I failed. I failed the listening test for Bahasa Indonesia at the Defense Language Institute. I got a 1+ and needed a 2 to pass. However I did pass the reading and speaking so I guess there is that. I failed, and I feel so free, and I am so happy to move on.

It also turns out that failing wasn’t the end all be all of my life, which I previously believed to be the case. After contacting the person in charge of my job placement he told me that I am able to work with our language team and set up 1 on 1 tutor and possibly even 2 weeks intensive study before I have to retest in 6 months.

There is still much work to do, but I am ready. I’ve let the internal emotions go, I physically felt the weight being lifted. What a wonderful moment. As bittersweet as it was moving out of my house 2 days ago, man was it exactly what I needed to embrace this failure and prepare for the future.

Just sitting out on the sidewalk watching the mover’s load the trucks, I haven’t been able to sit in a moment like that for 9 months. I am very excited to experience these little moments much more often in the future. It’s one of the reasons why I insist on solo travel. It’s full of these little moments and lord does it feel good to be back.

This article appeared first on The Cassey Excursion.