Hello! I put some photos up on Facebook from Orientation and Singapore, I made the album visible to the public so everyone should be able to see them!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151108346934217.431746.713004216&type=1&l=9c807258b1
Friday, September 28, 2012
Cool fruit!
This is dragon fruit. It is so beautiful! The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it is bright fuchsia on the outside and white, speckled with seeds in the middle. The actual rind/outer layer is pretty cool too! Definitely dragon-esque. And it's tasty too! Next to it is some mango. I absolutely love all of the fruit here. I think I go through a whole huge papaya every other day here! I went to the grocery store with a teacher from my school the other night and she bought me a ton of fruit, mainly things I hadn't tried yet, it was so sweet! Dragon fruit was in the bunch.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Why yes, I am an Indonesian Princess
 |
| One of the teachers at my school teaches dance and wanted to get me dressed up in traditional costume. This is the result. They tried to fasten some fake hair pieces on, but it didn't quite work out. |
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Class today.
Today is Thursday, and Thursday's are the last day of my work week (lucky me!). So the lesson I was teaching I had done a few times and new how long certain things took, how to give the instructions, what kind of thing students got hung up, I was set for smooth sailing! But for some reason the lesson wasn't going as well as expected. The classroom set up was different, it was the largest class of students, and every class is different with its own style. I had found a better way to challenge the advanced students, the intermediate students were doing fine, but the less advanced students, I didn't feel like I was benefiting them or being as helpful as I had been in other classes. There was one student in particular that I knew wasn't getting it. He wouldn't speak any English to me, I tried using basic words but he kept turning to his friend and asking what I said. I had to keep checking in on other students who wanted my attention, but I was getting more and more disheartened. At this point his friends were making fun of him, and most if the class had finished the activity that he hadn't even started.
Determined to not let this student leave with a blank page, I worked through forming a sentence from a list of nouns adjectives and verbs they had created earlier. Red and snake were two words I had helped him with, so I knew that he knew them, I asked what color the snake was, he said red (English, finally!) then I asked him what the snake does, and he said plays. Yes, the red snake plays. Sudah, begus! You've done it, good! It took a second to sink in, then he whipped out another sentence much more complex, I was impressed! Then his next sentence came, it was amazing! There were a few minor errors but they were complex sentences that made sense! The look on his face had completely changed. At first he was nervous and trying to avoid me, but by the end he was confident and smiling! It was really great. Even if he hadn't actually learned anything, he at least got a boost of confidence in his English skills. It changed my whole mood about the class, because I knew I made a difference for at least one student who needed the encouragement.
Determined to not let this student leave with a blank page, I worked through forming a sentence from a list of nouns adjectives and verbs they had created earlier. Red and snake were two words I had helped him with, so I knew that he knew them, I asked what color the snake was, he said red (English, finally!) then I asked him what the snake does, and he said plays. Yes, the red snake plays. Sudah, begus! You've done it, good! It took a second to sink in, then he whipped out another sentence much more complex, I was impressed! Then his next sentence came, it was amazing! There were a few minor errors but they were complex sentences that made sense! The look on his face had completely changed. At first he was nervous and trying to avoid me, but by the end he was confident and smiling! It was really great. Even if he hadn't actually learned anything, he at least got a boost of confidence in his English skills. It changed my whole mood about the class, because I knew I made a difference for at least one student who needed the encouragement.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Photos! Finally.
As promised, here are some photos that correspond with a few of the activities I mentioned in the last post. Along with photos of where I live, the children in the neighborhood, and some shots of me with students and teachers. Finally!
Monday, September 17, 2012
About time for another post
I apologize for my poor reporting, especially when it comes to
photos, but as soon as I figure out the best way to get internet at a
fast enough speed to upload pictures I will get on it. So much has
happened in the last 10 days , and I've either been out doing things or
resting in between activities. I'll try and give a brief but thorough
update.
The teaching- I am starting to learn my role in the school and classroom and understand how things work around here. I will be teaching 8 classes on TOEFL grammar to 10th and 11th graders. I will be solo teaching, rather than assisting, but will sometimes be accompanied by other English teachers if they feel like sitting in the back. I just learned today that all the students actually have a TOEFL book! And I received a copy myself. So now rather than making up lessons I hope will be relevant, I have material that matches the TOEFL exam! I still don't really know what I am doing, but luckily I can speak English well enough to pretend.
The students- They are so nice to be around. The are curious, engaged, and excited to see me whenever I pass. They are bashful about their English, but love hearing me speak Indonesian, or Palembang (the mother tongue), they laugh and applaud when I say things correctly. They will also raise their hands just to tell me I'm beautiful. I could get used to this.
The teachers- I can't tell who is more excited about me being at SMAN5, the students or the teachers. The teachers have been so welcoming and helpful, it has been incredible. The English teachers I can communicate with pretty well and am becoming close with, but there are also a few teachers who speak very little English, about the same as my Indonesian, and they are so much fun to be around. Laughter is a truly universal language. Laughter and math. I have been teaching on of the math teachers the english words for different symbols and equations. It was neat translating the words for the Quadratic Formula, because although we have different words for it, the equation is exactly the same here as it is in the US. I love math for that reason.
The school- I had heard I was going to an underfunded public school, and it is just about exactly what I expected. Too crowded, not enough resources, but essentially the Indonesian equivalent of my high school experience. However, they are building a new school! I thought it was going to be finished next summer but I just found out it will be done in December/January and will open next semester! Class sizes will drop from 40-45 student to 30-35 students, teachers will have there own classroom that students will go to, instead of teachers shuffling around to different rooms, it should be pretty cool!
Things I have done around town with teachers, students, and friends.
-Had henna done on my hands (by teacher's sister)
-Stayed overnight at my teacher friend's parents house and hung out with her whole big family.
-Went to Ampera Bridge at night. Very cool, lots of young people, would love to go back.
-Went for a Sunday morning "jog". Sunday's from 6-10am they close of a block of the city for people to jog, bike, hang out, it was really neat. I want ot take pictures next time and do a whole post on it.
-Went to two of the three big malls in Palembang (PIM and PTC, PS coming soon!)
-Went to SMA 17 with Deirdre (Fulbright ELF) to see Dustin (another ETA) and get a tour of his school.
-Befriended a taxi driver, Tirta, and now have a driver I can call.
-Went to a rock concert, saw lots of young people, met some cool Indonesians that Deirdre found on couch surfers.
-Went to a radio studio where Fenni, and Randon work (the cool Indonesians mentioned above) that is above an indoor soccer center, talked about forming a girls league. Also talked about having a radio show once a week.
-Rode on the back of several motobikes.
-Went to the pool with some teachers and their kids, and saw my first burkinis!
-Eaten a ton of traditional Palembang dishes-lots of fish, noodles, rice, fried things. Pempek is the dish the are most proud of, fried fish dumplings. Enough said.
Upcoming Activities:
-Tomorrow I will get dressed up in traditional dance clothes with make-up, for the sole purpose of taking pictures to send back to America. I promise I'll post one.
-Karaoke! With Deirdre, Fenni, and Randon.
-Another overnighter with a teacher from school. this is one of the funny teachers who doesn't speak much English, so it could be a little interesting.
-Visit a pineapple farm. I don't know exactly when this will happen, but the dance teacher wants to take me.
-Many more exciting things! I honestly never know what will happen, and at the end of the day I am always surprised by something. So many unknown adventures await!
The teaching- I am starting to learn my role in the school and classroom and understand how things work around here. I will be teaching 8 classes on TOEFL grammar to 10th and 11th graders. I will be solo teaching, rather than assisting, but will sometimes be accompanied by other English teachers if they feel like sitting in the back. I just learned today that all the students actually have a TOEFL book! And I received a copy myself. So now rather than making up lessons I hope will be relevant, I have material that matches the TOEFL exam! I still don't really know what I am doing, but luckily I can speak English well enough to pretend.
The students- They are so nice to be around. The are curious, engaged, and excited to see me whenever I pass. They are bashful about their English, but love hearing me speak Indonesian, or Palembang (the mother tongue), they laugh and applaud when I say things correctly. They will also raise their hands just to tell me I'm beautiful. I could get used to this.
The teachers- I can't tell who is more excited about me being at SMAN5, the students or the teachers. The teachers have been so welcoming and helpful, it has been incredible. The English teachers I can communicate with pretty well and am becoming close with, but there are also a few teachers who speak very little English, about the same as my Indonesian, and they are so much fun to be around. Laughter is a truly universal language. Laughter and math. I have been teaching on of the math teachers the english words for different symbols and equations. It was neat translating the words for the Quadratic Formula, because although we have different words for it, the equation is exactly the same here as it is in the US. I love math for that reason.
The school- I had heard I was going to an underfunded public school, and it is just about exactly what I expected. Too crowded, not enough resources, but essentially the Indonesian equivalent of my high school experience. However, they are building a new school! I thought it was going to be finished next summer but I just found out it will be done in December/January and will open next semester! Class sizes will drop from 40-45 student to 30-35 students, teachers will have there own classroom that students will go to, instead of teachers shuffling around to different rooms, it should be pretty cool!
Things I have done around town with teachers, students, and friends.
-Had henna done on my hands (by teacher's sister)
-Stayed overnight at my teacher friend's parents house and hung out with her whole big family.
-Went to Ampera Bridge at night. Very cool, lots of young people, would love to go back.
-Went for a Sunday morning "jog". Sunday's from 6-10am they close of a block of the city for people to jog, bike, hang out, it was really neat. I want ot take pictures next time and do a whole post on it.
-Went to two of the three big malls in Palembang (PIM and PTC, PS coming soon!)
-Went to SMA 17 with Deirdre (Fulbright ELF) to see Dustin (another ETA) and get a tour of his school.
-Befriended a taxi driver, Tirta, and now have a driver I can call.
-Went to a rock concert, saw lots of young people, met some cool Indonesians that Deirdre found on couch surfers.
-Went to a radio studio where Fenni, and Randon work (the cool Indonesians mentioned above) that is above an indoor soccer center, talked about forming a girls league. Also talked about having a radio show once a week.
-Rode on the back of several motobikes.
-Went to the pool with some teachers and their kids, and saw my first burkinis!
-Eaten a ton of traditional Palembang dishes-lots of fish, noodles, rice, fried things. Pempek is the dish the are most proud of, fried fish dumplings. Enough said.
Upcoming Activities:
-Tomorrow I will get dressed up in traditional dance clothes with make-up, for the sole purpose of taking pictures to send back to America. I promise I'll post one.
-Karaoke! With Deirdre, Fenni, and Randon.
-Another overnighter with a teacher from school. this is one of the funny teachers who doesn't speak much English, so it could be a little interesting.
-Visit a pineapple farm. I don't know exactly when this will happen, but the dance teacher wants to take me.
-Many more exciting things! I honestly never know what will happen, and at the end of the day I am always surprised by something. So many unknown adventures await!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
SMAN 5 Palembang
Today is day Friday, day three at school. I have only really taught one class, but have sat in for observations on several, as I am doing right now. My school seems to be very on top of things and I already know my schedule. I will be teaching three classes on Monday, one on Tuesday (maybe tow, I can't remember), two on Wednesday, one on Thursday, and none on Friday! They are not scheduling me for more than 20 hours, so that is good, but they did plan on having me solo teach, which is not exciting, but I am going to try it before shutting it down.
Everyone is very nice and friendly and welcoming, everyone wants to talk to me in English and Indonesian and Palembang (mother tongue) and I try and follow and communicate as best I can. The students are bashful about there english, except one which did his study abroad in no other state but South Dakota! It blew my mind. He was in Sioux Falls for 9 months. I am going to try and get photos from his time to show and show him photos from my trips there. What are the chances? His english is much better than even most of the english teacher. His pronunciation and vocabulary are great. I'm excited to keep his english skills up! There is another recent grad that wants me to help him with his application to study in the US, so that is exciting.
The teachers love chatting with me and want to have me over and stay the night and go to lunch and go to the mall and all sorts of things. I will be staying the night at my counterparts parents house this weekend, which is right next to the Ampera bridge, so I can see it at night, and then go to the park for a jog at (gulp) 6am! So everyone wants to help me and show me around, which is great. And just simple greetings and conversations on the way to school are greatly appreciated.
My living arrangement is great. I live in an extra room with an Ibu who loves gardening, so the beautiful house also has a beautiful garden. She is also very sweet so I have a nice lady to practice my Indonesian with. We usually have dinner and breakfast together, and can watch TV in the evenings. I have a nice big room with my own bathroom (it even has a real toilet!) so I am very comfortable. My house is about a 5 minute walk from school which is very convenient.
I have been dealing with immigration stuff upon arrival, I have 7 days to complete the KITAS process otherwise, I'm not exactly sure what happens, but it's not good. I came in on Tuesday, the process needs to be completed by Monday, and today is Friday with only the weekend in between. I have heard this is a long process requiring several visits, so we'll see how this all works out.
Pictures coming soon!
Everyone is very nice and friendly and welcoming, everyone wants to talk to me in English and Indonesian and Palembang (mother tongue) and I try and follow and communicate as best I can. The students are bashful about there english, except one which did his study abroad in no other state but South Dakota! It blew my mind. He was in Sioux Falls for 9 months. I am going to try and get photos from his time to show and show him photos from my trips there. What are the chances? His english is much better than even most of the english teacher. His pronunciation and vocabulary are great. I'm excited to keep his english skills up! There is another recent grad that wants me to help him with his application to study in the US, so that is exciting.
The teachers love chatting with me and want to have me over and stay the night and go to lunch and go to the mall and all sorts of things. I will be staying the night at my counterparts parents house this weekend, which is right next to the Ampera bridge, so I can see it at night, and then go to the park for a jog at (gulp) 6am! So everyone wants to help me and show me around, which is great. And just simple greetings and conversations on the way to school are greatly appreciated.
My living arrangement is great. I live in an extra room with an Ibu who loves gardening, so the beautiful house also has a beautiful garden. She is also very sweet so I have a nice lady to practice my Indonesian with. We usually have dinner and breakfast together, and can watch TV in the evenings. I have a nice big room with my own bathroom (it even has a real toilet!) so I am very comfortable. My house is about a 5 minute walk from school which is very convenient.
I have been dealing with immigration stuff upon arrival, I have 7 days to complete the KITAS process otherwise, I'm not exactly sure what happens, but it's not good. I came in on Tuesday, the process needs to be completed by Monday, and today is Friday with only the weekend in between. I have heard this is a long process requiring several visits, so we'll see how this all works out.
Pictures coming soon!
Singapore
Singapore was amazing. It is a beautiful city with so many impressive things to see! My feet were killing me by the end, because we were walking around the majority of our 36 hours there. We had dinner in Little India, which was a fun district to explore and a very delicious dinner. After that we went to the Arab Quarter and stopped at a hookah bar. Then we went to the square where all the night clubs were, and because we didn't want to pay $15 for a drink, we spent most of the night bouncing between clubs, hanging out at the nearby bridge, and dancing by the beautiful fountain that was in the center of the square.
The next day we saw the smaller Merlion, which was just as great as it sounds, and made a trip back to the Arab Quarter for lunch and a look at the beautiful Mosque there in the daylight. Then I took a quick nap (we were up until 4 or 5am) before heading out again to see the super trees. The super trees look like something from Avatar. Its an incredible garden that is hard to explain, so I will attach photos. On our way to see the super trees, we stumbled upon a laser light show that had holograms, music, fog, fire, and bubbles included, and was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It was like magic. Which reminds me, one of my friends called Singapore "Disneyland for adults", which I completely agree with, there are so many entertaining things to do and awesome things to see. Including the largest Ferris Wheel I've ever seen.
After the garden we went on top of the tallest building in Singapore (I think), and the design is three pillars with a giant ship on top. It is very impressive, and the view from the top was incredible. There was a fee to see the view, which gave you access to the restaurant and the night club, but the infinity pool was for hotel guests only. The view was totally worth it. I would return to Singapore in a heart beat, it was the cleanest safest feeling city I have ever visited. I loved it!
Pictures coming soon!
The next day we saw the smaller Merlion, which was just as great as it sounds, and made a trip back to the Arab Quarter for lunch and a look at the beautiful Mosque there in the daylight. Then I took a quick nap (we were up until 4 or 5am) before heading out again to see the super trees. The super trees look like something from Avatar. Its an incredible garden that is hard to explain, so I will attach photos. On our way to see the super trees, we stumbled upon a laser light show that had holograms, music, fog, fire, and bubbles included, and was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It was like magic. Which reminds me, one of my friends called Singapore "Disneyland for adults", which I completely agree with, there are so many entertaining things to do and awesome things to see. Including the largest Ferris Wheel I've ever seen.
After the garden we went on top of the tallest building in Singapore (I think), and the design is three pillars with a giant ship on top. It is very impressive, and the view from the top was incredible. There was a fee to see the view, which gave you access to the restaurant and the night club, but the infinity pool was for hotel guests only. The view was totally worth it. I would return to Singapore in a heart beat, it was the cleanest safest feeling city I have ever visited. I loved it!
Pictures coming soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)