The circle of life.. and some muffins!

So there has been a very pregnant cat walking around my house for the last few weeks and about a week and a half ago i noticed she was looking less plump.. I was curious as to where she hid the little ones but wasnt able to find them.. Today while making some muffins (yum!) i heard some crying and lo and behold i found the kittens.. the momma cat let me look at them without attacking me.. i cant wait till they get a little older.. i want one! i dont really like cats but they are just so adorable!

thats all :)

love you all!

Life and all its meanings..

I have to say that I am thankful that I am an American.. How easy it could have been for me to be born some where else in this gigantic world.. I have never been prouder to be what I am. This experience has given me the appreciation for my country that I never knew I could have.. That being said I want to take a moment to talk about September 11th and what it means to me, my life and the future..

10 years ago I was in 7th grade.. Its hard to believe it was really that long ago.. I can remember leaving math class when the teacher turned on the tv and I saw some buildings in some city with smoke.. I walked back to my classroom not really thinking about what I saw.. On the p.a. system they only announced that something was wrong after the second building was hit.. And of course what they told us was extremely vague.. Who wants to frighten an elementary school? Some parents pulled their children out of school but other wise the day continued as normal. When my sister and I got off the bus we saw that our dad was home which was weird. Our mom and dad gave us big hugs and we moved to the family room to watch what had happened while we were at school.. Its amazing what a sight like that does.. Its so hard to believe that someone out there hated America so much that he could cause all this damage and destruction.. When your young you like to believe that nothing scary exists and nothing like this could happen.. But it did.. and it changed everything.. We found out later on that one of the flights turned around really close to Cleveland and that they evacuated the city shortly after.. This hit home because my dad was still working in Cleveland at the time and really.. anything could have happened..

As things unfolded and we learned more I think out nation grew together a little bit.. It was nice to see the red, white and blue out at a time when it normally wasnt so prevelant.. and then shortly after we went to war.. Its weird that the wars we have been fighting have stemmed from this conflict but I can remember hearing the report of the first troops entering Afghanistan and every night dedicated to what was happening overseas.. While war is not spectacular and is not something that any generation should be happy about it made me proud of all the men and women who were fighting for their country and those who died on 9/11.. While things may have changed over the last 10 years I believe that the war, while drawn out, has had its positives.. But enough about war and politics..

And now 10 years later..

So much has changed and yet at the same time.. Nothing has.. Sometimes I feel like we dont pride ourselves in being American anymore.. Coming to a country in which people are so proud to be who they are has really opened my eyes.. I think too many people concentrate on the bad things so often that they forget what the country was built on and what America stands for.. Thus far in my experience I have not had a negative comment said to me when I say that I am an American.. If anything people are happy to see me and make comments about how they would love to go to America.. America, with all its faults and flaws, still holds appeals for those in other countries.. We are still the famous melting pot.. we are still something to be proud about.. we are still America no matter what the world looks like..I think more people need to remember and know what it is to be American..

and I cant say that I dont forget time to time where I am and where Im from.. It took me coming to another country to live to realize how much I love my country.. and for all its faults and politics that drive me crazy! I wouldnt want to live anywhere else..

All n all.. Im proud to be an American.. Let us never forget what happened but lets not dwell on the negatives.. It pulled us together, albeit for a short period of time, but if we could just remember the feeling and pride of who we are.. I think our country could pull together and become strong again..

I am a patriot and I love my country no matter its flaws.. I am proud to be an American.

Love you all so very much :)

today i made salsa

and it was wonderful

mangoes and tomatoes are a really good combo..

:)

First Vacation!

so its been awhile again.. time seems to be flying.. yet at the same time.. its sooooo slow..

anyways this past week was the end of Ramahdan.. it was crazy loud here from tuesday on until i left for Malang.. all these kids came to the house to get money.. something that they do here for idul fitri.. and every night there are a ton of fireworks and noise and yeah.. it was fine for one night but.. it seems it never ends.. i can only hope that tonight is quiet again..

anyways so on Friday i went to Malang to visit my first host family.. man.. the way to Malang was horrible.. i left my house around 7:30/8 and went down the road to meet Krystal, who i was traveling with.. we went down to the station and all the buses heading to Jombang were PACKEDDDDDDD.. we couldnt get on anything so we decided to walk down the road to see if maybe we could walk into Jombang and then find a ride to the station there.. but no such luck.. we ended up stopping at the traffic police station where we originally started out at and after like an hour one of the police men finally got a bus/car thing for us.. The ride only ended up being like 15 minutes but it felt so much longer because we were waiting for maybe two hours for a ride to the station..

NOTE TO SELF: never travel again when its a holiday..

At Jombang station they they kept trying to get us to get on this bus that was standing room only and we kept saying no no no we want to sit.. we will wait.. they kept pulling me towards the bus.. sometimes they can be so pushy! but about five minutes after the first bus left another one came and we got on.. we had to sit in the back with three other people but luckily we got to sit.. sadly it was by some guys who chatted to us the entire way to Malang which ended up being like 3 hours.. i just wanted to sleep but i had to concentrate so hard because i could barely hear what they were saying and then i had to translate everything.. made for a longgggg bus ride.. near the end of the ride we came to the mountains surrounding Malang and Batu.. THAT was crazy.. at times we were literally a foot away from dropping off the side of the cliff.. i wish i had brought my camera to document it.. but sadly the camera would not fit in my backpack filled with mangoes.. needless to say it was a thrilling ride..

finally we get to Malang and right before we get into the city we hit a ton of traffic.. the bus decides to go off roading.. this is a regular sized road.. but he decides to bypass maybe 6 cars by driving on the side of the road.. we almost hit two trees and a sign.. crazy the way they drive here.. once we got to the station though everything was good.. went and got something to drink and eat and then it was off to the fam!

i never thought i could miss this family that much.. but i was so glad to finally seem them again.. it was also nice that i could understand 90% of what they said to me.. so much different then when i was dropped off at their doorstep 5 months ago.. crazy.. but it was good to see them all again..

anyways while there we just went shopping and hung out and it was good to just relax and not worry about school or issues here.. went out on saturday night with the family while they went around to their friends houses and said hello.. i got to see Daniels host mother and Mary Ellens fam.. it was nice.. woulda been better if the whole gang coulda been there.. felt a little empty without them..

but whatever it was a good weekend.. and now im back here.. the ride back was fairly uneventful.. got a package from my grandparents! so im happy.. for now.. school starts on thursday so i gotta get prepared for that..

wellll thats it! i miss everyone so much! hope everything is going well with everyone..

LOVE YOU ALL :)

another week goes by

and the time comes again that i should/ need to write another blog entry.. so much has happened in the past two weeks.. and at the same time nothing all that exciting..

i got an oven which is awesome.. i cant wait to make muffins and bread.. its going to be nice to have this little comfort.. its actually a pretty nice oven.. it was a little expensive but i figure it will pay for itself with my happiness haha..

a few days after buying it i made some cookies with my friend.. we had to go out and buy all the ingredients and man.. it took forever.. we had to go to several places because many places didnt have some of the ingredients that we needed.. we ended up getting this butter that i wish we hadnt gotten.. it was a cream butter but it tasted more like pink bubblegum.. needless to say the cookies we made had the taste of bubblegum.. which kinda sucked.. but whatevs it was the first time and i know i will not take that butter the next time.. We made three different types of cookies: chocolate chip, sugar, and butter with jelly. I burned myself once pulling the cookies out.. made me laugh a little because back home i always used to have hannah take the cookies or whatever out of the oven.. I thought “Man i could totally use hannah right now haha” but luckily i only burned myself once and that was enough to learn.. (pictures to come later!)

 mixing up the cookie dough! oh how ive missed baking!

 my oven :)

 the finished results.. yum :)

Faiz shaping the cookies..

so hm.. and then this week.. teaching.. all in all it was a fast week.. the beginning of the week was pretty rough for me.. sometimes its difficult going into a classroom and having none of the students respond.. its a big downer sometimes.. and then i had some other stuff going on but like everything.. it passes..

Wednesday was the Independence Day for Indonesia.. i went to this ceremony out by the village office in my school district.. They had a marching band and a couple schools there. When I walked down to the field some of my students cheered when they saw me.. stuff like that breaks my heart.. makes me feel bad all the times i think about going home.. damn those kids.. haha the ceremony was pretty brief.. A siren rang out around 10 am, thats the time that the first president signed the papers giving the indonesians their freedom.. it was pretty neat that they could have the exact time they got their freedom.. im sure its written down somewhere the exact time that americans signed the declaration of independence but its not like we commemorate that exact time.. At the end i had my picture taken with all the important people.. they were like little kids excited to get a picture with me.. i hope i managed to keep a good smile on my face.. sometimes its hard to keep that smile going..

so after that it just ended up being an ordinary day.. thursday i went back to school and tried to give some grammar lessons to the grade 10 class.. not sure how well that went over.. we shall see the next time they have to hand something in.. but to make them happy since.. grammar can be boring.. we played a game.. the first class was awesome.. they came up with so many words and they all got into the game.. as the day progressed the students enthusiasm declined.. haha.. each class after the first got a little.. worse.. i think i can blame it on them being tired.. or at least i am going to.. saturday I got to teach a class by myself.. i was a little nervous.. walking to the class by myself i started to freak out a little bit.. but the class i had to teach is probably one of my favorite classes so it wasnt that bad.. the kids were all excited that i was there and whenever i spoke some indonesian they applauded me which was funny.. i think they get a kick out of it.. luckily the class went smoothly and most of them understood what i was talking about.. one of the kids, a real joker, asked me if he could have extra lessons haha.. so i think im gunna put together a group of students who want to just talk english and have them come over or just stay after school one day.. it was a good day..

and now here i am.. baking in my room.. typing this boring entry..

well hope everyone had a good weekend!

love you all :)

creative ideas for a semi-uncreative person.. ha

so i need some ideas.. from anyone who reads this that has an idea..

starting next month i am going to have an english club about once a week.. lord knows what an 'english' club does.. i never joined a language club in high school..

i have some rough ideas for it but im not really sure..

first is tie-dying.. i know its not really english but.. i figure i can talk to the students and give them directions in english.. hah

then the other ideas is movies.. but i want to have a movie club so it may interfere.. but chances are i may not have time to do that since ill probably be the one in charge of english club..

but thats all that i have.. which is pretty sad.. you would think that i would be able to create more to do but i dunno..

HELP!

side fact: these are some links of the call to prayer.. they arent from indonesia since i found them on youtube but they are so close to what i hear everyday that i had to share it.. i dunno if anyone too the time to look up the call to prayer but here you go! imagine this at 4 in the morning and then 4 other times throughout the day.. all different in some way..

first is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzDiFcKY8uY&feature=related

this is the regular call to prayer.

Allahu akhbar( 2 x) = God is greatest
Allahu akhbar(2 x)= God is greatest
Ash hadu an la ilaha illa Allah (2 x)= I bear witness that there is no god except the One and only God
Ash hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah(2x) =I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God
Hayya alas Salah(2x)=Hurry to the prayer (Rise up for prayer)
Hayya alal Falah(2x)= Hurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)
Allahu akhbar (2x)= God is greatest
La ilaha illallah(1x)= There is no God except the one and only God

and then this is what happens in the afternoons.. they let the little kids take the mic and pray away.. sometimes its cute.. other times.. makes me want to cover my ears haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAOIpeRue2k&feature=related

well there we go.. this have been a post about needing help and sharing.. so hopefully ill get something.. or else i have no faith in anyone who reads this.. if anyone besides my family..

also getting tie-dye stuff in the mail would be awesome.. we have tshirts but i havent seen any dye.. so stuff at wal-mart or whatever.. just dye send it.. i can get bottles..

anyways.. hope all is well with everyone!

love you alllllllllllllll!!!! :)

oh what is the purpose of a mosquito?

so mosquitoes..

today i looked up what the heck the purpose of mosquitoes is.. why on earth is there something out there that causes so many issues.. not only diseases but they also cause unbearable itchiness.. which can be hellish if you have more than one hah.. turns out that the only good thing about mosquitoes are they are food for numerous other animals  like birds and lizards.. and if they were to disappear a major link in the food chain would be disrupted.. they also are important for pollination.. who knew? besides bees, mosquitoes help pollinate numerous plants and flowers.. i woulda never guessed.. for me though, the negatives makes it really hard to appreciate the mosquito..

and this would be why..

my body looks like i have some sort of disease.. every time i get a bite.. i have to itch.. and this itching causes some sort of bruising.. so by the time the bites go away i have big reddish brown spots wherever i had a bite.. and that happens to be pretty much everywhere.. and my feet.. man they are a mess.. it seems no matter how much i try not to itch i always end up with scabs on my feet.. i feel like a mess sometimes.. and just when i think its all good.. i get bit again..

last night was the topper for me.. i cant sit with my legs under the table when i eat because i get bit.. so i sit sideways on my chair and eat and my family thinks its hilarious.. i seem to be the only one who keeps getting bit.. i should start a count of how many bites i get during my time here.. im gunna bet it hits well over 200.. but anyways.. so i have bug spray on but that doesnt seem to deter them.. i get bit twice in a span of 10 seconds.. let me tell you.. sometimes you cant feel the bite.. but other times its like someone punched a needle in my leg.. and those suck.. immediately i get these huge.. welts on my leg and they itch like hell..

i got pics.. because of course nothing else interesting is going on so i have to show off my war wounds.. haha..

my lovely feet.. they will never be the same..

moving on..

hard to believe its already the 9th of august and that the day is pretty much over.. somedays it goes by so fast that i have to wonder where all the time went.

i dont really have that much to talk about.. ramahdan is in full swing.. ive only really participated for 2 days.. its really really hard to not eat.. i have 20 more days so im gunna try real hard to make it through.. i think if my family and friends here can do it i can too.. ive opted to continue drinking water while fasting.. or else i would be a sad puppy.. id be really hungry if i didnt have something to fill my stomach..

wow rambling..

im gunna post some photos of my students work.. the other day i had one of my grade ten classes make some comic strips in class.. some of them were pretty good.. i did correct them so pardon my corrections..

these are all from different students.. i just picked my favorite panels..

this last one is the only one done totally in color.. im glad someone had some fun with this.. it was meant to be fun anyways hah..

hm.. well i think this is enough for now.. life isnt too exciting right now.. kinda lonely.. miss talking to my friends from home.. havent really talked to anyone in a while besides my family and makes me kinda sad.. lifes tough sometimes..but at least i have some rocking american friends here.. two people really made my week last week.. and i know without them i probably would have left a long time ago.. cheers to new friends :)

love the memories right? :)

love you all :)