after the completion of this week, we have ONE MORE WEEK of classes. the following week, we have finals monday - wednesday followed by graduation on thursday. friday and monday are teacher meetings... and that's it. school year over. just like that.
it's a strange feeling. i haven't had time to think much about it (see below), but i can say with all certainty that while i am eager for summer adventures to begin (again, see below), i'm not at all ready for all the goodbyes that the next month will bring. i'd go so far as to say that i'm in a mild state of denial. i have yet to have a discussion with ANY of my many leaving friends about their imminent departure. and anytime it gets brought up, i'm quick to change the subject. i just don't want to think about it. it's a joy to see where God is taking them - many to other areas of ministry where they are very much needed - but i'm selfish, and i want them here with me. just like old times.
that being said, my current schedule allows for very little reflection, which is good, or i'd probably spiral into a deep pit of self pity and i'd eat chitatos (indonesian chicken or beef flavored chips) all day and get fat and greasy. take yesterday and today as an example of the hecticness of my life...
tuesday....
6:49 - wake up.
7:10 - 3 - school
3:15 - 4 - teacher's meetings
while walking home, i realized i never paid my house helper on the 30th...
4:15 - 4:30 - drive to the atm in the rain. almost drive motorbike into a huge gutter hole in the road NOT covered by a manhole or grate of any kind. (closest call yet)
4:30 - write a long letter of apology to my helper, change, watch an episode of castle (ron put 50G of shows on my laptop before he left for aceh monday!)
6 - 9 - dinner and bible study with the girls
9 - 10 - walk/run/exercise (!!)
10 - quick shower, clean the house
10:30 - read a chapter of john in indonesian! go to bed.
wednesday....
6:49 - wake up
7:05 - 3 - school
3 - 4:30 - tutoring
4:30 - 5:30 - chase cats out of house. run to the grocery to get butter and sugar. bake as many mexican cookies as possible in a short amount of time.
5:30 - ? - celebrating cinco de mayo with the boys dorm!
7 - 8 - american idol night with marie (due to my schedule, this is now the only night i get to see her and the kids... so sad....)
8 - 10 - worship practice for tomorrow's fellowship - drive across town, guitar in hand! don't forget to get gas after... bike is almost empty.
10:30 - another chapter of john and off to bed
i love being busy. and i love having meaningful things to do. and yes, celebrating cinco de mayo and watching american idol ARE meaningful things to me - they are encouraging times with great friends, many of whom are on the list of those leaving after this year. i am looking forward to this summer's change of pace though. here's how it looks so far...
end of school - mid june: work my butt off to get ready for next school year!
18 - 20 june: BEACH! with a group of 13 javanese friends, muslim and christian alike. maybe someday i'll have time to write out the story of my being invited to go with them (they've all been friends for 10+ years)... but suffice it to say that it's kind of a big deal and an honor to be invited as the only white person on the trip.
shortly thereafter - 18 july - i'm returning to sumatra to do ministry work for a month! poooooooooork!
18 july - 23 july - back to salatiga to prepare for a new teacher coming 20 july. meet her at the airport, take her home, get her settled in, go shopping with her, make sure she has everything she needs, introduce her, show her around town, teach her some language basics, etc.
23 july - 2 august - KOREA! i am looking forward to this SO much. this spring finally brought me some culture shock. and it was not nice about it... and i tell you what, having culture shock after 2 years - when you think you have it all figured out and the past 2 years have been a breeze - is WAY worse than if you just have it in the first place. the rug was pulled out from under me in a lot of ways. march and april were very hard months. i spent a couple weeks hardly ever leaving campus/home because i didn't even want to be around anyone indonesian. i'm back up on my knees... but my eyes are finding it easier to see the bad more than the good, and it's hard not to let it stick to me and eat at me. i'm getting there, but i'd appreciate prayers. i realized just recently that while i've taken many trips and had many incredible adventures recently, i haven't actually left the country or the culture for 2 years. (that's the longest i've stayed in one place since i was like 16...) so the prospect of going to korea is a veryveryvery exciting one for me! i'm still trying to work out finances and get everything arranged and tickets bought. the way that this worked out was just such a God thing and i'm trying to trust that He'll see it through. but after 2 weeks spent just trying to buy a stupid ticket, i'm having some doubt...
anyways, i just talked way longer than i intended... i need to write a math test! love you.
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