Laura Joy Land

Two more days of work and then 12 days holiday. I'm more than ready to say goodbye to my desk after three weeks (three weeks!!) of no teaching due to two weeks of exams taking place and one week of....uh, post-exam taking place-stuff? I miss my students. I miss having an active job; a reason to come to work other than admin and research. I did not move to Indonesia for a desk-job. I am looking forward to spending as much of my holiday as possible sitting on a beach, drinking mango juice and learning Indonesian.  Tis the season to be jolly...

On Sunday I took a little trip to the ocean. Although I forgot my camera, my (unfortunately camera shy) friend snapped a few blurry blackberry photos for me... From this resort you can see the Singapore skyline really clearly. There's no beach, but there are Balinese style wooden huts and spa facilities. I just posed for photos, enjoyed an overpriced magnum truffle, and admired the view. Lovely Sunday :)

Laura's Mellow Monday Evening: Step-by-step Instructions. Be Laura. Be in a positive mood for the first time in a week. Take an impromptu nap after work. Take a 20 minute walk down the hill into town and over to Glashaus. Order a cold fruity tea and relaaaax. Eat a bit of scrumptious leftover Indian food with your hands. Get stuck into a good book for the first time in aaages. Don't think about anything more taxing than whether or not to have another tea. Yawn occasionally. Smile within.

It is not my intention to use this blog as a place to vent work frustrations. However, it is my intention to give an honest account of my experiences in Indonesia, in a way that hopefully allows for and invites discussion. When I first arrived, my experiences were centered around exploration of the area, trying new things and just generally taking it all in. At the moment, my experiences are all about the job, but I am wary about sharing too much: a school environment is the kind of place you have to be in to understand and care about, and I know no-one wants to hear me complaining about a place they have no connection with. I needed to vent yesterday so I did - I was consumed with negative feelings and it wasn't enough to just tell myself to switch off. I needed to feel like someone was listening. But don't worry, I don't plan on making a habit of it. Maybe I should return to just posting photos, haha. I have the kind of personality that goes through phases of  't...

This past week at work was the most challenging, unpredictable and emotionally draining yet. Every week, or even every day, something happens that makes my mind boggle and I think that the scale of ridiculousness can't be tipped any further. But there's always something else. Another contradiction, another misunderstanding, another rumour. I am not used to not being able to trust the people I work with. It's something I'm told I will learn to handle, but the mere thought of having to play along while being lied to and gossiped about fills me with dread. That said, I still mean it when I say that I love my job. It's just another one of those pesky contradictions. The kids I teach are wonderful and every day I am reminded by their energy and their innocence that I am doing it for them, because they deserve a better education. And I love how much I am learning by being here. Having a BA and an MA is all well and good, but what I learn here means so much more to me. ...