My journey to Indonesia

2008-07-07T09:29:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm not sure if anybody is still reading my blog, but in case you are, I made it home safely on June 6. For the last few weeks, I've been bummin' around and giving presentations. In a couple of weeks, I'm going on vacation with my parents and then I'm going to my best friend's wedding and then finally, I'll be moving to Orlando some time in August. If I get around to it, I'll post some more pictures.

2008-02-12T03:52:00.000-06:00

I've posted several pictures from my recent trip to a village. Please scroll down and read my post about the trip as well as looking at the pictures. Hope you enjoy.
Showing the Jesus Film

One of many tropical rivers through the mountains

The students in my group doing Kid's Club

My living quarters - mine is the one with the orange towel. We hung mosquito nets over our sleeping bags to keep the bugs away.

The Caravan plane that I flew on coming back to Sentani

2008-02-12T03:43:00.001-06:00

Traditional men's dance

Slicing open the pig

Pulling out the insides

Pulling the insides out of the insides

A "pork chop" - pulling a chunk of cooked pig out of the pile of banana leaves ready to eat - yum yum

2008-02-12T03:26:00.000-06:00

Work Projects
Fenceposts that we painted and drilled wholes in

Putting up the fenceposts and barbed wire after painting

Helping the locals shovel mud and rocks to widen the path

Working on a hydro-electric project

Scooping mud out of a drained pond - actually, we're just playing in the mud

2008-02-12T03:13:00.001-06:00

Hiking to a smaller village with my group

Crossing the suspension bridge

My new friend who always held my hand and helped me on the trails

My group's village

Me with some of the people in the village

The men who helped us cook our food - and this is the room I slept in with my four female students. We got to know each other really well.

2008-02-12T02:58:00.001-06:00

The Porter plane that I flew in on

View of Papua from the plane

Can you see the plane?

The crowd of villagers waiting for us

The name of the whole valley

2008-02-12T02:37:00.000-06:00

I just got back from O.E. (Outdoor Education) and I'm sick, exhausted, and so glad I went. I spent 12 days in a small village with all the HS students and staff. There were a total of 82 westerners there and I was in charge of a group of 9 students. We spent time learning the local language (with help from our host family) and their culture. For example, as soon as we arrived, we discovered that they love to hold your hand as you walk up and down the trails (girls-girls and guys-guys). We flew in on several small airplanes flown by our very own MAF and SIL (Yajasi) pilots. Most of the planes fit about 9 or so people plus we had separate flights for our baggage. You can imagine how many logistical things had to be worked out. While we were there, we also did several work projects, including building a fence, moving a huge wood pile, finishing a hydro-electric pipe system, and moving mud (not easy). During the two weeks, each group hiked separately to a smaller village for three days and spent time with the locals. My group had a great time getting to know the people in our village - I made a friend who was constantly by my side. We did a Kid's Club, which included songs in Indonesian (even though most of them only speak the local language, not Indonesian) and we performed a skit about the Prodigal Son after which we gave them coloring sheets and crayons to go along with the skit. Then we played games and gave out candy and bubbles and other stuff. We had to cook all our food on a camping stove and for veggies, we had to rely on what we could buy from the local people. We bought a lot of greens and green beans and cucumbers and they gave us bananas and cabbage, which we traded back to them because we had too much food. One night, we tried to cook our veggies over the open fire, but we weren't skilled enough to keep the fire going so a couple of local men helped us cook. After the three days in the smaller village, all the groups regathered and had a pig feast. We watched how a local man shot the pig with his hand-made arrow and then chopped it up. After that, they put the pig in a pit with hot rocks and vegetables (wrapped in banana leaves) and steamed it. Wow was it delicious. I've never tasted pork so good. The whole two weeks, we slept on wooden floors and used outhouses that we dug. Both of the girls' outhouses had to be moved after they filled up half way through the two weeks. The guys didn't have that problem, though. Every morning and evening, we were ministered to by two guys who came from the States. It was very refreshing to have "outsiders" minister to us. On one of the last nights, we showed the Jesus Film and the rain held off until right when the movie ended - God is good. Overall, it was a great time, even though we all came back exhausted. And to top it off, we all have amoebe and maybe worms and I have a sinus infection. But not to fear, we have lots of cheap medicine here - and you don't have to hassle with a prescription. We all came back on Friday and went back to school on Monday. The students have three projects they have to finish up describing what they learned during the two weeks - Anthropology, Geography, and a journaling project. It was a great learning experience for all of us and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see the heart of Papua.

2008-01-11T20:06:00.000-06:00

Just a few things I saw at the bird and reptile parks. Aren't they beautiful?

2008-01-11T20:04:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun in Bali. My friends and I were able to go to an English speaking church and visit an orphanage. We also went to a bird park and reptile park and got to watch people weaving, carving wood, and making silver jewelry by hand. We spent New Year's Eve huddled in Starbucks because it was pouring rain. When we walked back to the hotel after midnight, we had to walk through the flooded streets and there were lots of drunk people flying down the road on their motorbikes screaming. We went bowling a couple of times and saw National Treasure 2 at the theater for only about $1.50. Near the end of the trip, my friends and I decided to hike up a volcano so we left the hotel at 2:30am and started hiking at 4am with our guide. At 6am we made it to the top just in time to see the sunrise. It was so amazing. I also went to the waterpark which was very impressive. On the last day, I tried boogie boarding, but it wasn't so fun because the water was so disgusting - it was full of trash. My last meal was at Bubba Gump's, which is my favorite place to eat there. I also had several foot and back massages because they were only about $5 for 1 hour. School starts on Wednesday and 3 of my students will not be here - one has medical problems, one can't get her visa renewed, and one's house burnt down. It will be hard to see them go. I'm also going to have a few new students so things will be different and adjustments will be made. Well, that's life at an MK school.

2008-01-11T19:40:00.000-06:00

A FEW PICTURES FROM BALI

Women making boutique by hand

A pelican (or something) at the bird park

Oops, I forgot to rotate this one of me holding a male and female iguana

Sunrise from the top of the volcano

Volcano

2007-12-26T21:26:00.000-06:00

Flying to a village (Wamena) 5000 ft above sea-leavel

Me and my friends in Wamena

Traditional entrance for the Dani tribe (Wamena)

Dani children in their hut (Wamena)

Dinner! (Wamena)

Crossing the suspension bridge (Wamena)

2007-12-26T21:05:00.000-06:00

Sunset

Beach Trip

Malaria Medicine - seven pills all at once

Mount Cyclops on a clear day

Me and my roomie

2007-09-14T04:52:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot - please keep praying for the visa situation here. My visa is still fine, but some of my students' families are already making plans to leave soon and start their furlough early because their visas will not be renewed. Others have been able to get extensions, but nothing permanent.

2007-09-14T04:28:00.000-05:00

Well, the weekend has come and I think I am over the malaria. Fortunately, I did not miss any school. I am still tired, though, and I have a cold that has been dragging on for almost two weeks. I will try to rest as much as I can to avoid getting sick again. Things are rolling right along with school. Progress Reports are already being sent out. I have now volunteered to be the Student Council Sponser and the students are so thankful because nobody wanted to do it. You may of heard of the recent earthquakes in Indonesia. Thankfully, I am far away from them. In fact, I didn't even know about it until someone in the States emailed me. The earthquakes hit on the West side and I am on the East side, separated by hundreds of miles and many islands. I have heard reports that the damages were minor and only a 10 foot Tsunami hit a small area. I have tried again to post more pictures on my blog, but unfortunately, my internet connection is not fast enough to load them. I'll keep trying.

2007-09-10T06:04:00.000-05:00

I had an awsome time at the beach last weekend with my students. I'm looking forward to what God has planned for us this year. I have some not so good news - I just found out that I have malaria. There is medicine for me and I should be fine, but I am already tired all the time and I expect to be tired all this week too.

2007-08-25T03:25:00.001-05:00

Hey everybody. Sorry, I haven't been too faithful in writing weekly posts this summer. I just finished the first week of school. I'm teaching 6th grade math, advanced 8th grade math, Algebra 2, Geometry, and AP Statistics. It's quite a load, but I love it. I would like you to please pray for the spiritual battle raging here. I won't mention too much detail on the internet, but there is a huge visa issue here with other SIL members (PTL teacher visas are ok). About 30 families, including all of our admin, might not get their visas renewed in the next few months and extension options are becoming more difficult as well. Please pray for this situation because it also involves many of my students who are unsure how long they will be here. In addition, our kindergarten teacher and HS principal will not be here for at least the first semester because they both have cancer and are seeking treatment in the States. Thank you for your prayers. I will keep you updated as things progress.

2007-08-01T02:51:00.000-05:00

Woops, guess I haven't written a new post in a while. I've kinda been bummin' it lately. I finished the summer course I was teaching and now I have two and 1/2 weeks left before school starts again. I will be teaching 6th grade math, 8th grade advanced math, Algebra 2, and Geometry (and maybe Pre-Calculus). I went on a camping trip a few weeks ago, which was awesome! I went snorkeling, boogie-boarding, and cooled off in a fresh water stream that ran behind our camp. We also had smores one evening and played some fun games. We (me and 3 families) took a 2-hour boat ride to get there and had our own private beach. And the best part is that I only had to pay about $20 for the entire 4-day trip. Wow!

2007-06-30T03:21:00.000-05:00

Well, things have been interesting this week. I practiced driving the motorbike that I'm borrowing for the summer. While I was driving, the hand brake broke, but fortunately, I still had the foot brake:) It is now getting repaired. Today I am baking bread and cookies with my roommate, who is from Korea. She is making an American dish tonight for dinner - sloppy joes. I'm so excited. Tomorrow, there will be a softball game and BBQ to celebrate the 4th of July, but we will also have non-Americans joining us, which will be fun.

2007-06-15T04:01:00.000-05:00

Beach

Sunset

Boat Ride

Oh Yeah

Surfin' with Ronald

2007-06-15T03:45:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I was finally able to load some pictures. The pictures above and below are from my trip to Bali. Here are some things I was able to do: visit an English-speaking Balinese church; go bowling (3 times); go shopping; eat at A&W Rootbeer, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins, Krispe Kreme, Bubba Gump Shrimp (3 times), and a Mexican place; visit the bombing memorial park; participate in water sports - banana boat, jetskiing, and parasailing; watch Pirates of the Caribbean 3; go to a water park with some cool water slides and a lazy river (that's where I spent most of my time); and on the last night, some of us singles went out on a boat and watched the sunset - it was so amazing. Then we ate dinner together on the beach. And to top it all off, as we were all sitting on the beach enjoying our last night in Bali, gazing at the stars and watching the waves come in, there was a shooting star. I was speechless. God really showed His stuff :) Now I am back in Sentani and I'm teaching math to some Indonesian students (in English) twice a week. It's somewhat of a challenge, but also a great experience.

2007-06-10T23:40:00.000-05:00

Group Picture

Balinese Church

Having fun in the sun

Parasailing

Bombing Memorial

Bubba Gump

Balinese Gong

Flying over Bali

Banana Boat

2007-05-31T18:48:00.000-05:00

Thanks for being patient with me - I haven't updated my blog in a while - you know, end of the year busy-ness. A lot has happened lately; I'll try to sum it up. My wisdom teeth surgury went very well. I only had a little pain afterward and IBProfen took care of that. No swelling, no infection. I didn't even miss any school - PTL. We had a band concert last week and I played with the HS band as a "guest artist" (according to the program). It was so much fun - our program included Mouret's Fanfare, Beach Baby, Beauty and the Beast, Barbosa is Hungry (standing ovation), The Great Escape, and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. Yesterday, I moved into an apartment at the school and my new roommate is a young lady from Korea. My previous roommates will all be headed back to the States soon and a new family is moving into the house we were in. Tomorrow, I am flying out to Bali to enjoy some vacation time. Thankfully I will not be traveling alone, however. This summer, I will be working with some Indonesian students to help them learn math and computer skills as well as English. I'm already having a great summer and it looks like it'll just get better and better.

2007-05-15T22:38:00.000-05:00

The wedding last week was a lot of fun. We only went to the reception. The actual ceremony is really just a lot of paper signing and legal stuff. At the reception, the bride and groom sat on a magnificently decorated stage with their parents. They looked like royalty. There were a few events - cutting of the cake, pictures, etc - and then we all ate dinner. The food was great and the decorations were fabulous. On Friday of last week, I played in a hockey game - HS staff and moms vs. HS students. It was awesome - I've only played once and I didn't know the rules too well, but I ended up scoring the first two goals for our team - WOW (insert exclamation mark 'cause blogspot won't let me). We won the game - something like 11 to 2. I can't believe I actually scored - must have been beginner's luck :) On Saturday, I went to the beach. It was so relaxing - got a nice tan too. Today, I am going to get my wisdom teeth out. It should be a simple surgury, but please pray that I will not have any complications afterwards. Tomorrow is a holiday so I'll be home recuperating. I'll keep trying to post pictures - so far, it's still not working. I need a faster connection I think. Anybody got any advice?

2007-05-09T17:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have tried and tried to post more pictures, but every time, it fails. The internet connection here is not always good so it's just not happening. I will try again. Lately, things have been a bit stressful because it is the end of the year. My AP Calculus students took their AP Exam yesterday. They were nervous, of course, but I know they have been working very hard and I'm sure they did fine. Today, I am going to my first Indonesian wedding - I'm so excited and I can't wait. I've heard it's very different from an American wedding so I'm looking forward to the new experience. As things are winding down for the school year, we are looking for more ways to relax, so this weekend we are going to the beach again. The beach reminds me of a deserted tropical island (except it's not on an island, but rather a penisula). It's very different from beaches back home, but still lots of fun. That's about all that's going on right now. I will keep trying to post the pictures.

2007-04-26T21:58:00.000-05:00

Last week was crazy: On Sunday night, April 15, I was in charge of our weekly SIL meeting. I organized the music and the speakers. I reported on what we did during OE (Outdoor Education) with my students. During OE, we worked with a group of Indonesian students who are part of a program called TITIP. They are learning English and western culture, how to lead worship services, and things like that. So I asked some of my students as well as some TITIP students to speak about their OE experience. It turned out that we had a lot of extra time, so I opened the floor for other students to speak. Some of the most unexpected students came forward and really shared their heart - it was amazing. I'm sure that if I had asked them to prepare, they would have said no, but because we had extra time, they volunteered. God was really working. I got a lot of compliments on the meeting, but I know it was all God's planning that made it happen. Well, that was just the beginning of the week. On Wednesday, we had portfolio projects due for all the teachers so I spent many hours on that. Then, progress reports were due. On top of that, we had two 2-hour seminars on Child Safety and Abuse on Tuesday and Wednesday night (6:30-8:30). Well-well, I go to bed at 8:30 so it was really hard to focus, but I made it through. On Thursday, we had a half day so the students went home after lunch, but the teachers met with the seminar leaders for 3 more hours. Then, there's more . . . On Friday, my roommates and I invited two TITIP students home with us for "Home-Stay," which is pretty straight forward. The students come and stay at your home for the weekend and they learn about western culture. We had two wonderful girls and we taught them how to make bread and omelets and pizza and they taught me how to fry fish and make a green bean dish with garlic and onions and eggs. It was delicious. But then, there's more . . . On Saturday, we had the Classical Concert. I played a duet with the elementary principal, who plays the cello. It went really well - the concert was very professional and we had a variety of music - piano, voices, clarinet, trumpet, and cello. One group consisted of 4 piano players on 2 pianos and they played Babes in Toyland - it was great. One of the singers was actually on her way to becoming a professional singer before she came here and the others are just about as good as her. They sang some opera (in Italian) and some other songs - WOW.