Fruit of the Week

This is the fruit of the week. It is called RAMBUTAN. It is my favorite fruit that I have tried so far. Ummm, so sweet. The picture actually shows what it looks like on the inside and the outside which is nice. To bad we cannot get these in the states. I will just have to enjoy them while I am here.

Trust in the Lord

On Friday we had chapel with the Grade 1 and Grade 2 students. One of the grade 1 classes was in charge of the chapel. Their whole chapel was about trust. It really hit me how much I have to trust in God, while I am here in Indonesia and also while I decide what I should do after graduation. One of the songs that we sang together reminded me of these verses.

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Just something to dwell on for the day.

Teaching is hard work

Today I was put on pool duty. I had to sit by the pool for an hour and watch kids swim. It was during peek sun hours too. Man my life is rough. The principal came up and asked if I was at a resort or student teaching, and of course I said that I was student teaching. Ahh...the life of a teacher.

Everybody's Got a Waterbuffalo

This weekend I went to Anyer which is a beach about an hour and a half away. The drive was full of country scenery which is all rice fields. We got to see workers planting rice, and even some that were harvesting the rice. It was so pretty. On the way back from the beach we saw herds of water buffalo. I was so excited that the driver let me get out and get pictures with the water buffalo. The animals are kind of skittish so I did not want to get that close but it was still really exciting. I thought that veggietales had made up the water buffalo, but they really do exist. On Saturday I also went to my first rugby match which was very enjoyable. Sometimes it made me nervous because I thought that the boys were going to get hurt but they were okay. On Sunday I went to church in downtown Jakarta and worked on homework. Today which is Monday for me, I rode on my first Ojack which is a motorbike. I actually took 3 different Ojacks to get around today. It is a cheap form of public transportation.

I also got a cream bath and pedicure. The cream bath is like a deep cleansing treatment for your hair. For my pedicure and cream bath I spent a total of $12 US dollar. That is so cheap, and so worth it. I have added some pictures of the beach, the water buffalo, and the fruit that I have been eating. This particular picture is of Langkok, it is extra delicious. The picture is especially for Brent- enjoy. This coming week I am teaching Math everyday, Bible three days, and PYP which is the schools inquiry based learning two times. Next week I move to full-time teaching.

I have also been very adventurous with my food choices, and had Indian food for the first time, Dim Sun, and Italian Gelatto along with the new fruit of the week. This week is Rambutan pictures to follow, and Smalek. We bought the Smalek from a man on the beach. All of this food is extra yummy.

I'm moving on up

Here are pictures of the apartment that I am living in. I live on the third floor which is nice because the elevator ride is not that long then. I also have a couple of students that live in the same building as me so I see them after school. The aparment is a two bedroom two bathroom. So far I have only seen 1 gecko in the apartment, that is a good ratio for being in Indonesia.

Spa Treatments and Fruit

I have decided that while I am in Indonesia I need to try as many different new things as possible. So what I have decided to do is try at least a new fruit a week and get a spa treatment a week. Spa treatments are so cheap here that it is affordable. Yesterday I got reflexology. The men focus on your feet and your legs the most but they also massage your back and shoulders. It was an hour and a half massage. It was so great. The fruit of choice this week is called Lengkok. It is pretty yummy.

On other notes I am loving it here. This weekend I am going to the beach which I am so excited about. I will send pictures. That is all for now.

Javanese Babyshowers and Bajaj

Two of the teachers in my pod are pregnant so the Indonesian teachers threw them a Javanese Baby shower. We played games, ate traditional food such as rice and sweet chicken in banana leaves, and blessed the mom by pouring water over them. This was a great experience and I learned a lot about the culture of Java (that is the island that I am on). The picture is of the two teachers with a robe of Jasmine around their heads and shoulders.


On Saturday I went to downtown Jakarta to the furniture district. I got to ride in a Bajaj. There were three of us crammed in the back of this thing. The other girl in the photo is Cara, she is another teacher at the school. After we went shopping we went to church and then out to dinner at this great Italian restaurant (Yes they do have Italian in Indonesia). The people are so great, and willing to invite me to do things with them which I greatly appreciate. The man that was driving the Bajaj wanted more money from us because we were taking pictures. We told him no.

Under My Umbrella ella ella eh eh eh

So I walk to and from school everyday. It is about a ten minute walk, if i am running late I can make it in 7 (that has only happened once). The past couple of days as I leave my high rise to begin my walk to school with my sunglasses on, it starts to rain. Today it poured. We are in the rainy season so it has been raining that is what it is supposed to do, but I want to be able to wear my sunglasses. I am ever so glad that I decided to pack my umbrella because it has been a life saver.

The reason I am here... school

So I have been at school for 2 days already. I thought that you would want to know a little bit about the school. First it is gorgeous. There are tropical plants all over, and the campus is humongous. I have 20 kids in my class, 11 girls and 9 boys. The classroom is pretty small, but we all manage to fit. Today in fitness we did the macerena, it was hilarious. I never thought that I would be doing the macerena during school hours. The day starts at 6:45 and students leave at 1:00. The teachers stay until at least 3:30 but we have grade level meetings and devotions during that time so it goes by pretty fast. Also when I have to start lesson planning that time will be nice because I will be able to do most of my work during that time.
Everyone at the school is so friendly. Today as I was riding up the elevator to my apartment, there was another SPH teacher riding too. He knew where I lived before I even knew his name. Everyone is willing to help out in anyway that they can which is greatly appreciated. I am in love with the Christian atmosphere that the teachers bring to their classrooms, and even the campus as a whole. This is something that I have missed in my other placements.

The Mall

This afternoon I went to the mall with the people that I am staying with. I needed to get some ruppah, an adaptor for my computer, and a cell phone. Well, I took out 1million ruppah from the ATM. Roughly converted this is 100 US dollars. The largest bill that they have is the 100000 which is equivalent to 10 US dollars. Then we went to ACE Hardware and I got my adapter for my computer. I had bought an adaptor in the states, but it does not work in Indonesia, and I needed to have one for my computer. We then went and bought a cell phone. This was interesting because I had to try to communicate with the people but I had no idea what they were saying, and they had no idea what I was saying. I was glad that Gregg was there with me to try to translate for me as much as he could. I got a good deal on the phone and I will be able to communicate with fellow teachers with it. The mall was huge, it was three stories in some parts, and it had a roller coaster. I am looking forward to going back and exploring it a little more. I could easily spend hours in there. I think that is all for now. I will update again soon.

Breakfast with a Gecko

This morning as I was eating breakfast with the principal and his wife I saw a gecko on the wall. They said that they like when geckos are around because they eat all of the other bugs that are in the house, so it is normal. So as I was eating my pancakes with strawberries, the gecko was eating his breakfast too. The picture is not the actual gecko, but I thought that it would be nice to add a visual.

I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm Here

I made it into Jakarta around 8:30 in the morning. I am 12 hours ahead of Michigan time. After over 48 hours of being in airplanes and airports, and a crazy taxi ride through the city I am at my first host home. The people are really nice, and very welcoming. Traveling was not near as bad as I thought that it was going to be. I know that this is because of all of the prayers that have been lifted up for me throughout the pat couple of days. I now have a couple of days to relax before I start school on Monday. I will let you know how my first day goes. Thanks for all of the prayers. I know that God was watching over me, and all of my plane rides.

Two More Days

I am leaving in two days. It is unbelievable that it is finally here. On New Years Day my Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents, Mom, and Dad prayed over me, and my trip. I am blessed beyond many to have a family that loves God and willing to come before God to lift up my trip. I feel more calmed about going, and I know that God has tucked me under his wing as I travel and student teach.

Where is Indonesia?

I get the question a lot, "Where is Indonesia?" I thought that it would be helpful to give you a visual aid. Here is a map of Indonesia and its surrounding countries. Hopefully this will help you to visualize where I will be for the next 51 days.