An Eventful Life

I have been noticing lately that life at SPH/ in Lippo Village is very eventful. It seems like there is always something going on, which I love because it makes my time here that much more fun! Last week I described the Spiritual retreat I went on with the middle school kids, but my weekend did not stop there. Let me fill you all in!

After I came back from the retreat I went straight home from school and started to prepare myself for a murder mystery dinner. One of my friends has wanted to host a murder mystery dinner for ages, and so she finally put one on, and we all had a hoot of a time! The dinner was Spanish themed and my character was Francesca, the gardener of the hotel that the story was based around. I didn't have a lot of time to prepare a costume, but that was no problem for me. I put some khaki cloths on, I messed up my hair, and rubbed dirt on my face, arms and legs. To top it all off, I grabbed leaves and branches from outside and strategically placed them all over me. I looked like I just climbed out of the jungle! You should have seen the looks on people's faces as I made my way to the party. Ha! It was a great time. We had so much fun trying to stay in character and question each other. Thankfully, I came out innocent in the end. I can't wait to do another one sometime!!

The next day (Saturday), I headed into Jakarta to the Four Seasons Hotel. Yup, you read that right. A bunch of us SPH teachers signed up to run a 5 K race along the major highway in the area, for Cancer research on Sunday morning. More than a thousand people came out to run/walk/bike the route, so the Four Seasons was a sponsor for the race and gave decent rates for hotel rooms, about 90 USD a night. Not bad right? We came in early on Saturday so that we could really get a full experience of the hotel. I went to TGP (a church service) that night and then went out to eat and socialize with some lady friends. The next morning we all went out to run the 5K. Although I was planning to run the 5K, I walked it because about a month ago I sprained a ligament and tendon in my leg and it is still healing. After the race, we all hung out and enjoyed the hotel’s services. After we came back to Lippo I went to a book study and dinner with some friends.

This week has been pretty normal except for a few things. One is that I hired a helper! It is customary here for people to higher maids, or helpers. This is something that took some getting used to and I put it off for a long time. But, I finally decided to do it for several reasons. One reason is because it is very affordable even for me as a Christian School teacher. Another is because it is a huge help to have someone take care of those little details so that I don’t have to worry about fitting them into my busy schedule. And, most importantly, I wanted to do this because it is a huge help to provide income for a family. My helper, Wati, is married with three children who are in school. Her and her husband did not have a steady income so I am happy to know that I can help support them. I also see this as an opportunity to practice my Bahasa Indonesia and hopefully be a witness to a Muslim family. I am excited about this new arrangement and I am praying that it all works out well.

The other exciting this week was the Bulan Bahasa celebration that the senior school presented on Friday. Bulan Bahasa literally means “language month” but it is basically a month dedicated to appreciating the cultural diversity in Indonesia. The Bahasa Indonesia language teachers prepared for this Bulan Bahasa for a long time. In fact, a few weeks ago I got an email that said they were looking for teachers to participate in the fashion show. I thought that it sounded like fun, so I signed up. I really didn’t know what to expect, so I was shocked to see how detailed my costume was and how great the ceremony was too. I think all of the major cultural areas in Indonesia were represented in the fashion show, with both male and female outfits. Another teacher and I represented the Sunda culture.

Before the show everyone got ready with the clothing, make-up, hair design, and accessories! It was crazy cool. My outfit even came with shoes to match, although they were a bit small. The head piece I wore was cool, but the metal dug into my forehead and left me with an indent after wearing it for 3 hours! I had to keep saying to my self “Beauty is Pain!” I think my favourite part of being in the fashion show was seeing the looks on my student’s faces. Many of them were in complete shock! I am interested to hear what they will say to me in class tomorrow. 

The show was hosted by some older students and included students from grades 7-12. There were several dances that the students excellently performed from areas in Indonesia, such as Malawi and Papua. There was special music, poetry, the fashion show, and a student-written drama to top it all off. Many of the teachers said that it was the best Bulan Bahasa ever! It truly was an amazing event to experience. I can’t wait until next year. Maybe I can be in the fashion show again!

The last event of this weekend was the wedding I went to yesterday. One of my Indonesian co-workers was married in the area. In Indonesia it is more common to be invited to the reception than the wedding ceremony. Luckily, I was invited to both. The ceremony was at a Church close by (which was surprising because there are not a lot of church buildings here) and was all in Indonesian. The bride looked like a princess! Weddings are a big deal here, so she was completely decked out! I didn’t realize how fancy it was until I got to the reception. The hall was beautifully decorated with tons of flowers, an ice sculpture, and a 5 tier cake (a fake one though  ). In addition to all of that, there were 7 camera/video guys running around and food everywhere. It was fun to socialize with my middle school coworkers and take in the atmosphere. I tried to take some good pictures, but I wasn’t too successful. There will probably be tons on Facebook though because people were going crazy with picture taking!

Even though it is fun to run around and take part in different events, I also appreciate days like today where I got to relax and have some down time. I even did some exercise after about a month of feeling like a slug because of my injury. The physiotherapist said I can be more mobile, but I need to be careful. Since my bike has been at school for the past month, I took it back home with me today after a swim at school. I couldn’t help but see some disappointment on the ojek drivers’ faces when they saw me bike by. Biking means no ojeking. I guess they were getting used to having me as a regular customer. O well, I am sure I will still occasionally catch an ojek to school. I just hope they don’t jack up their prices or something. 