Caring Day= a Muslim shirt for Mandy!

This past Tuesday was Caring Day at school, so we celebrated for the last half of the day. Its original date was scheduled for last week, before Valentine's Day. Why we don't have a regular Valentine's Day celebration, I don't know, but this was a nice event because the Student Council committee honored many people in the office staff that never get recognized. Students also gave chocolate and balloons to the teachers. They're so sweet! (Funny thing: I received a purple balloon from a girl that I had JUST written a progress blank for that day, so I felt kind of guilty...I guess that's not really funny, though...)

Anyways, it was a bright and sunny day, which was lucky for us because we had some outdoor activities planned during the rainy season. Here are some quickie photos:


We gathered around the pool for water activities. Each grade was supposed to wear a specific colored shirt for this day, and teachers were to wear pink shirts, so we looked like a walking rainbow all afternoon. :)

The kids had some random water activities, like this rafting race. The girls in the back clearly had zero experience with oars because they ended up wayyy off-course, in the deep end, and they fell off "on accident". I'm so sure it was an accident...! The race didn't last too long because of the heat and brightness, which, yes, SHOULD be expected because it's Indonesia...but it was still hot. Eventually, we ended up back in the gym.

Finally, a bright and sunny day! This was a perfect day to do outdoor stuff, especially during the rainy season.

This is Carrie. She lives down the street from me and will be leaving next year to teach in the Czech Republic. :'( *Sadness*

Also, I didn't own a pink shirt, so I bought one at an outlet store that sells clothes that I can wear because they come from stores in the States, like Old Navy. I had really liked this shirt, but after I bought it...I realized it looked suspiciously like a Muslim shirt...oh well. What better place in the world to wear a Muslim shirt??? :-P

This photo's too bright, obviously, because of the lovely sunlight, but this is my headmaster, Mr. Nick. He's from Australia, and he and his wife spent the last 8 years working at a school in Beijing. He's a lot of fun, and he feels like a grandpa to most of us expats.

Speaking of expats...

Here I am with Lisa (in the hot pink), who I mentioned in a January blog, and Carrie. They're both very sweet and live down the street from me. Lisa is going to move into Leland's house, which is next to mine. :)

Muslim women shirts are obviously not form-fitting, since it's a conservative culture, so I look very pregnant here. :(

This photo's a little better...! :-P
Here I am with my friend Detty. She was in charge of coordinating the whole Caring Day with the student council, which was life-consuming for her. I don't envy her one bit for that, even though that's what happens to me, too, with the theater.

Here we are: Fera, Helmy, Stela, and me. (I look really dumb here, probably because Fera was tickling me from behind us.)