A Day at the Zoo!

Grandpa and Grandma have been in Indonesia for three days now and they are having a great time here. Wednesday they came to school to check things out and Thursday we spent the day in Karawaci doing things like swimming, biking, and enjoying a Chinese New Year lunch. Today, however we broadened our horizons and headed to the mountains in South Jakarta, to Taman Safari. Taman Safari is kind of like a zoo, but it also has a water park, a small theme park,a camp ground, and some different shows. Although we couldn't do it all, we did enjoy the "Zoo" aspect of the park quite a bit.

When we first arrived at the park we did a caravan drive which is basically like driving through all of the animal's pens. At the beginning we had all kinds of deer, zebra's and antelopes coming up to our windows and looking for carrots, or wortel as they say here. Luckily we had bought come wortel on our drive up. This drive took us through the homes of elephants, giraffes, tigers, lions, bears, hippos, rhinos, and the list goes on. When we went through the lion and tiger pens we could see them walking right by the car, so we made sure that our windows weren't too low. There were signs depicting people's arms being bitten by the tigers, which were quite funny to see.

After our caravan drive we parked the car and walked through different parts of the park. We first stopped by the baby zoo where we got to take pictures with a leopard and a baby orangutan. It only cost a dollar per time, so I figured it was worth it. After this we had lunch and then we went to see the komodo dragon, which was quite large, but lazy and not in the mood for a photo shoot. The Cowboy Show started soon after that, so we headed out to that and listened to an Indonesian version of a Wild West show. It was all in Indonesian, but it was fun to watch anyway. They had western-type stunts and all kinds of typical farm animals to make the experience more real. We even got sprayed by some water during part of the show because we were sitting close to the front. We did not expect it at all. After the show Grandma and I had a quick ride on an elephant and then we visited the reptiles and monkeys before our 3 hour drive back to Karawaci.

Overall, we all considered the day to be quite a success. We have included some of our favorite shots from the day. I love the one with Grandpa's Taman Safari shirt. He was cold during the day, so he bought a shirt to put under the shirt he was wearing...but we think it was an XL for an asian woman, and not a North American man. Haha. Don't worry, he is not trying to pull off a new look, he will pass the shirt on to one of the grand kids. :)

Groovy times in Indo

This past Friday I had a blast from the past at my friend Helena's 70's party. Parties are fun in themselves, but when you add costumes they become fantastic. In preparation for the 70's party, my friend Amy and I went to a crazy mall in North Jakarta to find a funky dress. We had our eyes on them the last time we went to the mall, but decided to wait. This time around we had a legit reason to wear them, and so we made an investment towards our costume collection.

It was great to see all the different costumes that people had. One of the couples even bought their own crazy fabric and had matching costumes made because tailoring is cheap here. The evening was filled with food, 70's tunes, trivia, and good conversation. I am already looking forward to the next costume party. Presently the themes might be The Flinestones or Grandma and Grandpa style. I am happy either way. :)

The Same Old Thing

I always think it is interesting to think of when something becomes "The Same Old Thing." When exactly does the change happen? Well, that being said. Life in Indo is really starting to just feel normal; hence the lack of blog updates.

Things at school have been going really well these past few weeks. It feels good to be back in the classroom and back into my routines. I have not been motivated to blog much lately because it just feels like normal life. In fact, yesterday I was in North Jakarta which is more run-down and very different from where I live. I did notice the differences, but they didn't really phase me. It is crazy how something so foreign can soon become so normal. Crazy traffic, food vendors, motorcycle taxis, and "performance" monkeys are just a part of regular life. There are, and will always be new things for me to notice and want pictures of, but after a while it is hard to remember how this place was initially so foreign. What is interesting is how when new people come, you get to experience everything again from their perspective.

Thankfully I have visits from both my Grandparents and parents to look forward to this year. I am looking forward to introducing Indonesia to people for the first time. Even as I think about it, I know that they will see the similarities between Indo and place like Thailand and Nicaragua. Developing countries have a lot of similarities, but they also have differences. I hope I can do a good job of showing what makes Indonesia, Indonesia.

I was home for Christmas!

Christmas vacation came and went, and I am back in Indonesia. Crazy how fast the time goes! It was so wonderful to be home again and spend time with my family and friends. I got to enjoy the pampering of home which includes delicious meals and wonderful company.

The first week was pretty slow and relaxing. Because of jet leg, I slept a lot, but I was also fighting off a nasty cold that I picked up somewhere in transport. Throughout the rest of the break I read books, played games, visited people and enjoyed the winter wonderland in North-western B.C. Some of the winter activities I enjoyed were sledding, skating, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. It was actually very refreshing to be in the cold weather again. I loved being all bundled up and just laying in the snow.




It was also wonderful to see my little niece Lily. She is so cute, and I had so much fun playing with her. I am excited for this summer because Lily will be older, and I will have another niece/nephew who is due to arrive in February.

I am so thankful that I was able to spend some quality time with my loved ones. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and I was blessed to be home for Christmas this year. It is always such a special time and a time to feel regenerated for the New Year. On that note, Happy New Year to you and God bless you richly.

Videos from Last weekend!

Work Hard…Play Hard

Last weekend was very busy, but also very fun! I think I am still trying to catch up on sleep from the late nights, but it was all worth it!

The busyness started with a Christmas Box delivery to an Orphanage in East Jakarta. Some of my friends and I met up with some members from a Church in Jakarta that supports two orphanages. Weeks before this we had all participated in putting together Christmas Boxes for girls and boys of all ages. I still remember watching the movies for Christmas in a Box when I was in school, so when I found out that I could volunteer for the deliveries, I jumped at the opportunity. When we got to the orphanage, the children were all patiently waiting for us. There were so many beautiful faces with looks of curiosity and excitement. There was a short ceremony where the people in charge said a few words and then the children participated in singing and testimonies. It was beautiful to see these orphaned children passionately praising God. After the ceremony, the children lined up to collect their boxes. Most of the boxes were passes out by children of the parents from the Church that supports the orphanage. Although I couldn't pass out any boxes myself, it was neat to see children giving to children. On the count of three, all of the children quickly opened their boxes and eagerly inspected their new belongings. We also handed out snacks and drinks to top off the Christmas celebration at the orphanage. After this, we stopped off at a mall for some food and then continued onto our next destination…the Lifehouse concert!!

The concert was supposed to start at 6, but there were several bands that were going to open for them. We listened to them for a while, but them figured that we would rather be chillin’ at a restaurant close by and then return to the shows. After that we headed back to the concert area. Unfortunately, Lifehouse didn’t come on until 11:30pm!! We were very excited to finally see the main event. Just before Lifehouse came on, one of our friends blazed a trial through the crowd and got us a spot front and center! When the band finally came on, we had an excellent view. The concert was sooo awesome! The sound was really good and they played very well. It was especially fun to sing and dance along to the songs that I knew. Luckily, I had prepped myself for the concert by listening to Lifehouse all week long so that I would be able to pick out the songs I knew. At one point, my friends and I were goofing around and dancing to a song while the rest of the crowd was quiet and listening (only in Indo…), and we are pretty sure the band members noticed our enthusiasm. After the concert when everyone left, we continued the fun with some impromptu and crazy dancing. I was so wired after the concert that I just had to dance off my energy. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who did this. (Check out facebook for the video of that)I didn’t get to bed until 2 am, but it was a night of memories and fun.

The last exciting part of my weekend was on Sunday afternoon. After church I headed into Jakarta to the infamous Morning Market in Mangua Dua (2 mangoes). This is a crazy mall that is more like a collection of small booths and shops in every direction. It had at least 5 floors and was like a vortex. I have heard of people who have gotten lost in the store, and it is no surprise with all of the stairs, halls and hidden areas. Needless to say, it was an adventure and a great place to get a few deals, although, we found it harder to get good prices than we anticipated going into it. I came up with a few goodies, two of which will be appearing in a future picture. Stay tuned for fun pictures and craziness during the last week of school in 2010!

When History Comes To Life

I have been teaching a unit on the Middle Ages in my Humanities class for the past month or so, and I have enjoyed re-learning all of the interesting things that took place from AD 400- 1500. I have especially enjoyed the many opportunities for the students to get involved in their learning. The unit that I am teaching includes several simulations that get the students moving and interacting in the classroom. Some of the ones we have done are the Fall of Rome and the Feudal System, and today we did Scribe training. All of these simulations were discovered and implemented by Becky, the other Humanities teacher, and the teachers who were in my position before me, so I can’t any of the credit for being creative. I especially loved today’s simulation on scribe training because I got to dress up as a Nun and keep my little nuns and monks in order! The task was simple: wear a robe, be silent, and copy out scripture flawlessly. But, of course, no one can do that perfectly, so every time they made a mistake, they had to start over!! This was definitely a challenge for the messy writers. Not only that, the students had to quietly say every word 2X before they wrote it. I could sense by the end of the class, they were starting to acknowledge that life in the monastery was no cake walk! I trust that they finished the simulation with appreciation for all of those Monks (scribes) who painstakingly preserved education, including the Holy Bible, throughout the Middle Ages.

Above, I have one picture from the Feudal system simulation, and the rest are from the Scribe simulation.