Chopsticks and Ojeks

Today was a day of confidence. I slept through the prayer calling for the mosque and actually didn’t wake up until 5:20! So wonderful! Then taught a full English lesson on Helen Keller, put together a bulletin board, and took an ojek home! An ojek is a motorcycle, one of the common ways to travel here. Kristin and I decided to ride home instead of walking because we were tired, and it was the one day we weren’t wearing skirts. I’m wearing the school uniform to school (blue skirt and a white shirt) and then Friday’s are casual days. And then....ate a whole bowl of rice with chopsticks! For me....an accomplishment!
Not much to update here. We had a school assembly today in which I ended up tearing up. The worship was so neat with the students. I’ve learned a little more about the school mission. Each student is required to do some community service. The students gather pictures and they present a slideshow about different things they’ve done in the community. Truly God’s hands at work!
Saturday I slept in to 7:30am! What a different lifestyle.... I decided to make the most of the time and went for a run. I got back sweating buckets, not necessarily because I was running so hard but because the warm muggy air was already present. The swimming pool was the only thing on my mind by this point, where I ended up staying until around noon! We went out for lunch to Burger King (!) and shopped around for some essential food items (and camping supplies for Kristin who is camping with her seventh graders at the moment)
And then it started to downpour. And I mean downpour. We were doing our laundry on the top floor of the building, and we watched the storm come in. Lightening struck right infront of the building, a booming thunder at the same moment. We watched the mighty weather, while watching our watch. We were supposed to walk over to one of the teacher’s houses....not going to happen at this point.
We waited for a half hour but the rain continued. We decided to brave the weather (being from BC and all....I mean come on) as the lightening had stopped. We walked the 15 minutes to her house, and were drenched! Later we found out the storm was classified as a typhoon! Anyway, together we cooked and prepared tacos for a group of 17 fifteen year olds from Australia who were working on a mission’s project in one of the local towns. We discussed stereotypes of Australia and Canada, learning more of cultures, dialects, and geography. It was quite entertaining actually. But also neat to be with teenagers. It made me think a lot of my brothers. It also made me feel old. I was challenging the kids by asking, “what are you taking from this experience?” and “how will this affect your everyday life?” I’m going through the same types of questions and couldn’t help myself try to start them on the same path. Both Kristin and I later discussed how much it was a blast from the past for us, when we were that young, energetic, and almost “clueless” about what life would bring. It made me want to become a church youth leader! We’ll see where God takes that I guess. For the evening we went to see Alice in Wonderland at the local theatres. I was thinking, “alright, it’s Indonesia...don’t expect much...” but the chairs were amazingly comfortable...it’s remarkable I didn’t fall asleep :P
Sunday we attended the chapel here on campus. We sang some Easter hymns together and reflected on the advent season. It’s been a long time since I’ve celebrated Easter in my home church back in BC, and I miss it. There is something about a church family that makes a spiritual life-walk come together. I still hope to make some more connections with some of the people here in the churches and in the school. The afternoon was spent taking a glorious nap (after all, staying up last night till 11 was the first time in a while...haha) The internet was down ever since the typhoon came through so we were accompanied by books, lesson plans and assignments. We cooked with a rice-cooker and made stir-fry! Indonesian style!
Now it’s Monday. Kristin has left to go camping and I’ve returned to our white-walled dorm room. I actually ventured out on my own for supper and found what could be my new favourite food! Not sure what it is, or what it’s called....but it’s delicious! I would describe it as a “spring roll” and “chicken pot pie” mix. And an ice-cappachino (not exactly Tim Hortons style...but close) to quench the thirst....not bad....
So.....over all...taking in the experiences as much as I can. The mosque in the morning is still a little aggravating...but I’m reminded of many more things I’m blessed with and thankful for.
Blessings to all.
Love always.