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