You know you've been in Indonesia too long if. . .

Good old bajaj ("bawj-eye")

Some fellow expat teachers passed this on to us, and I can't help but share. There were over 50, but I'm going to include the ones that we feel we can relate to/understand most. Here's to Indonesia!

You know you've been in Indonesia too long if. . .

• You too believe traffic lanes, stop signs and one way streets are mere suggestions and that sidewalks were meant to drive on or they wouldn't have paved them. (daily)
• You can drive 60 km/h two inches from cars on either side of you, but cannot back into a parking space in an empty lot without two guys yelling “Kiri…Kiri Terus, Terus, Terus…” (left and straight)
• You're willing to pay to use a toilet you wouldn't go to within a kilometer of at home (unfortunately very true)
• You are quite content to repeat your order six times in a restaurant that only has four items on the menu (not sure I'm content, but it happens)
• You're not surprised when three men with a ladder show up to change a light bulb (or your AC unit)
• You think it is normal to wait six days to get the water you ordered or pay 50% surcharge for same day service (unfortunately)
• Taxi drivers understand you
• You own a rice cooker (but it broke)
• When crossing a busy street you believe that a limp wrist motion with your right arm creates a force field that repels oncoming traffic (every day!)
• You think it's logical to dry your hands with Kleenex (my class will go through an entire large kleenex pack in one day - no joke, it cleans up every mess)
• There is no discount for what is clearly a demo model
• A gaggle of teenage girls swoon as you walk by (at Chris of course)
• McDonald's is out of hamburgers and KFCs is out of chicken (or the Gelato Bar is out of gelato)
• You look left, right, backwards, forwards, up and down before crossing a one way street (you never know!)
• You've seen every hollywood blockbuster three weeks before its premier (or for only $3)
• You pick your nose in public (Not yet, haha. But I sure do see it done a lot!)
• You carry tissues in your pocket for 'emergency stops' (and boy does it come in handy!)
• The titles "Mr. Bob" and "Miss Barbara" begin to sound normal to you (everything is first name basis here. I'm never gonna get used to Trammell!)
• You stop wondering why the concept of turning lanes never occurred to traffic engineers in Jakarta 
• You stop wondering if the concept of traffic engineers ever occurred to anyone in Jakarta (TIJ)
• You are no longer confused when you are asked if you want some 'beep bacon' (beef bacon) with your eggs.
• You say "handphone" not "cellphone" (and blackberries are more popular than iphones)
• You eat fried rice in the morning
• Your local McDonald's serves rice and sambal (and spaghetti)
• You have ever successfully bribed a police officer (thankfully we haven't had to)
• You have ever legally bought pirated software or VCDs. 
• You know exactly how many islands Indonesia has (18,306 - last I heard)
• You have used a mosquito repellent that looks like a coil and is lit on one end (worked well in Kalimantan)
• You have ever ridden in a motor vehicle with three wheels (Bajaj)
• You are no longer startled when you see a 12-year old driving a motorbike while smoking (sad, but true. . . or a family of 5 on one motorcycle)
• and if ... YOU UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE ABOVE REFERENCES!

*just for fun :)

KDM - helping Indonesia's street children

On Saturday, Chris and I went with 4 other teachers and 4 of Chris' Global Perspectives' students to visit KDM. KDM is a ministry that has been working to get children off the streets of Indonesia for 40 years. They have a program consisting of several different steps, starting with getting them off the street, and hopefully ending with job internships. We learned a lot, and wish we would have known about it sooner! We hope to get involved again, and maybe take some groups of students out during our missions and service week next year. 

These little guys were our tour guides around the complex

nifty system: you do your business, and then pedal until it's gone. . .

dorm room

some nice porcelain planters

Kindy classroom

the boys showing Jeremy (chris's student) some artwork

happiness :)

future service project?

kids playing a form of  jump rope

little cutie

They had stations set up where the kids would teach us about the recycling projects they work on.

Chris and I got a chance to play some futsal with them. That was a sweaty decision.

After lunch, they treated us to an angklung performance. The angklung is a traditional Javanese instrument made of bamboo which is shaken to produce sound.

Then they did a choreographed dance for us. 

And then gave us a chance to play the angklungs after a quick lesson from the kids.

The kids were much better than us :)

It was such a great day! I found myself forgetting that these kids had been taken straight from the streets of Jakarta, and had no family. . . because they were such great hosts, well behaved, and all around sweet kids. There's another site that houses the kids that have more recently been saved off the streets. They have to go through a program to help them adapt before coming to this place where they start school and learning specific skills. . . computers, art, cooking, etc. 

It was an encouraging day, but still saddening to think about the reality that faces so many kids who are still out there. Here's a small section from KDM's website that explains the issue:

Street Children

Children choose the streets as a place to make money and get attention, but they have no direction, goals or hopes.

They rely on natural instinct and desire, lack discipline and have no consideration for risk or danger. This makes them particularly vulnerable to daily abuse, whether it is physical, psychological or even sexual.

Over time street children become traumatized and and develop behavioral problems, such as hyperactivity and lack of concentration.

But there is also the draw of money, children can earn Rp 30,000 – 70,000 a day on the street, or even more. This pays for bad habits such as smoking, glue sniffing or even drugs.

KDM can offer these children a future away from all this, and it begins with meeting one of KDM’s rescue teams.

We'll let you know of any further interaction we have with this program! Hopefully we'll have lots of opportunities next year!

38 days. . .

Chris and I can't believe how fast time has been flying! I guess we must be having some fun! :) But really, the weeks are flying by! We have just four more teaching weeks, one week to input and finish grades, and then the final week that involves fun, cleaning up the classroom, and hopefully some more fun. I'm going to use my students for manual labor to take down my classroom -- they'll think it's the coolest thing ever --and so will I!

But, there is so much to do between now and then. I still have a field trip to take my class on, as well as a "stay late day" at school from dismissal - 8:00pm. That will be a long day, but it should be lots of fun with Kindergarten through grade 2. The evening will include game-time in the gym, snacks, pajamas, movie, pizza for dinner, hide and go seek in the school with glow-sticks, and a worship singing time at the end with parents before the kids get picked up. It's been fun to plan, and by the time it comes and goes, I will be checking off the last day of graded instruction! Boogie Waga! (for those reading from the Heard side of the family)

Our last day of school is June 8th (which just happens to mark 5 years of time spent dating my best friend). I keep forgetting (kind of) that June 4th is our anniversary too! The fact that it falls on the Monday of our last week here kind of limits the possibilities of doing something to celebrate, and is also a little bit overshadowed by the fact that we get to come home to visit! So, I think that June 8th might be our default anniversary this year. . . besides, it's pretty cool to be able to say five years instead of one :)

More exciting news: we're moving! Next year we will be living in a different apartment, and we're SO excited about this! Here's why:

cool building?? now take a step back. . .

ok, just a regular building. now take a few more steps back. . .

YEP! that's the view from my classroom window! that's how close it is. 

Can you say "convenient"!? (possibly the first time we've uttered those words here ;) I could not be more excited about this. No longer will we have to dread those hot and sweaty walks, breathing in exhaust to and from school. I've decided there aren't many things worse than arriving to school with sweat soaking your hairline and forming on the top of your upper lip. Sorry for the details, but it's one of the most annoying things to arrive to school feeling like you just got out of a sauna, and then having to open up your classroom that hasn't had AC on all night. It makes for an irritable me. Say no more to that! Our "walk" to school will literally be about 50 yards.

Add it to your prayer list that we can move in the week before we leave. It may seem like a little request, but it would take off so much pressure if all of our stuff was moved before arriving back here, when we also have to get our classrooms set up within two days for school.

Well, there's a little update from Jakarta! There's not much I can think about right now besides home. I'm trying really hard to be fully present here because there's still a lot to do and I still have a class of kids that need a teacher with her head in the right place. Chris and I both agree that "home" is wherever we are together, but neither of us can disagree with the fact that HOME is also where our families are waiting for us with open arms. Come on June 8th! :)