This morning, in an unprecedented move, I suddenly decided to document my walk to work. At this time of day, I have been awake for approximately 20 minutes. I have not yet eaten, and I have not yet spoken aloud.
I am NOT a morning person, and my bed is hard to leave every morning. Especially on dismal, cloudy mornings when I wake up to a room as dark as this. On sunny mornings, light streams through those curtains and wakes me up before 6.
Right outside my front door. The strong winds we’ve been having for 3 days now have knocked down 1.5 of the wooden blinds that hang in front of each of the three apartments in my building.
This sidewalk comes perpendicularly to my house. I have to walk to the end of it to get around the cement wall. There are two large trees here, and every day I’ve been cleaning off all the branches and sticks from the sidewalk. This is how many fell last night.
Looking back at my building. My apartment is the one on the right. I’m the only one who hasn’t lost any blinds yet!
At the end of the sidewalk, I have to turn 180 degrees, go up these steps, and onto the soccer field and track. It’s faster to cut across the field (I’m headed toward those big white buildings in the background), but the field is sopping wet with dew in the morning, and I hate having wet pants cuffs for 2 hours. So I take the long way around on the track. Red dirt!
Our illustrious soccer field. On the left is a jungle which produces many snakes near my house. Straight ahead are our two gyms.
I spotted some blue sky while I was on the track! This means it will probably clear up soon and be a sunny morning after all!
Looking back across the soccer field at my house. All those buildings used to be our elementary school. Now the one on the left is my house and the buildings toward the right were sold several years ago and turned into a language school. The building right next to mine is the one with the noisy roof. My cats were also born in the ceiling of that building, and sometimes I look out my back window and catch them just hanging out on the roof over there.
Across the soccer field now, I jump on this little walkway which leads to the gym parking lot. This may seem like an insignificant little bunch of cement pavers, but I love them. They were a gift from the graduating class of 2009. Everyone thought it was a stupid idea, but anytime it rains, this little stretch of grass turns into a swamp. For my first year here, I used to have to walk home through a shin deep puddle of water most days. Not anymore, I tell you!!
On clear days, I can see the mountain from the gym parking lot. Today you can just see the base of it above the trees there. For reference’s sake, I’m including a picture I took on the way to school earlier this week.
I didn’t take any pictures in the gym because it’s boring and dark in the morning. Fun fact – once I make it to the gym, the rest of my walk has a roof over it. All the buildings at our school are connected by covered walkways due to the rains. Also, in the gym is usually where I make my first utterance of each day. Most days I pass one or two of the groundskeeping and/or maintenance staff on their way out to the storage shed by the soccer field, and we always say good morning to each other. This morning I didn’t pass a single person.
After the gym, I pass between the locker rooms on my left and the elementary playground on the right. I call it the Swiss Family Robinson jungle gym. There are usually kids out here playing tetherball when I pass by, but not today.
After I round the corner of the locker rooms, I go up a set of steps, then walk along the elementary school for several meters.
Round the corner of the elementary, cross the drop off zone, and I’m in the pavilion. This is where I eat lunch every day.
Through the breezeway. I like my tunnel. It might be my favorite part of my walk each morning. Once I get spewed out the other side, I’m officially in the secondary school. Sorry the picture is blurry. I actually took it while walking.
Once I’m in the secondary area, I usually drop by Yohanes’ office first to tell him good morning and discuss what we dreamed about last night and how many 9th graders I might potentially murder today. This morning, I found him just outside his office and this was his default face when he saw the camera in my hand. Silly boy.
Down the “hall” and to the right, there’s my classroom. Every class opens to the outside. Another fun fact – to lock or unlock a door in Indonesia, you have to turn the key 720 degrees (2 complete turns!). One time I opened the door and found a cobra waiting for me on the floor. That was 2.5 years ago. But still, every time I open my classroom door, I do a quick snake check. Recently there have been lots of baby geckos (about 1.5 inches long) hanging out in my room that scatter when I come in. But no snakes.
My classroom before students come in and the Great Desk Migration begins. By the end of the day, these desks somehow end up scattered all over the room. I really wish I could bolt them to the floor.
Once I’m in my room, I power up the old laptop and check many things. Contact with the outside world is initiated. I have learned a great deal of joyous news at this exact place at this approximate time. Sometimes I also get sad news.
And thus my day begins.
