Laura Joy Land

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...

Dear readers, as I think most of you know by now, I recently tied the knot over here in Indonesia. For those of you not connected with me via facebook, here are some highlights from my wedding day. Here we are arriving at the church. One of Hadi's cousins surprised us by hiring this vintage Mercedes for us. We arrived together and also walked down the aisle together, with parents in tow. I have no idea if this is just the preference of our church, or a wider tradition in Indonesia. Either way, I love the symbolism of it, of the couple walking together towards marriage. Hadi's Father's family are Bataknese, a community who have very detailed wedding traditions. Here we are following just one of those traditions: Relatives present us with an "ulos", a beautifully woven cloth that is wrapped around the couple as a sign of support. My Mum also received one, as a symbol of Hadi's family's friendship towards her. Ladies in Red. The lad...

This month, from July 20 th until August 26 th , is fasting month for Muslims in Indonesia. Since roughly 86% of the population (according to Wikipedia) are practicing Muslims, this means that there are lots and lots of people who are only eating between the hours of sunset and dawn. Here I want to share what I’ve learned and experienced about this holy time for Muslims in Batam. First, a glance at my life as a teacher during fasting month at my multi-religious school… At my school, three religions are represented and taught: Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity. I think we actually have more students from Buddhist families than the other two, as we have a large Chinese student population (at school, and in Batam generally) who are mostly Buddhist. There is a small group of students from Christian families, as certain Indonesian tribes / communities are Christian historically (since Holland invaded Indonesia around 350 years ago, but that’s a topic for another day). As far as I ...

The Indonesian language is a simple one. For example, "I am engaged to Hadi" is expressed with just "I engage Hadi". "I hope it's okay with you that I am eating - have you already eaten?" - a very important statement that I often hear several times a day, sometimes even from someone who has just witnessed me eat, is expressed by simply saying "sudah makan?" , which translates as "already eat?" and can even be shortened to "makan?" , "eat?". However, I have learned that simplicity in language can easily be made up for in the complexities of tribal traditions and formal documents. Case in point: the Bataknese wedding invitation, complete with two languages and lots and lots of names and titles... And here, the 'simpler' version, replacing titles and repetition with bare facts and a little sentiment... So now it's official in three languages. Simple!

Around 18 months ago, I made a huge decision in my life: I chose to change it permanently and painfully by ending my marriage. The effects of that decision were all at once devastating and liberating. It was the right decision for me, but nevertheless heartbreaking. I finally had the freedom I had craved, to be who I wanted to be - to find out who that person was, alone, and yet I was consumed with guilt at the pain I had caused my spouse. The main judgment I felt from him at the time was that I was acting selfishly, which was impossible to argue with given the circumstances. Ultimately, however, I didn't feel selfish. Rather, I was choosing to take control of my life for my own spiritual well-being, finally listening to that inner voice of reason that had been bugging me on-and-off for the past several years, manifesting as doubt and depression each time I ignored its repeated claims.  Six months later, I was on a plane to South-East Asia, to start a new life on a small Indon...

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.

In April a friend from Germany came to Singapore for a few weeks to do research for her master's thesis. Luckily for me, she also came to Batam to visit me, and we even made it to a beautiful Malaysian island called Tioman, where we went diving and waved hello to that other world down there. Here are some photos from Sarah's stay in Batam. Unfortunately the photos from Malaysia were all on her camera. Above: I'd wanted to take a photo of this sign for ages. Batam - the place I "call" home. Below: The beach can get rather crowded. Above: We managed to find a quieter spot. Below: On the way home, we stopped at a dragon fruit farm where we enjoyed dragon fruit juice, dragon fruit soup, and dragon fruit chocolate cake. Mmmm.   When you visit Batam there are 3 things you must do. 1) go to the beach. 2) go to Barelang suspension Bridge, conveniently located on the way to the beach (below). 3) Karaoke, as documented above. The random videos tha...