so i got more pictures to post.. dont really have a whole lot to say.. so this post may just be a bunch of pictures.. haha hmm..
only good thing is i got a bike.. feel a little weird riding it.. i dunno its been awhile since ive ridden a bike.. felt kinda weird but i dunno.. i feel like the chain isnt steady but then what do i know since i dont ride bikes a lot.. maybe in two years ill be a pro..
today i had to go to school and introduce myself to some students who were doing some scout stuff at school.. not quite sure how i fit into that program but i had to write up a little speech about why i was there and who i was and stuff like that.. im pretty sure the whole group were grade 12 and i probably wont see them again but it was a good moment.. of course half the things i said had to be translated and a lot of them didnt understand but i think they were happy to have someone from another country there..
as i was talking to all these students i realized how much i have grown not only since coming here but since high school and even the beginning of college.. i would have never been able to stand up in front of a hundred or so kids, more like peers since we are so close in age, and give a speech.. it may have helped knowing that they couldnt really understand me so i could say whatever i wanted but it was something that a few years ago i never could have done.. i amazed myself today.. i was extremely nervous going into it but right after i started speaking the nerves went away.. it was a good feeling..
now im just worried about teaching.. i dont want to be boring but im afraid i cant do as much as i planned because of the level of english.. i think its going to be a little tough trying to convince them all that english can be fun..
im also starting to see that im kind of a boring person.. hah.. when asked what my favorite is of anything i just shrug my shoulders.. i cant really think of anything as my favorite and i dont really feel that strongly about anything.. is that boring or am i just well rounded? advice is needed on this subject.. i feel boring..
the one plus was when someone asked me what my favorite indonesian food was and i said nasi pecel (rice and veggies with a peanut sauce).. the whole room burst into cheers.. which happens everytime i say that here in nganjuk but its just funny.. of course someone had to ask why.. well lets see.. being a vegitarian here doesnt have many options and thats one of the few things i can eat.. and of course i cant really say that even though thats one of the main reasons.. gahh kids and their questions.. its kind of like asking why do you like pasta or why do you like chicken.. i duno.. its a hard question..
i dunno today was a good day.. after the speech i went back and hung out in the teachers room and it was fun.. i really like the teachers.. they do joke a lot but it keeps the mood fun and i think ill need that some days.. i was told not to worry about teaching at all.. dont worry about how good you are or your quality and i laughed.. i mean.. im going to try hard but obviously they arent expecting me to change too much.. so i guess thats good.. i dunno not having very high expectations will allow me to hopefully impress them.. also joked around with them too.. they are going to try and speak to me only in indoneesian and only if i dont understand speak in english.. they want me to teach the teachers too.. apparently they are all excited to learn.. i think so maybe they can talk to me.. im supposed to teach them informal everyday english.. haha.. we will see how that works out.. not too much to teach there.. haha and i was also informed that the police would like to get in on this too.. oh boy.. the police from two different districts, the one that i live in and the one that i teach in, want to come and learn some english from me.. right now they are trying to figure out a schedule that works for all of them and then they will tell me.. looks like my world is going to revolve around other people haha.. but its all good.. seems like all these projects are falling into my lap.. hard to believe that a few weeks ago i was worried about other projects.. its funny how things fall into your lap.. now if only i can keep this enthusiasm.. i hope it doesnt wear out after three months.. it would be a shame to lose opportunties.. but again no use worrying about the future.. cant change it anyways..
so halfway through writing this i got pulled out to go to this little shindig up the street.. i can hear the music still i think its going to be going all night.. apparently is a little thing to promote drug awareness and to keep drugs off the street.. i didnt really know there was any issue with drugs in indonesia.. it seems like the penalty for having anything is really high so i dunno.. maybe there is a bunch of under ground stuff going on that i dont know about.. but the music is all traditional and its pretty much a lot of the stuff that i heard back in Malang.. my brother there loves this type of music but it was nice to hear it live.. i think i like the music a lot more than the singing.. the singing is too high pitched..
hm.. i also may have a friend haha.. there is this girl who stopped by the other day.. she graduated from my school and shes friends with one of the teachers daughters.. shes actually doing some english teaching somewhere and even though i know she wants to practice english i think shes pretty nice.. this is maybe someone who i could see talking to the entire time im here unless she leaves to pursue english somewhere else.. we shall see eh?
well i think i should hit the hay.. im dead tired.. today was a good day though.. cheers for more to come!
love you all :)
"Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window"
so today was nice.. i feel like the day should be over right now but its only 1.. Found the warnet today when i was on a walk with my bapak.. man he is awesome.. i really like this family.. it is a little quiet here but my parents are pretty cool people..
but anyways.. i went for my morning walk today and right after i started my bapak told me to come with him and we went to see the river thats right at the end of the village.. it was a pretty nice walk.. we were walking for like well over an hour and it was ncie trying to understand what he was saying to me.. he knows a lot of people.. i feel like it would be hard to know that many people.. i got to see the pasar and we even walked through a sugar cane field.. pretty neat and its only like 5 minutes away from my house.. and the head of the village lives over there too so of course we stopped by and met his wife and son..
it was a good day.. and now im home.. with nothing to do.. went through a lot of sources for class and wrote down ideas.. god i wish school was next week not three weeks from now.. i want to go out but again no one is home and im not sure i can really leave without telling anyone.. maybe later ill be able to go to the warnet.. if not today then tomorrow im totally going.. i cant hold off.. its almost been a week.. i need to get back to the real world..
hah so if anyone is still reading this sorry im boring.. my life is boring right now.. yayyyy for the next few weeks..
so wow this has got to be a record.. ive actually had time to
write three days in a row.. haha.. i have wayyyyy to much time on my hands
right now..
so today i went for a walk around the village by myself.. which
was nice.. not that many people said hello.. but then again i didnt really see
anyone.. so.. i dunno it seems a little bit different than Malang.. so that
makes me miss Malang.. but im sure the longer that i am here the more people
will say hello and things will hopefully become more comfortable..
anddddd then after my walk i went outside to read but that didnt
last very long.. i got a text telling me i was going to be going to school in
like 5 minutes so i better be ready.. haha.. totally didnt have time to make
sure that i looked very nice.. i ended up having to walk since i dont have
enough money yet to buy a bike.. it was only a 15 minute walk but by the time i
got there i was like dripping in sweat.. and i find out that there is a
tonnnnnnnnn of people there.. lovely..
haha luckily i had time so cool down so when we went to go meet
the students i looked halfway presentable.. i dont think i will ever get used
to the handshaking that all the students do to teachers when they see them.. so
i got to shake like well over a hundred hands and then I had to meet their
parents.. hahahah.. luckily i didnt have to say anything.. they just wanted to
let the parents know that i was there and i would be teaching their children..
maybe..
i also found out that i will be teaching with all the english
teachers.. not just two as i originally thought.. so should be interesting..
and thankfully they want to start planning maybe next week and the few weeks
before school actually starts.. hopefully we come up with some good ideas..
and now im home.. not doing much.. no one but my sister and maybe
my brother is home but they mostly stay in their rooms.. i think once im better
with the language and have a bike i will be able to go out and explore but now
i think because im still new i kinda got to stay in.. which kinda sucks because
its kinda boring right now.. but im sure everything will improve..
and tonight i get to talk to my family.. feels like its been
forever since tuesday.. but really its only been like 4 days.. crazy.. time
seems to be moving fast and slow at the same time.. gahhhh.. i cannot wait
until school starts.. by the time the middle of july comes i might be pulling
out my hair..
ohhh yeah.. i got my address.. so im gunna send it out to people
after i make sure its correct.. so again.. regardless of when i post this still
gunna have to wait.. but i cannot wait to get letters and packages (hah wishful
thinking haha..)
welllllll maybe next week ill try and find a warnet.. since i
really need to get on and let people know im alive haha..
well love you allllll so much! kinda feel like im talking to
myself right now.. which i guess i am.. but regardless.. im wandering.. love
you all :)
“Trying to predict the future is like
trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out
the back window”
so i am feeling much better today.. still a little weird being in a new place but i actually think this may end up really feeling like home.. which yesterday i didnt think i could say..
today we went all around letting everyone important know that i had arrived and where i was going to be and what i was going to be doing.. shook a lot of hands and surprisingly wasnt started at quite like i was in malang but i bet that will change once i start to venture out more..
after our last meeting with the police we finally made it to school.. My god the place is huge.. all the buildings are only one story but there are so many buildings.. its going to be interesting getting the hang of the place.. so first i had a meeting with someone from the newspaper.. he was nice.. he has been to america before so he kinda knows what it is like being in a place different from home.. but anyways yeah totally going to be in the newspaper sometime soon.. hopefully someone will show me so i can keep the article for future times to show off.. haha
then we went to the teachers room and i met a whole bunch of people.. i really hope i am able to learn all their names.. i know it will be easier for them to know mine since im foriegn and while not really memorable it is an easy name.. i just hope they wear name tags for awhile so i can remember.. im really bad with names.. in my first host fam i didnt know the kids names for like the first few weeks.. i feel bad but hopefully they will understand its a whole lot of new in a short time..
but all the teachers are really nice and talkative and i was told they all joke around and have fun so it should be a fun two years.. its weird.. im actually smiling as i am typing this.. im going to take it as a good sign.. i know at times it will be frustrating but i think all the positive energy they seem to have will help in the long run.. some of them even know english and want to practice more so thats something i have time to plan for in the future.. english club for teachers..
so now im home.. dont have much planned.. i think im gunna go walking around 4 and see whats down my little rt.. its not that long.. i can see the end of it from my house but it should be an interesting enough walk.. im curious to see what lies on the other side.. and im sure i will meet some people..
this family seems a lot less um lax on the going out by yourself thing which i kinda of like.. last night i had to go make copies of some documents and im sure if i knew where i was going they would have let me go by myself in the dark.. so the freedom will be nice.. and i dont think im going to push it for awhile but knowing that im allowed is kind of freeing..
i also was allowed to say what i wanted for breakfast.. its going to be so nice eating regular breakfast food instead of rice and whatever else..
so i still dont know my address.. im hoping that maybe one of the teachers comes by tomorrow and i can ask.. i have never had a pen handy so i havent been able.. though im sure by the time i get this posted i will know.. (not that im allowed to post it on here.. just so you know.. you gotta email me or i can send emails out with it.. security reasons)
well i think im goin to “take a rest” or istirahat.. its only 11:40 but i feel like i have been on an enormous adventure already today..
ahh!! two years.. life is crazy.. i cannot wait to share all of this with my sister and whoever else decides to grace me with their presence.. by the time anyone comes i should be pretty well off on language (since everyone here wants me to speak indonesian as much as possible) so ill be able to get around and show off my skills.. :) so excited for that..
well the time has come.. hope you enjoyed my ramblings.. :)
so i am now in nganjuk.. pretty much starting my journey.. which
so far have been a roller coaster..
leaving my training family was a lot harder than i thought it was
going to be.. my older sister kept telling me she hated me and didnt want me to
leave.. it was hard.. at one point she even started crying.. and that made me
cry.. today was a day of tears pretty much..
my counter part ended up coming a little earlier than originally
planned but i think it was better that way.. sitting and waiting is not good..
and i knew it would only get worse the longer i was going to sit in the house..
so it was really quick.. got all my stuff to his car said my goodbyes while
trying not to cry some more and then we were off.. as soon as i shut the car
door.. i was a mess.. its hard to leave people that you really connect with and
its honestly hard for me to believe that i would connect so strongly with
them.. but here we are 9.5 weeks after coming to indonesia and i feel like i
left my family.. god i can only imagine what its going to be like leaving this
current family in two years..
so we got lost a few times like 5 minutes from my house in Batu
which was funny.. My counterpart hasnt really left the area around nganjuk so
he didnt really know which way to go.. but it made for a few good laughs..
we made it to nganjuk and then we had some lunch and i met
someone else from my school.. he was really nice and thankfully knew english so
lunch was pretty easy to enjoy.. then we made a short trip to my new home..
when they told me that the city nearby was small.. i had some
doubts.. their ideas of cities here are so different than the cities back
home.. the city by me is huge.. and my village is bigger than my last village..
its going to hard to get to know the whole area but i figure by the end of two
years i should know it pretty well..
so my family is nice they have a boy and a girl and so far i
havent heard a word of english.. its going to be an interesting few weeks but i
feel like i may learn a whole lot and be speaking much better indonesian within
a few months time.. my ibu told me that she was excited to have me and cannot
wait to show me around and she plans to take me every where.. which will be
nice.. i think im really going to like her..
i managed to get pretty much everything put away in only a few
hours.. already the room seems like my own.. i was able to decorate the walls
and it feels a lot like my room at home.. i have my favorite pictures of home
by my bed and then the other photos on my dresser.. i also put up some letters
and some maps that i bought and i even put up the us map that i brought from
the us.. i dunno reminds me of where im from and right across from my bed over
my desk is a map of indonesia.. kinda reminding me where i am and why..
i had a few bumps already today.. as soon as i got into my room
to finish unpacking and take a rest i started crying.. i have been through so
many emotions its made me so fragile to all the things going on.. already i
have felt like i want to go home and then like ten minutes later felt like i
could do this.. i just wish it was easier.. i hope i dont end up making a rash
decision and say i want to go home when im feeling low.. it would not be good..
hopefully tomorrow i can get my bed net up, figure out some of the
area, get my school address and talk to the police.. should be a full day.. but
thats probably for the better.. too much sitting around may make me want to
come home even more than i want to now..
one day at a time.. wish it was easier than that but one day at a
time.. and thank god for cell phones or id be dying without contact from
friends..
well i should maybe mandi or something.. this is going to be fun!
love you all so very much :)
*side note.. im now going to add quotes to all my posts.. this
idea kinda came from a suggestion i got from my friend evanne.. a lot of the
quotes have made me smile and realize why im here so hopefully you like them
too.. and some of them are just plain funny.. so.. heres to feeling
inspiration!
“Think
not of what is to come nor of that which you have no control over but rather of
the now and that which you are able to change"
its kind of funny.. today i turned on my computer and my background on my desktop was a picture my sister drew of home.. its just weird how perfect that is when im feeling pretty down..
it finally the day to swear in and im really just a bundle of nerves.. my life is about the change dramatically again for like the 90th time this year.. and now its just all coming to a head.. very soon its just going to be in a village and the closest peson to me is going to be a half hour away.. which i guess isnt that far but when im feeling down and alone it is just miles and miles away..
the next few weeks should be interesting and im hoping that i can adjust fast.. i really dont want to leave this country and this experience.. but im scared.. sometimes i just feel like im too young to be doing this that im not really prepared for this whole thing but at other times i know i can do this.. its just a whole bundle of stuff that is just driving me crazy..
i guess the only thing that will help is if my host family is just as awesome as the one i am leaving.. i hope i can really get to know them within the next few weeks and that the community im going to is welcoming..
well heres to taking the next step eh? wish me luck and send me love..
so i am going to be leaving for my site in two days so i probably wont have internet for awhile.. just thought id warn you.. i am still (hopefully) alive and kicking and hopefully by next week i will have ventured out to an internet cafe but until then keep sending me emails..
so wow.. another week is over.. its crazy how fast this whole experience has gone.. and how soon this trip of mine will actually start..
so this week we learned bahasa Jawa which.. SUCKS.. its like the complete opposite of indonesian even though quite a few of the words look the same.. good thing the week went fast and we only had to take 5 days of it.. any longer and i would have been very confused with all the language i know.. im already having a hard time remembering how to say certain letters in english..
no good.. haha
so pretty much that was my week.. didnt get much of a chance to go online.. but i feel like that could be the norm coming up.. though its going to be pretty boring if i have nothing to do startong next week at my new home.. hopefully my family is cool and we get a long right away and then i wont be bored.. but i cant think about that because then i egt stressed and uh.. if i could just take my current family with me.. it would be awesome.. hah.. but thats sadly not possible.. ahh im stressing myself out about thi so new subject..
so today spent a whole buncha money and got everything that ill need for like tthe next few months at my new site.. also got some paper for drawing.. a map to hang on the wall of indonesia.. some more oatmeal (i still want it in a care package though.. may not be able to find it close to where im living) and yeah im all set.. i guess.. hopefully i wont think of anything else that i need later on..
but anyways today i also got stuff to make fried oreos.. and it actually went over pretty well.. i didnt think it was going to work that well but it was fun trying it out.. i got the idea from one of my friends who was planning on making them with here family and since i had wanted to make donuts with mine but i didnt want to buy all the ingredients i thought this was the next best thing.. and my family actually ended up liking them even though they were very ugly haha..
im sister was surprised when i told her i had never made them before.. she started laughing because at this point we already had a few in the fryer and she kept asking me if they looked done.. and i didnt know.. haha it was a good time though..
well i think its wayyyy past my bed time.. not even 9 pm yet sooo tired..
i know i just posted what i want but heres another list to add on to.. :)
protien bars oatmeal on the off chance that i was to get the big d again maybe some oral rehydration salts that dont taste disgusting.. just something i can mix with water to get electrolytes back into my system.. i dunno maybe gatorade packets? fishing line so i can hang things up in my room.. sounds strange but do it.. more tums.. i will probably go through the bottle i have now pretty fast.. i have over active stomach acid.. yay me.. breakfast bars (nutrigrain.. see a trend here?) tshirts i know ive said this before but i only have like 3 tshirts.. no v-neck.. i know probs only my mom will send them to me but if anyone else happens to just make sure no v-neck! peach rings (the candy) dried fruit (that would keep on the trip here like cranberries and cherries.. and whatever else thats good to eat dried.. we have bananas here so no banana chips!) some colored pencils or some paint.. i wanna start drawing again.. i have two years to perfect my drawing skills haha
so i was thinking about this in the middle of the night and if anyone is going to send something your going to probably have to declare whats in the package so i dont have to pay for it.. so for a few things hers what you should do..
so it may get a little messy but if your going to send stuff like the food bars dont keep them in the package.. make them loose.. i know stupid but it should be easier..
if you decide to mail a cd.. i dunno if anyone is.. but if you do just say its a blank cd so i dont have to pay for it..
headphones.. take them out of the package so they dont look new..
i think thats really it as long as the stuff doesnt appear to be new and im not getting electronics i should be fine..
Im going to say this first so you all better listen! I DO NOT HAVE AN ADDRESS YET.. so dont send ANYTHING to the address you may have now because starting next week I WONT BE HERE.. It will take me a couple weeks to find out what the new address is so dont hassle me either.. :) But this is just so you have an idea of what you can send if you want to send me anything at all.. You can also deviate off the list and do whatever you think will make me smile.. Ok.. that being said please continue reading!
so things i need: stuff in bold is stuff i plan to use in the classroom.. and since i have enormous class sizes i need more of those.. stuff in italics/ underlined is stuff that i really want cuz i cant really find it here..
Stuff to send in mail: sanity(which includes letters and anything else you see fit to send.. :))
Stuff i want but dont really need desperately: tshirts more sport bras reeses.. can maybe stick them in a fridge.. or ill just deal.. they dont have anything like them here.. headphones- cheap like the colored ones they have at walmart.. i would hate to get an expensive pair and then they break.. more photos of home and friends new music.. sadly youll have to put it on a cd and mail it.. no other way.. pretzels some mixed nuts haha hair gel- all they have here is wax.. no good.. batteries.. not sure where to find them here (AAA for my book light when they finally run out..)
Stuff im going to need: notecards stickers dry erase markers (colorful no regular green, blue red or black) postcards from the us.. doesnt matter where.. crayons markers Stuff I want and need: more bug spray with deet over 50% nutrigrain bars trailmix like stuff but nothing really sweet, i get enough of that here oatmeal any type of breakfast bars that has a fruit or honey/ oat thing to them.. no chocolate healthy snack food crystallized ginger foot scrubber stuff you dont have to mail but can send me in an email: good book ideas good movies i should see when i get back home any new music more photos of home and friends ideas of places to travel some good no bake/ no oven recipes.. doesnt matter what it is..
so i should write something quick so i can go to bed..
so today, well more this week has been pretty eventful.. and im glad its over but it only means that i have a lot more on my plate coming up which kinda sucks..
so our community project went well.. made some good food and had fun doing it.. had quite a few people show up but it wasnt anything like the english camp so it was good.. nice amount of people..
then hub day.. got to talk to quite a few people from back home which was nice.. of course facebook cut out so i couldnt keep most of the conversations going but it was still nice to chat with some people however brief..
got to talk to hannah.. always interesting :) haha it seems like time will take forever for her to get here but really its less than 6 months now.. now i need to figure stuff out so she can start making actual plans.. OH BOY!
um friday i taught a small class for a confidence booster.. it went well.. only ended up having like 10 people in the class so it was pretty laid back.. nothing what my actual class will be like but it helped me along.. then we had a day full with tefl ideas and little things we could do in the classroom.. it was good to learn some things..
and saturday.. which is today as i am writing this.. went to matos got a new pillow and a fan and some oatmeal.. gunna try out some indonesian brand first and then if i had to go with the american stuff.. but chances are i wont be by a store that i can buy the stuff so thats probably an item im gunna need sent to me..
so tonight im gunna try out the fan.. for some reason my room is like really hot until pretty early in the morning and my sleep has been suffering because of it.. which isnt good because now i feel like im coming down with a head cold of some sort.. grr.. i really dont want to be sick right now..
well.. i should get going to sleep.. hopefully my asprin will kick in soon and my headache will disappear..
so ive got the dreaded d.. and let me tell you it sucks.. majorly..
around 10 last night i got a horrible cramp in my stomach and my first thought was im going to puke.. which i would have preferred..
so i go to the bath room and not much happens.. haha this is gross and then a half hour later i go back and my world is over.. ill spare the details..
all i want right now is a regular toilet and a regular bathroom.. last night i wanted to camp out so bad cuz i literally got up like 6 or 7 times to go use the bathroom.. it was horrible.. and then the last time i went to the bathroom i got really sick feeling and i knew i was gunna puke.. last night just was not fun..
but at least my body is pretty much empty of stuff.. which is nice.. even though ive been drinking all the water, which i need to be doing but.. sometimes i wish i could just curl up and sleep this out.. this is just not fun.. i texted my sister and said this was one of those times i would kill to be home.. and her response was that i could get the d at home too.. which is true.. but i would be a lot more comfortable there than here..
anddd of course found out that our portfolio activities are due on friday and i still need to look some stuff up online to finish a few answers.. looks like im going to be scrapping through to the end on this one :( im hoping im all set and fine by wednesday so i can use the internet.. i dont think i could take more than another day of this.. im already really hungry and we really dont have anything that i can eat here..
guess i had to go through this eventually.. and let me tell you.. this is enough to last me the next two years..
i got most of my stuff done with the portfolio.. have to really only do like two more things and finish some others but im glad i have that all off to the side now.. i really feel like i completed something so today wasnt a complete waste..
i feel like sundays take forever.. i wake up at six.. do all my morning activities and its only like 630.. wash my clothes.. which i thought took longer than it did.. by 710 im done and not quite sure what to do.. so i did the portfolio stuff.. typed it all up.. made it look pretty and by the time i got bored with that it was only like 1030.. too early to eat lunch and take a nap.. so i dawdled in my room for a bit looking over something and finally it was 11 so i ate and then took a nap..
arent you glad your wasting your time reading this right now? my life is so facinating..
anyways after the nap did some reading took a mandi ate dinner and now here i am.. writing this lovely entry.. its almost 6 so i can head off to bed soon..
for some reason my room is really warm and im really kinda upset that i forgot to get a fan while i was out yesterday.. would be nice and perfect if i had.. i shoulda brought my fan from home but not sure where i woulda fit it.. even though i was under weight wise my bags were full.. i am not looking forward to packing all my shit up in the next two weeks..
which brings me to why i really started typing this..
i cannot wrap my head around the fact that pre-training is almost over.. its been almost two months and sometimes i have to say to myself am i really doing this or has it been a dream? im just amazed at how fast the last few weeks have gone.. i know it seemed at the time like time was going really slow but its really piled on so fast.. i was having a hard time remembering the last time i saw anyone.. and then i realized its been a longgg time.. what is it going to feel like in two years? id hate to waste the money to come back to the US but i may want to in a year.. ahh!
so my sister called today sobbing and i thought someone died.. luckily it was only the car.. i completely forgot she was home and when i picked up my phone was like oh great.. whose calling..
but it was good to talk to her.. i feel bad not being there right now.. she was always there for me when i needed someone to talk to.. and now im half the world away, thirteen hours off and her cell cant call mine.. such is life.. this must be pay back for all the times she didnt answer when i really needed her to :)
ahhhhh.. two weeks.. i really just hope i can make it through this week.. im not looking forward to wednesday or friday.. i wish i could just fast foreward through them both.. but thats not really a possibility.. :(
well this has just turned into rambling so im gunna leave it at that.. im starting to get bored with myself..
so ive been trying for a few days now to write an entry about finding out about my final placement.. and its been difficult..
im not really sure how i want to write it because im really feeling a mixture of emotions.. unlike coming to this family, i know where im going weeks ahead of time and i got to see what my host parents look like.. which is a little reassuring.. but its only a picture and its hard to tell anything from that.. All i can really post is that im going to be in the regency of nganjuk.. so if you wanna look that up and explore that region give it a whirl.. if you wanna know more specifics email me..
we also found out what type of school we are going to be teaching at and the class sizes.. im going to be teaching at an SMA which is a public school and my classes are going to be around 36-40 students.. thats enormous.. most of you know that i am a pretttttty shy person and having a huge class is hopefully going to break me outta that but the first few weeks might be really tough..
the plus is im by most of the people in my current village and im by some pretty awesome people.. krystal is in my same area and we are both close by to two current volunteers.. and then in the next regency over is maryellen, angela and dan and paige (the married couple).. a couple hours out is daniel and then erin.. so im by a pretty awesome group of people.. itll be nice to know if im ever having a rough time someone is literally right around the corner.. even though it may take like an hour to reach them..
i dunno i guess thats all i can really say.. that day was such a blur and i dont really feel like going through all the annoucements and how they placed us.. im just glad its over and i can move on with the rest of training..
which brings me to.. i have to teach another class at the end of this week.. hm.. betsy pulled me aside and said that they wanna see me teach another class this coming friday.. i dont know why but after i said ok and walked away i started feeling really nervous and scared that this could make or break me.. i thought i did fine with teaching and no one had said anything to me until this point.. so by the time i could talk to betsy again i was throughly worried..
we talked and it made me feel better but i still have nerves going into this thing.. i know the first few weeks are going to be tough and not much fun and i do need a confidence booster.. which is really all that is about.. their giving me a chance to teach by myself so i can get more comfortable in the classroom.. only thing that sucks is school is pretty much out and i dont want to do something boring since these kids are supposed to be volunteering their time.. ahh!
i found some stuff though in the billions of books ive gotten from the peace corps.. so hopefully i can make one of those work for a lesson.. thankfully it only has to be 45 minutes so its going to go by fast..
we also have a community project this week and we are going to be having a little thank you/ american culture expo thingy.. we are making some posters about the culture, having a power point with landscape, holidays, people, food, cities and what not to show how diverse we really are.. a lot of the time when people see people of another race they assume they arent american and it boggles a lot of people that you can be a different race and still be american.. so hopefully through some pictures and being out there and talking to whoever comes we can shed a positive light on the us and yeah.. theres also going to be food.. which is a bigggg thing here.. give them food and people will come.. hopefully it all turns out.. i just have to supply drinks and make pb and j.. lucky me..
ah im so tired and its only 630.. what am i going to do when i get back to the states? i was already called an old lady because i would go to be at like 9 or 10 most nights during school.. haha now im a little kid with a bed time before 7..
oh lord..
well im sleeping at the keys so im gunna get going onto dream land.. had to take the malaria pill tonight so the dreams should be pretty awesome haha..
