Long Story Short

Hello hello!

This week I am teaching Write? Right!, a Creative Writing class for 7 to 9^th graders! This was the class I was initially the most excited about, and the week is going quite well so far. I have four students, and we are working on writing our own “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories. If you haven’t heard of these books before, they are composed of a story where the reader has control over what happens next. One begins by reading the introduction, and then stumbles upon a choice. They decide which of the two adventures they want their character to choose, and then turn to the corresponding page. Each choice leads to a new adventure. It’s kind of fun and the stories my students started writing are quite entertaining.

Last Friday was my last day teaching my science class. Let’s just say it was quite the eventful 3 hours. The plan for class was to finish making our energy poster, complete our paper mache volcanoes and make them erupt, and to end our lesson on energy, I was going to perform the coke/ mentos experiment. We began by finishing putting the paper mache on our volcanoes, and had a fun time trying to scrub it off the desks after quite a bit spilled. After we finished our energy poster, we went outside to paint our volcanoes. Let’s just say the one boy wearing white capris decided to splatter paint his volcano. Hopefully his Mom is good at getting out red paint stains : ). After the volcano painting was complete, I decided to show them the epic coke/ mentos experiment. Basically, the plan is to put 2 mentos in the 2 liter coke bottle, and close the cover as fast as you can before it starts spraying. Then you shake the bottle, loosen the cover a little, throw the bottle in the air, and when it hits the ground the cover flies off and the bottle shoots into the sky. Let’s just say, things didn’t happen so smoothly. The student’s convinced me to try to put three mentos in the bottle, and before I could close the cover, the coke exploded into my face. The students got a kick out of it, as well as a little caffeine in the face. We then tried it with the second bottle (yes I was prepared for the inevitable failure), and successfully got the mentos in the bottle! But after tossing it into the air, the bottle refused to explode. Frustrating! After throwing it around for a while, and getting weird looks from the China national Rugby team who was practicing nearby, we decided that we had enough laughs. We learned that day that experiments don’t always turn out as originally planned : )

One thing I cannot forget to mention: the ojek. Ojeks are basically motorcycle taxis that take people where they need to go. So, when the car drivers are unable to pick us up in the morning for school, or when we need to get somewhere that is too far to walk, we wave to an ojek man. They're everywhere. It's probably not the safest mode of transportation- many times two of us will hop on with our backpack and other school supplies- but it is authentic Indonesian transportation and quite a thrill. We also make sure not to take them on any busy roads, so it's relatively safe. After using ojeks, we learned right away that some drivers try to gyp Americans. We made sure to ask our Indonesian friends how much most rides on the ojek should cost, so now I make sure to act like I've been doing this my whole life, and have my money ready to hand to them right when I hop off so they have no time to argue. (Yes, I am dutch : ) )

Long story short... Indonesia is great. I miss you all!

Lizard.

A Day In The LIfe

So the past week we have been staying at the UPH’s (the Christian university) “practice” hotel. It’s kind of funny actually. The students receiving a tourism major here have to work and manage this little “hotel” (a.k.a. 16 random hotel-looking rooms located on one end of a building that is also full of classrooms, admissions counselor offices, a home economics kitchen, and more). The shower in our room is quite intense... it gives not only me, but the whole bathroom a good wash as well, and the ants just happened to find my toothbrush today : ). But, don’t think for a minute that we have it bad. The beds are super comfy, and the room is very spacious. We have even been given money for them to take care of our laundry, and it comes back nicely folded in a bag. (The only downer is they seem to have lost one of my bags of laundry, but the man working is unable to decode my English :) I also immensely enjoy the birds eye view of the rugby field. So far I have watched two rugby games! The first day we were here, everyone was napping, and I looked out the window and saw some guys warming up for a soccer game. So I grabbed my lesson planning materials and thought I would review my lessons while watching the game. Turns out, it was the Indonesian national rugby team scrimmaging to see who would play in the upcoming tournament. An Australian lady explained some rules of the game to me, and I had fun figuring how it all works because I’ve never seen rugby played before. Today, I got back from school and saw that the Indonesian team was playing China’s team, so I headed out to watch. It was pretty intense and Indonesia ended up loosing 26-32.

On to more important things...I thought it might be interesting to fill you all in on my daily schedule. So here it goes... Alarm goes off at 6:04 (thank you Grandma for the handy dandy travel alarm clock!). Hop in the shower, get ready, eat some cereal in the little hotel coffee cup with the mini hotel coffee spoon (our only silverware) and then head downstairs at 6:45 to catch a ride to SPH. We arrive at SPH at 6:52 and head to our classrooms. I really like that the school building was constructed in a way where only the classrooms are totally enclosed, and everything else is open to the air. I must admit I do make sure to shut my door and crank up the air right when I get to my room : ) I then look over my lesson plans, grab some materials, have my devotions, and at 7:45 I meet with the 9 other teachers to pray. Science Experiments is my first class. At 8:00 my students arrive, and we join with Caitlin’s class across the hall to have devo’s. We each only have 6 students, and although I was disappointed that there were only 6 in my class, I now am actually very thankful. I have gotten to know them all quite well, and we can do a lot of things we wouldn’t be able to do with more students. That class concludes at 10:45, at which time I head down and eat lunch, and then go to Outdoor Science class which begins at 11:15. I help another teacher teach this one until 2:00. At 2:15, I go to help out with basketball camp until 4:30. At 4:30 all of us usually work out and head back to the hotel. Tonight, we were invited over to a UPH teacher’s house for dinner. Her and her husband are both teachers at the UPH teacher’s college and are originally from Canada. They have taught here for 4 years. After dinner at night, we usually all work on lesson plans, and then go to bed around 11! It’s a good time, and a wonderful learning experience. My lessons have surprisingly been going really well, and I think I over-planned a bit too much. I’m still using lesson ideas from day 2 for tomorrow’s class, and when I could be using day 4 ideas. The students seem to be enjoying it!

Well, time for bed! I’ll write again soon!

Love,

Liz

Yahobu!

Hello all!

I am back in Lippo Karawaci and finally have internet access! The past week has been full of many wonderful adventures! After spending four days in Bali, our group flew back to Jakarta, and left early the next morning for the island of Nias, where a lower level SPH school is located. Many of the students who attend the school are unable to pay tuition and have “foster parents” from Jakarta or the U.S. who cover the bill. Visiting the teachers and students at this school was definitely one of the highlights of my time here so far. During my time in Nias, I discovered a few things...

1) I guess I am more high maintenance than I originally thought. I can kill the spiders I find in my bed and survive the occasional cold shower, but once we arrived at Nias, I was in for a surprise. While there, our group slept in the building the teachers at Nias live in together, and were able to have a blast experiencing true small village Indonesian living. I shared a small room with Keighlee and Madison and we had a good time. Together we shared two pillows, slept on a thin mattress on the floor with no sheets, and lived with no air conditioning. (Van Drunen Heating, being the impeccable BBB A+ approved company it is, was willing to go great lengths to install, but we declined their offer due to rising gas prices) During my time at Nias, I learned how to use a squatty potty, realized that mosquitos enjoy my leg blood a lot, became a pro at taking a shower without running water or a towel, discovered that Roosters do indeed cocka doodle doo at exactly 5:58 each morning, and found out why Indonesians touch nothing with their left hand. I was so thankful for this experience and really learned a lot during it!

2) God calls us to be content. Many of the teachers at Nias are there because they have to be. If one attends the university located here in Lippo village (close to where I’m teaching now) they get free tuition if they promise to teach for two years after graduation at a SPH school they are assigned to. The teachers at Nias are payed a very small salary, give up many luxuries, and dedicate their lives to move to this secluded village and teach. I never heard a teacher complain while I was there, and the joy they had was contagious. Each morning, we woke up to the teachers singing, cooking and laughing together. They even beat the roosters to the punch.

3) I love to teach! For two days, we were all assigned different grades and were able to teach the students some English. I taught 10th grade the first day, and 5th grade the second day and both days went really well. The third day, we had share time with the teachers and I was truly encouraged by their love for the Lord and commitment to trust in Him throughout all of life.

4) All Indonesians have black hair and brown eyes. No exceptions. I was feeling quite special after receiving more compliments on my hair/ eye color in one day than I have in my entire life : )

I have some lesson planning to do, so I have to go finish that up, but I wanted to write a quick update! Hopefully I’ll find some internet later this week so I can keep filling you all in!

Yahobu! (this word means “blessings” in the Nias language, and whenever you say it to someone, they get a huge grin on their face and say it back)

Liz

No Jetlag Over Here

Wowsers! These past few days have been AmAzinG to say the least. I can't even begin to explain all the people I have met, things we have done, and sights we have seen. Tonight, I am sitting in the cutest little room in a beautiful resort located in the mountains of Bali. But to help you understand everything a little bit more clearly, I will first explain some things about the school we will be teaching at, and the people I am with.

Sekolah Pelita Harapan school (consisting of a grade school, middle school, and high school) invited 10 Christian college education students to come teach a summer program for three weeks this summer, and surprise! I am one of them. The other students on the trip are from Covenant College, located in Georgia, Samford College, located in Alabama, and Corban College, located in Oregon. Everyone is SO fun, wonderful and easygoing and because we've been with each other 24/7 the past few days, we already feel like a little family.

James and Aileen Riati started the Sekolah Pelita Harapan school in Lippo Village, as well as many other Christian schools throughout Indonesia. Mr. Riati realized the importance of Christian education, and wanted Christians as well as others to have the opportunity to receive a God-centered Christian education in Indonesia. (Fact of the day: Indonesia is home to more Muslims than the entire Middle East combined – more than 210 million.) Today, there are three different levels of SPH schools: some in poorer towns, some in the more middle class towns, and the one in Jakarta where we are going to be teaching most of the time. Some students are able to pay for the school, while others come on scholarships, and many of the kids have to ride the bus for an hour or more to get to school.

I had the privilege of enjoying a faculty end of the year/ farewell luncheon and was able to sit with and talk to Mrs. Riati, and was surprised to see how humble and genuine she was. I saw her gently remind a teacher to be thankful for what he has been given, and observed the close relationships that she has formed with all the teachers. Her husband and herself see the money God has blessed them with as something that is not their own, and generously share it with others. Over the years, the schools have grown (each grade has about 3 classes of 20 students now), and the Riati's have started up hospitals, a bank, apartments, etc... Basically, a city has been started by them, and many call it a haven for the people living in Jakarta.

The first two nights, we stayed in their hotel which was located near SPH school. (gorgeous to say the least) We had no clue we would get treated so well and kept telling everyone thank you. We wished we actually had time to hang out at the hotels, but Mrs. Riati's itinerary for us has kept us busy every hour and we love every minute! We spent the whole day at the school on Wednesday, and were able to meet all the teachers, get a tour of the school, attend the 6th grade graduation (2 hours long!), present the summer program and talk about the classes we will be teaching to get the students excited. We also were able to go out for dinner with teachers from the school, and the head principal. Mr. Cox is his name, and I had the privilege of sitting next to him and his wife, and was able to hear their story. They are originally from Australia, so they had some pretty sweet accents, and were both so fun to talk to. Mr. and Mrs. Cox didn't start attending church until after they were married a few years. Long story short, they opened a Christian school in Australia on a whim. It began with 25 students. Mrs. Cox told me she was daydreaming a few days after they opened the school began about how cool it would be if one day they could have about 50 students and build their own building. Today, the school just celebrated its 30ishth anniversary, and has over 700 students!!

Welps, I could keep writing for days, but I need to go to bed because we have a full day tomorrow! I was also up at 5 this morning and am still feeling the effects of jet lag, so I should probably get a little sleep : ) Fun fact: Today I saw my first volcano from the sky. And actual legit rice fields. SO cool. p.s. Everyone from Indonesia is super kind and welcoming and help you with everything! The man called our room and said my roommate's (Keighlee- who is super sweet) luggage came, and I asked if I could go down at pick it up, and he laughed at me and later told Keighlee to explain to me that they always bring the luggage up to us! (I later learned that Indonesian salaries are low, so people can afford to pay a lot of workers. For example, some expats (what they call Am. teachers at the Indonesian schools) just hire drivers to give people jobs.) Whenever we're with the drivers, we always practice our Bahasa Indonesian speaking abilities. They always seem to get a kick out of it : )

Ok, last comment. I got lost in the Indonesian airport for about an hour when my plane landed and couldn't find my driver outside. Long story short, it was an interesting conclusion to 35 hours of travel and wonderful introduction to this great adventure (also, a typical Liz rookie mistake) : )

Okay, now I'm really going to bed. Miss you all!

Love,

Lizard

Ready to Fly

Hola family and friends!

I'm sitting in the airport in Abu Dhabi (just recently I discovered it is said "ah-boo duh-bee") waiting to board the flight to Jakarta, Indonesia. I just completed a 13 hour, 45 minute flight from Chicago, and now I am anxious to arrive at my final destination after another 9 hours in the sky.

I think that half the fun of any trip is the planning, preparation and excitement that comes beforehand. For this particular trip, I had a lot to do before I left the land of lincoln. In January, I applied to be one of ten teachers for the Sekolah Pelita Harapan summer program. After I found out I was invited to teach, I began researching the country, writing lesson plans, brainstorming fun games, preparing devotions, talking to professors, asking questions, shopping, packing, doing some more lesson planning, and then doing a little more lesson planning : ). Although it was sometimes stressful, it was a lot of fun and a wonderful learning experience!

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to travel to the other side of the world, and am ready to embark on this adventure in the beautiful country of Indonesia. I don't know how much internet access I'll have, but I'll try to update every so often. I'm not the most amazing writer in the world, so read as you please! Sampai jumpa hagi. (aka, See you later :)

Love,

Liz