Hello Hello!
I know two posts so close together is an uncommon occurrence for me, but given the excitement of the last two days, I figured it would be wise to write before I forget everything!
I wrote my last blog post on Monday, the day before my dad arrived. I think that Tuesday was the longest day of my life. It was like the minute hand of the clock had to be coaxed forward every 60 seconds! TK dragged by, and then the hours in the afternoon were filled with make-work projects in order to keep me busy. Finally, after the cleaning, laundry, and showering were done, we headed off to the airport, at around 5:15. My dad's flight was scheduled to land at 6:05PM. He had called from Jakarta in the afternoon to let me know that his visa went through, so I knew that he had made it that far at least, without any major glitches. (In fact the only "glitch" was that he forgot to hand my mom his winter coat in the airport in Toronto, and ended up having to lug it halfway across the world to a country where he'll never need a sweater, let alone a winter coat).
We arrived at the airport at about 5:40, and grabbed a drink at a little restaurant, but I was too excited to finish mine. I couldn't see the gate from the little restaurant, and finally- despite my host parents' insistence that I was too early- I excused myself and squeezed in as close as I could to the front of the gate. Now let me just say that there were a TON of people praying for safe and smooth travels for my dad, and those prayers were more than answered- he arrived five minutes EARLY, healthy (though a bit delirious) and excited! I saw him the second he walked through the gate, and the tears of joy flowed freely!
After our joyful reunion, my host parents took us out for supper to KB, one of my favourite restaurants, for a delicious dinner. We had chicken and rice and (my favourite) udang goreng mayonnaise! Everything was "enak sekali" (very delicious), and Dad seemed to enjoy it. We came back to the house after that, and Dad was introduced to my home in Indonesia. We had set up a spare bedroom for him, and he commented on the beautiful paint colour choices and professional-looking paint job (even in his sleep-deprived state, he still noticed these things). After a MUCH needed shower and change of clothes, he went straight to work unpacking everything. Half the suitcase was filled with things for me and other people here! I'm stocked up on cookies, chocolate (thanks to my grandmas), lipton soup, pringles, Kraft Dinner (though I can NEVER have too much- Mom, don't take out any that you might have planned on bringing!), and so many other treats! Austin even sent along a chocolate calendar! I'm excited to be 13 days behind on it- I think I have no choice but to eat them ALL at the same time so that I can get caught up... There's a burden I'll gladly bear! ;) Dad went to bed around 10, and I had a nice skype chat with my grandparents before heading to be myself.
Dad had asked me to wake him up at 6AM on Wednesday morning so that he had time to get ready for the (SUPER busy) day that was ahead. However, when I knocked on the door (bleary-eyed, since I usually don't get up until 6:30), he was showered, dressed, and ready to go! He had been up since 3AM! That jet lag is a brutal thing. We headed down for breakfast just before 6:30. Ibu Vonny had set out fresh bread, tea, and coffee, and Dad got his first real taste of the Indonesian heat. I didn't see it, but he said that sweat was dripping from his wrists- at 6:30AM! Once breakfast was finished, we headed over to the TK. I didn't realize how used to the traffic I've become until I saw my Dad's reaction to it- "This is inSANE! I'm glad I didn't know about this until now!" was his response. (And it was actually a slower day, as we had beat the school rush). Nevertheless, we made it safely to the TK, and Dad was introduced to the TK staff, who welcomed him warmly.
I had been asked to teach TK-B for an hour and a half on Wednesday morning, and I filled that time with a slideshow of pictures from Canada at Christmas, as well as a Christmas ornament craft. It was timed out PERFECTLY, and the kids seemed to love it, which I was absolutely thrilled about! The kids weren't the least bit afraid of Dad (one of them even noticed a bit of chest hair at the top of my Dad's shirt, and didn't shy away from sticking his hand right down the shirt, in curiosity!), and I was SO happy that Dad could see the kids that I am spending this year with.
After class ended, we checked out the synod grounds, and Dad was introduced to many people who work for the church (including a special meeting with our church pastor). We spent some time making Christmas labels after that, and then headed home a bit early, as the teachers are in the midst of end-of-term paperwork, which is something that I cannot help with very well.We had a typical lunch with my host family, and I was impressed at Dad's willingness to try so many new things. We had only an hour and a half for a break, and both of us used it to the fullest, sleeping the whole time!
PPA was at 3:00, and I showed the same pictures and did a similar craft to the one I did that morning in TK. We played some "Sunny, Sunny, Cloudy" (a more educational version of "Duck, Duck, Goose") and then headed back home in time to be picked up by Ibu Linda for a FULL evening. Wednesday nights is usually the night that I teach at the Gloria Patri Learning Centre, and we popped by there first, but only for a few minutes- we had a Christmas concert to get to! Dad had brought Hershey's chocolates for all the kids, and they loved them! We talked for a bit about Dad's favourite foods, hobbies, sports, etc. in Canada, before heading to a MASSIVE Christmas concert. There were about 6000 people there. Three sermons were given (back-to-back... normal Indonesian length), as well as a presentation by the mayor, and 2 mini concerts by some semi-famous Christian singers in Indonesia. The program was long (over three hours, though we knocked 45 minutes off at the beginning because we were late), but the music and dance at the end was worth it- just incredibly professionally done!
The concert ended just after 9PM, and since we had not had dinner yet, we headed out to a Chinese restaurant for chicken, tofu, shrimp, soup, broccoli, and rice. We didn't end up getting home until after 11PM. Dad said that at one point, he fell asleep with his eyes open (a first for him), but it was good to have a busy day. I think it's better to be thrown right into things than to have time for long naps and lots of breaks- it takes longer for your body to adjust that way, I think.
We were up again this morning at 6AM, and back to the TK for our Christmas concert. It went well! I had asked for pencils for the kids from Canada, and mom and dad one-upped it and brought candy canes too, so we gave those out to all of the kids as a Christmas gift from Canada. Today was the last day of TK for the holidays, and it ended early again. I'm done until mid-January! We're now in the 2-hour break that I have on Thursdays, between TK and Ichthus FM. After that is PPA, and then my weekly Angklong lesson. Tonight should be done a little earlier, so hopefully we can get a nice long sleep in. We also have nothing to wake up for in the morning, so I'm hoping that Dad's jet lag will be almost cleared up by tomorrow afternoon.
Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers! We'll need them again next week, as my mom and my sister make the trek over to meet us!
Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
Love,
Ellery
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