakarta and many friends have helped me feel like I’m constantly learning more about this place.