May -- Education Day

On Education Day, many students performed dances, and a few took part in poetry and speech contests. The focus was not on education in a way understandable by western educators, but the strength of the school community was certainly observable, as well as the students' enthusiasm for performance!

Here I am with some 7th graders who choreographed their own traditional dance and looked amazing in their intricate costumes.

And here I am, half posing - half hiding, with some of my colleagues.

Taking photos is very popular in Indonesia (particularly when a 'bule' (foreigner) is around). I haven't yet acquired the taste for it, but I am looking to upgrade from my $70 hot-pink point-and-shoot from Walmart, so perhaps it's only a matter of time.

Comments

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...

Laura Joy Land

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