Skip to main content

The Best Intentions...

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  'the world is f*ing brilliant' followed by 'I'm so tired of feeling happy' and 'shit everything is overwhelming and I can't do anything about the disaster around me'. These feelings are not new to me, and I (think I) am always aware which state I am in, but since moving to a new country and being hit in the face with others' strange behaviours that affect me, and which I have no control over, the glum (and sensitive) side of my personality is struggling to process it all. Today I am happy to report that the cloud of gloominess is lifting, but I'm worried that it's just some kind of denial, keeping me just sane enough to survive until the next drama rears its inevitably ugly head at school.

Deep breath Laura! I promise I will try to avoid such confused ramblings in the future. Sometimes it's just nice to at least feel like someone is listening!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Where's your manners?

I've got the back to work blues after a week's holiday. After one hour back at work, I'd counted how many work days are left this year; approximately 87. I know that's actually not much, but right now it feels like a death sentence. I have no motivation to plan for teaching 60 students, or to prepare seminars for 30 teachers, mainly because no-one cares what I'm doing here, or knows how much work goes into creating a course for teachers who get paid so little for the job they do that most of them (quite rightly to be fair) put professional development very low on their list of priorities.  I realise I sound like a grumpy child. That's what arriving at work to find that my desk had been moved did to me. My back is to the window (a window to the hallway), exactly where I didn't want to be, and the previous teacher's junk has been left in a dusty pile on the floor for me to clean up.  If only it was that simple... Wanna know what else is annoyi...

Schtuff

I love getting rid of stuff. I have already donated 7 bin bags of clothes and I'm not done! To use my Mum's terminology (and encouragement), I am taking a brutal approach to deciding what to take with me to Batam. If it's not essential and it doesn't have long-term sentimental value, it's got no chance. My goal is to take just one suitcase with me, so being brutal is the only way!

Holidays are coming, holidays are coming...

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...