last night, we had solafide, which is an english language fellowship right near the christian college in town. i was helping lead worship, so i had to be there early to run through some of the songs. i got a ride with one of the other guitarists, melissa... it was pretty cloudy when we left, and her neighbor warned us that it might "hujan" (rain). we decided to try to beat it. she grabbed her rain poncho just in case. sure enough, soon after we left, it started sprinkling, and it steadily got faster and harder. we came to the first stoplight (about halfway there), and melissa threw on her poncho. i, unfortunately was on the back of her bike trying to hold two guitars - which were catching wind terribly - while attempting to stay balanced and actually on the bike. the light turned green, and the rain, which had obviously been watching the light too, let loose.
so now we were on one of the main roads in salatiga in pouring rain with buses and trucks flying by. i was soaked clear through everything in less than 10 seconds. we made it safely to sf.... but as i walked in, i felt like a little kid who jumped out of a swimming pool and ran into the house without bothering to dry off first. everywhere i went, a puddle was forming beneath me. the only dry part of me was my head, thanks to my clearly multitalented helmet. hoho got a towel for us, but our first concern was getting the guitars dry. melissa had gotten somewhat wet, but thanks to her poncho, she was nowhere near as wet as i. i went outside to wring my shirt out and tried to swick some of the water out of my jeans. it didn't do much.
so we had solafide. we led worship, and i forgot i was wet for most of that time. but when the speaker began to share with us and i set my guitar down and was no longer moving, but sitting still right inside the open door in the night air, i began to shiver uncontrollably. like that shivering that starts in your abs and makes your whole body shake. i don't think anybody noticed, especially since our australian friend who was sharing was 100% engaging and hilarious.
afterward, i was still pretty soaked, but my hunger overrided my uncomfortable-ness, and a bunch of us went out to eat. we had to ride through more rain to get there. and it was still raining when we finished. and believe it or not, when it rains at night here, it gets quite chilly. and plus, i'm acclimatized (aka: i'm a wimp when it dips below 75).
so pretty much as soon as we finished eating, rather than sticking around to hang out, melissa and i decided to head home to hot showers and warm beds. we didn't really take into account how miserable the ride home would be. we were both in wet t-shirts with no jackets riding in the open air. by the time we got home, i had been shivering so badly that the back of my neck was all knotted up and my abs were sore. i peeled off my wet clothes and sat in the shower for about 30 minutes. thank God for little things like hot water.
i laid out my things to dry, but when i woke up this morning, my jeans and my guitar case were still quite wet.
i never thought i'd be that cold in indonesia.
30 April 2009
you know what they say....
so i've been having this weird.... condition, i guess you could call it.
on my legs below my knees. unfortunate.
it happened once before, but yohanes suggested some good antiseptic, which i used, and it cleared right up.
then it happened again.
it starts out as a bite of some kind.
it's about the size of a quarter, and it swells up and feels tender for a few days.
then the swelling goes down some and it just itches like the blazes.
then it reaches my favorite stage in which it starts pusing.
the pus is accompanied by a bruising of the area around the bite mark.
then it starts to dry up and scab over.
the whole process takes about 2 weeks, more for the scabs to heal completely.
the bites have been occuring in groups of 4 - 6.
i had my friend, mbak pita, take a look at it to see what she thought.
she said that it looks like bedbugs.
then she started to laugh and told me that only the really village (country) girls get bedbugs.
it brought to mind an old saying. in more ways than one.
"you can take a girl out of the country......"
on my legs below my knees. unfortunate.
it happened once before, but yohanes suggested some good antiseptic, which i used, and it cleared right up.
then it happened again.
it starts out as a bite of some kind.
it's about the size of a quarter, and it swells up and feels tender for a few days.
then the swelling goes down some and it just itches like the blazes.
then it reaches my favorite stage in which it starts pusing.
the pus is accompanied by a bruising of the area around the bite mark.
then it starts to dry up and scab over.
the whole process takes about 2 weeks, more for the scabs to heal completely.
the bites have been occuring in groups of 4 - 6.
i had my friend, mbak pita, take a look at it to see what she thought.
she said that it looks like bedbugs.
then she started to laugh and told me that only the really village (country) girls get bedbugs.
it brought to mind an old saying. in more ways than one.
"you can take a girl out of the country......"
29 April 2009
white supremacy
isaac: so number 23 would be a sine curve, right?
me: what do you think, isaac?
isaac: it's a sine curve, right?........ no, it's cosine. definitely cosine. right?
me: isaac. stop. think.
isaac: it starts in the middle. it's a sine curve. yeah, a sine curve. am i right?
me: i'm not telling. you decide.
isaac: what?! tell me!
me: nope. you're smart. figure it out.
isaac: sun joon. is 23 a sine curve? let me see your paper. *grabs sun joon's paper*
me: isaac! think for yourself!
isaac: i can't! I'M BLACK!!
me: what do you think, isaac?
isaac: it's a sine curve, right?........ no, it's cosine. definitely cosine. right?
me: isaac. stop. think.
isaac: it starts in the middle. it's a sine curve. yeah, a sine curve. am i right?
me: i'm not telling. you decide.
isaac: what?! tell me!
me: nope. you're smart. figure it out.
isaac: sun joon. is 23 a sine curve? let me see your paper. *grabs sun joon's paper*
me: isaac! think for yourself!
isaac: i can't! I'M BLACK!!
you have turned...
so i have this friend who has an undisclosed name.
he is a new Christian.
he is learning.
he is growing.
he is discovering God.
today i was talking to him online.
when it was all over, i was once again amazed at God.
and how He takes the bad.
and uses it for good.
our conversation:
23:34 B: Hey kid.
23:34 Me: hihihi
23:35 B: How are you doing?!
23:35 Me: just found a kid cheating on a test.
he knows i know. waiting for him to do the right thing.
23:35 B: Discipline?
23:35 Me: i will break his legs.
23:35 B: Appropriate.
23:36 Me: i thought so. he knows better.
23:36 B: Win some, lose most, I guess.
23:37 Me: maybe. how's life?
23:37 B: I'm alright. How is yours?
23:38 Me: better than most, it's fair to say.
23:38 B: I guess you could say that.
23:41 B: I need to learn about forgiveness.
Really the forgiving myself part of it.
I am going through that lately.
Just need to work on it.
23:44 Me: how do you work on something like that?
23:45 B: I don't know.
I was going to talk to other Christians about it.
A better answer to your question of how I am doing - I am working on that.
With great struggle. I have no idea how to forgive myself. I am pretty hard on myself.
23:46 Me: what do you need to forgive yourself for?
23:47 B: Something gross.
Disgusting.
Sick.
Rough.
Nasty.
Filthy.
23:48 Me: are you ok? that sounds real bad.
23:48 B: Dirty.
I have no idea.
23:49 Me: well. is this something that is entirely in the past?
23:49 B: Yeah.
23:49 Me: have you told anyone about it before? like with specifics?
23:50 B: Yeah.
23:50 Me: and did they forgive you?
23:50 B: I don't think they were in any position to?
23:51 Me: well, then maybe you need to find someone in your life who this DOES effect. talk to them. and let them forgive you. maybe you need to be shown forgiveness before you can really forgive yourself?
23:51 B: You are entirely right.
23:52 Me: i think that sometimes people just need to know that the things they've done are forgiveable.
i bet that's one of the top 10 reasons people avoid God... they think that He can't forgive them for what they've done.
23:53 B: Ah.
That is probably true.
23:53 Me: anyways, sorry if i'm preaching. you didn't ask for my opinion.
23:53 B: I think we both know I was looking for it.
23:54 Me: well, I know that i can tend to give my opinion where it is not always wanted.
23:54 B: I wanted your insight.
23:54 Me: i don't really have any.
23:55 B: You had more than I did.
23:55 Me: has God forgiven you?
23:57 B: I have no idea what that is even like.
Other than that He has for everything before it even happens.
23:57 Me: i don't think that's true.
23:57 B: Which part?
23:57 Me: that He forgives you before it even happens.
23:58 B: Oh, I don't know where I heard that.
23:58 Me: well, i'm not a theologian. but i think you have to ask for it first.
23:58 B: Sounds right to me.
23:58 Me: and not in a "i know what i did is wrong, and i'll probably do it again tomorrow, but you have to forgive me now anyways because you're God" kind of way.
00:00 Me: but more in a truly broken way, knowing that you are coming to the Man who created you out of a piece of dirt with His bare hands.... and you are telling Him your deepest, darkest, dirtiest, filthiest secrets and asking Him to forgive your wrongs and forget your sins. and then knowing that because He is God and He is Good, He WILL.
maybe it's like this kid i caught cheating. i have a good relationship with him. i love him. he's mostly a good kid. i already know he cheated. and he knows that i know.
now i'm just waiting for him to tell me. to come and make it right. if he doesn't, this is going to be hanging over our relationship. i'll still love him. but it won't be the same. there will be this thing in between us. this distrust. this half-secret.
but if he comes to talk to me... and tells me what he did and that he knows it was wrong... how much better would that make the situation? of course i'll forgive him. i WANT to forgive him. i'm ready to right now. but i feel like i can't until the wrong has been made right.
00:05 B: That is a wonderful way of putting it, I think.
00:05 Me: i think i'm suddenly glad that he cheated.
00:05 B: I know I am.
That kid dealt me a solid.
00:06 Me: yeah, well, when i break his legs, i'll be sure to tell him.
00:06 B: Thank you very much for talking.
00:06 Me: anytime.
thank you for sharing struggles with me.
i will pray for you.
promise.
00:06 B: Thank you very very much.
00:06 Me: be good, yeah?
00:07 B: Yes, ma'am.
Thank you so much.
I am thankful for you.
Thanks for talking.
Have a lovely day.
*note of clarification*
with this student who cheated....
i gave him today to come talk to me about what happened.
but he chose not to.
and so that means that tomorrow i have to confront him on it.
and it's gonna be hard.
because i'm emotionally involved.
i'm disappointed that he did it.
and i'm just as disappointed that he didn't come to me about it.
especially since he knows that i know.
it makes the situation different.
it makes me see him differently.
i would appreciate prayers.
yeah.
he is a new Christian.
he is learning.
he is growing.
he is discovering God.
today i was talking to him online.
when it was all over, i was once again amazed at God.
and how He takes the bad.
and uses it for good.
our conversation:
23:34 B: Hey kid.
23:34 Me: hihihi
23:35 B: How are you doing?!
23:35 Me: just found a kid cheating on a test.
he knows i know. waiting for him to do the right thing.
23:35 B: Discipline?
23:35 Me: i will break his legs.
23:35 B: Appropriate.
23:36 Me: i thought so. he knows better.
23:36 B: Win some, lose most, I guess.
23:37 Me: maybe. how's life?
23:37 B: I'm alright. How is yours?
23:38 Me: better than most, it's fair to say.
23:38 B: I guess you could say that.
23:41 B: I need to learn about forgiveness.
Really the forgiving myself part of it.
I am going through that lately.
Just need to work on it.
23:44 Me: how do you work on something like that?
23:45 B: I don't know.
I was going to talk to other Christians about it.
A better answer to your question of how I am doing - I am working on that.
With great struggle. I have no idea how to forgive myself. I am pretty hard on myself.
23:46 Me: what do you need to forgive yourself for?
23:47 B: Something gross.
Disgusting.
Sick.
Rough.
Nasty.
Filthy.
23:48 Me: are you ok? that sounds real bad.
23:48 B: Dirty.
I have no idea.
23:49 Me: well. is this something that is entirely in the past?
23:49 B: Yeah.
23:49 Me: have you told anyone about it before? like with specifics?
23:50 B: Yeah.
23:50 Me: and did they forgive you?
23:50 B: I don't think they were in any position to?
23:51 Me: well, then maybe you need to find someone in your life who this DOES effect. talk to them. and let them forgive you. maybe you need to be shown forgiveness before you can really forgive yourself?
23:51 B: You are entirely right.
23:52 Me: i think that sometimes people just need to know that the things they've done are forgiveable.
i bet that's one of the top 10 reasons people avoid God... they think that He can't forgive them for what they've done.
23:53 B: Ah.
That is probably true.
23:53 Me: anyways, sorry if i'm preaching. you didn't ask for my opinion.
23:53 B: I think we both know I was looking for it.
23:54 Me: well, I know that i can tend to give my opinion where it is not always wanted.
23:54 B: I wanted your insight.
23:54 Me: i don't really have any.
23:55 B: You had more than I did.
23:55 Me: has God forgiven you?
23:57 B: I have no idea what that is even like.
Other than that He has for everything before it even happens.
23:57 Me: i don't think that's true.
23:57 B: Which part?
23:57 Me: that He forgives you before it even happens.
23:58 B: Oh, I don't know where I heard that.
23:58 Me: well, i'm not a theologian. but i think you have to ask for it first.
23:58 B: Sounds right to me.
23:58 Me: and not in a "i know what i did is wrong, and i'll probably do it again tomorrow, but you have to forgive me now anyways because you're God" kind of way.
00:00 Me: but more in a truly broken way, knowing that you are coming to the Man who created you out of a piece of dirt with His bare hands.... and you are telling Him your deepest, darkest, dirtiest, filthiest secrets and asking Him to forgive your wrongs and forget your sins. and then knowing that because He is God and He is Good, He WILL.
maybe it's like this kid i caught cheating. i have a good relationship with him. i love him. he's mostly a good kid. i already know he cheated. and he knows that i know.
now i'm just waiting for him to tell me. to come and make it right. if he doesn't, this is going to be hanging over our relationship. i'll still love him. but it won't be the same. there will be this thing in between us. this distrust. this half-secret.
but if he comes to talk to me... and tells me what he did and that he knows it was wrong... how much better would that make the situation? of course i'll forgive him. i WANT to forgive him. i'm ready to right now. but i feel like i can't until the wrong has been made right.
00:05 B: That is a wonderful way of putting it, I think.
00:05 Me: i think i'm suddenly glad that he cheated.
00:05 B: I know I am.
That kid dealt me a solid.
00:06 Me: yeah, well, when i break his legs, i'll be sure to tell him.
00:06 B: Thank you very much for talking.
00:06 Me: anytime.
thank you for sharing struggles with me.
i will pray for you.
promise.
00:06 B: Thank you very very much.
00:06 Me: be good, yeah?
00:07 B: Yes, ma'am.
Thank you so much.
I am thankful for you.
Thanks for talking.
Have a lovely day.
*note of clarification*
with this student who cheated....
i gave him today to come talk to me about what happened.
but he chose not to.
and so that means that tomorrow i have to confront him on it.
and it's gonna be hard.
because i'm emotionally involved.
i'm disappointed that he did it.
and i'm just as disappointed that he didn't come to me about it.
especially since he knows that i know.
it makes the situation different.
it makes me see him differently.
i would appreciate prayers.
yeah.
24 April 2009
nasi makes the world go round
so last night, over nasi goreng, pita suddenly asked me, "do you want to trade phones for a week?" naturally, i immediately responded with, "yes." so we speedy quick swapped phones and switched out sim cards.
so this should be interesting. i now have a bar phone with soft buttons and no t9 and no graphics. as opposed to my camera t9 trilingual flip phone with sweet user friendly buttons.
i kind of like it though. it reminds me of the phone i had in africa. i just can't text worth a darn now.
ope. thunder. heading home now. selamat akhir pekan! happy weekend!
so this should be interesting. i now have a bar phone with soft buttons and no t9 and no graphics. as opposed to my camera t9 trilingual flip phone with sweet user friendly buttons.
i kind of like it though. it reminds me of the phone i had in africa. i just can't text worth a darn now.
ope. thunder. heading home now. selamat akhir pekan! happy weekend!
23 April 2009
kneecaps
so today my knee is barely even bruised.
that is so disappointing.
and speaking of disappointment, sorry mom, but i think i'm gonna make it.
so you don't get all my stuff after all.
in other news, one of the other teachers took a close range line drive directly to the thigh yesterday.
her entire thigh is swollen and black and purple.
that is so not fair.
that is so disappointing.
and speaking of disappointment, sorry mom, but i think i'm gonna make it.
so you don't get all my stuff after all.
in other news, one of the other teachers took a close range line drive directly to the thigh yesterday.
her entire thigh is swollen and black and purple.
that is so not fair.
22 April 2009
knee update
it's been an hour now since my tragic knee incident.
after the initial pain wore off and tears stopped coming to my eyes, i was limping for about 5 minutes.
then my knee area went numb.
given the magnitude of the wound, i assumed that being numb was infinitely better than being able to feel it.
until i tried to go up a step and my leg didn't lift high enough and i almost died in front of the whole school.
now, an hour later, feeling is slowly returning.
when i sit, i feel like i have a pinched nerve in my knee.
when i walk, i feel like someone is kicking my kneecap every time i take a step.
i leave all my possessions to my mom.
except my laptop.
zach can have that for college.
and give my clothes to the bawen orphanage.
just in case.
after the initial pain wore off and tears stopped coming to my eyes, i was limping for about 5 minutes.
then my knee area went numb.
given the magnitude of the wound, i assumed that being numb was infinitely better than being able to feel it.
until i tried to go up a step and my leg didn't lift high enough and i almost died in front of the whole school.
now, an hour later, feeling is slowly returning.
when i sit, i feel like i have a pinched nerve in my knee.
when i walk, i feel like someone is kicking my kneecap every time i take a step.
i leave all my possessions to my mom.
except my laptop.
zach can have that for college.
and give my clothes to the bawen orphanage.
just in case.
21 April 2009
ular
when i left my house this morning, instead of heading across the soccer field and up to school, something told me to walk around the back of my house. there's nothing back there but an alley type thing that my pembantu hangs my laundry in to dry. but curious about why i should walk that way, i did. i found out why at the corner. there was a snake laying dead not a foot from the wall of my house. health and safety, kids... health and safety.
Ulang Tahun
So last Thursday was my birthday. In typical me fashion, I didn't make a big deal out of it at all. The only person who I even told ahead of time was Peco because I knew he wouldn't make a big deal out of it either. Well, much to my surprise, it seems that everyone already knew. A list in chronological order of birthday surprises last Thursday.
1. A birthday card and 2 Toblerones from Yohanes and Peco.
2. Singing outside my classroom window from Pita and Mega.
3. Cupcakes with candles and a birthday song from my Spanish class.
4. Birthday song from the seventh graders.
5. Birthday SMSes from mom and dad.
6. A happy birthday sign on my mailbox.
7. The whole student body sang to me at lunch.
8. Birthday packages from my family.
9. Glory let me beat him at sudoku.
10. I got sang to and a card at Solafide (Bible study-ish)
11. A card and gift from Pita.
12. A styrofoam plate with a birthday message from Hoho.
13. SMSes from my family and from friends in South Africa.
14. Dinner out with Peco and Yo.
15. Email from my sister.
The days surrounding my birthday were full of surprises too. Including, but not limited to: A gift card from the school principal, a package from Katy, Jake, and Brian, various emails and messages, Bath and Body works from Sharon, and gifts from Ashley, Andre, Mega, and Tiffany. It's like my birthday won't end. That's OK. : )
I made Peco promise awhile ago that he wouldn't leave on my birthday. So he didn't. He left yesterday instead. It was a rough weekend, knowing that it was our last weekend with him for a long, long time. In celebration of that (and Tiffany's birthday), we went to Jogja for the day on Sunday. We left at 11:30 AM and got back at 2 AM. I'm STILL tired. We did everything though - from eating at Wendy's to ice skating (I have now gone ice skating more OUTSIDE America than I ever did while I actually lived there) to shopping to karaoke. And there was an awesome dinner in there too. Google "The Sawah Yogyakarta". That's where we ate. Pretty much amazing. Fun people. Fun stories. Fun... food? Yes. Pasti. Definitely.
One of our school's Bible classes invited a Muslim school to come visit one day last week. They informed the school ahead of time that they wanted to discuss religion, and they asked them to come prepared with questions. And boy, did they... I got a copy of the questions from one of the students. Some really made me think. Some really made me laugh. Some made me raise my eyebrows in amazement at how the rest of the world sees Christians. The questions are as follows, in their original glory.
1. What is your opinion about islam?
2. Do you feel strage, when you know that as moslem boy may not shake hands with girl?
3. We as moslem we belive that the god is only one and how about your religion? [Muslims believe that Christians worship 3 gods because we have the Trinity]
4. In islamic religion we as a atherent of islamic religion believe about tortures of the grave and how about you?
5. In Islam, reading the holy Qur'an is religius duties which bring merit , how about reading the bible?
6. A lot of moslem learn arabic language as the original language of Qur'an for the understanding the holy Qur'an well. How about you as the Christian?
7. What the difference between moslem in your country and moslem in indonesia?
8. Most of moslem in Indonesia was wear tight of clothes and vail wheares, it's forbidden in Islam because it is same with free genitals so,,,what do you think about it?
9. What is the obstacle of moslem in foreign countries?
10. What is your opinion about the terorism?
11. What do you think about moslem?
12. Is there some difference between moslem of Indonesia and foreign moslem in their life to do their duty as a moslem?
13. Are you surprised when seeing us wearing veil first time in Indonesia?
14. How Christian concider all prophets?
15. What is the difference between Indonesia and your country?
16. What is your opinion about the Islamic life?
17. What do you think about time in your life?
18. What do you think when the moslem is praying?
19. Can you tell me about the difference between mosque and church?
20. [This one is my favorite. It taught me a lot about my religion.] In your religion between couple dont changes!but in your religion between them can change couple "your wife is my wife, my wife is your wife". What your opinion about that?
21. In our religion between man and women forbide it to shake hand if they aren't a muhrim what your opinion about it, from your religion and please explain to us why?
22. Homo sex is forbidden in our religion, what your opinion about it?
23. How do you like indonesia?
24. What's yoru opinion about Salatiga city?
25. Do you agree if drugs is forbidden?
26. Do you agree about the opinion that Islam is terorism, why?
27. Do you feel that your God still love with you? And what the evidence of it?
28. Do you interest in Islam? And give me the reason!
29. What do you think about Islam culture?
30. What is your opinion about Islam and moslem after the incident of GAZZA?
31. What your opinion about zionist and jews? Do you agree with thier invansion to Palestine?
32. Do you think that being a good believer will effect someone life?
33. In any media, lots of information telling world that Islam is just about killing innocent people and self bombing, do you really believe it?
34. Is there something interesting taken from the islam culture ?
35. What is your opinion about the divorce in Christianity?
36. Are you happy to be a Christian?
37. If in the doctrine of Islam ther is concept about life after die. And we will get reward or punochment in accordance with something which we have done. Will go to heaven or go to hell. And in the doctrine of Christian, is there any concept about that?
38. could you tolerate to someone who comes late? As we know that be panctual is something important in life?
39. What is your favorite food in Indonesia?
40. in your country, is there Halal foundation that it delivers the certificate of Halal label in any product, especially for food and beverages?
41.
Yes. There is actually no number 41. So. Some food for thought. Number 36 really struck me. Think about it.
1. A birthday card and 2 Toblerones from Yohanes and Peco.
2. Singing outside my classroom window from Pita and Mega.
3. Cupcakes with candles and a birthday song from my Spanish class.
4. Birthday song from the seventh graders.
5. Birthday SMSes from mom and dad.
6. A happy birthday sign on my mailbox.
7. The whole student body sang to me at lunch.
8. Birthday packages from my family.
9. Glory let me beat him at sudoku.
10. I got sang to and a card at Solafide (Bible study-ish)
11. A card and gift from Pita.
12. A styrofoam plate with a birthday message from Hoho.
13. SMSes from my family and from friends in South Africa.
14. Dinner out with Peco and Yo.
15. Email from my sister.
The days surrounding my birthday were full of surprises too. Including, but not limited to: A gift card from the school principal, a package from Katy, Jake, and Brian, various emails and messages, Bath and Body works from Sharon, and gifts from Ashley, Andre, Mega, and Tiffany. It's like my birthday won't end. That's OK. : )
I made Peco promise awhile ago that he wouldn't leave on my birthday. So he didn't. He left yesterday instead. It was a rough weekend, knowing that it was our last weekend with him for a long, long time. In celebration of that (and Tiffany's birthday), we went to Jogja for the day on Sunday. We left at 11:30 AM and got back at 2 AM. I'm STILL tired. We did everything though - from eating at Wendy's to ice skating (I have now gone ice skating more OUTSIDE America than I ever did while I actually lived there) to shopping to karaoke. And there was an awesome dinner in there too. Google "The Sawah Yogyakarta". That's where we ate. Pretty much amazing. Fun people. Fun stories. Fun... food? Yes. Pasti. Definitely.
One of our school's Bible classes invited a Muslim school to come visit one day last week. They informed the school ahead of time that they wanted to discuss religion, and they asked them to come prepared with questions. And boy, did they... I got a copy of the questions from one of the students. Some really made me think. Some really made me laugh. Some made me raise my eyebrows in amazement at how the rest of the world sees Christians. The questions are as follows, in their original glory.
1. What is your opinion about islam?
2. Do you feel strage, when you know that as moslem boy may not shake hands with girl?
3. We as moslem we belive that the god is only one and how about your religion? [Muslims believe that Christians worship 3 gods because we have the Trinity]
4. In islamic religion we as a atherent of islamic religion believe about tortures of the grave and how about you?
5. In Islam, reading the holy Qur'an is religius duties which bring merit , how about reading the bible?
6. A lot of moslem learn arabic language as the original language of Qur'an for the understanding the holy Qur'an well. How about you as the Christian?
7. What the difference between moslem in your country and moslem in indonesia?
8. Most of moslem in Indonesia was wear tight of clothes and vail wheares, it's forbidden in Islam because it is same with free genitals so,,,what do you think about it?
9. What is the obstacle of moslem in foreign countries?
10. What is your opinion about the terorism?
11. What do you think about moslem?
12. Is there some difference between moslem of Indonesia and foreign moslem in their life to do their duty as a moslem?
13. Are you surprised when seeing us wearing veil first time in Indonesia?
14. How Christian concider all prophets?
15. What is the difference between Indonesia and your country?
16. What is your opinion about the Islamic life?
17. What do you think about time in your life?
18. What do you think when the moslem is praying?
19. Can you tell me about the difference between mosque and church?
20. [This one is my favorite. It taught me a lot about my religion.] In your religion between couple dont changes!but in your religion between them can change couple "your wife is my wife, my wife is your wife". What your opinion about that?
21. In our religion between man and women forbide it to shake hand if they aren't a muhrim what your opinion about it, from your religion and please explain to us why?
22. Homo sex is forbidden in our religion, what your opinion about it?
23. How do you like indonesia?
24. What's yoru opinion about Salatiga city?
25. Do you agree if drugs is forbidden?
26. Do you agree about the opinion that Islam is terorism, why?
27. Do you feel that your God still love with you? And what the evidence of it?
28. Do you interest in Islam? And give me the reason!
29. What do you think about Islam culture?
30. What is your opinion about Islam and moslem after the incident of GAZZA?
31. What your opinion about zionist and jews? Do you agree with thier invansion to Palestine?
32. Do you think that being a good believer will effect someone life?
33. In any media, lots of information telling world that Islam is just about killing innocent people and self bombing, do you really believe it?
34. Is there something interesting taken from the islam culture ?
35. What is your opinion about the divorce in Christianity?
36. Are you happy to be a Christian?
37. If in the doctrine of Islam ther is concept about life after die. And we will get reward or punochment in accordance with something which we have done. Will go to heaven or go to hell. And in the doctrine of Christian, is there any concept about that?
38. could you tolerate to someone who comes late? As we know that be panctual is something important in life?
39. What is your favorite food in Indonesia?
40. in your country, is there Halal foundation that it delivers the certificate of Halal label in any product, especially for food and beverages?
41.
Yes. There is actually no number 41. So. Some food for thought. Number 36 really struck me. Think about it.
14 April 2009
things that make me smile
9th grade algebra II class.
jimin: aunt lisa (the high school principal) isn't good at math.
kang: what? how do you know??
jimin: i just know.
kang: but she's just a vegetarian.
after school in my classroom.
yohanes: dinner tonight, 6:30, platos.
me: uggggghhhhhh.
yohanes: i know, but it's the last dinner for monsieur hicks.
me: oh mannnnn. peco is leaving. he's actually coming to dinner tonight?
yohanes: yes. i made sure. i called him and i put him in the chair.
me: you did what now?
yohanes: i made sure he would be at dinner. i put his butt there.
me: i don't think that saying makes very much sense.
yohanes: i chained his butt.
me: yeah, that doesn't work either. gross.
again, after school in my classroom. immediately after the previous conversation.
yohanes: i need coffee.
me: you seem to have had a lot already.
yohanes: i know it. isn'titgreat?iwokeuplikethisandalldayi'vejustbeenlikeBANGBANGBANG(hand motions)witheverything!eversinceiwokeuplikePSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!
me: like what now?
yohanes: like PSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!
me: i see.
yohanes: iknowandwheniwokeupIDIDN'TEVENBRUSHMYTEETH!
me: WHOA! you are CRAZY, man!
yohanes: IKNOW!
me: sit down before you have a heart attack.
yohanes: ok. *sits down*
jimin: aunt lisa (the high school principal) isn't good at math.
kang: what? how do you know??
jimin: i just know.
kang: but she's just a vegetarian.
after school in my classroom.
yohanes: dinner tonight, 6:30, platos.
me: uggggghhhhhh.
yohanes: i know, but it's the last dinner for monsieur hicks.
me: oh mannnnn. peco is leaving. he's actually coming to dinner tonight?
yohanes: yes. i made sure. i called him and i put him in the chair.
me: you did what now?
yohanes: i made sure he would be at dinner. i put his butt there.
me: i don't think that saying makes very much sense.
yohanes: i chained his butt.
me: yeah, that doesn't work either. gross.
again, after school in my classroom. immediately after the previous conversation.
yohanes: i need coffee.
me: you seem to have had a lot already.
yohanes: i know it. isn'titgreat?iwokeuplikethisandalldayi'vejustbeenlikeBANGBANGBANG(hand motions)witheverything!eversinceiwokeuplikePSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!
me: like what now?
yohanes: like PSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!
me: i see.
yohanes: iknowandwheniwokeupIDIDN'TEVENBRUSHMYTEETH!
me: WHOA! you are CRAZY, man!
yohanes: IKNOW!
me: sit down before you have a heart attack.
yohanes: ok. *sits down*
13 April 2009
tikus besar
i went to solo last night for dinner with some friends.
pizza, donuts, and cheese. mmmmmmmmm......
all the luxuries of the big city.
we rode motorbikes there and back.
it was my first time traveling to another city by bike.
and it was excellent.
on the way home, i rode with peco.
we were singing at the top of our lungs for a good part of the ride back.
jason mraz and big n rich and shania twain and anything else good to scream sing.
yohanes and tiffany were riding in front of us.
and even with all the trucks and other traffic, they said they could hear us.
it was great fun.
until we inhaled too much exhaust and other fumes.
(note, i had to wash my face 3 times to get all the black off when we got home)
that guy is leaving in 6 days.
i'm gonna miss him.
a lot.
when we got home, cat had some surprises for me.
first of all, she was standing by the guard shack at the back gate when i got in.
that was the first time i have ever seen her leave the sidewalk in front of my house.
a few minutes after i came inside, i heard her outside the screen door.
i went to say hi to her, and she was sitting there happily displaying a very large, very dead rat.
after i congratulated her, she promptly managed to eat the entire thing in under 10 minutes.
i swiped the tail from her when that was all that was left.
i grabbed my ruler.... 18 centimeters!
once again, cat has redeemed herself, not only by killing a rat possibly bigger than herself, but by eating the entire thing in one sitting.
you can't help but respect that.
pizza, donuts, and cheese. mmmmmmmmm......
all the luxuries of the big city.
we rode motorbikes there and back.
it was my first time traveling to another city by bike.
and it was excellent.
on the way home, i rode with peco.
we were singing at the top of our lungs for a good part of the ride back.
jason mraz and big n rich and shania twain and anything else good to scream sing.
yohanes and tiffany were riding in front of us.
and even with all the trucks and other traffic, they said they could hear us.
it was great fun.
until we inhaled too much exhaust and other fumes.
(note, i had to wash my face 3 times to get all the black off when we got home)
that guy is leaving in 6 days.
i'm gonna miss him.
a lot.
when we got home, cat had some surprises for me.
first of all, she was standing by the guard shack at the back gate when i got in.
that was the first time i have ever seen her leave the sidewalk in front of my house.
a few minutes after i came inside, i heard her outside the screen door.
i went to say hi to her, and she was sitting there happily displaying a very large, very dead rat.
after i congratulated her, she promptly managed to eat the entire thing in under 10 minutes.
i swiped the tail from her when that was all that was left.
i grabbed my ruler.... 18 centimeters!
once again, cat has redeemed herself, not only by killing a rat possibly bigger than herself, but by eating the entire thing in one sitting.
you can't help but respect that.
12 April 2009
eashter
yesterday was easter. it was nothing too special here. i went to church. (NOT for sunrise service, which comes at 4:30). i hung out at the coffee shop. i tried to watch a movie that didn't work. i took a nap for 3 hours. i started spring cleaning my house. my bathroom is spotless now. some friends got home from weekend travels, so we had a movie night.
the highlight of the day was easily calls home. in the morning, i left for church about 45 minutes early, and wandered the streets while talking to my bestest friend in the whole wide world, katy. that alone would have made my day.
later in the day, i called my extended family at easter lunch and got to talk to parents, sister, gramma, aunts, and anyone in the background who yelled a "hello" to me.
but in between those two great calls....... i thought of sending an sms to my dad while he was at church to tell everyone happy easter from me, but then i realized that pretty much everyone would be there mingling together between sunrise service and regular service, so i decided: why not call?! i think i talked to just about everyone in the building in a matter of about 30 minutes - from the "older" folks who have watched me grow up to the younger kids who are too little to remember me. everyone kept telling me that me calling was the best easter gift and such a great surprise. that was such a blessing to me... i do miss home, and it's good to know that i am missed in return. so thanks to everyone who took time out of their easter morning to chat with me, even if just for a couple of minutes. i love you guys very, very much.
the highlight of the day was easily calls home. in the morning, i left for church about 45 minutes early, and wandered the streets while talking to my bestest friend in the whole wide world, katy. that alone would have made my day.
later in the day, i called my extended family at easter lunch and got to talk to parents, sister, gramma, aunts, and anyone in the background who yelled a "hello" to me.
but in between those two great calls....... i thought of sending an sms to my dad while he was at church to tell everyone happy easter from me, but then i realized that pretty much everyone would be there mingling together between sunrise service and regular service, so i decided: why not call?! i think i talked to just about everyone in the building in a matter of about 30 minutes - from the "older" folks who have watched me grow up to the younger kids who are too little to remember me. everyone kept telling me that me calling was the best easter gift and such a great surprise. that was such a blessing to me... i do miss home, and it's good to know that i am missed in return. so thanks to everyone who took time out of their easter morning to chat with me, even if just for a couple of minutes. i love you guys very, very much.
11 April 2009
barista days
what an interesting turn of events.
charles and marie randomly decided on thursday evening to drive to bandung (about 9 hours away) for vacation friday morning, leaving the coffee shop in the capable hands of yohanes. sadly, yohanes has only actually worked in the coffee shop for 6 days and just learned to make some of the drinks about 2 days ago.
so marie asked me if i'd be willing to go down friday afternoon and help out for however long i was able. i was more than happy to. all the dorm students and many of the teachers are out of town for the long holiday weekend, and besides church, i have absolutely zero plans for the weekend. i was glad for something to do, and especially glad for something useful to do. the fact that it was with yohanes, one of my more favorite people, also didn't hurt.
i just didn't want him to feel as if i was stepping on his toes in any way or that i'd been sent to "check up" on him. so we talked about it, and it was all good. he handled things spectacularly, and there was only one drink that he didn't know how to make - the sunrise smoothie.
when we were cleaning up at the end of the day, i looked at him and said, "you know that i know that you could totally do this by yourself and you don't need me here, right?" and he looked right back at me and said, "are you kidding? i need you here! can you come back tomorrow?" naturally, i said yes.
so i came this morning. since it's a holiday weekend, i expected it to be quiet here. i brought my laptop along for entertainment, and it proved helpful. only a few customers trickled in and out. yo made drinks, i handed him things, took money, made change, delivered drinks, and did dishes as often as he'd let me. mostly i just got, "mbak. sit down. that's MY job." and i also drank the drink leftovers (sometimes you accidentally mix just a little too much for the size of the glass), the best part of the job!
about an hour and a half ago, all the power went off. so that was nice. we opened the doors and let a breeze go through. shortly after that, yo got an sms from his sister, saying that his grandfather was not doing well and he needed to come home. so promising to be back shortly, he took off. about 15 minutes later the power came back on and yohanes returned saying he needed to go to the hospital with his family. his grampa's body is swollen, and they are not sure if he will live through the night.
he asked me to be in charge and gave me a 5 minute tutorial, which included how to drive charles' motorbike, as it has to be moved into the coffeeshop at nighttime so that nobody steals it out of the driveway. so here i am.
naturally, the first customer ordered a sunrise smoothie. after asking if they had ever ordered that drink before and finding out that they hadn't, i made it. mostly i just threw some fruit and yogurt and milk and ice into the blender and prayed that it would taste alright. but if it didn't, well... they had never had it before so they would never know, right? i've made three more drinks and two cinammon rolls since then, and no complaints so far.
i'm praying the korean moms don't come in, as they often do on saturday afternoons. i only know 2 korean words, and "hello" and "duck" won't get me very far. they know some indonesian, but i'm not too sure how much our indonesian overlaps. i'm pretty sure i can't say, "i'm sorry, i don't know how to make a raspberry truffle iced mocha", in indonesian though.
the highlight of the day was when yo and i were goofing off on wikipedia this morning. yo always jokes about how "village" he is (kind of the american equivalent of redneck/backwoods) because he is from one of the smaller kampungs (neighborhoods) in town and because of how super dark he is (the lighter you are, the classier you are). i did a wikipedia search for my hometown, and sure enough, i got a hit. yohanes read the whole entry, as i was explaining to him what the town has and what it is like. he just started laughing hysterically, and eventually managed to get out, "...... you are more village than i am!!" he was pretty amused, and i couldn't help but join in. apparently, my hometown is more backwoods than indonesia. well, at least we win at something.
charles and marie randomly decided on thursday evening to drive to bandung (about 9 hours away) for vacation friday morning, leaving the coffee shop in the capable hands of yohanes. sadly, yohanes has only actually worked in the coffee shop for 6 days and just learned to make some of the drinks about 2 days ago.
so marie asked me if i'd be willing to go down friday afternoon and help out for however long i was able. i was more than happy to. all the dorm students and many of the teachers are out of town for the long holiday weekend, and besides church, i have absolutely zero plans for the weekend. i was glad for something to do, and especially glad for something useful to do. the fact that it was with yohanes, one of my more favorite people, also didn't hurt.
i just didn't want him to feel as if i was stepping on his toes in any way or that i'd been sent to "check up" on him. so we talked about it, and it was all good. he handled things spectacularly, and there was only one drink that he didn't know how to make - the sunrise smoothie.
when we were cleaning up at the end of the day, i looked at him and said, "you know that i know that you could totally do this by yourself and you don't need me here, right?" and he looked right back at me and said, "are you kidding? i need you here! can you come back tomorrow?" naturally, i said yes.
so i came this morning. since it's a holiday weekend, i expected it to be quiet here. i brought my laptop along for entertainment, and it proved helpful. only a few customers trickled in and out. yo made drinks, i handed him things, took money, made change, delivered drinks, and did dishes as often as he'd let me. mostly i just got, "mbak. sit down. that's MY job." and i also drank the drink leftovers (sometimes you accidentally mix just a little too much for the size of the glass), the best part of the job!
about an hour and a half ago, all the power went off. so that was nice. we opened the doors and let a breeze go through. shortly after that, yo got an sms from his sister, saying that his grandfather was not doing well and he needed to come home. so promising to be back shortly, he took off. about 15 minutes later the power came back on and yohanes returned saying he needed to go to the hospital with his family. his grampa's body is swollen, and they are not sure if he will live through the night.
he asked me to be in charge and gave me a 5 minute tutorial, which included how to drive charles' motorbike, as it has to be moved into the coffeeshop at nighttime so that nobody steals it out of the driveway. so here i am.
naturally, the first customer ordered a sunrise smoothie. after asking if they had ever ordered that drink before and finding out that they hadn't, i made it. mostly i just threw some fruit and yogurt and milk and ice into the blender and prayed that it would taste alright. but if it didn't, well... they had never had it before so they would never know, right? i've made three more drinks and two cinammon rolls since then, and no complaints so far.
i'm praying the korean moms don't come in, as they often do on saturday afternoons. i only know 2 korean words, and "hello" and "duck" won't get me very far. they know some indonesian, but i'm not too sure how much our indonesian overlaps. i'm pretty sure i can't say, "i'm sorry, i don't know how to make a raspberry truffle iced mocha", in indonesian though.
the highlight of the day was when yo and i were goofing off on wikipedia this morning. yo always jokes about how "village" he is (kind of the american equivalent of redneck/backwoods) because he is from one of the smaller kampungs (neighborhoods) in town and because of how super dark he is (the lighter you are, the classier you are). i did a wikipedia search for my hometown, and sure enough, i got a hit. yohanes read the whole entry, as i was explaining to him what the town has and what it is like. he just started laughing hysterically, and eventually managed to get out, "...... you are more village than i am!!" he was pretty amused, and i couldn't help but join in. apparently, my hometown is more backwoods than indonesia. well, at least we win at something.
08 April 2009
a bit of a tight spot
so i found myself in a bit of an interesting situation this week.
a situation that i was none too fond of.
the men of our school (teachers, parents, students, and guards alike) were playing a soccer game tuesday evening, as they do every tuesday evening, against an indonesian team. i, having nothing else to do with my evening and being a soccer fan, decided to sit out and watch them. some indonesians were there watching the game, but i didn't see anyone from our school out there, so i just sat down in the grass at one end of the field to watch. all was going well, and we even scored a goal. then two young looking indonesian guys walked by me and were making cat calls and trying to ask me questions as they passed. this is normal. all the time. i ignored them. which is the necessary response.
they sat down a few meters away from me, and they alternated between watching the game, chatting together, and hollering things at me. i continued to ignore them and pretended to be far more engrossed in the soccer game than i actually was. they apparently took that as an invitation to come sit with me. and not even beside me. but directly in front of me and in my face.
so sigh. i was hoping for a quiet evening of enjoying soccer. but, trying to be somewhat optimistic about my current situation, i decided that at least i could practice some indonesian with them. they spoke no english besides "yes" and "no".
admittedly, the indonesian practice was good. they taught me some new words. i got to practice what i know. i asked them some questions. whenever they asked me a question i didn't want to answer, i just pretended i didn't understand. "do you have a boyfriend?" "what is your cell phone number?" "what is your last name?" "where do you live?" "do you live alone?" "do you like javanese men?" wow. so we kind of just sat there by the soccer field chatting and half watching the game still.
one of the guys seemed quite decent and sat a few feet to my right. he was very polite and respectful of me. the other guy, not so much. he sat as close to me as he could without actually touching me, and kept finding reasons to put his hand on my leg or my arm or to try to hold my hand - behavior that would be uncomfortable and unwanted between strangers in america, and behavior that is outright indecent and unacceptable here. he was also telling me that i am beautiful and he loves me. i kept telling him he didn't and stop touching me.
by this point, i was pretty uncomfortable, but i was faced with a problem. i couldn't go home. my house was immediately behind me, in eyeshot of where we were sitting. and i did NOT want this guy knowing where i live. i didn't have my keys on me, so i couldn't get in anywhere at school. there were also no other whiteys in sight. so as i was formulating my escape plan, a third guy came.
this guy won the prize for most redneck indonesian i have met. he was wearing torn up jeans and a supremely faded black v-neck t-shirt, which was obviously being used to conceal something. he was shorter than me, had a mullet, a pot belly, some seriously screwed up teeth, and a moustache badly in need of trimming.
the other 2 guys introduced us and we shook hands, as is custom. he plopped down with us and the guys began asking me if i like to smoke and drink. i just kept saying no over and over and over in response to all their questions. old guy pulled out a pack of cigarettes and asked if he could smoke here. i told him it wasn't allowed, since we were on the school campus. so he pulled a bottle of nasty wine out of his pants and asked if he could drink. i again told him it wasn't allowed. so he popped the lid off and they passed the bottle around. they tried to convince me it was nonalcoholic. but i could read the label. and i could smell their breath. i may have been homeschooled, but i'm not THAT naive.
less than 2 minutes after the lid came off the bottle, an on duty guard came over on some completely unrelated business. polite guy shoved the bottle of wine down the collar of his shirt. but apparently his one swig had gotten to him, because he left the neck of the bottle completely sticking out of his collar beside his head. these guys could have been on an episode of cops. the guard immediately saw it, asked what it was, and then asked them to leave. as they were getting up, i declared very loudly, "saya bilang tidak boleh!" (i said you weren't allowed!) oh, if looks could kill....
as they left with their... umm.... beverage.... i was silently thanking God and mr jaga for saving my evening. naturally, as my luck would have it, they came back about 3 minutes later, apologizing for having to leave me alone earlier. thanks, guys. what gentlemen.
pretty much as soon as they sat down, i realized that i could no longer sit there. i had to get away. so i excused myself, claiming that there were lots of mosquitoes, and i had to go home. and i just started walking. i walked to the back gate. i walked out the back gate. i walked down the street. i walked to the coffeeshop. by the time i got there, i was pretty worked up. to the point that i was shaking all over.
because really. the way they were behaving around me and treating me..... that was NOT ok. it was not decent. it was not culturally appropriate. and there was nothing i could do about it but walk away. and plus, i began to be afraid that the jaga might have thought they were my friends and/or that i was drinking with them, since we were all sitting there together. i told charles and marie (my friends who own the coffeeshop) what happened, and they were pretty mad about it too, but they had to leave. so charles made me go sit in the coffeeshop with their new employee (and my good friend), yohanes kecil, and tell him the story over again.
so i did. and he got angry too and apologized about a million times. i was pretty sick of talking/thinking/being worked up about it, so we started talking about music (his favorite subject) while he cleaned and closed up. then he declared that he was taking me home and making sure those men were not still there.
so we jumped on the vespa and drove home. my knight in shining armor.
i went and found the jaga the next day and after apologizing for my not-good-indonesian, i explained to him that i wanted him to know that those men were not my friends, i did not know them, and i was not drinking with them. he kind of just laughed the whole thing off dismissively, so i'm not sure how my explanation went over. but really? defending my honor in a language i barely speak... HARD!
i'm still pretty burnt up about the whole thing. and i almost vowed never to so much as look at an indonesian man again. but that's a little ridiculous. maybe just not at sporting events. and definitely not ones with bulges under their shirts.
other highlights of that day: sharon had a baby boy! hurrah for chase michael!
also, i made my first GOOD batch of rice. it wasn't damp or sticky or soggy! it only took 9 months.... but i think i know the trick now.
in other news, today is election day (primaries). the presidential election will be on july 9. indonesia has 38 political parties, so whoa. earlier this week they decided to declare today a holiday, so things are pretty much shut down, minus all the people rushing around to their hometown to vote before the polls close at noon. sheesh.
a situation that i was none too fond of.
the men of our school (teachers, parents, students, and guards alike) were playing a soccer game tuesday evening, as they do every tuesday evening, against an indonesian team. i, having nothing else to do with my evening and being a soccer fan, decided to sit out and watch them. some indonesians were there watching the game, but i didn't see anyone from our school out there, so i just sat down in the grass at one end of the field to watch. all was going well, and we even scored a goal. then two young looking indonesian guys walked by me and were making cat calls and trying to ask me questions as they passed. this is normal. all the time. i ignored them. which is the necessary response.
they sat down a few meters away from me, and they alternated between watching the game, chatting together, and hollering things at me. i continued to ignore them and pretended to be far more engrossed in the soccer game than i actually was. they apparently took that as an invitation to come sit with me. and not even beside me. but directly in front of me and in my face.
so sigh. i was hoping for a quiet evening of enjoying soccer. but, trying to be somewhat optimistic about my current situation, i decided that at least i could practice some indonesian with them. they spoke no english besides "yes" and "no".
admittedly, the indonesian practice was good. they taught me some new words. i got to practice what i know. i asked them some questions. whenever they asked me a question i didn't want to answer, i just pretended i didn't understand. "do you have a boyfriend?" "what is your cell phone number?" "what is your last name?" "where do you live?" "do you live alone?" "do you like javanese men?" wow. so we kind of just sat there by the soccer field chatting and half watching the game still.
one of the guys seemed quite decent and sat a few feet to my right. he was very polite and respectful of me. the other guy, not so much. he sat as close to me as he could without actually touching me, and kept finding reasons to put his hand on my leg or my arm or to try to hold my hand - behavior that would be uncomfortable and unwanted between strangers in america, and behavior that is outright indecent and unacceptable here. he was also telling me that i am beautiful and he loves me. i kept telling him he didn't and stop touching me.
by this point, i was pretty uncomfortable, but i was faced with a problem. i couldn't go home. my house was immediately behind me, in eyeshot of where we were sitting. and i did NOT want this guy knowing where i live. i didn't have my keys on me, so i couldn't get in anywhere at school. there were also no other whiteys in sight. so as i was formulating my escape plan, a third guy came.
this guy won the prize for most redneck indonesian i have met. he was wearing torn up jeans and a supremely faded black v-neck t-shirt, which was obviously being used to conceal something. he was shorter than me, had a mullet, a pot belly, some seriously screwed up teeth, and a moustache badly in need of trimming.
the other 2 guys introduced us and we shook hands, as is custom. he plopped down with us and the guys began asking me if i like to smoke and drink. i just kept saying no over and over and over in response to all their questions. old guy pulled out a pack of cigarettes and asked if he could smoke here. i told him it wasn't allowed, since we were on the school campus. so he pulled a bottle of nasty wine out of his pants and asked if he could drink. i again told him it wasn't allowed. so he popped the lid off and they passed the bottle around. they tried to convince me it was nonalcoholic. but i could read the label. and i could smell their breath. i may have been homeschooled, but i'm not THAT naive.
less than 2 minutes after the lid came off the bottle, an on duty guard came over on some completely unrelated business. polite guy shoved the bottle of wine down the collar of his shirt. but apparently his one swig had gotten to him, because he left the neck of the bottle completely sticking out of his collar beside his head. these guys could have been on an episode of cops. the guard immediately saw it, asked what it was, and then asked them to leave. as they were getting up, i declared very loudly, "saya bilang tidak boleh!" (i said you weren't allowed!) oh, if looks could kill....
as they left with their... umm.... beverage.... i was silently thanking God and mr jaga for saving my evening. naturally, as my luck would have it, they came back about 3 minutes later, apologizing for having to leave me alone earlier. thanks, guys. what gentlemen.
pretty much as soon as they sat down, i realized that i could no longer sit there. i had to get away. so i excused myself, claiming that there were lots of mosquitoes, and i had to go home. and i just started walking. i walked to the back gate. i walked out the back gate. i walked down the street. i walked to the coffeeshop. by the time i got there, i was pretty worked up. to the point that i was shaking all over.
because really. the way they were behaving around me and treating me..... that was NOT ok. it was not decent. it was not culturally appropriate. and there was nothing i could do about it but walk away. and plus, i began to be afraid that the jaga might have thought they were my friends and/or that i was drinking with them, since we were all sitting there together. i told charles and marie (my friends who own the coffeeshop) what happened, and they were pretty mad about it too, but they had to leave. so charles made me go sit in the coffeeshop with their new employee (and my good friend), yohanes kecil, and tell him the story over again.
so i did. and he got angry too and apologized about a million times. i was pretty sick of talking/thinking/being worked up about it, so we started talking about music (his favorite subject) while he cleaned and closed up. then he declared that he was taking me home and making sure those men were not still there.
so we jumped on the vespa and drove home. my knight in shining armor.
i went and found the jaga the next day and after apologizing for my not-good-indonesian, i explained to him that i wanted him to know that those men were not my friends, i did not know them, and i was not drinking with them. he kind of just laughed the whole thing off dismissively, so i'm not sure how my explanation went over. but really? defending my honor in a language i barely speak... HARD!
i'm still pretty burnt up about the whole thing. and i almost vowed never to so much as look at an indonesian man again. but that's a little ridiculous. maybe just not at sporting events. and definitely not ones with bulges under their shirts.
other highlights of that day: sharon had a baby boy! hurrah for chase michael!
also, i made my first GOOD batch of rice. it wasn't damp or sticky or soggy! it only took 9 months.... but i think i know the trick now.
in other news, today is election day (primaries). the presidential election will be on july 9. indonesia has 38 political parties, so whoa. earlier this week they decided to declare today a holiday, so things are pretty much shut down, minus all the people rushing around to their hometown to vote before the polls close at noon. sheesh.
05 April 2009
get down tonight
can i just say....
our junior boys are excellent dancers.
and they took turns teaching me to waltz on saturday.
i'm white.
and i can dance.
our junior boys are excellent dancers.
and they took turns teaching me to waltz on saturday.
i'm white.
and i can dance.
03 April 2009
cheapercheaper
last night i went to a nice-ish sit down restaurant, funfun, with some friends.
i ordered the teriyaki chicken plate with rice. (because no meal is complete without rice!)
to drink, i had my favorite, an ice cold glass of es jeruk. (it's like thick orange juice mixed with water, sugar, and ice cubes. it's citrusy and sweet and icey all at once! yum!)
when i went to pay my bill, i was like "man... rp 10,000? down the drain." (btw, i really hate spending money.)
and then i stopped and thought. at the current exchange rate, i just ate a whole dinner for 86.06 cents.
but still. that's like twice what i normally pay when i just go to a street vendor and buy a ton of nasi goreng (fried rice) wrapped up in brown paper.
what a great country.
i ordered the teriyaki chicken plate with rice. (because no meal is complete without rice!)
to drink, i had my favorite, an ice cold glass of es jeruk. (it's like thick orange juice mixed with water, sugar, and ice cubes. it's citrusy and sweet and icey all at once! yum!)
when i went to pay my bill, i was like "man... rp 10,000? down the drain." (btw, i really hate spending money.)
and then i stopped and thought. at the current exchange rate, i just ate a whole dinner for 86.06 cents.
but still. that's like twice what i normally pay when i just go to a street vendor and buy a ton of nasi goreng (fried rice) wrapped up in brown paper.
what a great country.
01 April 2009
a good man
so jr-sr banquet is this weekend. it's about the biggest deal of the year it seems. the juniors plan/host it for the seniors, and 10th graders are allowed to come because they will be the ones to plan it the next year. everyone dresses up. there is basically no dress code. and they even get to dance! (dancing must be a structured event lasting no longer than roughly an hour and students must change partners every 5 minutes. oh, and dances must be "traditional".)
the juniors and seniors have been asking me for the past couple weeks if i'm going. my typical answer has been, "nah... i don't want to pay for it, and i don't really have anything to wear anyways." this has always been met with much complaining and moaning. "but miss, it's not THAT expensive" (fifteen dollars!), "but miss, you can borrow a dress from me" (you're a size 0. not a chance.), "but miss, if you don't come, WE'RE missing out!" (ok, that one was sweet), "but miss, it's my senior year. you HAVE to come!" (yes, but you're the only senior i'm even remotely close to), "but miss, you don't even have to come completely dressed!" (wow, they relax the dress code that much?)
ok. what the last kid meant to say was that you don't have to come completely dressed UP. you can be semi-formal. he got really embarrassed and it was great.
so yesterday, one of the junior boys shows up in my class after school, walks right up to me, and says, "miss, will you be my date to banquet?" i was in shock. i didn't know what to say. so i started with, "isn't that like against some rule or something?" he shrugged. and then i remembered, "what about your... umm... GIRLFRIEND?!" he replied, "oh, it was her idea." his girlfriend is the one senior girl that i teach, and apparently, she wanted me to come so badly, that she got her boyfriend to ask me and pay for my ticket. (he didn't have to pay for hers - seniors go free. it's their banquet, after all.) so i asked him to come again in 15 minutes.
he did. with a ticket already purchased. i am going to banquet. with a junior. who already has a girlfriend.
(note - i am not actually going WITH said student. he just happened to pay for my ticket.)
we have great students here. i am blessed.
the juniors and seniors have been asking me for the past couple weeks if i'm going. my typical answer has been, "nah... i don't want to pay for it, and i don't really have anything to wear anyways." this has always been met with much complaining and moaning. "but miss, it's not THAT expensive" (fifteen dollars!), "but miss, you can borrow a dress from me" (you're a size 0. not a chance.), "but miss, if you don't come, WE'RE missing out!" (ok, that one was sweet), "but miss, it's my senior year. you HAVE to come!" (yes, but you're the only senior i'm even remotely close to), "but miss, you don't even have to come completely dressed!" (wow, they relax the dress code that much?)
ok. what the last kid meant to say was that you don't have to come completely dressed UP. you can be semi-formal. he got really embarrassed and it was great.
so yesterday, one of the junior boys shows up in my class after school, walks right up to me, and says, "miss, will you be my date to banquet?" i was in shock. i didn't know what to say. so i started with, "isn't that like against some rule or something?" he shrugged. and then i remembered, "what about your... umm... GIRLFRIEND?!" he replied, "oh, it was her idea." his girlfriend is the one senior girl that i teach, and apparently, she wanted me to come so badly, that she got her boyfriend to ask me and pay for my ticket. (he didn't have to pay for hers - seniors go free. it's their banquet, after all.) so i asked him to come again in 15 minutes.
he did. with a ticket already purchased. i am going to banquet. with a junior. who already has a girlfriend.
(note - i am not actually going WITH said student. he just happened to pay for my ticket.)
we have great students here. i am blessed.
31 March 2009
an accident waiting to happen
*i cannot, in good conscience, recommend that mom and dad read this one*
so now that i (finally) have a motorcycle helmet, i'm pretty much invincible.
also, i am becoming a master motorcycle rider.
the following 3 events made me really, really happy.
1. sunday, i had lunch with a friend, and afterwards, we decided to ride up the mountain to a village and then back down the mountain into town. i always love riding a bike, but that particular day, i was wearing a skirt, so i made the 45 minute jaunt sidesaddle - not my favorite pose. i think i finally mastered it though, or at least i figured out how to sit in such a way that my legs didn't fall asleep and my shoes didn't fall off. always good news. so on the way up the mountain, it got a little boring. so my friend, the driver, decided it would be fun to ride the straight stretches with no hands. it's pretty much just like riding a bike with no hands. as long as you're balanced, you just coast, no problem. when you're riding side, however, balance is a bit of a concern. but on all the parts with no hands, the bike continued on straight and sure. my friend's comment? "wow, you really figured out how to center back there!" my reply? "i have a helmet! i can do anything!"
2. i was at a dinner the other night with a missionary lady i know, and we both had to head to the same place afterwards, so i asked if i could just catch a ride with her. she appeared hesitant... she's not yet a particularly confident driver, and having a passenger can wreak havoc on your balance/steering. and plus, i'm bigger than her. i assured her that if she was uncomfortable with it, i already knew i could get a ride from someone else, but that i also had just purchased a helmet, so even if we crashed, it would be fine. she agreed. halfway to our destination, she yelled back over her shoulder, "i can't even tell you're on the bike with me! you're so well balanced!" that made me really happy. i don't even quite know why. i think just feeling like i did a good job at something so random was nice. and also, knowing that i wasn't making her miserable. we did make it safely.
3. on the way home from said destination, i caught a ride with another friend who drives a vespa, circa the civil war. it's an awesome piece of machinery, mostly because it never runs quite right, and therefore reminds me of my beloved truck. anyways, i think we got a little bored too, because on the way home we decided to trade views, meaning that he was looking backwards over my shoulder, and i was looking forwards over his shoulder and telling him which way to turn. in indonesian. it was great fun until we came across a family walking in the road and i got scared that we would accidentally run over a small child. so i made him turn back around. game over.
i'ma try and get my license soon.
and then maybe a motorcycle by fall time.
but don't worry, cause i have a helmet.
so now that i (finally) have a motorcycle helmet, i'm pretty much invincible.
also, i am becoming a master motorcycle rider.
the following 3 events made me really, really happy.
1. sunday, i had lunch with a friend, and afterwards, we decided to ride up the mountain to a village and then back down the mountain into town. i always love riding a bike, but that particular day, i was wearing a skirt, so i made the 45 minute jaunt sidesaddle - not my favorite pose. i think i finally mastered it though, or at least i figured out how to sit in such a way that my legs didn't fall asleep and my shoes didn't fall off. always good news. so on the way up the mountain, it got a little boring. so my friend, the driver, decided it would be fun to ride the straight stretches with no hands. it's pretty much just like riding a bike with no hands. as long as you're balanced, you just coast, no problem. when you're riding side, however, balance is a bit of a concern. but on all the parts with no hands, the bike continued on straight and sure. my friend's comment? "wow, you really figured out how to center back there!" my reply? "i have a helmet! i can do anything!"
2. i was at a dinner the other night with a missionary lady i know, and we both had to head to the same place afterwards, so i asked if i could just catch a ride with her. she appeared hesitant... she's not yet a particularly confident driver, and having a passenger can wreak havoc on your balance/steering. and plus, i'm bigger than her. i assured her that if she was uncomfortable with it, i already knew i could get a ride from someone else, but that i also had just purchased a helmet, so even if we crashed, it would be fine. she agreed. halfway to our destination, she yelled back over her shoulder, "i can't even tell you're on the bike with me! you're so well balanced!" that made me really happy. i don't even quite know why. i think just feeling like i did a good job at something so random was nice. and also, knowing that i wasn't making her miserable. we did make it safely.
3. on the way home from said destination, i caught a ride with another friend who drives a vespa, circa the civil war. it's an awesome piece of machinery, mostly because it never runs quite right, and therefore reminds me of my beloved truck. anyways, i think we got a little bored too, because on the way home we decided to trade views, meaning that he was looking backwards over my shoulder, and i was looking forwards over his shoulder and telling him which way to turn. in indonesian. it was great fun until we came across a family walking in the road and i got scared that we would accidentally run over a small child. so i made him turn back around. game over.
i'ma try and get my license soon.
and then maybe a motorcycle by fall time.
but don't worry, cause i have a helmet.
30 March 2009
ballroom blitz
so i already thought that the end of the (school) year was getting to be super busy...
that has been compounded in the past few days.
please feel free to peruse my weekly schedule.
(but only if you say schedule like mary poppins would)
MONDAY
6:30 - 7:30 ~ Do SAT II Math prep with Glory.
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
15:00 - 15:30 ~ Tutor Whitney
Evening-ish ~ Trade English for Indonesian lessons with Mas Andre.
TUESDAY
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
15:15 - Done ~ Teacher meetings
18:00 - 21/22 ~ Dinner club
WEDNESDAY
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
15:00 - 15:30 ~ Tutor Whitney
15:30 - 16:30 ~ SAT stuff with Glory
19:00 - 21:00 ~ American Idol with the Java Dorm
THURSDAY
6:30 - 7:30 ~ SAT with Glory
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
18:00 - 20:00 ~ Solafide (English fellowship/Bible study)
20:00 - 22:00 ~ Dinner
FRIDAY
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
Evening-ish ~ Usually dinner/karaoke/coffeeshop
SATURDAY
17:30 - 20:00 ~ House church
Afterwards ~ Hang out with friends
SUNDAY
10:00 - 12:00 ~ Church
12:00 - 14:00 ~ Lunch
OK... Also cram in there 1-2 other times to meet with Andre to trade language lessons (by the way, this guy is an Indonesian teacher by trade, and he's teaching me for free. All I have to do is help him with his conversational English - talk to him.)
And Pita wants to meet 1-2 times a week to trade Indonesian for Spanish.
Some of my really good friends run a coffeeshop and their one reliable worker quit suddenly, so I've volunteered to help out there as much as I can. I can't mix drinks, but I'm already a pro at taking orders, delivering drinks, cleaning tables, washing dishes, heating up cinnamon rolls, etc...
And I'm pretty much always in the middle of watching some TV series or doing a movie night with Peco and Yohanes.
Oh, and on the weeks when I play guitar for Solafide, we meet to practice on one or two evenings.
And I'm usually out of town at least one day out of every weekend, if not all weekend.
Plus, I'm trying to spend time with people who are leaving before/at the end of the year.
But am I complaining?
No. Not at all.
I like being busy.
I just hope I get enough sleep so I can be a pleasant person.
I apologize in advance if I'm not.
Eight more weeks!
that has been compounded in the past few days.
please feel free to peruse my weekly schedule.
(but only if you say schedule like mary poppins would)
MONDAY
6:30 - 7:30 ~ Do SAT II Math prep with Glory.
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
15:00 - 15:30 ~ Tutor Whitney
Evening-ish ~ Trade English for Indonesian lessons with Mas Andre.
TUESDAY
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
15:15 - Done ~ Teacher meetings
18:00 - 21/22 ~ Dinner club
WEDNESDAY
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
15:00 - 15:30 ~ Tutor Whitney
15:30 - 16:30 ~ SAT stuff with Glory
19:00 - 21:00 ~ American Idol with the Java Dorm
THURSDAY
6:30 - 7:30 ~ SAT with Glory
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
18:00 - 20:00 ~ Solafide (English fellowship/Bible study)
20:00 - 22:00 ~ Dinner
FRIDAY
7:40 - 15:00 ~ School
Evening-ish ~ Usually dinner/karaoke/coffeeshop
SATURDAY
17:30 - 20:00 ~ House church
Afterwards ~ Hang out with friends
SUNDAY
10:00 - 12:00 ~ Church
12:00 - 14:00 ~ Lunch
OK... Also cram in there 1-2 other times to meet with Andre to trade language lessons (by the way, this guy is an Indonesian teacher by trade, and he's teaching me for free. All I have to do is help him with his conversational English - talk to him.)
And Pita wants to meet 1-2 times a week to trade Indonesian for Spanish.
Some of my really good friends run a coffeeshop and their one reliable worker quit suddenly, so I've volunteered to help out there as much as I can. I can't mix drinks, but I'm already a pro at taking orders, delivering drinks, cleaning tables, washing dishes, heating up cinnamon rolls, etc...
And I'm pretty much always in the middle of watching some TV series or doing a movie night with Peco and Yohanes.
Oh, and on the weeks when I play guitar for Solafide, we meet to practice on one or two evenings.
And I'm usually out of town at least one day out of every weekend, if not all weekend.
Plus, I'm trying to spend time with people who are leaving before/at the end of the year.
But am I complaining?
No. Not at all.
I like being busy.
I just hope I get enough sleep so I can be a pleasant person.
I apologize in advance if I'm not.
Eight more weeks!
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