Dear Friend,
The Christmas season is upon us, I am sitting on the couch watching snowflakes as big as feathers from a pillow fall on to the roof tops. How are your preparations for the Christmas festivities? My preparations have included baking many cookies. So far Mom and I have made 3 different types of cookies.
Today I was making molasses cookies. I had my brown sugar in the bowl, and as I added the molasses, I watched the patterns of the brown liquid as it dropped onto the sides of the bowl and seeped into the brown sugar. "Look at the curly pattern it makes," I exclaimed to Mom. "Hm... so you still cook the same huh?" she replied. She was referring to the way I baked in elementary.
I used to always help my mom bake as a 1st or 2nd grader. Now friend, you must understand that it takes a very patient mother to let her 6 or 7 year old help her bake cookies. Mom always let me add the ingredients to the bowl and mix it, an easy enough task right? Well, it always took me ages because I would narrate stories of miniature villages.
There I am, sitting on a stool so that I could see over the counter and in to the big bowl. First I had to add the flour which created a grand snowy mountain. I would pretend there were villagers who lived on this mountain and they just had a snow storm. "The village of Cookiedom has just suffered a heavy snow storm." Next I would add the sugar, pouring it out on top of the mountain to create a hail storm. "OH NO! The villagers that are trying to survive the heavy snow fall are now hit with a hail storm," I would narrate. Next I would strategically add the milk. "Just when they thought it was all over, a little stream of white liquid appears and turns into a big flood." Then this big medal thing would come and ruin the whole town and even their mountain. "Ahhhhh, the people of Cookiedom are lost forever... until we bake again," I would smile at Mom. Sometimes my mom would take the bowl and start mixing it because my narrations would take too long. To be honest, sometimes I still think of those stories when I cook, but I just say them in my head.
What a funny child I must have been. Did you know that at this same age I once told my Aunty Kathi that I didn't have an imagination. My sister would always go play 'lost children' with Aunty Kathi's daughter. One day I was hanging around the kitchen where mom and Aunty Kathi were talking. Perhaps I was being annoying because Aunty Kathi said, "Why don't you go play 'lost children' with Hannah and Megan." "I can't," I replied seriously, "I don't have an imagination."
Why did I think this? I have no idea. Perhaps because I didn't like playing with dolls and I wasn't any good when I tried to play lost children, but I obviously did have some sort of imagination if I could create a village full of natural disasters while baking.
Well friend, I have to go make lunch then practice for our Christmas eve service.
Merry Christmas if I don't write before then!
I'm thinking of you and hoping you are having a great holiday.
Your friend,
Rebekah E. S.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Airports
Dear Friend,
Hi! How is your Christmas holiday? Mine is starting out well. I made it safely to my parents house, and have talked a mile a minute since I arrived and probably won't stop until I leave. There is just so much to tell my parents, and it is so much fun when I can see them face to face!
Before I saw my parents today though, I had a 7 hour layover in Narita. Thankfully it was an airport I am most familiar with. Did you know that I have been to at least 23 different airports in 11 different countries? Seven hours is a long time, so I had time to count them out. I also had plenty of time to journal, reflect, think, pray, and I even wrote down a blog while I ate a double cheese burger at McDonalds. So here is my blog transported from paper into cyberspace.
Today as I sat in the blue chairs at Narita airport, I watched people pass through the security check to head towards their international destinations. So many different emotions filled the area! To my left, one grandchild tormentingly cried because grandpa was leaving, to my right two sweethearts were hugging a final goodbye. A few minutes later I heard the stressed voice of a father reprimanding his son for riding on the luggage carts. Groups excitedly headed out on a new adventure, families were leaving together counting to make sure they had every child, and some people had no one to say good-bye to. I wonder what everyone's story is. Where is he going? Is she going home, or leaving home? Did they just meet during this trip, or have they known each other for years? I wonder.
Do you get emotional when you travel? Do you tear up when you have to say good-bye? I have been traveling since I was 9 months old, and I never used to get emotional. I remember leaving Switzerland as a six year old. It was the first time I was conscious of being in Switzerland, the first time I met my Swiss relatives. It was a fun few months, but now it was time to go back to Japan. My godmother, who is also my aunt, dropped us off at the airport. She gave us all hugs and was getting teary eyed. I gave her a hug, said good-bye and was ready to go. I had to carry my older sisters massive teddy bear because I was the 6 year old so I should carry the doll, I didn't like dolls and felt silly. We showed the man in the uniform our passports and tickets, walked through the gates and headed up the escalator. I remember looking over the teddy bears head, through the big glass wall, at my godmother and I tried to look sad as I waved one last time. I thought I was an odd cold hearted child since I didn't feel sad and wasn't crying. Today I realized why I never used to cry at airports... and it is not because I was cold-hearted. I was always leaving with my family. The four people that mattered the most to me were still with me, so what was there to be sad about?
It wasn't until I was in highschool that I got teary-eyed at an airport. I was heading for America to attend a mission trip. I was fine saying good-bye to my parents, but then as I stepped on the escalator going down to departures, I looked up and saw my parents through another glass window. As they disapeared from my view, I felt a knot in my throat. I was traveling alone for the first time, no family was with me, I did no know what may happen. Naturally I would cry. Wouldn't you?
Now, I can't help but get teary-eyed when I say bye to family, because the four people I care about most are not traveling with me. We always try to be so brave and not cry, but it never works. When my sisters dropped me off at the airport so I could move to Indonesia, I cried. We all did. We had no idea when we would see each other again. In fact, we still don't! I am with my parents now, but after the holiday when I go back home to Indonesia, I won't know when I will see them again. We don't even know when our whole family will be together again. That's a scary thought! Thankfully, I have the assurance of Christ, that He is in control of everything.
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family that loves to travel. I love traveling with my parents and sisters, watching movies together, playing card games or talking. Now, I travel alone. I always wonder... when will I get to travel with someone again? Someone I love and never have to leave. When will I be traveling with my own children, knowing that my family is once again traveling with me. God knows when, I love that He knows and that He has it all planned out.
All this from sitting in an airport. Seven hours is a long time to be alone and think.
Your Friend,
Rebekah Edith
Hi! How is your Christmas holiday? Mine is starting out well. I made it safely to my parents house, and have talked a mile a minute since I arrived and probably won't stop until I leave. There is just so much to tell my parents, and it is so much fun when I can see them face to face!
Before I saw my parents today though, I had a 7 hour layover in Narita. Thankfully it was an airport I am most familiar with. Did you know that I have been to at least 23 different airports in 11 different countries? Seven hours is a long time, so I had time to count them out. I also had plenty of time to journal, reflect, think, pray, and I even wrote down a blog while I ate a double cheese burger at McDonalds. So here is my blog transported from paper into cyberspace.
Today as I sat in the blue chairs at Narita airport, I watched people pass through the security check to head towards their international destinations. So many different emotions filled the area! To my left, one grandchild tormentingly cried because grandpa was leaving, to my right two sweethearts were hugging a final goodbye. A few minutes later I heard the stressed voice of a father reprimanding his son for riding on the luggage carts. Groups excitedly headed out on a new adventure, families were leaving together counting to make sure they had every child, and some people had no one to say good-bye to. I wonder what everyone's story is. Where is he going? Is she going home, or leaving home? Did they just meet during this trip, or have they known each other for years? I wonder.
Do you get emotional when you travel? Do you tear up when you have to say good-bye? I have been traveling since I was 9 months old, and I never used to get emotional. I remember leaving Switzerland as a six year old. It was the first time I was conscious of being in Switzerland, the first time I met my Swiss relatives. It was a fun few months, but now it was time to go back to Japan. My godmother, who is also my aunt, dropped us off at the airport. She gave us all hugs and was getting teary eyed. I gave her a hug, said good-bye and was ready to go. I had to carry my older sisters massive teddy bear because I was the 6 year old so I should carry the doll, I didn't like dolls and felt silly. We showed the man in the uniform our passports and tickets, walked through the gates and headed up the escalator. I remember looking over the teddy bears head, through the big glass wall, at my godmother and I tried to look sad as I waved one last time. I thought I was an odd cold hearted child since I didn't feel sad and wasn't crying. Today I realized why I never used to cry at airports... and it is not because I was cold-hearted. I was always leaving with my family. The four people that mattered the most to me were still with me, so what was there to be sad about?
It wasn't until I was in highschool that I got teary-eyed at an airport. I was heading for America to attend a mission trip. I was fine saying good-bye to my parents, but then as I stepped on the escalator going down to departures, I looked up and saw my parents through another glass window. As they disapeared from my view, I felt a knot in my throat. I was traveling alone for the first time, no family was with me, I did no know what may happen. Naturally I would cry. Wouldn't you?
Now, I can't help but get teary-eyed when I say bye to family, because the four people I care about most are not traveling with me. We always try to be so brave and not cry, but it never works. When my sisters dropped me off at the airport so I could move to Indonesia, I cried. We all did. We had no idea when we would see each other again. In fact, we still don't! I am with my parents now, but after the holiday when I go back home to Indonesia, I won't know when I will see them again. We don't even know when our whole family will be together again. That's a scary thought! Thankfully, I have the assurance of Christ, that He is in control of everything.
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family that loves to travel. I love traveling with my parents and sisters, watching movies together, playing card games or talking. Now, I travel alone. I always wonder... when will I get to travel with someone again? Someone I love and never have to leave. When will I be traveling with my own children, knowing that my family is once again traveling with me. God knows when, I love that He knows and that He has it all planned out.
All this from sitting in an airport. Seven hours is a long time to be alone and think.
Your Friend,
Rebekah Edith
Friday, December 17, 2010
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Dear Friend,
Apa kabar (how are you)?
Today was our last day of school. Wow... I have been a teacher for half a year. CRAZY! Ah, now to become a good teacher that knows what to do and how to help each individual child and their specific needs.
Today is my last full day in Indonesia. For Christmas I will go to Japan to be with my parents. It is exciting... yet I am sad. I am sad to leave Indonesia. I don't know why I have this sad feeling, I know I will come back in less than a month. But I guess a month seems like a long time. A long time to not see my wonderful students, colleagues and friends. But it will be good to be with my parents. Perhaps I have this sad feeling because normally when I leave a country or place, I don't know when I will be back, so my mind instantly connects the idea of leaving with a sad feeling. I will miss Indonesia. It has become my home! I will miss eating three different fruit every day, I will miss the food, I will miss listening to the rain and smiling at the rain, I will miss riding on motorcycles, I will miss saying "Pagi Pak" every morning to the security guards, I will miss receiving tons of hugs from my students the instant I walk through the door, I will miss playing after school basketball, and I will miss Tuesday night Bible study. Thankfully, I am not leaving for good! I know I will be back in a month, in the year of 2011!
I am excited for 2011. You know my favorite number is 11, so I have always looked forward to this year. Today in chapel I heard a very good talk. One thing that the speaker made me think of was that we are entering into a new decade. SO much will happen in one decade. Can you imagine? In one decade I will be 32 years old! Perhaps in this decade I will fall in love and be married, maybe even start a family. Perhaps my sisters will have too! My parents might retire from the mission field, or decide they never will. Perhaps, (and this will hopefully happen) I will be bilingual because I will be able to speak Bahasa Indonesia and English. I am excited for this new decade to come, especially with the assurance that God is in control of everything, He already knows all that will happen. I love knowing that. Sometimes I try to make things happen by doing something or saying something, and my plan always fails... but when I leave it up to God, those things end up naturally happening, and I am constantly reminded to just leave my life in God's hands and He will guide my path perfectly.
I want you to sop and think of this past decade, year 2000-2010. How much has happened for you?
For me, just in one year so much has happened, looking at 10 years is crazy!
I have lived in 4 different countries: Japan, America, Switzerland and Indonesia, I moved a countless number of times, I went through middle school, high school, college, and have an international teaching job, I played volleyball on the team and performed in numerous dramas and musicals, I was diagnosed with kyphoscoliosis and wore a back brace, I had braces, I went on a mission trip to Europe, and another one just to Spain, I had Christmas in Japan, Switzerland, America and Peru, I met my best friend, I had two Christmas' over skype, I played monopoly with my sister over skype and lost, my parents house started with 5 people in the year 2000 and dwindled down to 4, then 3, then just 2, I learned to drive, then I learned to drive a manual car, I named my car Fabio, I got in a car crash, I attended my first 'wedding of a close friend,' I had 6 different piano teachers, I learned to yodel, I grew closer to God, I got to know my American grandmother, I twisted my ankle and had to use crutches for weeks, I was in America for longer than a year, I had many game nights and Shakespeare read-throughs... the list goes on and on.
I want you to think, not only what you did this past year, but this past decade, it is a long time... and notice how God's hand is in it all. Sometimes we wonder why different things happen to us... and sometimes, years later when you look back, you can finally realize, "Oh, perhaps that is why God had that happened, so I would be able to do this..."
For example, I had to wear a back brace for four years to help straighten my spine. I still don't know why I had to wear it... besides that fact that it was straightening my spine... but perhaps I will be able to use that experience to connect with some child who also has to wear one and be able to share the gospel to them through that similar experience. Who knows? Only God does, but that is what is so exciting! (Perhaps the experience will not lead to anything else... and that is fine too, I believe the experience of wearing a back brace for all of my high school years has definitely effected who I am today)
Well, like I said, tomorrow I am leaving on a jet plane... but thankfully I DO know when I will be back again... so I need to finish packing.
I am sure I will write again before the new year... Oh man, I am so excited for the year two-thousand-eleven!!! I get to write down my favorite number every time I write the date, --/--/11. I know it is silly, but it will probably make me smile every day.
When does your holiday begin?
What will you be doing?
I hope you have fun! Tell me about it okay?
Your friend,
Rebekah E. S.
Apa kabar (how are you)?
Today was our last day of school. Wow... I have been a teacher for half a year. CRAZY! Ah, now to become a good teacher that knows what to do and how to help each individual child and their specific needs.
Today is my last full day in Indonesia. For Christmas I will go to Japan to be with my parents. It is exciting... yet I am sad. I am sad to leave Indonesia. I don't know why I have this sad feeling, I know I will come back in less than a month. But I guess a month seems like a long time. A long time to not see my wonderful students, colleagues and friends. But it will be good to be with my parents. Perhaps I have this sad feeling because normally when I leave a country or place, I don't know when I will be back, so my mind instantly connects the idea of leaving with a sad feeling. I will miss Indonesia. It has become my home! I will miss eating three different fruit every day, I will miss the food, I will miss listening to the rain and smiling at the rain, I will miss riding on motorcycles, I will miss saying "Pagi Pak" every morning to the security guards, I will miss receiving tons of hugs from my students the instant I walk through the door, I will miss playing after school basketball, and I will miss Tuesday night Bible study. Thankfully, I am not leaving for good! I know I will be back in a month, in the year of 2011!
I am excited for 2011. You know my favorite number is 11, so I have always looked forward to this year. Today in chapel I heard a very good talk. One thing that the speaker made me think of was that we are entering into a new decade. SO much will happen in one decade. Can you imagine? In one decade I will be 32 years old! Perhaps in this decade I will fall in love and be married, maybe even start a family. Perhaps my sisters will have too! My parents might retire from the mission field, or decide they never will. Perhaps, (and this will hopefully happen) I will be bilingual because I will be able to speak Bahasa Indonesia and English. I am excited for this new decade to come, especially with the assurance that God is in control of everything, He already knows all that will happen. I love knowing that. Sometimes I try to make things happen by doing something or saying something, and my plan always fails... but when I leave it up to God, those things end up naturally happening, and I am constantly reminded to just leave my life in God's hands and He will guide my path perfectly.
I want you to sop and think of this past decade, year 2000-2010. How much has happened for you?
For me, just in one year so much has happened, looking at 10 years is crazy!
I have lived in 4 different countries: Japan, America, Switzerland and Indonesia, I moved a countless number of times, I went through middle school, high school, college, and have an international teaching job, I played volleyball on the team and performed in numerous dramas and musicals, I was diagnosed with kyphoscoliosis and wore a back brace, I had braces, I went on a mission trip to Europe, and another one just to Spain, I had Christmas in Japan, Switzerland, America and Peru, I met my best friend, I had two Christmas' over skype, I played monopoly with my sister over skype and lost, my parents house started with 5 people in the year 2000 and dwindled down to 4, then 3, then just 2, I learned to drive, then I learned to drive a manual car, I named my car Fabio, I got in a car crash, I attended my first 'wedding of a close friend,' I had 6 different piano teachers, I learned to yodel, I grew closer to God, I got to know my American grandmother, I twisted my ankle and had to use crutches for weeks, I was in America for longer than a year, I had many game nights and Shakespeare read-throughs... the list goes on and on.
I want you to think, not only what you did this past year, but this past decade, it is a long time... and notice how God's hand is in it all. Sometimes we wonder why different things happen to us... and sometimes, years later when you look back, you can finally realize, "Oh, perhaps that is why God had that happened, so I would be able to do this..."
For example, I had to wear a back brace for four years to help straighten my spine. I still don't know why I had to wear it... besides that fact that it was straightening my spine... but perhaps I will be able to use that experience to connect with some child who also has to wear one and be able to share the gospel to them through that similar experience. Who knows? Only God does, but that is what is so exciting! (Perhaps the experience will not lead to anything else... and that is fine too, I believe the experience of wearing a back brace for all of my high school years has definitely effected who I am today)
Well, like I said, tomorrow I am leaving on a jet plane... but thankfully I DO know when I will be back again... so I need to finish packing.
I am sure I will write again before the new year... Oh man, I am so excited for the year two-thousand-eleven!!! I get to write down my favorite number every time I write the date, --/--/11. I know it is silly, but it will probably make me smile every day.
When does your holiday begin?
What will you be doing?
I hope you have fun! Tell me about it okay?
Your friend,
Rebekah E. S.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Fear of the Lord
Dear Friend,
How are you? The Christmas season is upon us. I will be leaving Indonesia in 2 weeks. I will be in Japan with my parents, it will be so great! However, I won't be with my sisters which makes me sad to think of.
The other night I was thinking back to when I was little. Imagine yourself at the age of 6, you wake up in the middle of the night with a horrible stomachache. You try to ignore the pain and go back to sleep but unfortunately this plan does not work. Quietly pulling down the covers, you sit up and tiptoe to the door. The whole house is quiet and dark, everyone is sleeping. Thankfully Mom put that little nightlight in the hallway. You walk down the hall to your parents closed door. Slowly, and oh so quietly, you open the door just enough to slip into the room. There you stand at the foot of your parents bed. They are both sleeping so soundly. Looking to the right side of the bed, then to the left, you have to decide which parent you are going to wake up. "Mooooomy. Daaaady," you say almost inaudibly. "Mooomy, Daaady," you try a little louder. "Mommy, Daddy," you say even louder. Eventually you see a stirring on one side of the bed and begin to approach that parent. "I don't feel so good," you say, trying to sound as miserable as possible so that they won't get mad at you for waking them up. Hold on a second, why would they be mad? They are your parents, they love you and want to help you when you are hurting? Why would you be scared of that?
I don't know why, but it was scary, disturbing your parents when they are peacefully sleeping was such a scary thought to me.
As I was drifting to sleep a couple of nights ago this story popped into my head along with the thought that perhaps this is what it is like to fear the Lord. I have always had difficulty understanding the fear of the Lord. In my head I understand it, but not as much in my heart. I always think of God as the loving Father, always there to help. I know He is so perfect and amazing that I don't deserve to ever be in the same room as Him... but for some reason it is hard for me to grasp the concept of fearing the Lord. Well, this story made me think of it. Even though my parents love me so much, I was still scared to wake them up. Even though God the Father's love for me is unconditional, He is so amazing and has so much power, that we need to fear Him.
I don't know... it's still very confusing to me. Perhaps my story doesn't really relate.
Any thoughts or help you can give me?
Your friend,
res
How are you? The Christmas season is upon us. I will be leaving Indonesia in 2 weeks. I will be in Japan with my parents, it will be so great! However, I won't be with my sisters which makes me sad to think of.
The other night I was thinking back to when I was little. Imagine yourself at the age of 6, you wake up in the middle of the night with a horrible stomachache. You try to ignore the pain and go back to sleep but unfortunately this plan does not work. Quietly pulling down the covers, you sit up and tiptoe to the door. The whole house is quiet and dark, everyone is sleeping. Thankfully Mom put that little nightlight in the hallway. You walk down the hall to your parents closed door. Slowly, and oh so quietly, you open the door just enough to slip into the room. There you stand at the foot of your parents bed. They are both sleeping so soundly. Looking to the right side of the bed, then to the left, you have to decide which parent you are going to wake up. "Mooooomy. Daaaady," you say almost inaudibly. "Mooomy, Daaady," you try a little louder. "Mommy, Daddy," you say even louder. Eventually you see a stirring on one side of the bed and begin to approach that parent. "I don't feel so good," you say, trying to sound as miserable as possible so that they won't get mad at you for waking them up. Hold on a second, why would they be mad? They are your parents, they love you and want to help you when you are hurting? Why would you be scared of that?
I don't know why, but it was scary, disturbing your parents when they are peacefully sleeping was such a scary thought to me.
As I was drifting to sleep a couple of nights ago this story popped into my head along with the thought that perhaps this is what it is like to fear the Lord. I have always had difficulty understanding the fear of the Lord. In my head I understand it, but not as much in my heart. I always think of God as the loving Father, always there to help. I know He is so perfect and amazing that I don't deserve to ever be in the same room as Him... but for some reason it is hard for me to grasp the concept of fearing the Lord. Well, this story made me think of it. Even though my parents love me so much, I was still scared to wake them up. Even though God the Father's love for me is unconditional, He is so amazing and has so much power, that we need to fear Him.
I don't know... it's still very confusing to me. Perhaps my story doesn't really relate.
Any thoughts or help you can give me?
Your friend,
res
Monday, November 22, 2010
Marriage and Children
Dear Friend,
How are you? I just wanted to quickly share a couple of silly anecdotes with you.
"So Rebekah, what age do you see yourself getting married?" This is a question that I was asked, more than once, by one of my friends at work. Both times I gave the same reply, "twenty-one," followed by laughter, since I am currently 22. But honestly, when I was growing up I had a plan to get through college in 3 years so that I could graduate at 21 and get married. I mean, what else do you do after college if not get married right? I had it so planned out that I was going to take as many highschool AP courses possible so that I would start college as a sophmore. I know it is possible because when I was in Elementary, I remember hearing that Benji Bailey did that (If he really did, I have no idea, I was in elementary, I didn't even really know what college was!). Well, once I got to highschool I realized that I really didn't want to take that many AP courses. So there went my plan for getting married at 21.
Another common question I've received is, "how many kids do you want?" If you know me very well, you will know that I used to say, "However many God gives me... I guess I will think about stopping after 10 kids." Everyone would laugh, thinking I was joking, but I was slightly serious, I wanted a lot of kids. Well, last night as I was trying to fall asleep this question popped into my head and I realized, "I can't have 10 kids! It would be near impossible to fly my whole family around the world to visit relatives if I had 10 kids." I can't believe I hadn't ever thought of this before, because it's a very relevant point. My family is undoubtedly going to be all over the world. I honestly don't know if my parents, sisters and I will ever be in the same country for more than a year ever again. So, if I had 10 kids, it would cost a fortune to fly them to see my parents or sisters. "Well, your family could just come visit you!" True, but I want my kids to experience other countries and cultures. I would hate to deprive them of that privilege. Perhaps if I marry a pilot, or someone with an extreemly wealthy long lost uncle, then it would be possible... but that's not very likely.
What about you? When did or do you see yourself getting married? How many kids do you want?
Your friend,
Rebekah E.
How are you? I just wanted to quickly share a couple of silly anecdotes with you.
"So Rebekah, what age do you see yourself getting married?" This is a question that I was asked, more than once, by one of my friends at work. Both times I gave the same reply, "twenty-one," followed by laughter, since I am currently 22. But honestly, when I was growing up I had a plan to get through college in 3 years so that I could graduate at 21 and get married. I mean, what else do you do after college if not get married right? I had it so planned out that I was going to take as many highschool AP courses possible so that I would start college as a sophmore. I know it is possible because when I was in Elementary, I remember hearing that Benji Bailey did that (If he really did, I have no idea, I was in elementary, I didn't even really know what college was!). Well, once I got to highschool I realized that I really didn't want to take that many AP courses. So there went my plan for getting married at 21.
Another common question I've received is, "how many kids do you want?" If you know me very well, you will know that I used to say, "However many God gives me... I guess I will think about stopping after 10 kids." Everyone would laugh, thinking I was joking, but I was slightly serious, I wanted a lot of kids. Well, last night as I was trying to fall asleep this question popped into my head and I realized, "I can't have 10 kids! It would be near impossible to fly my whole family around the world to visit relatives if I had 10 kids." I can't believe I hadn't ever thought of this before, because it's a very relevant point. My family is undoubtedly going to be all over the world. I honestly don't know if my parents, sisters and I will ever be in the same country for more than a year ever again. So, if I had 10 kids, it would cost a fortune to fly them to see my parents or sisters. "Well, your family could just come visit you!" True, but I want my kids to experience other countries and cultures. I would hate to deprive them of that privilege. Perhaps if I marry a pilot, or someone with an extreemly wealthy long lost uncle, then it would be possible... but that's not very likely.
What about you? When did or do you see yourself getting married? How many kids do you want?
Your friend,
Rebekah E.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
How I came to Indonesia
Dear Friend,
Have I ever told you how I ended up in Indonesia?
After I graduated college I had every intention of staying in America. I was going to be the one Schmidt sister that lived in America while both my sisters went overseas to become missionaries and do great things. Well, obviously that did not happen, because I am not in America, and my sisters are not YET overseas. So when did my mind change? At what point did I say, "You know what? I think I will move overseas." Looking back I realize, it was this past summer after a long hot day of work.
I was working at college doing the usual: cleaning toilets, mopping floors, wiping windows, scrubbing banisters, changing trash etc. It was a very hot sticky sweaty day, when I got home and hopped into the shower, I decided to only use the cold water. I remember commenting out loud, "Hmm... taking showers with cold water isn't that bad. Now I know, if I had to live in a country that only had cold water, I would be just fine. But that isn't going to be me, Andrea is the one that will live in Nepal or India or something, not me, I'm the sister that will be living in America, where there is always hot water." Well, I think that little innocent statement of "I could live in a country that just had cold water for showers" was my sort of unconscious go-ahead showing God that I was ready to be pushed around.
Soon after that, I received an email sent out to all Covenant College Education graduates that did not yet have a job. It said, "There is a job position in Indonesia, if you are interested let me know." I remember watching a presentation about this school earlier that year, it was a good presentation, but it wasn't for me, I was the Schmidt girl that was going to live in America.
I mentioned the job to my friend who instantly started saying that I was going to move to Indonesia, get married and never come back. "NO! I'm the one staying in America, Hannah and Andrea are the ones going international," I protested. "Nope, you are moving to Indonesia, I just know it," she proudly replied.
Within ONE week, God closed all the doors to MY plans, meaning the jobs I was pursuing came to dead ends. So I said, "Okay, I will reply to those people in Indonesia just in case that is where God wants me."
Within ONE week I received and filled out an application, had a phone interview and was offered the job.
FOUR weeks later, I was in Indonesia preparing to be the new 'bule' teacher at SPH-LC.
I am convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was a God thing and that I am supposed to be in Indonesia. I love it here. I feel perfectly at home, and honestly, I can't see myself leaving for a very long time. I told a friend recently, "If I ever go back to America, God will probably have to get me fired or something that drastic to tell me it's time to go back." I don't really have much pulling me back to America. "What about friends and family?" you may say. Well, my family is already all over the world (spread across Japan, America, Switzerland, and Brazil) and so are my friends. It's true, I have left many dear friends in America, but they will always be dear friends. If I leave Indonesia, I will be leaving friends here too. Ah the blessed trials of being international. Your friends are everywhere, which is good, but also not. Thank God for skype.
Anyways, there it is my friend, the story of how I ended up in Indonesia, my new home. In case you were wondering, I actually do have hot water, provided by a little water heater hovering above my shower, but I just visited a friends house and they don't have hot water, which is typical in Indonesia.
Till next time,
Ribka
(In the Indonesian Bible, Rebekah is spelled: Ribka... isn't that beautiful sounding... I almost want to introduce myself as Ribka not Rebekah, but I haven't had the guts to yet :-)
Have I ever told you how I ended up in Indonesia?
After I graduated college I had every intention of staying in America. I was going to be the one Schmidt sister that lived in America while both my sisters went overseas to become missionaries and do great things. Well, obviously that did not happen, because I am not in America, and my sisters are not YET overseas. So when did my mind change? At what point did I say, "You know what? I think I will move overseas." Looking back I realize, it was this past summer after a long hot day of work.
I was working at college doing the usual: cleaning toilets, mopping floors, wiping windows, scrubbing banisters, changing trash etc. It was a very hot sticky sweaty day, when I got home and hopped into the shower, I decided to only use the cold water. I remember commenting out loud, "Hmm... taking showers with cold water isn't that bad. Now I know, if I had to live in a country that only had cold water, I would be just fine. But that isn't going to be me, Andrea is the one that will live in Nepal or India or something, not me, I'm the sister that will be living in America, where there is always hot water." Well, I think that little innocent statement of "I could live in a country that just had cold water for showers" was my sort of unconscious go-ahead showing God that I was ready to be pushed around.
Soon after that, I received an email sent out to all Covenant College Education graduates that did not yet have a job. It said, "There is a job position in Indonesia, if you are interested let me know." I remember watching a presentation about this school earlier that year, it was a good presentation, but it wasn't for me, I was the Schmidt girl that was going to live in America.
I mentioned the job to my friend who instantly started saying that I was going to move to Indonesia, get married and never come back. "NO! I'm the one staying in America, Hannah and Andrea are the ones going international," I protested. "Nope, you are moving to Indonesia, I just know it," she proudly replied.
Within ONE week, God closed all the doors to MY plans, meaning the jobs I was pursuing came to dead ends. So I said, "Okay, I will reply to those people in Indonesia just in case that is where God wants me."
Within ONE week I received and filled out an application, had a phone interview and was offered the job.
FOUR weeks later, I was in Indonesia preparing to be the new 'bule' teacher at SPH-LC.
I am convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was a God thing and that I am supposed to be in Indonesia. I love it here. I feel perfectly at home, and honestly, I can't see myself leaving for a very long time. I told a friend recently, "If I ever go back to America, God will probably have to get me fired or something that drastic to tell me it's time to go back." I don't really have much pulling me back to America. "What about friends and family?" you may say. Well, my family is already all over the world (spread across Japan, America, Switzerland, and Brazil) and so are my friends. It's true, I have left many dear friends in America, but they will always be dear friends. If I leave Indonesia, I will be leaving friends here too. Ah the blessed trials of being international. Your friends are everywhere, which is good, but also not. Thank God for skype.
Anyways, there it is my friend, the story of how I ended up in Indonesia, my new home. In case you were wondering, I actually do have hot water, provided by a little water heater hovering above my shower, but I just visited a friends house and they don't have hot water, which is typical in Indonesia.
Till next time,
Ribka
(In the Indonesian Bible, Rebekah is spelled: Ribka... isn't that beautiful sounding... I almost want to introduce myself as Ribka not Rebekah, but I haven't had the guts to yet :-)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Known in 4 Months
Dear Friend,
I'm sorry it has been so long since I have written. How are you? I'm doing well, it is crazy to think that I have been here for four months now, 1/3 of a year, unbelievable. There is so much I have done and still so much I have not done. I have this mentality of 'I don't have to do it all within the first months, I am here for a while, eventually I will go there, or do that.' For example, we have a spa here that is apparently incredible, as good or better than the ones in Bali, it is only $12 and I haven't been yet! I know, crazy right? But eventually I'll go.
One thing that I have noticed recently is how small Lippo Cikarang is. It is so small that I am known here by the security guards, the ojek drivers, and even the bus drivers. I have 3 example stories for you.
ONE: I was walking to catch the bus for church a couple of weeks ago and as I am leaving the neighborhood the security guard says, "Good morning, Miss Rebekah, where are you going today?" "Church," I reply. Then I thought... hmmm, should I just have said Jakarta, and not church, since there are many muslims around, but then again, God says to be bold about our faith, so I figured, 'church' was a fine response. Don't worry, I haven't ever felt any resentment or anything towards me from Muslims or anyone. Indonesians are so kind, helpful, welcoming etc. Honestly, I have never felt scared or nervous when I have been out in Jakarta or walking around in Lippo Cikarang.
ONE and a HALF: Once I was walking home from Ms. Amy's house, we live in the same neighborhood. A security guard drove by on his motorbike and said, "Goodnight Ms. Rebekah." I guess it is safe to say, the security guards know who I am.
TWO: Recently when I have gone to our little mall, I have gone after school to quickly buy something important that I need for school or the house. It is usually getting dark, or already dark when I am leaving, so I typically decide to ride an ojek home, it's faster and I don't like to walk at night by myself. So I walk to where the ojeks are, tell them I want an ojek, and before I tell them where I live, they iether ask me "Dago Villas?" or one of the other ojek drivers will say it, telling their friend, "Dago, Dago Villa, ja?" This has happened more than once, should I be scared that they know the nieghborhood I live in? Probably not. I mean, it is a small town, they probably know where almost everyone lives since they drive us everywhere... perhaps I'm a little more memorable since I am one of the tall bule (albino) woman, and there aren't many of us here. I can think of 4 in Lippo Cikarang, and we all live in the same neighborhood, not too hard to remember, right?
THREE: There is a bus that goes from Lippo Cikarang to Jakarta and back. I catch this bus to go to church on Sunday mornings, and occasionally I will catch the bus on the way back from church. Well, the other Sunday I was hanging out with a friend after church. As we were walking to one of the malls I saw the bus driving towards us, I looked and shook my head and my hand telling them I wasn't getting on, because they recognized me and were about to stop. Actually, I am very grateful that they do know me. One day after church I was walking to catch the bus. You have to walk up and over this bridge that crosses the 6 lanes of traffic. As I am decending the bridge I see the bus coming by. If I miss the bus, I have to wait at least 45 minutes for the next bus to come. I quickly run to catch it. When I finally get to the bottom, I realized they had stopped the bus and were waiting for me. They must have seen me on the overpass and knew I was going to be getting on. I was SO thankful to God for that!
Anyways,
I have to get ready for school now,
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Rebekah E.
I'm sorry it has been so long since I have written. How are you? I'm doing well, it is crazy to think that I have been here for four months now, 1/3 of a year, unbelievable. There is so much I have done and still so much I have not done. I have this mentality of 'I don't have to do it all within the first months, I am here for a while, eventually I will go there, or do that.' For example, we have a spa here that is apparently incredible, as good or better than the ones in Bali, it is only $12 and I haven't been yet! I know, crazy right? But eventually I'll go.
One thing that I have noticed recently is how small Lippo Cikarang is. It is so small that I am known here by the security guards, the ojek drivers, and even the bus drivers. I have 3 example stories for you.
ONE: I was walking to catch the bus for church a couple of weeks ago and as I am leaving the neighborhood the security guard says, "Good morning, Miss Rebekah, where are you going today?" "Church," I reply. Then I thought... hmmm, should I just have said Jakarta, and not church, since there are many muslims around, but then again, God says to be bold about our faith, so I figured, 'church' was a fine response. Don't worry, I haven't ever felt any resentment or anything towards me from Muslims or anyone. Indonesians are so kind, helpful, welcoming etc. Honestly, I have never felt scared or nervous when I have been out in Jakarta or walking around in Lippo Cikarang.
ONE and a HALF: Once I was walking home from Ms. Amy's house, we live in the same neighborhood. A security guard drove by on his motorbike and said, "Goodnight Ms. Rebekah." I guess it is safe to say, the security guards know who I am.
TWO: Recently when I have gone to our little mall, I have gone after school to quickly buy something important that I need for school or the house. It is usually getting dark, or already dark when I am leaving, so I typically decide to ride an ojek home, it's faster and I don't like to walk at night by myself. So I walk to where the ojeks are, tell them I want an ojek, and before I tell them where I live, they iether ask me "Dago Villas?" or one of the other ojek drivers will say it, telling their friend, "Dago, Dago Villa, ja?" This has happened more than once, should I be scared that they know the nieghborhood I live in? Probably not. I mean, it is a small town, they probably know where almost everyone lives since they drive us everywhere... perhaps I'm a little more memorable since I am one of the tall bule (albino) woman, and there aren't many of us here. I can think of 4 in Lippo Cikarang, and we all live in the same neighborhood, not too hard to remember, right?
THREE: There is a bus that goes from Lippo Cikarang to Jakarta and back. I catch this bus to go to church on Sunday mornings, and occasionally I will catch the bus on the way back from church. Well, the other Sunday I was hanging out with a friend after church. As we were walking to one of the malls I saw the bus driving towards us, I looked and shook my head and my hand telling them I wasn't getting on, because they recognized me and were about to stop. Actually, I am very grateful that they do know me. One day after church I was walking to catch the bus. You have to walk up and over this bridge that crosses the 6 lanes of traffic. As I am decending the bridge I see the bus coming by. If I miss the bus, I have to wait at least 45 minutes for the next bus to come. I quickly run to catch it. When I finally get to the bottom, I realized they had stopped the bus and were waiting for me. They must have seen me on the overpass and knew I was going to be getting on. I was SO thankful to God for that!
Anyways,
I have to get ready for school now,
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Rebekah E.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Please Pray
Dear Friend,
I just want to write a short note saying please pray for Indonesia.
There have been many disasters here recently.
No, I am not near any of them.
First there was an earthquake and tsunami that wiped out a small island. Then there was horrible weather that relief teams could not even take the 9 hour boat ride to the island to help. Finally the storms have stopped and teams are starting to arrive.
There is a volcano that erupted and I just heard at church how the ash totally devastates everything and it keeps moving, so people are getting evacuated and moved to the safe zone, and then there is more ash and they have to move again because the 'safe zone' become not so safe anymore. Hospitals do not have enough space to treat everyone with burns. The ash turns into a cement sort of paste that coat your lungs if you breath it in. The fields that are covered in ash will not be fruitful for years to come. I remember seeing Mt. St. Helen and how the land that has not been touched still looks very dead and that blew up years ago! Houses and everything are covered in inches of ash which feels like sandpaper on your clothes. Also, airlines are canceling flights because of the ash in the air.
Indonesia needs prayer for the relief teams to be able to effectively help. Also, for people to not try to take advantage of those that have lost everything. For people to be able to find shelter and food. For God's helping hand to be seen through all of this.
Thanks friend,
I'm sorry I haven't written for a while.
I'll let you know how I am doing soon.
Rebekah E.
I just want to write a short note saying please pray for Indonesia.
There have been many disasters here recently.
No, I am not near any of them.
First there was an earthquake and tsunami that wiped out a small island. Then there was horrible weather that relief teams could not even take the 9 hour boat ride to the island to help. Finally the storms have stopped and teams are starting to arrive.
There is a volcano that erupted and I just heard at church how the ash totally devastates everything and it keeps moving, so people are getting evacuated and moved to the safe zone, and then there is more ash and they have to move again because the 'safe zone' become not so safe anymore. Hospitals do not have enough space to treat everyone with burns. The ash turns into a cement sort of paste that coat your lungs if you breath it in. The fields that are covered in ash will not be fruitful for years to come. I remember seeing Mt. St. Helen and how the land that has not been touched still looks very dead and that blew up years ago! Houses and everything are covered in inches of ash which feels like sandpaper on your clothes. Also, airlines are canceling flights because of the ash in the air.
Indonesia needs prayer for the relief teams to be able to effectively help. Also, for people to not try to take advantage of those that have lost everything. For people to be able to find shelter and food. For God's helping hand to be seen through all of this.
Thanks friend,
I'm sorry I haven't written for a while.
I'll let you know how I am doing soon.
Rebekah E.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Time to Think
Dear Friend,
This past week I have realized something, in Indonesia I hear myself think, and I think a lot.
Last Saturday I went to the mall with a friend and her boyfriend and his cousin. We were eating lunch and they started talking in Bahasa Indonesia. It doesn't bother me at all when people talk in a language I don't understand. I actually enjoy it because I find myself zoning and out thinking. Because there isn't anyone having a conversation that my brain needs to concentrate on, my mind is free to think. I really enjoy being able to think.
In this age and time there is so much stimulating us, keeping us away from hearing ourselves think.
In America there is always someone I can be listening to or thinking about. Even when I went walking through my college campus by myself there was always something to listen to. I would hear the person sitting on a rock playing guitar and singing, my mind would think about the tune for the 5 seconds it takes me to walk by, then my ears would tune into the conversation of the two girls laughing on the park bench, next my eyes focus on the group piling into a car and my mind begins to wonder where they are going. Eventually I am sitting in my car, I plug in my i-tunes or turn on the radio. I think about the songs that come on through my shuffle, but I don't ever sit in silence to think.
When it is silent with nothing fighting my brain for my attention, then I can think and hear my thoughts, I can wonder and problem solve. In Indonesia, even if it is not silent, the words are not activating my brain, so it becomes white noise and I am able to think. Really Think. Not day-dream and imagine myself doing crazy fun things with crazy fun people. But actually think.
Anyways,
I must be off.
Your friend,
Rebekah
P.S. So this post didn't have the typically funny Becka~ness in it. So if you want to see me having fun with my sister and being crazy... watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FyphqVcB3Q
This past week I have realized something, in Indonesia I hear myself think, and I think a lot.
Last Saturday I went to the mall with a friend and her boyfriend and his cousin. We were eating lunch and they started talking in Bahasa Indonesia. It doesn't bother me at all when people talk in a language I don't understand. I actually enjoy it because I find myself zoning and out thinking. Because there isn't anyone having a conversation that my brain needs to concentrate on, my mind is free to think. I really enjoy being able to think.
In this age and time there is so much stimulating us, keeping us away from hearing ourselves think.
In America there is always someone I can be listening to or thinking about. Even when I went walking through my college campus by myself there was always something to listen to. I would hear the person sitting on a rock playing guitar and singing, my mind would think about the tune for the 5 seconds it takes me to walk by, then my ears would tune into the conversation of the two girls laughing on the park bench, next my eyes focus on the group piling into a car and my mind begins to wonder where they are going. Eventually I am sitting in my car, I plug in my i-tunes or turn on the radio. I think about the songs that come on through my shuffle, but I don't ever sit in silence to think.
When it is silent with nothing fighting my brain for my attention, then I can think and hear my thoughts, I can wonder and problem solve. In Indonesia, even if it is not silent, the words are not activating my brain, so it becomes white noise and I am able to think. Really Think. Not day-dream and imagine myself doing crazy fun things with crazy fun people. But actually think.
Anyways,
I must be off.
Your friend,
Rebekah
P.S. So this post didn't have the typically funny Becka~ness in it. So if you want to see me having fun with my sister and being crazy... watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FyphqVcB3Q
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Reality Hits my Childhood Mind
Dear Friend,
Do you remember when you were little and really good at different things? I remember I was an excellent Score Four player and an expert at hiding from people... at least I thought so.
When I was four years old my parents would play Score Four with me. That is the game where you drop the red or black pieces in and you try to make four of your pieces line up in a row. Well, I remember I once beat my dad in 4 moves! We were playing in the front room lying on the floor to see better. I dropped the first piece near the middle, and he dropped his on top of mine. My next piece went in the middle, and he placed his on top of mine again! Then I dropped my third piece in a row. Once you get three in a row with nothing blocking either side, you have won. I victoriously sat up and dropped my fourth piece in the winning spot and gleamed at my brilliance of outwitting my dad from noticing that I was winning. Obviously this meant a lot to me since I can still remember it. About a year ago I realized that, no, I probably was not THAT good at playing Score Four; rather, my parents were probably playing easy on me and letting me win a few times to boost my little four year old ego. Now I cannot confidently nor honestly tell someone that I used to be really good at that game, because I don't know for sure.
When I was five years old I was in America and went to Kindergarten at a Christian school. One day my grandma came to pick me up and being the clown I was, I stood behind her with my finger on my mouth to show everyone else not to tell her I was there. She was holding my jacket and looking around the classroom for me. She asked my teacher, "Do you know where Rebekah is?" I almost gave myself away by laughing, I was so excited that I was tricking her so well! When she turned one way, I moved with her so that she would not see me at all! Finally she realized I was standing behind her, "Oh, there you are!" What fun to trick my grandma like that... or did I? Now I realize that probably she knew I was back there the whole time and was just playing along with me, tricking me. Unlike the child who 'hides' under their covers to momentarily keep away from the tickling parent but knows they are in an obvious enough hiding spot to be found and tickled; I honestly thought I was great at hiding! I thought I was so sneaky, I mean, not everyone can invisibly hide behind someone without that person finding out. Ah the sad realization of reality.
I wonder when I play around with kids, going along with their little tricks, does it make a big enough impression on them to shape who they think they are?
When I started teaching first grade I would talk to them like I would talk to anyone else, then I noticed my partner teacher talking in a more cheerful always happy tone. I wondered, do I need to talk like that too? I have adjusted how I talk to first graders somewhat, but I am not fake with them. Anyways, that almost connects with my stories above... but then... not quite.
Hope your week was well!
Mine was! At the beginning of this week I had been distracted by different things and I noticed that my attitude was different, I felt like I was falsely smiling. I realized that whatever it was that was distracting me and causing me to act slightly fake, needed to stop. I talked with God while walking to school and told him that when I smile I don't want it to be based on silly humanistic things, but I wanted my smile to reflect His love. I had such a good day that day and the days that followed. I knew my smiles, my laughter, my enjoyment of my students was genuine. I am so silly sometimes thinking to hard about things, over analyzing, and worrying when it is all in God's hands and He knows what should and what will happen.
I have to go prepare for this upcoming week!
Do you have any fun things planned this week?
Your friend,
Rebekah E.
P.S. Happy 10/10/10 ... a cool day... but not as cool as 11/11/11 will be... because 11/11/11 is on a Friday so you can totally have an 11/11/11 11:11:11 party!!! Like new years eve, but not!
Do you remember when you were little and really good at different things? I remember I was an excellent Score Four player and an expert at hiding from people... at least I thought so.
When I was four years old my parents would play Score Four with me. That is the game where you drop the red or black pieces in and you try to make four of your pieces line up in a row. Well, I remember I once beat my dad in 4 moves! We were playing in the front room lying on the floor to see better. I dropped the first piece near the middle, and he dropped his on top of mine. My next piece went in the middle, and he placed his on top of mine again! Then I dropped my third piece in a row. Once you get three in a row with nothing blocking either side, you have won. I victoriously sat up and dropped my fourth piece in the winning spot and gleamed at my brilliance of outwitting my dad from noticing that I was winning. Obviously this meant a lot to me since I can still remember it. About a year ago I realized that, no, I probably was not THAT good at playing Score Four; rather, my parents were probably playing easy on me and letting me win a few times to boost my little four year old ego. Now I cannot confidently nor honestly tell someone that I used to be really good at that game, because I don't know for sure.
When I was five years old I was in America and went to Kindergarten at a Christian school. One day my grandma came to pick me up and being the clown I was, I stood behind her with my finger on my mouth to show everyone else not to tell her I was there. She was holding my jacket and looking around the classroom for me. She asked my teacher, "Do you know where Rebekah is?" I almost gave myself away by laughing, I was so excited that I was tricking her so well! When she turned one way, I moved with her so that she would not see me at all! Finally she realized I was standing behind her, "Oh, there you are!" What fun to trick my grandma like that... or did I? Now I realize that probably she knew I was back there the whole time and was just playing along with me, tricking me. Unlike the child who 'hides' under their covers to momentarily keep away from the tickling parent but knows they are in an obvious enough hiding spot to be found and tickled; I honestly thought I was great at hiding! I thought I was so sneaky, I mean, not everyone can invisibly hide behind someone without that person finding out. Ah the sad realization of reality.
I wonder when I play around with kids, going along with their little tricks, does it make a big enough impression on them to shape who they think they are?
When I started teaching first grade I would talk to them like I would talk to anyone else, then I noticed my partner teacher talking in a more cheerful always happy tone. I wondered, do I need to talk like that too? I have adjusted how I talk to first graders somewhat, but I am not fake with them. Anyways, that almost connects with my stories above... but then... not quite.
Hope your week was well!
Mine was! At the beginning of this week I had been distracted by different things and I noticed that my attitude was different, I felt like I was falsely smiling. I realized that whatever it was that was distracting me and causing me to act slightly fake, needed to stop. I talked with God while walking to school and told him that when I smile I don't want it to be based on silly humanistic things, but I wanted my smile to reflect His love. I had such a good day that day and the days that followed. I knew my smiles, my laughter, my enjoyment of my students was genuine. I am so silly sometimes thinking to hard about things, over analyzing, and worrying when it is all in God's hands and He knows what should and what will happen.
I have to go prepare for this upcoming week!
Do you have any fun things planned this week?
Your friend,
Rebekah E.
P.S. Happy 10/10/10 ... a cool day... but not as cool as 11/11/11 will be... because 11/11/11 is on a Friday so you can totally have an 11/11/11 11:11:11 party!!! Like new years eve, but not!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Experiencing True Indonesian Culture
Dear Friend,
What a great week I have had. As you might know, I just had a 12 day break and school started up this past Tuesday. I didn't do much over vacation, just relaxed. My holiday project was sewing a purse with traditional Indonesian material (Batik). This project would be fairly easy if I had a sewing machine and a nearby fabric store. Unfortunately I had neither of those. I needed an inside lining for my purse and decided to be innovative. I found a yellow button down shirt that I never wore, and decided to use that. I spent almost a whole day taking it apart with a seam ripper, trying to save every inch of material I could. Sewing by hand takes a LONG time! I felt so old-school though, thinking back to Jane Austen and their sewing projects.
Ironically, my first day back to school felt like my one day of vacation. After school I had basketball practice. After basketball practice one of the PE teachers was giving me a ride home. After commenting that he and Ms. Cynthia, the other PE teacher, were going to check out some fitness centers, he wondered if I wanted to go too. I figured it would be a 30 minute outing and since I just spent 12 days alone on vacation, I thought it would be good to hang out with people... so I said yes.
Well, the first fitness center was about 30 minutes away!!! It was really fun though. Here I am sitting on the back of a motorcycle, riding through the streets (some were dirt roads), with the hustle and bustle of everyone else leaving work and going home. It was so fun. I was able to see the side stores closer than when I am in a bus driving by. I always feel so separate from the street and culture when I drive by in a big bus looking out of a window. On the motorcycle, with the air blowing in my face, I felt closer to the every day life of that area.
The area I live in is very green and clean; paved roads, nice sidewalks, big houses etc. The area we drove through was more poor, dirt roads, cheap stores, trash thrown on the sides and even goats eating on the side of the street. I was happy to see the "real Indonesia."
After checking out two fitness centers it was around 6 pm and my stomach was making some noises. Ms. Cynthia asked if I was hungry. "I can always eat," I replied. They decided to take me to a traditional Javanese place. "You have to sit on the ground though," they said apprehensively. "Cool!" I enthusiastically replied.
The 'restaurant' was a little outdoor place you walk up to. First you get your plate of rice and toppings, then you choose the different skewered chicken parts you would like to eat. Yes, PARTS of chicken. They were on little wooden skewers and all had this same sweet sort of flavor to them. Looking at the assortment of food I could choose a skewer with two chicken feet, another skewer with a chicken head, one came with four livers, another with three little eggs, there was even one with chicken intestines. Instead of tables, we sat on little mats in a parking lot like area. I ate a chicken foot for the first time, it was crunchy, had a little layer of meat and a thinker layer of skin. I also ate a liver, a little egg, and a few intestines (very chewy). I didn't eat the chicken head though, I told them, "Maybe next time." I was offered the chicken brain after my friend ate the head though, I figured I might as well try it, so I ate a little white chicken brain. It was a little pasty feeling. Our beverage for the evening was warm milk with a chunk of ginger root placed inside. It was surprisingly yummy. Indonesian food is spicy so my lips were burning after eating.
When I was little I used to always eat with my hands. My parents would continually comment that I was going to grow up and live in Sri Lanka where it is okay to eat with your hands. Well, I'm not in Sri Lanka, but here in Indonesia we sometimes eat with our hands too. During dinner after taking a few bites of rice with a spoon the PE teachers look at me and mention, "You know, traditionally we eat with our hands." To their surprise, I gladly ate the rest of my dinner with my hands. The Indonesians watching from the background were amazed that I was eating everything. They would ask my friends in Bahsa Indonesian, "Does she like the food?" My friends were amazed too, a "bule" (technical translation is albino, but causally just means foreigner) eating their food, with her hands, on the ground and enjoying it. I like trying to blend into the culture... even though I will always stand out being a white skinned tall girl with light brown hair.
The store owner joined us on the mat for a friendly conversation. He kept asking if I liked the food. I eventually told him that I really did, and I would even bring my parents to eat there when they come to Indonesia. My friend had to translate for us the whole time. It was all very amusing. This dinner had such a relaxed feeling to it, I kept thinking to myself, "This is what I didn't do over vacation, but what you are supposed to do."
All in all a fun spontaneous evening.
Hope life on your side of the world is going splendiferously!
Your friend,
Rebekah
What a great week I have had. As you might know, I just had a 12 day break and school started up this past Tuesday. I didn't do much over vacation, just relaxed. My holiday project was sewing a purse with traditional Indonesian material (Batik). This project would be fairly easy if I had a sewing machine and a nearby fabric store. Unfortunately I had neither of those. I needed an inside lining for my purse and decided to be innovative. I found a yellow button down shirt that I never wore, and decided to use that. I spent almost a whole day taking it apart with a seam ripper, trying to save every inch of material I could. Sewing by hand takes a LONG time! I felt so old-school though, thinking back to Jane Austen and their sewing projects.
Ironically, my first day back to school felt like my one day of vacation. After school I had basketball practice. After basketball practice one of the PE teachers was giving me a ride home. After commenting that he and Ms. Cynthia, the other PE teacher, were going to check out some fitness centers, he wondered if I wanted to go too. I figured it would be a 30 minute outing and since I just spent 12 days alone on vacation, I thought it would be good to hang out with people... so I said yes.
Well, the first fitness center was about 30 minutes away!!! It was really fun though. Here I am sitting on the back of a motorcycle, riding through the streets (some were dirt roads), with the hustle and bustle of everyone else leaving work and going home. It was so fun. I was able to see the side stores closer than when I am in a bus driving by. I always feel so separate from the street and culture when I drive by in a big bus looking out of a window. On the motorcycle, with the air blowing in my face, I felt closer to the every day life of that area.
The area I live in is very green and clean; paved roads, nice sidewalks, big houses etc. The area we drove through was more poor, dirt roads, cheap stores, trash thrown on the sides and even goats eating on the side of the street. I was happy to see the "real Indonesia."
After checking out two fitness centers it was around 6 pm and my stomach was making some noises. Ms. Cynthia asked if I was hungry. "I can always eat," I replied. They decided to take me to a traditional Javanese place. "You have to sit on the ground though," they said apprehensively. "Cool!" I enthusiastically replied.
The 'restaurant' was a little outdoor place you walk up to. First you get your plate of rice and toppings, then you choose the different skewered chicken parts you would like to eat. Yes, PARTS of chicken. They were on little wooden skewers and all had this same sweet sort of flavor to them. Looking at the assortment of food I could choose a skewer with two chicken feet, another skewer with a chicken head, one came with four livers, another with three little eggs, there was even one with chicken intestines. Instead of tables, we sat on little mats in a parking lot like area. I ate a chicken foot for the first time, it was crunchy, had a little layer of meat and a thinker layer of skin. I also ate a liver, a little egg, and a few intestines (very chewy). I didn't eat the chicken head though, I told them, "Maybe next time." I was offered the chicken brain after my friend ate the head though, I figured I might as well try it, so I ate a little white chicken brain. It was a little pasty feeling. Our beverage for the evening was warm milk with a chunk of ginger root placed inside. It was surprisingly yummy. Indonesian food is spicy so my lips were burning after eating.
When I was little I used to always eat with my hands. My parents would continually comment that I was going to grow up and live in Sri Lanka where it is okay to eat with your hands. Well, I'm not in Sri Lanka, but here in Indonesia we sometimes eat with our hands too. During dinner after taking a few bites of rice with a spoon the PE teachers look at me and mention, "You know, traditionally we eat with our hands." To their surprise, I gladly ate the rest of my dinner with my hands. The Indonesians watching from the background were amazed that I was eating everything. They would ask my friends in Bahsa Indonesian, "Does she like the food?" My friends were amazed too, a "bule" (technical translation is albino, but causally just means foreigner) eating their food, with her hands, on the ground and enjoying it. I like trying to blend into the culture... even though I will always stand out being a white skinned tall girl with light brown hair.
The store owner joined us on the mat for a friendly conversation. He kept asking if I liked the food. I eventually told him that I really did, and I would even bring my parents to eat there when they come to Indonesia. My friend had to translate for us the whole time. It was all very amusing. This dinner had such a relaxed feeling to it, I kept thinking to myself, "This is what I didn't do over vacation, but what you are supposed to do."
All in all a fun spontaneous evening.
Hope life on your side of the world is going splendiferously!
Your friend,
Rebekah
Friday, September 10, 2010
Southern Cross!!!
Dear Friend,
Tonight I was at my friends house watching a few episodes of Gilmore Girls. As I walked home I looked at the sky and saw the stars and realized that this was the first time I noticed the new night sky of Indonesia. Since I am now on the other side of the equator I am seeing stars I have never seen before! I saw the southern cross for the first time! I was so excited!
I love looking at the night sky, but I haven't been out much at night here in Indonesia. So I am grateful for the reminder that this is a new sky of stars to me. I need to enjoy them while I can!
My vacation is starting out well. I haven't done much. I've cleaned the house, done some laundry, and started my project. Whenever I have a long vacation I like to have a project. My new project is making a purse, a little side purse out of traditional batik material. Unfortunately I do not have a sewing machine... so it is taking a while, but I have 12 more days of vacation and no plans with anyone to do anything so there is plenty of time to hand sew a purse... I just have to create the pattern and figure out how to do it! Which is half the fun! Maybe I'll try to show you a picture when it is done!
With love,
Rebekah E.
Tonight I was at my friends house watching a few episodes of Gilmore Girls. As I walked home I looked at the sky and saw the stars and realized that this was the first time I noticed the new night sky of Indonesia. Since I am now on the other side of the equator I am seeing stars I have never seen before! I saw the southern cross for the first time! I was so excited!
I love looking at the night sky, but I haven't been out much at night here in Indonesia. So I am grateful for the reminder that this is a new sky of stars to me. I need to enjoy them while I can!
My vacation is starting out well. I haven't done much. I've cleaned the house, done some laundry, and started my project. Whenever I have a long vacation I like to have a project. My new project is making a purse, a little side purse out of traditional batik material. Unfortunately I do not have a sewing machine... so it is taking a while, but I have 12 more days of vacation and no plans with anyone to do anything so there is plenty of time to hand sew a purse... I just have to create the pattern and figure out how to do it! Which is half the fun! Maybe I'll try to show you a picture when it is done!
With love,
Rebekah E.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Cat or Dog?
Dear Friend,
Are you a cat or a dog person? I am a cat person. It started a long time ago with my sister. She is a dog person, AN EXTREME DOG PERSON! We would be driving in a car and she would see a dog and be able to name the kind of dog AND at least five details about him. If it was a good house dog, if it shed a lot, what size it can grow to be etc. Well growing up, we roomed together, so naturally we had many conflicts. Since she was a dog person, I in turn was a cat person. Although, in actuality my favorite animal is a koala... don't know why, it just is!
In Indonesia cats are seen as street animals. There are many stray cats around, I even saw two adorable kittens and their mother one night. I wanted to go pet them, then thought I better not, or else they may hang around my house. I may be a cat person, but at the end of the day, I am not a pet person. I can't currently justify using my time caring for a pet, feeding it, washing it, entertaining it, and taking care of it.
I do, as of last night, have a little pet in my house though. A mouse! I saw it yesterday. I was watching TV and he hopped in and hid underneath my drawers holding up my TV. He is a cute little gray mouse with an adorable little hop. I left him there after a while and went to my room. Then I went back to the TV room and he decided it was too noisy or something and scampered away. I followed him into the bathroom and watched as he came out, ran along the wall, and hid under the fridge. I don't know where he went from there. I suppose I should try to shoo him outside, but then the cats will get him! If it was a rat I would be totally freaked out, but I don't mind a mouse. Mouse, not mice... as long as it is only one, I'm okay with it. In Indonesia all the floors are tile and the walls are cement, so the mouse does not have a little mouse hole that he can climb into the walls from. Instead, he has to stealthily walk along the walls and hide behind big bulky things. I say stealthily because this cute little mouse walks the way we pretend to play FBI. He walks along the wall, pauses at a corner, then scampers on. I wonder if I will see him today.
Today is the first day of vacation. I have a cold, so vacation came just a the right time. I want to get a routine down so that I don't feel like I am wasting my days. Everyday the floor needs to be swept and mopped because it is tile and gets dirty really fast. So I will wake up, read or exercise, and then clean the house! One thing I know how to do is mop a floor, thanks to working for BEST for four years! My vacation is 10 days long. It is a Muslim holiday, Idul Fitri also known as Lebaran. I call this their version of Christmas. At the grocery store people were buying boxes of chips and cookies... like the shipping boxes! I saw a whole cart full of chips, it was crazy!!! Everyone travels back to their hometown to be with their families bringing tons of food and presents.
I should probably see if I can actually start a routine for this holiday.
Hopefully I will get better soon.
I am a little worried that I will just stay at home or go work at school for all 10 days. If I stay at home that long, and am by myself the whole time... hmmm... I may end up going crazy. God is good though, so I'm sure he will have people intervine at the right time and offer to take me somewhere or do something with me. We'll see!
Have a great rest of the week!
Rebekah E.
Are you a cat or a dog person? I am a cat person. It started a long time ago with my sister. She is a dog person, AN EXTREME DOG PERSON! We would be driving in a car and she would see a dog and be able to name the kind of dog AND at least five details about him. If it was a good house dog, if it shed a lot, what size it can grow to be etc. Well growing up, we roomed together, so naturally we had many conflicts. Since she was a dog person, I in turn was a cat person. Although, in actuality my favorite animal is a koala... don't know why, it just is!
In Indonesia cats are seen as street animals. There are many stray cats around, I even saw two adorable kittens and their mother one night. I wanted to go pet them, then thought I better not, or else they may hang around my house. I may be a cat person, but at the end of the day, I am not a pet person. I can't currently justify using my time caring for a pet, feeding it, washing it, entertaining it, and taking care of it.
I do, as of last night, have a little pet in my house though. A mouse! I saw it yesterday. I was watching TV and he hopped in and hid underneath my drawers holding up my TV. He is a cute little gray mouse with an adorable little hop. I left him there after a while and went to my room. Then I went back to the TV room and he decided it was too noisy or something and scampered away. I followed him into the bathroom and watched as he came out, ran along the wall, and hid under the fridge. I don't know where he went from there. I suppose I should try to shoo him outside, but then the cats will get him! If it was a rat I would be totally freaked out, but I don't mind a mouse. Mouse, not mice... as long as it is only one, I'm okay with it. In Indonesia all the floors are tile and the walls are cement, so the mouse does not have a little mouse hole that he can climb into the walls from. Instead, he has to stealthily walk along the walls and hide behind big bulky things. I say stealthily because this cute little mouse walks the way we pretend to play FBI. He walks along the wall, pauses at a corner, then scampers on. I wonder if I will see him today.
Today is the first day of vacation. I have a cold, so vacation came just a the right time. I want to get a routine down so that I don't feel like I am wasting my days. Everyday the floor needs to be swept and mopped because it is tile and gets dirty really fast. So I will wake up, read or exercise, and then clean the house! One thing I know how to do is mop a floor, thanks to working for BEST for four years! My vacation is 10 days long. It is a Muslim holiday, Idul Fitri also known as Lebaran. I call this their version of Christmas. At the grocery store people were buying boxes of chips and cookies... like the shipping boxes! I saw a whole cart full of chips, it was crazy!!! Everyone travels back to their hometown to be with their families bringing tons of food and presents.
I should probably see if I can actually start a routine for this holiday.
Hopefully I will get better soon.
I am a little worried that I will just stay at home or go work at school for all 10 days. If I stay at home that long, and am by myself the whole time... hmmm... I may end up going crazy. God is good though, so I'm sure he will have people intervine at the right time and offer to take me somewhere or do something with me. We'll see!
Have a great rest of the week!
Rebekah E.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Cockroaches and Sports
Dear Friend,
HELP!!! I have a cockroach on my floor. He is turned upside down and can't seem to turn himself over. I think I am just going to leave him there until he dies, because to squash him would be nasty. Cockroaches here are like they are in Japan, about the size of dried dates. I could place a cup or something over him like my sister does, but I don't really have extra cups. Ewwww gross. Where is my dad? Yuck!
Sorry, what a horrible way to start out a letter! How are you doing? I had a good week. We started book month and all my lessons revolve around the different stories that the students are reading, so that brings more cohesiveness to my lessons.
This week I was so athletic! I started helping the senior school girls after school basket ball program. I'm not the best basketball player or anything, but it is fun to learn and get some exercise. After practice I get one of the PE teachers to unlock the ball cage and I get out a Volleyball. (That's the whole reason why I play basketball... to be able to play volleyball afterward.) They don't have a volleyball program here... yet... so I just play by myself to get back in shape with volleyball skills. Anyways, so basketball practice is on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Then on Thursday we had a staff volleyball game which was so fun. A few of us stayed later and kept playing for another hour! Then on Friday I played badminton with a few people after school. Badminton is the sport of Indonesia. In fact, it is the only sport they show during the Olympics. This is hard for me to imagine, but it is true. So I need to improve in this sport. The first game I played was with partners and we lost 2-30. Ha!!!! It was so fun though. The only downside is, somehow I sprained my ankle, so this whole weekend I have been bumming around my house trying to stay off of it.
Well friend, I need to get ready for church now. Sorry for the random letter.
Till next time!
Rebekah E.
HELP!!! I have a cockroach on my floor. He is turned upside down and can't seem to turn himself over. I think I am just going to leave him there until he dies, because to squash him would be nasty. Cockroaches here are like they are in Japan, about the size of dried dates. I could place a cup or something over him like my sister does, but I don't really have extra cups. Ewwww gross. Where is my dad? Yuck!
Sorry, what a horrible way to start out a letter! How are you doing? I had a good week. We started book month and all my lessons revolve around the different stories that the students are reading, so that brings more cohesiveness to my lessons.
This week I was so athletic! I started helping the senior school girls after school basket ball program. I'm not the best basketball player or anything, but it is fun to learn and get some exercise. After practice I get one of the PE teachers to unlock the ball cage and I get out a Volleyball. (That's the whole reason why I play basketball... to be able to play volleyball afterward.) They don't have a volleyball program here... yet... so I just play by myself to get back in shape with volleyball skills. Anyways, so basketball practice is on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Then on Thursday we had a staff volleyball game which was so fun. A few of us stayed later and kept playing for another hour! Then on Friday I played badminton with a few people after school. Badminton is the sport of Indonesia. In fact, it is the only sport they show during the Olympics. This is hard for me to imagine, but it is true. So I need to improve in this sport. The first game I played was with partners and we lost 2-30. Ha!!!! It was so fun though. The only downside is, somehow I sprained my ankle, so this whole weekend I have been bumming around my house trying to stay off of it.
Well friend, I need to get ready for church now. Sorry for the random letter.
Till next time!
Rebekah E.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Piano, Fasting and Classics
Dear Friend,
How was your week? Mine was good. This weekend I was able to practice piano, so that was exciting. My school has one real piano, an upright. On Friday afternoons I ask the music teacher if I can have the key for the weekend so I can practice piano. This is going to become a regular routine I believe. I have bible study on Friday nights at 5 pm, so I can practice from 3:30-5 and then come in on Saturday or Sunday too. I am relearning Deux Arabesque by Debussy, and brushing up on a couple of other pieces I know.
Wednesday was payday so I went shopping to buy a few more big items that the house needed. I was in line, waiting to have my things rung up, and this sort of sing song chanting goes over the speaker system. One of the store clerks who was holding a cup of water says something in Indonesian along the lines of "Finally, thank you" and he took a sip of water. Odd? Perhaps, then again, maybe not. You see, we are in the month of fasting for Ramadan. Muslims do not eat or drink or even swallow between the hours of 4 am and 6 pm. The chanting that was heard at 6 pm, while I was standing in line, was the nation wide call announcing the breaking of the fast. It is all very intriuging. In fact, yesterday I was at the mall buying some school supplies for my classroom, and as I was leaving, all the restaurants were FULL. Everyone was sitting down, they had their food in front of them... but NO ONE was eating. This is because it was not yet 6 and the breaking of the fast had not begun, they were just preparing!
The chanting is really soothing. In fact, sometimes I have woken up at 4 or 4:30 and you can hear them chanting in the distance. For quite a while, too. It is a nice quiet soothing back ground sound.
This week we are launching book month in junior school. Each grade will read a different (simplified) classic book. First grade will read A Little Princess. I believe it is later version of Sara Crew by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Sara Crew is one of my favorite books. Second Grade will read Gulliver's Travels, and third grade will read Treasure Island. I did not know what either of these books were about until early Saturday morning.
Saturdays are meant for sleeping in, right? Well, apparently a pesky little mosquito thought differently this Saturday. I woke up around 3 am with mosquito bites on my legs, I turned on the light trying to spot the insect and squash it, but he was too clever and decided to hide. I went back to sleep until around 4:30 a.m. I heard a buzzing in my ear, I quickly turned on the light in order to turn off his lights, but he disappeared again. One hour later, I was woken up in the same fashion, a buzzing in my ear, I flung my hands around my head and then turned on the light. I decided to give up on sleeping, and instead I read every single one of these simplified classic books! I have checked out the real versions of Gulliver's Travel and Treasure Island, so over the 10 day break coming up in a week and a half I will read them. That way I can tell my students some stories that may not have been added to their versions.
Even though that mosquito was annoying, he actually knew me very well, because my favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning is to read. I love waking up and reading before anyone knows you are up. Sometimes, if I can manage it, I wake up, sneak into the kitchen and grab a cup of hot chocolate and then sneak back into bed to read. It is important that no one knows I am awake or else it spoils the enchantment of reading in bed. Once someone knows you are awake, they want to talk, or have breakfast or do something besides reading. Apparently if you are awake and reading in bed you are being unsocial, but it is perfectly fine to sleep in until forever. Once I am awake and doing things in the day, it is hard for me to sit down and read again, so mornings before the days begin are my favorite time to read.
When is your favorite time to read?
Anything fun happening for you this week?
Well if you don't know of anything, I hope something fun and unexpected comes up!
Let me know!
Rebekah E.
How was your week? Mine was good. This weekend I was able to practice piano, so that was exciting. My school has one real piano, an upright. On Friday afternoons I ask the music teacher if I can have the key for the weekend so I can practice piano. This is going to become a regular routine I believe. I have bible study on Friday nights at 5 pm, so I can practice from 3:30-5 and then come in on Saturday or Sunday too. I am relearning Deux Arabesque by Debussy, and brushing up on a couple of other pieces I know.
Wednesday was payday so I went shopping to buy a few more big items that the house needed. I was in line, waiting to have my things rung up, and this sort of sing song chanting goes over the speaker system. One of the store clerks who was holding a cup of water says something in Indonesian along the lines of "Finally, thank you" and he took a sip of water. Odd? Perhaps, then again, maybe not. You see, we are in the month of fasting for Ramadan. Muslims do not eat or drink or even swallow between the hours of 4 am and 6 pm. The chanting that was heard at 6 pm, while I was standing in line, was the nation wide call announcing the breaking of the fast. It is all very intriuging. In fact, yesterday I was at the mall buying some school supplies for my classroom, and as I was leaving, all the restaurants were FULL. Everyone was sitting down, they had their food in front of them... but NO ONE was eating. This is because it was not yet 6 and the breaking of the fast had not begun, they were just preparing!
The chanting is really soothing. In fact, sometimes I have woken up at 4 or 4:30 and you can hear them chanting in the distance. For quite a while, too. It is a nice quiet soothing back ground sound.
This week we are launching book month in junior school. Each grade will read a different (simplified) classic book. First grade will read A Little Princess. I believe it is later version of Sara Crew by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Sara Crew is one of my favorite books. Second Grade will read Gulliver's Travels, and third grade will read Treasure Island. I did not know what either of these books were about until early Saturday morning.
Saturdays are meant for sleeping in, right? Well, apparently a pesky little mosquito thought differently this Saturday. I woke up around 3 am with mosquito bites on my legs, I turned on the light trying to spot the insect and squash it, but he was too clever and decided to hide. I went back to sleep until around 4:30 a.m. I heard a buzzing in my ear, I quickly turned on the light in order to turn off his lights, but he disappeared again. One hour later, I was woken up in the same fashion, a buzzing in my ear, I flung my hands around my head and then turned on the light. I decided to give up on sleeping, and instead I read every single one of these simplified classic books! I have checked out the real versions of Gulliver's Travel and Treasure Island, so over the 10 day break coming up in a week and a half I will read them. That way I can tell my students some stories that may not have been added to their versions.
Even though that mosquito was annoying, he actually knew me very well, because my favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning is to read. I love waking up and reading before anyone knows you are up. Sometimes, if I can manage it, I wake up, sneak into the kitchen and grab a cup of hot chocolate and then sneak back into bed to read. It is important that no one knows I am awake or else it spoils the enchantment of reading in bed. Once someone knows you are awake, they want to talk, or have breakfast or do something besides reading. Apparently if you are awake and reading in bed you are being unsocial, but it is perfectly fine to sleep in until forever. Once I am awake and doing things in the day, it is hard for me to sit down and read again, so mornings before the days begin are my favorite time to read.
When is your favorite time to read?
Anything fun happening for you this week?
Well if you don't know of anything, I hope something fun and unexpected comes up!
Let me know!
Rebekah E.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Smiles and Motorbikes
Dear Friend,
I had an amazing day today. It is horrible to say this, but today is the first time, since I have been in Indonesia, that I really enjoyed being a teacher. It all started with first grade. You will remember I was sick on Friday, so I had not seen them for 3 days. Monday is my day to lead devotions with first grade, so I told them the story about Daniel in the lions den. Then we sang Jesus Loves Me and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. We have been singing these songs with the motions a lot for the first graders to gain familiarity. I don't know what it was, but something about singing those songs and seeing the kids finally doing the motions and smiling because they enjoyed it, made me so happy. I love singing, it is an awesome way to start the day, and to share that with my students was just what I needed. Then at break time I was talking some the third graders and just watching them made me smile. Perhaps I finally felt apart of the place and not just someone acting like she knows what she is doing. Whatever it was, I had a wonderful day and truly enjoyed teaching my students.
On other news, I rode on the back of different motorbikes 5 times today... sidesaddle! I would call them motorcycles but they aren't as big and hunky as most motorcycles in America. Motorbikes are one of the main modes of transportation here in Indonesia. Here is my story:
Every morning I walk to school, and I am usually carrying at least one majorly overloaded bag and then a few more small bags. My friend drives a motorbike to school and I think he takes pity on me the young bag lady, so if he sees me walking to school he typically stops and lets me hop on. Since I have to wear a uniform to school, I am usually in a skirt, so I have to ride side saddle. That was incident number one.
Next, I had to run to the bank and it is only open during school hours. We are aloud to leave if we get permission, so I went with someone from the finance department who was already going. Unfortunately, I brought the wrong thing, so I ran outside and hopped on an ojek. An ojek is a guy with a motorbike who will ride you wherever you need to go for a very small fee. Sort of like a taxi. They are all around just waiting for someone to need a ride. He drove me to my house, I hopped off, paid him and run into my house as he rides away. I immediately find my bank books and run out of the house. An ojek sees me and asks if I need a ride by clapping his hands together. I, in response, clap back to tell him I would like a ride. He pulls on his helmet and rides over to where I am (Only the drivers need to wear helmets). I ask him to take me to the bank and he does. After that, I have to catch another ojek back to school. By this time I am running out of the small bills you pay with so I had to pay him with a few bills and then coins. I felt so bad. So far that is four rides. My last one happens after school.
Tomorrow is Indonesia's Independence day so everyone has a flag hanging in their yard and the day off. Since I was sick over the weekend I decided to go to school and get some work done. But first I needed colored paper to print on. So I walked to the mall to buy various colors of printing paper. I also bought some snacks for my fun day at a deserted school. So I'm walking out of the mall carrying three heavy bags, one of which is over sized. One of the ojeks that was waiting outside the mall saw me and gave me a ride home. I was still wearing a skirt so I had to ride side saddle again and he zoomed off! Seriously that was the first time I was a little scared on one of those things and thought I might fall off. Of course I was holding my over sized shopping bag and trying to balance side saddle so I had a right to be a little nervous. I mean, if it's a friend driving you can hold on to their arm or something, but a stranger, no thank you!
I have only ridden on the back of a motorcycle once before and that was with a helmet on. I actually really enjoy riding ojeks. The wind blows in your face and I now know what a dog feels like sticking his head out the window of a moving car. It feels refreshing and exhilarating, I can't help but smile while I am on the back of one! If you ever come and visit, I am making you ride one. Just like if I ever take you to Japan we are riding the trains at rush hour. Now there is something ironic! Japan is such a closed big personal bubble sort of culture, but when it comes to rush hour you are seriously pushed into the train standing back to back, butt to butt.
If I were to bring you one snack from Indonesia, it would be chocolate cigars. It is an amazing invention. It is a little wafer cigar about five inches tall and it is filled with chocolate. It is great! I mean, if you need a chocolate fix, this will suffice. You will not even need a second one. The amount of chocolate in each bite is wonderful, and it is soft chocolate with a crunch of a waffer. I mean, you know me, I am by birth a chocoholic, I am Swiss!
Well, I miss talking with you,
Your friend,
Rebekah E.
P.S. I just realized that I am once again in a county whose flag colors are red and white. My birth country, Switzerland, is red with a white cross. Japan, the country I grew up in, is white with a red circle. America is red and white... with some blue. Now Indonesia is half red and half white. Funny huh?
I had an amazing day today. It is horrible to say this, but today is the first time, since I have been in Indonesia, that I really enjoyed being a teacher. It all started with first grade. You will remember I was sick on Friday, so I had not seen them for 3 days. Monday is my day to lead devotions with first grade, so I told them the story about Daniel in the lions den. Then we sang Jesus Loves Me and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. We have been singing these songs with the motions a lot for the first graders to gain familiarity. I don't know what it was, but something about singing those songs and seeing the kids finally doing the motions and smiling because they enjoyed it, made me so happy. I love singing, it is an awesome way to start the day, and to share that with my students was just what I needed. Then at break time I was talking some the third graders and just watching them made me smile. Perhaps I finally felt apart of the place and not just someone acting like she knows what she is doing. Whatever it was, I had a wonderful day and truly enjoyed teaching my students.
On other news, I rode on the back of different motorbikes 5 times today... sidesaddle! I would call them motorcycles but they aren't as big and hunky as most motorcycles in America. Motorbikes are one of the main modes of transportation here in Indonesia. Here is my story:
Every morning I walk to school, and I am usually carrying at least one majorly overloaded bag and then a few more small bags. My friend drives a motorbike to school and I think he takes pity on me the young bag lady, so if he sees me walking to school he typically stops and lets me hop on. Since I have to wear a uniform to school, I am usually in a skirt, so I have to ride side saddle. That was incident number one.
Next, I had to run to the bank and it is only open during school hours. We are aloud to leave if we get permission, so I went with someone from the finance department who was already going. Unfortunately, I brought the wrong thing, so I ran outside and hopped on an ojek. An ojek is a guy with a motorbike who will ride you wherever you need to go for a very small fee. Sort of like a taxi. They are all around just waiting for someone to need a ride. He drove me to my house, I hopped off, paid him and run into my house as he rides away. I immediately find my bank books and run out of the house. An ojek sees me and asks if I need a ride by clapping his hands together. I, in response, clap back to tell him I would like a ride. He pulls on his helmet and rides over to where I am (Only the drivers need to wear helmets). I ask him to take me to the bank and he does. After that, I have to catch another ojek back to school. By this time I am running out of the small bills you pay with so I had to pay him with a few bills and then coins. I felt so bad. So far that is four rides. My last one happens after school.
Tomorrow is Indonesia's Independence day so everyone has a flag hanging in their yard and the day off. Since I was sick over the weekend I decided to go to school and get some work done. But first I needed colored paper to print on. So I walked to the mall to buy various colors of printing paper. I also bought some snacks for my fun day at a deserted school. So I'm walking out of the mall carrying three heavy bags, one of which is over sized. One of the ojeks that was waiting outside the mall saw me and gave me a ride home. I was still wearing a skirt so I had to ride side saddle again and he zoomed off! Seriously that was the first time I was a little scared on one of those things and thought I might fall off. Of course I was holding my over sized shopping bag and trying to balance side saddle so I had a right to be a little nervous. I mean, if it's a friend driving you can hold on to their arm or something, but a stranger, no thank you!
I have only ridden on the back of a motorcycle once before and that was with a helmet on. I actually really enjoy riding ojeks. The wind blows in your face and I now know what a dog feels like sticking his head out the window of a moving car. It feels refreshing and exhilarating, I can't help but smile while I am on the back of one! If you ever come and visit, I am making you ride one. Just like if I ever take you to Japan we are riding the trains at rush hour. Now there is something ironic! Japan is such a closed big personal bubble sort of culture, but when it comes to rush hour you are seriously pushed into the train standing back to back, butt to butt.
If I were to bring you one snack from Indonesia, it would be chocolate cigars. It is an amazing invention. It is a little wafer cigar about five inches tall and it is filled with chocolate. It is great! I mean, if you need a chocolate fix, this will suffice. You will not even need a second one. The amount of chocolate in each bite is wonderful, and it is soft chocolate with a crunch of a waffer. I mean, you know me, I am by birth a chocoholic, I am Swiss!
Well, I miss talking with you,
Your friend,
Rebekah E.
P.S. I just realized that I am once again in a county whose flag colors are red and white. My birth country, Switzerland, is red with a white cross. Japan, the country I grew up in, is white with a red circle. America is red and white... with some blue. Now Indonesia is half red and half white. Funny huh?
Friday, August 13, 2010
My One Month Gift
Dear Friend,
Friday was the mark of my first month in Indonesia. I arrived on the 13th of July. As a 'happy one month' present my body decided to give me either food poisoning or the 24 hour bug. Yup that's right, I was up all night and had to miss school on Friday thanks to this one month present. Thankfully it went away 24 hours later. I just wonder what will be my two month gift. (-:
It was good to know I had so many friends praying for me to get better! Even if I am in a new country without knowing too many people here, I am still able to talk to and write to others and let them know what is going on. That definitely was comforting.
So during devotions I have been reading the book of Daniel. I hadn't realized that when Shadrack, Meshack and Abendego are thrown into the furnace and then come out unharmed or anything, king Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges God and declares that anyone that says anything against God would be cut to pieces. And he was the ruler of a vast area, of people from all over and of many different languages. Then Nebuchadnezzar went crazy and only when he humbled himself before God was his sanity restored and he declared "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven...." (Daniel 4:37). Then, when Daniel is thrown into the lions den and comes out unharmed the King Darius declares to all the nations that everyone must revere the God of Daniel. That's as far as I have read so far, but I am just impressed that these rulers of so many people would declare and testify to everyone about the might of God.
That was way back then, I wonder how the rulers and high up people in this day and age are being influenced or touched by God and how it is affecting their lives and the lives of others. SPH has a goal of raising Christian servant leaders so that these students can study and become high up Christian leaders in Indonesia and have such a good influence on the country. I am excited to see what the future brings with that.
Till next time my friend,
res
Friday was the mark of my first month in Indonesia. I arrived on the 13th of July. As a 'happy one month' present my body decided to give me either food poisoning or the 24 hour bug. Yup that's right, I was up all night and had to miss school on Friday thanks to this one month present. Thankfully it went away 24 hours later. I just wonder what will be my two month gift. (-:
It was good to know I had so many friends praying for me to get better! Even if I am in a new country without knowing too many people here, I am still able to talk to and write to others and let them know what is going on. That definitely was comforting.
So during devotions I have been reading the book of Daniel. I hadn't realized that when Shadrack, Meshack and Abendego are thrown into the furnace and then come out unharmed or anything, king Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges God and declares that anyone that says anything against God would be cut to pieces. And he was the ruler of a vast area, of people from all over and of many different languages. Then Nebuchadnezzar went crazy and only when he humbled himself before God was his sanity restored and he declared "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven...." (Daniel 4:37). Then, when Daniel is thrown into the lions den and comes out unharmed the King Darius declares to all the nations that everyone must revere the God of Daniel. That's as far as I have read so far, but I am just impressed that these rulers of so many people would declare and testify to everyone about the might of God.
That was way back then, I wonder how the rulers and high up people in this day and age are being influenced or touched by God and how it is affecting their lives and the lives of others. SPH has a goal of raising Christian servant leaders so that these students can study and become high up Christian leaders in Indonesia and have such a good influence on the country. I am excited to see what the future brings with that.
Till next time my friend,
res
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Dinner, Long Sleeves & Downpours
Dear Friend,
Would you like to come over for dinner some time? I miss eating with people. It is a drastic change eating with multiple people a week at college to not having anyone to eat with. I mean in college if you wanted to you could eat alone, you could eat in the great hall with tons of people that you recognize but few that you know, you could have a friend down to the apartments to share a meal, you could have a friend over to watch you eat and have a good conversation, or you could even go to 75 cent tacos at Amigos... the list goes on and on. Now I find myself eating dinner alone without the option of having anyone over to have a conversation with or to share a meal. Drastic change? I think so.
Another thing I know I will miss soon enough is long sleeves. Since we are on the equator the temperature is not going to change. There are two seasons wet and dry, but not cold! I like cold! I like wearing long sleeves, they are my cozy comfort clothes. Hopefully I will be going to Japan for Christmas where I will have to wear long sleeves! Yeay!
In case you are wondering, we are currently in the dry season. There has been some rain, but not too much. Thankfully, I have not been caught in a downpour yet. I'm sure I will at some point, I am kind of excited for that. Imagine with me: you are walking home after a long day of work; you walk slowly because of your heavy bag on your shoulder full of work things to do at home. All of a sudden the heavens let loose a massive bucket of water. Perhaps you begin to run so you don't get drenched, then you stop, realizing that you are already drenched so getting home in two minutes or five minutes won't make much of a difference. You smile and decide to causally walk home. While walking, you think of how exciting it is to get caught in the rain with no option but to get wet. You stop, look up at the sky and just enjoy this experience that may not happen to often. Thankfully it is warm so you are not freezing and shivering, you are just wet. Finally you are home, in a dry place. At this point I hope you are laughing with enjoyment at being drenched. The only thing better than this is if you had a friend that was walking home with you that also got drenched so you both could enjoy the moment together. I think that would be fun, don't you?
I'm sure I will let you know if it happens,
Your friend,
res
P.S. Ramadan began today. That is where Muslims fast from sun up to sun down. They are not even allowed to drink anything. Pray for them, this fast is 30 days long.
Would you like to come over for dinner some time? I miss eating with people. It is a drastic change eating with multiple people a week at college to not having anyone to eat with. I mean in college if you wanted to you could eat alone, you could eat in the great hall with tons of people that you recognize but few that you know, you could have a friend down to the apartments to share a meal, you could have a friend over to watch you eat and have a good conversation, or you could even go to 75 cent tacos at Amigos... the list goes on and on. Now I find myself eating dinner alone without the option of having anyone over to have a conversation with or to share a meal. Drastic change? I think so.
Another thing I know I will miss soon enough is long sleeves. Since we are on the equator the temperature is not going to change. There are two seasons wet and dry, but not cold! I like cold! I like wearing long sleeves, they are my cozy comfort clothes. Hopefully I will be going to Japan for Christmas where I will have to wear long sleeves! Yeay!
In case you are wondering, we are currently in the dry season. There has been some rain, but not too much. Thankfully, I have not been caught in a downpour yet. I'm sure I will at some point, I am kind of excited for that. Imagine with me: you are walking home after a long day of work; you walk slowly because of your heavy bag on your shoulder full of work things to do at home. All of a sudden the heavens let loose a massive bucket of water. Perhaps you begin to run so you don't get drenched, then you stop, realizing that you are already drenched so getting home in two minutes or five minutes won't make much of a difference. You smile and decide to causally walk home. While walking, you think of how exciting it is to get caught in the rain with no option but to get wet. You stop, look up at the sky and just enjoy this experience that may not happen to often. Thankfully it is warm so you are not freezing and shivering, you are just wet. Finally you are home, in a dry place. At this point I hope you are laughing with enjoyment at being drenched. The only thing better than this is if you had a friend that was walking home with you that also got drenched so you both could enjoy the moment together. I think that would be fun, don't you?
I'm sure I will let you know if it happens,
Your friend,
res
P.S. Ramadan began today. That is where Muslims fast from sun up to sun down. They are not even allowed to drink anything. Pray for them, this fast is 30 days long.
Monday, August 9, 2010
PYP and Batik
Dear Friend,
How was your weekend? Mine was wonderful.
My weekend sort of started on Friday. Instead of going to school, I had to go to an all day PYP induction. PYP stands for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program. It was an all day event with all the new primary grade teachers within the Sekolah Pelita Harapan (SPH) system. In case you don't know, Sekolah Pelita Harapan means School of Light and Hope. I work at the SPH in Lippo Cikarang, and the induction was at another SPH a couple hours away. So my journey started at 5:30 am.
Thankfully there were two other teachers going to the same school, one for the same PYP induction, and the other for an IT meeting; both of these teachers were Indonesian. I'm sure you already know it, but I am a morning person, so even though it was 5:30 am, I ended up receiving a Bahasa Indonesian lesson during our car ride. I now know the days of the week in Bahasa Indonesia. As a result of this initial lesson, I might receive more lessons in return for English lessons. I think that is a fair trade, don't you?
The PYP induction was reaffirming in what I was taught at Covenant College. Even though we use different words, the ideas are the same. The biggest thing that got me was the idea of a thematic unit. I learned a lot about thematic units at Covenant College. However, during this session, I found others to view thematic units as very shallow. They thought it was a topic title, such as dinosours, with which you teach everything in an artificial way, such as using dinosaur figures for math because that is our 'theme'. Instead of thematic units, PYP aspires to use a transdisciplinary method where everything is taught under one idea or concept with no distinct lines between disciplines. The concept behind transdisciplinary method is very similar to the sort of thematic units that Covenant taught me to use. To me, a thematic unit is not just a shallow topic used to teach each discipline, it is a substantial core idea that guides the unit planning, weaving together the different disciplines. My view of a thematic unit is much deeper than the view that others had at this induction. I found that very interesting. I would almost equalize my idea of a thematic unit with the PYP idea of a transdisciplinary unit, almost.
Anyways, sorry for all that education talk, if it made no sense what so ever, that's fine.
That afternoon, rather than going home, I went to the SPH in Sentul to meet some other teachers my age. In fact, I spent the weekend there. It rains a lot more in Sentul than it does in Lippo Cikarang! I'm talking torrential downpours every day! No joke! Thankfully I was always in a car or a house when it was coming down hard!
On Saturday we ventured out into the busy streets to find a fabric store. The streets were so busy, there may be two lanes painted but at least three being used with motorbikes weaving through also! As we drove by the palace gates I surprisingly saw deer. Not just a couple, but the whole area within the gates are filled with does and deers. What a random sight! We did find a fabric store I bought a lovely green and gold batik fabric. Batik is a special designed fabric made in Indonesia. With this fabric I plan to make a cover for the big water dispenser in the dining room. The tap water here is not drinkable so I buy big jugs of water that you attach to a water dispenser. In addition to that, I want to make a small purse and a tube holder for plastic bags. I do not have a sewing machine, so I might try to sew by hand because that would be quite a fun project. I will pretend I am back in the days of Jane Austen!
The fabric and the deers were probably the highlight of my weekend. During this weekend I also went to church, had quality conversations with new friends and planned all my lessons for this week. It is going to be a fun week! The third graders are going to write scripts for common folk tales and then they will act them out. In second grade we are going to listen to the orchestra music of Peter and the Wolf while David Bowie narrates the story along with the orchestra. I am very excited for this lesson and I hope it does not flop!
I hope your upcoming week is exciting too!
Let me know!
Your Friend,
res
P.S. Please pray for the third grade teacher at my school. She has been in the hospital since Thursday. She is pregnant and they found out that she has a large gallbladder stone. I'm not sure yet what they will do since she is pregnant and all. Please pray that she feels comfort and that this will go away without an operation. Thanks!
How was your weekend? Mine was wonderful.
My weekend sort of started on Friday. Instead of going to school, I had to go to an all day PYP induction. PYP stands for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program. It was an all day event with all the new primary grade teachers within the Sekolah Pelita Harapan (SPH) system. In case you don't know, Sekolah Pelita Harapan means School of Light and Hope. I work at the SPH in Lippo Cikarang, and the induction was at another SPH a couple hours away. So my journey started at 5:30 am.
Thankfully there were two other teachers going to the same school, one for the same PYP induction, and the other for an IT meeting; both of these teachers were Indonesian. I'm sure you already know it, but I am a morning person, so even though it was 5:30 am, I ended up receiving a Bahasa Indonesian lesson during our car ride. I now know the days of the week in Bahasa Indonesia. As a result of this initial lesson, I might receive more lessons in return for English lessons. I think that is a fair trade, don't you?
The PYP induction was reaffirming in what I was taught at Covenant College. Even though we use different words, the ideas are the same. The biggest thing that got me was the idea of a thematic unit. I learned a lot about thematic units at Covenant College. However, during this session, I found others to view thematic units as very shallow. They thought it was a topic title, such as dinosours, with which you teach everything in an artificial way, such as using dinosaur figures for math because that is our 'theme'. Instead of thematic units, PYP aspires to use a transdisciplinary method where everything is taught under one idea or concept with no distinct lines between disciplines. The concept behind transdisciplinary method is very similar to the sort of thematic units that Covenant taught me to use. To me, a thematic unit is not just a shallow topic used to teach each discipline, it is a substantial core idea that guides the unit planning, weaving together the different disciplines. My view of a thematic unit is much deeper than the view that others had at this induction. I found that very interesting. I would almost equalize my idea of a thematic unit with the PYP idea of a transdisciplinary unit, almost.
Anyways, sorry for all that education talk, if it made no sense what so ever, that's fine.
That afternoon, rather than going home, I went to the SPH in Sentul to meet some other teachers my age. In fact, I spent the weekend there. It rains a lot more in Sentul than it does in Lippo Cikarang! I'm talking torrential downpours every day! No joke! Thankfully I was always in a car or a house when it was coming down hard!
On Saturday we ventured out into the busy streets to find a fabric store. The streets were so busy, there may be two lanes painted but at least three being used with motorbikes weaving through also! As we drove by the palace gates I surprisingly saw deer. Not just a couple, but the whole area within the gates are filled with does and deers. What a random sight! We did find a fabric store I bought a lovely green and gold batik fabric. Batik is a special designed fabric made in Indonesia. With this fabric I plan to make a cover for the big water dispenser in the dining room. The tap water here is not drinkable so I buy big jugs of water that you attach to a water dispenser. In addition to that, I want to make a small purse and a tube holder for plastic bags. I do not have a sewing machine, so I might try to sew by hand because that would be quite a fun project. I will pretend I am back in the days of Jane Austen!
The fabric and the deers were probably the highlight of my weekend. During this weekend I also went to church, had quality conversations with new friends and planned all my lessons for this week. It is going to be a fun week! The third graders are going to write scripts for common folk tales and then they will act them out. In second grade we are going to listen to the orchestra music of Peter and the Wolf while David Bowie narrates the story along with the orchestra. I am very excited for this lesson and I hope it does not flop!
I hope your upcoming week is exciting too!
Let me know!
Your Friend,
res
P.S. Please pray for the third grade teacher at my school. She has been in the hospital since Thursday. She is pregnant and they found out that she has a large gallbladder stone. I'm not sure yet what they will do since she is pregnant and all. Please pray that she feels comfort and that this will go away without an operation. Thanks!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Lightning Bolts and Comfort Zones
Dear Friend,
Tonight as I was walking home I was continually amazed by the evening sky being lit by a lightning shower. I didn't hear any thunder nor feel any rain, I only saw the entire sky filled with light for a brief second. I don't know why, but for some reason I always feel inspired to write someone when I see lightning like that. Maybe I just want to share the amazing experience with someone. I mean, for one flash of light to fill the sky for miles and miles is incredible! It's like being able to physically see, for just one second, the power of God covering the whole earth. At least, that is what it reminds me of.
Anyways, how are you doing? I am eager to hear how life over on your side of hte world is going. As you know, I am currently teaching in Indonesia. I have been here for 3 weeks and one day. It feels like I have been here for a lot longer than that. I like Indonesia. It's not as hot as I expected, or perhaps I am just never outside when it is extremely hot. I haven't learned too much Bahasa Indonesian yet. I figured I should get used to being a new teacher and being in a new country before I start to intensely learn the language.
You know, I haven't gone through any culture shock yet. Perhaps that will come, but I honestly don't think it will. (You will probably read a letter from me in a while saying, "Ha, what was I thining? Of course the culture shock was going to come, and boy did it!" But that will be another day, not today.) The reason why I don't think it will come is that I am back in my odd comfort zone. I am once again living in an Asian country, eating quality rice every day, and I not understanding a word of anything anyone says around me. I know, you are probably thinking, "Dude, that's not normal." But for me that is, remember, I grew up in Japan, loved the Japanese food which included at least one serving of rice each day, and I sadly didn't learn the language fluently so I never fully knew what anyone around me was saying unless I was at home or school.
School here is going well. As you know I am teaching Language Arts for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. My first day was a little tough. I started out with first grade and I had a lot of fun things planned I thought, but it turned out not being enough. We had story time where I read them my newest favorite kids book Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean. Such a fun book! If you haven't read it, I suggest you do! First I read it to them, then we listened to the CD recording of the story and I taught the students the dance that the author, Eric Litwin, taught me at a conference last year. Then I taught them alphabet aerobics and we started slowly and kept speeding it up, finally we played a name game to help me learn their names. Regardless, I still had extra time and I ended up teaching them the procedure for getting the reading books from the back of the room. So not being adequately planned for that class threw me off and the rest of the day was rough because of it. As a result to that day, I have over planned every single day since for every single class.
I haven't had one of those 'go home and cry' days yet. I almost cried that first day, but in the end, there were no tears shed.Perhaps that day will also be in a later letter.
I hope you are doing well and look forward to hearing from you,
Till next time,
res
Tonight as I was walking home I was continually amazed by the evening sky being lit by a lightning shower. I didn't hear any thunder nor feel any rain, I only saw the entire sky filled with light for a brief second. I don't know why, but for some reason I always feel inspired to write someone when I see lightning like that. Maybe I just want to share the amazing experience with someone. I mean, for one flash of light to fill the sky for miles and miles is incredible! It's like being able to physically see, for just one second, the power of God covering the whole earth. At least, that is what it reminds me of.
Anyways, how are you doing? I am eager to hear how life over on your side of hte world is going. As you know, I am currently teaching in Indonesia. I have been here for 3 weeks and one day. It feels like I have been here for a lot longer than that. I like Indonesia. It's not as hot as I expected, or perhaps I am just never outside when it is extremely hot. I haven't learned too much Bahasa Indonesian yet. I figured I should get used to being a new teacher and being in a new country before I start to intensely learn the language.
You know, I haven't gone through any culture shock yet. Perhaps that will come, but I honestly don't think it will. (You will probably read a letter from me in a while saying, "Ha, what was I thining? Of course the culture shock was going to come, and boy did it!" But that will be another day, not today.) The reason why I don't think it will come is that I am back in my odd comfort zone. I am once again living in an Asian country, eating quality rice every day, and I not understanding a word of anything anyone says around me. I know, you are probably thinking, "Dude, that's not normal." But for me that is, remember, I grew up in Japan, loved the Japanese food which included at least one serving of rice each day, and I sadly didn't learn the language fluently so I never fully knew what anyone around me was saying unless I was at home or school.
School here is going well. As you know I am teaching Language Arts for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. My first day was a little tough. I started out with first grade and I had a lot of fun things planned I thought, but it turned out not being enough. We had story time where I read them my newest favorite kids book Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean. Such a fun book! If you haven't read it, I suggest you do! First I read it to them, then we listened to the CD recording of the story and I taught the students the dance that the author, Eric Litwin, taught me at a conference last year. Then I taught them alphabet aerobics and we started slowly and kept speeding it up, finally we played a name game to help me learn their names. Regardless, I still had extra time and I ended up teaching them the procedure for getting the reading books from the back of the room. So not being adequately planned for that class threw me off and the rest of the day was rough because of it. As a result to that day, I have over planned every single day since for every single class.
I haven't had one of those 'go home and cry' days yet. I almost cried that first day, but in the end, there were no tears shed.Perhaps that day will also be in a later letter.
I hope you are doing well and look forward to hearing from you,
Till next time,
res
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