Friday, April 29, 2011
more pics
language
so here it is.. some language.. this is just a drop in the bucket.. hopefully you all are smart enough to figure out how to read it :)
warna- color
wahr-nah
hitam- black
hit-ahm
coklat- brown
choke-lat
biru-blue
bee-rue
biru muda- light blue
bee-rue, moo-dah
hijau-green
he-jaoww
hijao muda- light green
he-jaoww, moo-dah
kuning- yellow
koo-ning
oranye-orange
or-ahn-yeh
merah- red
meer-ah
merah muda- pink
meer-ah, moo-dah
abu-abu - grey
ah-boo, ah-boo
putih- white
pooh-tee
ungu- purple
uhng-oo
enak-delicious
a-nahk
cantik- beautiful (person)
chan-teek
indah- beautiful (object)
dingin-cold
ding-in
pedas-spicy
pay-dahs
pahit- bitter
pah-hit
manis-sweet
mahn-eese
asam-sour
ah-sahm
tawar-tasteless
tah-wahr
asin-salty
ah-seen
nol-0
noll
satu-1
sah-too
dua-2
do-ah
tiga-3
tee-gah
empat-4
um-paht
lima-5
lee-mah
enam-6
eh-nahm
tujuh-7
too-jew
delapan-8
duh-lah-pahn
sembilan-9
sem-bee-lahn
sepuluh-10
suh-poo-loo
tanggal-date (time)
tahn-ggall
hari-day
har-ee
Senin-monday
suhn-in
Selasa-tuesday
suh-las-ah
Rabu-wednesday
rah-boo
Kamis-thursday
kah-meese
Jumat- friday
jewm-aht
Sabtu-saturday
saab-too
Minggu-sunday
ming-goo
dia-he/she (formal)
dee-a
mereka-they
mer-ache-a
kami- we
kah-me
kita-all of us
key-tah
kalian- you all (informal)
kahlee-ahn
rumah- house
roo-mah
tas- bag
tahs
nasi goreng- fried rice
nah-see, gor-ang
sayur-vegetables
sigh-yur
mi goreng- fried noodles
me, gor-ang
ikan-fish
ee-kahn
ayam-chicken
ah-yam
daging sapi-beef
dah-ging, sah-pee
telur-egg
tell-orrr
tahu-tofu
tahh-ooo
roti-bread
row-tee
keju-cheese
keh-jew
makanan-food
mah-kahn-ahn
minuman- drink
min-oo-mahn
Anda berasal dari mana? Where are you from?
ahn-dah, bear-ah-sal, dar-ee, mah-nah
Nama anda siapa?- what is your name?
nah-mah, ahn-dah, see-ah-pah
bagaimana tulisan ______?- How do you spell ______?
bah-gee-mah-na, too-lee-shan
sampai jumpa- see you later
sahm-pie, jewm-pah
maaf bisa ulang?- can you repeat?
mah-ahf, bee-sah, oo-lan
nomor telepon anda berapa?- what is your telephone number?
no-more, tele-pon, ahn-da, bear-ah-pah
sebentar- in a minute
seh-ben-tar
permisi- excuse me
per-meese-ee
sekarang-now
seck-ah-rahng
hari ini hari apa?- what day is today?
har-ee, in-ee, har-ee, ah-pah
anda lahir tanggal berapa?-when were you born?
ahn-dah, lah-here, tahn-gall, bear-ah-pah
apakah anda mao makan?- what do you want to eat?
ah-pah-kah, ahn-dah, mao, mah-kahn
maaf- sorry
mah-ahf
beli- to buy
beh-ly
cuci- to wash
chu-chee
punya- to have
poon-yah
pergi- to go
purr-gee
bermain- to play
bear-mine
suka- like
sue-kah
tidur- to sleep
tee-doorrr
pikir- to think
pee-kerr
cinta-love
chin-tah
bangun- wake up
bahn-goon
makan- to eat
mah-kahn
belajar- to study
bell-ah-jharrrr
warna- color
wahr-nah
hitam- black
hit-ahm
coklat- brown
choke-lat
biru-blue
bee-rue
biru muda- light blue
bee-rue, moo-dah
hijau-green
he-jaoww
hijao muda- light green
he-jaoww, moo-dah
kuning- yellow
koo-ning
oranye-orange
or-ahn-yeh
merah- red
meer-ah
merah muda- pink
meer-ah, moo-dah
abu-abu - grey
ah-boo, ah-boo
putih- white
pooh-tee
ungu- purple
uhng-oo
enak-delicious
a-nahk
cantik- beautiful (person)
chan-teek
indah- beautiful (object)
dingin-cold
ding-in
pedas-spicy
pay-dahs
pahit- bitter
pah-hit
manis-sweet
mahn-eese
asam-sour
ah-sahm
tawar-tasteless
tah-wahr
asin-salty
ah-seen
nol-0
noll
satu-1
sah-too
dua-2
do-ah
tiga-3
tee-gah
empat-4
um-paht
lima-5
lee-mah
enam-6
eh-nahm
tujuh-7
too-jew
delapan-8
duh-lah-pahn
sembilan-9
sem-bee-lahn
sepuluh-10
suh-poo-loo
tanggal-date (time)
tahn-ggall
hari-day
har-ee
Senin-monday
suhn-in
Selasa-tuesday
suh-las-ah
Rabu-wednesday
rah-boo
Kamis-thursday
kah-meese
Jumat- friday
jewm-aht
Sabtu-saturday
saab-too
Minggu-sunday
ming-goo
dia-he/she (formal)
dee-a
mereka-they
mer-ache-a
kami- we
kah-me
kita-all of us
key-tah
kalian- you all (informal)
kahlee-ahn
rumah- house
roo-mah
tas- bag
tahs
nasi goreng- fried rice
nah-see, gor-ang
sayur-vegetables
sigh-yur
mi goreng- fried noodles
me, gor-ang
ikan-fish
ee-kahn
ayam-chicken
ah-yam
daging sapi-beef
dah-ging, sah-pee
telur-egg
tell-orrr
tahu-tofu
tahh-ooo
roti-bread
row-tee
keju-cheese
keh-jew
makanan-food
mah-kahn-ahn
minuman- drink
min-oo-mahn
Anda berasal dari mana? Where are you from?
ahn-dah, bear-ah-sal, dar-ee, mah-nah
Nama anda siapa?- what is your name?
nah-mah, ahn-dah, see-ah-pah
bagaimana tulisan ______?- How do you spell ______?
bah-gee-mah-na, too-lee-shan
sampai jumpa- see you later
sahm-pie, jewm-pah
maaf bisa ulang?- can you repeat?
mah-ahf, bee-sah, oo-lan
nomor telepon anda berapa?- what is your telephone number?
no-more, tele-pon, ahn-da, bear-ah-pah
sebentar- in a minute
seh-ben-tar
permisi- excuse me
per-meese-ee
sekarang-now
seck-ah-rahng
hari ini hari apa?- what day is today?
har-ee, in-ee, har-ee, ah-pah
anda lahir tanggal berapa?-when were you born?
ahn-dah, lah-here, tahn-gall, bear-ah-pah
apakah anda mao makan?- what do you want to eat?
ah-pah-kah, ahn-dah, mao, mah-kahn
maaf- sorry
mah-ahf
beli- to buy
beh-ly
cuci- to wash
chu-chee
punya- to have
poon-yah
pergi- to go
purr-gee
bermain- to play
bear-mine
suka- like
sue-kah
tidur- to sleep
tee-doorrr
pikir- to think
pee-kerr
cinta-love
chin-tah
bangun- wake up
bahn-goon
makan- to eat
mah-kahn
belajar- to study
bell-ah-jharrrr
same ole
so its been a long week and its hard to believe that its only the end of week 3.. it feels like so much longer.. observing the school has been fun.. the school system is so much different here, its kinda hard to be in the classroom and know that soon ill be in a school knda like this..
the children talk a lot while the teacher is talking and very few understand what the teacher is saying.. today in observation some students were talking while Mary Ellen was introducing herself and she said please listen and i had to laugh.. they obviously ignored her but at least they quieted down a little.. its just so hard to realize that im not in an american school system where the students would almost never talk that loud while a teacher is talking.. i wanna be able to put my foot down when im a teacher but im afraid it will go against everything the kids have been taught.. i dunno.. its a tiny prediciment right now that im trying to think of a creative way to fix.. maybe if they get tooannoying in class ill have them come up and read a short little poem in english.. who knows..
so next week daniel and i are going to be partners and we are going to do little activities in the classroom.. it should be interesting.. not quite sure what we are going to do yet but knowing him, he will come up with something good..
got some pictures im going to upload next.. a lot of my house.. maybe ill get a chance to sneak a picture of the bathroom.. im so used to it now but its still weird when i have to use the bathroom other than home.. im so used to my bathroom.. oh well..
i feel like my thoughts are a little scattered.. im pretty tired its just been go go go for the last few days and its starting to catch up to me.. its looking like i will have a free weekend though to catch up on the language and do some PCT (peace corp training) stuff.. wooo
ahh i finished some indonesian language stuff.. now i just gotta look and see what i wanna put up here.. i wrote a lot of phonetics under the words (maybe not exact stuff but i understand when i look at it and hopefully you will to..) hmm..
well i dont got much else.. ready for the weekend :)
love you all :)
the children talk a lot while the teacher is talking and very few understand what the teacher is saying.. today in observation some students were talking while Mary Ellen was introducing herself and she said please listen and i had to laugh.. they obviously ignored her but at least they quieted down a little.. its just so hard to realize that im not in an american school system where the students would almost never talk that loud while a teacher is talking.. i wanna be able to put my foot down when im a teacher but im afraid it will go against everything the kids have been taught.. i dunno.. its a tiny prediciment right now that im trying to think of a creative way to fix.. maybe if they get tooannoying in class ill have them come up and read a short little poem in english.. who knows..
so next week daniel and i are going to be partners and we are going to do little activities in the classroom.. it should be interesting.. not quite sure what we are going to do yet but knowing him, he will come up with something good..
got some pictures im going to upload next.. a lot of my house.. maybe ill get a chance to sneak a picture of the bathroom.. im so used to it now but its still weird when i have to use the bathroom other than home.. im so used to my bathroom.. oh well..
i feel like my thoughts are a little scattered.. im pretty tired its just been go go go for the last few days and its starting to catch up to me.. its looking like i will have a free weekend though to catch up on the language and do some PCT (peace corp training) stuff.. wooo
ahh i finished some indonesian language stuff.. now i just gotta look and see what i wanna put up here.. i wrote a lot of phonetics under the words (maybe not exact stuff but i understand when i look at it and hopefully you will to..) hmm..
well i dont got much else.. ready for the weekend :)
love you all :)
Monday, April 25, 2011
first day at school.. ahh!
so today was the first day of practicum, which just means the school visit in fancy terms.. hah..
it was a lot better than i was expecting.. as we were riding in the angkot i started to get butterflies in my stomach and i was reminded of the first day of school in high school.. not really knowing what to expect or who was going to be in your class.. ha.. not that i should be worrying about that.. since i dont know anyone at this school and uh.. they dont really speak english.. hahaha.. there lies my problem.. but it was a lot better than i thought and i soon forgot the butterflies and went about my day without another thought.. we got there pretty early.. watched the flag raising ceremony and then introduced ourselves to the entire school.. which was a little intimdating.. we had to stand in front of 600 students and around 60 staff members.. gahh..
but it was all good.. the students are all really friendly.. we got to observe an english class and man.. will i have my work cut out for me.. a lot of the students dont understand much english even though they have been taking english since primary school.. you could see there were a few who really knew what was going on and then a few more that just did not care at all but you have that in every class i suppose..
after the observation, daniel and i traded off with mary ellen and george and walked around the school a bit.. we went to the library which does not look like any library i have been too but it was interesting.. there some giggling girl tried to talk to me in english.. she just could not stop laughing she was so nervous.. it was funny.. that would not be the reaction i would have but laughing is good.. we talked for like 2 minutes before she couldnt handle it anymore and had to leave.. hah i think i made her day though.. after that we got a tour and then talked to some students to kind of evaluate their english levels.. it was difficult talking to some of them because they just did not understand anything i asked them.. but i guess if i was getting the same questions in indonesian i might not answer correctly..
around 12 we left to go back to go to language class.. i was sooooo tired that i wasnt sure i would be able to make it to 4.. it was such a long day today.. i dont even know why i am up right now.. ive been up for over 18 hours.. ohhhhh man.. but anyways after learning tons more indonesian daniel and i walked home and he had the idea to look at our music and find the 10 best songs that we have that define us.. hmm.. thats a tough question.. i went through all my music and couldnt really narrow it down to 10 but i got it down to 20 i love to listen to but i have like 60 more i want him to listen to so tomorrow i think we are going to do a music exchange.. should be fun we kinda have the same taste in music so ill be glad to get some more stuff..
well i gotta wake up again at 445.. yay............. i dont understand how indonesians can survive such a long day.. i gotta give them credit.. they are tough people..
well.. love you all :)
it was a lot better than i was expecting.. as we were riding in the angkot i started to get butterflies in my stomach and i was reminded of the first day of school in high school.. not really knowing what to expect or who was going to be in your class.. ha.. not that i should be worrying about that.. since i dont know anyone at this school and uh.. they dont really speak english.. hahaha.. there lies my problem.. but it was a lot better than i thought and i soon forgot the butterflies and went about my day without another thought.. we got there pretty early.. watched the flag raising ceremony and then introduced ourselves to the entire school.. which was a little intimdating.. we had to stand in front of 600 students and around 60 staff members.. gahh..
but it was all good.. the students are all really friendly.. we got to observe an english class and man.. will i have my work cut out for me.. a lot of the students dont understand much english even though they have been taking english since primary school.. you could see there were a few who really knew what was going on and then a few more that just did not care at all but you have that in every class i suppose..
after the observation, daniel and i traded off with mary ellen and george and walked around the school a bit.. we went to the library which does not look like any library i have been too but it was interesting.. there some giggling girl tried to talk to me in english.. she just could not stop laughing she was so nervous.. it was funny.. that would not be the reaction i would have but laughing is good.. we talked for like 2 minutes before she couldnt handle it anymore and had to leave.. hah i think i made her day though.. after that we got a tour and then talked to some students to kind of evaluate their english levels.. it was difficult talking to some of them because they just did not understand anything i asked them.. but i guess if i was getting the same questions in indonesian i might not answer correctly..
around 12 we left to go back to go to language class.. i was sooooo tired that i wasnt sure i would be able to make it to 4.. it was such a long day today.. i dont even know why i am up right now.. ive been up for over 18 hours.. ohhhhh man.. but anyways after learning tons more indonesian daniel and i walked home and he had the idea to look at our music and find the 10 best songs that we have that define us.. hmm.. thats a tough question.. i went through all my music and couldnt really narrow it down to 10 but i got it down to 20 i love to listen to but i have like 60 more i want him to listen to so tomorrow i think we are going to do a music exchange.. should be fun we kinda have the same taste in music so ill be glad to get some more stuff..
well i gotta wake up again at 445.. yay............. i dont understand how indonesians can survive such a long day.. i gotta give them credit.. they are tough people..
well.. love you all :)
weekend adventure
so of course there would be a gathering going on at my house the night before i have to wake up at like 445.. this is so my life.. hah
this weekend was uneventful yet i was busy everyday.. saturday i went up to Tlekung for some language practice and then afterwards, around 11 went to Malang in search of notecards.. which are incredibly hard to find.. grr.. this trip ended up lasting till 4 so i was beat by the time i came home.. i cant really even remember what i did last night haha.. im pretty sure i went to bed a little early and i got to sleep in this morning.. wooo! still managed to wake up wayyy before my alarm almost at my normal time..
so today i washed my clothes, called home and then waited for my sister to mandi before we went for a walk.. we went down to the warnet i sent out a few emails talked to some of my friends and my sister on facebook chat.. which by the way i loveeeeeeeddd.. next best thing to skype.. i never thought i would say that.. but its nice to talk to someone in real time rather than email every once in awhile..
then we walked to the other grandmothers house.. it was a far walk and i was so sweaty by the time we got there but it was nice.. we stayed or about an hour and of course i had to eat something even though i wasnt hungry.. i am so afraid to offend someone but i really dont eat all that much and being hot and sweaty doesnt make me want to eat.. s around 12 we left and started the hour walk home.. my sister kept saying her legs were sick.. which means sore.. i had to laugh.. i love all this walking.. it was nice on the way home because it was hardly any uphill.. im still getting used to all the hills.. by my legs are starting to look really niceeee.. haha now if only i could get them tan.....
by the time we got back my sister looked like she was about to drop she was so tired so she went and laid down and i got out my ipad and started reading.. i have read wayyyy too many books so far.. (only like 5 but man i need to slow down!) at this rate ill be done with all the books i bought and ill have to start all over and read them again.. around 2 i went down to daniels and we walked together to the soccer field where we met up with some of the other volunteers.. it was nice to be around them for an hour but i had to go and get my clothes.. it looked like it was going to rain so i wanted to bring them in.. plussss i got a sunburn on the walk this morning so my neck was killing me.. yayyyy me.. but soon i will be coklat (brown) and i will blend in..... hah! as if that will happen..
so i come home.. read some more.. eat and then finish typing up my notes.. and my brother keeps singing.. i told him noooooooo.. and he started saying everything i said after i said it.. you know how annoying that can be so i started to tap him on his head and he started to tap me on my arm.. we both started laughing.. i love him.. he always cracks me up.. and now.. im in bed.. listening to a meeting going on in the room next to me.. i wish i could understand im really curious as to what is going on.. in case i didnt say it before, my bapak is the sub-village head so he is a leader around here.. i think it might have something to do with that but then again.. i dunno.. someone keeps pulling my curtain back to look in.. i hear my ibu saying tidur tidur, which is sleeping.. so hopefully whoever the little troublemaker is will stop.. hah..
anyways this is long enough.. im pooped! soooo much walking!
next up.. pics of the house (nice little tour..) and my first indonesian school adventure.. woo!
this weekend was uneventful yet i was busy everyday.. saturday i went up to Tlekung for some language practice and then afterwards, around 11 went to Malang in search of notecards.. which are incredibly hard to find.. grr.. this trip ended up lasting till 4 so i was beat by the time i came home.. i cant really even remember what i did last night haha.. im pretty sure i went to bed a little early and i got to sleep in this morning.. wooo! still managed to wake up wayyy before my alarm almost at my normal time..
so today i washed my clothes, called home and then waited for my sister to mandi before we went for a walk.. we went down to the warnet i sent out a few emails talked to some of my friends and my sister on facebook chat.. which by the way i loveeeeeeeddd.. next best thing to skype.. i never thought i would say that.. but its nice to talk to someone in real time rather than email every once in awhile..
then we walked to the other grandmothers house.. it was a far walk and i was so sweaty by the time we got there but it was nice.. we stayed or about an hour and of course i had to eat something even though i wasnt hungry.. i am so afraid to offend someone but i really dont eat all that much and being hot and sweaty doesnt make me want to eat.. s around 12 we left and started the hour walk home.. my sister kept saying her legs were sick.. which means sore.. i had to laugh.. i love all this walking.. it was nice on the way home because it was hardly any uphill.. im still getting used to all the hills.. by my legs are starting to look really niceeee.. haha now if only i could get them tan.....
by the time we got back my sister looked like she was about to drop she was so tired so she went and laid down and i got out my ipad and started reading.. i have read wayyyy too many books so far.. (only like 5 but man i need to slow down!) at this rate ill be done with all the books i bought and ill have to start all over and read them again.. around 2 i went down to daniels and we walked together to the soccer field where we met up with some of the other volunteers.. it was nice to be around them for an hour but i had to go and get my clothes.. it looked like it was going to rain so i wanted to bring them in.. plussss i got a sunburn on the walk this morning so my neck was killing me.. yayyyy me.. but soon i will be coklat (brown) and i will blend in..... hah! as if that will happen..
so i come home.. read some more.. eat and then finish typing up my notes.. and my brother keeps singing.. i told him noooooooo.. and he started saying everything i said after i said it.. you know how annoying that can be so i started to tap him on his head and he started to tap me on my arm.. we both started laughing.. i love him.. he always cracks me up.. and now.. im in bed.. listening to a meeting going on in the room next to me.. i wish i could understand im really curious as to what is going on.. in case i didnt say it before, my bapak is the sub-village head so he is a leader around here.. i think it might have something to do with that but then again.. i dunno.. someone keeps pulling my curtain back to look in.. i hear my ibu saying tidur tidur, which is sleeping.. so hopefully whoever the little troublemaker is will stop.. hah..
anyways this is long enough.. im pooped! soooo much walking!
next up.. pics of the house (nice little tour..) and my first indonesian school adventure.. woo!
Friday, April 22, 2011
my address.. send me stuff!
here is my address! make sure you only send stuff within the next three weeks if you are going to send anything and let me know if you do so i can ask about it! after that ill get everyone my new address..
Allyson Fenn- Peace Corps Indonesia
Gedung Rektorat/BKLN
Kampus III Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang
Jl. Telogomas 246
Post Code: 65114
Malang-Jawa Timur
INDONESIA
Allyson Fenn- Peace Corps Indonesia
Gedung Rektorat/BKLN
Kampus III Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang
Jl. Telogomas 246
Post Code: 65114
Malang-Jawa Timur
INDONESIA
pictures
so this is it for now.. ill try and get more later..
Thursday, April 21, 2011
oh well
so i havent written in awhile but there really hasnt been too much going on.. we got interviewed the other day by the final placement director.. so it kinda feels like the ball is starting to roll.. the next few weeks we will be going into schools and getting a chance to observe, do a little lesson and then actually co-teach a whole class.. should be interesting.. not going ot lie im a little nervouse for this part.. i think nce im in my own school and have had a chance to plan stuff out it will be easier to go in and teach but this way is kinda throwing us in and we all know im really nervouse in situations that i have to be thrown in.. haha
hmm.. ive been making a document for the language that i wanna send to some people.. its taking forever to type up my notes but im slowly getting there.. its been good review.. i can only hope that its all clear enough that people can read them and learn the language along with me..
hoping to get the blogs posted today (friday) or else take a data stick with me to the internet cafe tomorrow.. cant remember where i put it so it may be a search to find that.. well i gotta get going.. earlier day today.. :(
oh so if anyone wants to send me some stuf.. id love it.. i am missing cheese.. like really bad.. so i would loveeeeee instant mac and cheese.. i think that would just make my year.. thats like the only thing im missing right now.. id love the sender forever :) ill post the address so you can send me letters too if you want but only for the next few weeks starting in the end of may the address will change..
love you all :)
hmm.. ive been making a document for the language that i wanna send to some people.. its taking forever to type up my notes but im slowly getting there.. its been good review.. i can only hope that its all clear enough that people can read them and learn the language along with me..
hoping to get the blogs posted today (friday) or else take a data stick with me to the internet cafe tomorrow.. cant remember where i put it so it may be a search to find that.. well i gotta get going.. earlier day today.. :(
oh so if anyone wants to send me some stuf.. id love it.. i am missing cheese.. like really bad.. so i would loveeeeee instant mac and cheese.. i think that would just make my year.. thats like the only thing im missing right now.. id love the sender forever :) ill post the address so you can send me letters too if you want but only for the next few weeks starting in the end of may the address will change..
love you all :)
my days
so a day in the life..
ive been asked by a few people to say what my days are like.. they all pretty much run the same
4:30 am
I wake up briefly due to the call to prayer.. i usually look at my phone see what time it is and then fall back asleep.. sometimes ill hear some of it through my ear plugs but i can usually tune it out..
5:30 am
wake up and go take a mandi.. really this just consists of me standing in the bathroom and trying to take a half decent “shower” with freezing water.. its really the worst in the morning.. something about dousing yourself with frigid water at 530 in the morning isnt really welcoming.. lately ive just been getting my hair wet and getting a little water on my arms and legs before i just quit because im so cold..
5:45 am
eat breakfast.. after getting out of the bathroom and getting dressed i walk down the hall to the kitchen and grab a bowl of rice and whatever my ibu has made that morning.. I am not a big fan of eating in the morning so this is hell for me.. my ibu always looks at the portion i put on my plate and asks me if i want more.. almost every morning this happens.. i should look up small stomach.. haha to drink i have hot sweet fresh milk or hot sweet tea.. nothing here drink wise, besides water, comes without sugar in it.. its a little weird to get used to, everything being so sweet..
6:00 am
go back and sit around in my room till i have to leave for class.. lately ive been studying my flashcards or reading a book.. i have so much time to kill its not even funny.. One of the other trainees and I decided on starting to walk in the morning to exercise off the food that we keep getting fed.. im going to have awesome legs 8 weeks from now
7:25 am
leave for class.. on my way out the door i say goodbye to whoever is still home, usually only my ibu. We shake hands and then move the right hand briefly over our own hearts.. it shows respect.. I usually say sampai jumpa, which means until later.. or something along those lines. I then make the very short walk to Daniels house, another trainee who literally lives like 2 minutes away from me down a small hill.. On my way to his rumah (house) i smile and say pagi or selamat pagi to pretty much everyone on the street.. still getting quite a few stares but i also recognize quite a few of the people i pass by.. I get to Daniels house say hello to his Ibu and then we are off.. it takes about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how fast we are walking to get to the school or sekolah. Its a really nice walk, i have pictures that I hope to post soon..
8:00-10:00 am
class starts.. for the next two hours we sit in class, go over past lessons and learn some new vocabulary.. i feel like i have learned so much in such a short period of time but there is still sooooo much to learn.. This language is so easy but its pretty backwards when compared to english.. When you want to describe something you usually say the word and then the adjective.. it really takes some getting used to..
10:00-10:15 am
first break of the day.. we get about 15 minutes to stand up and stretch before our next round on Bahasa Indonesia.. usually we go stand on the front porch of the school and try talking to the little kids that have started to stand outside our classroom.. Its funny how many children have popped up.. the first few days they were all scared of us and they would say hi and then run away but recently they have been very interested in us and have started hanging around.. they are so cute..
10:15-12:00 pm
learn more Bahasa Indonesia.. review what we’ve learned from the previous two hours and learn more new vocab.. its just a constant stream of new words..
12:00-1:00 pm
Lunch.. Everyday i have brought a lunchbox from home.. in the beginning i got really worried about leaving the food out for 4 hours before i got a chance to eat it.. they really dont believe in refridgerators here and i am surprised i havent gotten sick from it yet.. ive gotten over it.. food stays out during the day and what you had for breakfast is usually your lunch and your dinner.. at around one or maybe a little bit before we all leave and usually catch an angkot to go to our link site for the next round of meetings.. the link site is only like 20/25 minutes walking but it is all uphill in the middle of the day.. today it was sooooooo warm it would have been brutal.. to take the angkot up it only costs about 2,000 rupiah.. which is really really cheap.. do the math yourself (exchange rate is roughly 8,500 to 1)
1:30-4:00 pm
at link we usually are either learning about TEFL learning, lessoning planning, or some other thing we have to be doing during training.. Last week we had a session on transportation safety which was interesting and found out that there are a few places we really arent allowed to go to in Indonesia.. Luckily they werent any parts that I want to visit..
usually around 4 is when my day can go one of two ways.. i can go home.. or i can go use the internet.. I usually dont go online every day so almost every other day i come home right after all the training is done.. when i come home I usually take a mandi.. which this time is real.. haha i actually take a cold shower, unlike in the morning.. Then around 6 or so i eat dinner.. After dinner i usually pull out my notecards and make new ones while my bapak studies with them haha.. He wants to learn english so he is constantly looking at my notecards and reading the english out loud.. he is so funny..
After studying for a bit the family starts asking me if im tired.. im starting to see that when i go to bed is when the rest of the family goes to bed.. i only realized this last night when i went to bed early because i wasnt feeling well.. after like 10 minutes the whole family was in bed and it was only like a quarter till 8.. usually i dont pack up and go to bed till 8.. hopefully i wasnt disrupting anything haha.. i think them asking if im tired is kind of a cue.. but lately its been true and ive been going to bed after they ask about twice..
so thats pretty much my day.. i type up my entries at night in my room while everyone is getting ready for bed and then i read for a little bit.. i really dont have that much time to do much else..
i know soon some of us want to climb up the big mountain in the distance that is behind our village.. hah Maryellen, another trainee, said that one of the volunteers did climb it and while it was challenging (the woman is in her 60s) it was wayyy worth it.. so we’re planning on making the hike soon.. i think the name is Pandaman.. but im not sure..
well my meds are kicking in (ive somehow managed to contract the common cold/ hay fever over here.. lucky me..) so ill have to catch up more later..
love you all :)
ive been asked by a few people to say what my days are like.. they all pretty much run the same
4:30 am
I wake up briefly due to the call to prayer.. i usually look at my phone see what time it is and then fall back asleep.. sometimes ill hear some of it through my ear plugs but i can usually tune it out..
5:30 am
wake up and go take a mandi.. really this just consists of me standing in the bathroom and trying to take a half decent “shower” with freezing water.. its really the worst in the morning.. something about dousing yourself with frigid water at 530 in the morning isnt really welcoming.. lately ive just been getting my hair wet and getting a little water on my arms and legs before i just quit because im so cold..
5:45 am
eat breakfast.. after getting out of the bathroom and getting dressed i walk down the hall to the kitchen and grab a bowl of rice and whatever my ibu has made that morning.. I am not a big fan of eating in the morning so this is hell for me.. my ibu always looks at the portion i put on my plate and asks me if i want more.. almost every morning this happens.. i should look up small stomach.. haha to drink i have hot sweet fresh milk or hot sweet tea.. nothing here drink wise, besides water, comes without sugar in it.. its a little weird to get used to, everything being so sweet..
6:00 am
go back and sit around in my room till i have to leave for class.. lately ive been studying my flashcards or reading a book.. i have so much time to kill its not even funny.. One of the other trainees and I decided on starting to walk in the morning to exercise off the food that we keep getting fed.. im going to have awesome legs 8 weeks from now
7:25 am
leave for class.. on my way out the door i say goodbye to whoever is still home, usually only my ibu. We shake hands and then move the right hand briefly over our own hearts.. it shows respect.. I usually say sampai jumpa, which means until later.. or something along those lines. I then make the very short walk to Daniels house, another trainee who literally lives like 2 minutes away from me down a small hill.. On my way to his rumah (house) i smile and say pagi or selamat pagi to pretty much everyone on the street.. still getting quite a few stares but i also recognize quite a few of the people i pass by.. I get to Daniels house say hello to his Ibu and then we are off.. it takes about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how fast we are walking to get to the school or sekolah. Its a really nice walk, i have pictures that I hope to post soon..
8:00-10:00 am
class starts.. for the next two hours we sit in class, go over past lessons and learn some new vocabulary.. i feel like i have learned so much in such a short period of time but there is still sooooo much to learn.. This language is so easy but its pretty backwards when compared to english.. When you want to describe something you usually say the word and then the adjective.. it really takes some getting used to..
10:00-10:15 am
first break of the day.. we get about 15 minutes to stand up and stretch before our next round on Bahasa Indonesia.. usually we go stand on the front porch of the school and try talking to the little kids that have started to stand outside our classroom.. Its funny how many children have popped up.. the first few days they were all scared of us and they would say hi and then run away but recently they have been very interested in us and have started hanging around.. they are so cute..
10:15-12:00 pm
learn more Bahasa Indonesia.. review what we’ve learned from the previous two hours and learn more new vocab.. its just a constant stream of new words..
12:00-1:00 pm
Lunch.. Everyday i have brought a lunchbox from home.. in the beginning i got really worried about leaving the food out for 4 hours before i got a chance to eat it.. they really dont believe in refridgerators here and i am surprised i havent gotten sick from it yet.. ive gotten over it.. food stays out during the day and what you had for breakfast is usually your lunch and your dinner.. at around one or maybe a little bit before we all leave and usually catch an angkot to go to our link site for the next round of meetings.. the link site is only like 20/25 minutes walking but it is all uphill in the middle of the day.. today it was sooooooo warm it would have been brutal.. to take the angkot up it only costs about 2,000 rupiah.. which is really really cheap.. do the math yourself (exchange rate is roughly 8,500 to 1)
1:30-4:00 pm
at link we usually are either learning about TEFL learning, lessoning planning, or some other thing we have to be doing during training.. Last week we had a session on transportation safety which was interesting and found out that there are a few places we really arent allowed to go to in Indonesia.. Luckily they werent any parts that I want to visit..
usually around 4 is when my day can go one of two ways.. i can go home.. or i can go use the internet.. I usually dont go online every day so almost every other day i come home right after all the training is done.. when i come home I usually take a mandi.. which this time is real.. haha i actually take a cold shower, unlike in the morning.. Then around 6 or so i eat dinner.. After dinner i usually pull out my notecards and make new ones while my bapak studies with them haha.. He wants to learn english so he is constantly looking at my notecards and reading the english out loud.. he is so funny..
After studying for a bit the family starts asking me if im tired.. im starting to see that when i go to bed is when the rest of the family goes to bed.. i only realized this last night when i went to bed early because i wasnt feeling well.. after like 10 minutes the whole family was in bed and it was only like a quarter till 8.. usually i dont pack up and go to bed till 8.. hopefully i wasnt disrupting anything haha.. i think them asking if im tired is kind of a cue.. but lately its been true and ive been going to bed after they ask about twice..
so thats pretty much my day.. i type up my entries at night in my room while everyone is getting ready for bed and then i read for a little bit.. i really dont have that much time to do much else..
i know soon some of us want to climb up the big mountain in the distance that is behind our village.. hah Maryellen, another trainee, said that one of the volunteers did climb it and while it was challenging (the woman is in her 60s) it was wayyy worth it.. so we’re planning on making the hike soon.. i think the name is Pandaman.. but im not sure..
well my meds are kicking in (ive somehow managed to contract the common cold/ hay fever over here.. lucky me..) so ill have to catch up more later..
love you all :)
catching up
wow today was soooo much fun.. we have to make a community map of our village for the Peace Corps.. it was really neat because we walked to places that we usually dont venture too. we walked down this one alley on the main road running through the village and saw all these neat houses.. feels very indonesian.. met a lot of people and took some great pictures.. we then went to the police station to do something else the Peace Corps wanted us to do.. get the 24/7 hotline number.. it was really funny walking into the station.. there were all these police officers and they just starred at us.. we got to meet someone who we think had a high position and we got pictures with him and we had several pictures taken of us on cell phones and with numerous cameras as we were talking to this guy. It was interesting..
Next three of us decided to go down to where Daniel and I live and walk up the road to see what lays beyond our village.. it was a nice uphill walk.. at first i didnt really want to walk that far.. im really not an uphill kind of person and the fact that it was hot didnt help.. But after awhile i got used to it and we got pretty far up and had a decent view of the big mountain that is behind our village.. We all have decided that we want to try and climb this mountain if we get the chance but we’d have to find a good time to do it.. i think its going to take at least 6 hours to do the whole thing.. maybe more.. but youd have to do it early in the morning because usually around 1 or 2 it starts to get cloudy and you cant see the mountain anymore..
oh my gosh there is some chanting going on tonight.. not sure where its coming from, if its coming from the mosques or not but its a tad bit annoying.. it just sounds like rambling.. but im sure he is saying something.. it could almost be like a native american chant.. i have never heard this before.. hopefully ill be able to sleep through this if it doesnt stop.. ohhh indonesia..
but back to my day.. after we explored, we went to see if we could use the internet to check our emails and go online a bit but when we got there the place was packed with children playing computer games.. it must be the thing to do for some kids to come and play games after school.. eh.... but moving on.. after waiting about a half hour, we met up with some other volunteers and our cultural expert Eka and went to Malang to go buy some batik clothing.. It was a very easy angkot ride there and we first stopped at a store that sold cloth.. Some of the stuff in this store was soooo pretty.. Other stuff.. ehh.. but it was interesting to look at all the cloth and see what the prices were.. of course the nice cotton stuff was about 100,000 per meter.. which might not be that much US but.. i didnt have that much money on me to buy some.. Daniel got a nice batik shirt and the another volunteer, Angela, got some really pretty light weight batik with a bird print on it.. Shes going to try and find a tailor to make her a shirt.. I figured i would wait a bit before i went down that road but I would love to do that..
Next we went to a mall.. I am never going back to this mall.. it was hectic.. usually malls are annoying (for me) to be in.. this was just crazy.. we walked around to several places trying to find a place to buy batiks but we couldnt find anything that we liked..after walking around for 2 hours and not finding anything we finally went back to the first place we looked at in the mall to try and find something in the mass of mens batik shirts.. finally.. we found some.. i like the shirt i got though there were some other styles i would have liked if i could have found them.. I guess in Batu they have a better selection in shirts and the like.. Our cultural guide Eka always wears the cutest stuff and everyone wants what she has haha.. As we were leaving a lot of people started to comment on my growing sunburn.. I had noticed throughout the day that i was a little red.. and then i was getting redder.. it wasnt until we got on the ride home that i looked and yeahhh.. im super red.. i have the most awesome farmers tan and i will probably have it now for the next two years.. right now im in bed but im so warm that i probably will not need to use my blanket tonight.. im generating enough heat.. haha
when i got home everyone in my family commented on my sunburn they laughed when they saw my arms haha.. now I am merah (red) and putih (white).. haha My host mother called me multicolored.. yes i guess thats me.. My sister helped translate something from my host mom and my mom said that she really liked me and that i was very beautiful (sunburn and all.. ) it was really nice of her.. i am really coming to enjoy my family here.. it still cant replace the people i left back home but im starting to feel better about being here. more welcome and a part of the family..
I finally brought out my camera and got some photos of my family.. i of course look like crap.. im so red and being next to their brown skin makes me look even worse than I know I am.. oh well.. i have 9 more weeks to get a better picture.. haha..
Wellllllll I gotta get to bed.. the chanting is still going.. looks like it may be a long night for me..
love you all :)
Next three of us decided to go down to where Daniel and I live and walk up the road to see what lays beyond our village.. it was a nice uphill walk.. at first i didnt really want to walk that far.. im really not an uphill kind of person and the fact that it was hot didnt help.. But after awhile i got used to it and we got pretty far up and had a decent view of the big mountain that is behind our village.. We all have decided that we want to try and climb this mountain if we get the chance but we’d have to find a good time to do it.. i think its going to take at least 6 hours to do the whole thing.. maybe more.. but youd have to do it early in the morning because usually around 1 or 2 it starts to get cloudy and you cant see the mountain anymore..
oh my gosh there is some chanting going on tonight.. not sure where its coming from, if its coming from the mosques or not but its a tad bit annoying.. it just sounds like rambling.. but im sure he is saying something.. it could almost be like a native american chant.. i have never heard this before.. hopefully ill be able to sleep through this if it doesnt stop.. ohhh indonesia..
but back to my day.. after we explored, we went to see if we could use the internet to check our emails and go online a bit but when we got there the place was packed with children playing computer games.. it must be the thing to do for some kids to come and play games after school.. eh.... but moving on.. after waiting about a half hour, we met up with some other volunteers and our cultural expert Eka and went to Malang to go buy some batik clothing.. It was a very easy angkot ride there and we first stopped at a store that sold cloth.. Some of the stuff in this store was soooo pretty.. Other stuff.. ehh.. but it was interesting to look at all the cloth and see what the prices were.. of course the nice cotton stuff was about 100,000 per meter.. which might not be that much US but.. i didnt have that much money on me to buy some.. Daniel got a nice batik shirt and the another volunteer, Angela, got some really pretty light weight batik with a bird print on it.. Shes going to try and find a tailor to make her a shirt.. I figured i would wait a bit before i went down that road but I would love to do that..
Next we went to a mall.. I am never going back to this mall.. it was hectic.. usually malls are annoying (for me) to be in.. this was just crazy.. we walked around to several places trying to find a place to buy batiks but we couldnt find anything that we liked..after walking around for 2 hours and not finding anything we finally went back to the first place we looked at in the mall to try and find something in the mass of mens batik shirts.. finally.. we found some.. i like the shirt i got though there were some other styles i would have liked if i could have found them.. I guess in Batu they have a better selection in shirts and the like.. Our cultural guide Eka always wears the cutest stuff and everyone wants what she has haha.. As we were leaving a lot of people started to comment on my growing sunburn.. I had noticed throughout the day that i was a little red.. and then i was getting redder.. it wasnt until we got on the ride home that i looked and yeahhh.. im super red.. i have the most awesome farmers tan and i will probably have it now for the next two years.. right now im in bed but im so warm that i probably will not need to use my blanket tonight.. im generating enough heat.. haha
when i got home everyone in my family commented on my sunburn they laughed when they saw my arms haha.. now I am merah (red) and putih (white).. haha My host mother called me multicolored.. yes i guess thats me.. My sister helped translate something from my host mom and my mom said that she really liked me and that i was very beautiful (sunburn and all.. ) it was really nice of her.. i am really coming to enjoy my family here.. it still cant replace the people i left back home but im starting to feel better about being here. more welcome and a part of the family..
I finally brought out my camera and got some photos of my family.. i of course look like crap.. im so red and being next to their brown skin makes me look even worse than I know I am.. oh well.. i have 9 more weeks to get a better picture.. haha..
Wellllllll I gotta get to bed.. the chanting is still going.. looks like it may be a long night for me..
love you all :)
Friday, April 15, 2011
Fitting In
i cant hardly believe that its been 8 days since i left home.. well as im writing this it was only like 7 and a half days my time.. but man! its felt like its been sooo long..
so today was pretty boring up until this afternoon.. more language which is good but it was a little confusing.. i didnt feel as though i understood it quite as much as i did yesterday.. but it is all good practice..
got some mosquito bites today.. they dont really itch though so im happy.. hopefully they were free of diseases..
so after classes we went on a trip to Malang to go by a HP or cell phone.. the trip was interesting. Around here we have to use an ankot (i may be spelling that wrong) but its a van with one side missing a door so you can hop on.. its not very comfortable and they stuff you in like sardines.. the trip took about a half hour to go down from the village. when i got dropped off it took like 10 minutes by car to get to where i live.. so you can imagine how slow it goes.. but we went and got on HP and then walked around for a few more things and finally went back to the village..
three of us (out of the 4) decided to go and use the wurnet (internet) cafe to check our emails and let people know we were alive.. they didnt have wireless so i couldnt email my blog entries to myself and then post them.. so i guess another day.. i had quite a few emails which was nice but i didnt really have time to respond since it was around 520 and i wanted to get home before my family started to worry about me.. i can only imagine what they would do since i didnt have my cell phone number to give them yet..
so went home had dinner and while i was eating we were talking about my phone and i got really confused and told them it cost 2.5 million.. they were sooo surprised and i said oh its cuz im Bule (foreign/white) they laughed.. then as im sitting there i realized that.. wow i only paid 250.000.. so i had to write i down and they all started laughing again.. this time at my expense.. i felt so dumb haha.. but it was a good laugh.. then my sister said something about me making bracelets so i went and got my string and tried to show her how to do it.. she understood pretty well after trying and then i said id make her, my little sister and my brother a bracelet.. so the little girl watched me as i made the bracelet.. i was more entertaining than the tv.. haha
ive tried using the phone and was only able to get through to one persons number before i gave up.. it wouldnt let me call home.. for some reason it doesnt like that number.. and when i called my dad it rang a few times and then stopped and finally i got through to hannah and left a vmail.. this phone stuff is just too much for me..
well im sleeping as im typing this so i best be off to dream land.. need all the sleep i can get.. pictures of my friends, money and the scenery are coming!
love you all :)
so today was pretty boring up until this afternoon.. more language which is good but it was a little confusing.. i didnt feel as though i understood it quite as much as i did yesterday.. but it is all good practice..
got some mosquito bites today.. they dont really itch though so im happy.. hopefully they were free of diseases..
so after classes we went on a trip to Malang to go by a HP or cell phone.. the trip was interesting. Around here we have to use an ankot (i may be spelling that wrong) but its a van with one side missing a door so you can hop on.. its not very comfortable and they stuff you in like sardines.. the trip took about a half hour to go down from the village. when i got dropped off it took like 10 minutes by car to get to where i live.. so you can imagine how slow it goes.. but we went and got on HP and then walked around for a few more things and finally went back to the village..
three of us (out of the 4) decided to go and use the wurnet (internet) cafe to check our emails and let people know we were alive.. they didnt have wireless so i couldnt email my blog entries to myself and then post them.. so i guess another day.. i had quite a few emails which was nice but i didnt really have time to respond since it was around 520 and i wanted to get home before my family started to worry about me.. i can only imagine what they would do since i didnt have my cell phone number to give them yet..
so went home had dinner and while i was eating we were talking about my phone and i got really confused and told them it cost 2.5 million.. they were sooo surprised and i said oh its cuz im Bule (foreign/white) they laughed.. then as im sitting there i realized that.. wow i only paid 250.000.. so i had to write i down and they all started laughing again.. this time at my expense.. i felt so dumb haha.. but it was a good laugh.. then my sister said something about me making bracelets so i went and got my string and tried to show her how to do it.. she understood pretty well after trying and then i said id make her, my little sister and my brother a bracelet.. so the little girl watched me as i made the bracelet.. i was more entertaining than the tv.. haha
ive tried using the phone and was only able to get through to one persons number before i gave up.. it wouldnt let me call home.. for some reason it doesnt like that number.. and when i called my dad it rang a few times and then stopped and finally i got through to hannah and left a vmail.. this phone stuff is just too much for me..
well im sleeping as im typing this so i best be off to dream land.. need all the sleep i can get.. pictures of my friends, money and the scenery are coming!
love you all :)
Day Two: Better and Better!
sooo i woke up this morning (Monday) around 1230 and my stomach hurt so bad.. i took some tums and then a hour later i had to search my way through the house to the bathroom.. it was a lovely first experience of the toilet.. luckily it wasnt too bad so i got out of there without too much.. um.. you know bathroom stuff going on.. i went back to bed and around 530 the eldest sister comes in and tells me its 6 and its time to wake up.. i had already been up for awhile because for some reason i got really really homesick and all i wanted to do was to go home.. I just couldnt stop the tears that just came out of no where.. i was convinced that i couldnt do this is was too much at one time and i couldnt even talk to anyone from back home to reassure me that i should stick through it all.. i got out of my mandi (kinda like a shower but with cold water that i have to turn off to soap up and turn back on to rinse off.. its interesting.. but i got out of the shower thinking i was fine yet i just couldnt convince myself.. i got out some kleenex and tried to make it look like i was ok.. i looked up the word homesick just in case.. i was too afraid that if my ibu or bapak saw me crying i would start crying harder.. it just was not a good morning for me..
around 730 we left to go pick up Daniel who lives down the road a little ways, I was sure where we were going because my ibu told me we were going to see her friend.. i should have figured it was Daniels host mother.. so we walked to out class room and let me tell you the scenery is awesome.. it is so beautiful.. i didnt take my camera with me today but i am hoping to have it tomorrow so i can snap some pictures to show off.. the walk to the classroom takes about 20 minutes so once we got there George and Maryellen, the only other two people in the village, were already at class.. it was until i saw them that i started to relax.. class started to pick up and i felt that i was learning more and more and i started to realize that i could do this.. i know i am going to have moments where i feel like i just wanna go home a lot the next few months but this morning i just thought i was going to lose it.. (but im better now..)
i did pretty well learning some new things. I can describe the colors of some objects, tell you who i am with, what some things are and a few other tidbits that are a little helpful if you need to find something out.. Ini apa? is what is this? and Itu apa? is what is that. Now i can point at stuff at home and have my family tell me what stuff is.. lovely!
so after class we all went on a walk to see where each other lived. It was nice to know that only one person is pretty far away.. ill probably never walk up the giant hillside again but man is he going to have some nice legs.. its worse than jeff hill (those from ou will get the reference) at around 4ish we got to my house (mine was last on the tour) and i had to say goodbye to the americans and spend the rest of the day with my host family.. its only been like 4 hours since that moment yet it had felt like a lot more than that.. So much happened when i got home.. i made some flash cards, practiced numbers with my little sister who i think is warming up to me more which is nice, helped my brother with his english.. more like me telling him the answer while he kept guessing.. i wanted to look up the word cheating as a joke since alllllll his friends were there as well.. they were sooo funny.. they started playing justin beiber and looked at me like i may not know who he was. I told them that one of my friends (Evanne) actually got to meet him and they were all impressed.. i think they were jealous.. haha.. around 6 i had dinner and my host sister put soooo much rice on my plate (nasi= rice) im going to be fat.. i cleaned my plate though near the end i thought i was going to explode.. ill have to find the words for getting my own food.. if this keeps up im going to weigh 800 pounds when i get back.. ohh.. my host mom made me milk.. which im pretty sure came straight from a cow since refrigerators are not really used here.. and she heats it up and then adds it to a jar that has sugar in it.. its not bad.. just veryyyy sweet.. thats one thing you can notice here that everything is really sweet.. im surprised they all dont have rotting teeth from all the sugar! (they do brush their teeth...)
afterwards i went back to the sitting room, helped my sister by checking over her english homework... i think she can comprehend more one paper than when i talk to her because she got all of the questions right.. Sempurna! (perfect!) all my brothers friends were still here and they are funny.. they kept saying random things in english to me haha.. the three girls that were there told me i was pretty.. which i hear a lot.. i wish i knew a better response than terima kasih (thank you).. just doesnt seem like the right response.. i got a visit from some Peace Corp personal making sure everything with my family was good and if i needed anything.. they placed me with this family partly because i said i like little kids and my host mother hosts a pre-school sometimes.. maybe ill be around when the little ones are around so i can scare them haha.. im just a beautiful scary person!
well i gotta get to bed.. hopefully i sleep better tonight since i had a busy day.. tomorrow i should be getting a cell phone! im not going to hand out my number because im not really sure what the whole minutes and international stuff will cost so its not a big deal but im excited.. i can call home!
we also found an internet cafe so maybe later this week i get get on or just wait till friday when I have to go to UMM.. i may only be able to access the internet at UMM so all this technology may go down to one day a week.. its already been a day and im feeling the strain with the lack of communication.. its getting better though the more language i learn..
well love you all :)
around 730 we left to go pick up Daniel who lives down the road a little ways, I was sure where we were going because my ibu told me we were going to see her friend.. i should have figured it was Daniels host mother.. so we walked to out class room and let me tell you the scenery is awesome.. it is so beautiful.. i didnt take my camera with me today but i am hoping to have it tomorrow so i can snap some pictures to show off.. the walk to the classroom takes about 20 minutes so once we got there George and Maryellen, the only other two people in the village, were already at class.. it was until i saw them that i started to relax.. class started to pick up and i felt that i was learning more and more and i started to realize that i could do this.. i know i am going to have moments where i feel like i just wanna go home a lot the next few months but this morning i just thought i was going to lose it.. (but im better now..)
i did pretty well learning some new things. I can describe the colors of some objects, tell you who i am with, what some things are and a few other tidbits that are a little helpful if you need to find something out.. Ini apa? is what is this? and Itu apa? is what is that. Now i can point at stuff at home and have my family tell me what stuff is.. lovely!
so after class we all went on a walk to see where each other lived. It was nice to know that only one person is pretty far away.. ill probably never walk up the giant hillside again but man is he going to have some nice legs.. its worse than jeff hill (those from ou will get the reference) at around 4ish we got to my house (mine was last on the tour) and i had to say goodbye to the americans and spend the rest of the day with my host family.. its only been like 4 hours since that moment yet it had felt like a lot more than that.. So much happened when i got home.. i made some flash cards, practiced numbers with my little sister who i think is warming up to me more which is nice, helped my brother with his english.. more like me telling him the answer while he kept guessing.. i wanted to look up the word cheating as a joke since alllllll his friends were there as well.. they were sooo funny.. they started playing justin beiber and looked at me like i may not know who he was. I told them that one of my friends (Evanne) actually got to meet him and they were all impressed.. i think they were jealous.. haha.. around 6 i had dinner and my host sister put soooo much rice on my plate (nasi= rice) im going to be fat.. i cleaned my plate though near the end i thought i was going to explode.. ill have to find the words for getting my own food.. if this keeps up im going to weigh 800 pounds when i get back.. ohh.. my host mom made me milk.. which im pretty sure came straight from a cow since refrigerators are not really used here.. and she heats it up and then adds it to a jar that has sugar in it.. its not bad.. just veryyyy sweet.. thats one thing you can notice here that everything is really sweet.. im surprised they all dont have rotting teeth from all the sugar! (they do brush their teeth...)
afterwards i went back to the sitting room, helped my sister by checking over her english homework... i think she can comprehend more one paper than when i talk to her because she got all of the questions right.. Sempurna! (perfect!) all my brothers friends were still here and they are funny.. they kept saying random things in english to me haha.. the three girls that were there told me i was pretty.. which i hear a lot.. i wish i knew a better response than terima kasih (thank you).. just doesnt seem like the right response.. i got a visit from some Peace Corp personal making sure everything with my family was good and if i needed anything.. they placed me with this family partly because i said i like little kids and my host mother hosts a pre-school sometimes.. maybe ill be around when the little ones are around so i can scare them haha.. im just a beautiful scary person!
well i gotta get to bed.. hopefully i sleep better tonight since i had a busy day.. tomorrow i should be getting a cell phone! im not going to hand out my number because im not really sure what the whole minutes and international stuff will cost so its not a big deal but im excited.. i can call home!
we also found an internet cafe so maybe later this week i get get on or just wait till friday when I have to go to UMM.. i may only be able to access the internet at UMM so all this technology may go down to one day a week.. its already been a day and im feeling the strain with the lack of communication.. its getting better though the more language i learn..
well love you all :)
Host Family Day One
Wow today has been an interesting day.. actually its been a little overwhelming but its not too bad.. Today we got up, found out some info on our host family, cleared out of Surabaya and made our way to Malang. The scenery was really beautiful and all the villages/cities we passed through were just something else.. I dont think i really felt like i was in Indonesia until i left Surabaya..
After about 2.5 hours we made it to UMM the university in Malang.. it is huge! they have the biggest buildings it is really pretty there.. I will only be going to campus once a week on Fridays to meet up with the whole group.. other than that i will be in my village with my three other volunteers. So we got lunch at the University and then set out for the grand adventure.. It is sooooo pretty up here.. all the mountains and rice paddies and its so green! I guess last year they didnt really have a dry season up here.. it kinda rained all the time.. which is what it is doing as i am writing this.. I am only about 10 minutes away from UMM but i feel like i could be hours.. it is a totally different place.. Daniel, who is the closest to me, got dropped off first.. He only has a host mother, or Ibu, and she is about 66 and she makes and sells cookies.. she was really nice of course started yammering away to me in Indonesian.. ahhhhh! lucky i still had some of the people from peace corps there so he translated for me.. She called me pretty haha :) after that we went to my family.. im not too far from Daniel but im back off the street up an alley way.. we walked up to the house and my host mother walked out with her daughter with a big smile on her face.. it was a good sign..
my guide walked me in and sat down for a moment while i went to my room to find my dictionary.. I only know like 20 words in indonesian and... none of it is very relevant to me at the moment.. so my guide left and the moment i was dreading came.. i was alone in a house where no one really understood english.. i meet everyone and i have one Ibu (mother) one Bapak (father) a little sister, who is 5, a brother who is 12 and a sister who is 19. I also have a grandmother.. its pretty neat being in a full house and little did i know the house would be so big that my Bapak’s sisters live in the house/surrounding area.. pretttty crazyy..
but anyways.. the house i really nice and its bright lime green.. its not a bad color but it makes everything glow.. pretttty nuts.. as we sat down and watched some tv the little sister kept starring at me. it was funny and i kept trying to look at her when it happened and she would always look away. I got fed some rice, vegetables and eggs and it filled me wayyyyyy up.. i felt bad saying no to the food so i was struggling to eat it all.. i didnt want to have my house mom throw it away. its going to be an interesting few weeks until i can figure all this out and how to talk to them.. hopefully it doesnt take too long to adjust or im not sure i can do this.. the language barrier is enough for me to want to go some where and practice for like a year before coming here.. i feel so frustrated that i dont know anything.. makes it a little difficult.. though it turns out that my eldest sister knows some english so she has been translating what she can, which is helping a lot..
well im about to pass out.. its been a long day and tomorrow will be even longer..
love you all :)
After about 2.5 hours we made it to UMM the university in Malang.. it is huge! they have the biggest buildings it is really pretty there.. I will only be going to campus once a week on Fridays to meet up with the whole group.. other than that i will be in my village with my three other volunteers. So we got lunch at the University and then set out for the grand adventure.. It is sooooo pretty up here.. all the mountains and rice paddies and its so green! I guess last year they didnt really have a dry season up here.. it kinda rained all the time.. which is what it is doing as i am writing this.. I am only about 10 minutes away from UMM but i feel like i could be hours.. it is a totally different place.. Daniel, who is the closest to me, got dropped off first.. He only has a host mother, or Ibu, and she is about 66 and she makes and sells cookies.. she was really nice of course started yammering away to me in Indonesian.. ahhhhh! lucky i still had some of the people from peace corps there so he translated for me.. She called me pretty haha :) after that we went to my family.. im not too far from Daniel but im back off the street up an alley way.. we walked up to the house and my host mother walked out with her daughter with a big smile on her face.. it was a good sign..
my guide walked me in and sat down for a moment while i went to my room to find my dictionary.. I only know like 20 words in indonesian and... none of it is very relevant to me at the moment.. so my guide left and the moment i was dreading came.. i was alone in a house where no one really understood english.. i meet everyone and i have one Ibu (mother) one Bapak (father) a little sister, who is 5, a brother who is 12 and a sister who is 19. I also have a grandmother.. its pretty neat being in a full house and little did i know the house would be so big that my Bapak’s sisters live in the house/surrounding area.. pretttty crazyy..
but anyways.. the house i really nice and its bright lime green.. its not a bad color but it makes everything glow.. pretttty nuts.. as we sat down and watched some tv the little sister kept starring at me. it was funny and i kept trying to look at her when it happened and she would always look away. I got fed some rice, vegetables and eggs and it filled me wayyyyyy up.. i felt bad saying no to the food so i was struggling to eat it all.. i didnt want to have my house mom throw it away. its going to be an interesting few weeks until i can figure all this out and how to talk to them.. hopefully it doesnt take too long to adjust or im not sure i can do this.. the language barrier is enough for me to want to go some where and practice for like a year before coming here.. i feel so frustrated that i dont know anything.. makes it a little difficult.. though it turns out that my eldest sister knows some english so she has been translating what she can, which is helping a lot..
well im about to pass out.. its been a long day and tomorrow will be even longer..
love you all :)
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Before the Big Move
So tomorrow i will be moving into my first indonesian homestay.. I am a little nervous but i am so excited to finally join in on the culture and learn some more things.. tomorrow should be an interesting day.. hopefully it doesnt end with my family and i starring at each other because we cant understand one another..
today was good.. i got pretty tired around 12 and i could feel my face expression and i knew that i must look bored.. I talked to one of the staff afterward, around lunch time and we must have been thinking that.. i told her its just how i look when im tired and i still found everything interesting.. i think jet lag keeps popping up at different times for me.. not regularly.. its weird but it was nice talking to her and she told me i could come to here whenever i was feeling a little down and unsure about myself.. hopefully nothing really arises the next week that makes me think about going home.. good thoughts :)
well tonight we are going to a dinner at the PC headquarters in Surabaya to meet the volunteers that have been here for a little over a year now.. that should be fun and really informative..
tomorrow we leave at around 9 in the morning and after that im not really sure what my internet situation will be like so ill probably be MIA from everything for awhile..
well im tired and i kinda wanna take a nap before i leave soooo
love you all :)
today was good.. i got pretty tired around 12 and i could feel my face expression and i knew that i must look bored.. I talked to one of the staff afterward, around lunch time and we must have been thinking that.. i told her its just how i look when im tired and i still found everything interesting.. i think jet lag keeps popping up at different times for me.. not regularly.. its weird but it was nice talking to her and she told me i could come to here whenever i was feeling a little down and unsure about myself.. hopefully nothing really arises the next week that makes me think about going home.. good thoughts :)
well tonight we are going to a dinner at the PC headquarters in Surabaya to meet the volunteers that have been here for a little over a year now.. that should be fun and really informative..
tomorrow we leave at around 9 in the morning and after that im not really sure what my internet situation will be like so ill probably be MIA from everything for awhile..
well im tired and i kinda wanna take a nap before i leave soooo
love you all :)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Day One of Training
So today was the first day of training before we leave for our pre-training villages.. it was a pretty fun day.. learned quite a bit of stuff..
First i was woken up at 4:15 by the call to prayer that is i guess kind of sung throughout the city.. i thought it was something being piped into our room and then slowly i remembered that i was in a muslim country and this is what they do in the mornings.. i had gone to bed without my ear plugs so i had to fish around trying not to wake my roommate in order to find them.. what a morning..
To start off, we went over safety and we did some forms and got some money.. I AM A MILLIONAIRE! I wish that was cooler but most people have millions of rupiah.. the exchange rate is about 1 US dollar to about 8,650 rupiah.. it seems like it wont be easy to go through that much money but right now we have to save all the money we got until like mid May.. a good dish at a restaurant could cost anywhere between like 10,000 to 16,000 rupiah.. already you are spending quite a bit even though thats only like a dollar fifty/ two dollars in US currency.. until we actually get to the site we are only getting about 2 dollars a day in ‘pay’. hopefully i wont need it and i can save it for something special or whatever..
um next we moved onto bathrooms and yeahhhh.. nottt funn.. so in indonesia using your left hand for anything is pretty much taboo.. and ill tell you why in a second..but it obviously has something to do with the bathroom.. for those who dont know indonesia uses squat style toilets.. or more commonly known among the volunteers and many others as squatty potties.. woooo.. we were told that until we get the hang of it we should just take our pants off it would be easier.. this leads into the left hand issue.. in indonesia they dont use toilet paper but they use their left hand and a water scoop.. yeahhh.. this is going to be fun.. so what you do is you splash yourself with some water from the bin by the toilet and then wipe with your left hand and repeat until you left hand comes back clear.. obviously this will be shorter or longer due to whatever it is you were doing in the bathroom.. when your done you wash both of your hands with soap and then go about your business.. but the good thing is there is toilet paper that they sell in the market stores so i guess ill maybe use some to start out with? but i guess i should try to be indonesian and uh.. go with the flow as it were..
after that or a little before the potty discussion i found out where i will be staying the next 10 weeks.. I will be staying in a small village outside of Malang.. Im pretty excited but i havent been able to find my village on a map.. but ive looked up pictures of Malang and it looks so pretty.. the mountains and scenery i think it will make everything worth while.
After all the excitement and lunch we went back to the doctor to get some shots.. i ended up getting three and hopefully will not have to get many more in the weeks to come.. The doctor was very nice and he did this weird massaging thing by kinda pinching my arm while giving me the shot and i didnt feel it quite as much.. of course he warned me about which shots would hurt so i had a little mental preparation right before he jabbed me.. the worst was the hep a vaccine.. right before, he tells me it has some acid in it so it will burn a little.. and he wasnt lying.. but after about five minutes my arm stopped hurting.. then about 15 minutes later i could feel the pain in both my arms.. its gone away for the most part in my right arm but in my left, where i got the rabies vaccine, its very very sore.. kinda like when you get a tetnus shot..
so after all the paperwork and lectures were done we went into this other conference room and played a game where we had to stand up if ..... applied to you.. of course nothing applied to me expect the first question about being a volunteer.. it was pretty interesting though.. got to learn some stuff about people that i didnt know yet.. then we learned a traditional indonesian line dance.. first i am not a dancer, at least not when it comes to dance moves that you have to follow.. it was funny watching people slowly get up and try the dance.. some people caught on really quickly while others haha.. we all had a good laugh..i think it was the perfect thing to end the day with..
so to wrap it all up, after dinner we went out to see this statue.. it has a crocodile and a shark fighting/biting each other and the name Surabaya comes for sura-shark/fish baya-crocodile.. i dont know too much of the history or why they choose those animals to be their symbols but it was a pretty neat statue..
well i really need to go to bed.. i think i only got like 5 hours of sleep and it wasnt the best..
love you all :)
(pictures aren't uploading so i will try later)
First i was woken up at 4:15 by the call to prayer that is i guess kind of sung throughout the city.. i thought it was something being piped into our room and then slowly i remembered that i was in a muslim country and this is what they do in the mornings.. i had gone to bed without my ear plugs so i had to fish around trying not to wake my roommate in order to find them.. what a morning..
To start off, we went over safety and we did some forms and got some money.. I AM A MILLIONAIRE! I wish that was cooler but most people have millions of rupiah.. the exchange rate is about 1 US dollar to about 8,650 rupiah.. it seems like it wont be easy to go through that much money but right now we have to save all the money we got until like mid May.. a good dish at a restaurant could cost anywhere between like 10,000 to 16,000 rupiah.. already you are spending quite a bit even though thats only like a dollar fifty/ two dollars in US currency.. until we actually get to the site we are only getting about 2 dollars a day in ‘pay’. hopefully i wont need it and i can save it for something special or whatever..
um next we moved onto bathrooms and yeahhhh.. nottt funn.. so in indonesia using your left hand for anything is pretty much taboo.. and ill tell you why in a second..but it obviously has something to do with the bathroom.. for those who dont know indonesia uses squat style toilets.. or more commonly known among the volunteers and many others as squatty potties.. woooo.. we were told that until we get the hang of it we should just take our pants off it would be easier.. this leads into the left hand issue.. in indonesia they dont use toilet paper but they use their left hand and a water scoop.. yeahhh.. this is going to be fun.. so what you do is you splash yourself with some water from the bin by the toilet and then wipe with your left hand and repeat until you left hand comes back clear.. obviously this will be shorter or longer due to whatever it is you were doing in the bathroom.. when your done you wash both of your hands with soap and then go about your business.. but the good thing is there is toilet paper that they sell in the market stores so i guess ill maybe use some to start out with? but i guess i should try to be indonesian and uh.. go with the flow as it were..
after that or a little before the potty discussion i found out where i will be staying the next 10 weeks.. I will be staying in a small village outside of Malang.. Im pretty excited but i havent been able to find my village on a map.. but ive looked up pictures of Malang and it looks so pretty.. the mountains and scenery i think it will make everything worth while.
After all the excitement and lunch we went back to the doctor to get some shots.. i ended up getting three and hopefully will not have to get many more in the weeks to come.. The doctor was very nice and he did this weird massaging thing by kinda pinching my arm while giving me the shot and i didnt feel it quite as much.. of course he warned me about which shots would hurt so i had a little mental preparation right before he jabbed me.. the worst was the hep a vaccine.. right before, he tells me it has some acid in it so it will burn a little.. and he wasnt lying.. but after about five minutes my arm stopped hurting.. then about 15 minutes later i could feel the pain in both my arms.. its gone away for the most part in my right arm but in my left, where i got the rabies vaccine, its very very sore.. kinda like when you get a tetnus shot..
so after all the paperwork and lectures were done we went into this other conference room and played a game where we had to stand up if ..... applied to you.. of course nothing applied to me expect the first question about being a volunteer.. it was pretty interesting though.. got to learn some stuff about people that i didnt know yet.. then we learned a traditional indonesian line dance.. first i am not a dancer, at least not when it comes to dance moves that you have to follow.. it was funny watching people slowly get up and try the dance.. some people caught on really quickly while others haha.. we all had a good laugh..i think it was the perfect thing to end the day with..
so to wrap it all up, after dinner we went out to see this statue.. it has a crocodile and a shark fighting/biting each other and the name Surabaya comes for sura-shark/fish baya-crocodile.. i dont know too much of the history or why they choose those animals to be their symbols but it was a pretty neat statue..
well i really need to go to bed.. i think i only got like 5 hours of sleep and it wasnt the best..
love you all :)
(pictures aren't uploading so i will try later)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Indonesia!
So ive finally made it! it was a pretty short plane ride but it was quite bumpy near the end.. all ended well and i landed in Surabaya at 7:30 or 8:30 ohio time (am for usa).. it is quite humid here.. we all walked out of the airport and i think we were all a little stunned, at least i was..
aside from the heat it seems like its going to be pretty interesting here.. i have meetings and stuff tomorrow but i think it will be better than San Fransisco.. On Sunday we are finally moving out to Malang to start our training.. i cant wait to meet my first host family.. hopefully they know a little english or this could be a fun few weeks..
well i dont have any pictures this time.. i had to sit in the middle of the plane.. i was really hoping i would get a window seat.. that would have made four flights with a window.. pretty sure thats unheard of..
well its been real.. i need to shower and sleep since i gotta get up in like 6/7 hours..
love you all :)
aside from the heat it seems like its going to be pretty interesting here.. i have meetings and stuff tomorrow but i think it will be better than San Fransisco.. On Sunday we are finally moving out to Malang to start our training.. i cant wait to meet my first host family.. hopefully they know a little english or this could be a fun few weeks..
well i dont have any pictures this time.. i had to sit in the middle of the plane.. i was really hoping i would get a window seat.. that would have made four flights with a window.. pretty sure thats unheard of..
well its been real.. i need to shower and sleep since i gotta get up in like 6/7 hours..
love you all :)
Final Destination
so last night after we got into hong kong and checked into our hotel a bunch of us decided to go out and explore some of the city and get some food.. the tram/subway is actually connected to our hotel and there is also a giant mall surrounding our hotel.. pretty neat stuff.. but anyways we took a really long ride out to kowloon and went around trying to find this night market.. we made a few wrong turns but eventually found it.. some of us were more interested in walking around then staying in the market area so we ventured off down a side street and found a place to sit down and eat.. three of us got falafels which were awesome.. it was a little spicy because they added some chili sauce and i was pleased to find out that some other people in the group are nervous about the spicy food in indonesia.. apparently on sumatra there is food that can cause blisters on/ in your mouth because of how hot they are.. thankfully i wont be on that island..
it was a pretty fun night and it was good to get to know some of the group that i hadnt really talked to before.. which reminds me.. i found out today at the hotel that we lost one member of our group. he decided not to board the plane to hong kong with us all and it made me think.. obviously someone else was having the same feelings i was having and i only wish he would have said something.. i think it got a lot of us thinking about the support we show each other.. i keep getting asked if im ok.. i must look miserable or something haha.. i am just ready to be in a semi-settled area and not having to keep moving around but its nice that people are asking me..
im starting to be settled and this isnt as scary as i first thought.. guess thats kind of a lesson and im so glad that i have people who keep reminding me that i am doing something awesome.. i guess there are always speed bumps in the road to success..
well we fly to indonesia today and i have to say im really excited to finally get the ball rolling.. i probably wont have good internet the next few days so i wont be able to check anything but by sunday i should hopefully be living with my pre-training host family and have a solid schedule for the next few weeks.. as much as i like making up plans on the spot (not really) i cant wait to know what each day is going to be like.. its been pretty hard with knowing what any of the plans are that they have in store for us.
but if anyone besides jordan gets a chance to come to hong kong, the airport is amazing.. it has everything you could ever need in here.. you could live here.. by our gate there isnt too much and my lunch is just a fruit salad with ginger ale.. hopefully they dont take away my drinks before i get on the plane.. ill be upset but ohhh well.. i still got like 100 hong kong dollars left but i think im just going to keep it as a souvenir..
I forgot to write about the landing! when we were getting ready to land all we could see from the window was water.. it was a little scary because we kept getting closer and one of the people sitting by me said it was one of the hardest runways to land on.. its literally a tin thing jutting out into the water.. it was crazy.. one of the neatest landings thought.. i was busy videoing it for the person next to me so i didnt get any pictures but it was really a sweet thing..
love you all :)
Night market one side of the street
Selling live seafood pretty cool a little smelly
This picture does not do the street justice.. very bright and inviting signs
cool buildings
my falafel roll.. yum :)
it was a pretty fun night and it was good to get to know some of the group that i hadnt really talked to before.. which reminds me.. i found out today at the hotel that we lost one member of our group. he decided not to board the plane to hong kong with us all and it made me think.. obviously someone else was having the same feelings i was having and i only wish he would have said something.. i think it got a lot of us thinking about the support we show each other.. i keep getting asked if im ok.. i must look miserable or something haha.. i am just ready to be in a semi-settled area and not having to keep moving around but its nice that people are asking me..
im starting to be settled and this isnt as scary as i first thought.. guess thats kind of a lesson and im so glad that i have people who keep reminding me that i am doing something awesome.. i guess there are always speed bumps in the road to success..
well we fly to indonesia today and i have to say im really excited to finally get the ball rolling.. i probably wont have good internet the next few days so i wont be able to check anything but by sunday i should hopefully be living with my pre-training host family and have a solid schedule for the next few weeks.. as much as i like making up plans on the spot (not really) i cant wait to know what each day is going to be like.. its been pretty hard with knowing what any of the plans are that they have in store for us.
but if anyone besides jordan gets a chance to come to hong kong, the airport is amazing.. it has everything you could ever need in here.. you could live here.. by our gate there isnt too much and my lunch is just a fruit salad with ginger ale.. hopefully they dont take away my drinks before i get on the plane.. ill be upset but ohhh well.. i still got like 100 hong kong dollars left but i think im just going to keep it as a souvenir..
I forgot to write about the landing! when we were getting ready to land all we could see from the window was water.. it was a little scary because we kept getting closer and one of the people sitting by me said it was one of the hardest runways to land on.. its literally a tin thing jutting out into the water.. it was crazy.. one of the neatest landings thought.. i was busy videoing it for the person next to me so i didnt get any pictures but it was really a sweet thing..
love you all :)
Night market one side of the street
Onto Hong Kong
so another blog entry written in a plane.. i think i am almost driven by boredom, pulling out my laptop and using precious battery power.. oh well sleep is evading me and i have already read on book and have delved into another.. at this rate i will finish my 73 books in a couple weeks and be at a loss of what to do next in my spare “me” time..
today started off a little early woke up at 630.. im actually surprised i slept pretty much the whole night through. i woke up a few times and had to remind myself i was not at home.. i got really confused at one point.. but all was well and we checked out of our hotel at 715 got on the bus at around 745 and left for the airport.. got to chat to my sis and one of my bffffffs laura.. made the ride go faster..
andddd then the airport.. oh how i love disorganization.. on my own time.. we had everything well planned out.. our group split up into two lines to make the check in process not as um ardous for the united airlines personel.. turns out the group i was in went to a line no one was servicing.. it was nice to stand around for 45 minutes while we got to watch the other group check in and leave us.. finally a whole bunch of people came out of the back and started checking us in.. i think we were all done in just a half hour tops afterwords.. we then decided to get through security since a massive line was forming and that only took like 5 minutes compared to waiting to check in.. im seeing something wrong with this picture.. but at least we all made it through in one piece..
got a chance to grab some food with a bunch of people at this mexican restaurant.. i grabbed a yogurt.. i figured i may not get a chance to have the stuff im used to for awhile.. and mexican you can find anywhere.. just maybe not the same mexican style food.. i decided to break out early go call my parents say bye and say bye to everyone one last time with my phone.. kind of bittersweet knowing that i wont be using that number for awhile.. not even sure if ive used bittersweet correctly in that sentence.. but oh well..
and finally we boarded the plane.. a bunch of us have seats by each other which is really nice.. of course all the movies showing this flight ive seen or are on my external hard-drive.. limits my entertainment a little bit.. i wanted to sleep but im finding it a little difficult.. i am tired.. i just cant find a great position.. we only have like 4/5 hours left so i guess i could try and find a comfortable (hah) napping position.. now im back is starting to ache because of my bookbag.. it weights so much.. i cant wait till we can finally settle down and i dont have to constantly lug it around.. only a couple more daysss!
to end it off id just like to add a personal note.. i dont want to seem demanding and i dont know who reads this blog but i really am going to be in the position, if not really already, that im going to need a lot of love and support thrown my way.. i thought it would be a little bit easier getting up and starting my life but im finding myself on the precipice of potentially getting very homesick/depressed.. i know everyone has a life and im not asking for a whole lot.. the next few weeks may not allow me to access the internet a whole lot but id appreciate it to the moon and back if i had at least one thing to read or laugh at when i can get online..
i know you all are awesome.. id never doubt that.. i wish i coulda packed a whole lotta people into my suitcase and shared this with them as well..
well love you all :)
The wide ocean right after take off from San Fransisco and my last view of America
today started off a little early woke up at 630.. im actually surprised i slept pretty much the whole night through. i woke up a few times and had to remind myself i was not at home.. i got really confused at one point.. but all was well and we checked out of our hotel at 715 got on the bus at around 745 and left for the airport.. got to chat to my sis and one of my bffffffs laura.. made the ride go faster..
andddd then the airport.. oh how i love disorganization.. on my own time.. we had everything well planned out.. our group split up into two lines to make the check in process not as um ardous for the united airlines personel.. turns out the group i was in went to a line no one was servicing.. it was nice to stand around for 45 minutes while we got to watch the other group check in and leave us.. finally a whole bunch of people came out of the back and started checking us in.. i think we were all done in just a half hour tops afterwords.. we then decided to get through security since a massive line was forming and that only took like 5 minutes compared to waiting to check in.. im seeing something wrong with this picture.. but at least we all made it through in one piece..
got a chance to grab some food with a bunch of people at this mexican restaurant.. i grabbed a yogurt.. i figured i may not get a chance to have the stuff im used to for awhile.. and mexican you can find anywhere.. just maybe not the same mexican style food.. i decided to break out early go call my parents say bye and say bye to everyone one last time with my phone.. kind of bittersweet knowing that i wont be using that number for awhile.. not even sure if ive used bittersweet correctly in that sentence.. but oh well..
and finally we boarded the plane.. a bunch of us have seats by each other which is really nice.. of course all the movies showing this flight ive seen or are on my external hard-drive.. limits my entertainment a little bit.. i wanted to sleep but im finding it a little difficult.. i am tired.. i just cant find a great position.. we only have like 4/5 hours left so i guess i could try and find a comfortable (hah) napping position.. now im back is starting to ache because of my bookbag.. it weights so much.. i cant wait till we can finally settle down and i dont have to constantly lug it around.. only a couple more daysss!
to end it off id just like to add a personal note.. i dont want to seem demanding and i dont know who reads this blog but i really am going to be in the position, if not really already, that im going to need a lot of love and support thrown my way.. i thought it would be a little bit easier getting up and starting my life but im finding myself on the precipice of potentially getting very homesick/depressed.. i know everyone has a life and im not asking for a whole lot.. the next few weeks may not allow me to access the internet a whole lot but id appreciate it to the moon and back if i had at least one thing to read or laugh at when i can get online..
i know you all are awesome.. id never doubt that.. i wish i coulda packed a whole lotta people into my suitcase and shared this with them as well..
well love you all :)
The wide ocean right after take off from San Fransisco and my last view of America
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Leaving the US
Well today is the day.. I am leaving the US for hong Kong in a couple of hours and while i hope the hotel in Hong Kong has internet, i may be down till i get to the hotel in Indonesia.. Today is the last day for my phone so i am going to try and call as many people as i can, text as many people as i can and cry a whole lot i think..
yesterday was ok.. i think i just need to get to indonesia and start doing stuff..
well i gotta get ready to go! we check out in lie 20 minutes and i havent changed yet!! ahhhhh
love you all :)
yesterday was ok.. i think i just need to get to indonesia and start doing stuff..
well i gotta get ready to go! we check out in lie 20 minutes and i havent changed yet!! ahhhhh
love you all :)
The Start
So i am attempting to write a blog entry as i am in the plane to california.. i am passing by some of the prettiest scenery i have ever seen right now.. i am so happy its cleared up since this morning..
so a little recap.. this morning woke up wayyy to early to go to the airport.. thankfully not a lot of tears were spilled but i am sure that will change as i keep getting further away.. first flight was short.. actually got to meet a fellow volunteer in the airport which was nice.. i dont know if i could have handled sitting in the airport all by myself just after leaving my parents and sister.. on the flight i got to sit next to a window, thank god.. we had a lot of little bumps and since i havent been on a plane in awhile i kept my eyes shut most of the time and my knuckles turned white because i was gripping the arm rest so hard.. it only seemed like we were in the air for 20 minutes and then there we are, in chicago.. luckily our gate was only a hop and a skip away..
right now my mom would be asking me if i was nervous.. if she or my sister was here i would be chatting away right now.. but since i dont really have anyone by me im typing it all to my computer.. i have a feeling my computer will become my favorite thing in the world at times..
anyways.. back to the flight.. didnt have to wait too long before we got to board and when i found my seat i noticed another volunteer pretty much right behind me.. it turns out this was the kid i was going to meet up with in san fran.. this saves a lot of running around trying to find each other.. andddd i got a window seat! i was supposed to be sitting in the middle (notttt funn) for 4 and a half hours but it turns out the window person never showed up.. thank you mystery person.. i am loving the views.. which adds to something else.. i have probably taken like 30 pictures already of the beautiful rocky mountians.. hannah.. be jealous haha.. i am totally going to have to come back here when i come back to the US.. the only bad thing is that the jet stream decided to go north to south today.. hence a lot of turbulence for about 15 minutes.. ok well it might not have been that bad but i was freaking out a little.. as i am typing this we are 542 miles away from san fran passing by the great salt lake in utah.. pics to follow of course.. i love the birds eye view.. you can actually see part of the jet stream.. its this thin layer of clouds just blowing by.. makes us look like we are stand still..
in between snapping photos and writing this i opened my letters.. yes my mother will be upset but i kinda needed it.. im starting to question myself already and i havent even made it overseas yet.. i needed some love and support.. i got teary eyed quite a bit and i know i will treasure every note that i got from every single person.. i just wish i could package you all up and bring you with me.. but since its not possible i will just have to read the notes until they dissolve :)
god i feel like a nerd snapping all these photos but i just can get enough.. some people know that i am a little nerdy when it comes to things.. geology is just awesome.. next life im going to be a geologist.. we’re supposed to pass over yosemite so hopefully i can get some pictures of that from wayyyy up high and some of the grand canyon.. gosh i love the view.. makes flying worth it.. sure i wont be saying that tomorrow when im stuck in the middle of a hugeeee plane.. well i think ive typed enough for now.. ill probably add some in later about meeting everyone and the first day of meetings.. hopefully its interesting.. i really hope i dont fall asleep.. that would be a bad start to this little adventure of mine..
love you all :)
so a little recap.. this morning woke up wayyy to early to go to the airport.. thankfully not a lot of tears were spilled but i am sure that will change as i keep getting further away.. first flight was short.. actually got to meet a fellow volunteer in the airport which was nice.. i dont know if i could have handled sitting in the airport all by myself just after leaving my parents and sister.. on the flight i got to sit next to a window, thank god.. we had a lot of little bumps and since i havent been on a plane in awhile i kept my eyes shut most of the time and my knuckles turned white because i was gripping the arm rest so hard.. it only seemed like we were in the air for 20 minutes and then there we are, in chicago.. luckily our gate was only a hop and a skip away..
right now my mom would be asking me if i was nervous.. if she or my sister was here i would be chatting away right now.. but since i dont really have anyone by me im typing it all to my computer.. i have a feeling my computer will become my favorite thing in the world at times..
anyways.. back to the flight.. didnt have to wait too long before we got to board and when i found my seat i noticed another volunteer pretty much right behind me.. it turns out this was the kid i was going to meet up with in san fran.. this saves a lot of running around trying to find each other.. andddd i got a window seat! i was supposed to be sitting in the middle (notttt funn) for 4 and a half hours but it turns out the window person never showed up.. thank you mystery person.. i am loving the views.. which adds to something else.. i have probably taken like 30 pictures already of the beautiful rocky mountians.. hannah.. be jealous haha.. i am totally going to have to come back here when i come back to the US.. the only bad thing is that the jet stream decided to go north to south today.. hence a lot of turbulence for about 15 minutes.. ok well it might not have been that bad but i was freaking out a little.. as i am typing this we are 542 miles away from san fran passing by the great salt lake in utah.. pics to follow of course.. i love the birds eye view.. you can actually see part of the jet stream.. its this thin layer of clouds just blowing by.. makes us look like we are stand still..
in between snapping photos and writing this i opened my letters.. yes my mother will be upset but i kinda needed it.. im starting to question myself already and i havent even made it overseas yet.. i needed some love and support.. i got teary eyed quite a bit and i know i will treasure every note that i got from every single person.. i just wish i could package you all up and bring you with me.. but since its not possible i will just have to read the notes until they dissolve :)
god i feel like a nerd snapping all these photos but i just can get enough.. some people know that i am a little nerdy when it comes to things.. geology is just awesome.. next life im going to be a geologist.. we’re supposed to pass over yosemite so hopefully i can get some pictures of that from wayyyy up high and some of the grand canyon.. gosh i love the view.. makes flying worth it.. sure i wont be saying that tomorrow when im stuck in the middle of a hugeeee plane.. well i think ive typed enough for now.. ill probably add some in later about meeting everyone and the first day of meetings.. hopefully its interesting.. i really hope i dont fall asleep.. that would be a bad start to this little adventure of mine..
love you all :)
Snow covered Rockies.. So pretty yet so glad I do not live there.. There is still wayyy too much snow
Grand Canyon maybe? The pilot didnt say anything when we passed over.. but who knows..
Random mountains.. the west is so darn hilly i love it!
The condensation freezing in between the window panes..
Yosemite Valley.. all covered in snow! so pretty!
View from my window.. looks like i am somewhere foreign.. love it..
my hotel room
Saturday, April 2, 2011
First of Many
this is my first entry on what will hopefully be a two year long blog describing my adventure in Indonesia and beyond.. kinda nervous cuz im not really sure how to start out and i feel that this may turn pretty lame pretty fast..
On Monday i will board a plane that will take me on my first major adventure since going to college, or i guess since i studied abroad in China. Its a little scary knowing i am going to be leaving home for 27 months. It hasnt really hit me yet that in only two days i will be gone from home and everything will have changed. that being said im not really nervous.. just more anxious for this all to start. i feel like i have been waiting for years for this moment when really i only found out that i was leaving in February. time does seem to fly by..
in the past few weeks ive been able to think about all the things im really going to miss when i leave. Of course first and foremost my family.. living at home the past four months has made us all closer, even though i know im a little hard to be around sometimes. Second im going to miss my dog.. she can always make me smile when im down and is always happy to see me.. ill miss having her furry face by my side.. Third will by my friends.. i am going to miss so much just within the next couple of months.. im missing spring quarter, their last quarter of school, and the best time of the year.. im going to miss one of my best friends wedding.. guess she will just have to reenact it all out when i come home :) the only other thing i think i will miss is being able to be lazy.. hah ive gotten so used to having a day off and being able to just sit around in my pjs and read books and not do anything.. i may get a few days like that over the next few years but it wont be anything close to what im used to at home.. hah doesnt take much to make me happy..
i know that i am going to miss a lot of things and at the end of the day its worth it, for the most part. how many people can say they have volunteered for the Peace Corps? how many people can say (besides the Indonesians) that they lived in Indonesia? the world is opening up to me and i am going to embrace it fully. I cannot wait to learn the language try the food and learn about this amazing country. this really is a one in a lifetime opportunity..
well until the next time.. :)
On Monday i will board a plane that will take me on my first major adventure since going to college, or i guess since i studied abroad in China. Its a little scary knowing i am going to be leaving home for 27 months. It hasnt really hit me yet that in only two days i will be gone from home and everything will have changed. that being said im not really nervous.. just more anxious for this all to start. i feel like i have been waiting for years for this moment when really i only found out that i was leaving in February. time does seem to fly by..
in the past few weeks ive been able to think about all the things im really going to miss when i leave. Of course first and foremost my family.. living at home the past four months has made us all closer, even though i know im a little hard to be around sometimes. Second im going to miss my dog.. she can always make me smile when im down and is always happy to see me.. ill miss having her furry face by my side.. Third will by my friends.. i am going to miss so much just within the next couple of months.. im missing spring quarter, their last quarter of school, and the best time of the year.. im going to miss one of my best friends wedding.. guess she will just have to reenact it all out when i come home :) the only other thing i think i will miss is being able to be lazy.. hah ive gotten so used to having a day off and being able to just sit around in my pjs and read books and not do anything.. i may get a few days like that over the next few years but it wont be anything close to what im used to at home.. hah doesnt take much to make me happy..
i know that i am going to miss a lot of things and at the end of the day its worth it, for the most part. how many people can say they have volunteered for the Peace Corps? how many people can say (besides the Indonesians) that they lived in Indonesia? the world is opening up to me and i am going to embrace it fully. I cannot wait to learn the language try the food and learn about this amazing country. this really is a one in a lifetime opportunity..
well until the next time.. :)
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