Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Photography / Teaching
Category Archives: Teaching
Bondowoso / Culture / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Teaching
The Weight of A Cultural Difference
The following was written before in-service training in Surabaya. I am standing in front of the mirror in my room, analyzing every curve at every angle. Am I fatter? I think to myself. I don’t look any different. I try different clothes on to check. Nothing looks different, but after one-too-many comments on how I … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Culture / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / Religion / Teaching / Travel
Traditional Ghosts in Indonesia
Indonesia—like most countries—has many folk tales, myths and dubious characters (i.e. ghosts). Javanese in particular are very superstitious people, who will often sleep with the lights on to guard away evil spirits. Today, quite randomly, English club diverted into talking about ghosts—though it does fit in appropriately with Halloween and Dia de los Muertos in … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Teaching
Teacher Problems, #3
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / Teaching
Teacher Problems, #2
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Religion / Teaching / Travel
Behind-the-Blog Drama
During Idul Fitri, the biggest Islamic holiday of the year, I had way too much time to think about life and generally, I was having emotional overload with all the new experiences and information. I felt a lot of things that I couldn’t really blog about simply because it just wasn’t very clear. Now, after … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Teaching
Teacher Problems, #1
Bondowoso / Culture / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Religion / Teaching
On the Twelve Months of Islam
Though I’ve been a fasting wimp during Ramadhan—unlike many of my fellow PCVs—that does not exempt me from learning about Islam during this important month in my community. Last Sunday, August 5th, was the 17th day of the month of Ramadhan, which is the day known as Nozulul Qur’an. This is the day the Islamic … Continue reading
Bondowoso / Culture / Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Photography / Religion / Teaching / Travel
Welcome to Ramadan
To kick off Ramadan all of the schools in my area participated in a “Welcome to Ramadan” parade, which started at 7am, Wednesday morning. The younger elementary and middle school students led the parade and the high school students— which includes my school—ended it. As a teacher at the school, I was asked to walk … Continue reading
Daily Life / Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Teaching
Things I Never Thought I Would Say Outside of a College Setting
and definitely NEVER in the Peace Corps. Yay! No Friday classes! I definitely had to rearrange my teaching schedule for that one. Are you going to take a nap? Indonesians get up so early they usually must nap in the afternoon in order to survive the day. Ugh, I have to go to school on … Continue reading
To Wear Or Not To Wear A Hijab
I came to my new school right on the cusp of graduation and the graduation ceremony. Because my school is a madrasah all female students and teachers must wear a hijab as part of the uniform. As part of the “staff” it would be appropriate for me to wear a hijab also, but because I … Continue reading
Indonesia / Peace Corps / People / Photography / Teaching / Travel
Permanent Site: Bondowoso
(I am posting this from a beautiful hotel near the sea, where I am having a workshop with all of the teachers in my school and with the principle. Not what I had pictured when I joined the Peace Corps…and it’s not helping the “Beverly Hills” image I will describe…but it’s pretty awesome.) After ten … Continue reading
Teaching Like A Rock Star
Teaching in Indonesia is kind of like being a rock star. You spend 90% of the time preparing to perform—I mean teach—and 10% of the time in front of the classroom. Many times you repeat the same show—I mean lesson—over and over and at the end the kids want to take their picture with you … Continue reading
in the land of dragons 