October Days

Reports have come, and they have gone. Retreat has come, and it has gone. And soon October will be gone too, which is why I am adding a blog post! Life in Indonesia is great, as always. The other day I got really excited because I could see a volcano/mountian from my apartment for the first time. The smog usually blocks out any interesting scenery. Hopefully the coming rainy season will clear the skies and provid more opportunities for me to remember that I am not just in some city somewhere. I honestly sometimes forget that I am in Indonesia. Going back and forth to school and to church on the weekends has become such a normal thing, and all the culture is normal too. A few weekends ago, when I was on a spiritual retreat in the mountains with my students, I was reminded of the different aspects of Indonesia and that there are places here that are not always hot and stinky. It was a refreshing break.

Recently, I have been studying poetry with my students. I gave them an assingment to write a poem about themselves: things they are good at or things that they enjoy. They asked me to write a poem to give them inspiration and a better idea of what to do. So I did. It took me an hour, but this past week, when I should have been sleeping, I wrote the poem below. I actually enjoyed writing for myself again and I must say, I could even write another one sometime soon. And here I thought that only music and painting could give me an artistic outlet.


Poem about Me

Twenty sit before me, yearning to discover;
Within each are unique talents—perhaps concealed gifts—
Growing, waiting, and anticipating their chance
To be revealed to the world and revolutionize it.

Here I stand, faced with the same challenge.
Some days are tedious and taxing,
Others are humorous and joyful.
But who I am on this stage is only half the story.

On another stage, I escape reality.
I am old, poor, menacing, or goofy.
Memorizing, practicing, speaking,
And creating the existence of someone else.

Not only this, but the lyrics and tunes of songs,
Both unknown and universal, dance across my soul
and out of my mouth—the instrument of choice—for
the choir, wedding, or bubbles on my shower wall.

For just a moment, I am the greatest musician.
Static and heat course through my fingers;
Though, justice is not served in my attempts
At the scales, notes, and melodies of Mozart or Bach.

With inspiration comes craving to create.
My competitor: Da Vinci, my subject: nature.
The water, flowers, and leaves held captive in oil
Are my greatest joy and simultaneously my greatest discontent

Achievement is instantaneous with the feeling of victory:
a 3-point swish, an un-diggable spike, a skilful goal.
When sweat, cheers, and teammates take their leave,
All that is left are memories and fatigued muscles.


But, the wild scent of raw earth and the sensation of open air
On a mountain summit or ocean shoreline, will never disappoint.
It stirs a feeling of awe deep within,
For none of this was unintended.

Life is more than a game, drama or a song,
And I am more than an artist, explorer, and teacher.
I am the child of an incredible designer,
Whose gifts and talents, none can contend with.

Flawlessness will never be achieved,
But perfection is not what he desires;
Rather, worship and thankfulness.
For he has made me:

Michaela

Tech-NO-logy

How can technology be such a wonderful thing, and at the same time such an annoying thing? I have tried multiple times to upload photos and videos onto my blog lately, and it never works. So, I get frustrated and just quit because I get angry with technology and how it sometimes fails me. And so, here is another post with no pictures. I sometimes feel like pictures do such a better job of telling a story and I don't feel like writing. After all, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

Today all I have is words.

It is funny that I should hesitate, considering I teach English (though not exactly my choice). In fact, I need to start writing comments for the up-coming report cards. Two hundred words for 20 students. Ugh. I just need to think like Bob. "Baby steps to the door...baby steps to the elevator..." (What About Bob?)
Baby steps to the comments. I am hoping to get 2 students finished tonight! Here goes it!

Back in the swing of things

It is always exciting to come back after a break and see familiar faces and settle into normal life. Even though I moved back to a new apartment (photos to come, I promise!) and a new position, I had feelings of relief when I returned to Lippo Village and SPH. I love my new apartment and the view I have of the school and the sunset. I also love the feeling of acomplishment when I return home from a good day at school.

Although I have had many good feelings since returning, I have also had some frustrations and confusing days trying to get re-settled in my new position. Today was one of those days. I was stressed out because I had given my students a task that was really difficult for them and some of them could not do it. This made me feel so bad and I was frustrated trying to figure out how I would fix the problem and get everyone back on track. Thankfully, my partner teacher was encouraging and helpful and things worked out just fine. I was also reminded later, that when we are weak and vulnerable, HE is strong. I could definitely tell that God provided me with peace when I needed it. Thank goodness and yay, for a fresh start tomorrow!

Backpacking Adventures

Right after the last day of school I took a 2 week trip to Northern Thailand and Laos with my friend Helena. We started out in Chang Mai, Thailand and we spent abour 4 days there. We got to experience some of the tribal villages and the HUGE Sunday night market. We also did a 3-day, 2-night, trek into the mountains where we saw beautiful scenery including villages, rice paddies, and water falls. We slept in straw huts both nights and ate the food that our guide prepared for us. On our last day of the trek we got to ride an Elephant and then we took a bamboo raft down the river. We were expecting the trek to be more intense, but it was actually pretty relaxing. Even though were hoping for something more hard-core, we were thankful that it was not because we were so exhausted from the end of the school year.

After our stay in Chang Mai we headed north to the Laotian boarder. On the way we stopped by the White Temple, which was beautiful on the outside, but the interior had some odd paintings. We stayed in a guest house at the boarder and the next morning we crossed the Me Kong River into Laos. The next two days we took a slow-river boat down the Me Kong River to the city of Luang Prabang. The boat trip was beautiful; the river curved through the green mountains and was boarded by sand bars and eclectic rocks. As we drifted down we would see straw-hut villages nestled on the hillsides, and children, water-buffalo, and fishermen enjoying the river water. At one time we even saw an elephant along the shore, taking a break from a day’s work of hauling trees. Life on the boat was just as entertaining, with tons of people packed on the boat along with a motor bike, a live monitor lizard, and chickens in baskets.

Here is a poem that Helena and I wrote while floating down the river on our first day. We took some creative liberty with the rhyming. 

Me Kong Limerick

There once was a river called Me Kong
Upon which we thought we would find Hong Kong (not really, but it rhymes…)
It was murky and brown
Which we floated on down
To our surprise we arrived in Luang Prabang

As you can see, it was sometimes hard to keep ourselves entertained on the long boat ride.

Luang Prabang is a beautiful town with many buildings that reflect a French colonial style because of Historical French influences. Thanks to the French, we also enjoyed baguettes, croissants, and crepes during our stay! We spent our first day exploring the town and neighbouring village by bike, and just taking it easy in the town. Some other activities in Luang Prabang included visiting tons of temples, the museum, and a Hmong village. We also visited some breath-taking waterfalls and watched the sun set from a view point in the middle of the city.

The next day we took the road-of-a-thousand-turns to the city of Phonsavan, where the amazing Plain of Jars is located. The Plain of Jars contains huge jars that were carved out of stone. Historians believe that the jars were carved out of the rock cliffs in one area of the region, and then transported to different sites via elephants. There are approximately 65 different sites where these Jars are located. On our tour, we visited 3 different sites. One of these sites alone had 150 stone jars! Imagine how many there are together! And these jars are not small; I could fit inside most of them! They are believed to be at least 1000 years old and there are various stories about what their purpose was. Archaeologists believe that they were used for burial of cremated bodies. Other suggestions in addition to burial have been food, money, or water storage. This was a fascinating aspect of Laotian history that we thoroughly enjoyed.

During our time in Phonsavan, we also learned about what was known as the Secret War between the USA and Laos. The first sign of war that we noticed was the shrapnel that was used to decorate every place we went. We saw big bomb casings lined up all over town in restaurants, shops, and homes. Despite the easy-going feelings the décor suggested, many Laotian people today are still suffering from the effects of this war. Loas is the most bombed country, per capita, in the world today because of the Secret War. Millions of cluster bombs were dropped in Laos, most of which were just drop-off bombs that could not be used on the Vietnamese. Approximately 30% of these bombs did not explode before they hit the ground, and therefore there are thousands of bombs, and bombies (small bombs inside the big ones) are hidden in Laotian soil. Today, many people are killed or maimed by these bombs. There are detonation crews who go into areas to rid them of bombs. One village has been visited 18 times already. I was so surprised to realize that many Laotian people go about life everyday into areas that could be deadly for them. As sad and heartbreaking as this was for us to discover, it was encouraging to see that there are different organizations that have been active in helping Laotians overcome the effects of these bombs. There is a village were women make spoons and bracelets from old scrap metal, and there are programs where people who have lost limbs can be educated in a new area to support their family. Although this aspect of Loas’ history was shocking and hard to learn, it has given me a new perspective.

After our time in Phonsavan, we took a VIP night bus to Vang Vieng. This epic journey of 6-7 hours included things such as people sitting in the aisles, the bus door flying open and things falling out, a near collision with a van, and a 30-minute break-down. We were happy when we finally arrived at our destination early the next morning and saw how beautiful it is there: towering limestone cliffs bordered the river along one side of the town. During our time in Vang Vieng we were able to explore some fantastic and HUGE caves. The first cave had huge ceilings with beautiful formations, the second was very long (they are unsure how long it is!), and the last cave was a water cave that we pulled ourselves into with tubes and floated out of. We were also able to do some trekking to the other side of the mountains where there were stunning views and beautiful waterfalls. On our way to and from the trek we did some kayaking and swinging into the river. It was a great time in a town that we never planned on visiting!

Finally, we headed down to the capital, Vientiane where I only stayed for one day. There was only enough time for us to visit the national museum and get a Laos massage before I had to fly out to Jakarta. We had a great time in Thailand and Laos and I would totally recommend this trip to anyone who is interested. I especially loved Laos because I did not know what to expect and knew little about it.

I am now back home, enjoying my family, and I only have 2 weeks of summer vacation left! Crazy how time flies when you are having fun!

Survive my first year of teaching? CHECK!

I have been meaning to write a culminating, year-end entry for weeks now, but haven’t had time to just sit down and do it. I can hardly believe that I am already half-way through my holidays this summer! Even though my mind is at peace right now, I do remember the craziness of the end of the school year. I had to finish grading and report cards, and then clean-up and pack-up my classroom. At home I was also packing everything up because I will be moving to a new apartment next year. This was also crazy because I was packing suitcases for North America, my backpack for Thailand and Laos, and then everything else went into boxes. Like many teachers at this time of year, I was also battling a cold and trying to get at least 5 hours of sleep every night. On top of that, just when I thought the craziness was over, I discovered that Helena and I had made a mistake in purchasing our tickets to Thailand. We purchased them for 6:30 am instead of 6:30pm and did not notice until the afternoon when we were planning on flying out. I was literally walking around in circles at my almost-packed apartment trying to figure out what I should do. We eventually just bought new tickets to Thailand and left the next day instead. It was an expensive mistake that I have definitely learned from! It was not until I arrived in Chang Mai Thailand that I felt I could finally take a real breath and be at peace.

After all of the craziness was behind me, I could finally take some time to reflect on the past year. Looking back at my first year of teaching, I can say that it was a great year. There were moments of frustration, tears, and anxiety, but there were even more moments of laughter and joy. It was hard to say goodbye to my students, after seeing them grow all year and having a great connection with them. Since I will not be teaching in the middle school next year, I will not be able to see them in the halls and at activities. I am realizing now that this is what it is going to be like every year. Welcoming a new class, getting to know all the different personalities and learning styles, and then after a year together, letting them go. As hard as it is to say goodbye, it is also exciting to see them grow throughout the year. I am looking forward to meeting my 6th grade students, but I am also nervous about the adjustments and changes that I will have to make being in the Elementary program called PYP. With a new position and a new apartment, this coming year will likely be a fun one!

The END is in sight!

With less then 4 weeks left in the school year, I can finally say that the end is in sight. This realization brings both feelings of joy and feelings of sadness. I am sad to say goodbye to the students I have been teaching all year. We have all grown to know each other and understand each other, and pretty soon I will not be seeing them everyday. It is also sad to see the end of the year approach because I will not be teaching in Middle School next year. Instead, I will be moved down to the Junior School teaching grade six. This will mean a different program, different schedule, different co-workers, younger students...and the list goes on. This was not my choice, but a choice the Administration was forced to make because of an increase of students in grade 6 next year, and a decrease in grade 7. I was disappointed with the decision because I totally love my placement right now, but there are some positives to moving down to grade six. I will also also be packing up my apartment in a few weeks because I will be moved to a new apartment after the summer break. Along with all of these changes is the regular stress of the end of the year, which why I am looking forward to the end of the year.

Considering my lack of blog-posts lately, it is probably fitting to look backwards to the past month in addition to looking forward.

This past month I was blessed to have my parents come and visit me. They spent a little under 4 weeks here in Asia. They arrived just before my spring break, which was an awesome opportunity for us to travel together. We headed off to Thailand for the 10-day break.

Our first destination was Koh Samui. It is located in the Gulf of Thailand, just east of Phuket, but on the other side of the peninsula. Samui island is surrounded by several other beautiful island. We spent one day on a boat tour of the Anthrong National park where we kayaked, hiked to a view point, checked some caves, and enjoyed the beautiful beaches. I also got to spend a day diving in the gorgeous waters around some islands nearby to Koh Samui, while mom and dad toured Koh Samui. The rest of our time we did some shopping, exploring, zip-lining and relaxing in the sun.

Destination number two was Bangkok. We were able to spend 4-5 days with my Auntie Lisa, Uncle Jeff, and their four kids. It was great to visit their missionary base, swim in the pool at their complex, visit the girls' school, and shop at the market and the mall. We were also able to take the public transit into the city one day and visit the Grand Palace, which is a beautifully ornate Buddhist temple. It was a short visit, but it was so good to re-connect with my extended family here in Asia.













Mom and Dad spent the next week here in Lippo Village where they relaxed, but also explored the city of Jakarta. I sent them off on the day trips that I went on when my grandpa and grandma visited. They had a fun time getting their pictures taken all the time and seeing interesting sights. They even got into the practice of taking ojeks to the mall and school. I am pretty sure they know the Super Mall better than I do now! It was so great to have them here with me and sharing in my life.

They next week they went to Bali on their own, and then i met them there last weekend. Saturday we took a sailboat to an island close to Bali and did some fun water activities there. It was a great day out on the sea in the sunshine. Our second day we relaxed at the pool and then went to Ubud to visit the monkey forest and do some shopping. While we were at the monkey forest, a monkey attacked me by jumping onto my purse. It was screeching and grabbing at me, so I swung my purse away from my body. Finally, I took the purse off and swung it all over to get the monkey off. It kind of freaked me out! We ended that evening eating some yummy Indonesian food at a restaurant that overlooked some beautiful rice paddies. It was a great weekend away in Bali.

Mom and Dad flew back to Canada on Tuesday morning, and I have been settling back into normal routines this week. I am really grateful for this morning because I did not have anywhere to go, but to sleep in, read and get some work done.

This year I have discovered how important it is to just slow down sometimes, even if I don't really have time for it. I sometimes let my work run my life because it is so demanding, but I am starting to discover how to balance things a little more, because there will ALWAYS be work for me to do. :)

The Rakata Experience

This past week I went on the grade 7 field trip with about 95 7th graders and 8 teachers. It was refreshing to be out in the mountains and away from the city. Although we were camping there, the tents were very spacious and comfy, and the bathrooms were really nice. So, really, it was more like luxury camping. I actually laughed when I saw one of the signs said it was a 5 star camp. I will say, that I was glad the facilities were so nice because it meant we didn't have to deal with as many issues with our city kids.

The program we went through was called Rakata and they had our 3 days packed full with fun activities such as a high ropes course, rappelling down a waterfall, sound exploration (making music out of random objects), a village visit (palm sugar making, weaving, and fishing), and raft building. We teachers got to join in all the fun with the kids, which was really awesome. I did high ropes for the first time and I also enjoyed the rappelling. We ate typical Indonesian food and it was quite yummy, but I was thankful to return and take a break from eating rice at every meal.

Included are some shots from the trip. I didn't take as many as I wanted because I had a low battery the whole time.