Embracing Weakness. Shannon K. Evans

      My feet were giddy as I stepped into the welcome air conditioning of the Western-style mall. We had driven an hour and a half from our much smaller town just south of Surabaya to this large Southeast Asian metropolis. We needed nothing here but familiarity, which was more than enough of a reason to make the road trip.

      Without pausing to consult one another, my husband and I instinctively turned the corner to nab a place in line at Starbucks like a pair of caffeine-deprived synchronized swimmers. I didn’t even drink coffee, but when you’re in search of Americanized comfort in a shopping mall, your quest is not complete without a green mermaid on a cup. Minutes later, nursing our respective drinks, we commenced a luxurious day of window shopping. Maybe we would buy a pair of overpriced jeans. Maybe a tennis racket. Maybe we’d catch a movie in a theater that wasn’t rundown. The world was our oyster for one glorious weekend, and everywhere we looked we found reminders of much longed-for home and comfort.