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