Singapore: When Worlds Collide

  

So I am an American, living in Indonesian, visiting a park in Singapore where I heard a South Korean singing group practice an Italian Opera.

That is Singapore in a nutshell; the place where cultures collide.

The above picture is just a taste of the language diversity. While everything is listed in English, you can see the “way out” listed in Mandarin first because this was the Chinatown exit of the MRT or
underground train system that can get you close to just about everywhere in Singapore for about one US dollar. Most things are actually listed in four languages: English, Mandarin, Bahasa, and Hindi. The last three accommodate the three largest people groups: Chinese, Native Singaporeans, and Indians.

I never thought I would love any city the way I have come to love Singapore. From the polite British voice that reminds me to “Mind the gap” on the MRT to the western restaurants that have helped me get over my homesickness. While Indonesians can make rice amazing in a hundred different ways, they don’t really understand bread. Or sandwiches. I think I ate at Subway 6 of the 7 days I was there.

But when I wasn’t enjoying real bread I spent my time reading in cafes. In the week there I finished 3 books. I miss the quiet moments when the world slows down for me to get absorbed into another world. Rest for the mind and the soul. Everyone needs that every now and then but teachers especially.

I also enjoy Singapore because I am not such a minority there. Many westerners visit and live there. In Indonesian being Bulia (a white person) is a lot like being famous because we are such a minority. Everywhere I go people stare at me and want to take pictures with me (or in some cases not so sneakily try to take a picture with me in the background). I never understood what a struggle it is to not look like everyone else. I don’t really feel uncomfortable about it, it is just a reminder that everywhere I go I clearly do not come from there. It is almost hard for me to imagine now going back to the states where I am a majority and not having random people almost get in car accidents just because they are staring at me.

And if you haven’t already, check out this awesome culture day my school puts on every year where I got to dress up and dance a traditional dance! If you don’t have time for the whole thing my dance starts at minute 42. https://youtu.be/oKY3YXyMeBc

Indonesian (Bahasa) words:

Home: rumah

Sleep: tidur

Night: malam

-Rachael

I Climbed a Volcano!

So volcano climbing has been on the bucket list for a while and this past weekend I actually got to go! (Because nothing sounds scary after you move to the other side of the world). We took a LOOONG car ride out of the Jakarta area to climb Papandayan, a volcano that erupted about 10 years ago. The nicer part about the whole thing is that we drove pretty far up into the foothills before we started the hike. So even though we only hiked for about 3 and a half hours, we ended up at 7,500 feet.

We got there around noon on Saturday and our guides fed us food before we started our hike through the sulfur fields. I have to say, I found it pretty funny that the hike was labeled "easy" as it required quite a bit of climbing. In the US it would have been labeled "advanced" with a warning for people with heart and health conditions. While nothing about the trail was tricky or required special equipment, it was very physically demanding. My Fitbit counts every ten feet in elevation as a flight of stairs and it says I climbed 154 flights that the first day.

Once we made it to our campsite, which was also the sunrise location, our guides set up tents for us and cooked us dinner. It was really nice only having to take clothes and personal items and not have to bring up tents and equipment.

The next morning stole my breath away with the sunrise over the peaks.

The second day we hiked around a bit and saw some Edelweiss (from The Sound of Music movie). It only grows above 5,900 feet from sea level.  It was looking a little dry (as it is the dry season here) but we promptly sang just about every song from The Sound of Music while hiking the rest of the day.

 

Then we explored what is known as The Dead Forest. This is where the eruption happened recently and killed off everything with just the tree trunks left.

Then we spent about two hours hiking down the stairs carved into the mountainside and trying desperately not to slip and fall. Thankfully we only had some minor slips and we all made it down with just a few scrapes.

I rather enjoyed my time on the volcano and I can't wait for my next adventure!

Indonesian (Bahasa) words:

Ibu: Miss/ Mrs.

Pak: Sir/Mr.

Terima kasih: Thank you

-Rachael

Lost My Phone, Discovered How to Buy Cheese, and Embraced the Culture

It is really a very typical small town girl in a big city story. While I was at the mall (which is HUGE by the way) someone stole my phone right out of my backpack. If this was a romantic comedy, it would have been raining dramatically and Chris Evans would have shown up to rescue me. Neither of those things happened (in case you were wondering).

However, something wonderful did come out of it. One of the teachers and his wife ran into me at the mall right after I had lost it and gave me hugs and prayed for me and that made me feel a lot better. Then my new teacher friends asked around and within 48 hours I had bought a phone that one of the other teachers had refurbished recently and it was like brand new (and better than my old one). I felt very loved by the way they pulled together for me. Everyone kept checking in on me and took me to the mall to get a new number and phone case.

And if any of you want to message me, if you download Whatsapp onto your phone you can message me any time!

But I know you are all dying to know how to buy cheese here. Well, you can do it the normal boring way and just go to the store. But it turns out when you don't live right next to Wisconsin, cheese is way expensive! They don't make cheese in Asia the way North America and Europe do so most of it here is imported. And because it has a shelf life, cheese costs lots.

So the way to get around that is to know a local who buys it in bulk. I ordered a block of mozzarella through my teacher friend Zoe who gets hers from a local. I got a block ten inches square and three inches thick for about $24. I cut it into blocks and put it into my freezer. Every so often I pull out a block to thaw and keep it in the fridge to cut and use. I have no clue where it comes from but it is really good cheese!

Embracing the culture here is not so hard as I thought it would be. Once you know things are just different, it becomes easier to accept. Orderly lines and procedures are not commonplace. People may cut in front of you while you are waiting, and I have yet to discover the rules of the road. Horns are used a lot to communicate while driving and motorbikes can pretty much do whatever they want on roads that often do not have centerlines or curbs.

Not everything happens on time here. The locals joke that "Indo time" means you can show up 20 to 30 minutes late. School, of course, is not like that and I think some of the students struggle to come to class on time because they grew up in a culture that says time isn't so important.

I am growing to know the quirky little things that make this country what it is. From the crazy patterned clothing to the rice with every meal to the crazy driving practices, I think I will be happy to call Indonesia home for the next two years.

Indonesian words:

Bulia: a white person from another country

Selamat pagi (sometimes shortened to just "pagi"): good morning

Nasi: cooked rice

-Rachael

First Week as a Teacher

My life has been a blur of jetlag, lesson plans, names to learn, and new places. But at least it has been a pretty blur (from what I remember haha).

In all seriousness, though, life at SPH has been such a good experience so far.

As a teacher, I can say I never expected to get this kind of support system. The other teachers who are teaching the same grades I am (7, 8, & 9) are gifting me with lesson plans and unit arrangements and tips to the point where I have so much to work with I get to choose what I want to teach and not just what I have to.

And in addition to the grade level teachers, I have the whole English department constantly asking if I need something (and actually mean it) and going above and beyond to help me understand both the computer programs we are working with, the logistics of the classroom, and insights into students they have taught before that I have now. The English department head and our senior school principal have come by several times already asking if I need help with anything (and promising me even more books for my classroom: YAY!).

My day starts early. I am normally up by 4:30 or 5 just because I like to have a little me time where I read my bible and take my time to get ready or make food. I usually walk over to my classroom around 6. Once there I set up my laptop and get to work finishing any slides or preparing copies to make that I may not have finished the day before. I check my schedule: each day of the week is different because students only have English (as well as other subjects) 4 times a week but those days are different for each class. So student still come to school 5 days a week but only 4 of those days will they have English. Once I remind myself what classes I have and when I set up the room for any activities we might have and get the projector working for any slides I want to show. The other teachers on my floor always poke their heads in to say good morning.

I wear teacher dress code (a white button shirt and dark pants or a skirt) every day but Friday when we get to wear some crazy traditional clothes like you see me wearing in the picture above.

We get a 25-minute break around 9:30 each day between classes where student are encouraged to kick a ball around in the open yard or play on one of the several playgrounds. Lunchtime is an hour long, which I seriously cannot express how beautiful that is. During my non-teaching periods, I may have a department or grade level meeting (once a week) or I may just stay in my room and lesson plan or make copies.

Just in case you were wondering, the air conditioning works crazy well in my classroom to the point where I walk outside at times to warm up in the afternoon sun. Yes, it is always about 85 degrees but the warmest it has been so far being 95 and that is normally around 1 when I am in my classroom with a sweater on.

The school day ends at 3 when I dismiss my students as the Big Ben chime plays over the intercom. Teachers are required to stay until 3:30 which is easy time to fill between straitening the chairs and desks and setting up what I need for the next day. Sometimes I stay later if I need to get something done for the next day.

Indonesian Words:

Batik: A wide variety of traditional patterns worn on clothing (like my shirt in the picture)

Guru: Teacher

Cicak (pronounced CheeCha): small lizards (they are everywhere!)

-Rachael

First Impressions

This photo doesn't even begin to describe just how excited I was to find something in my classroom with my name on it. As you can see, it says "Ms. Rachael" not "Ms. Elliott" because students call their teachers by their first names here. It isn't supposed to be more friendly or less formal it is just common and considered just as respectful to address someone by their last name. Even the Principle goes by "Mr. Philip" and not "Mr. Nash".

One of the first things we were told during orientation is that we are in a new culture now and this culture does things differently. Different doesn't mean bad, it just is different. Everyone has a tendency to believe that their own way of doing things are "better" or the "right" way when in reality there are many ways to do something and different doesn't equal bad.

To enter and live in another culture one must have an open mind. So here are some different things about living in Indonesia.

There is dust everywhere. The air isn't the cleanest living in the city, and even in my apartment, there is a layer of dust that accumulates after just a few days.

The above is one of the many reasons that people have a "helper" or maid come in and clean at least twice a week. I will be getting a helper here pretty soon so after a long day of teaching (6:45-3:30) I do not have to come back and wipe clean every surface in my apartment.

Age is respected here. While in America we are obsessed with youth, age is what matters here in Indonesia. I went shopping with the school Principal's wife and she has grey hair. Every store we went into the employees who saw here would place a hand over their heart as a sign of respect and say something kind to her.

The standard of living is lower here so things cost less. After learning how to do a rough conversion in my head of US dollars to Indonesian money, it quickly became clear that things cost a lot less. Which will make buying some stuff for my apartment that much easier.

Head scarfs and head coverings are common for women to wear as there is a large Muslim population, but not as common as I thought it would be. At the airport, I would say only about 1 in 5 women wore one and even at the mall it was only about 1 in 3. I don't "stick out" as much as I thought I would. In fact, there are so many different cultures that I am just another person in the melting pot that is Jakarta.

I am enjoying my stay here very much and am learning to live with and embrace these differences.

Here are some Indonesian words:

Sekolah means "School"

Pelita means "Light"

Harapan means "Hope"

So my school is Sekolah Pelita Harapan which literally translates into "School of light and hope."

My dearest wish is to be a light and a hope to these students.

-Rachael

Ready, Set... Go live your dream

I am gonna get super nostalgic for a second, but hang with me, okay?

So there is this fabulous Disney Princess Movie you may have heard of called Tangled. And in it, Rapunzel, (hint, my favorite princess) has this lifelong dream of going to see the floating lights that she has been watching out her window since she was a child. So long story short, Flynn shows up, takes her on this grand adventure, and they get to the castle the day before the lights are gonna go up.

As Rapunzel nervously waits in the boat, she asks Flynn a question. She says, "What if this isn't everything I dreamed it will be?"

And Flynn, having seen the floating lights, confidently answers, "It will be."

But Rapunzel, still crazy nervous because her lifelong obsession is moments away from being fulfilled, asks, "And what if it is? What then?"

And this I think, is a question we have all asked ourselves at one point or another. What if our dream, our great, lifelong goal, is achieved... what then? It is hard to see past our next goal or challenge in life. As a child, I really wanted to grow up so I could be an adult but I was also way nervous about what happened after that. How was I supposed to adult? (And if you are wondering, I am still trying to figure that one out.)  And as a teen I kept thinking, I really wanna finish high school but what after that? And then I started college and I really wanted to finish college, but I kept thinking, what then? What do I do next?

And then I got sick. Cancer hit me out of nowhere. But even on my sickest days, I had a dream: finish college. And I held on to that dream in the way Rapunzel did in her tower. Dreams are great: they keep us going on the hard days. They remind us why we don't quit when the going gets tough. But dreams? They don't mean a whole lot unless you turn those dreams into plans.

Some of us, including me, are a little afraid of going after our dreams because completing them will mean asking, "What now? Where do I go after now?" just as Rapunzel did.

College was some of the best years of my life. I met amazing people (including my best friend), found my dream profession, fell in love with learning, and discovered strength I didn't know I had. But as graduation approached, I kept asking myself, "What now? I have my dream, now what?"

And Flynn? Well, this guy had a crazy good answer for Rapunzel. He said, "That's the best part: you get to go find a new dream."

So this is it: my new dream. I am going on an adventure I have always longed for, but been afraid to hope for, to spread learning in the subject I love. (Just 20 days from the date on the blog until I leave!)

Even now I find myself asking, "What next? What happens when my two-year contract is up?"

Well, that's the best part: I get to go find a new dream.

Okay, all the reliving my childhood is over now. Just in case you missed it, I am super excited to be moving on to my new dream. On to more practical things you may want to know about my trip.

I am trying to find ways to fit all the novels I am taking for my classroom into the three bags that I am allowed to bring. It isn't so much a space issue as a weight issue: books weigh a lot. But if anyone has tips for packing, of any kind I would love to hear them. The one nice thing is that I only have to pack for one season because it is summer all the time in Jakarta.

As I packed away all of my winter clothes into tubs to be stored until I got back the reality struck me that I wouldn't wear them again for two years (also that we have a lot of winter in Northern Illinois because wow do I have a lot of sweaters, and I wore them all in the past 8 months).  How did people function in Illinois before the weather channel? I have personally experienced snow in the morning and 60s by the afternoon. Life will be simpler when I will always know what temperature it is outside because it will always be the same in Jakarta. But I am gonna miss the snow.

One thing I am not looking forward to is the 28-hour plane ride. I have two layovers: one in Los Angeles and one in Hong Kong, but they are only for an hour each so I can't leave the airport and I will be lucky if I get to sit down in between flights. I welcome any travel tips as I have never been on a plane for more than 9 hours! Especially sleep-related tips as I want to get as much as I can.

I leave at 10:30 on July 14th from the airport. I will arrive local time at 1:30 p.m. on Monday in Jakarta which is 1:30 a.m. Monday here. So expect an update (hopefully) sometime Monday.

-Rachael

I'm going on an adventure!

That's right. July 14th I am packing my bags and moving myself to the other side of the world. Jakarta, Indonesia, to be exact. I thought I would take this first post to answer some burning questions you might have for me.

Q: Why are you moving to Jakarta?

A: I love traveling and teaching. This combines those two passions into one awesome adventure. I will be teaching middle school and lower high school students at a school known as SPH Lippo Village.

Q: How long will you be gone?

A: Two years from July. That is how long my contract is for.

Q: What will you be teaching?

A: English as that is my profession. But I won't be teaching it as a second language; these students all grew up speaking English. I will be teaching literature, writing, and grammar just as I would at a school in the states.

Q: What is this school like?

A: It is fabulous! And here is a link to watch a video all about it, a virtual tour, and other cool information if you are interested:
 http://sph.edu/about-sph/campuses/lippovillage/

Q: Where will you be living?

A: On-site apartments built just for the teachers. I will get my own one bedroom apartment to call home.

 Q: Are you excited?

A: Did you even read the title of this post? Yes, I am excited!

Q: Are you scared you will get kidnapped by gypsies and thrown into a volcano?

A: Nope! But what is an adventure without a few dragons? Just kidding. No dragons. No volcanos. But I am looking forward to visiting New Zealand on school break.

So... did I leave anything out? Feel free to ask a question in the comments or message me below and I will get back to you ASAP.

-Rachael