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... :)