My first week of school is over, and it was wonderful! The kids are fun and they seem to be pretty well behaved. My co-workers have been very supportive in everything which has made it much easier than I anticipated. All of my lessons so far have been planned with other teachers who are very knowledgeable and have taught the subjects before. Things are going to get busier, but it is nice to feel confident after the first week.
On Friday after school I stuck around to do some planning with Becky and then I went home to grab some supper. Just after I started eating, one of my friends, Janelle, who lives in the Taman next to me, invited me to go to X-Zen (the neighborhood salon) for a cream bath. It felt amazing to have my head and shoulders massaged and my hair done. After that we ojeked to some other friend's house where we played games with a whole bunch of young adults. We had a great time. I personally loved the charades game we played.
Yesterday, I got up and headed over to the house of a lady from the the school community to meet with an Indonesian lady who makes custom sheets and duvey covers. I got to pick out my fabric, thread color and design. It was fun, but also overwhelming with all the choices! I decided to do something neutral so that if I ever decide to paint, I have more freedom with color. :)
After the sheet lady, I went with Helena and Amy to Kemang (a part of Jakarta) to go furniture and interior decor shopping! They took me to all of the good places and it was so fun to see all of the selection. The furniture here is gorgeous! It has so much character and detail. I had my eye on a hand-carved trunk, but I decided to be practical so I bought a little shelf for my water cooler to sit on. I also found a cute rug for my bedroom and a piece of pottery for my kitchen utensils. Because we were taking taxis around the city, I had to carry my stuff with me to Church. The Church is called the Gathering Place and it is on Saturday evenings. It was a very small,but nice group of people in a more informal setting. After the service we all went out for Italian food, which was delicious (and only about $6 a plate). We had a wonderful evening together. It is nice to get to know some people better after meeting so many different people. After our dinner we had to walk a little ways to find a taxi, so we each took a piece of my shelf (3 drawers and the shelf itself) until we found one a taxi. It made me laugh to see us walking down the road with furniture. Apparently that is something they have done before. Living here is quite the adventure. :)
This morning I went over to the house of another teacher from the school and had breakfast with a whole bunch of the young teachers. It was so nice to socialize on a Sunday morning. After breakfast I was going to hop on an ojek home, but the guy was going to charge me 10,000 (~$1)I tried to talk it down, but he wouldn't budge. So, my stubbornness kicked in and I got off of the bike and started to walk. There is no way he was going to rip me off! It only cost 5,000 to get to school from my house, and this place was just past the school. And, 5,000 is bole (white person) price which is already higher than normal. So, after I walked by the school another guy drove by and picked me up...for regular price. :)
Now that I am writing...I am remembering something from this week. One morning I came into my classroom and I looked in my coffee mug and found a Chee-Cha (gecko) in my cold coffee from the day before! I kinda freaked out and made Brock (a teacher next door to me) deal with it. Apparently chee-chas have been known to do that from time to time. So, i cleaned my mug out very well and from now on I will put something to cover my cup when I leave it for long periods of time.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
My classroom!
Here are some pictures of my awesome classroom! It is so big and spacious! Some fun aspects of my room: some shelves with cool student projects, plenty of other shelves for books and such, 5 bulletin boards, some windows by my desk in the corner and a set of steps on wheels in another corner. Right now I have some blankets and pillows on it, but I will use it for other things in the future. Just a few days ago, my room was also adorned with a new power point projector! I haven't used it yet, but I am planning to in the future. It was also to see a plaque on my door that says: Ms. Michaela: Humanities and English" (or something like that).
It has been fun setting up my classroom with posters and signs. Rebecca Mercer, the mom in my host family, gave me a plant as a classroom warming gift the other day. I have it sitting on my filing cabinet. I also found a ton of posters that previous teachers left behind for particular units and topics. In one of the pictures you will see that I have 2 bikes in my room. The reason I have 2 is because I was testing one out from a friend, but later decided to buy the other one. So, the other one is waiting to go to another home. It is my goal to bike to school most days. It is about a 10-15 ride from home to classroom. The only problem is that I have to change into my uniform when I get to school because it sometimes rains and I don't want my uniform to get dirty or wet.
I am finished with another day of school, and it was great! I am feeling way less stressed than anticipated, which is an answer to prayer. But, maybe I should hold onto that thought before things get busier and crazier!
It has been fun setting up my classroom with posters and signs. Rebecca Mercer, the mom in my host family, gave me a plant as a classroom warming gift the other day. I have it sitting on my filing cabinet. I also found a ton of posters that previous teachers left behind for particular units and topics. In one of the pictures you will see that I have 2 bikes in my room. The reason I have 2 is because I was testing one out from a friend, but later decided to buy the other one. So, the other one is waiting to go to another home. It is my goal to bike to school most days. It is about a 10-15 ride from home to classroom. The only problem is that I have to change into my uniform when I get to school because it sometimes rains and I don't want my uniform to get dirty or wet.
I am finished with another day of school, and it was great! I am feeling way less stressed than anticipated, which is an answer to prayer. But, maybe I should hold onto that thought before things get busier and crazier!
pictures...
A praying mantis at my front door, the fancy dinner, and skating with Kayla (part of my host family).
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The First Day of School
I woke up this morning eagerly rushing around my apartment, waiting for the school day to begin. Even as I entered the school at 6:15 and scanned my fingerprint, some students and parents were already milling around. I can probably say that I was just as nervous about the new school year as all of the seventh graders were. I first went to my room and changed into my new uniform ( I biked to school in the rain so I wore something else). After that, I did some last minute details and then headed over to the Pak(Mr.) Jhony’s room (who I share homeroom duties with). Throughout the next half-hour our 7.2 homeroom students began to arrive. Many of them looked like scared little kittens. I couldn’t believe how quiet they were! One boy, is so little and cute. He just looked so scared and nervous all day. When I first saw him I just thought he was so precious! I hope that he feels more comfortable as the days go by.
Overall, the day went quite well. A few little things happened, but nothing major. For example, Amy (ESL specialist) is team teaching 2 classes with me. We were standing in my room and chatting during period 1 when the bell ring. This jolted us into action, thinking our class was next, so we jumped into the hallway and began lining up the kids and bringing them into the classroom. It wasn’t until Becky came looking for the other half of her Humanities class, that we realized we had jumped the gun and took the students into our room one period early. We had a good laugh over that one. It is going to be hard for me to learn all of my students’ names. There are so many of them!
Tomorrow we are going to continue teaching the kids classroom procedures and try to get to know them better before we get into much of the content.
Oh, and I have finally posted some pictures for your viewing enjoyment!
Overall, the day went quite well. A few little things happened, but nothing major. For example, Amy (ESL specialist) is team teaching 2 classes with me. We were standing in my room and chatting during period 1 when the bell ring. This jolted us into action, thinking our class was next, so we jumped into the hallway and began lining up the kids and bringing them into the classroom. It wasn’t until Becky came looking for the other half of her Humanities class, that we realized we had jumped the gun and took the students into our room one period early. We had a good laugh over that one. It is going to be hard for me to learn all of my students’ names. There are so many of them!
Tomorrow we are going to continue teaching the kids classroom procedures and try to get to know them better before we get into much of the content.
Oh, and I have finally posted some pictures for your viewing enjoyment!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Another week of adjustment
Hey Everyone,
It has been a long week, and I am not even sure what to write anymore! Monday and Tuesday were still new staff orientation days, which were good. Tuesday night we had a big fancy dinner at a Billionaire's mansion. This family funded the beginning of the SPH school system, which I believe is at over 100 schools as of now (sometime in the future I will explain how it all works). Their mansion is on a small island with immaculate pools, gardens, and decorations. It was really fun to walk around and take it all in. Even though this family is wealthy, they are very easy going and generous with the school and Christian community.
As far as other things go, the rest of the week was all-staff work days and meetings. I have gotten to know some of the other 130 teachers, and they are totally friendly and welcoming. The school atmosphere is just like a big family. On Friday we had staff bonding time which involved some fun relays and sports games. The New Teacher team actually came out on top, mostly due to our amazing cheers and athletic abilities (or maybe the head master was being nice and gave us extra points?).
This weekend has been good as well. I have been able to do more shopping for my apartment. I have also had plenty of time to meet and hang out with people. Between work and social activities, my time is limited.
School starts on Tuesday. I can hardly believe it. I do not feel ready at all. In fact, I don't have any lesson plans written yet. I have been told that I will probably be living from day to day the first few months. And, apparently ALL new teachers feel totally lost at SPH because it is a school like none other with it's IB curriculum program. So, I am, again, relying on my only hope and strength to get me through my first year: my LORD and savior Jesus Christ. I have experienced his peace and reassurance in the past, and I know I will experience it in the future.
It has been a long week, and I am not even sure what to write anymore! Monday and Tuesday were still new staff orientation days, which were good. Tuesday night we had a big fancy dinner at a Billionaire's mansion. This family funded the beginning of the SPH school system, which I believe is at over 100 schools as of now (sometime in the future I will explain how it all works). Their mansion is on a small island with immaculate pools, gardens, and decorations. It was really fun to walk around and take it all in. Even though this family is wealthy, they are very easy going and generous with the school and Christian community.
As far as other things go, the rest of the week was all-staff work days and meetings. I have gotten to know some of the other 130 teachers, and they are totally friendly and welcoming. The school atmosphere is just like a big family. On Friday we had staff bonding time which involved some fun relays and sports games. The New Teacher team actually came out on top, mostly due to our amazing cheers and athletic abilities (or maybe the head master was being nice and gave us extra points?).
This weekend has been good as well. I have been able to do more shopping for my apartment. I have also had plenty of time to meet and hang out with people. Between work and social activities, my time is limited.
School starts on Tuesday. I can hardly believe it. I do not feel ready at all. In fact, I don't have any lesson plans written yet. I have been told that I will probably be living from day to day the first few months. And, apparently ALL new teachers feel totally lost at SPH because it is a school like none other with it's IB curriculum program. So, I am, again, relying on my only hope and strength to get me through my first year: my LORD and savior Jesus Christ. I have experienced his peace and reassurance in the past, and I know I will experience it in the future.
Monday, July 19, 2010
I am alive and well!
I am sure that many of you are probably wondering what has happened to me. I haven’t had any Internet access since I arrived, so that is my excuse. This has been a whirlwind of changes, but I am doing quite well. I feel like I have been here for weeks, rather than days. Let me give you a re-cap on what has been going on down here for the past while.
Wednesday, July 14th
I arrived at the airport in Jakarta in the evening. Narda, the phenomenal go-to woman at SPH Lippo Village welcomed me as I passed through a crowed of faces; she new exactly who I was and gave me a hug. We waited on the side while two other people from our school were coming through security and baggage. After we were all together, we all hustled through the airport doors. We made our way along the walk way, into the parking lot, and then into the car. As we drove along the roads and highways, I took in everything around me. Despite the darkness, I noticed a few things: people, cars, and motorbikes everywhere, hot and muggy weather, crazy driving, and small shops and restaurants set-up along the streets (this reminded me of Nicaragua). As we entered into Lippo Village, I couldn't help but see how everything got nicer and cleaner. I saw high-rise apartment buildings and nice restaurants and stores. We drove down a road and then arrived at the gate of SPH. Although it was dark, I could see that the school was huge and beautiful. Our host families were waiting for us at the school. My host family is the Mercers: Don, Rebecca, Ben, Hannah and Kayla. Don is the high-school principle and Rebecca also teaches at the school. I got into their car and they took me to my apartment. In order to get to my place, you have to pass through 2 gates with guards (satpoms). My new home is the last apartment of a whole row and it is just a few steps up from ground level. I opened the door, with my new keys and took it all in. It is a nice little apartment with the tiniest kitchen I have ever seen! I have a very small fridge and stove, with a small, single sink and about 1 foot of counter space on either side of the sink. The school provided all of major furniture: loveseat and chair, coffee table, kitchen table and chairs, a spare twin-sized bed, desk, queen-sized bed, wardrobe, and 2 night stands. It was so fun to look around at everything that would soon be my home. My host family said goodbye and I sat on my bed. It all felt so surreal. I could hardly believe that I was finally here in Indonesia, and in my new home. To be honest, I felt a bit uncertain and sad, but in the morning everything changed.
Thursday July 15th
I woke up at 6:00am, after a pretty rested night of 7 hours sleep. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I decided to start unpacking my stuff. I covered by bed with everything, and then found homes for it all throughout the apartment. At 8:00, a driver picked me up from my place and then took me, and a Chinese couple, to the school. We had breakfast at the school and got to meet all of the other new staff for this year. It was so fun to meet all kinds of new people and here about their stories. Everyone was so nice and friendly and the food was delicious. That morning, we had some orientation, a school tour, and some banking details to figure out. The school is amazing! I could not believe its size and beauty. There are plenty of beautiful trees and plants everywhere and all of the halls are open-air which gives it a very nice feel. After lunch, our host families took us shopping to the super mall. This mall is very big and there are people everywhere! The first thing we did was find the E-center so I could find a cell phone. There are probably over 20 different booths that sell cell-phones. Hannah helped me by bringing me to a good place. I decided to buy a very simple and cheap phone. It only cost me 35 dollars for everything, including about 10 dollars of minutes (which goes a long way at 3 cents a minute). After this, we went to the Hyper-Mart (similar to Wal-mart) and I bought several items for starters. After delivering all of my stuff I went with the Mercers out for supper in Lippo. On the way, we picked up Sarah Chow, who is another first-year teacher. I went up to her apartment and looked a bike that she wants to get ride of. It is awesome! It is blue with a basket, a bell, and 6 gears. I am so excited about my new form of transportation, especially because it is free! I still haven’t picked the bike up, but that will happen in the future. We ate dinner at Dixies, and then the Mercers dropped me off. Before I went to bed, I unpacked all of my new items and put them away. I flipped on the AC, and then crawled into bed.
Friday July 16th
We had more orientation at SPH which included cultural awareness, some school missions, and other details concerning health and insurance. That afternoon, I came back to my apartment and cleaned out all of my cupboards and I washed all of the floors. I felt like I could not feel comfortable until I knew everything was clean. I also didn’t have much else to do, so it felt good to do something productive. After that, I went to the school for a BBQ with all of the other new teachers and their families. The food was amazing, as always. It was very nice to sit and talk to everyone. I feel so blessed to already be surrounded by such wonderfully supportive people. I was pretty tired after the long day, so I went to bed on time when I got home.
Saturday July, 17th
There was no orientation activities planned for Saturday, so I spent the day with my host family. I went with Rebecca, Hannah (13) and Kayla (5) ice skating at a mall, in Jakarta. This mall was gigantic, with at least 6 floors. We went early in the morning to beat the rush of the day. We skated for almost 2 hours on the ice. The skates were almost like a combination of figure skates and hockey skates, and the ice felt different too. Even so, we had a lot of fun going around the ice. There were all kinds of young skaters practicing with their personal coaches on the ice, there were also a few people stumbling and falling all over. After this, we went back to the Mercers for lunch. Then, Rebecca brought Hannah and me to my place. Hannah helped me figure out my first ojek ride so that I could learn to do it on my own (an ojek is a motorcycle taxi)! We each took an ojek to the mall. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing more shopping at different stores in the mall. I got to explore different places and search out items for my apartment. My find of the day was a dining set! I got 4 bowls, 4 salad plates, and 4 dinner plates for only 15,000 rupiah each ($1.50 each). I was very excited because I really liked them and they were SO on sale. I was going to take a taxi home from the mall, but there were none close by, so Rebecca brought me home instead. We dropped all of my stuff off and then went back to there place for a quick bite of food. Then we headed to night church at IES (international English service) in Jakarta. The music was very good, but also very LOUD. The speaker was very gifted and the people were incredibly friendly. I got a free mug and an informational DVD about the church for being a guest! A good deal for me! After church we talked with some people, and then headed home.
Sunday July 18th
I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was clean my bathroom. I felt icky every time I went in there, so I gave it a good cleaning. After I cleaned the bathroom, I cleaned all of my new dishes, and then assembled a little shelf for in my bathroom. After that I put all of my other things away and then had a shower. After a lovely lunch of left-over pizza and grapes, I got a phone call from the internet company. The man was speaking to me in broken English, so it was a very challenging phone call. After a few minutes, we figured out that the company would be able to come on Saturday at 10:00am. Phew…one more week of no internet. I will preserver through it!
And so, here I am, in my apartment. I am listening to Hillsong United and relaxing as the cultural noises of the mosque and motorcycles come and go. My place is clean, and my “blog” is updated. I might go and explore my neighbourhood a bit. This place really is beautiful. The main roads are lined with tropical trees and there are green plants everywhere! It is like vegetation is pouring out of everything.
Monday July 19th
Another week has come and I am really starting to feel more comfortable here. The next big thing now is teaching! I am so nervous/anxious/excited about it. I still have a zillion questions about everything and I begin teaching next week already! I just hope that it all sinks in and that I don’t panic. I will definitely need prayers for peace and confidence as I begin my first year of teaching.
Today, our orientation included some Q&A time as well as some discussion about Christian Education. It was so inspiring and motivating to here all of the new teachers’ idea of Christian Teaching. I will have to constantly remind myself that being a Christian teacher means that everything we do to influence our students really comes from the LORD. This reassures me that, despite my fears, God has got my back.
So, today after an early release from our orientation, I went with another new teacher, Sarah, to a hair salon near my Taman (or apartment area). I also got what they call a cream bath which is a massage for your head, arms, and shoulders. It felt sooo wonderful! So after 2 hours and the price of only 165.000 rupiah, I left the salon feeling wonderful. The only thing was that I wanted to go into town to find an internet café, and so my lovely hair got a little tussled by the light rain and wind on the ojek ride. Now, I am sitting here with Allison, another new teacher, as we catch up of the things in the cyber world. Oh, and I promise pictures sometime in the future.
Wednesday, July 14th
I arrived at the airport in Jakarta in the evening. Narda, the phenomenal go-to woman at SPH Lippo Village welcomed me as I passed through a crowed of faces; she new exactly who I was and gave me a hug. We waited on the side while two other people from our school were coming through security and baggage. After we were all together, we all hustled through the airport doors. We made our way along the walk way, into the parking lot, and then into the car. As we drove along the roads and highways, I took in everything around me. Despite the darkness, I noticed a few things: people, cars, and motorbikes everywhere, hot and muggy weather, crazy driving, and small shops and restaurants set-up along the streets (this reminded me of Nicaragua). As we entered into Lippo Village, I couldn't help but see how everything got nicer and cleaner. I saw high-rise apartment buildings and nice restaurants and stores. We drove down a road and then arrived at the gate of SPH. Although it was dark, I could see that the school was huge and beautiful. Our host families were waiting for us at the school. My host family is the Mercers: Don, Rebecca, Ben, Hannah and Kayla. Don is the high-school principle and Rebecca also teaches at the school. I got into their car and they took me to my apartment. In order to get to my place, you have to pass through 2 gates with guards (satpoms). My new home is the last apartment of a whole row and it is just a few steps up from ground level. I opened the door, with my new keys and took it all in. It is a nice little apartment with the tiniest kitchen I have ever seen! I have a very small fridge and stove, with a small, single sink and about 1 foot of counter space on either side of the sink. The school provided all of major furniture: loveseat and chair, coffee table, kitchen table and chairs, a spare twin-sized bed, desk, queen-sized bed, wardrobe, and 2 night stands. It was so fun to look around at everything that would soon be my home. My host family said goodbye and I sat on my bed. It all felt so surreal. I could hardly believe that I was finally here in Indonesia, and in my new home. To be honest, I felt a bit uncertain and sad, but in the morning everything changed.
Thursday July 15th
I woke up at 6:00am, after a pretty rested night of 7 hours sleep. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I decided to start unpacking my stuff. I covered by bed with everything, and then found homes for it all throughout the apartment. At 8:00, a driver picked me up from my place and then took me, and a Chinese couple, to the school. We had breakfast at the school and got to meet all of the other new staff for this year. It was so fun to meet all kinds of new people and here about their stories. Everyone was so nice and friendly and the food was delicious. That morning, we had some orientation, a school tour, and some banking details to figure out. The school is amazing! I could not believe its size and beauty. There are plenty of beautiful trees and plants everywhere and all of the halls are open-air which gives it a very nice feel. After lunch, our host families took us shopping to the super mall. This mall is very big and there are people everywhere! The first thing we did was find the E-center so I could find a cell phone. There are probably over 20 different booths that sell cell-phones. Hannah helped me by bringing me to a good place. I decided to buy a very simple and cheap phone. It only cost me 35 dollars for everything, including about 10 dollars of minutes (which goes a long way at 3 cents a minute). After this, we went to the Hyper-Mart (similar to Wal-mart) and I bought several items for starters. After delivering all of my stuff I went with the Mercers out for supper in Lippo. On the way, we picked up Sarah Chow, who is another first-year teacher. I went up to her apartment and looked a bike that she wants to get ride of. It is awesome! It is blue with a basket, a bell, and 6 gears. I am so excited about my new form of transportation, especially because it is free! I still haven’t picked the bike up, but that will happen in the future. We ate dinner at Dixies, and then the Mercers dropped me off. Before I went to bed, I unpacked all of my new items and put them away. I flipped on the AC, and then crawled into bed.
Friday July 16th
We had more orientation at SPH which included cultural awareness, some school missions, and other details concerning health and insurance. That afternoon, I came back to my apartment and cleaned out all of my cupboards and I washed all of the floors. I felt like I could not feel comfortable until I knew everything was clean. I also didn’t have much else to do, so it felt good to do something productive. After that, I went to the school for a BBQ with all of the other new teachers and their families. The food was amazing, as always. It was very nice to sit and talk to everyone. I feel so blessed to already be surrounded by such wonderfully supportive people. I was pretty tired after the long day, so I went to bed on time when I got home.
Saturday July, 17th
There was no orientation activities planned for Saturday, so I spent the day with my host family. I went with Rebecca, Hannah (13) and Kayla (5) ice skating at a mall, in Jakarta. This mall was gigantic, with at least 6 floors. We went early in the morning to beat the rush of the day. We skated for almost 2 hours on the ice. The skates were almost like a combination of figure skates and hockey skates, and the ice felt different too. Even so, we had a lot of fun going around the ice. There were all kinds of young skaters practicing with their personal coaches on the ice, there were also a few people stumbling and falling all over. After this, we went back to the Mercers for lunch. Then, Rebecca brought Hannah and me to my place. Hannah helped me figure out my first ojek ride so that I could learn to do it on my own (an ojek is a motorcycle taxi)! We each took an ojek to the mall. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing more shopping at different stores in the mall. I got to explore different places and search out items for my apartment. My find of the day was a dining set! I got 4 bowls, 4 salad plates, and 4 dinner plates for only 15,000 rupiah each ($1.50 each). I was very excited because I really liked them and they were SO on sale. I was going to take a taxi home from the mall, but there were none close by, so Rebecca brought me home instead. We dropped all of my stuff off and then went back to there place for a quick bite of food. Then we headed to night church at IES (international English service) in Jakarta. The music was very good, but also very LOUD. The speaker was very gifted and the people were incredibly friendly. I got a free mug and an informational DVD about the church for being a guest! A good deal for me! After church we talked with some people, and then headed home.
Sunday July 18th
I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was clean my bathroom. I felt icky every time I went in there, so I gave it a good cleaning. After I cleaned the bathroom, I cleaned all of my new dishes, and then assembled a little shelf for in my bathroom. After that I put all of my other things away and then had a shower. After a lovely lunch of left-over pizza and grapes, I got a phone call from the internet company. The man was speaking to me in broken English, so it was a very challenging phone call. After a few minutes, we figured out that the company would be able to come on Saturday at 10:00am. Phew…one more week of no internet. I will preserver through it!
And so, here I am, in my apartment. I am listening to Hillsong United and relaxing as the cultural noises of the mosque and motorcycles come and go. My place is clean, and my “blog” is updated. I might go and explore my neighbourhood a bit. This place really is beautiful. The main roads are lined with tropical trees and there are green plants everywhere! It is like vegetation is pouring out of everything.
Monday July 19th
Another week has come and I am really starting to feel more comfortable here. The next big thing now is teaching! I am so nervous/anxious/excited about it. I still have a zillion questions about everything and I begin teaching next week already! I just hope that it all sinks in and that I don’t panic. I will definitely need prayers for peace and confidence as I begin my first year of teaching.
Today, our orientation included some Q&A time as well as some discussion about Christian Education. It was so inspiring and motivating to here all of the new teachers’ idea of Christian Teaching. I will have to constantly remind myself that being a Christian teacher means that everything we do to influence our students really comes from the LORD. This reassures me that, despite my fears, God has got my back.
So, today after an early release from our orientation, I went with another new teacher, Sarah, to a hair salon near my Taman (or apartment area). I also got what they call a cream bath which is a massage for your head, arms, and shoulders. It felt sooo wonderful! So after 2 hours and the price of only 165.000 rupiah, I left the salon feeling wonderful. The only thing was that I wanted to go into town to find an internet café, and so my lovely hair got a little tussled by the light rain and wind on the ojek ride. Now, I am sitting here with Allison, another new teacher, as we catch up of the things in the cyber world. Oh, and I promise pictures sometime in the future.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Singapore
Okay I have only 6 minutes to write a quick update. I am now in Singapore at the YWCA hotel. I came in last night and met up with 4 other SPH teachers. It was so great to see them. One of the first things I noticed about this place is the heat at 2am. Wow, I guess that is going to be an adjustment! It was also interesting to drive down the opposite side of the road for the first time in my life. Apparently that is easy to get used to; I guess we will see! My travels are going very well,except that I didn't have access to my baggage last night. They arrived, but are ticked through to Jakarta. So, I am wearing my same stinky clothes. O-well, I see this as a huge improvement from my last trip. :) Thanks to all of you who are praying for me. I could definitely feel God's peace around me. And, I am getting super excited about my arrival. Finally more excitement and less nerves.
Well, time is running out. Talk to you later!
Well, time is running out. Talk to you later!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
The Night Before Take-Off
I am in the suburbs of Minneapolis/St.Paul right now, at the home of the Kroll family. Val Kroll, is a fellow Dordt Grad who opened up her home to me. I just spent the weekend reuniting with college friends and celebrating the marriage of my friends Liz and Theo Mobach. It was an amazing few days.
On our drive up from Pella, Val and I talked about student teaching and our worries about being first-year teachers. It was nice to remember that I will not be the only new teacher this year.
Tomorrow morning I am flying out to Indonesia. My first flight is to Japan, which is going to be hours long. I still don't even know how long it will take. I am very nervous about everything at the moment: flights, visa, new country, new job ...etc. But, this is an exciting journey of a lifetime that I am sure will be wonderful. I only have to trust in the LORD who led me to this opportunity, to keep leading me in the future.
So, here I go. Say a prayer for me. I covet them desperately.
~Chae
On our drive up from Pella, Val and I talked about student teaching and our worries about being first-year teachers. It was nice to remember that I will not be the only new teacher this year.
Tomorrow morning I am flying out to Indonesia. My first flight is to Japan, which is going to be hours long. I still don't even know how long it will take. I am very nervous about everything at the moment: flights, visa, new country, new job ...etc. But, this is an exciting journey of a lifetime that I am sure will be wonderful. I only have to trust in the LORD who led me to this opportunity, to keep leading me in the future.
So, here I go. Say a prayer for me. I covet them desperately.
~Chae
Sunday, July 4, 2010
A Fresh Start
Well, here it is, my new, user-friendly blog for my next adventure to Indonesia. It is more user friendly because the web address is easier to remember than my last one because it is simply: michaelagroot.blogspot.com. This way you will never be able to forget how to get the latest news on happenings in Indonesia.
I must admit, it was difficult for me to come up with a design for this blog. I struggled trying to find a good picture, title, and layout. So, it may change as time goes on. I decided on the title because I wanted it to have an Indonesian flavour to it. The first part of the title is in Bahasa Indonesian. The older I get, the smaller the world seems, (maybe that also has something to do with travelling?) so I went with this common statement as the title of my new blog.
I am leaving Canada on Wednesday, so the time is coming quickly where I must say goodbye. But, for now, I am soaking up the family time.
I must admit, it was difficult for me to come up with a design for this blog. I struggled trying to find a good picture, title, and layout. So, it may change as time goes on. I decided on the title because I wanted it to have an Indonesian flavour to it. The first part of the title is in Bahasa Indonesian. The older I get, the smaller the world seems, (maybe that also has something to do with travelling?) so I went with this common statement as the title of my new blog.
I am leaving Canada on Wednesday, so the time is coming quickly where I must say goodbye. But, for now, I am soaking up the family time.
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