You know those things that are like rats? But they are smaller. Like small rats. But their tails are short. They're called shrews.
Well, there is one living behind your neighbor's house. She has a box of books stored behind her house, and the shrew is living in there. I saw it. And I followed it to the box. And I saw all of the poop. That's how I know it's living there.
So I called my cats.... I mean, your cats.... And I tried to make the yellow one eat the shrew. The yellow cat likes to eat rats. And he saw that shrew. But shrews smell bad, so animals usually don't want to eat them. But the yellow cat saw it. And he followed the shrew. And I thought he was going to eat it.
He got really close to the shrew. But then I think the shrew probably farted. Because suddenly the yellow cat ran away and he wouldn't come back.
I don't want to touch it because it smells bad. And your neighbor's helper is scared. When she sees it, she just freezes and screams for me to come chase it back in the box.
So the shrew still lives in that box of books.
THE END
27 May 2015
14 May 2015
Dead Week
At our school, the week before finals is affectionately known as "Dead Week". Officially, that is the name because all after school activities die down, giving teachers and students more time to prepare for finals. Unofficially, we all know that Dead Week really refers to how everyone feels on the inside.
Here are some things I've been busy with this week.
1. Dress code. Teachers are sick of enforcing it, so we are having uniform shirts made for next year. We decided this would be much easier than trying to enforce a strict dress code (currently students are to wear a solid colored collared shirt, but that is apparently way too ambiguous for most students). There are three people on the dress code committee - myself and two other teachers. I am the most fluent in Indonesian of the three, and I am also the only one who will be staying in country over the summer. So I am kind of in charge of this whole thing. The first step is customizing our sizing. An Indonesian size L is very different from a Western size L. So we have to provide the garment factory with a sample size for every type of shirt we want. So my main task this week has been to consider the entire secondary student body and decide who is a good representative of each size: S, M, L, and XL for their gender. Then, I have to borrow a polo shirt and an oxford shirt from each representative student to be sent off to the factory for measurements on Monday. I met with the people there for 2 hours earlier this week, and this is what they requested. It's more work for me now, but it will streamline the process later on. Then I also have to decide on style. How many buttons should each shirt have? Should the oxford shirts be long sleeved or short sleeved? How big should the school logo embroidered on the chest be? Should there be a pocket or not? How thick/thin should the material be? What color should it be? Should the tag be inside the collar or sewn into the left seam? What should be written on the tag? I tell you what - making 1000 shirts from scratch is HARD WORK.
2. Writing recommendation letters. I have ELEVEN recommendation letters to write this week. I really hate writing recommendation letters.
3. Preparing for next year's student retreat. We do this at the beginning of each school year, so preparations need to be finalized now so that we're not scrambling to get things ready at the beginning of next year. I somehow ended up on a committee that I did not volunteer for. And I'm the only female teacher on the committee. So anytime we need to e-mail someone, research something, look something up, or communicate with someone, I am volunteered for the job. This week, we have been trying to find a speaker for the retreat.
4. Killing ants. Dry season is starting (a big hooray for this!), which means ants are moving indoors to find food and water. I have found two ant nests in my kitchen so far this week. I bought an industrial sized bottle of bug killer, and I have been spraying it indiscriminately all over my house. It's probably going to kill me.
5. Battling a cold and possibly a mild case of the flu. I've had a headache, low grade fever, and a runny nose, and I've been sneezing and running back and forth to the bathroom for the past few days.
6. Writing finals. Thankfully, I only have three to write instead of four. But writing finals takes a LOT of time and thought. Because of everything going on this week, I haven't yet finished writing my finals. I should be doing that now, but I needed a distraction, so I decided to write this instead.
7. Purchasing textbooks for next year. I have new Pre-Calculus books for next year (for the first time since 2000!), but no teacher edition. This book is very difficult to find online for less than $300, but I have a solid lead. I also got approval to buy new AP Calculus textbooks! The book our school has been using is actually a college calculus text. In fact, it's the same textbook I used in college - but it's an OLDER edition. I'm trying to purchase the textbooks through the publisher (who will remain unnamed), but it has been hellish. Ordering books internationally generally is. I won't go into all the ridiculous details, but their customer service is a nightmare, and two weeks into the process, I have made no headway. Fingers crossed that I can order the books in time for them to arrive before school starts!
8. Grading final unit tests and projects. Fourth quarter pretty much wraps up during dead week, so all final things are due. I try not to make too many things due this week for the sake of my own sanity.
9. Dealing with students begging for extra credit. Oh, really? Your grade is a B? And you think you deserve extra credit now, even though you didn't turn in four assignments last month or do either of the two extra credit opportunities I already gave the class? REALLY?
10. Helping students prepare for AP exams and final exams. This is the most stressful time of year for students, and I try to be sensitive to that by giving them lots of review time and materials. It's extra work for me, but it helps reduce their stress level. And happy students make a happy teacher.
11. Calculating and entering final grades. #teacherlife
12. And if all that busy-ness isn't enough, I am also celebrating a wonderful influx of hormones this week. Thankfully I've only had two stress induced cries this week. Unfortunately, both were in front of male coworkers.
In case it's not obvious, I'm REALLY looking forward to summer vacation. I have a long list of things to work on then too, but at least I can do it on my own schedule at a more relaxed pace. One more week!!
Here are some things I've been busy with this week.
1. Dress code. Teachers are sick of enforcing it, so we are having uniform shirts made for next year. We decided this would be much easier than trying to enforce a strict dress code (currently students are to wear a solid colored collared shirt, but that is apparently way too ambiguous for most students). There are three people on the dress code committee - myself and two other teachers. I am the most fluent in Indonesian of the three, and I am also the only one who will be staying in country over the summer. So I am kind of in charge of this whole thing. The first step is customizing our sizing. An Indonesian size L is very different from a Western size L. So we have to provide the garment factory with a sample size for every type of shirt we want. So my main task this week has been to consider the entire secondary student body and decide who is a good representative of each size: S, M, L, and XL for their gender. Then, I have to borrow a polo shirt and an oxford shirt from each representative student to be sent off to the factory for measurements on Monday. I met with the people there for 2 hours earlier this week, and this is what they requested. It's more work for me now, but it will streamline the process later on. Then I also have to decide on style. How many buttons should each shirt have? Should the oxford shirts be long sleeved or short sleeved? How big should the school logo embroidered on the chest be? Should there be a pocket or not? How thick/thin should the material be? What color should it be? Should the tag be inside the collar or sewn into the left seam? What should be written on the tag? I tell you what - making 1000 shirts from scratch is HARD WORK.
2. Writing recommendation letters. I have ELEVEN recommendation letters to write this week. I really hate writing recommendation letters.
3. Preparing for next year's student retreat. We do this at the beginning of each school year, so preparations need to be finalized now so that we're not scrambling to get things ready at the beginning of next year. I somehow ended up on a committee that I did not volunteer for. And I'm the only female teacher on the committee. So anytime we need to e-mail someone, research something, look something up, or communicate with someone, I am volunteered for the job. This week, we have been trying to find a speaker for the retreat.
4. Killing ants. Dry season is starting (a big hooray for this!), which means ants are moving indoors to find food and water. I have found two ant nests in my kitchen so far this week. I bought an industrial sized bottle of bug killer, and I have been spraying it indiscriminately all over my house. It's probably going to kill me.
5. Battling a cold and possibly a mild case of the flu. I've had a headache, low grade fever, and a runny nose, and I've been sneezing and running back and forth to the bathroom for the past few days.
6. Writing finals. Thankfully, I only have three to write instead of four. But writing finals takes a LOT of time and thought. Because of everything going on this week, I haven't yet finished writing my finals. I should be doing that now, but I needed a distraction, so I decided to write this instead.
7. Purchasing textbooks for next year. I have new Pre-Calculus books for next year (for the first time since 2000!), but no teacher edition. This book is very difficult to find online for less than $300, but I have a solid lead. I also got approval to buy new AP Calculus textbooks! The book our school has been using is actually a college calculus text. In fact, it's the same textbook I used in college - but it's an OLDER edition. I'm trying to purchase the textbooks through the publisher (who will remain unnamed), but it has been hellish. Ordering books internationally generally is. I won't go into all the ridiculous details, but their customer service is a nightmare, and two weeks into the process, I have made no headway. Fingers crossed that I can order the books in time for them to arrive before school starts!
8. Grading final unit tests and projects. Fourth quarter pretty much wraps up during dead week, so all final things are due. I try not to make too many things due this week for the sake of my own sanity.
9. Dealing with students begging for extra credit. Oh, really? Your grade is a B? And you think you deserve extra credit now, even though you didn't turn in four assignments last month or do either of the two extra credit opportunities I already gave the class? REALLY?
10. Helping students prepare for AP exams and final exams. This is the most stressful time of year for students, and I try to be sensitive to that by giving them lots of review time and materials. It's extra work for me, but it helps reduce their stress level. And happy students make a happy teacher.
11. Calculating and entering final grades. #teacherlife
12. And if all that busy-ness isn't enough, I am also celebrating a wonderful influx of hormones this week. Thankfully I've only had two stress induced cries this week. Unfortunately, both were in front of male coworkers.
In case it's not obvious, I'm REALLY looking forward to summer vacation. I have a long list of things to work on then too, but at least I can do it on my own schedule at a more relaxed pace. One more week!!
07 May 2015
Student Sayings
Student: Can we take a break?
Me: No, not yet.
Student: Aaaaaah, you're just like Kim Jong-un!
********************************************
Student: Did you change the color of your eyes?
********************************************
Me: Why aren't you in dress code?
Student: Oh, I have a note. *hands me a note*
Note: Please excuse (student) for not wearing a dress code shirt. His shirt got soiled in Biology due to chicken dissection.
********************************************
A male student came into class wearing a hoodie zipped all the way up.
Me: Are you wearing a dress code shirt? (while reaching out my hand, pretending like I was going to unzip his hoodie)
Student: *screams* DON'T LOOK AT THAT! THAT'S MY PRIVATE PARTS!
The rest of the room: *absolute silence*
********************************************
Me: If you have finished your homework, you may turn it in now. If you still have some work to do on it, you can also turn it in next time we meet.
Student: But is it alright if I turn it in now?
********************************************
Student: Did you already finish your morning coffee?
Me: Yes.
Student: Uh-oh.
Me: What?
Student: That's bad news.
Me: Why?
Student: You're nicer when you're drinking coffee.
********************************************
03 May 2015
Kenapa Dia Yang Layak?
There's an Indonesian worship song I've written about before. It's one of my favorite songs. Not because it's terribly deep or profound. Actually kind of the opposite. I like it because it's simple. And because sometimes I find myself singing it in English - even though it doesn't have an English version.
The chorus simply goes:
Kau yang layak,
Kau yang layak,
Kau yang layak disembah.
You are worthy,
You are worthy,
You are worthy to be praised.
Today as we sang that song at church, our worship leader challenged each of us to take a moment and think about WHY He is worthy. There are many reasons, but he encouraged each of us to have one in mind as we continued to sing.
As an ace Sunday School student, naturally, my first thought was, "He is worthy because He died for my sins." It was early in the morning, and my brain wasn't all the way on yet, so I just went with that reason in my mind.
The second time through the chorus though, I felt a quiet voice in my heart whisper, "I am worthy because I am the same."
I had to stop singing and think about that one.
This week was a rough one, full of disappointment and heartbreak and anger and tears and maybe even a little bit of grief. In times like this, it's all too easy for me to forget that no matter what happens around me, no matter how broken this world is, no matter how deeply people disappoint me, God is still the same. He never changes.
I was reminded of that so very powerfully this morning. The God that I worship today is the exact same God that I worshiped last week. In the past seven days, the world changed - things shifted - ever so slightly.
But He didn't.
Apapun yang terjadi di dunia ini, Dia tidak akan berubah. Dia tetap sama kemarin, hari ini, dan sampai selama-lamanya. Dan dia yang layak disembah.
He is worthy to be praised.
The chorus simply goes:
Kau yang layak,
Kau yang layak,
Kau yang layak disembah.
You are worthy,
You are worthy,
You are worthy to be praised.
Today as we sang that song at church, our worship leader challenged each of us to take a moment and think about WHY He is worthy. There are many reasons, but he encouraged each of us to have one in mind as we continued to sing.
As an ace Sunday School student, naturally, my first thought was, "He is worthy because He died for my sins." It was early in the morning, and my brain wasn't all the way on yet, so I just went with that reason in my mind.
The second time through the chorus though, I felt a quiet voice in my heart whisper, "I am worthy because I am the same."
I had to stop singing and think about that one.
This week was a rough one, full of disappointment and heartbreak and anger and tears and maybe even a little bit of grief. In times like this, it's all too easy for me to forget that no matter what happens around me, no matter how broken this world is, no matter how deeply people disappoint me, God is still the same. He never changes.
I was reminded of that so very powerfully this morning. The God that I worship today is the exact same God that I worshiped last week. In the past seven days, the world changed - things shifted - ever so slightly.
But He didn't.
Apapun yang terjadi di dunia ini, Dia tidak akan berubah. Dia tetap sama kemarin, hari ini, dan sampai selama-lamanya. Dan dia yang layak disembah.
He is worthy to be praised.
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