Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory. . ."

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Saturday, August 24, 2013

Dirgahayu Republik Indonesia!

{Long Live Indonesia!}

While there are definitely things about Indonesia that I don't understand, don't like, or don't agree with (that can apply to the US too!), I can still say that I am proud to live here, and happy to celebrate Indonesia's independence with my Indonesian friends and school!

"Tujuh belas Augustus tahun empat lima. Itulah hari kemerdekaan kita!"

"August 17, of '45. That's our independence day!" 
Two Saturday's ago was Indonesia's 68th year of Independence, but as a school we celebrated it on Friday because it was our first full week in school. Celebrating independence day is a big tradition. Our national staff works so hard every year to make it special and memorable! The day begins with a whole school flag ceremony, which is very formal and "by the books". Our Indonesian principal, Ibu Daisy, leads the ceremony while senior school students take part in the readings, demonstrations, and actual raising of the flag. 

photo credit: Marc Bergen's fb
They're smiles here, but during the ceremony, they were ALL business!

All of it is done with such care and precision, and as an audience, it is a time to be silent and attentive. While standing, you must stand silently and straight with your hands in fists at your side (this is so hard to do with six and seven year olds!). Ibu Daisy also gives a speech. . . but it's traditional that it is in Bahasa, so unfortunately we (and quite a few of our students) couldn't understand it. I was told it was wonderful though, about how true independence is the freedom we receive from Christ. 

At the end of the official ceremony, the grade 12 indonesian students performed two fun songs. It was neat to see them celebrating in a fun way, and showing their talents (rapping, dancing, etc) while honoring their country. It was also enjoyable for all of us to watch, even if we couldn't understand the words! 

After the flag ceremony in the morning, the rest of the day was devoted to games and celebration. The primary and junior school changed into red and white clothes to represent the flag, and the senior school changed into their house team colors. And this is where the craziness began! I say craziness, because it is SO hard to manage young students in a gym full of their friends, when games are the only agenda. Not to mention, I sprained my ankle a few days ago so I was on crutches. . . worst thing ever for this kind of event! And since I've only had my class for seven days total, they're not quite up to par with my expectations of behavior - to say the least. I wanted to pull my hair out multiple times during the day. It's so hard, because they're so darn cute, and yet so darn mischievous at the same time! But at the end of the day, I still love them and still want to be their teacher :) 
Here's a look at our festivities. I only have one picture of what Chris was up to that I stole from somebody's fb page, but he was full of spirit as he led the GREEN team!
photo credit: Syntha's fb
And now, begins the cuteness overload from my class!





A bunch of characters! Especially Little Spidy/Superman in the left corner! 
sweet face. crazy personality.
Ready for games! 
There were five different games played - all traditional Independence Day games.  



warning: pretty sure you will see a lot more of this adorable face in my future pictures.



telling him how it's done. . .



And this game: Makan Krupuk "eating crackers". This is basically the indonesian version of bobbing for apples. Supposed to be hand free. . .

Caught ya!


Anyone recognize this face from last year???
She finished first!
And, as if we didn't have enough excitement for the day, the teachers had a go at it! 



Goin' after it! PS. I won! (Not sure if I should be proud of being the fastest face stuffer. . .)
And, I want to tell you about one more traditionally "festive" way to celebrate Independence Day. It's called Panjat Pinang. I googled an explanation and went with this one because it shares the history, and some varying opinions.

Dating back to the Dutch colonial days, Panjat Pinang is one of the oldest, most popular traditions in Indonesia.
Panjat Pinang is a very unique way of celebrating Indonesia’s Independence Day. Every year, in towns and villages around the country, tall nut-trees are chopped down and their trunks placed vertically, in the center of each settlement. A wheel full of prizes is placed on top, before the trunk is covered with oil and clay, and young men are invited to try and reach the prizes.
This type of pole climbing was introduced to the Indonesians, by Dutch colonists, who came up with it as a form of entertainment. Every time an important event took place (like a wedding, or national holiday) they would install a Panjat Pinang pole and watch the natives attempt to reach the prizes.
Since the nut-tree poles are fairly high and very slippery, a single climber would have almost no chance of reaching the top, so contestants usually work together and split the rewards, if they succeed. Prizes consist of foods, like cheese, sugar, flour, and clothes (TVs and bicycles in some areas). You might not think them worth the trouble, but for poor Indonesians, these are luxury items.
There is some controversy surrounding Panjat Pinang. While most Indonesians believe it is an educational challenge that teaches people to work together and work hard in reaching their goals, there are those who say Panjat Pinang is a degrading display that sends the wrong kind of message to Indonesia’s youth. There’s also the environmental issue of cutting down a significant number of nut-trees for such a hedonistic celebration.


Different, huh? 

Well, that's all for now. It was a fun Friday full of celebration, but definitely made us ready for a little R & R.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Lebaran trip to Lombok

About a week after returning to Jakarta, came the Lebaran holiday. Lebaran (or Idul Fitri) is the main Muslim holiday in Indonesia which ends their month of fasting. This is the week that people leave the city and return to wherever their family calls "home". Jakarta becomes empty, so it's a good time to get around the city free of macet (traffic) or get out of Jakarta and do some traveling of our own. Since this holiday usually falls near the beginning of our school year, or in this year's case, right before school starts, we usually like to take a trip to somewhere relatively close in Indonesia, and then come back with a few days left before starting school. The last two years we've gone to Bali because it was more familiar, but this year we ventured to Lombok which is another island near Bali. Besides taking Chris' parents to Bali when they come to visit (because it's iconic and has a culture all its own worth experiencing), we will probably choose Lombok from now on.

We went with three other couples to Lombok: Erik & Amanda, Glenn & Gretchen, and Mike & Meg (new to SPH this year, but from Salem!). What a fun bunch to travel with! They were all up for squishing the eight of us, including our luggage and a driver into this tiny van for over an hour to get from the airport to our hotel. Just call us sardines. Chris was on Erik's lap, and Amanda was on mine :) 

We got a killer deal to stay at this beautiful hotel/resort!




I've never been to a place with a swim-up bar before! We took advantage of fresh coconuts for about $1.50 almost daily.

The ocean was just on the other side of the pool - so convenient! We also found a tide pool area not too far away!

The many faces of the boys

Batik???
I love this shot of Meg looking into the pools!
The tide started to come in while we were out, so we had some wading to do. 

God sure created some amazing land and sky scenery!


The guys jumped off the nearby bridge with some local boys. Not sure who made who's day! :)




the signature Chris jump
For lunches and dinners, we strolled the almost empty streets (because of Lebaran) until we found something we liked.


We bartered on the beach for a snorkeling day-trip to the Gili islands. The Gilis are a set of three tiny islands just off the coast of Lombok. The eight of us took a boat out for the day and stopped to snorkel off the coast of each island, and then ate lunch at the last one. Sure wishing we still had our underwater camera to document all the beauty below! AND, our snorkel trip wouldn't have been complete without a turtle sighting, and we were lucky enough to see a few at our last sight! Happy campers we were!

comfy?

To show how CLEAR the water was!

So hungry at this point. Unfortunately the burgers were. . . less than appealing :( So then we all ordered oreo milkshakes. When in Lombok. . .


Our last day we stopped to look around at the art market. I like to get at least a little something from each place we go to. Though I don't have a picture of it, I got a neat hand-woven throw, and few beaded bracelets so I could feel "islandy" :)  


Then we took advantage of our last day to relax by the pool, and the guys also played some ping-pong and soccer with some of the Indonesian guests.
 





Lombok, we will be back! And we'll be bringing Marty, Linda, and Josh with us!!! :)