"You look two years younger today. Or actually.... You look like someone's mom."

Thank you, ninth grader.

Afghans on the Loose

Not Afghan hounds. Not Afghans like the ones your great-grandmother crochets. I'm talking about passport holding Afghani people. Twenty-five of them, to be exact. Illegals. Here. In my town. Here are the facts as they were related to me:

Twenty-five illegal Afghan immigrants landed in the coastal city of Semarang a few days ago. Their final destination was Australia, but the Indonesian government caught wind of them and arrested all twenty-five. Their plan was to drive them to Surabaya (the second largest city in the country) and put them on a boat back to Afghanistan. The road from Semarang to Surabaya passes through my town. And it was while they were in my town that the twenty-five Afghans hatched a plan. They were all riding in a bus with a police escort, and apparently Indonesian law mandates that you cannot handcuff people unless they are criminals. Because these people were only illegal immigrants, they were not bound or restrained in any way. So they ganged up on the bus driver and his friend. Friend got thrown off the bus into a field and the driver was tied up and gagged. All twenty-five Afghans ran for it. The police escort managed to recapture twenty of them directly. But there are still five on the loose.

I don't know what neighborhood exactly they were in when they busted out. But the toll road they were on runs about a kilometer from my house. So the police have told us all to be on the lookout for anyone "with an Arab face". You know, brown eyes, dark skin, dark hair. JUST LIKE EVERYBODY HERE. That should be easy.

In other news, my friend Jess who was captured by pirates a week ago today was able to get word to her org to say that she and her coworker, Poul, are alive and well. Praise God for that! Now to get them out of there...

You Will Never Guess...

I've only been going to my current Indonesian church regularly for a little over a year now. I started when I felt my Indonesian was good enough to actually get something out of the sermons. Something I've been a little surprised about are the ways that Indonesian churches (mine and others) celebrate Christmas. For example, two years ago, before I even started attending an Indonesian church, an (Indonesian) acquaintance of mine (who happens to attend one of the top 3 biggest churches in town) came to me one day in early December and asked me, "Are you free on Christmas Sunday? My church needs five white people to dress up like Santa for our service". I flat out refused. So he asked, "Well, could you ask some of your white friends?" Again, I flat out refused. What CHURCH needs five SANTAS?!? And why do they need white people?! (Answer: It's a status thing)

Anyways, back to last year - I started going to Indonesian church. Indonesians really like themes and dress codes. My first Christmas with my church was themed, "Green Christmas: Heal the World". The congregation went around town planting something like five hundred trees. Everyone took 4 or 5 and planted them wherever they thought they'd look nice, then met back at the church for lunch. That happened a couple days before Christmas Sunday, and sadly, I had prior obligations and was unable to attend. The Christmas sermon was all about being good stewards of the earth. And at the end, instead of the traditional "Silent Night" while holding hands around the sanctuary that I'm used to, we all sang (did you guess it already?) "Heal the World". Yup, the old Michael Jackson classic, complete with heartfelt amens and hallelujahs. I thought it was a little ridiculous. Oh, and we were all supposed to wear green. Or red if you had no green.

So in all fairness, I should have been prepared for this year's theme, announced at the end of church today.

Some churches just have quiet Christmases, members of the congregation exchanging gifts and cards with each other. In some, little kids perform songs they've practiced for months. Some do skits or whole plays. Some go the whole candlelight service route. Others like to get more involved and do clothes drives or open soup kitchens.

But not my church. Oh, not my church. God forbid we do anything normal like hold candles or sing traditional songs*. Oh, heavens, no... My church? My church kicks it up a notch.

The theme for this year's Christmas is (did you guess it yet? If you actually did, I'd probably give you a million dollars. If I could. Because you'd deserve it)....

MASS CIRCUMCISIONS!

That's right. Mass circumcisions. And I don't even mean that figuratively, however that could be meant figuratively. We are really reaching out to the community with this one. Too poor to pay for your teenage** son to get circumcised? No problem! Father's House Community Church will do it for free! FOR CHRISTMAS! And by "FHCC", I actually mean "a doctor". But he's not doing it for free - we have to pay him. We'll just arrange for him to be ready at the church with his scissors sharpened, then we'll serve you some snacks when the doctor is finished with you! Because you know you're gonna wanna eat as soon as you get part of your body cut off. So come one, come all, young and old, and don't forget your bullet to bite down on! Free circumcisions to all, and to all a goodnight!

(At least there's no dress code. I hate to think what it would be. Can't wait to hear the Christmas Sunday sermon though...)


*These things, by the way, are also considered normal in Indonesia. I'm not being totally ethnocentric here.

**Most Indonesian boys are circumcised between the ages of 10 and 14. It's a big sacred ceremonial becoming-a-man thing. The whole family/village comes to watch, and the kid gets lots of money and a sarong to wear for the next week.

Neighbors

So apparently the Scroggins family is moving into the dorm next door. Scroggins? Really? I thought I stopped being neighbors with Kentucky three years ago.

Real Life Pirates

Hey. So a super neat lady I worked with in Kenya got kidnapped by pirates on Tuesday. Like REAL pirates. Somali pirates. THOSE pirates. They are holding her and one other man for ransom. This same group killed a French woman they had in captivity earlier this month.

Her name is Jess, and that’s her in the middle, right next to me. Every single person in this picture makes the list of the most amazing people I’ve ever met and will never forget, but Jess takes the cake. She has chosen to be obedient to God and to serve in what is currently the most dangerous place for foreign aid workers worldwide (according to one article I read). Please, please, please pray for her…

For more, you can read THIS ARTICLE.

Happenings

1. Black cat brought a dead rat inside tonight while I was watching a movie with boyfriend (on a related side-note, boyfriend LOVED Swiss Family Robinson. He sat all leaned forward with his elbows on his knees for most of it).  She took it under the kitchen table and attempted to play with it. The rat didn’t seem too into it. Boyfriend almost peed his pants.

2. I had a whole conversation with an Indonesian today about arm hair. They are truly fascinated. The conversation ended when he asked if he could have some of mine.

3. I mailed a Christmas box to my family today. That is truly amazing. Christmas shopping in 100 degree heat in October. Who ever heard of such a thing?

4. Boyfriend and I cooked dinner tonight – an impressive Indo version of taco soup. It only took 3 of us. I sent my helper to the market earlier with a list of fresh ingredients while I hit up 2 different import stores to find tomato sauce and a can of black beans. Then we met back up at the house to wash and prep all the fresh stuff. Cooking is tough when you don’t have canned/frozen items readily or cheaply available. Do you know how long kidney beans have to boil for before they’re soft enough to eat?? A WHOLE DAY! Ah, well, such is life. And at least I’m eating semi-organically. I left all the chopping and dicing for boyfriend to do when he got came over after work because he dices like a guy selling knives on an infomercial. It is truly amazing. Also, I can’t chop onions without sobbing my eyes out, so I definitely left those for him. But the bottom line is that the soup was delicious; however, I overshot the amount of ingredients (it’s really hard to know how many ears are in “1-10 oz bag of frozen corn”) and we have LOTS of leftovers. So tomorrow we’re making tortillas and chips to go with it.

5. I consider my week off over today since it is the last official day “off”. Tomorrow is Saturday, then comes Sunday, which I would normally have off anyways, so it’s not special anymore. I’ve made several things this week which include the following:

6. Besides Christmas shopping, I also did some shopping for myself this week. That includes supplies for most of the crafts above. I actually found a very limited and highly controlled selection of paint cards that I used for the calendar. I swiped as many as I thought I could while a store employee stood over me watching. I also found a store that sells wool yarn, one size of knitting needles, and BOLTS of cross-stitch fabric. Fun, fun! I think my most useful purchase of the week though was this:

Which is a definite upgrade from this:

I don’t even know what happened to that one on the right. It just turned brown one day. None of them cut worth a darn. That’s what I get for buying 40 cent knives at the open air market. So I splurged a little bit and got a knife set with a block. I’m a big fan already. So was boyfriend earlier with the chopping and dicing. I fear for his fingers.

7. Lastly, here is proof that you can get a sunburn in the shade in Indonesia. No joke. These pictures are from last weekend. Two days in a row of sitting under a tent watching a soccer tournament. It was ridiculously hot, and the only time I wasn’t sitting in the shade was when I was walking 20 seconds to the food tent or 30 seconds to the bathroom. I even wore sunscreen the second day and got burned AGAIN!

Obviously, I am awesome at self-portraits.

 

OK, that’s all for now. Bye!

Cats...

Black cat is methodically searching for something in every single nook and cranny of my bedroom. She's made it about halfway through everything. She even got her entire body under my pillow to make sure that all is well on that front. Now she's climbing the shelves of my lemari (wardrobe thingie) and wedging her face down into the piles of shirts and pants. She also climbed my hanging clothes to check those out top to bottom. That was after climbing into the dirty clothes hamper to make sure nothing in there could eat me in my sleep which immediately preceded crawling inside a folded up blanket on the floor. Earlier, she was on the desk using her paw to move around all the pencils and pens in their jar as she peered down into it. I really wonder what goes through their minds sometimes.

She's been rather quiet ever since I got about halfway through writing this. Let's see where she is...

Hmm... Oddly enough, nowhere to be found. And not coming when I call. Maybe she caught a lizard and ran outside to play with it.

These cats. I regularly find them sleeping on top of a stack of pants, inside the luggage under my bed, underneath couch cushions, inside my backpack, etc. They're a little crazy, but somehow I feel safer having them around. Also, no rats!

Foodfoodfoodfood

This has been a fabulous week, culinarily speaking. Monday, boyfriend and I ate at one of our favorite sidewalk stands, nasi bakar. GRILLED RICE! Delicious. Then on Tuesday, we attempted to make granola for the first time ever. It is quite delicious, if I do say so myself. Boyfriend was super excited, as he's been craving granola for days. We had to go out in the rain to three different stores to find the ONE ingredient that I didn't have (vegetable oil), and then we had to wait for about 20 minutes to let the hundreds of terrified ants evacuate from the oatmeal. But it was worth it. Cinnamon honey granola. Yum. Wednesday, I had Indian food. Like authentic Indian food made by the mother of one of my students - an Indian. So delicious. Today, the Java Dorm is bringing me a grilled stuffed burrito for lunch as a thank you for dormsitting. And as I've mentioned once or twice before, they have the best food. They even use cilantro, which is mostly nonexistent in Indonesia. For dinner, I'll have another grilled stuffed burrito (leftover from lunch, because I can only eat one - they're so huge!). And tomorrow, it's fajitas and probably a treat from the coffeeshop.

Then this weekend is the huge international soccer tournament which also means international food stands! Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and Korean food and Indian food. This week has been the next best thing to eating in Bali, and all right here in Central Java!

This may not seem exciting to you, but when you eat some variation of chicken and rice twice a day EVERY DAY... Well, little treats like these aren't so little anymore!

These Things Happen

So I was gonna take a shower last night before bed, but then I wrote my 2 most recent blog posts instead and ended up taking a shower this morning. Which means I wore my hair down to school since it was wet when I left the house. And it is BLAZING hot this week. So I have resorted to this in an attempt to keep somewhat cool:

Yup, that’s right. I pile my hair on top of my head and twist it around itself to keep it in place. My students have gotten used to it. I taught like this. I look amazing.

 

Also, now I can share what on earth I was talking about last night about asking for prayer for the one family facing a difficult situation. Remember how I was last minute dorm-sitting? Well, the dorm parents came back to Indo yesterday afternoon with the news that their sending org is calling them back to the States. They have TWO WEEKS to sell everything, pack up what’s left, and get the heck out of Dodge. For the kids in school, they are leaving mid-semester and are going to have to get put into public schools in the States. They have no jobs, no house, no transportation, no income in America. They’ll have to leave their two dogs and the vast, vast majority of their belongings behind. They’ve spent the past 10+ years building their life here. Their kids have spent most – or all – of their childhoods in Indonesia. They are involved in so many areas of ministry here – as dorm parents, at our school, in various Bible studies, at their church, they even started an Awana program here. And now they have 2 weeks to say their goodbyes, tie up all their loose ends, and leave it all behind. The dorm kids have no place to stay anymore. Those who are employed there – 5 Indonesian staff – no longer have jobs.

I don’t know the whole story or all the reasons why they are being called off the field, but from what I do know, it seems like a very unjust overreaction to an accidental misunderstanding. It makes me really glad that I am not here through any org or sending agency. And it infuriates me to see the way people are being treated in this situation. My heart especially breaks for the kids. This is the only life they’ve known. They’re great kids, and I know they’ll adjust, but already today, I’ve seen them make the first of many tearful goodbyes to come. It’s always hard to see people go, but it’s even harder when they haven’t chosen to. Please continue to pray…

Things and Things

Got these this week – funny that they showed up in my mailbox on the same day given that I get approximately zero handwritten items per year apart from my birthday and Christmas and this month contains neither of those.

They totally made my day. I think the Indonesian guy who saw me find them in my mailbox must think I’m crazy. Looks like I’ve got some letter writing to do!

In other news, we are hosting a huge soccer tournament for all the international schools on Java and Bali this weekend. And then… NO SCHOOL FOR A WEEK! And for the first time ever, I’m NOT TRAVELING during the long break. I CANNOT WAIT.

In other other news, watch THIS. The most awesomest version of the Doxology that will ever fall upon your ears. Just do it.

Funny How Quickly Things can Change

Well, over the past week, not a whole lot has changed other than that I got a little better at pool, thanks to the pool table in the Java dorm. Today was a different story though. Boyfriend had a job interview this morning in Semarang, and if he gets the job, he could be moving an hour and a half away from my house, as opposed to 8 minutes. That’s a hard thought.

After school, I was over at the dorm when the dorm parents suddenly came home, unannounced – from America! The kids and I didn’t even know they were coming home today – we were just hoping they’d be home by this weekend. So I suddenly packed up a week’s worth of stuff and moved back to my own house. It’s a nice change, but it seems too quiet.

There is a family leaving in November due to health reasons, and I bought several picture frames and their massive desk, which was all moved in while I was gone. So I spent a good part of this evening repainting picture frames and organizing my life in my new desk.

 

It was originally painted black, but I had Mas Deni (the guy who made the bookshelf-now-craftshelf on the left) sand and stain it to match the bookshelf. This desk is awesome – I was able to get rid of my little dorm desk and my crappy wicker-ish bookshelf that I’ve had for three years. I was thankful for those things, but it’s nice to actually have two pieces of furniture that match! I guess the four chairs around the kitchen table all match… but they don’t match the table! The spaciousness of the rest of my room was sacrificed for this desk though. My room is in an L shape – the short leg of the L is occupied entirely by the above 2 items, and now the long part looks like this:

Why, yes… yes I do have a door straight to the outdoors in my bedroom. Don’t you?

And one more shot from over by my bed…

Aaaaah! It’s just so nice! I’m loving it. Organization makes me happy. And see that ugly green plastic thing to the right of the desk? I got everything in that to fit in the desk tonight, so now I can get rid of that too! Next on the list is a matching lemari (the wardrobe thing). The one I currently have is owned by the school, and appears to be 80 year old plywood covered in paper made to look like wood. Again, I’m glad to have it. But I think that my realization that I’m going to be here more than 3 years is manifesting itself through me buying real furniture of my own.

Oya, when I was moving my books off my old bookshelf, I realized that some ants had moved in…

Wellllllllcome to Indonesia…

 

On another note, I talked to some friends today who are facing a super tough situation. I’m not sure how open they’ve been with our community about it, and since I know there are people within this community who read my blog, I better not say too much for now. But I know they’d appreciate prayers!

Watching a Soccer Game with a 3 Year Old

"Let's go Eagles, let's go! Let's go Eagles, let's go! Go yellow! Go yeeeeellllllllllllllloooooooooooow! SANTACLAUSESANTACLAUSESANTACLAUSESANTASANTASANTA!!! SAAAANTA! SIAPA MAU BERDOA?!?"

(Siapa mau berdoa? = Who wants to pray?)

I Love Living in the Java Dorm

I was the only one awake in the dorm for breakfast this morning. When I came up to the dorm kitchen/dining area, I met the helper and we had this conversation:
Her: Can I make you some breakfast?
Me: Sure! What's on the menu?
Her: Omelettes.
Me: Great!
Her: Do you want it with bacon?
Me: Yes!
Her: Cheese?
Me: Yes!
Her: Tomato?
Me: A little bit.
Her: OK. *starts cooking*

After I had finished eating, she asked me, "Do you need me to clean your room today?"

Wow. I mean, I have a helper who cleans my room and makes my bed every day. But the omelette was the real kicker. With REAL cheese. And BACON. Do you know how rarely we eat pork products in this country?! Pork is forbidden for like 94% of the people of this island. It is a delicacy. And a great way to start my day. Also, the real cheese didn't hurt. : )

Well, This Explains a LOT...

A fellow teacher emailed out an article about spotting illnesses early. The article began with this:

We found the top ten virus and bacteria facts that teachers have to know (even if you don’t want to).
1) Top spot for classroom viral presence: student desktop [1]
2) Top spot for bacteria presence: water fountain toggle [1]
3) Most germy job: teacher (Are we surprised?) [1]
4) Germs build up throughout the day. By the afternoon, 50% of classroom surfaces have the flu virus. [1]
5) Teacher illness-related absences average 5.3 days a year. [2]
6) 622 million school days are lost each year in the US due to the common cold. [3]
7) The cold season starts in late August and lasts until April. [3]
8) Forty percent of parents have sent a child to school sick. [4]
9) Seventy-four percent of teachers believe they have missed school because of illnesses picked up from their students. [5]
10) Germs can survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours! [1]
Sources: [1] Study by Charles P. Gerba, University of Arizona, 2005; [2] It’s a Snap, Clean Hands Statistics, [3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [4] June 2006 Clorox Survey, [5] 2005 Scholastic.com survey

So that could explain why I'm so sick all the time. However, I am happy to report that I'm now on my third week of NO SICKNESS! The year started out rough with the flu, food poisoning and a gum infection all in the first month or so, but going strong now! Woohoo!

Lost in Translation

1. I'm watching Hidden Cities on the History channel right now, and this episode focuses on Indonesia. The host is butchering the language. He's in Jogja right now talking about the grounds of the 16th century sultan's palace. I've been there. Its name is Kota Gede. He's got the kota pronunciation down, but he's struggling with gede. It's pronounced kind of like guh-DAY. He keeps saying GAY-day. In the time it took me to write that, he moved on to Mount Merapi. Butchering that too. OHMYGOSH! If you're going to use local words, learn to pronounce them before you go on international TV! It's not that hard!

2. We had an American (Todd from Idaho) sharing at church this morning. It was a pretty good sermon. For a group of intellectuals. But not when someone half your age who has no theology degree is trying to translate what you're saying into one of the most bare bones languages in the developed world. I mean, Indonesian uses the same word for anything that is pleasing to any of the 5 senses. If it tastes good, it's enak. If it feels good, it's enak. If something is comfortable, it's enak. If the view is nice, it is enak. If something smells nice, it's enak. And so on. The poor translator, bless his heart, did an AMAZING job. But things like, "God has infused us with zillions of bits of His own DNA, and so our task here on earth isn't to go to church, it is to BE the church" just really don't translate. (The translator didn't know the word "infused", zillions ISN'T EVEN A REAL WORD, nobody understood how we can have pieces of God in us, and the concept of "church" doesn't translate well either, especially not when people ARE the church. Add to that the fact there isn't a common usage form of the verb "to be" in Indonesian.) Todd from Idaho used a lot of idioms, figurative speech and abstract language too. It took more than an hour to get through the sermon, and by the end, everyone was pretty confused...

3. Earlier, a white friend offered me some food at her house. I declined, saying that I was staying in the Java Dorm (known for having the best food in town) and that I'd had two fajitas and a bowl of chili for dinner already. An Indonesian friend, on overhearing, got confused and interjected, "WAITWAITWAIT.... You had two fetus for dinner?!" Bahaha...

Sudden Change of Plan

Well, the dorm parents for the Java Dorm got suddenly called back to the States by their sending org. And by suddenly, I mean that they were told on Wednesday that they needed to be in Richmond THIS WEEK. So they asked for my help. The thing is that though there are 5 kids living in the dorm, only one is technically a "dorm kid". The other four are the children of the dorm parents. Since dorm rules are pretty strictly laid out (there have to be TWO adults at ALL TIMES in the dorm), the one dorm boy went to stay with a friend, so I'm here in the dorm with the four other kids ranging in age from 10 - 17. They're great about looking after themselves. They just need an adult presence here, especially since this dorm is a popular hangout spot for lots of other kids. I mean, there's always pails of popcorn, a pool table, ping-pong, foosball, an X-Box, a Wii, wireless internet, two dogs and two TVs with cable. So why wouldn't this be one of the most popular after school hangout locations? I mean, there's like 15 middle and high schoolers here now watching the first and second Harry Potter on one of the TVs. Also, this place is HUGE. There are 110 doors in this dorm, each with its own key. I got left a box AND a basket of keys. Aish.

Anyways, since it's only the dorm family's kids here, they know the drill, and I'm pretty free to come and go as I like. I could just about throw a rock at my house from here, which is convenient. My house is on the school campus, just inside the gates. This dorm is just outside the gates. So I still have my ever handy jagas around. In fact, hotjaga stopped by earlier to drop off something of mine that he fixed for me and to make sure that everything was going OK.

The dorm parents don't know when they'll be back. Sometime in the 2 week window. Could be a little less, probably won't be much longer. One good thing in this is that their oldest son (they have 7 kids) is graduating top of his class from Marine academy or some such thing that I don't know the proper terminology for on Wednesday, so they might actually be able to see him graduate!

So anyways, that's what's going on with me. What about you?

Funny Jaga

I just got home from Bible study, and the guard at the gate greeted me with, "Silakan masuk, yang putih."

Come in, white one.

Clever man.

Recommendation Season

It's that time of year again - time for writing recommendation letters for high school seniors. My first year here I got off pretty easy. I was still just building the foundation of my relationships with my students and hadn't known them all that long yet. Also, I didn't teach any of the senior class that year. The only recommendation I had to write my first year was for a 9th grader transferring to the top international high school in China. She had to have a letter from a math teacher.

My second year, I wrote a handful of recommendations, including one to MIT. Theee MIT. Intense.

My third year, I wrote a few more recommendations, because by that point, I'd taught several of the graduating seniors in previous years. I even wrote one for KAIST, the top engineering school in Korea (and 21st in the world).

I know I'm going to be inundated this year. I've taught every single person in this year's senior class a minimum of 2 years in their core math classes, but I've also taught some for longer and some for multiple classes in multiple years. Right now, I'm writing a recommendation for Stanford. I've got two more pending when I finish this one.

I hate writing recommendations. Especially to ivy league schools. It is a tremendous amount of pressure. Siiiigh... But I love my students. So I'll do it for them.

Fall

Fall is undoubtedly the season that I miss the most. I can’t miss Summer because it is Summer half the year here. And I can’t miss Spring because it’s all rain and mud here the other half a year. Not a chance on earth I’ll ever miss Winter. But Fall… Fall has my heart. The smell and the crunch and the feel of the air and the mugs and the scarves and the sweatshirts and the jeans and the bonfires and the hayrides and the pumpkins and the harvests and the deer hunting and the Carhartts and the fair. I love it. It’s been hot here lately. Like really hot. Hot enough that all the grass is brown and crunchy and leaves are falling off the trees, which has been somewhat reminiscent of Fall. But not quite there.

Tonight it got pretty chilly though! I was trying to teach myself how to crochet something other than a hot pad earlier. For the second day in a row. But as it turns out, I don’t understand any of the abbreviations those old ladies use. It’s like Yo, dec 6 then ds3, skip 1, fptr and repeat. Anyways, in the middle of that, the power went out. So I lit candles. Cinnamon candles. Then it got a little windy and my feet were cold, so I put on socks. The the lights came back on after about 20 minutes. Then it cooled down even more, so I put on a sweatshirt. Then I ate a bowl of chili that Ibu Sri made for my dinner while watching a movie curled up on the couch with boyfriend. Then HE got cold, so he grabbed the fleece blanket and wrapped up.

Anyways, the point that is that due to the cinnamon smell wafting about and the wind and the chill and the socks and the sweatshirt and the chili and the movie and the blanket, it was almost Fall-ish tonight. And I enjoyed it. Thoroughly.

So that is all and now I am going to bed. At 9:30. Because I want to snuggle up with my comforter. Goodnight!

Facts

1. My favorite song today that I keep playing on repeat is Cat Power's cover of Wonderwall. The Oasis version was the anthem of my Sophomore year of college. Happy, happy memories.

2. The local coffeeshop finally found a barista to work full time, so now they are open daily until 8 PM instead of just 10 - 5 on Fridays! I am so much more productive when I have a coffeeshop to work in. Of course, I spend lots of money and will probably gain weight. But being there causes me to sit still and focus for longer than 20 minutes. It helps me be a better teacher.

3. I am so happy that I got an exacto knife this summer. I'm using it to make a triangle collage of Africa. Hmmmm... Try and guess what that is.

4. The junior soccer team (7th and 8th grade) practiced on my front lawn today. I came home from the coffeeshop to find half my potted herbs knocked over, a hole blown in my screen door and little bits of wire spewn 2 meters across my living room floor. My door got nailed with a ball. Good job, junior boys.

5. I learned Dutch geography and Costa Rican culture this afternoon. I love our international community.

6. I have now gone a full week without getting sick. Hurrah!

7. I really really really wish that I was the kind of person who was awesome at long distance communication. But I am not. I really kind of stink at maintaining relationships that are right in front of me. Relationships are one of the most exhausting things for me. Life as an introvert is tough.

8. I shook hands with the Indonesian minister of education earlier today. Then he proceeded to take my picture. He came all the way from Jakarta to check out our school.

9. Had a nice talk with my boss earlier about my intentions for next year. I told him that I am planning on staying here for at least another year. (!!)

10. As of today, I have sold 6 handmade scarves, two of which were custom made in the last two weeks. Too bad I can't buy yarn here. I'd make a killing.

OKBYE.

Random Midnight Post

So it's midnight on a Saturday night. And I'm not tired yet. I just read my journal from Kenya because I was trying to remember a word in Swahili. Got it. Lots and lots of good memories. And lots and lots of hard memories. It still amazes me that I was there for only two months. The things I saw... I feel like I was there for years. At one point I wrote, "No-one will understand". You can't understand what happens in Africa until you are willing to see it for yourself, really see it.

Today I went to two villages to teach English with some friends. In the first village, we taught 6 kids in a church. I asked around (it is amazing to finally be able to ask just about anything to just about anyone in Indonesian) and found out that there ARE Christians in that village. Usually the small villages are 100% Muslim. That particular church has 11 people in its congregation and the pastor comes from the city every Sunday morning. In the second village, we taught about 30 kids in the front room of the village leader's home. I never saw a church there, and when I asked, I found out that there are only 2 Christians in that entire village - an old man and his wife.

Sometimes I have this crazy thought that I just want to walk away from the life I have now and move into a village. Leave all my American-ness and my American things and my Westernized house here in the city and go live like a villager. No laptop, no Blackberry, no shower and no toilet, no fridge and no stove. I would have wooden walls chewed up by termites and dirt floors. I might have $70 a month if I get a full time job. I'd sleep on a thin pad on the floor. No tampons. No mousse for my curly hair. I'd bathe in my underwear at the village well in buckets of freezing cold water. I would only eat meat on special occasions. I'd cook on a propane burner if I ever cooked at all. And of course, I'd have to learn Javanese if I want to have any chance of surviving out there.

I was thinking about that again today while we were teaching. White people go out into some of those villages and teach English and do what they can. But let's face it - rich white people coming in their expensive cars for 45 minutes every week or two doesn't reach people or change hearts.

Sometimes I get excited when I think about doing that. Then I think about the future. And kids. And I want mine to be able to Skype with their grandparents in America. So I'll need my laptop and wireless internet. And I want them to have a good education, so I'm going to need to cough up $4000 a year or so for them to go to an international school. And I want them to have Fred Flintstone vitamins and toothbrushes. And I want them to have a balanced diet and table manners and to know how to use silverware. I want them to be able to go to college in America if they want to. I already feel stressed when I think about how on earth I'm going to pay for that, just ask Aswan - he knows. I don't want to deprive them of what they could have because of a choice that they had no say in.

Maybe village life is for me. But I don't want it for my kids. So now I feel conflicted. At 12:18 AM. This is probably a sign that I should go to bed, right? Right. Goodnight 24% of full waxing crescent moon.