Friday, December 31, 2010

Selamat Tahun Baru!


As I write this post, I am sittiing in my room with the air conditioner on and trying to imagine feeling cold like all of you in the U.S. must be feeling right now. I've heard there has been a lot of snow recently! It's hard for me to imagine. Part of me misses snow, but part of me is happy not to be freezing every time I walk outside. The above picture is of me and Ayu when we stopped at the beach on the way home from our Christmas trip to Bandung.
The title of this post is "Happy New Year!" I can't believe that 2010 is already at its end! Tonight I am planning on just celebrating here with my housemates. We bought ingredients to make tacos and s'mores!
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas! I spent mine taking a trip to bandung (another city on Java) with some of the Indonesian teachers from West. It was a lot of fun, although we spent 18+ hours in the car each way! Traffic here is crazy! Along the way, I learned that almost every city in Indonesia is famous for a certain type of food. One city is even famous for growing red onions! In Bandung we tried Batagor (bakso tahu goreng). It is made of meat and tofu fried together. Actually, it was pretty good, at least using the spicy sauce that came along with it.
(Yes, I am learning to eat more spicy foods here!)
Some of the other trip highlights were visiting a volcano, eating a Christmas dinner made by an American chef (including stuffing and mashed potatos!), shopping at the outlets, and singing happy birthday to my mom on skype with my friends in Bahasa Indonesia. When we visited the volcano/forrest, we had to pay an entry fee. The lady selling the tickets looked at me and said in Bahasa "Dari mana ini?" - basically, where is this from? So since I am from America I had to pay 5 dollars instead of 1.70 like everyone else. Oh well!
Oh, one more thing. Because I spent so much time with other Indonesians, I was able to learn more about their language. I asked them about the words to one of my favorite songs. I was trying to literally translate it and it meant "You throw water into my eyes." I was so confused until they told me that that phrase is an expression that means, "You made me cry." haha Who would have guessed?!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Immanuel - God with us

I just finished watching "The 12 Words of Christmas" talk by Louie Giglio (an early Christmas present from my sister) and thinking about God's great gift in coming to us. God is reminding me of the wonder of Jesus coming to earth. This Christmas, as I am without my family and most of the traditions that I usually associate with the holiday, I know that God is showing Himself to be Immanuel - God with us; God with me!
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14
Jesus came to this empty world ready to fill us with His grace and truth. And that truth is for everyone in every situation. (paraphrased from Louie Giglio)
I pray that God will make this good news real to every one of you this Christmas!
"God is in us, God is for us, God is with us - Immanuel." ("God is with us" sung by Casting Crowns.)

Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas celebrations



Hello again! I hope that you all are enjoying your time with family and Christmas celebrations. I have been enjoying this Christmas season more than I expected. When I arrived, everyone said how Christmas is so different here in Indonesia because so many people don't celebrate it. But I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of Christmas decorations in the mall and Christmas music playing.
We had our Christmas celebrations last week at school. On Monday, we had a party for the kids where the teachers put on a little skit of the Christmas story. For some reason I was cast as Joseph and had to wear a make-up beard. No, I don't have pictures of that! I don't want to know how strange I looked! :)
On Wednesday the different classes each went to a school or an orphanage to pass out gifts. I went with the oldest class to an orphanage. The kids there were so great! They sang a song for us and were so joyful. The picture above is of me holding one of the babies there.
On Saturday the English club had its end of the semester party - a games day. I helped the two "modern" games. Frisbee golf, duck-duck-goose for the young kids, and island tag for the older ones. It was a lot of fun, but tiring. The other picture above is of me, Sara, and one of the university students who always helps.
on Sunday I taught S.S. for the third week in a row. The pastor's wife brought Christmas cookies to decorate, which was fun. I didn't think I would be able to decorate any this year, but God allowed me to. :)
Well, tomorrow is our teacher's Christmas party. On Thursday I will leave for a 5-day trip to Bandung (another city in Java). It's pretty far away, and we are driving, so it should be interesting.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Getting Ready for Christmas




I can't believe it's already December! Can you? Last Sunday marked my SIXTH month here! Wow! God has blessed me so much since my arrival. You may remember if you have been reading my beginning posts, how hard it was when I first arrived. But now God has really fulfilled His promise that He will give me good things here.
Let me share what God has been doing recently...
Last week a new teacher arrived to the school and our apartment from America! It has been so nice to have a native English speaker to talk to (not that I haven't been enjoying the other friends I have met here). :)
On Sunday, Sara (the new teacher) helped me in Sunday School and then we went to the second service together. It was the first time I had taught in a while and it was so much fun to see the kids again. I think Sara had fun too. :) The first picture above is of Sara and some of the Sunday School kids.
On Tuesday I had a chance to help decorate our church for Christmas. I was so glad to have the opportunity to decorate a Christmas tree after all. The second picture above is of me and one of the girls who is a reindeer in the Christmas play.
Last night we got to watch the church's Christmas play. It was nice to have another Christmas activity.
Well, I will go for now and get ready for English club! Have a great weekend!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Thanksgiving week...

Well, it's been a while again since I updated all of you...
Last week was hard emotionally because of Thanksgiving and all. Actually, the small group that I started going to had a thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday night but I didn't go because of having to work the next day.
This weekend has been good though. On Friday night I hung out with my friend Dyah at the mall. I was so excited to see Christmas decorations up! Even if not that many people celebrate christmas, I can still enjoy it here. I also got to buy a new motorcycle helmet! Now before you ask, no, I cannot drive a motorcycle...yet... But I often go along with others who drive and I always have to borrow their helmet. (The police pull over anyone not wearing a helmet.) Now I have my own!
On Saturday I went to the traditional market for fresh food and then to Carrefour for cooking ingredients. Santa went with me to a bigger Carrefour that has more items. I actually found taco seasoning and cranberry sauce! Now I can at least make up for missing it at thanksgiving.
After the English club, I was talking with some of the students (with Desy translating). One of the girls kept calling me "orang ingris" (English person) instead of my name! haha The other one asked me to invite her to America. I told her, "How can I when I am here? I'm not in America right now!" haha I didn't want her to wish to be in my country but to enjoy living here.
Today I had breakfast with Santa and her family. She showed me how to make biscotti (actually more like biscuits) so I can make it on my own now.
Well, I will go for now! Hope you had a great thanksgiving! Save me some turkey when I come home in June! :)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Fun Friday stories

I just wanted to share these two things with you before I forget.
O.k. The first thing actually happened yesterday. I asked my 5 year old students to write a sentence about an action word that I gave to them. One of the girls had the word sing so she wrote: "I like to sing Michael Jackson songs"! It was so funny to me that she even knows Michael Jackson. This is the same student who wrote about Justin Bieber. :)
The other story amused me because it reminded me that I live in Asia now. I brought an umbrella for the letter "u" and was asking my students when we use an umbrella. I said first, "Do we use it inside?" No... "Do we use it when it's sunny?" I was expecting no again. Then everyone said, "yes...". Then I remembered how they love to use the umbrella when it's sunny to avoid getting any color in their skin. Anyways, I thought it was funny. :)
have a great Friday!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Days of grace

Happy November everyone! I can't believe it's already November! Tomorrow will be my fifth month anniversary here. This is the longest I've ever had without seeing my family. It's been both really long and short at the same time.
The weather is still pretty much the same here. Still hot! haha Yesterday I put on shorts to wear around the house when I got back from school and then I realized that it is probably the first time I have ever worn shorts in November!
I title this post "days of grace" because of a sermon I heard last night by Grahm Cooke (he is a British pastor). I borrowed the cd from my friend Angie here. Anyways, one of the things he shared was that we should not consider any day good or bad. Each day is a day of grace. Sometimes God's grace allows us to enjoy what's happening. Other days God's grace allows us to endure. That is a good reminder for me to consider each day a gift from God in which He gives me His grace!
Yesterday I got to play badmitten after school with some of the other teachers. It was so fun, although very humid in the unairconditioned gym! I feel like it was a gift from God. Just recently I was watching some kids play badmitten on the street outside my house and I thought, "I wish I could play, but I have no supplies and no one to play with." But then the other teachers invited me to play badmitten with them every Wednesday!
Well, that's all for now! Enjoy your days of grace! :)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Outbond Trip

More of my students!
Me and Miss Maria waiting to go on the zip line! :)
Trying out the zip line they called the "Flying fox". The kids loved this one, even some of the 2 year olds!
Me with one of my students - I love his hat! :)
Hello again everyone! Hope you enjoy these pictures! Yesterday we had a trip with the playgroup and kindergarten called "Outbond". It means a trip to a place where the kids can play outdoor games. I had such a fun time (although it was very tiring). I loved watching the kids play the games and enjoy the zip line. Afterwards, all the teachers went to McDonald's. haha. But Hannah and I were the only ones who didn't order rice! :)
Last night Hannah and Maria came over to hang out and spend the night. We had a fun time together, cooking and watching "The Gods Must Be Crazy". :) This morning Maria showed us how to make fried tempe (made out of soy beans). It's pretty good, although very salty!
Well, that's all for now! By the way, thank you to all of you who have sent me letters here. I have not been able to send letters back yet, because the mail system is unreliable here. But please know that I appreciate all of your prayers and support. God bless you!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Praise God for a new sink!

This may seem like a funny title, but it's true. Our apartment is one that used to be nice, but is falling apart due to age and poor construction. One of the issues we had was the wood around our kitchen sink was rotting and sinking. At one point, the whole sink fell down, but we told the hotel staff and they temporarily fixed it.
Today we came home from school and they put a whole new section and cabinet around the sink. It may sound silly to you, but it made me so happy because the whole kitchen looks better now. :)
Anyways... on Thursday and Friday we had our open house at school. Thursday was a pet show and activities indoors for the students. (I was at the English/Phonics) table. Friday we had an assembly and then a talent show.
On Saturday at church we had a Sunday school meeting. We were able to decide on some rules for our class and then we had a good time of prayer together.
On Sunday I taught Sunday school by myself for the first time. The kids are really good and for the most part interested in the lesson, so that's good. I enjoy being involved in that way. After church I walked around the mall for a while and bought a Christmas cd, which I have already listened to! (I know, it's only October, but since the weather never gets colder, I figure my Christmas spirit needs some extra help.)
Well, that's about all for know! Enjoy the pictures below! :)


Me and one of my students at the open house
After the open house, some of the teachers "painted" our arms for us. :)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

October...

This looks like a cake, but actually it is foam covered with frosting. The parents of the students rent one for many of the birthdays just for picture taking! So Hannah and I decided to take our picture with it too. :)
Above picture: some of my five year old students. They are so cute! I love how the girl in front is giving the peace sign already. :)

Oops! It's been a while since I wrote! Sorry about that... I kept telling myself, I'll do it on the weekend, and then the weekends came and were busy so I didn't update it then either. Anyways, today I am at home sick, so I have time now to update. (I rested all day, so i am feeling a little better now.)

Let's see... What has been happening? School has been busy. After the holiday, we had to finish assessing for progress reports. It was kind of tough with 100 students, but praise the Lord it's over! I feel bad for the other teachers who have even more students.

On the weekends, I've been pretty busy... On Saturday mornings I have Bible study. The leader of the study lives near me, so she picks me up and takes me back every week, which is so nice! Otherwise, I probably wouldn't go every week (It's expensive to take a taxi by yourself).

On Saturday afternoons, I've been going to an English center in another town to help teach English to kids. It's a lot of fun, and it helps me practice bahasa indonesia too (the kids in my group don't know very much English to communicate yet).
My friend Angie has been encouraging me to be intentional about language learning. She suggested that I carry around a notebook and write down new words whenever I hear/see them. It's really helped a lot! In the afternoons while I check my students' work, I have been able to practice and ask questions of the other Indonesian teachers. They love to help!
This past weekend my friend Dyah (one of the teachers) came over to spend the night. She wants to practice English, and I want to practice Indonesian, so we can both help each other.
Well, that's all for now. Hopefully it won't be such a long time until the next update! :)

Monday, September 20, 2010

Bali!

After 9 days of vacation in Bali, I arrived back safely to Surabaya. I have mixed feelings about being back. Of course, vacationing in Bali was great and relaxing, so it is sad to go back to work tomorrow. On the other hand, it is good to be busy and I am looking forward to seeing my students again.
I will try to give a brief recap of the trip...
We (my housemate Fei and I) flew to Bali on Friday (the 10th). As soon as we checked into our hotel, we walked down to the beach. If anyone is familiar with Bali, we stayed near Kuta beach, the most popular place for tourists to stay. Walking through Kuta square and seeing all the shops, I felt like the place could have passed for a beach town in the U.S. There were so many foreigners, mostly from Australia.
Most of our days consisted of sleeping in, going to the beach, and walking around Kuta. We enjoyed walking around because in Surabaya it is very difficult to walk outside as there are no sidewalks and motorcycle drivers wouldn't care if they ran into you. (haha, maybe they would care, but they do drive like maniacs sometimes.)
Fei Fei didn't come with me to the beach during the day because she didn't want to get any color from the sun (so different from Americans!). I, on the other hand, tried to get as much sun as I could without getting burned.
While there, we often ate just 2 meals - a late breakfast provided by the hotel, and lunch/dinner at a restaurant. We liked going to Pizza Hut because we could split the 2 person pacakge and each pay less than two dollars! I also liked going to this one outdoor restaurant where I could get Middle Eastern food. After eating at the Lebanese restaurant in Thailand, I have decided that Middle Eastern food is my favorite.
Bali has a lot of funny/interesting people! The local shopowners and workers like to yell things to tourists as they walk by. Many times we heard, "Darling, darling, I love you!" Another man was squatting and eating ice cream. When he saw us passing by, he said, "You want ice cream? With me, no problem!" I was talking with another shopowner who was trying to convince me to buy something, but I didn't want to. I told him I would think about it and maybe be back later. He said, "Please, won't you buy it?" And I said, "Not today." Right away, he said, "O.k. See you tomorrow!"
I had fun getting to know Fei Fei better too. She would often ask me questions about English, since she is still learning it. (She teaches Mandarin at school.) It was funny hearing her try to pronounce some words. I was trying to teach her how to roll her rs. (Bahasa has the rolled "r" sound.) If anyone is interested, ask me to show you the video I took of her when I get home. It was really funny.
A neat God-thing happened on the trip. Fei Fei met this one girl, Jenna, from Korea. Jenna called Fei Fei because she had no place to stay for 2 nights (her hotel was full). So we let her share a room with us. She had already been planning to hire a driver to take her to Ubud on Wednesday, so we decided to go with her. It was a lot of fun. We ended up going to Dreamland too, famous for its beautiful beach. We finished the day by Jenna treating us to a seafood dinner in Jimbaran. It was so nice to eat right on the beach.
It was neat to be able to meet Jenna and be able to help her a little bit, since she doesn't know Indonesian culture. And it was so nice to eat at the restaurant together.
We took a van back to Surabaya on Saturday night because it was a lot cheaper than flying. However, the trip was 12 hours! We sat underneath the car's air conditioner and it kept dripping on us while we were trying to sleep.
There was one fun part about the car ride though. We had to take a boat ride crossing the ocean from Bali to Java. Fei Fei and I got out of the car and stood on the deck the whole time. It was nice to feel the ocean breeze!

I want to close with this verse: "I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone." (Psalms 71:16)
This verse is a good reminder for me to tell what God has done for me. The verse before says that we should do that "all day long". So right now, I want to give testimony for all the good gifts that God has given me here, like the trip to Bali, and how He reminds me of His presence every day. I could not make it without Him. I praise you God!

Friday, September 17, 2010

I will write more later, but I wanted to share a few pictures from Bali. The one above was from a really cool seafood restaurant on the beach. They had Balinese dancers perform while we were eating.
This is a rice field we saw while driving.

Eating dinner at the seafood restuarant - me, Fei Fei (my housemate) and Jenna (a girl from Korea that we met here; she treated us to dinner).


The funny band they had in the restaurant.


Eating lobster! haha :)

Dreamland - a famous beach here. Actually, it was much prettier than this picture shows. The water was a clear blue!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Sparkling Surabaya

Let me explain the title of my post. There is a taxi company here called Bluebird, and on the back of all the taxis, the "Sparkling surabaya" logo is printed. I think that is the phrase coined by the city about itself.
Anyways, what have I been up to... Last Sunday (aug. 29) I went to this really neat boating place with Glyne and her friend Lidia. We rode a boat out to this one stop, and on the way we could see glimpses of the ocean farther out. We stopped at this one place and walked along a rickety bamboo walkway. We sat on this platform overlooking the water where we could feel the ocean breeze. It was so relaxing and refreshing!
This past week I have not been up to much besides teaching. On Friday afternoon we stayed late at school to prepare a snack for the people breaking their fast out on the street. I guess it is customary to do that during this time of year. It was funny; the snacks toke us an hour to prepare and about 5 minutes to pass out.
On Saturday I went to my bible study again and then from there went to meet some friends to help at an English group for children. On the way, I stopped with a lady from the bible study to have lunch. I tried soto bebek (duck soup) and it was very good!
The English club was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing the children and talking with them a little bit. Actually, it was a good review for my bahasa knowledge, because the group leader spoke in bahasa most of the time. Because she spoke slowly, I was able to understand most of it.
This week is a short one for teaching (just monday, tuesday, and wednesday). After that we have a break until Sept. 20! Yay! I am planning on going to Bali with one of my housemates. So we are leaving on Friday. Please pray that we can figure everything out with housing there and coming back (we still don't have return tickets). I will update you later, maybe after my trip!!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

End of August - really?!

I can't believe it's already the last saturday in August. When I first got here, each day seemed to take a week and now each week feels like a day! Has the summer passed this quickly for all of you?! :)
Well, this past week was very busy. We had our school's 15th anniversary concert on Wednesday night. On Monday and Tuesday night we had to attend the practice for the event. Monday we had a briefing on the duties of the ushers (I was one of them) and on Tuesday the students (except KG and Playgroup, thankfully) came to see the rehearsal.
Thankfully we had no school on Tuesday and Wednesday since we had to attend the practices and the concert.
Wednesday morning I went with Glyne (one of my housemates) and her Indonesian friend to a place where we were supposed to go boating. Unfortunately, it is only open on the weekends, so we are going to try and go tomorrow. Anyways, since we couldn't do that, we decided to go to the zoo. Everyone told us not to go, but we wanted to see for ourselves. And actually, it was better than I expected. My favorite part was when a camel put his mouth on Glyne's shoulder when she was posing for a picture. :) Although, she probably didn't like that so much.
After the zoo, I went right away to the hair salon to get my hair and make-up done for the concert. (I was one of the ushers dressed in traditional Indonesian clothes, and the school paid for us to get our hair and make-up done.) It looked kind of strange when I was finished. My face was very white and my eye make-up was very dark. You can look at the pictures on facebook.
After a late night, it was difficult to teach on Thursday. I started my first class at 8 a.m. and thought, "wow, i have no energy." God gave me the strength to get through my 6 classes that day.
That evening I went with Glyne and Lydia again to Mirota (the souvenir store I visited earlier with Ayu). If any of you come to visit me here, you have to go there! After shopping we went to the food festival, an outdoor group of restaurants only opened at night.
Yesterday was a relief knowing the weekend was coming and that I could relax. Unfortunately, some of my students must have been in weekend mode too, because they had a difficult time listening. After class, one of the teachers brought some students downstairs to apologize to me. It was sweet, but I felt bad at the same time.
Last night I went to Gotri (the cheap restaurant nearby, but with good food and ac!) with Fei. Then we looked at each others' pictures. She kept exclaiming over my pictures of New York City, and I enjoyed her pictures of pandas.
Today I just went to Bible study and had lunch afterwards with the group leader, her daughter, and her mother-in-law. (She has been taking me to and from the Bible study since she lives nearby.)
I am enjoying right now sitting at home and resting! Well, until next time...

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Jalan Jalan

Hello again everybody. Sorry that it's been a while. The title of my post this week means something like "going around". I have been busy going around Surabaya since my last post.
On Saturday the 14th I went with some of the local teachers and others from the Philippines on the Surabaya heritage tour. It is a free 1 1/2 hour tour offered. Most of it was just riding in the bus while the guide pointed out items of interest, but we were able to stop at a few places. I think some people tagged me in pictures from that on Facebook if you want to check it out. (My internet is too slow to upload pictures to blogspot.)
After the tour we ate lunch and then went to a family karaoke place. This was my first experience with "real" karaoke, and it was fun! :)
This past week has been busy for me. On Sunday I helped in the elementary Sunday school class at church. On Monday we had a celebration for Indonesian Independence day. We combined with the kindergarten and playgroup from the East campus. It was fun to watch the kids play the games and sing patriotic songs. We got back really early, so I decided to use the pool for the first time. It is pretty dirty, but I just showered afterwards. It was very refreshing.
That evening Yuni came over for another language lesson. I made dinner afterwards for both of us. It was nice.
On Tuesday morning I met with Angie who is also from PA. My mom met her this summer in PA before she came back here to Surabaya. I went swimming with her and some of her friends. It was so nice to be able to talk with someone else from PA. She was so encouraging. After swimming we ate lunch at a streetside restaurant.
In the evening I went with Maria (a local teacher) and her family to a night food bazaar set up because of independence day. I tried a lot of different foods! The most interesting was ice cream with bread crumbs. I also tried barbequed goat!
On Wednesday after school I went with Ayu to a cheap clothing place. I bought a pair of jeans for about $2.50! Then we went to the coolest souvenir store called Mirota. They also had second hand English books and games there. I want to go back there!
On Thursday night I went to a local church's service. It was interesting, but a little long since I had to get up early the next morning.
On Saturday I just stayed at home to rest. maria came over in the afternoon to go swimming, but she didn't like the dirty water. We had dinner together afterwards.
Well, that's about all that's been going on! I will update again later.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Saya tahu Bahasa sedikit!

Selamat Pagi orangtua dan teman-teman! (Good morning family and friends!) The title of this post is (I think) "I know a little Bahasa!"
On Friday I was able to meet with my friend Yuni and practice Bahasa again. I feel like this lesson helped me to gain more confidence that I can learn it! I have been remotivated to study and practice now. So hopefully, I will be able to understand it well soon!



Well, let's see what's been happening recently...


The past two days the students have had off of school. We teachers have gone to school, but only for a couple of hours, thankfully.

Wow, one of these days I will actually finish this blog post! (It's already Wednesday and I started it on Saturday!)

I'll just update you from this past weekend. On Saturday I went to Bible study, for the first time in a while. We were talking about the new study we are going to do. At first, they said we were going to do a motherwise bible study. And I was thinking, "Well, i guess I'll have to drop out of the bible study for a while since this doesn't apply to me." Then we all talked and decided to do a different one because of the mixed nature of our group (some others are single like me).

After the study I went to Tungjun Plaza (a HUGE mall here) with some of the local teachers and Larmy (a filippina teacher). We watched a movie and then walked around the mall for a while. Larmy and I were able to buy a birthday present for my housemate, so that was good.

On Sunday I just went to church and walked around the mall with the others for a while. Not too much...

On Monday and Tuesday we got off of school early, as I said above. Monday evening, some of the guy expat teachers had a "pool" party for dinner. Actually, we all just ended up eating together and not swimming. But it was fun.
Well, I will go for now. I will try to write more later!

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Reminders

Hello again friends and family! My first full week of teaching passed quickly. The days have been falling into a routine at school. I teach my classes, get ready for the next day, have lunch with Hannah and Maria in their classroom, lesson plan, and then go home. So the time goes pretty quickly.
I guess maybe you're wondering why I called this post "reminders". Well, I remember one of the speakers from the retreat sharing that God uses the word "remember" a lot in the Bible. This is because we so naturally forget. God has been reminding me today of all that He has done for me and of who He is. I listened to a sermon online called "The God who sees you". It talked about the first time this name is used of God in the Bible, in Genesis 16. God used this passage to lovingly remind me that He sees me and He is with me and is for me. This message was timely for me as I was feeling a little lonely and dreading the work week starting again. (Not that I dislike it, but it's hard work teaching 4 and 5 year olds!) His reminder that He sees me, not because He wants to catch me doing something wrong, but because He wants what's best for me, is so encouraging.
Since I have been here I have been keeping a list of God's promises that I've read in His word. I'll share some with you...
"...You are precious and honored in my sight, and .... I love you." (Isaiah 43:4a)
"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders." (Deuteronomy 33:12)
"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever." (I Chronicles 16:34)
I have also been reading some really neat quotes from my devotional and a journal from a friend. Here are some of them...
"You are in the Beloved...therefore infinitely dear to the Father, unspeakably precious to Him. You are never, not for one second, alone." - Norman Dowty
"God will find us, bless us, even when we feel most alone, unsure...God will find a way to let us know that He is with us in this place, wherever we are." - Kathleen Norris
"If He has given you His word - His sure word of promise - do not question it but trust it absolutely. You have His promise, and in fact you have even more - you have Him who confidently speaks the words." - J.B. Figgis

Last night after work I went with some of the other teachers to a place called the Loop. The Loop is just a group of restaurants that are only open at night. We were able to just hang out and relax while sitting outside and eating. It was great! :) I got Japanese curry that I had tried and loved in Thailand, so it was fun to be able to get it again. I will try to put pictures up on facebook sometime soon of that and other pictures I've been taking.
I will write more later...

Thursday, July 22, 2010

First day of school!

Well, after leaving home seven weeks ago, I finally started teaching today. This is orientation week for Kindergarten, so I had all my classes today, but we won't start the regular subjects until next week. I was so nervous this morning as I was getting ready and then walking into the first class. The first two classes went a little rough. I had planned too much of me talking and their English level is less than I thought it would be. The KG A had an especially hard time sitting and listening.

After the first two classes I had a half hour break. I actually just spent it praying and reading my Bible. I knew I needed God's wisdom. So I walked back upstairs and taught first another KG A class and then KG B. They both went better. I tried harder to speak slower and loudly.

The main part of my lesson today was reading "Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten" and then talking about the class rules and decorating nametags. The kids liked acting out some of the motions from the story with me. During the second two classes I was able to enjoy a little bit getting to know the kids. They are going to need a lot of practice in speaking in English though! They kept trying to speak to me in Bahasa. One time I could understand that the student was saying "sudah" or finished. The other time a student was just going on in Bahasa and I couldn't understand what he was saying. Hopefully their English level improves as I spend more time with them.

Now it is Sunday again. I didn't get a chance to finish the post last time because we went out to dinner with Beth's Indonesian friends. They are the ones who had us over to their house twice before. It was really nice to spend time with them and get my mind off of school.
On Friday I was the storyteller for their first chapel. I tried to make it interesting for them by having some of the teachers and kids act out the Bible story. Unfortunately, they were all talking to each other most of the time. It's hard to keep 100 4 and 5 year olds entertained! Thankfully I won't have to tell the story again for a while.
After that I had the two KG B classes, which I enjoyed. I had them fill out an "about me" page". I worked on teaching them the routine of raising their hands when they were finished instead of getting out of their seats or yelling,"miss, miss!". It will take some practice, but I think they can get it.
On Saturday morning I made pancakes for breakfast using a box mix I found at Ranch market (a higher priced grocery store at the mall that sells some western products). I was excited to be able to make pancakes myself. :)
That afternoon I went with Glyne (one of my housemates) to a mall called Royal Plaza. They were having a big sale on batik (the traditional Indonesian fabric), so I was able to buy some shirts. I love the unique patterns and designs of the shirts. We finished the evening by eating dinner at 9:30 p.m. at pizza hut! :)
Today at church I helped with the elem sunday school class. I was able to meet another teacher from America who lives nearby. She also recently moved here. I am glad that I have been able to meet more and more people from America here.
I will close with more notes on the Indonesian language. Bahasa has the simplest grammar I have ever seen in a language. There are no plurals, no verb tenses, and no cases. The only time a word changes is to make it an adjective or a noun instead of a verb. It is so easy! Now, I just have to learn the words... :)

Monday, July 12, 2010

Back to work...

Well, hello again. Wow, time is going fast! Already, I have been here over 5 weeks. And I still haven't started teaching yet... But we started back to work last Monday. We are spending these two weeks in training and in preparation for the new school year.
Right now I am in the lobby of the hotel and staring at a lizard who is crawling across the floor. I think he just ate a mosquito. One more point for the lizard population here! :)
So anyways...I have mostly been staying at home in the evenings since we started back to work. On Thursday and Friday all the teachers had training in the east. We watched training videos from Harry Wong who wrote The First Day of School. Maybe some of you who are education have heard of it. Anyways, it was really good. It inspired me in my planning for the beginning of the school year.
On Friday night we went to a fundraiser concert with the principal of my school's division. It was in Indonesian, but still interesting. I especially enjoyed the first group, who performed a traditional javanese dance with drums. I wish my camera was working so I could have filmed it. Oh, and everyone who went to the concert got a free bottle of lotion and box with dessert in it.
On Saturday morning I went to a mall with cheap clothing with two teachers from school, Ms. Didi and Ms. Maria. Like most Indonesians, they both have motorcycles, so I got my first chance to ride on a motorcycle here. It was a little scary at first, but a lot of fun. At the mall I bought a new pair of shoes and shirt for school for only about 12 dollars! (I love most of the prices here.)
Oh and at this mall they have a Red Mango, which I discovered before in Thailand. They sell frozen yogurt with toppings. I plan to go back there sometime to try it here. ;)
Anyways, it was great being able to hang out with some of the teachers from the school. I love my coworkers! :)
That afternoon we went back to Beth's friends house. (We just call them Pa and Ibu - the terms of respect - so I don't know their names. Their daughter was one of Beth's students.) Every year after their daughter's birthday they visit the orphanage to give gifts to the orphans. They invited us to come along and help pass out gifts to the children. Because it was a private orphanage, the conditions were better than I expected. Still, it was sad to see the children all there, especially the ones with handicaps. One of the girls was blind, but when she got her bag, she had the biggest smile on her face. She kept taking the bag on and off like a purse. It reminded me to be thankful for how much I really have.
On Sunday, we mostly relaxed after going to the earlier service at church.
Today for dinner I made tacos (with Tina's help in cooking the meat). It's been fun here to cook more, since I didn't do much of it at home. But I still miss my mom's meals. :(
Well, that's about all for now. I will update again soon...

Monday, July 5, 2010

One month and counting

Hello again! Well, today is the one-month milestone. I can't believe it's been already a month since I arrived. I am glad the first month is over and I am feeling more at home here.
I think I left off right before VBS started last week. On Tuesday morning, the church's VBS program started. I rode with Debbie, whom I met at the birthday party the week before. She is an Indonesian who is married to an American and has lived for many years in the states. I enjoyed talking with her during the car rides throughout the week.
My job in VBS was to be a crew leader. The crews are made up of 5 children of diverse age groups. My crew had 3 boys and 2 girls. I enjoyed all the kids in my group, but I especially enjoyed talking to Tirzah. She is going into 6th grade and is mature for her age.
On Wednesday the whole group (we had almost 100 kids) took a field trip to a naval museum. (The theme for the week was High Seas Adventure.) I experienced a cultural situation there. Apparently, anyone not holding an Indonesian passport is not allowed into this museum in case they are a spy or something. But the group did not know that beforehand. So we got all the way there, and then me and the 3 other Americans helping that week had to go back to the church. At first I was disappointed, but it turned out well. I got to talk with a mom and daughter from america, and another young adult, Heidi, from America. We went to a grocery store near the mall that sells western foods not available in regular grocery stores. I was able to buy tortilla chips, taco seasoning, and tortilla shells. As a side note, I bought what I thought were tortilla shells the other week, but turned out to be something that you have to fry. I tried making wraps for my filippino friends, but they failed miserably because the shells had no taste. Anyways, after shopping we had coffee/smoothies at the store's cafe. I got an oreo smoothie, which was delicious. :)
Thursday was my trip to Singapore! I woke up very early (2:45 a.m.) to get to the airport. A school car picked me up and took me there. Unfortunately, nothing in that airport opens until 4, so I had to sit around waiting to get to the check in counter. Then I found out there is a departure tax, and I didn't bring enough rupiah, so I had to use American dollars, and they charged me a lot more. :( Oh well, I'll know better for next time. I had to wait some more for immigration to open, and then wait for my gate to open. Finally, I was able to board the plan. I was pleasantly surprised to find that even though it was only a two hour flight, we were served breakfast.
Once there, a couple picked me up from the airport and took me to their apartment. They were hired by the school to take care of my visa for me. They took care of everything; all I had to do was sign the form.
I was able to go shopping with their 19-year-old daughter, which was fun. Singapore has a lot more western stores than indonesia...like Gap and Forever 21 and Subway! I spent most of the time in an English bookstore where I bought the newest book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency! Yay!
Back at their house, I met another lady from the philippines who was there renewing her visa as well. She teaches at a small school near me. We were able to travel together since we had the same flight back. We went to Subway in the airport to have a snack. :) It was nice to have a travelling buddy, even for a little bit.
I arrived back to my apartment at 12 a.m. Actually, it was my first time to sleep in our new apartment. (We switched to the one that will be ours for the next year.) Even though Singapore has more trees, and a beach, and more Western stores, I was still glad to be back in Indonesia where I know people. I am definitely starting to feel more at home here.
On Friday, it was hard to wake up for VBS, but we got to go swimming there, which was fun!
Saturday was the last day of VBS. They had a "bazaar" for the kids at the end where they could pick out prizes with the coupons they had been earning all week. I was sad for the week to be over, because I had really enjoyed all the new people I met and seeing them every day. Thankfully, a few of the people there do go to the east for church like me, so I will see them there.
On Sunday, Tina, Janice, Laarni, and I went with Mr. Arno and Santa's daughter Lunae to church in the West. It was fun to see the kids from VBS sing two of their songs from the week during the service. After church, we went to see the Eclipse movie with Lunae and one of her friends. I never thought I would see any of those movies, but it was o.k. I was a little lost because I didn't see the other two, but it wasn't too hard to figure out.
Before we left the mall, we went to the grocery store. There I encountered a language misunderstanding. I had bought one thing of juice. The cashier scanned it and then started saying something about free and going to the information desk. I thought she was saying the juice was buy one, get one free, so I ran to get another one. Well, I got charged for both. I went to the information desk and found out it was really buy 2 get 1 free. So now I have 3 containers of juice when I really only wanted one. :) Oh well.
Well, that's about all. This week we are back at school getting ready for the new year. School won't start until July 19th though.
Oh before I go, here are some more cultural notes. Instead of forming one line when waiting, you line up behind the specific counter or bathroom stall you want. It took me a while to figure that out, so I wondered why people were going ahead of me.
Another note: most people here love pictures. Mr. Arno put it this way: Back home, most people run from the camera. Here people run to the camera. :) I have never been a part of so many large group photos in my life!
To end with, I am sorry for the lack of pictures on here. Most of the time the internet is too slow to upload pictures. But I just put a bunch up on facebook for you to check out if you want.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Singapore tomorrow!

Hello! This will just be a quick update since it has been over a week since I updated this. I thought that during the vacation I'd have more time, not less! :) First of all, for those of you who don't know, I am going to Singapore tomorrow just for the day to get my visa renewed. It will be a tiring day, but fun (I hope). Susan, the South African lady from the retreat, will hopefully meet me there after I take care of my visa and have coffee with me.
So, let me quickly tell you what I've been doing. On Saturday after the retreat (which was the 19th), I went to a dedication of the West building which had been renovated. We prayed over the building and then there was a prayer of dedication for the teachers, which was neat.
That evening there was a fellowship time at a visiting Filipino pastor. I was the only non-filipino there, but it was fun. I got to try a lot of their foods, and they were really good. I especially liked this one fruit called mangosteen (I'm not sure how it's spelled).
On Sunday we went to church and then hung out at the mall until it was time to go to a birthday party. Mr. Arno and Santa's son is visiting from South Africa and he celebrated his 21st birthday, so they had a nice birthday party for him at a restaurant. At the party, I met a couple from America (well, the wife is from Indonesia but has lived for a while in America). They go to my church, but I hadn't met them there yet. Through talking with Debbie, the wife, I found out about the church's VBS this week and I offered to help. We exchanged numbers and I was excited for the opportunity to help and have something to do during the vacation!
The rest of the week was kind of slow after the weekend and I had some hard days. But there were good moments too. On Tuesday we went to see the new Karate Kid movie, which was very good, by the way. :) On Wednesday I had my first Bahasa lesson with my friend from IPH, Miss Yuni. She mostly taught me how to communicate with a taxi driver, so hopefully I can try taking a taxi by myself soon. She also drove me to a place where I could buy some poster paper for the upcoming school year. Then she treated me to lunch where we had soto ayam, which is like chicken soup.
On Thursday I was feeling particularly sad, and I went to Arno and Santa's house. They gave me South African tea (roibus, I think it's spelled) and I talked with them for a while. I also borrowed 3 English books from them, which made my day!
On Saturday I went with my roommates and Laarni, another teacher here, to a ladies bible study at church. I met another girl from America! I also talked with the other girls there. It was nice to have an English fellowship. We are going to go back. When we got back, we went to Arno and Santa's for a game night. She made biscuits and we had tuna fish, which was so good! Their daughter, Lynae (I'm not sure how to spell it) made chocolate muffins for dessert! Yum!
On Sunday, Ms. Nila from school took us on a day trip to 2 sites away from Surabaya. The first was a safari, but it wasn't as cool as the real ones in Africa. The animals weren't in cages, but the space was still small like a zoo. And we saw them through the closed windows of our van. But then we went to this part where you could pay to have your picture taken with certain animals. I held a baby lion!
Then we went to an amusement park. We only rode on two rides. The first one is hard to explain, but it was like a car that you pedaled around a track high in the air. I got scared on that one. Then we tried the big swing ride. My favorite part was the small night market they had where I bought a few souvenirs. The park also had a garden with different statues lit up. There was a piano player at one and he let us sing songs in the microphone. I sang a song, propelled by some force. It was fun, even though I sounded awful. :)
Well, I'd better go to bed now because I have to wake up so early. Talk to you later!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Retreat!

Wow! I just looked at the date of my last blog and it's been over a week since I last wrote! My days have definitely been busier than I thought they would be, so I haven't been able to get online often.
This post will just be about the IPH teachers' retreat that I went on last Wednesday-Friday. Sometime later I'll try to catch up on what's been happening since then.
Early Wednesday morning, my roommates and I trudged to the nearby IPH building to board one of three buses that would carry us to the retreat's location. Don't ask me the name of the town, because I'm not sure. We stayed at a nice conference center that was started by believers.
The 2 1/2 days we were there were filled mostly with sessions. The theme of the retreat was prayer. After the first session, we had a chance to pray with another person. I prayed with one of the girls who will be roommate after she gets back from vacation. It was an encouraging time for me. Then, in the afternoon, discouragement set in. During the praise and worship session, I felt overwhelmed because I was tired of not being able to understand what was going on in conversations. So I started crying. The lady sitting next to me handed me a tissue. Then she started translating for me, which was sweet. I found out later that her name is Ibu Swan (Ibu is the title you put in front to show respect) and she is the wife of the school's owner.
During dinner, I started crying again, and the other girls at my table encouraged me. That evenings' session was about God's love. The speaker shared from the gospel of John and the characteristics of John because he knew that he was loved by Christ. Knowing we are loved by God changes our attitude and actions. It makes us courageous, and more understanding of God's word and will.
The next day, one of the morning sessions I met with the 3 other expat teachers who are not from the Philippines and with a lady from South Africa. Again, I started crying as I shared my story of what led me to Indonesia. (Shoot, I had been doing so well with crying and then I cried two days in a row! :) Santa, who teaches here and is from South Africa, and Jenny, the lady visiting from South Africa both encouraged me. Arno and Santa live at Country Heritage too, and they are the age of my parents. They told me I can stop by their apartment any time I want to cry or talk or just hang out.
In the afternoon, Ibu Suzy spoke. She is the director of the school. She shared about intercessory prayer again. I don't remember everything she shared, but while she was speaking, God gave me this verse: Psalms 85:12 "The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest." I had been feeling so discouraged and God spoke to me through this verse that He has promised to give good things to me. And He will use me to glorify Him here in this land - Indonesia.
After she spoke, Ibu Suzy gave us a chance to pray with each other in groups of 2. First I prayed with Janice, one of my roommates. It was really encouraging. Then Ibu Swan came and prayed for me. I don't remember exactly what she said, but she prayed with the assurance that God will use me here to glorify Him. So it confirmed the verse God gave me. Then Ibu Fanny (another leader at the school) came and prayed for me. She put her hand over my heart and prayed for peace. Then she said that I am not abandoned or lonely because God is with me. She also prayed with the confidence that God will use me here. Again, God confirmed His promise to me.
I felt so much peace after those prayers. Even though my circumstances didn't change, my understanding of God did.
The whole retreat was worth it just for that moment!
On Friday, during the testimony time, I felt led to share my experience. Normally, I don't like to share in front of people, but I felt like I should. Telling it to the group reconfirmed God's promise in my heart, just like it is now as I am sharing it with you.
Well, that's all for now. I will write more later! Thank you for all your prayers, e-mails, and encouragement!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Anxiety and Relief


In starting this blog post, I just wanted to share a verse that I read recently in my devotions that really encouraged me. I can't remember the reference, but it is from the Psalms. It said something like this: "When I cried out, 'O, Lord, my foot is slipping!' your love upheld me. Your consolation brought me relief from anxiety." Even though these past days have brought anxiety and distress, God's love has brought me relief and comfort. I don't remember if I said this before, but He has been using my devotional to specifically minister to my needs. I have been reading "Streams in the Desert" and each one seems like it was written directly to me. For example, recently I was awake in the middle of the night because of jet lag and I decided to read my devotions. It stared out with, "Have you ever had a sleepless night?" I have no doubt that God is with me and knows exactly what I'm going through!


Well, to try and update you on what's been going on... Let's see. On Thursday my new roommates came. They both have known each other since the first grade!

That evening they went out grocery shopping and I went with Christine and Hannah to Carrefour for groceries myself. When we got back it was late, but we hadn't eaten dinner yet, so we cooked together in mr. ken's apartment. It was fun all sharing our food together.

On friday I went with the other new expat teachers to an orientation at IPH east. There are 3 filipinos and 1 indonesian who just came from living 11 years in America. It was kind of fun talking to him since he could relate to me because he spent so much time in America.

Friday afternoon I went with the other teachers from IPH west playgroup and kindergarten on an overnight trip to a villa owned by one of the students. The villa was about 2 hours away and was near some mountains so it was much cooler! Unfortunately I didn't know it would be cold, so I didn't bring warm clothes.

We didn't do too much while there. Just ate and hung out with the other teachers. It's been nice to have the other Indonesian teachers gradually begin to talk to me. I think they were shy at first because English is not their first language, but they have been talking to me more.

On Sunday I went to a church called ICA (International Christian Assembly). Because we went to the early service, there were not that many people there and no one really introduced themselves to me. I was very disappointed because I had been hoping to meet some English speaking friends there. So during the service and a little afterwards I cried (again). At least my tears have limited themselves to every other day now. :) The other ladies with me were comforting, but it was still a discouraging time.

In the afternoon I went with Christine and Hannah to an Indonesian church that has an English speaking service. They go sometimes to teach sunday school or to help in the worship. This church had even less people, but I enjoyed it more.

That evening Mr. Ken made dinner because it was his birthday so a bunch of us went to his apartment to have dinner.

Yesterday (Monday) we went to school and didn't do too much except practice for a dance that we will perform during the retreat. I hate dancing, as many of you know, but they wanted me to be a part of it! I hope I don't mess up too much!

In the afternoon I tried doing my laundry. It was quite an interesting experience. The first machine I used was mostly manual. You had to fill up the the machine yourself and then put the clothes in the spinner separately. I must have filled it too full because the spinner was making a loud noise. Then their house cleaner was there and she started taking my laundry to the boys' apartment because they have a better washer. But we couldn't get that one to work at first. Finally, my other load of clothes was washed and now they are all hanging in my room to dry!

Well, that's about all for now. Talk to you all later!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Adjustments

Hello again everybody! Sorry it's been a little while since I wrote. I have been trying to settle in and gather my thoughts and emotions. It has been a little rough at some points since I arrived! Jet lag has been hard (I'm still not over it), the hardest it's ever been for me. And my emotions are all over the place. It's funny how things are never what you expect. I tried really hard not to build up expectations for coming here, but of course I did anyways. When these expectations were not realized, I was forced to choose between trust or despair. I think God, in his mercy, is helping me to trust Him and I am pulling through this adjustment time.
Let me update you on the events of this past week. In some ways, it has gone quickly. I can't believe it's already Thursday! Let's see... Sunday night was when I last wrote. After that I tried to go to stay, but stubborn old jetlag wouldn't let me. I ended up staying up all night. Let's just say it was a long, emotional night. On monday morning I went to school with Christine and Hannah. On the way we picked up the principal, Miss Christine, and another teacher. When we got there, I was surprised to find out that Hannah and I will be the only non-Indonesian teachers this coming school year. It was kind of hard to sit through the morning meeting, all in Bahasa (what they call their language). Then Christine showed me the "curriculum" which is basically just a stack of compiled worksheets and workbooks. And instead of just teaching K-5, like I was told, I will be teaching K-4 as well. To top it all off, the kids were all practicing for their graduation night and were acting crazy: running around and talking during the rehearsal...and no one said anything to them!
In order to cope with all this information, I took a nap in the teacher's room upstairs. :)
The rest of the day my emotions went back and forth. That evening I went to the mall with Christine and Hannah, but I couldn't really enjoy it because I was missing home and frustrated about my expectations not being met.
At least that night I was able to sleep better. On Tuesday I went to school again and felt a little better about the school. After all, I brought resources with me for teaching, and the only thing I have to teach is English. Plus I only have to plan two 1/2 hour lessons every day, which I will teach to different classes. That night again I went to the mall with Christine and Hannah, and another Philippino teacher, Ken, came along. We ate dinner at Pizza Hut. :)
Again that night I couldn't sleep after waking up at 1:15 a.m. Instead of going to school that day we went to the hotel that IPH had rented for the playgroup and kindergarten graduation. I went feeling discouraged and very tired. Sitting through the practice by myself, I kept thinking of all the things I was missing at home. Then at the end the teachers were all discussing the ceremony in Bahasa. I was getting more and more upset until finally I started crying. The others who noticed tried to comfort me, which was sweet. In the car on the way back, I had a good talk with Christine and Hannah, who encouraged me. When we got back, we only had 2 hours before we had to leave again for the actual graduation ceremony. I went along with Christine and Hannah to the hair salon, where they had their hair done for the ceremony. Since I was not part of the ceremony, I was not inspired to dress up.
Back at the hotel, most of the time I stayed with the kids in what they called the "keeping room" where they waited for their turn to go onstage. I actually got to interact with the kids, which was fun. It was encouraging to know that they actually do speak English. One of the boys was able to talk very well. He told me a joke: "Why did the 6 run from the 7? Because 7 8 (ate) 9!" Then he wanted me to come over with him and jump in front of the air conditioner to feel the cold air coming out. He said it felt like winter. :)
The ceremony was very long and only having 3 hours of sleep began to catch up with me. I sat down on the floor and fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again, several of the children were staring at me. Then I laid down and fell asleep again. I woke up to a child poking me and saying, "Wake up, miss!" :) It was cute how fascinated they were by me falling asleep.
Then the ceremony was over and I went out to the lobby where the food was set out for the parents. I waited with the other teachers and then they started taking pictures. It was funny because all these teachers wanted to get pictures with me. I felt like a celebrity. :) It was wierd being the only caucasian in the whole place. I was encouraged that the Indonesian teachers seemed more interested in getting to know me than they did at the beginning of the week.
When we finally got back around 9 I went right to bed and slept...until 3. Oh well, at least I'm making progress. :)
Today at school I had another encouraging talk with Christine. She said she felt the same way as me last year when she started. It was also her first teaching job. But she encouraged me that I can do it! I was able to look through a little more of the "curriculum" and bring back things to work on back at the apartment. School does not start until July 19, so I am not worried about getting it done.
Well, today my new roommates arrived! I met them before I came over to check my e-mail. We didn't talk long because they traveled all night and wanted to sleep. Hopefully they will want to hang out with me.
Sorry this is such a long entry, but I wanted to share what's been going on. Please pray for me just to completely trust God and to find comfort in Him when I am sad.
I will close with some random fun facts about Indonesia and my week:
- Bahasa seems like it will be an easy language to learn since it is not tonal and uses the same alphabet as English.
- There are random American chains here like Gloria Jean's Coffee and Citi bank! I never would have guessed they would be here.
- There is a tv with cable in my apartment and the other day I heard two Owl City songs on the music chanel!
- There is a lizzard in my room that I have seen a couple of times. He reminds me of Thailand, although he is the only one I have seen here.
- Dragon fruit is here too! That was a special blessing for me. :)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Arrival!

Hello everyone! I arrived in Indonesia last night at 10:30 (local time). Let me update you first on my trip here. As some of you might remember me saying, I was a little nervous about the layover in Taiwan because it was 12 and 1/2 hours! Well, it turned out really well. I met a couple of people on a free tour that the airport offered for those with long layovers. The tour was such an answer to prayer! The first lady I met was Susan and she was on her way back to Korea. She was on the flight from Newark with me, so we went through customs in Taiwan and waited for the tour together.
The tour was pretty neat. We got to see an old city street and a temple and then a street where they were selling ceramics. I bought a bowl. :) Taiwan reminded me a lot of Thailand. There were even a few 7-11s!
After finding my gate, another girl from the tour, Claire, came over and talked to me. She is a world traveler herself and was coming back from vacation in Indonesia! She was encouraging me about this new experience. It was a cool gift from God to be able to talk to someone who had just come from here.
When I got to Indonesia Ms. Angie and Nila from the school met me and took me to my apartment. It turns out I am living in Country Heritage Resorts which is a hotel but you can live long term too. Before you get too excited about the word resort, let me just tell you that it is not perfect! But I think I will enjoy living here, even though it is 45 minutes from school! :( Which means I will have to leave at 6 a.m. every morning!
It took me until 4 a.m. to fall asleep last night, so I had a lot of time to think about being here for two years. Since everything always seems worse in the middle of the night, I was kind of depressed for a little while. But I know God is with me and it will be all right here. It will just take some getting used to.
Today Ms. Angie and two other teachers from IPH: Mae and Mavik took me shopping at Carrefour, a store they also have in Thailand! There are a lot of things available here, which is nice! The only thing I couldn't find is laundry stain remover. We met another teacher, Ella, from a different school there. She ended up helping me the most because she didn't have any shopping to do.
After that we had lunch at KFC :), and then went to an electronics store where I bought a cell phone! (yay!) Then we went to Supermall (which in the words of Ella, "it's a mall, but super") where we saw the movie "Prince of Persia". When we got outside again it was 6:30 p.m. and I was disappointed to see that it was dark already. Apparently Indonesian nights start earlier than the ones back home.
When they dropped me off at the aparment, I met three other teachers who live in the apartments right now. Two of them are moving out of the apartment that I will later occupy after they leave. They took me to two convience stores nearby and then to a restaurant where we had dinner.
So, it's been a long and full day. It's been good to keep busy, mainly so I could stay awake all day. Speaking of that, I'd better go to sleep because I am going to the school tomorrow and everyone is leaving at 6:15. I will write more later!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Preparing to leave



Hello everyone! Many of you were able to read my blog last fall as I was student teaching in Thailand. Now, at the request of my family, I created a new blog to describe my new journey to teach in Indonesia. Since I am leaving a week from Thursday (ahh!) I thought I would just write a pre-trip entry to let you know my thoughts about leaving. Actually, my thoughts are probably best described by giving you this excerpt from my journal entry written a couple of days ago:


Well, I leave for Indoneisa two weeks from tomorrow! I can't believe it! For so many years, I've wanted to move overseas, and now that it's finally here, I must admit that I'm scared. There are so many things I don't know. People keep asking me questions and I have to keep saying, 'I don't know.' But I think God wants it this way so that I will learn to depend on Him. When Satan puts doubts and fears in my mind, God reminds me of who He is and what He's already done for me. I think of my student teaching in Thailand, and how God perfectly provided for my every need.
This is what I was reading this morning:
"But now, this is what the Lord says - he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.'"
Isaiah 45:1-3a

I just wanted to share that with you. Those verses in Isaiah are especially encouraging to remember that I belong to God and He will be with me!

Anyways, to update you on the last few weeks... I graduated from PBU on May 15th! The picture above is at graduation with some of my friends who came. I have been enjoying time with my grandparents from Washington state and my uncle from California who came up to visit for graduation. Last week we took a two-day trip to Washington DC, which was fun. I had not been there in about ten or more years!

We were able to visit quite a few places in those two days! My favorite was the Museum of Natural History where my uncle and Joy each held a hissing cockroach! (I was happy just to take the pictures and not participate :)
As an answer to prayer, I heard back from the school today and they said that it will not be a problem for me to get a work visa once I arrive. They also gave me the names of the four roommates I will have! I am excited that I won't have to live by myself! :) Two of them are also new teachers to the school, so hopefully we can encourage each other as we adjust to the school.
Well, as I prepare to leave, I have a couple of prayer requests that you can remember for me:
- Wisdom to know what to pack: I want to try to fit everything into 2 50 lb bags, but it might be hard!
- Safe flights
- Easy time to get through customs!
- Adjustment once I arrive to the culture, school, and my roommates!
- That I would put God first, not my desire to adjust or be a good teacher!
Thank you for your support and prayers! I will still have the same e-mail address when I leave, so please keep in touch with that and also skype or facebook! :)