So May was full of stuff.. Had some of my last classes for the year and then my birthday! I actually had a good time this year. I went into school, not really expecting all that much. One of the religion teachers came up to me and wished me a happy birthday with lots of success, long life and all the other happy wishes they give you on your birthday. I ended up going to my one class by myself and when I walked in all the kids said happy birthday and then they sang to me.. Which was awesome.. We watched a movie and then after class when I walked out the door, the English Club caught me and sang happy birthday and gave me some gifts which was surprising.. I felt bad because I haven’t seen them at all this semester yet they remembered by birthday! Love those kids. Then I went into the office to wait around until my next class. Got to chat with a friend and finally my counterpart came in and then we went to my last class. They also sang happy birthday to me and it was nice. Lots of birthday singing.. I think my smile hurt by the end of the day..
Later that night my cps came over and they all gave me some gifts. I got some batik, a shirt and then this awesome photo of all of us that my counterpart framed and added some extra stuff to it. It was a good birthday in Indonesia.. Two down, one more to go!
That next Monday was the site visit from the new trainees. I cannot believe that time flew that much. It feels like yesterday that I went on my own site visit. Of course, they got lost, which is kinda my fault but also the hazard of traveling in Indonesia. Thankfully there was 3 of them so getting lost in a group isn’t as bad as being sendiri (alone). So they got here, we got something to eat and then ventured to my house where we spent the day just chatting and letting them wind down after their first travel experience. It was a good time. The next day we went to school, they got to meet a whole bunch of people and got chatted at by my principal. The best thing, maybe not for them but totally for me, was when they got to walk around and meet my students. I was so proud of some of my students. They were asking questions and trying and while some of them were REALLY nervous, they got up the nerve to talk. It was almost like that ahah! moment. I knew that I had made the best decision to stay here because look at my students! They were talking! It’s always the little things eh?
So after that we went to class, suffered through some Jeopardy review which was a little dry and then after school we went out and got some pecel, got some ice cream and then went back to just chill out. I felt bad that there wasn’t much to see or do around me but they said it was nice to have a little break since they are pretty much busy allllll day during training. Wednesday morning they left and I had the city back to myself again.. It was kind of lonely but at the same time it was nice. It’s nice having other people here but at the same time.. Kinda nice to be alone (at timesssss..) Plus I only had to last out 3 days until I got to go to Surabaya to say goodbye to some people and to get passport paperwork filled out.
So yeah that weekend, went to Surabaya, met up with Maryellen and went to the office to see all the ID4 people who were in town to finish up and ship out. It was sad saying goodbye to some people. One girl, Miss Samantha, is going to be studying in Bowling Green for the next two years, so she will be a nice resource when I finally come home..
The weekend was fun except for Monday when we had to spend 5+ hours at the immigration office. The server had gone down so all of our paperwork and all the stuff they needed us to do couldn’t be done.. The only nice thing was that there was a few of us there so we didn’t have to go through the waiting process alone. Luckily we got to spend another night in the city so I had some time to unwind from that lovely experience before returning to site. I ended up seeing the Avengers, which was pretty awesome. I’m not really one for the superhero movies but the movie was totally worth the 4 dollars I spent to see it (yeaahhh totally going to miss cheap movies..)
Finally back to site. That week, which was, oh man, two weeks ago now, was pretty much a waste of school time. Monday and Tuesday were the last days of class. I managed to get in to school in enough time on Tuesday to give the classes thank you cards before they left for the day. The next day, Wednesday was our school anniversary. I wish I could say that I got some awesome photos from that event, yet tragically I was sick and had to go home. It seemed like it would have been a pretty cool event. They had a stage where students could perform, they had some dancing and then speeches (which are by far my favorite.. hah) Maybe I will still be in town for the celebration next year and can actually enjoy what’s going on around me.. The next day was graduation, another event that I had to miss because I was sick.. Then on Friday I went in with my camera and got some photos with some of my students and the English Club.. It was a good day and pretty much the last day of normal ‘school’. This past week was full of testing and what not and that will end on Tuesday. Just in time for me to peace out!
The last big thing that’s been going on is the workbook that I am creating. It’s finally finished! By the time this is up and posted I will hopefully be getting the first copy of the book to check over and make sure everything is perfect. Its been a long road and I am SO happy it is finished. Of course there will be improvements over the next year but! my first book ever is now completed! It’s an awesome feeling.
And now I’m looking at the calendar, counting down the days until the 14th (4.5 as im writing this) I can’t wait to set foot on American soil. It’s crazy that it has been over a year since I left home and came here.. I can’t wait to see everyone and just relax before coming back to finish my last year.
So thanks for sticking around.. This entry was NOT entertaining, I apologize. I had a lot going on and I feel like this was a report hah.. at least there are pictures right?
love you all :)
