I’ve resigned to the fact that 27 months is an insufficient amount of time to know any place well. I know I’m still in the dark about a lot of things that make Indonesia special and beautiful. In an effort to quickly learn about things I may be missing –and to get an insider’s perspective— … Continue reading
The other day my counterpart, Pak Warai, sat next to me as I prepared material for English club. Suddenly he asks, Mel, what can we do to make students study outside the classroom? Pak, I laughed, if we can solve that we would improve education all over the world! He sighed. I feel putus asa. … Continue reading
Teacher Problem: As a teacher you often end up as subject material on examples or test questions… OR WORSE, your face ends up on a huge banner. Continue reading
Today I was sitting in my semi-office grading papers when I witnessed a black and white cat I’ve often seen around school sneak in quietly. I tried shooing it away, but when it wouldn’t move from a corner, I looked and discovered her litter of four newborn kittens lying under a desk. I’m not big … Continue reading
A short video I made last semester – December 2012 – of my Indonesian students in English club attempting to say “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” In return, I attempt (and fail miserably) to say the Madurese equivalent of a complicated and nonsensical phrase, which is so difficult it can’t even be spelled. Continue reading
November 15th marked the first day of the Islamic year: Muharram 1, 1434. To celebrate this, all the students and teachers from my school take a motorcycle drive around Bondowoso every year. As a Peace Corps volunteer, I am not allowed to ride a motorcycle (which is the reason why I was feeling left out … Continue reading
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
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
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
in the land of dragons 