Student reading a book: Miss, what is necrophilia?
Korean student: Miss, is Serena a black name?
26 March 2013
21 March 2013
Lightning Strikes and Car Crashes
Lightning struck my house this week. The worst ever. Like it blew stuff off the wall. Parts of my modem ended up in charred bits on the floor. Sparks came out of the light sockets and wall outlets. I wasn't home when it happened, but poor Ibu Sri was. She told me all about it. We had no electricity for several hours, because the breaker box got blown out as well. Someone came and replaced it though. Now that we have electricity, we're finding all kinds of things that got broken. Like my surge protector, my house phone, my internet, my stove, my washing machine, all the exterior lights.
Things that were plugged in that still work:
Water pump
Refrigerator
Desk lamp
Phone charger
That is all. So basically, the necessities.
I was grumbling the other day about how much it's gonna cost to fix all that stuff. I mean, the internet alone will cost $50 to fix. Then I did an inventory in my head of everything broken. And I had to stop and remind myself what a privilege it is to even have those things in the first place. I can live without them for awhile if I need to.
The same day the lightning struck, Ibu Sri and I were chatting about many things, as we often do. I only see her every few weeks, so we always have a lot of catching up to do. She asked if I heard what happened on Jalan Baru (the new road that circumvents town). I said no, but that the other day I was driving home on that road, and I had to turn around and go back because up ahead, I could see SO many people and motorbikes and cars stopped and standing in the street.
She said there was a bad accident and it was a good thing I turned around and went back. Because a motorbike fell, and the driver got run over by a semi. Ibu Sri said, "tubuhnya digini-giniin" while she made a spreading motion with her hand. She said his bones were scattered down the road.
My heart starts racing and I get a little weak in the knees when I hear stories like that. It's not because I'm scared of that happening to me. I mean, it could. And if it happens, then it's my time. Obviously, that would be tragic for my family and my many adoring fans. But if I get hit by a semi, then I get hit by a semi. I'm dead, and there's nothing I can do about it.
One of my biggest fears living in this country is SEEING a wreck like that. I mean, I ALMOST saw it last Friday. If I had kept driving to see what was going on, I could have seen a man's body smeared across the highway. I'm so thankful I turned around.
I'm not afraid of blood. Gore doesn't make me nauseous. I can butcher any animal with the best of them. But if I had to see a human being.... like that.... I am 90% sure I would either pass out or throw up. Even hearing STORIES of wrecks like that make me nauseous and sometimes I cry.
I pray a lot that I will never have to see anyone die. So far in my life, I never have. And based on where I live and how many accidents I have witnessed, I think that's downright miraculous.
Things that were plugged in that still work:
Water pump
Refrigerator
Desk lamp
Phone charger
That is all. So basically, the necessities.
I was grumbling the other day about how much it's gonna cost to fix all that stuff. I mean, the internet alone will cost $50 to fix. Then I did an inventory in my head of everything broken. And I had to stop and remind myself what a privilege it is to even have those things in the first place. I can live without them for awhile if I need to.
The same day the lightning struck, Ibu Sri and I were chatting about many things, as we often do. I only see her every few weeks, so we always have a lot of catching up to do. She asked if I heard what happened on Jalan Baru (the new road that circumvents town). I said no, but that the other day I was driving home on that road, and I had to turn around and go back because up ahead, I could see SO many people and motorbikes and cars stopped and standing in the street.
She said there was a bad accident and it was a good thing I turned around and went back. Because a motorbike fell, and the driver got run over by a semi. Ibu Sri said, "tubuhnya digini-giniin" while she made a spreading motion with her hand. She said his bones were scattered down the road.
My heart starts racing and I get a little weak in the knees when I hear stories like that. It's not because I'm scared of that happening to me. I mean, it could. And if it happens, then it's my time. Obviously, that would be tragic for my family and my many adoring fans. But if I get hit by a semi, then I get hit by a semi. I'm dead, and there's nothing I can do about it.
One of my biggest fears living in this country is SEEING a wreck like that. I mean, I ALMOST saw it last Friday. If I had kept driving to see what was going on, I could have seen a man's body smeared across the highway. I'm so thankful I turned around.
I'm not afraid of blood. Gore doesn't make me nauseous. I can butcher any animal with the best of them. But if I had to see a human being.... like that.... I am 90% sure I would either pass out or throw up. Even hearing STORIES of wrecks like that make me nauseous and sometimes I cry.
I pray a lot that I will never have to see anyone die. So far in my life, I never have. And based on where I live and how many accidents I have witnessed, I think that's downright miraculous.
19 March 2013
Picture Dump
Here are all the interesting pictures I have taken so far this year. I have divided them up into categories. Let’s start with…
HOME
It’s been raining REALLY hard the past couple of months. Good, get it out of your system, nature, then bring on the DRY WEATHER! I am ready for some sunshine and some dry clothes.
In other home news, my cats sometimes do really cute things. Like sleep in my neighbor’s planter, then ignore me when I take pictures of them. Because they are used to it.
That’s all for home. Anticlimactic, I know. Now, let’s move on to the other place I spend most of my time…
SCHOOL
Two of last year’s seniors came back to visit earlier this year! I got to see and visit with Vartika and JiHyun, two of my precious babies!! Haha…
I got to school one day and found this guy crawling around on my backpack. SCARY! Most of the caterpillars here have poisonous hair. If you touch it, you will get a skin infection or rash or boils. I’ve heard that some will never heal completely. Ew.
It’s getting to be the time of year where seniors start looking like this:
I believe the medical professionals refer to this ailment as senioritis. It is running rampant these days, even among the juniors!
Our beloved courtyard tree got a large chunk of its branches blown off in a storm one weekend. When we all came to school that Monday morning, roughly 1/3 of it was laying on the ground. In order to even it out and balance the weight of the remaining branches, several other branches had to be subsequently sawed off. Our tree with its nearly spherical foliage looks naked and sad now. But it had to be done to save its life.
Apparently, whiteboard erasers can mold. So that’s lovely.
And to close this section, here are two of my 10th grade students. I noticed them sitting and talking like this, so I pulled out my camera to take a picture, thinking this would embarrass them. It didn’t. They posed and demanded a re-do. I will never understand Asian boys…
I’ve taken a few trips so far this year. The first was in January to…
Jakarta
Melanie and I went to spend a girls weekend together before she moved to another island. We got discount plane tickets, and it was really interesting to fly in to the city over the north coast during flood season. What is normally a checkerboard of green rice paddies is now covered by a blanket of muddy water. Also, I love aerial photography, even if it’s just from the window of an airplane…
The ocean usually looks very blue from the sky, but it was completely brown every time a river flowed into it.
I didn’t take many pictures IN Jakarta because we were too busy shopping and hanging out! I did take this one though of a Chinese temple we saw from the highway at sunset.
And to prove that we were, in fact, busy shopping, here is the loot I came home with. I also brought home two cheeses that were already in the fridge when I thought to take a picture.
Look at all those delicious foods that I NEVER imagined I’d see in Indonesia!!! When I travel, food is really what I spend most of my money on. I mean, you really can’t pass up an opportunity to buy REAL molasses or Ghirardelli hot chocolate mix when you find it. Also not shown in the picture were the four bags of Doritos that I bought for $6 each…
One of the things I was MOST excited about was the fruit! Cherries, nectarines, and peaches were all available for sale in the supermarkets in Jakarta. They are imported, so not as delicious as they are in America, but still pretty amazing after years of not having them.
Now, keeping it a little closer to home, a bunch of friends took a day trip to…
SOLO
We went to spend time with Melanie the weekend before she moved. First, we hit up Starbucks, of course.
^^ Me, Melanie, and Navita. We took about 100 pictures, and I was a little cranky about it. This is one of the only ones where I’m actually smiling. Haha…
Next we went to one of my favorite bookstores. I was in a really random picture taking mood this day, so the only photo I took there was of the rack of dolls that freak me out EVERY TIME.
The mall… They built this mall last year, and it is quite fancy for Central Java! We went the weekend before Chinese New Year. It is now the year of the snake (in case you didn’t know), so they had a GIANT snake made of plastic cups stuffed in netting strung all the way around the interior of the mall. See it?
Out the window of the mall’s parking garage. It was rainy and gross and the streets were actually flooded.
Here we are after our dinner at the Malaysian restaurant. We call ourselves Tim AA (Team AA). I love this group of people so so so much!
So now back up to one of the oddest parts of the day. Before we began our drive to Solo, we swung by Dewi’s house (Dewi is second from the left in the front row of the picture above) to pick her up. And her husband was standing in the front yard with some friends… Giving their fighting cocks some practice! The things people do…
And another day trip to…
SEMARANG
We went to visit our friend Yohanes after he had surgery on his foot. I took some really weird pictures of nothing in particular. Here they are.
1. A random village.
2. New toll road in the works.
3. Reog street performers. I hate masks and large amounts of makeup and they always freak me out.
4. Some REALLY awesome guys that gave us directions. I love Indonesian old men. They are so cute.
Even more local…
SENIOR PICTURES
For the first time ever, I got to take senior pictures for some Indonesian students from the local Christian high school! One of them is my good friend, Cinta, and the other four are her classmates. They needed group and individual shots for their yearbook. We did an outdoor shoot at a nearby retreat center, and it rained the ENTIRE time we were shooting, but they were such great sports about it! The theme was vintage gothic, so I left all the pictures unedited so that they could edit them themselves to fit that style.
This is the only photo that I did edit a little bit. It is TOUGH to take pictures of brown skinned people wearing white clothes and hats in a forest on an overcast day!
And one last picture to leave you with. I found this photographer’s ad stuck to the inside of a door at a little hole in the wall restaurant. Anybody want a chicken in their wedding photos? Anyone?
17 March 2013
Back to Work
Sitting in my classroom on the first day of school after Spring Break.
Waiting for the first bell.
Students are already in the room hanging out.
I didn't fall asleep until after 2 last night/this morning.
I am so not ready for school to start again.
I am so not ready for teenagers.
Waiting for the first bell.
Students are already in the room hanging out.
I didn't fall asleep until after 2 last night/this morning.
I am so not ready for school to start again.
I am so not ready for teenagers.
A Rock and A Hard Place
I posted about the spirit world a couple of weeks ago, and one of the things I mentioned was about a friend whose car was stolen. I finally got the FULL story yesterday, and it is not at all like the story I originally heard. Here is how it went down.
My friend, H has a husband named N. They run a car rental company. What this means is basically that they own 2 cars and they also have connections to other people who own cars (not so many people own cars in Central Java) who are willing to allow their cars to be rented out. They also have friends who have drivers licenses who can serve as drivers. So you can talk to H or N if you need to go somewhere - let them know a few days ahead of time, and they'll arrange a car and driver, if needed. If you prefer to drive yourself, they'll arrange a time and place to drop the car off for you.
N knows someone who works at a local hotel. THAT guy "met" someone through his Blackberry phone who was coming in from Jakarta for a meeting and said he needed someone to pick him up at the airport in Semarang and drive him around for two days. Hotel guy let N know about the need. H and N had just bought a new car 2 days prior, so they sent a driver friend of theirs with the new car to help out the Jakarta guy.
Jakarta guy had ordered a room with 2 beds at a hotel in Semarang, and on the second day of meetings, Jakarta guy said he was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel. Driver went up with him, and Jakarta man made him some coffee. Some DRUGGED coffee. Jakarta guy waited for the driver to pass out, and he stole the keys and the car's registration, and took off. Without even paying for the hotel.
That is not even where it begins to get messy...
Once the driver came to and realized what happened, he was in a pretty bad situation. He didn't have enough money to pay for the hotel. But if the police got involved and found out the car was a rental, insurance wouldn't cover it (apparently renting cars is "at your own risk" in this country). He ended up calling the police. I guess if you get drugged and tricked, you get a free stay in a 4 star hotel - the police and hotel staff didn't hold him financially responsible for the room.
But now H and N are in a tough situation. The car cost 150 juta ($15,000). They made a down payment of 50 juta ($5000), but they still owe another $10,000 in monthly payments. If insurance covers it, they won't have to make any of those payments, and they'll just be out the $5000 down payment. If insurance doesn't cover it, they have to continue paying off the remaining balance. If the police accurately report what happened, insurance won't cover it. But we live in a country where police can be bought. If they pay the police $1000 - 1500, they will falsify the report, and insurance will cover the theft.
What would you do?? They have 60 days to decide.
Oh, and they're not gonna see that car again. The GPS was disabled on the road three-fourths of the way to one of the biggest shipping ports on the north coast of Java. The police are saying it's a mafia job. Happens all the time.
My friend, H has a husband named N. They run a car rental company. What this means is basically that they own 2 cars and they also have connections to other people who own cars (not so many people own cars in Central Java) who are willing to allow their cars to be rented out. They also have friends who have drivers licenses who can serve as drivers. So you can talk to H or N if you need to go somewhere - let them know a few days ahead of time, and they'll arrange a car and driver, if needed. If you prefer to drive yourself, they'll arrange a time and place to drop the car off for you.
N knows someone who works at a local hotel. THAT guy "met" someone through his Blackberry phone who was coming in from Jakarta for a meeting and said he needed someone to pick him up at the airport in Semarang and drive him around for two days. Hotel guy let N know about the need. H and N had just bought a new car 2 days prior, so they sent a driver friend of theirs with the new car to help out the Jakarta guy.
Jakarta guy had ordered a room with 2 beds at a hotel in Semarang, and on the second day of meetings, Jakarta guy said he was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel. Driver went up with him, and Jakarta man made him some coffee. Some DRUGGED coffee. Jakarta guy waited for the driver to pass out, and he stole the keys and the car's registration, and took off. Without even paying for the hotel.
That is not even where it begins to get messy...
Once the driver came to and realized what happened, he was in a pretty bad situation. He didn't have enough money to pay for the hotel. But if the police got involved and found out the car was a rental, insurance wouldn't cover it (apparently renting cars is "at your own risk" in this country). He ended up calling the police. I guess if you get drugged and tricked, you get a free stay in a 4 star hotel - the police and hotel staff didn't hold him financially responsible for the room.
But now H and N are in a tough situation. The car cost 150 juta ($15,000). They made a down payment of 50 juta ($5000), but they still owe another $10,000 in monthly payments. If insurance covers it, they won't have to make any of those payments, and they'll just be out the $5000 down payment. If insurance doesn't cover it, they have to continue paying off the remaining balance. If the police accurately report what happened, insurance won't cover it. But we live in a country where police can be bought. If they pay the police $1000 - 1500, they will falsify the report, and insurance will cover the theft.
What would you do?? They have 60 days to decide.
Oh, and they're not gonna see that car again. The GPS was disabled on the road three-fourths of the way to one of the biggest shipping ports on the north coast of Java. The police are saying it's a mafia job. Happens all the time.
Persecution
The island of Java is inhabited primarily by two different tribes - the Javanese and the Sundanese. I live in Java-land, which is most of Central and Eastern Java. The Sunda live on Western Java. Both tribes are predominantly Muslim, but the Sunda in general are more strongly so. In fact, the Sundanese are one of the least reached people groups in the world, with only about 0.1% claiming Christianity.
But God is moving in West Java. For the safety of those I know who are working there, I can't share much publicly. But many Javanese Christians have felt called to enter Sunda territory to live and work and carry out the Great Commission.
I heard a story today of a Sundanese Christian man who has been telling his neighbors about Jesus. He has even been bold enough to go into the Islamic schools there and teach about salvation. People have been coming to him with questions. Some, not brave enough to talk to him face to face, have communicated with him via SMS. Unfortunately, someone chose to use those SMSes against him. They were taken and shown to one of the heads of religion on the area. Local leaders convened and discussed what to do. Yesterday, the man was called to the home of his RW (neighborhood leader) and was given a choice.
He and his family could pack up and leave within the following three days. Or they could stay and their home and everything in it would be burned.
They made a very bold decision. He is sending his wife and kids to live with people from my church here. But he is staying. I don't know what his plan is. He may go underground. He certainly can't stay in his house or his neighborhood. If the religious leaders find out he is still there and still teaching, he could very possibly be killed.
Please pray. Pray for his safety. Pray that his decision wouldn't be in vain. Pray for his wife and kids as they face so much uncertainty. The rug is being pulled out from under them. They have three days to pack everything and say goodbye to everyone they've even known. And then they're going to move to live with people they've never met from a tribe that is not their own.
Pray for the Sundanese people. Pray for Indonesia.
But God is moving in West Java. For the safety of those I know who are working there, I can't share much publicly. But many Javanese Christians have felt called to enter Sunda territory to live and work and carry out the Great Commission.
I heard a story today of a Sundanese Christian man who has been telling his neighbors about Jesus. He has even been bold enough to go into the Islamic schools there and teach about salvation. People have been coming to him with questions. Some, not brave enough to talk to him face to face, have communicated with him via SMS. Unfortunately, someone chose to use those SMSes against him. They were taken and shown to one of the heads of religion on the area. Local leaders convened and discussed what to do. Yesterday, the man was called to the home of his RW (neighborhood leader) and was given a choice.
He and his family could pack up and leave within the following three days. Or they could stay and their home and everything in it would be burned.
They made a very bold decision. He is sending his wife and kids to live with people from my church here. But he is staying. I don't know what his plan is. He may go underground. He certainly can't stay in his house or his neighborhood. If the religious leaders find out he is still there and still teaching, he could very possibly be killed.
Please pray. Pray for his safety. Pray that his decision wouldn't be in vain. Pray for his wife and kids as they face so much uncertainty. The rug is being pulled out from under them. They have three days to pack everything and say goodbye to everyone they've even known. And then they're going to move to live with people they've never met from a tribe that is not their own.
Pray for the Sundanese people. Pray for Indonesia.
14 March 2013
The Heaviness of Goodness
I just had a deep thought.
It's really easy to focus on and hold on to the negative things that happen to us or the bad things that people do to us. Those things often feel like a burden or a weight that we carry. But what about the good things? Why are they so easy to overlook? Maybe because they're not heavy. We don't have to carry them. We're not reminded of them. And so we quickly forget about them.
I've had the same motorbike helmet for the past four years. It's in pretty rough shape. Thankfully, it's never had to keep me safe in an accident, but it's been beat up pretty good anyways. When my friend, Melanie, moved to Kalimantan last month, she bequeathed me her much nicer and newer helmet. I forgot about it until her former roommate brought it over to me earlier this week. Today was the first time I wore it anywhere. It's heavier than my old helmet, and when I drive, I feel that weight. The weight of her goodness.
I wore that helmet today to drive out to Pak Kur's village. I spent the day with him and his family. While I was there, a neighbor lady that I've never even met went out to the tree in her front yard and picked a whole bag full of rambutan fruit for me to take home. Then, as I was getting ready to leave, Pak Kur's wife gave me roughly 15 pounds of rice. I had plans to meet up with some girls from church for karaoke, and by the time I left the village and drove back in to town, there was no time to go home. So I went straight to karaoke. And from there, we walked down the street for dinner. And the whole way, I felt ridiculous carrying about 20 pounds of rice and rambutan in plastic bags with me. It was so heavy! It was the weight of their goodness.
I don't think anyone in the world understands me the way Melanie does. God brought her into my life at just the right time, and I'm so thankful for her friendship. And nobody has adopted me into their family the way Pak Kur has. I'm thankful for my Indonesian family that takes care of me, almost overzealously at times.
I don't want to be the kind of person who doesn't see the good in life. And I'm thankful that I got to carry those heavy things today to remind me that even when I don't feel it, I am blessed in a million and one ways.
It's really easy to focus on and hold on to the negative things that happen to us or the bad things that people do to us. Those things often feel like a burden or a weight that we carry. But what about the good things? Why are they so easy to overlook? Maybe because they're not heavy. We don't have to carry them. We're not reminded of them. And so we quickly forget about them.
I've had the same motorbike helmet for the past four years. It's in pretty rough shape. Thankfully, it's never had to keep me safe in an accident, but it's been beat up pretty good anyways. When my friend, Melanie, moved to Kalimantan last month, she bequeathed me her much nicer and newer helmet. I forgot about it until her former roommate brought it over to me earlier this week. Today was the first time I wore it anywhere. It's heavier than my old helmet, and when I drive, I feel that weight. The weight of her goodness.
I wore that helmet today to drive out to Pak Kur's village. I spent the day with him and his family. While I was there, a neighbor lady that I've never even met went out to the tree in her front yard and picked a whole bag full of rambutan fruit for me to take home. Then, as I was getting ready to leave, Pak Kur's wife gave me roughly 15 pounds of rice. I had plans to meet up with some girls from church for karaoke, and by the time I left the village and drove back in to town, there was no time to go home. So I went straight to karaoke. And from there, we walked down the street for dinner. And the whole way, I felt ridiculous carrying about 20 pounds of rice and rambutan in plastic bags with me. It was so heavy! It was the weight of their goodness.
I don't think anyone in the world understands me the way Melanie does. God brought her into my life at just the right time, and I'm so thankful for her friendship. And nobody has adopted me into their family the way Pak Kur has. I'm thankful for my Indonesian family that takes care of me, almost overzealously at times.
I don't want to be the kind of person who doesn't see the good in life. And I'm thankful that I got to carry those heavy things today to remind me that even when I don't feel it, I am blessed in a million and one ways.
12 March 2013
Not A Picture Book
Awhile ago, I was trying to think of ways to improve my Indonesian vocabulary. I earned a relatively high score on the verbal portion of the SAT my senior year in high school, so I started thinking about how I achieved that and if the same methods could help me with my Indonesian skills. One thing I came up with is that for most of my childhood, I was a voracious reader, so I was constantly being exposed to new words.
I got the great idea to start reading in Indonesian. I started with the Bible. Whatever I was reading on any given day, I would read first in English, and then in Indonesian. Eventually, I stopped reading the Bible in English altogether, and these days, I mostly read it in Indonesian.
Then I realized how cheap Indonesian books are! I mean, I was used to paying $10-15 for imported books in English when I could find them. But Indonesian books are like $3 or less!
I started out by buying some upper elementary books in Indonesian. Short chapter books with a picture every few pages. Then I bought a couple of books translated from English - Mandie, which I read in middle school, and Hunger Games - because knowing the context of the story before you dive into it really helps you understand a lot more than you would otherwise.
I eventually started perusing the best sellers racks at Indonesian bookstores. I bought and read a couple with interesting looking covers. Because I ALWAYS judge a book by its cover. But the problem with Indonesian books is that they are all love stories. Really cheesy love stories that are pretty hard for me to get into. Indonesians are obsessed with love.
So I asked a few friends if they knew of any Indonesian books that were NOT love stories. Nobody did. Until I went to Jakarta in January. I asked my friend Pierre, and he recommended an Indonesian author, S Mara Gd. Weird name, but he said she's the Indonesian Agatha Christie. Being someone who likes a good mystery, I decided to check her out, and after a couple months of searching, I found 4 of her novels in a bookstore in Solo. I picked the one with the most normal looking cover.
I just finished the first page, and I understood all of it! Feeling pretty happy about that. So I decided to blog about it.
Because it's spring break and I do what I want.
PS - I took the picture and wrote this post on my tablet. And now that I look at it on my computer, I see that the picture is sideways, but I can't figure out how to rotate it, and I don't feel like re-doing the whole post, so I'm leaving it. You're welcome.
I got the great idea to start reading in Indonesian. I started with the Bible. Whatever I was reading on any given day, I would read first in English, and then in Indonesian. Eventually, I stopped reading the Bible in English altogether, and these days, I mostly read it in Indonesian.
Then I realized how cheap Indonesian books are! I mean, I was used to paying $10-15 for imported books in English when I could find them. But Indonesian books are like $3 or less!
I started out by buying some upper elementary books in Indonesian. Short chapter books with a picture every few pages. Then I bought a couple of books translated from English - Mandie, which I read in middle school, and Hunger Games - because knowing the context of the story before you dive into it really helps you understand a lot more than you would otherwise.
I eventually started perusing the best sellers racks at Indonesian bookstores. I bought and read a couple with interesting looking covers. Because I ALWAYS judge a book by its cover. But the problem with Indonesian books is that they are all love stories. Really cheesy love stories that are pretty hard for me to get into. Indonesians are obsessed with love.
So I asked a few friends if they knew of any Indonesian books that were NOT love stories. Nobody did. Until I went to Jakarta in January. I asked my friend Pierre, and he recommended an Indonesian author, S Mara Gd. Weird name, but he said she's the Indonesian Agatha Christie. Being someone who likes a good mystery, I decided to check her out, and after a couple months of searching, I found 4 of her novels in a bookstore in Solo. I picked the one with the most normal looking cover.
I just finished the first page, and I understood all of it! Feeling pretty happy about that. So I decided to blog about it.
Because it's spring break and I do what I want.
PS - I took the picture and wrote this post on my tablet. And now that I look at it on my computer, I see that the picture is sideways, but I can't figure out how to rotate it, and I don't feel like re-doing the whole post, so I'm leaving it. You're welcome.
Who Needs the Beach?
I was just about to leave a friend’s house earlier when it started to POUR down rain. Like rain so hard you could barely see 5 feet our their front window. So I stayed and waited and played with their adorable 2 year old, Dea. And I waited some more. And waited some more. And after half an hour, when it hadn’t let up at all, I finally just decided to brave it and drive home.
That was an interesting choice. I’ve never driven in rain SO hard before – and that’s saying a lot. It took twice as long as normal to get home because every road – even the main bus/truck route through town – had turned into a raging river. LITERALLY, a river. And when I say “literally”, you can trust that I mean it, because one of my current pet peeves is when people misuse the word “literally”. At one intersection, I had to put my feet down and wait for some traffic to go by before I could pull out.
THE WATER WAS 3/4 OF THE WAY TO MY KNEES. It was running OVER the floorboard of my motorbike. As I left the main road and got back into my neighborhood, every street was like a tributary of water flowing into the next street. At every side street, I had to swerve to the middle of the road to avoid the white-capped rush of water flowing out. At no point during my drive home could I even see the asphalt. And I was thankful that I was driving on familiar roads, roads where the location of every speed bump and every pothole and every drainage grate was already etched into my memory.
I actually considered pulling over to take a picture, but it probably would have ruined my camera. And I really just wanted to get home and jump in a hot shower.
I did take these pictures though…
My front yard. It was almost knee deep in spots as well. I couldn’t even drive my bike through it to get to my normal parking spot. This is after only about 30 minutes of rain!
This is what I get for buying the most expensive rain jacket at Niki Baru, thinking it would be the best quality. Not so much… Too bad my last rain jacket got stolen. Or lost. Or something. It was a good one, and it only cost $3!
The floor inside the front door looked like this… But not anymore, because I already mopped it.
One of the culprits hiding from the thunder under the kitchen table. She looks funny in this picture without her ears.
So it’s Spring Break this week, and this is how I’m spending it. Driving in muddy monsoons and cleaning paw prints off the kitchen floor. Meanwhile, all my co-workers and friends are at the beach and are kind enough to regularly post pictures of their amazing vacations on a multitude of different social networking sites so that I will be sure to see them ALL.
Also, my one neighbor who lives in the thin-walled apartment adjacent to mine has a miniature poodle. I really hate poodles. But this one is OK most of the time. I’m used to it. Its one major fault is that if its owner leaves, it barks and whines until she returns home. This generally is not a problem as we are both at school at the same time, so I’m not home to hear the dog, and she rarely goes out in the evenings. But this week, she went to Lombok for Spring Break… Yeah… This dog has not stopped barking its high pitched little poodle bark since Saturday – except for when it is asleep. But it wakes up at 4 AM. And coincidentally, so do I now.
Spring Break hasn’t been all bad so far though. I went swimming with some friends this morning at a really beautiful infinity pool up the mountain. We swam from 9 – 10 in the morning, and it was cloudy. I still managed to get a pretty nice burn. Who even needs the beach?
09 March 2013
Adikku
One of my good friends here just made me the topic of her blog today!! She wrote a really long and SUPER sweet post about our friendship. So if you want to read about how amazing I am, you can click HERE. Just kidding! - it also mentions several of my faults, so I can't get too big of a head.
But seriously, it's nice to have a reminder from time to time that even in the midst of what sometimes seems like a confusing whirlwind that I like to call "Living in Southeast Asia", I've managed to make a positive impact on someone and I must be doing SOMETHING right. : )
Makasih banyak, Cin. I'm always here for you! <3 p="">
But seriously, it's nice to have a reminder from time to time that even in the midst of what sometimes seems like a confusing whirlwind that I like to call "Living in Southeast Asia", I've managed to make a positive impact on someone and I must be doing SOMETHING right. : )
Makasih banyak, Cin. I'm always here for you! <3 p="">
05 March 2013
Children
Student: ARG! Why can't I get this problem!? I thought I was good at this stuff! You know how I feel right now?
Me: No, how?
Student: It's like when you think you're so good at guitar, then someone tells you that you stink and you go lock yourself in your cold, dark bedroom and you close the door of your heart and cry.
Male student: Is it weird to wear a skirt?
Me: No, why?
Student: Doesn't it kind of feel like you're not wearing anything at all? That would feel awkward.
Me: No. The material still touches your legs. You can tell you're wearing something. It's like wearing shorts, just without the middle part.
Student: Yeah, see, when I wear shorts, I usually feel kind of naked.
Me: Really??
Student: Yeah, I had the same issue when I made the change from tighty whities to... oh... you're a teacher... um. Never mind.
Student: I had a dream about you last night!
Me: Oh?
Student: It was a little scary.
Me: Oh, my... What was it about?
Student: I was lost in a dark forest. And you were one of the trees. Your body was the trunk of the tree and your hair was like an afro, but it was REALLY long, and that was all the branches and leaves of the tree.
Me: I can actually see that...
Student: So I was lost and I was scared in this forest and I saw you. And then you detached from the ground and started chasing me. But when you chased me, your head got pointier and pointier like a pencil. It was really scary. And then I woke up.
Me: No, how?
Student: It's like when you think you're so good at guitar, then someone tells you that you stink and you go lock yourself in your cold, dark bedroom and you close the door of your heart and cry.
Male student: Is it weird to wear a skirt?
Me: No, why?
Student: Doesn't it kind of feel like you're not wearing anything at all? That would feel awkward.
Me: No. The material still touches your legs. You can tell you're wearing something. It's like wearing shorts, just without the middle part.
Student: Yeah, see, when I wear shorts, I usually feel kind of naked.
Me: Really??
Student: Yeah, I had the same issue when I made the change from tighty whities to... oh... you're a teacher... um. Never mind.
Student: I had a dream about you last night!
Me: Oh?
Student: It was a little scary.
Me: Oh, my... What was it about?
Student: I was lost in a dark forest. And you were one of the trees. Your body was the trunk of the tree and your hair was like an afro, but it was REALLY long, and that was all the branches and leaves of the tree.
Me: I can actually see that...
Student: So I was lost and I was scared in this forest and I saw you. And then you detached from the ground and started chasing me. But when you chased me, your head got pointier and pointier like a pencil. It was really scary. And then I woke up.
03 March 2013
I Am an Adult
There is no such thing as a phone plan in Indonesia. Instead, you buy a cell phone at a cell phone store. Then you go to a pulsa store to buy a SIM card. You can pick what carrier you want and then choose a number from a list of available numbers. "Beautiful" numbers cost more. Those are numbers that have a lot of repeat digits in them, thus making them easier to memorize - Indonesian cell phone numbers are 12 digits long!
Then you pay to have pulsa (essentially phone minutes) put on your SIM card. Each phone company has different costs for different things, and they change all the time. I have never, ever seen a published list of costs for any Indonesian cell phone company. With my phone company, Mentari, I can SMS the States for about 5 cents. But if I want to call the States, the cost varies depending on the day of the week and the time of day. So far, late night is the cheapest time I've found. I can talk for about $2/hour, but I have no idea what the per minute rate is. And to get it that cheap, I have to remember to dial a special 5 digit code first, otherwise it's SUPER expensive. .
If you have a data plan, you order it from a menu on your phone, and the cost just gets cut from your pulsa. Each phone company has a three digit number you can dial to check how much pulsa you have left. If it's getting low, you just swing by the pulsa store and buy more. You can buy it in different increments - 50 cents, $1, $2.50, $5, or $10. Ten dollars gets me through the month usually. Whatever amount you buy, you add ten cents to, and that is the purchase cost, so the person selling the pulsa makes 10 cents on each transaction. I'm not sure how the whole system works, but it must be super easy to start a pulsa selling business, because there is one about every 50 feet.
When you buy pulsa, you write your number down on a piece of paper, and the pulsa seller uses their phone to transfer the pulsa to yours. Sometimes, after buying pulsa, I have gotten really weird/inappropriate SMSes and phone calls. So I'm wary of where I buy from.
I have pretty much always gone to the same guy to buy my pulsa. His name is Pak Tri, and he lives just around the corner from me with his wife and kids and he sells pulsa out of the front room of his house. We've chatted a couple of times. I talk to his wife sometimes too when I have to sit and wait for him to come back from prayers at the mosque next door. They are both really sweet. And they never send me weird texts inviting me to go for a walk at 2 in the morning.
So last week, I went over to buy some pulsa and there was another customer sitting on a stool there. So I sat down next to him, wrote my number on the paper, and passed it over to Pak Tri. I could see the other guy checking me out from the corner of my eye (and when I say "checking me out" I don't mean like CHECKING me out. I mean like he seemed really confused about why a white person was there, and he was staring a little bit). He started asking Pak Tri questions about me in Javanese, thinking I wouldn't understand. I did. So Pak Tri replied, "Just ask her. She speaks Indonesian." The conversation went a little like this.
Other Customer: Are American schools like Indonesian schools?
Me: Oh... Um... No, they're pretty different.
OC: Like how?
Me: Well, we use different curriculum, and it doesn't necessarily depend on grade. There's not usually specific 10th grade curriculum, but students can choose their classes based on subject. And we have four years of high school, not three. And we don't have school all year round. We have a long holiday in the summer.
OC: Interesting. Where are you from?
Me: America.
OC: How long have you lived here?
Me: Five years.
Pak Tri: You're fluent, huh?
Me: Noooo... Not yet.
OC: Do you speak Javanese?
Me: *in Javanese* No, but I understand a little.
Pak Tri: I didn't know you could speak Javanese!! Learn more!
Me: Indonesian first.
OC: So who do you live with?
Me: I live by myself.
Pak Tri: Where are your parents??
Me: In America.
OC: What grade are you in??
Me: Oh, I'm a teacher.
Pak Tri: Wait. WHAT? All this time, I thought you were in high school!!!
Me: Haha... A lot of people think that! I'm actually a high school math teacher!
OC: So wait. You've been here five years.. How old ARE you?
Me: Twenty-six.
OC and Pak Tri: *stare at me and try to do the math in their heads*
So basically, my pulsa guy has thought I'm a high schooler for the past FIVE YEARS. Which doesn't even make sense, because Indonesian high school is only THREE YEARS. So basically, my biggest accomplishment of the month was letting my pulsa man know that I AM A GROWN UP.
I went again this week, and he was way friendlier than he's ever been. Like, he was telling me stories from his childhood. Apparently knowing that I'm not a high-schooler was all it took to break the ice.
Then you pay to have pulsa (essentially phone minutes) put on your SIM card. Each phone company has different costs for different things, and they change all the time. I have never, ever seen a published list of costs for any Indonesian cell phone company. With my phone company, Mentari, I can SMS the States for about 5 cents. But if I want to call the States, the cost varies depending on the day of the week and the time of day. So far, late night is the cheapest time I've found. I can talk for about $2/hour, but I have no idea what the per minute rate is. And to get it that cheap, I have to remember to dial a special 5 digit code first, otherwise it's SUPER expensive. .
If you have a data plan, you order it from a menu on your phone, and the cost just gets cut from your pulsa. Each phone company has a three digit number you can dial to check how much pulsa you have left. If it's getting low, you just swing by the pulsa store and buy more. You can buy it in different increments - 50 cents, $1, $2.50, $5, or $10. Ten dollars gets me through the month usually. Whatever amount you buy, you add ten cents to, and that is the purchase cost, so the person selling the pulsa makes 10 cents on each transaction. I'm not sure how the whole system works, but it must be super easy to start a pulsa selling business, because there is one about every 50 feet.
When you buy pulsa, you write your number down on a piece of paper, and the pulsa seller uses their phone to transfer the pulsa to yours. Sometimes, after buying pulsa, I have gotten really weird/inappropriate SMSes and phone calls. So I'm wary of where I buy from.
I have pretty much always gone to the same guy to buy my pulsa. His name is Pak Tri, and he lives just around the corner from me with his wife and kids and he sells pulsa out of the front room of his house. We've chatted a couple of times. I talk to his wife sometimes too when I have to sit and wait for him to come back from prayers at the mosque next door. They are both really sweet. And they never send me weird texts inviting me to go for a walk at 2 in the morning.
So last week, I went over to buy some pulsa and there was another customer sitting on a stool there. So I sat down next to him, wrote my number on the paper, and passed it over to Pak Tri. I could see the other guy checking me out from the corner of my eye (and when I say "checking me out" I don't mean like CHECKING me out. I mean like he seemed really confused about why a white person was there, and he was staring a little bit). He started asking Pak Tri questions about me in Javanese, thinking I wouldn't understand. I did. So Pak Tri replied, "Just ask her. She speaks Indonesian." The conversation went a little like this.
Other Customer: Are American schools like Indonesian schools?
Me: Oh... Um... No, they're pretty different.
OC: Like how?
Me: Well, we use different curriculum, and it doesn't necessarily depend on grade. There's not usually specific 10th grade curriculum, but students can choose their classes based on subject. And we have four years of high school, not three. And we don't have school all year round. We have a long holiday in the summer.
OC: Interesting. Where are you from?
Me: America.
OC: How long have you lived here?
Me: Five years.
Pak Tri: You're fluent, huh?
Me: Noooo... Not yet.
OC: Do you speak Javanese?
Me: *in Javanese* No, but I understand a little.
Pak Tri: I didn't know you could speak Javanese!! Learn more!
Me: Indonesian first.
OC: So who do you live with?
Me: I live by myself.
Pak Tri: Where are your parents??
Me: In America.
OC: What grade are you in??
Me: Oh, I'm a teacher.
Pak Tri: Wait. WHAT? All this time, I thought you were in high school!!!
Me: Haha... A lot of people think that! I'm actually a high school math teacher!
OC: So wait. You've been here five years.. How old ARE you?
Me: Twenty-six.
OC and Pak Tri: *stare at me and try to do the math in their heads*
So basically, my pulsa guy has thought I'm a high schooler for the past FIVE YEARS. Which doesn't even make sense, because Indonesian high school is only THREE YEARS. So basically, my biggest accomplishment of the month was letting my pulsa man know that I AM A GROWN UP.
I went again this week, and he was way friendlier than he's ever been. Like, he was telling me stories from his childhood. Apparently knowing that I'm not a high-schooler was all it took to break the ice.
24 February 2013
Spirits
I haven't posted a non-school related post for quite awhile, so here are a few updates.
My best white friend in Indonesia moved to a different island on Wednesday, so it's been an emotional week, on top of being sick-ish for the past five days. I only got proposed to once this week, but that's up from zero last week. I bashed my knee really hard on my desk and now it hurts to walk. I think I'm going to finally buy a guitar after almost 5 years of borrowing. It snowed a lot in America. I found some extra work for my helper, so now she has some extra income for her family, which I'm super excited about! She's such a great lady. Our girls and boys basketball teams were both UNDEFEATED the entire weekend at the IISSAC championships and both brought home trophies - boys for the fourth year in a row!
So now that an update is out of the way, there is something else that I really want to write about. There's a certain part of Indonesian culture that I've just been reminded of over and over again lately. I don't know if I'm becoming more sensitive to it or if it's just happening more or what. It has to do with demons and spirits.
Six different things have happened to me or to people I know just so far this year. Here are the stories.
1. I have a friend named G. He's Javanese and he lives in a house with dirt floors. He came to me earlier this year and asked me to pray for protection for his family. He said a tuyul was stealing their money. A tuyul is a Javanese spirit that takes the form of a child and is specifically used by its "master" for stealing things. One can buy a tuyul relatively cheaply from a witch doctor. A tuyul, obviously, can be very beneficial to its master, but the master must care for it as if the tuyul were his own child. If he doesn't, the punishment is very harsh. G's family had reason to believe a tuyul was in their home because a substantial sum of money went missing. G's mom had received some money which she had put in an envelope beneath her pillow before going to bed one night. In the morning, 1/3 of the money was missing. That day, G's dad got paid. Since he suspected there was a tuyul on the loose, he put his $100 in an envelope, sealed it, put it inside a box, put the box inside his wardrobe, locked the wardrobe, and slept with the key in his pocket. In the morning, he opened the envelope - still sealed - and found that $25 was missing. I asked G if he was worried about his money being stolen. He said, "No, because I have a picture of Jesus hanging on my wall. The tuyul won't come in my room". It didn't, and since that time, no more money has gone missing. But they still don't know who the tuyul's master is. Most likely someone they know.
2. Also early this year, I was driving to town at dusk when I saw someone crossing the road. I was still quite a distance away, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized why. He was demon possessed. I've seen several possessed people here, but this one was different. I can't really explain why. Maybe because I didn't expect it. Maybe because he looked right into my eyes as I drove past him. Maybe because as he looked at me, he arced his body strangely as if he was in pain. Maybe because for that split second, I felt like I was in a nightmare.
3. In my closest group of friends, there are three of us white people and thirteen Indonesians. We call ourselves Team AA, and we spend every Saturday night eating dinner and hanging out together. We are a crazy mix of three different religions (Christian, Catholic, and Muslim) and three different nationalities (Indonesian, American, and German). One of the friends in that group has a close friend named U who sometimes hangs out with us when she's in town. I like her. She's super sweet and gives amazing massages. But she's extremely animistic, and for lack of a better term, I guess I'd call her a medium. She's very open about it, and she'll tell us when there are bad spirits around and she talks about our auras a lot. I go back and forth on whether I believe her or not. I'm very skeptical. But something she said a few weeks ago really made me stop and think. She said that everyone in Team AA has spirits that follow them - not evil spirits or good spirits, just spirits - everyone except the three white people.
4. Two weeks ago I was driving home from town. I don't remember where I'd been, but I was coming home later than normal, and most people had already gone to bed. When I got closer to my neighborhood, I noticed a lone man standing on the side of the road quite a ways up. Again, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I thought it was probably a crazy or demon possessed person out wandering the streets. He was facing me and not moving at all. I braced myself to pass by, giving him a wide berth, but once again, I was not prepared for what I saw. I'm pretty sure that what was standing on the side of the road was a straight up demon. It looked like a partly decomposed dead body. It had no face. I didn't believe what I'd seen, and when I turned to look back, nothing was there.
5. Friday, a friend of mine had her car stolen (Casey and Sharon read: Hesty). She and her husband rent their car out to make a little extra money, and if needed, her husband serves as a driver as well. On Friday, someone rented the car and wanted to drive it himself. He took it to Semarang, a neighboring city. While he was there, he was hypnotized by another man who convinced him to turn over the key and registration. That man disabled the GPS, most likely changed the plates, and last I heard, the car had still not been found. I've heard of this happening more than once with people stealing motorbikes, cars, money, etc. The Javanese say to never let your mind be idle because when it is, that's when people can hypnotize you. But if your mind is full of thoughts, nobody else can get into it.
6. Also on Friday, I was talking to my helper, Ibu Sri. She asked me to pray for a lady she knows. The lady is over 100 and she is trying to die, but she can't. So for the last two weeks, all she has been able to do is lay in bed, crying and screaming in pain. The reason? There is a spirit inside her that won't let her die. It used to be a very common practice for Javanese people to buy spirits from the witch doctor that would give them extra strength or long lasting beauty. And they say it works. But the problem is that the spirit never leaves you, and it keeps you alive when you are ready to die. In most cases, the spirit has to be cast out first, but that in and of itself is very painful and pretty much guarantees death for the affected person. Ibu Sri is very concerned for this family because even though they are all Christian, they won't call a pastor to come and pray over her. Instead, they called in a witch doctor all the way from Jogja. He came and did whatever it is he does and said that she would die on Wednesday. The whole family took the day off work to be with her. That was a week and a half ago. She's still alive and still in pain.
I don't tell you these stories to scare you or to thrill you, but so that you can KNOW. I realize that the issue of demon activity and spirits can be a pretty controversial topic for a lot of people. Many westerners refuse to believe the stories. To be quite honest, I probably wouldn't believe a lot of them if I hadn't seen as much as I have firsthand. If you choose not to believe anything I just wrote, that's fine. If you think I must have an overactive, paranoid imagination, I understand. But don't be fooled - the power of darkness is very real and very much alive, whether you choose to believe in it or not. And just because it manifests itself one way in one culture doesn't mean it looks the same in every culture.
We have a saying over here. In the West, Satan wears a three piece suit. Here, he shows his face.
My best white friend in Indonesia moved to a different island on Wednesday, so it's been an emotional week, on top of being sick-ish for the past five days. I only got proposed to once this week, but that's up from zero last week. I bashed my knee really hard on my desk and now it hurts to walk. I think I'm going to finally buy a guitar after almost 5 years of borrowing. It snowed a lot in America. I found some extra work for my helper, so now she has some extra income for her family, which I'm super excited about! She's such a great lady. Our girls and boys basketball teams were both UNDEFEATED the entire weekend at the IISSAC championships and both brought home trophies - boys for the fourth year in a row!
So now that an update is out of the way, there is something else that I really want to write about. There's a certain part of Indonesian culture that I've just been reminded of over and over again lately. I don't know if I'm becoming more sensitive to it or if it's just happening more or what. It has to do with demons and spirits.
Six different things have happened to me or to people I know just so far this year. Here are the stories.
1. I have a friend named G. He's Javanese and he lives in a house with dirt floors. He came to me earlier this year and asked me to pray for protection for his family. He said a tuyul was stealing their money. A tuyul is a Javanese spirit that takes the form of a child and is specifically used by its "master" for stealing things. One can buy a tuyul relatively cheaply from a witch doctor. A tuyul, obviously, can be very beneficial to its master, but the master must care for it as if the tuyul were his own child. If he doesn't, the punishment is very harsh. G's family had reason to believe a tuyul was in their home because a substantial sum of money went missing. G's mom had received some money which she had put in an envelope beneath her pillow before going to bed one night. In the morning, 1/3 of the money was missing. That day, G's dad got paid. Since he suspected there was a tuyul on the loose, he put his $100 in an envelope, sealed it, put it inside a box, put the box inside his wardrobe, locked the wardrobe, and slept with the key in his pocket. In the morning, he opened the envelope - still sealed - and found that $25 was missing. I asked G if he was worried about his money being stolen. He said, "No, because I have a picture of Jesus hanging on my wall. The tuyul won't come in my room". It didn't, and since that time, no more money has gone missing. But they still don't know who the tuyul's master is. Most likely someone they know.
2. Also early this year, I was driving to town at dusk when I saw someone crossing the road. I was still quite a distance away, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized why. He was demon possessed. I've seen several possessed people here, but this one was different. I can't really explain why. Maybe because I didn't expect it. Maybe because he looked right into my eyes as I drove past him. Maybe because as he looked at me, he arced his body strangely as if he was in pain. Maybe because for that split second, I felt like I was in a nightmare.
3. In my closest group of friends, there are three of us white people and thirteen Indonesians. We call ourselves Team AA, and we spend every Saturday night eating dinner and hanging out together. We are a crazy mix of three different religions (Christian, Catholic, and Muslim) and three different nationalities (Indonesian, American, and German). One of the friends in that group has a close friend named U who sometimes hangs out with us when she's in town. I like her. She's super sweet and gives amazing massages. But she's extremely animistic, and for lack of a better term, I guess I'd call her a medium. She's very open about it, and she'll tell us when there are bad spirits around and she talks about our auras a lot. I go back and forth on whether I believe her or not. I'm very skeptical. But something she said a few weeks ago really made me stop and think. She said that everyone in Team AA has spirits that follow them - not evil spirits or good spirits, just spirits - everyone except the three white people.
4. Two weeks ago I was driving home from town. I don't remember where I'd been, but I was coming home later than normal, and most people had already gone to bed. When I got closer to my neighborhood, I noticed a lone man standing on the side of the road quite a ways up. Again, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I thought it was probably a crazy or demon possessed person out wandering the streets. He was facing me and not moving at all. I braced myself to pass by, giving him a wide berth, but once again, I was not prepared for what I saw. I'm pretty sure that what was standing on the side of the road was a straight up demon. It looked like a partly decomposed dead body. It had no face. I didn't believe what I'd seen, and when I turned to look back, nothing was there.
5. Friday, a friend of mine had her car stolen (Casey and Sharon read: Hesty). She and her husband rent their car out to make a little extra money, and if needed, her husband serves as a driver as well. On Friday, someone rented the car and wanted to drive it himself. He took it to Semarang, a neighboring city. While he was there, he was hypnotized by another man who convinced him to turn over the key and registration. That man disabled the GPS, most likely changed the plates, and last I heard, the car had still not been found. I've heard of this happening more than once with people stealing motorbikes, cars, money, etc. The Javanese say to never let your mind be idle because when it is, that's when people can hypnotize you. But if your mind is full of thoughts, nobody else can get into it.
6. Also on Friday, I was talking to my helper, Ibu Sri. She asked me to pray for a lady she knows. The lady is over 100 and she is trying to die, but she can't. So for the last two weeks, all she has been able to do is lay in bed, crying and screaming in pain. The reason? There is a spirit inside her that won't let her die. It used to be a very common practice for Javanese people to buy spirits from the witch doctor that would give them extra strength or long lasting beauty. And they say it works. But the problem is that the spirit never leaves you, and it keeps you alive when you are ready to die. In most cases, the spirit has to be cast out first, but that in and of itself is very painful and pretty much guarantees death for the affected person. Ibu Sri is very concerned for this family because even though they are all Christian, they won't call a pastor to come and pray over her. Instead, they called in a witch doctor all the way from Jogja. He came and did whatever it is he does and said that she would die on Wednesday. The whole family took the day off work to be with her. That was a week and a half ago. She's still alive and still in pain.
I don't tell you these stories to scare you or to thrill you, but so that you can KNOW. I realize that the issue of demon activity and spirits can be a pretty controversial topic for a lot of people. Many westerners refuse to believe the stories. To be quite honest, I probably wouldn't believe a lot of them if I hadn't seen as much as I have firsthand. If you choose not to believe anything I just wrote, that's fine. If you think I must have an overactive, paranoid imagination, I understand. But don't be fooled - the power of darkness is very real and very much alive, whether you choose to believe in it or not. And just because it manifests itself one way in one culture doesn't mean it looks the same in every culture.
We have a saying over here. In the West, Satan wears a three piece suit. Here, he shows his face.
21 February 2013
IISSAC
There are 6 or 7 major international schools on Java and Bali that take turns each year hosting various athletic events that all the schools participate in. This weekend is the big international school invitational basketball tournament (that we have won for the past 3 years in a row, ahem...). So roughly half of our high school students and staff left last night to travel to the far east end of Java to compete at Surabaya International School. Games start today (Friday) at 3 and continue all day Saturday and for much of Sunday.
Now, the weird thing is that we have Monday off so that players and coaches can rest after their weekend full of traveling, playing, and traveling some more (it's about a 7 hour bus ride to Surabaya from here). But we do not have Friday off, even though half of the school is gone.
I'm not teaching anything today. I mean, I had ONE student in AP Calculus this morning. We finished his homework together then played cards and chatted for the rest of the 95 minutes. Good talk.
I went to bed after midnight last night.
I wore jeans, flip-flops, and a hoodie to school.
My cell phone is on, and not even on silent.
I've been playing games on my tablet for the last 30 minutes.
And I ate rice out of a plastic bag for breakfast.
That is how much I care today.
WHY AM I AT SCHOOL?!
Now, the weird thing is that we have Monday off so that players and coaches can rest after their weekend full of traveling, playing, and traveling some more (it's about a 7 hour bus ride to Surabaya from here). But we do not have Friday off, even though half of the school is gone.
I'm not teaching anything today. I mean, I had ONE student in AP Calculus this morning. We finished his homework together then played cards and chatted for the rest of the 95 minutes. Good talk.
I went to bed after midnight last night.
I wore jeans, flip-flops, and a hoodie to school.
My cell phone is on, and not even on silent.
I've been playing games on my tablet for the last 30 minutes.
And I ate rice out of a plastic bag for breakfast.
That is how much I care today.
WHY AM I AT SCHOOL?!
13 February 2013
A Ninth Grade Take on Polynomial Division
"Although I find synthetic division easier, I'm just not comfortable with it. It's not the long division I grew up with. However, if a problem requires me to use synthetic division, I'll do it, of course. But I won't like it."
12 February 2013
Kids Say the Darndest Things
1. With a 10th grade Indonesian student at lunch.
Student: What is it like to live in a small town?
Me: Do you mean here in Indonesia or where I grew up?
Student: Where you grew up.
Me: It was OK. It was pretty isolated, but I like living in the country.
Student: How big was your town?
Me: Like 250 people.
Student: You mean 250 thousand?
Me: No. Just 250.
Student: *silence*
Me: A little different from here.
Student: So what do people do there?
Me: Uh... Work. And shoot things.
Student: Is everyone Christian?
Me: Most people would probably say they are. Or Wiccan.
Student: What's that?
Me: I dunno. It's like a form of witchcraft that a lot of teens where I'm from are into.
Student: Oh. They're also into pregnancy, I've heard.
2. During 9th grade Algebra 2 with a Korean student.
Student: Is this correct?
Me: Let's see....... Oh, you forgot to multiply the denominators here.
Student: Yeah, I've decided not to do that anymore.
Me: Okaaaaaaaay, why?
Student: Multiplying denominators is too mainstream for me.
3. During a charity concert (Sorry, you'll only get this if you speak Indonesian).
Student 1: What did the Indonesian chicken say when he crossed the road?
Student 2: I don't know, what?
Student 1: Ayam goreng home!!!!
4. A different Indonesian student (9th grader) at lunch.
Student: Do you know why the British were such formidable foes during the Revolutionary War even though their military tactics were not optimal?
Me: Um... No?
Student: It's because they could use their muskets to fire 30 rounds per minute.
Me: I don't think that's possible...
Student: Oh, yes it is! They trained the soldiers to be able to!
Me: But that's a round every two seconds....
Student: Yup! Pretty impressive, huh?
5. Same student at lunch.
Student: I have a question. It's a genuine one. What's the difference between Alpine yodeling and cowboy yodeling??
Me: Cowboys yodel?!
6. Still the same student:
Student: Would you rather fight a bull shark or a nurse shark?
Me: Definitely a nurse shark. They are far less aggressive.
Student: Correct. Did you know a man was once chased onto land by a bull shark? He was only saved because the shark eventually died due to lack of water consumption.
7. Yup, the same student.
Student: I like to drink my tea black.
Me: Um. OK. Why is that?
Student: It gives me the advantage of not wasting time adding sugar.
8. Dorm boys at lunch.
Student 1: Aw man, the sambal (chili sauce) is gone!
Student 2: It's OK. Sambal will ravage your butt.
Student 3: What does ravish mean?
Student 2: I didn't say ravish. I said ravage. BIG difference.
9. During Algebra 2 class.
Student 1: Miss, would you ever have plastic surgery?
Me: I don't think so.
Student 1: Koreans do it all the time.
Me: Would you do it?
Student 1: Maybe.
Student 2: Did Michael Jackson have plastic surgery?
Me: Yes, definitely.
Student 2: How did he make himself white? Did he get new skin? Or did he put something in his old skin to make it white?
Me: I'm really not sure how that works.
Student 3: Is it true that they froze his body so he can be brought back to life?
Student 4: No, I think they already melted him down to make Legos.
Student: What is it like to live in a small town?
Me: Do you mean here in Indonesia or where I grew up?
Student: Where you grew up.
Me: It was OK. It was pretty isolated, but I like living in the country.
Student: How big was your town?
Me: Like 250 people.
Student: You mean 250 thousand?
Me: No. Just 250.
Student: *silence*
Me: A little different from here.
Student: So what do people do there?
Me: Uh... Work. And shoot things.
Student: Is everyone Christian?
Me: Most people would probably say they are. Or Wiccan.
Student: What's that?
Me: I dunno. It's like a form of witchcraft that a lot of teens where I'm from are into.
Student: Oh. They're also into pregnancy, I've heard.
2. During 9th grade Algebra 2 with a Korean student.
Student: Is this correct?
Me: Let's see....... Oh, you forgot to multiply the denominators here.
Student: Yeah, I've decided not to do that anymore.
Me: Okaaaaaaaay, why?
Student: Multiplying denominators is too mainstream for me.
3. During a charity concert (Sorry, you'll only get this if you speak Indonesian).
Student 1: What did the Indonesian chicken say when he crossed the road?
Student 2: I don't know, what?
Student 1: Ayam goreng home!!!!
4. A different Indonesian student (9th grader) at lunch.
Student: Do you know why the British were such formidable foes during the Revolutionary War even though their military tactics were not optimal?
Me: Um... No?
Student: It's because they could use their muskets to fire 30 rounds per minute.
Me: I don't think that's possible...
Student: Oh, yes it is! They trained the soldiers to be able to!
Me: But that's a round every two seconds....
Student: Yup! Pretty impressive, huh?
5. Same student at lunch.
Student: I have a question. It's a genuine one. What's the difference between Alpine yodeling and cowboy yodeling??
Me: Cowboys yodel?!
6. Still the same student:
Student: Would you rather fight a bull shark or a nurse shark?
Me: Definitely a nurse shark. They are far less aggressive.
Student: Correct. Did you know a man was once chased onto land by a bull shark? He was only saved because the shark eventually died due to lack of water consumption.
7. Yup, the same student.
Student: I like to drink my tea black.
Me: Um. OK. Why is that?
Student: It gives me the advantage of not wasting time adding sugar.
8. Dorm boys at lunch.
Student 1: Aw man, the sambal (chili sauce) is gone!
Student 2: It's OK. Sambal will ravage your butt.
Student 3: What does ravish mean?
Student 2: I didn't say ravish. I said ravage. BIG difference.
9. During Algebra 2 class.
Student 1: Miss, would you ever have plastic surgery?
Me: I don't think so.
Student 1: Koreans do it all the time.
Me: Would you do it?
Student 1: Maybe.
Student 2: Did Michael Jackson have plastic surgery?
Me: Yes, definitely.
Student 2: How did he make himself white? Did he get new skin? Or did he put something in his old skin to make it white?
Me: I'm really not sure how that works.
Student 3: Is it true that they froze his body so he can be brought back to life?
Student 4: No, I think they already melted him down to make Legos.
07 February 2013
New Buy
So I bought a tablet. Of the Samsung variety. And I pretty much love it. So much that I am even posting this from it. Because I can. So now anytime I travel, I can post and be online from anywhere that has WiFi or cell phone signal. This makes me happy.
Technology is basically amazing, and I am so thankful for it.
And P.S. If you have Line, KakaoTalk, Skype, or Whatsapp, you should send me your info because I have all of those on here too. Kthanksbye.
Geometry
Every year, when we do the unit on ratios, proportions, and scale factors, I have my Geometry class use the world map hanging on the back wall of my classroom to calculate the distance they currently are from where they were born. This is a pretty neat project to do in a multi-cultural setting. And it gets them out of their seats, using rulers, applying scale factors, and doing math!
In this class of 20 students, I have:
9 Koreans
4 Indonesians
3 European-Asians
2 Indians
1 American
1 Canadian
And here are their birth places:
Seoul, South Korea (6)
Semarang, Indonesia (3)
Jakarta, Indonesia (2)
New Delhi, India (2)
Surabaya, Indonesia
Kwangju, South Korea
Geneva, Switzerland
Ottawa, Canada
Salatiga, Indonesia
Shimla, India
Bandung, Indonesia
Eight of them were born in Indonesia, and six were born in a country other than their passport country! I really love being surrounded by so much diversity on a daily basis. These kids are so different from their American counterparts, and I have so much appreciation and respect for their life experiences!
In this class of 20 students, I have:
9 Koreans
4 Indonesians
3 European-Asians
2 Indians
1 American
1 Canadian
And here are their birth places:
Seoul, South Korea (6)
Semarang, Indonesia (3)
Jakarta, Indonesia (2)
New Delhi, India (2)
Surabaya, Indonesia
Kwangju, South Korea
Geneva, Switzerland
Ottawa, Canada
Salatiga, Indonesia
Shimla, India
Bandung, Indonesia
Eight of them were born in Indonesia, and six were born in a country other than their passport country! I really love being surrounded by so much diversity on a daily basis. These kids are so different from their American counterparts, and I have so much appreciation and respect for their life experiences!
06 February 2013
A Father
This is Pak Kur. He is a guard at the school where I live and work. A little more than a year ago, he invited me for the first time to come visit his village, meet his family, and see his rice fields.
The thought of just going to the house of someone I only marginally knew from work seemed a little strange. But as time passed, I talked more and more to Pak Kur at school, and I got to know him and to hear stories of his life, his village, and his family. In turn, he also listened to my stories of growing up in America and living as a foreigner in Indonesia. He didn't stop inviting me to his house, but I always managed to come up with a reason not to go. You eventually reach a point though when it just becomes rude to turn someone down so many times. Luckily for me, that time came right at rice harvesting time. Pak Kur spent awhile one day in the middle of last year telling me how much longer it would be before panin (harvest), and he once again invited me over. I grew up on a farm my whole life, and I was attracted to the idea of getting out of town, working with my hands, and learning how to farm a crop I knew nothing about. So I agreed, on two conditions. 1) He had to let me work in the rice fields, learning to harvest. And 2) I wanted to bring a friend. He quickly agreed to both, and thus began my adoption.
I loved working in the sawah (rice fields). After harvest came planting. I went back to help with that. After planting, naturally, came another harvest. I also helped with that one. I tried to be a quick learner and a good worker, because I wanted to be a blessing to their family. I taught some of my friends how to plant and harvest as well. In between planting and harvest (a span of about three months), I would still go visit from time to time, often taking friends with me who were curious to learn about rice farming or village life, sometimes just spending all day talking, eating, and walking around the village.
I got to know his entire family - and I mean ENTIRE family. His wife and three children, his 80 year old mother, most of his six older siblings - even the one who lives on Sumatra, his nieces and nephews, his father-in-law, three of his wife's brothers, his daughter's boyfriend, and many other more distant relatives and family friends.
Pak Kur long ago decided that I am a part of his family. He tells everyone that I am his daughter. Not even his adopted daughter. Just his daughter. I am invited to all family events - and expected to attend. When there is a family problem, I am either consulted or, at the very least, informed and asked to pray. When I travel, I need to tell Pak Kur first where I am going, and he will SMS me often while I am gone to make sure I am safe. If he notices my lights are on until late, he will SMS me and tell me to go to bed. If my lights are not on in the morning, he will SMS me and tell me to wake up. When I'm at his house, he tells me to "go help mom in the kitchen". And he takes great joy in teaching me Javanese so that I can communicate better with his family.
So all that to say I've known for a long time that he considers me a part of his family. But last night was the first time I saw how really serious he is about this. Last night was the first time I got in trouble.
I left to go to PA (Bible study) at 7 while Pak Daniel was still the guard at the gate. While I was at Bible study, two other friends both began to text me saying that this was the ONLY night this week that all three of us were free at the same time, so they wanted me to come over after Bible study and watch The Bachelor with them. So I went over there after PA, at about 9:30, planning to be there an hour and be home by 10:30. Well, the episode they'd downloaded ended up being an hour and a half episode, AND it stopped working in the middle. At about 10:30, when we were still trying to get the file to play, I was thinking about heading home, but they convinced me to stay. I mean, it didn't take THAT much convincing... Because, well, I'm a sucker for Bachelor night. Long story short, they finally got the file to work and we kept watching. I didn't keep a very close eye on the time, and at 11:30, I got an SMS from Pak Kur, asking where I was. He had come on shift at school at 11 and noticed that I wasn't home yet. I told him whose house I was at (since he knows all my friends by now) and that I would be home soon. The show ended and the three of us chatted a bit, and I ended up going home at midnight, which is super rare for me on a school night. Turns out, Pak Kur was on night shift at the back gate. As I pulled up to the gate, it swung open slowly, and Pak Kur was standing there ominously, arms crossed, blocking my entrance.
"Jangan. Pulang. Malam malam."
(Do NOT. Come home. So late.)
I apologized, and explained to him where I was (literally just down the street) and why I had stayed so long. He understood, but told me how worried he had been and how it's not safe to be out so late at night.
After lecturing me, he moved aside to let me in, but then he stopped me again. "After I got home from work this morning, I went straight to the sawah and harvested rice until mid-day. Then my niece's school called my brother and said that she has skipped school for the last 10 days. She's 17. We think she's been leaving with her boyfriend. I went into to town to her school and confirmed her attendance. Then I went to her boyfriend's school - because I know his family too - and checked his attendance record. He hasn't gone to school yet this semester. When my niece found out that her family knew, she said she wouldn't go back home to the village because she was afraid of being beaten. So I had to go find her, talk to her, promise to protect her from her father, and bring her home, then talk to her family too. Then I went and found the boy and had to tell him that if he EVER does this again, I will call the police. I spent all day doing this. I didn't rest or sleep. Then I came to work tonight and Daniel told me that YOU HADN'T COME HOME YET. I worried. Don't do this again."
Then he handed me a bag of rambutan (fruit) he'd picked and brought for me and told me to go to bed.
I felt REALLY bad for making him worry. I mean, I almost cried because I felt so bad. I don't deal well with people being upset with me. But I felt very loved.
This morning, he SMSed me to make sure I didn't sleep through my alarm since I went to bed so much later than normal.
Nobody can ever be like my real parents. But it is nice to know that someone here cares so much.
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