Things My Job Consists Of (That it Usually Doesn't...)

The 2017-18 school year is well underway, and this school year has felt a lot different than years past. I'm still teaching the same four math classes, but on top of that, I seem to have undertaken a set of other responsibilities that are usually not mine. So far this year, those responsibilities have included:

1. Writing recommendation letters for students to go military academies.
2. Contacting US Senators and Representatives (see #1)
3. Leading a worship team.
4. Filling in on guitar, piano, and/or vocals whenever a student is absent from worship team.
5. Planning multiple retreats, each with an attendance of 100+ people.
6. Counseling and mentoring (there was a three week stretch where I could count on one hand the number of days there WASN'T someone crying in my classroom).
7. Being the official score keeper for athletic events.
8. Translating for non-English speaking parents.
9. Supervising my very own, brand new math department teaching assistant (I'm someone's boss this year!).
10. Being the final authority on dress code issues (seriously, the principal sends them to me).
11. Substitute teaching for 7th grade.
12. Interviewing potential new staff members.
13. Overseeing housing/furnishing needs for staff families.

Many of these tasks have taken me out of my comfort zone, put me in the spotlight, and pushed the limits of what I thought I could handle. But as we come to the end of our first quarter, I can say with confidence that this has been a really REALLY good school year so far.

Break Every Chain

"Hey, so that was my student. His friend is possessed and he needs help. Want to come?"

This is what my friend said from across the dinner table after excusing himself to take a call. I spent a few seconds staring blankly at him, making sure I actually heard him correctly. Then I asked him, "What do you think I should do?" I didn't know what we'd be walking into. I didn't know if I should be there.

I was coming off a very emotionally charged and spiritually heavy weekend. Attending to a demon possessed college student felt like the last thing I wanted to do. But I also felt like I couldn't walk away from a chance to pray over someone who needed it in a big way. So I went.

We arrived at a nearby boarding house to find four people on the floor in a dark room restraining a girl who couldn't have weighed more than 90 pounds. She was calm up until the second we walked through the door. Then she started screaming and thrashing, clawing and biting. We began praying. And praying. And praying. She eventually went limp. But she wasn't herself yet. Her eyes were vacant, empty. So we kept praying. Until suddenly she regained consciousness and control over her own body.

I'm not going to describe all the events of the night. I don't intend for it to be a spectacle or a wild story of some adventure I got myself into. But I don't want to forget. And I don't want you to forget.

Satan is real. He rules with fear. He causes harm. And I'm not even talking in a spiritual way, but in a real, physical way. When that girl finally started talking last night, the first thing she said was, "Everything hurts". Her body was in pain. And the four people restraining her did not walk away unscathed either.

The fear in that room was all but tangible. Girls were cowering in corners, shaking and crying uncontrollably as they watched this happen. They were scared and they were helpless. They say they believe in Jesus, but they don't know what that means. Because of their culture, they open themselves up to a lot of darkness, because they don't really know what that means either.

I found out that over the past week, about ten of the girls living in that boarding house have experienced attacks of demon possession. I had a chance last night to pray over the halls of that house. And while I know that prayer is not ineffective, I also know that the situation is not going to change for these girls until they make a choice for that to happen. All of these girls are from the same tribe in a remote area of Kalimantan known for its magic. This magic essentially consists of making deals with the Devil in exchange for some sort of earthly power, and many of these girls and their families have done just that.

We had a chance to talk to them about what they are doing. About the ways that they are allowing this to happen. About how Jesus is bigger. And most importantly about how much they need Him.

So all this to say... please pray. Satan is alive and well on this earth. Pray for eyes and hearts to be open to see and receive Truth. Pray for chains to be broken. Pray for peace to replace fear. Pray for revival.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

Accomplishments

Lest you think teachers do nothing all summer, let me tell you what I have done today.

I woke up at 7 AM.
I threw a load of laundry in to wash, including blankets, tote bags, towels, pillow shams, small throw rugs, etc.
I swept my whole house.
I had breakfast and coffee and watched the news.
I hung all the laundry out to dry.
I threw out some other things to sun (my helmet, a musty smelling brush, my rain jacket, etc)
I took out the trash.
I put away last night's dinner dishes (which I washed last night) and washed my breakfast dishes.
I walked to the gym and worked out.
I saw some friends at the pool and sat and talked with them for half an hour.
I walked home and took a shower.
I made lunch, which I subsequently ate.
I took laundry off the line, ironed it, folded it, and put it all away.
I drove up the street to have a neighbor put air in my tires.
I drove to the market to buy some fresh fruit and flowers.
I went to the supermarket to pick up some other things like milk and sugar and chocolate.
I came home and put all the things I bought in the empty apartment next door.
I also stocked the apartment with toilet paper, bedding, towels, etc.

ALL THAT and it's not even 2 yet.

WHY am I doing all this, you may ask?
Well, let me tell you.

1. It is the week of Idul Fitri, so my house helper has the week off which leaves me managing my own house which is kinda nice (also a never ending battle against ants and mold).
2. MY PARENTS ARE COMING! And they will be staying next door to me for almost TWO WEEKS! They are currently somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, and if all goes according to plan, I will get to hug them at noon tomorrow!

AP Calculus

Last year I started a new tradition (can you call it that after only one year) of having all of my AP Calculus students take a "final exam". It is an open note, open book, essay exam. Weird for a math class, right? Technically, any seniors with an A average (which is generally all the seniors in my math class) are exempt from second semester finals. So I don't make them do anything too terribly heavy for their exam. I'd have a riot on my hands. This "exam" is basically just a survey of their year. I force them to think over how far they've come, their future in mathematics, their understanding of God, and I also allow them to contribute their two cents to my planning of next year's class.

Following are the questions along with some excerpts from the students themselves.

1. Write about why you chose to take AP Calculus, what you have learned in this class, how it will benefit you in the future, and if/why you would recommend this class to underclassmen. 

- One thing I learned in Calculus is that math is not my thing.
- I would definitely recommend this class. Above all, it's fun.
- Even though the words like "derivation," "integration," "optimization," and other scary terms scared me in the beginning, as time went by, I realized that they were just math terms and that they weren't as scary as I made them sound.
- Why I chose this class is because I lost at rock, paper, scissors.
- The most important thing I have learned is that my work ethic matters.
- This class has been a great learning experience. I used to look at things the way they are, but AP Cal trained my eyes and mind to look at things from different perspectives. It made me more creative. It was challenging, but I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
- This class taught me that I am not incapable of doing something. What I mean is that if I put my mind on something and work hard, I can actually surprise myself. I'm glad I'm going to college with this mindset.
- AP Calculus has taught me to love math again.  I've always enjoyed math since I was young. However, going through Geometry and Algebra classes, I just couldn't like math anymore because either they were too easy or boring. Entering the world of calculus, I faced numerous puzzling questions, which for some I wouldn't even know where to start solving.
- I always thought about physics or other sciences as my major. But after finishing AP Calculus, I want to learn more about calculus. Even if I don't major in calculus, my passion for calculus probably won't fade.

2. Explain the three most interesting things you learned in AP Calculus and why they interested you.

- I thought finding the area under the curve using integration was interesting. It's so interesting because it's possible!
- Above all, learning how to play Euchre was the most interesting part of AP Calculus.
- L'Hopital's Rule taught me that there is always a way to solve an undefined limit, just like there is a way out for every challenge that seems impossible to overcome.
- I enjoyed finding anti-derivatives because they are quite easy to find the answers to, and for some reason, they just satisfied me.
- It's hard to choose only three things because almost everything in AP Calculus class was awesome. Questions were hard, and I like hard things. They made me spend lots of time to think about solutions and make errors, which are things I enjoy to do when solving math questions.
- Derivatives were one of the most interesting things I learned because it was the first time I thought I was really applying math to the real world.

3. Explain how (or if) you believe math and God are related.

- God gave humans brains that can process more complicated thought than animals, and we set out to learn the mysteries that God has placed in the world. We use math to do this.
- Calculus just hints at God's level of knowledge and transcendence so well through its incredible complexity
- Math allows us to see God's creation in more detail and helps us understand how He designed and made things work.
- Math has helped me become a patient Christian problem solver, which applies in every area of my life.
- No matter how much you want math to change, we cannot alter the fundamentals of math. Likewise, God does not change. We might discover new things about him as we live, but it does not change who God is.
- I want to focus on the concept of finite and infinite numbers. Man is created in the image of God and is called by God to do His work. Man is like a "finite" version of the "infinite" God. We humans have a limited life span and limited power on earth, while God is infinitely powerful.

4. What is something [the teacher] should know for next year's AP Calculus class?

- Many seniors who are applying to American colleges are mentally stressed. Maybe a short prayer at the beginning of every class would be helpful.
- Your teaching method is very helpful, and I really understand the material.
- You should NOT change your teaching style for next year.

5. This is free space for you to write anything else. Comments, suggestions, critiques, and all forms of encouragement are accepted.

- It was fun! I will be jealous of next year's AP Cal class.
- I hope you teach my brother when he is a senior too!
- I don't think anyone else could have taught this class better than you did. I loved your passion.
- We should play more card games!
- You are strict and loving at the same time, which is super GREAT. You model a life of organization, diligence, and service. You are happy to teach us, even though we made you upset many times. I hope I can be cool like you when I become a teacher.

Maybe a Bit Much...

So I need to share with you the BEST THING I'VE SEEN ALL DAY.

It's an Indonesian advertisement for Halal ("clean" in the Muslim faith) eggs. Here is the ad:

(Photo taken from Facebook)

Here's what it says in English:

Are we sure the eggs we're eating are clean?

We need to ensure that we are not eating eggs produced by FORNICATING chickens.

For that reason, we present to you

HALAL EGGS.

We take great care in guarding the socialization of our chickens so that they do not become involved in promiscuous sex. We guarantee that each rooster only fertilizes four hens in accordance with Shariah Law.

A healthy life begins with

HALAL EGGS.

Master Teacher

Due to sickness and death (which so far has been the theme of the year), our school has had limited human resources. As such, many of us have been attempting to cover classes for other teachers while also teaching our own classes.

In an unprecedented move (for me) I managed to somehow substitute teach the 7th grade math class one day last week while ALSO teaching my 10th grade math class. There were so many teenagers packed into one room I thought I was going to die of heat stroke. But we survived.

That feat wasn't enough for me though. No, I have set my sights higher. Much, much higher. Because, I mean, teaching two math classes at the same time - one of which was my own regularly scheduled class that I had prepped for - was not enough of a challenge. So on Friday of this week, I will be substitute teaching two classes for two other teachers in two different subject areas. During second period, you will find me simultaneously teaching 8th grade math AND 10th grade English.

Next time, I think I'll opt out of math altogether. Even though I don't teach 8th grade math, it's still a field I am far too familiar with. But let's see how Friday goes first...

May. Oh, May.

We're getting to that time of year. That magical time of year where I turn into an emotional mess. That time of year where I say goodbye to at least 25% of the people that I have poured my heart into. That time of year where I just want to hide in my apartment and never love anybody else ever again. That time of year that becomes the season of mourning that Ecclesiastes told me would happen.

Yesterday was a tear-y day. Contemplating upcoming goodbyes, some of which are going to be really, really hard. I almost skipped Bible study because I wanted to crawl into bed at 6 PM and forget that other humans existed. But I ended up deciding to go anyways because when I'm feeling down, what could be better than spending some time in the Word?

A friend from my Indonesian church hosts Bible study in her home, and a few other families from my church attend - most of whom have small children. When I pulled in the gate, two of the little ones were waiting for me on the front porch, and as soon as they saw me, they started clapping their hands, jumping up and down, and cheering my name. As soon as I got off my bike, they ran over and flung themselves at my legs and bear hugged my knees. Once I made it past the welcoming committee on the porch and got in the front door, the one year old looked up from her toys on the floor and SHRIEKED my name and gave me a HUGE smile! It was the first time she's called me by name (after MONTHS of coaching - I mean, I've been trying to get her to say it since the day she was born. It was a huge letdown when she learned to say "mama" first)!

Those things make me smile. And remind me that I'm loved. And that even though I have to say goodbye to a lot of the people I care about in the coming month, there are even more people I care about who will still be here.

On those same lines, my best friend in America wrote me this afternoon to let me know that her toddler woke up in the middle of the night last night, and when asked why, her little girl told her that she was trying to video call me on the tablet, and she was very concerned when I didn't pick up. (Note - I had no missed calls from the child, so I have no clue who she was actually calling in the middle of the night.) That made my heart feel all warm and fuzzy too.

Quarter 4

Well, we made it! Spring Break is over, and the final quarter of the school year is well underway on this side of the planet. Last week was the first week of the quarter, and at the end of the week, I joked to a co-worker that if that was any indication of how the quarter was going to go, then we should just call it quits now.

The week started with my fellow math teacher being informed that she had two hours to leave the country (due to visa reasons). She ended up hustling to Singapore for what was at that point an undetermined amount of time. It ended up being three days, so for the first three days of the quarter, I was teaching every single period of every single day, covering some of her workload as well as teaching my own classes. Thankfully, she ended up getting her visa sorted out, and no more last minute trips are anticipated in the near future. The day after she returned from Singapore, another co-worker's father suddenly died. This co-worker is an only child and felt that his mother really needed him to be with her, so the very next morning, he caught a flight to America to be with family and to handle arrangements, leaving his wife and three children here in Indonesia. Within 30 minutes of being notified of that death, I was then informed that a woman from my local church here had passed away rather suddenly while her husband was out of the country for business. Oh, and we also had parent-teacher conferences on that same day. By Friday, I really just wanted another Spring Break. But then our superintendent had to leave the country before I could convince her to declare an emergency supplemental break. She is still out of country at this point waiting on visa things to come through.

Unfortunately, rather than looking forward to some rest and down time in the near future, we are all bracing ourselves for April. The first weekend, we are hosting a national athletic tournament at our school, which will be an all hands on deck situation. After that we have Easter, which includes two much-anticipated days off. The following weekend we will have a drama production, and the weekend after THAT, we will be travelling to yet another athletic tournament, this one hosted on Bali. Somewhere in there, we will also have standardized testing for grades K-10 and the Indonesian national exams.

Fourth quarter always seems like a whirlwind, but this one seems even more so. It goes by in the blink of an eye, but in the moment, it feels like we've been stuck here for an eternity (I mean, did this quarter seriously just start LAST WEEK???). I'm thankful for the community I live in and the support and the grace that we extend to one another. We would appreciate your prayers for this last quarter. It hasn't been an easy year. We have experienced 8 deaths in our extended community (all parents of co-workers) in the last three months, we have had medical issue after medical issue (with students and teachers missing weeks of school at a time), our current principal is leaving after this school year, and we have not had a single applicant to fill his position for next year, some of our staff members have been told that under new government regulations, they do not meet the requirements for the visas they are on (meaning that when their current visas expire, there is a chance they may not be able to renew them), and the end of the school year is approaching oh, so quickly. We continue to trust in God's unfailing faithfulness and provision.

An Unexpected Answer

On Sunday at lunch, I found myself sitting across from a four year old girl that I had never talked to before. I vaguely know her parents, but they were elsewhere at the moment, and their daughter was staring at me wide-eyed while swinging her legs violently under the table, effectively kicking me in the shins repeatedly.

So I decided to strike up a conversation with her. I asked her what her name is, and she told me. I asked her how old she is, and she told me. Then she said, "I bet you can't guess what my favorite animal is!" So I tried. I went through all the obvious answers.

Ponies

Puppies

Kittens

Unicorns

Siberian tigers

Tarantulas

Pythons

And then I gave up. So I asked her what her favorite animal is. In glee, she squealed, "I LOVE NAKED MOLE RATS!"

I can't begin to fathom how I didn't guess that.

I'm A Big Kid Now

I have a house helper. This is common knowledge. I don't always like to make it common knowledge though, because I'm afraid it makes me sound like a spoiled elitist foreigner living the high life. That is not the case. I live well below the American poverty line in an apartment I do not own that is the exact same size as my classroom. That's probably why I can afford to have a house helper. I rely on her so much, and I love her dearly. I always joke that if it weren't for her, all I would ever eat is instant noodles.

Well, that claim is being put to the test this week. Tuesday morning, I woke up to an insistent knocking at my front door WAY too early in the day. I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't stop, so I eventually stumbled to the door, hair askew, and opened it. My helper's husband was standing there, and my heart jumped into my throat. "WHAT HAPPENED?" I asked (or maybe barked... I'm not really sure). He told me, "She got in a wreck last night, and she can't come into work today." In a surprising moment of pre-coffee clarity (shock will do that to you), I managed to asked all the right questions.

Is she in the hospital? No.
Is anything broken? No.
Did she see a doctor? Yes.
Is she in pain? Yes.

So we agreed that she would not be in to work that day, and he went to his job and I put some gel in my hair and made some coffee and then went to my job too.

I visited her at her house after work on Tuesday. She was in bed. Her left knee was swollen to the size of a grapefruit, and she was covered in bruises and Betadine infused scrapes and cuts. The doctor had her on pain meds. She insisted she would be in to work the next day. I told her she was not allowed.

I talked to her Wednesday, and she told me she was having an allergic reaction to the medicine the doctor put her on. I told her not to come in on Thursday. It is now Thursday. She thinks she is coming in on Friday, but I'll see how she's doing tonight.

It's a little bit embarrassing to admit that this is the first time I've gone through a work week without a helper cooking and cleaning for me. I still don't think I'm an elitist or a high roller, but I can maybe accept that I might be a little bit spoiled. However, I am proud to say that even after 8-10 hour workdays, all my dishes have gotten done, all my laundry has been folded, and my floors are kind of clean. And most importantly of all, I have NOT ordered out OR made instant noodles a single time so far! But we'll see how long I can keep it up, because I'm running out of ingredients, and I refuse to wake up at 4 AM to go to the market.

If you think of it, please pray for my helper and her family. She told me yesterday that she feels "very sad" that she can't work. She thrives off of activity, so sitting at home is not easy for her. Her husband, her elderly mother, and her two kids also rely a lot on her, so her being out of capacity is tough on everyone. And of course, please pray for her to heal well. She never got her knee X-rayed, so even though the doctor said nothing is broken, it's still possible that there is some damage there.

I'm so incredibly thankful that her accident wasn't any worse than it was.
I'm also thankful that she has a great family and a great support system.

And lastly, I would also like to take this opportunity express my thankfulness to my mother for teaching me how to cook. Thanks, mom!

A Can of Worms

I took my new (American) neighbor on a cultural adventure yesterday. We went to my friend's village, and I taught her how to harvest rice. Afterwards, we were chilling in my friend's house, where his wife served us coffee (that he planted, harvested, roasted, and ground himself) and we talked. What I like about this friend is that our lives are different in basically every way.

I am the oldest of three kids, and he is the youngest of nine.
I am single, and he is married with three kids.
I am a 30 year old female, and he is a 50 year old male.
I moved halfway around the world, and he still lives in the house he was born and raised in.
I take my toilet for granted, and he just got running water in his house 2 years ago.
I do not smoke, and he firmly believes that if he ever quits chain smoking, he will die.
I have a college degree, and I'm not sure he ever finished high school.

So our talks are always interesting, and we almost always have different opinion and/or perspectives. We talked about several things yesterday afternoon over our coffees while it thunderstormed outside. My neighbor has only been here 7 months, so she is still learning Indonesian. At one point, I turned to her and asked if she was bored, and she told me she wasn't, that she was enjoying listening to Indonesian without feeling the pressure of having to respond herself. I imagine I must have had an impish grin on my face as I said to her, "Then watch me open up this can of worms."

And I turned back to my Indonesian friend and asked, "So what do you think of America's new president?" My neighbor gasped.

But my friend excitedly told me how into American politics he's gotten. He confessed that on voting day, he stayed up until 2 AM watching the news to see who won and to watch the news coverage of it. But then he told me that he doesn't think Trump is a good president. I asked him why and he said, "Because he doesn't have a heart." I asked what he meant, and he said, "Your president says he is a Christian, but Jesus says in the Bible that if you really love Him, you will take care of others. People in this world are being persecuted and killed and they are running away from evil, and does your president even know about them? Does he care about them? Because he told them they cannot come into your country. Where is his heart? Where is his compassion?"

And for once, I could not disagree.

How Many Months??

Four months ago, I left America to come back to Indonesia. I can't believe it has ONLY been four months. Life here is so hectic and not at all routine and time seems to move more quickly here than anywhere else. I mean, just look at all that has happened since I've been back in country...

• We've celebrated Idul Adha, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year, and Lunar New Year.
• I've renewed my driver's license AND my motorbike registration AND my visa.
• I got a new phone.
• I spent half a week in Hong Kong.
• I've had two different bosses
• We've had six deaths in our community.
• I've been to three funerals.
• I've had a throat infection, pinkeye, and two different head colds.
• I've said one big goodbye to a close friend who moved to another island.
• My home country elected a new president.
• I've been to three different athletic tournaments (this number will increase to 5 within the next 3 weeks).
• I've read 18 books.
• I spent a week on Bali.
• I've helped host a ministry team.
• I've made 9 trips to other cities.
• I've taken a massive language exam.
• My town has had an earthquake AND a tornado.
• Six of my students have been hospitalized.
• My teaching schedule has changed twice.

I feel like I'm forgetting so much. Many other things have happened, good and bad. But man... How has it only been four months?!

Our Words

Today, a 7th grade girl came to me. This girl has never talked to me before. I have never taught her before. But I knew her name. And she came to me. And she asked me to pray for her.

So I did.

I thanked God for her and for bringing her to our school. I praised God for the talents He has given her and for all the good things that He has done in her life. And I prayed many other things over her.

Somewhere in the middle of all the things I prayed, she began to sob uncontrollably. And when I finished praying, I hugged her for a long time. Then she pulled away from me with tears in her eyes and asked one question. This girl who has never, ever spoken to me before. After everything I had just prayed, she asked,

"What talents do you see in me?"

So I started listing things. I don't know her very well, but right away, I was able to tell her three great talents that I myself have seen in her or that I've heard other teachers talk about. I told her how highly other people speak of her. And then I asked her,

"Don't you know you are talented?"

And she said no. And she began to cry again.

Nobody had ever told her before.

Nobody.

This beautiful, athletic, intelligent, linguistic, hard-working fourteen year old girl. And nobody had ever told her how special she was.

All day, I've been thinking back over that conversation. And about how I use my words. I use them to teach. I use them to discipline. I use them to joke.

I so rarely use my words to compliment or even to encourage.

Words are powerful things. We see how powerful they are when they are used negatively. But they are equally as powerful when we use them to speak truth and life.

What do you do with your words?

Rain

So it's been raining a lot lately. Like a LOT. Like I didn't see the sun at ALL from Friday of last week until Thursday of this week. And while the sun finally did show its face on Thursday morning, it was gone by the time I finished teaching my first class.

This is the glorious time of year when everything molds. My shoes. My clothes. The teflon in my pots and pans. This year, the mold has upped its game though. For the first time ever, my SKIN is now molding. That is right. I have some sort of fungus growing on my arms. Don't worry, I'm taking something for that and wearing long sleeves in the meantime (thankfully with the heavy rains comes the cooler air, so wearing long sleeves in the tropics isn't as unthinkable as you might think).

One nice thing about the rain is that most Indonesians avoid it. This means that during a heavy rain is a great time to go to the bank, the grocery store, the yoga studio, etc. BECAUSE THOSE PLACES ARE EMPTY! When you live on one of the most crowded islands on the planet, it is a LUXURY to not have to wait in line to pay for your groceries. I mean, it comes at the high, high price of your skin literally molding. But STILL. #worthit

At my yoga class last week, only one other person showed up. Usually the room is so jam packed with sweaty women that it's difficult to catch your breath. Being one of only three people in the entire room (2 students + 1 instructor) was divine.

At yesterday's yoga class, only 4 students showed up. The instructor waited to see if anyone else would come, and the lady next to me decided to strike up a conversation. It went like this:

Her: How much do you weigh?
Me: Oh, um... about 58 kilos.
Her: REALLY? That is much heavier than I thought.
Me: Oh?
Her: It must be because you're so tall. How tall are you?
Me: 170.
Her: Yes, yes... Very tall.
Me: Yes.
Her: But you have such a nice figure. What do you eat?
Me: Food?
Her: But I mean do you just diet all the time?
Me: Oh, no. I never diet. I just try to eat healthy foods and not too much rice.
Her: But what do you eat instead of rice? Potatoes? White people like potatoes.
Me: I don't think I eat too many potatoes. At home, I just switched out white rice for red rice. It's healthier for you. And if I eat out, I just order half a portion of rice instead of eating a full portion.
Her: Oooooooh. Yes. I'm going to start doing that. Half portions. Much better. But what about snacks? Do you eat a lot of snacks, dear?
Me: No, not really... Most snacks here are fried, and they upset my stomach. Sometimes I have a fruit for a snack.
Her: FRUIT! No wonder your arms aren't flabby!
Me: Um... thanks?
Her: Now what do you drink?
Me: Water mostly.
Her: What about milk?
Me: Not too much.
Her: I see..

And then we had to do some supta baddha konasana. But the whole time, I just kept thinking how funny it was that I was interrogated about my eating habits. And how that would NEVER happen in America. And how I'm glad that my Indonesian is pretty good because those were some weird questions.

OH! Speaking of language, the Indonesian government is now requiring foreigners to take a language exam in order to get a work visa here. So over Christmas break, I went to the nearest big city to take the Uji Kemahiran Berbahasa Indonesia (or Indonesian Proficiency Test - kind of like TOEFL, but for Indonesian). I was nervous about how I would do having never studied the language formally and knowing approximately zero grammar rules. So I did what I do best - I studied. I got myself a language tutor and a book of practice exams, and I worked at it. Because I am not OK with not doing well on something. I read up on the format of the test and on past test scores. I even found an article that reported on the average scores of Indonesian school teachers teaching Indonesian language in schools throughout East Java. Their districts had them all take this test, and their average was an abysmal 55%. Foreigners in the same province scored an average of 67%. So I decided to aim high, and I set a personal goal of 80%.

The test was HARD and took several hours to complete. I walked away from it feeling discouraged, as I realized that the test is essentially set up for failure. It is literally an un-ace-able test. We even had two of our Indonesian staff members take the test with us just so that we could get their perspective on the whole process, and neither of them even finished the test.

Anyways, we just got our certificates and scores this week. One of the Indonesian staff members who took the test got the highest score from our school. But yours truly came in second with a whopping 81%! This is exciting for two reasons - I achieved my personal goal, and I also did better on the test than one of my Indonesian co-workers! It's always exciting when your hard work pays off.

And with that, I am now going to go enjoy the start of my weekend! Happy Friday, everyone!

Christmas

This Christmas was… different.

In between church services, I spent my afternoon at a funeral. That’s right. A funeral. On Christmas. In the words of a five year old friend of mine, “Dying on Christmas? That must be a bummer!” Agreed.

But in the words of her very wise mother, “Isn’t it cool though that he was getting ready to celebrate Jesus coming to earth, and he got to go be WITH Jesus instead?”

I didn’t know Pak Santo very well. He made the best fried rice I’ve ever had though, and he always served up his food with the biggest smile. He also memorized my name the very first time I met him, and he always greeted me every time he saw me, even if I was just passing by.

Pak Santo had a heart attack on Christmas morning shortly after waking up. He was 58.

I thought that since I wasn’t very close to him, the funeral wouldn’t be a big deal. I thought it would be nice to stop in and pay my respects to a man who was always so gracious and welcoming to me. I forgot how raw death is here.

After going in to the front room to see Pak Santo’s body and shake hands with his children, we were directed to a few empty chairs in the yard next to the house rather than sitting in the street in front of the house with the rest of the funeral goers. I was seated right next to an open door that led into the back rooms of the house where Pak Santo’s wife was screaming and wailing in bouts as wave after wave of shock and grief washed over her. Her husband had only been dead a few hours, and she was inconsolable. Female relatives streamed in and out of the open door, all entering dry eyed and stoic, and all exiting tearful and shaking. Pak Santo’s sister also came out that door in hysterics, screaming and yelling, crying for her brother. She collapsed in the yard, and members of the family had to carry her away, sobbing and moaning, only half conscious. It was gut wrenching and heart breaking, and I couldn’t hold back the tears.

As I sat there in the midst of all the hurt and pain, all I could do was pray. I prayed prayers of hope and peace over that home and that family. And then I had a moment. A moment where I was reminded that the very things I was praying for are what this day is all about. Jesus came to bring us hope. Jesus came to give us peace. Jesus came to defeat death. And this is the day that we not only remember it, but we CELEBRATE it.

A funeral stands in stark contrast to the normal festivities of the holiday. And I’ll be honest, today felt a little less joyful after sitting through that. But it also felt so much more meaningful. Seeing death on Christmas day reminded me of how much we need hope and how much we need peace and how much we need Emmanuel. And above all, it reminded me of how God knew EXACTLY what we needed. He knew the end from the beginning, and He sent His Son to be God with us. To be Emmanuel. To be the light that cannot be overcome.

I hope you never have to go to a funeral on Christmas day. But I also hope you never forget the depth and the beauty of God’s gift to you.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

Merry Christmas!

Hong Kong

As you may have noticed, Thanksgiving was last week. While most of my family was together, stuffing their faces with turkey, I was in Hong Kong. Of course. Because why wouldn’t you spend Thanksgiving in Hong Kong?

Actually, spending my holiday there wasn’t exactly my idea. But there happened to be an international teaching conference held there that my school’s entire staff planned to attend (I say “planned” because in the end, not everyone was able to go, but we did have a good representation of 24 teachers who went).

Though the main purpose of the trip was the conference and we spent nearly every waking hour there, I was able to see a little bit of Hong Kong (it was my first time) while at the same time finding myself extremely disappointed with the culinary choices of my co-workers.

We left our town at 3 AM on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and by the time we checked in to our hotel in Hong Kong, it was about 7 PM. We were all exhausted. There happened to be a McDonalds located right next door to our hotel, so several of my colleagues chose to eat there. The more adventurous among us decided to walk a little farther for food. By “a little further”, I mean we walked nearly a mile. In the cold (because it was WINTER in Hong Kong!) and we got turned around a couple times in the dark. We eventually ended up at an Italian restaurant. Not what I had hoped to eat on my first night in Hong Kong (I really wanted dim sum), but it was decent food nonetheless, and after we walked all the way back to our hotel, we were able to collapse into bed, even MORE exhausted, but with full bellies.

(The view from the hotel room I shared with my co-worker and neighbor, Tiffany.)

The next morning, we were up bright an early for our 7 AM breakfast at the conference venue, an international school located about 4 blocks from our hotel. Again, we walked because we like to be healthy people. Or at least I assume that’s the reason.

Let me interject here that I have a love/hate relationship with teaching conferences. I love getting together with like-minded people serving in similar situations to the one I find myself in. These teachers GET me. I sit and listen to them talk, and it’s like hearing my very own thoughts coming out of someone else’s mouth. I learn SO. MUCH. STUFF. And I enjoy learning. My mind gets stretched and my practices get challenged. But the introvert in me dies a little. Because day in and day out, I’m surrounded by 900+ people that I’m expected to interact pleasantly with. That’s not easy for me to do for five days straight. I mean, I realize that I’m a teacher and that interacting well with people is basically part of my job description. But the people I interact with at school are MY people, and at the end of each work day, I at least get to go home and be alone. This does not happen at conferences. And then I spend 8 hours a day absorbing so much good information that I feel like my brain can hardly keep up and I don’t even know where to start with processing everything I’m taking in. The time is so beneficial, but it is also so very overwhelming in so many ways.

Thursday was the first day of the conference, and it was also Thanksgiving day. The night before, when we drove to our hotel, some of us spotted an Ikea not too far away. So after the conference, I wanted to go out for dim sum, but everyone else wanted to go to Ikea. I wasn’t brave enough to venture out alone with no cell phone service, so I went with the crowd. We figured out how to navigate the MTR (train), then got lost in a mall, then finally found Ikea. People were hungry, so we also ended up eating dinner there.

(My Thanksgiving dinner, courtesy of the Ikea cafeteria.)

Now that I knew how to navigate the city a little bit, I ditched my co-workers (who spent 3+ hours in Ikea) and headed back to the hotel lobby (where I had Wi-Fi) to FaceTime my family on their Thanksgiving morning.

(Thanksgiving family photo!)

The next day was jam packed with more conference stuff, and that evening, I wanted dim sum for dinner. We got connected with Josh, an American teaching in our neighboring country of Malaysia, and also with Shinta, the friend of a friend, an Indonesian girl originally from Central Java who has spent the past several years living and working in Hong Kong. So all the single teachers from my school (the whopping four of us) along with our new friend from the school in Malaysia ventured into the heart of the city to meet Shinta for dinner at a place she had made reservations at. We took the bus this time. The double decker bus. And of course we sat on top. It took us an hour to get downtown, but once we did, we met up with Shinta who took us to the restaurant. It wasn’t dim sum, but I was just excited to FINALLY have Chinese food. The place was called Hot Pot, and you cook your own food at your own table. The table has a burner in it, and you order a pot of broth along with plates of raw ingredients, which you put into the broth. Your eating utensils are two sets of chopsticks and a mini colander with a long handle. Now I am kicking myself for not taking a picture… Not all of us at the table had mastered the art of chopsticking, much to the amusement of the tables around us. But it was a hopping joint with a fun atmosphere, and we all enjoyed our dinner and fellowship!

After dinner, we walked around downtown Hong Kong where we found an H&M with Black Friday sales!! I have never seen such a thing outside of America, and I bought myself a scarf because my neck was cold…

(This particular H&M also offered “Asian Fit” jeans… No clue what that even means.)

As we walked, enjoying street food for dessert in the brisk night air, I asked Shinta if she knew of any good places to get dim sum, and she told me that unfortunately dim sum is traditionally an afternoon food, not a dinner food. She thought about it a bit though, and recalled a restaurant she knew that DID serve dim sum on their dinner menu, and we subsequently made plans to meet up again the following night to eat there. I WAS THRILLED. I spent the one hour bus ride back to our hotel attempting to keep the guy in the seat in front of me from falling off his seat as he fell asleep.

(The view from our hotel room by night. You can see several of the double decker busses in the street below.)

Saturday was the final day of the conference and the day I was FINALLY going to get some dim sum!! We invited some fellow (non-single) teachers to come with us to dinner after the conference ended. Some of us wanted to go to the Ladies’ Market (which is basically just a night market) to pick up some gifts for friends and family back home, so we headed there first. Seven of us went along. Unfortunately, it had been raining steadily since about 6 AM and showed no sign of letting up. Another unfortunate fact is that we had three umbrellas between the seven of us. We took the train to the part of town where the Ladies’ Market is located. We felt very accomplished in this, since we had to change trains twice, and we managed it like old pros. One of the busier stations we had to change trains at looked like this:

By this point of the trip, I basically wanted to tase everybody who bumped into me and tattoo “DON’T TOUCH ME OR ELSE” on my forehead. This was clearly not an ideal place for me to be. Thankfully, once we left the station, the streets were pretty desolate since it was still raining. We found our way to the market where we poked around some stalls and bought a few items.

(A panorama shot of the Ladies’ Market.)

Our dinner reservation was set for 7:30, and we had gotten the address of the restaurant from Shinta. Since we were not familiar with the city, we had no clue which train to take to that address, so we decided to catch two taxis from the market, hoping the restaurant wouldn’t be too far away. Shortly before 7, we started looking for a taxi, and we were able to hail one within 5 or so minutes. Three people got in that taxi, leaving four of us to hail another and follow. We waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. No taxis went by. So we moved to a different street. And waited. And waited. And it started to rain harder. And we realized that two of the umbrellas had gone in the first taxi, now leaving us with one umbrella for four of us. A few taxis drove by with their lights on but wouldn’t stop when we hailed them. So we asked a shop owner where we could catch a cab, and he directed us around the corner. We went there, but about 20 people were waiting for a cab there, rushing into the street en masse to stop each passing empty cab. We decided our chances were slim if we stayed among such cutthroat competition. So we tried yet another street. The wind started blowing. By now, it had been over 30 minutes since the first group left. We had no phone signal and no way to contact them. I finally got a cab to stop, but the driver couldn’t read the directions on my phone and refused to let us in. We got a second cab to stop, but when we told him where we wanted to go, he suddenly drove away, leaving us standing in the street in the wind and rain. Another 30 minutes passed. By now, it was after 8 PM, and we realized that we were hungry, cold, wet, and that we were running out of options. We grimly headed back to the train station and took the three trains back to our hotel. There was a 7-11 in the station closest to our hotel, and I was determined to find SOMETHING Chinese to eat for dinner. To my surprise, I also found some home-country favorites and decided to #treatmyself.

It was not the dim sum I had waited so long for. But my evening did involve a long, hot shower, Chinese noodles, dark chocolate, Doritos, and three luxurious hours ALONE in my hotel room (my roommate had been one of the three to get in the first cab) watching Chinese TV programs. When the three who actually made it to dinner got back to the hotel, we swapped war stories. They had gotten stuck in traffic, and it took them an hour to get to the restaurant, then even longer to get back to the hotel by bus. They had also considered that the four of us may have been kidnapped and created an entire contingency plan for if that been the case.

The next morning, we left for the airport at 6 AM. I was still bitter about the evening before and the severe lack of dim sum in my life. And also about having to wake up at 5:30 AM. We gathered in the hotel lobby, and one of my co-workers sauntered over to me and proudly declared, “Well, I did it!” I asked him what he did, and he replied with the hugest grin, “I made it through a week in Hong Kong without eating ANY Chinese food!” I excused myself to go to the bathroom. This is how I know I am really an adult. Because I wanted to throat punch him, but I made a good choice instead. It was WAY too early of a morning after such a disappointing night, but our bus driver had majorly pimped his ride, so that made things kind of better.

 

(I think it was kind of a nautical theme with a GLAM driving area. Notice the GIANT gemstone gear shift.)

We made it to the airport and checked in. The Hong Kong airport might be a new favorite of mine. I enjoyed it very much. So efficient and clean and nicely laid out. Anyways, there was a Starbucks kiosk right across from our gate, so I obviously headed there first because coffee makes me a better person. As I was walking back to the gate, I crossed paths with a Buddhist monk. Well, I mean, I would have crossed paths with him. He was headed towards the travellator, and our paths would have intersected. I didn’t feel right walking faster to cross in front of a monk, so instead, I stopped and bowed until he had passed. Because I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY BUT IT FELT RIGHT IN THE MOMENT, OK?! I made it to the gate, and I must have been flushed or flustered or something, because my boss asked me, “Why does your face look like that?” and I told her about bowing to a monk and she said, “Well.” So THAT happened, and looking back at that moment, I think it is HILARIOUS. But for real… WHAT IS THE PROTOCOL FOR HOW TO TREAT MONKS?! I hope I never come across a monk before my morning coffee ever again. Because I CLEARLY don’t make good decisions when that happens.

It was still dark and overcast when we left (BTW, I feel like I never really saw Hong Kong in the light – all of our adventuring was done after dark). So overcast, in fact, that this was our view when we took off:

(Our flight was at 9 AM, and I STILL didn’t get to see Hong Kong in the daylight.)

By the time we flew over Vietnam, the sun finally came out, and I got to enjoy looking at the beach.

(Eastern Vietnam.)

To end the story on a happy note, I have to tell you about that dim sum. Shinta had gotten to the restaurant way before everyone else since she actually knew how long it would take her to get there and could plan accordingly. So she ordered food for 8 people. But since only 4 showed up, they had TONS of leftovers, and they brought them back to me!!! So I carried them in a bag ALL THE WAY from Hong Kong, through Jakarta, and on to Central Java. And when we got home Sunday night, I threw those dim sum in the oven and ate them! And they were DIVINE, even re-heated after a whole day of unrefrigerated travel. Also, they are the cutest little dim sum in the world!

So that is the end of my Hong Kong journey. I feel like I only got a tiny taste of it. I’d like to go back sometime as a proper tourist and spend some time actually exploring the city. Like maybe in the daylight. And maybe during the summer when it’s not so cold and rainy. Because I do love my tropics. And if I ever go back, I will make sure I get dim sum EVERY SINGLE DAY.

A Little Complaining

I have pinkeye.
I'm going to Hong Kong in less than 48 hours.

THIS IS FABULOUS.

Election Day

So it's election day in America, and it is the day after election day on this side of the world. I sent in my absentee ballot last week via e-mail (thank you, Indiana), so I anticipated a chill day.

Here's how it's been so far.

6:20 - Wake up extremely emotional due to dreaming that students were dying.
6:40 - Calm down enough to be able to get up and get moving.
7:00 - Leave for work.
7:10 - Find a box of chocolates from a student on my desk.
7:15 - Eat said box of chocolates for breakfast. With coffee.
7:20 - Pull up election results on my computer. Still pretty early. First states reporting.
7:45 - Begin teaching.
8:10 - Get called out of class by my principal for a "2 minute standing staff meeting" that turned into 20 minutes in which all teachers are instructed to stop assigning homework and tests.
8:30 - Return to class and continue teaching.
9:20 - Tell students they have no homework assignment today, then fumble when they DEMAND homework. Create an "optional" homework assignment on the spot.
9:30 - Ditch school to go watch election results at the home of a Brazilian friend with satellite TV while eating popcorn and brownies.
10:30 - Realize in the heat of the moment that I am actually more scared of Trump winning than Hillary.
11:15 - Return to school and teach.
12:00 - WHAT THE HECK, AMERICA????
12:15 - Discover I can't eat my lunch. But still scarf down an entire cream cheese Oreo cupcake. Of course.
13:10 - Write a blog post about what election day looks like for this expat.

WHAT A GREAT DAY, EVERYONE.
I should probably go eat something nutritious now.

Two Weeks In

Some conversations from the past two weeks of being back in Indonesia.

Ibu Sri: Nona, you know how the fridge was broken and the men came and fixed it?
Me: Yes...
Ibu Sri: Well it works good now. REALLY good. Look! The water is frozen, and the eggs are frozen, and the rice is frozen, and the tea is frozen. They really fixed it!
Me: Um... Ibu... I think we need to call the repair men again.
Ibu Sri: Why?


Student: I think your teaching style is.... Aggressive.


Student: I have a present for you!
Me: What is it?
Student: Wedding tea!
Me: Wedding tea? Like, do you drink it at weddings or something?
Student: No. But it will help you get married fast. So drink it.


Me: Ibu Sri, I have to vote for president, and I don't know who to pick.
Ibu Sri: There's a man and a woman that you can vote for, right?
Me: Yes.
Ibu Sri: Vote for the man. He seems nice.
Me: He... seems.... nice?
Ibu Sri: Yes. He doesn't want ISIS in America. That's a nice thing.


Student: Miss, why are you so hashtag goals?


Me to my new iPhone: Siri, what is a good app for...
Siri: CALLING MARIE.
Me: NO! SIRI STOP! SIRI CLOSE! SIRI HANG UP! SIRI DIE!


Little girl I don't know who ran up to me: What's your name?
Me: Uh... Kak Abbie. What's your na-
Little girl: What religion are you?
Me: ...... Christian. What religion are yo-
Little girl: Don't know! *runs away*


Me to a guard: Is there a term for when it's really hot out and you can see lightning flashing in the sky, but there's no thunder?
Guard: What do you mean?
Me: I mean, like right now. See how the sky is flashing? But it's not raining, and there's no thunder. In English, we call that heat lightning. Do you call it anything in Indonesian?
Guard: Oh, yes.
Me: What is it?
Guard: We call that lightning.


Friend: I have to send a letter in English. Can you proofread it for me?
Me: Sure, just e-mail it to me, and I'll check it.
*Friend sends letter draft to me and I open it*
Me: So, this letter is in Indonesian.
Friend: Yes.
Me: But you asked me to proofread the English.
Friend: Well, you have to translate it first.


I took two new American friends out for a street food experience. When we arrived at the restaurant, I helped myself to food without waiting to be served, the proprietor greeted me by name, another customer came over, greeted me by name, gave me a hug, and chatted with me for a minute, and the server knew what I wanted to drink without me having to order.
Friend: So... Do you come here often?
Me: Why do you ask?


Basically, the last two weeks have been par for the course in Indonesia.

Summer in A Nutshell

Guess what? I'm back in Indonesia! I arrived safe and sound with all my luggage yesterday evening after three mostly uneventful flights. Thanks for all your prayers!

Maybe someday I'll sit down and write a long, heartfelt post about my summer, but for now... just no. I've been up since 3 and I'm still sad about all the goodbyes I had and there is no food in my house and there is just too much to do today.

I will say a couple quick things though.

My mom told me a few weeks ago that she thought having me home for longer would make it easier to say goodbye, but that she was wrong. This was true for me as well. I thought after five months in America, I'd be so ready to be back in Indonesia, but honestly, it was harder than ever to leave. I cried in the airport. I cried on the airplane. I'm crying right now, danget. The point is... to everyone I saw or talked to or spent time with this summer, THANK YOU for making America such a hard place to leave! I hate you for putting me through this, but I also love you VERYVERY much!

That being said, I AM happy to be back. I wasn't when I left Indiana. I was just sad, and I didn't want to leave. So I started making lists in my mind of all the things I was looking forward to having/doing/seeing/eating when I got back to Indonesia. And that helped keep my mind off of all the things I was sad to leave behind in America. When I landed in Korea, I had a very long message from a former student who is now a freshman at the Naval Academy, and he basically thanked me for being his teacher and told me he is succeeding in his harder classes now because of me and told me he wouldn't have traded me for any other math teacher. That just encouraged me so very much in my journey and helped me re-focus. And now that I'm here, it really is good to be home.

The absolute highlight of my time home was getting to be at my brother's wedding. WHAT a day! It was such a priceless gift to be there for that, and even as I was sitting there listening to my baby brother and his bride exchange vows, I was thinking of all the people I am forever indebted to who made this happen. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I work with amazing people. From my boss, who told me to take a quarter off of school, to my co-workers, who had to pick up the slack in my absence. And maybe most of all, my new neighbor, Brittany, who served as my sub for an entire quarter! I'm just so full of thankfulness to everyone who made it possible for me to be there.

Oh, and speaking of my brother's wedding, I got my invitation in the mail today! XD