Selamat Malam!
After all the excitement of last week and last weekend, it was about time for my Indonesian life to resume some normalcy, and that's just how it has been these last few days.
Since I had that week off for the retreat, it didn't make sense for me to head right back to Salatiga on Monday, so I stuck around Semarang, and helped at the TK in the morning. I spent the afternoon writing that enormous blog post that you may or may not have had time to plod through (and believe me, I don't blame you if you didn't make it to the end!)
On Tuesday, I went to the TK in the morning, and then headed off to the orthodontist in the afternoon to remedy a little mishap that occurred about two weeks ago, involving a pebble in the nasi (rice). It is not uncommon to find small stones in the rice we eat here, as the rice is often dried along the side of the roads, where it is exposed to such things as gravel. It's a rather unpleasant discovery, given that the texture of small stones (which often crumble if bitten) is... well, unpleasant. This time, however, the stone positioned itself just right so that when I took my first bite of nasi, the stone popped the glue off the upper wire in my mouth. (I debated the feasibility of instigating a personal rice boycott after this occurrence as rice is not my absolute favourite food, but in a country where people believe that you cannot be full if you haven't eaten rice, I've decided to postpone the boycott until my return to the homeland). Anyways, so it was off to the orthodontist to re-glue the wire. It feels funny to do things like go to the orthodontist when I think about where I am, but these are the experiences that remind me of the similarities between our cultures. I have learned, much to my dismay, that I really have held Canada in higher regard than any other country. This has extended so far as to believe that no one outside of my home country can do things as well as people in my home country can. I was so leery of going to the orthodontist here, thinking that they wouldn't know what the problem was, wouldn't have the equipment to fix it (I'm not sure why I believed glue to be unique to Canada...), that the facility wouldn't be clean, and so on. Well, of course, they knew exactly what the problem was, had exactly what they needed to fix it, and even charged through the nose for it, just like they would in Canada! And yes, it was spotlessly clean. The only notable difference was that, instead of one person fixing it, four or five people stood around me. I felt like I was going into some sort of serious surgery of sorts! So even something as small as a broken wire has provided an opportunity to learn and to grow here in the Indo! On Tuesday night, I went to the brand new photo print shop that just opened up around the corner, to make some hard copies of my pictures. They had a promo on, and 134 pictures came to about $9. It was amazing!
I taught English to the TK-A class on Wednesday. I usually teach them on Fridays, but this Friday is a national holiday (an opportunity to sleep in!!), so we moved class around. My kiddies in the TK have really taken to playing a game where I pick them up one at a time, and spin them really fast. They have asked if we can play that, along with tag, every single day, and so lately, I have been coming home from TK a sweaty mess, but leaving behind some very happy little kids! I am definitely not the world's most effective teacher, so I am thankful for other little ways to leave a positive impact on the school. Those kids are probably my favourite part about living in Indonesia, and I think that they are my biggest source of learning opportunities here. Those little four and five year olds just pour out love and patience on me every single day. They explain and re-explain something if I am not understanding, and if they cannot explain it, they'll often call another friend over to try to explain it. They never laugh at my language blunders, and they often seem to just magically understand something even when my instructions have been unbelievably weak. Almost always, when I arrive at the school, I am greeted by shouts of "Bu Ellery! Bu Ellery!", and hugs (that usually turn into clings, which require me prying them from my torso). They're so excited for stories and games, and they pour their little hearts into everything they do. And they don't just show love to me- they are so kind to each other too (usually). I see it most often in they way that they treat a physically challenged boy in my TK-B class. From what it looks like, Diaz has a mild case of cerebral palsy, which affects only his ability to walk. (it certainly doesn't affect his singing voice, which he uses enthusiastically during our singing times. "A Pizza Hut" is his favourite.) He's much slower, and more unstable than the rest of the kids, but he participates wholeheartedly in every game and activity- and he is wholeheartedly included. When he falls, the kids stop to help him up. When we play Duck, Duck, Goose, someone will always choose him, and then play at a speed that he can play with, but somehow make it look like they were playing for real. And it comes second nature to them. It's like they are blind to his differences. In fact, one day I asked the teacher if the kids every treat Diaz any differently. She looked at me like I was crazy, and responded, "No, not at all!" That answer speaks volumes to me about the hearts of these beautiful little children. I feel unbelievably blessed to get to spend every day with these kids. (Oh man, my eyes are welling up!)
Pak Har's cousin was here for just one night, Tuesday night, and we went to a warung for Mie Titee (pork and noodles in a sweet garlic broth), and sate babi (pork satay).Since my host parents go allll out when they host people, we also headed to a grilled corn stand that was super busy (despite its locations in a factory outlet parking lot), and served delicious grilled corn in many different flavours. This place also makes grilled sandwiches, which they stick in between two metal grills, and grill over a fire pit.
On Wednesday, I also led PPA at Sola Gratia, where I tried out a bunch of new group games on the kids. Man, they were difficult to please! I had like 5 games lined up, which I thought would be more than enough to fill the hour, and yet I found myself struggling immensely to fill the time after 30 minutes. We got through it though, and then I was off to Gloria Patri to help out at the learning centre there. Debora and I went out for dinner afterwards, to a warung/snack bar, and had a chance to catch up and talk about MCC Indonesia-related stuff. (Debora was an IVEPer a few years ago.) It was a really great evening!
This morning, I followed the typical Thursday routine, teaching Play Group at TK. We moved on to learning numbers today, and 1-3 went over quite successfully! In the afternoon, I spoke on Ichthus FM by myself, as my co-host was unable to attend. It is much more fun to do that with someone else! But I felt accomplished, sitting in the studio all by myself, knowing how to work everything (and praying that there wouldn't be a power outage, because then I'd really be stuck)! I went to PPA Sendang Guwo after that, and we played some games there. The kids at Sendang Guwo are another really awesome little group!
Tonight, we went to a restaurant called "Alcatraz" for dinner (this week provided several opportunities for mealtime excursions). The restaurant is decorated to look like the Alcatraz prison, and there are pictures of Alcatraz everywhere. It was pretty great! We went for a drive through the really upscale part of Semarang, where I laid eyes on the biggest, most elaborate homes that I have ever seen in my life! They rival Hollywood in their size and grandeur!
Tomorrow is a National Holiday, which means an opportunity to sleep in! We'll see what the afternoon holds.
Have a great day!
Love,
Ellery
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