HAPPY GIRLS!!! :)
Here's Alia, brushing my messy hair with a spaghetti spoon!
This is Baby Alia. I've lost the photo of her with her mother, Samini, so I'll take another one again soon. Samini found Alia on her doorstep one morning when Alia was a newborn, so she adopted her. Who could give up such a beautiful baby like her???=========================================================
DISCLAIMER: This post may be somewhat disorganized and weird-looking, in part because it's the first time I've added photos to a post, and also because I'm disorganized and weird-looking. Enjoy!
Today and yesterday are Indonesia Day(s). I truly have no idea what this means. I would hear people talk about Indonesia Day coming up, but they never explained what it really is. My guess is that it's when Indonesia claimed its independence. From what and when, I have no idea. I woke up early this morning to tons of ojeks and cars honking and happy children running down the streets, singing songs. At any rate, we get today (Monday) off for it, so I'm celebrating by working in my classroom for a few hours. :-P
It hasn't rained here since my last post, which is nice for everyone preparing for outdoor celebrations for Indonesia Day. Yeah, it's warm, but it's still not blazing hot, thanks to us living up in the mountains. I did, however, buy a poncho and umbrella at Hypermart yesterday, for when I do get caught in the rain.
Sentul is a small town. Basically, it has one main road with 2 gas stations and huge neighborhoods on either side of it. There are little convenience stores and banana vendors scattered, but that's pretty much it as far as things to do. However, no town is ever complete without a huge store of some sort, so we have Hypermart. (Funny name, I know.) Hypermart is the Indonesian equivalent of Wal-Mart. (It has a lot of things, but not everything as W-M.) It's a huge store in this strip mall called Bella Nova at the edge of Sentul City limits, close to the highway, and let me tell you--it's the happening place in Sentul! It's definitely family-oriented. There are little shops, a photography studio, and a small food court inside Bella Nova. You have to watch out for little kids, though; they zip around the mall in these weird-looking, hairy animal cars, and their parents take pictures.
Going shopping at Hypermart is always interesting. I went yesterday for the third time, I was by myself, and I had some things to return, so of course this trip was going to be an interesting ordeal. (I'll talk about my limited knowledge of the Indo language later, but let's just say I know nada about having conversations with anyone who doesn't speak English here.) After only a little bit of pointing at things and confused looks with 3 Hypermart employees, I finally got my messages across, returned my items, and got my money back. :)
Eric and Christine had warned me that people will stop and stare at me everywhere we go here in Indo, but especially at Hypermart. This is true, people really do stop and stare. I don't know what they expect me to do--stand on my head or something? It's really funny to me, but honestly, it doesn't bother me. I guess I'm used to it from being in other countries, but also b/c people look at me all the time b/c I'm in front of students all day, and I've been onstage a few times. People can look all they want, but what they see is what they get!
Thankfully, vendors that I've encountered thus far haven't annoyed me by haggling me incessantly to buy their stuff b/c I'm white. Interesting how white person = lots of $$$. Then again, I haven't really walked around the streets of Jakarta.
On Saturdays, we expats head into Jakarta b/c we go to a church service on Sat. nights, so we just make a day of being in the city. (Note: "expat" technically means "expatriate teacher", but to Indonesians, they associate it to mean "white person".) We meet for church in this huge meeting room at the top of a CitiBank building, and then we go out to eat afterwards. Sometimes people dare to drive there, and other times, we ride the bus to a taxi to take us there. Yesterday, I went to an Ace Hardware with these 2 other expat teachers that I consider my "parents" here. The Ace was in the bottom of a huuuge mall, so we went there, and then to Starbucks, of course. :) We were just browsing the mall until it was time to leave for church when I saw something that really surprised me, only b/c of it being in Indonesia. It was a picture or a plaque with a picture of Jesus praying! I didn't get to take a closer look at it b/c I was on the escalator, but it was definitely either a Christian or Catholic picture. It was written in Indonesian, so I don't know if it was the Lord's Prayer or what. I saw a few more things like this in other stores, and they're weren't Christian stores. I also saw a sign outside the mall advertising for Jakarta Community Church. In a place notorious for anti-Christianity, it was really cool to see this.
And it's really cool to be able to pray and have chapel and devotions at my school. I really love it here, and I have no doubt whatsoever that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. :)
It hasn't rained here since my last post, which is nice for everyone preparing for outdoor celebrations for Indonesia Day. Yeah, it's warm, but it's still not blazing hot, thanks to us living up in the mountains. I did, however, buy a poncho and umbrella at Hypermart yesterday, for when I do get caught in the rain.
Sentul is a small town. Basically, it has one main road with 2 gas stations and huge neighborhoods on either side of it. There are little convenience stores and banana vendors scattered, but that's pretty much it as far as things to do. However, no town is ever complete without a huge store of some sort, so we have Hypermart. (Funny name, I know.) Hypermart is the Indonesian equivalent of Wal-Mart. (It has a lot of things, but not everything as W-M.) It's a huge store in this strip mall called Bella Nova at the edge of Sentul City limits, close to the highway, and let me tell you--it's the happening place in Sentul! It's definitely family-oriented. There are little shops, a photography studio, and a small food court inside Bella Nova. You have to watch out for little kids, though; they zip around the mall in these weird-looking, hairy animal cars, and their parents take pictures.
Going shopping at Hypermart is always interesting. I went yesterday for the third time, I was by myself, and I had some things to return, so of course this trip was going to be an interesting ordeal. (I'll talk about my limited knowledge of the Indo language later, but let's just say I know nada about having conversations with anyone who doesn't speak English here.) After only a little bit of pointing at things and confused looks with 3 Hypermart employees, I finally got my messages across, returned my items, and got my money back. :)
Eric and Christine had warned me that people will stop and stare at me everywhere we go here in Indo, but especially at Hypermart. This is true, people really do stop and stare. I don't know what they expect me to do--stand on my head or something? It's really funny to me, but honestly, it doesn't bother me. I guess I'm used to it from being in other countries, but also b/c people look at me all the time b/c I'm in front of students all day, and I've been onstage a few times. People can look all they want, but what they see is what they get!
Thankfully, vendors that I've encountered thus far haven't annoyed me by haggling me incessantly to buy their stuff b/c I'm white. Interesting how white person = lots of $$$. Then again, I haven't really walked around the streets of Jakarta.
On Saturdays, we expats head into Jakarta b/c we go to a church service on Sat. nights, so we just make a day of being in the city. (Note: "expat" technically means "expatriate teacher", but to Indonesians, they associate it to mean "white person".) We meet for church in this huge meeting room at the top of a CitiBank building, and then we go out to eat afterwards. Sometimes people dare to drive there, and other times, we ride the bus to a taxi to take us there. Yesterday, I went to an Ace Hardware with these 2 other expat teachers that I consider my "parents" here. The Ace was in the bottom of a huuuge mall, so we went there, and then to Starbucks, of course. :) We were just browsing the mall until it was time to leave for church when I saw something that really surprised me, only b/c of it being in Indonesia. It was a picture or a plaque with a picture of Jesus praying! I didn't get to take a closer look at it b/c I was on the escalator, but it was definitely either a Christian or Catholic picture. It was written in Indonesian, so I don't know if it was the Lord's Prayer or what. I saw a few more things like this in other stores, and they're weren't Christian stores. I also saw a sign outside the mall advertising for Jakarta Community Church. In a place notorious for anti-Christianity, it was really cool to see this.
And it's really cool to be able to pray and have chapel and devotions at my school. I really love it here, and I have no doubt whatsoever that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. :)
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