Semester 1: That's a wrap!

So much has happened to me since July that I almost can't process it all. I knew moving to another country, to another culture, and to a new profession would be a huge change for me. I would like to say I took it all in stride, confidently meeting the challenges that befell me.

But that would be a lie.

Instead, I feel incredibly humbled as being a first-year teacher in a new place means facing failure on a daily bases. From remembering the names of all 83 of my students to remembering parts of the lesson plan that I crafted so carefully the week before, I never go a day without thinking "Oh shoot! I forgot..." or at least "I could have directed that lesson so much better if..."

The first year of teaching is always the hardest and is rather difficult to explain to someone who has not gone through it. As my 7th graders are learning about figurative language this week, I will give you a metaphor on what first year teaching is like.

The first year of teaching can be compared using a stapler. Imagine, you are someone who has never used a stapler. You have seen staples holding papers together and have theorized on how they got there but you have never seen or used a stapler. Then one day, someone asks you to go into their desk drawer, find their stapler, and replace the staples.

As someone who knows what a stapler is, and how to use it, I can say I struggle enough trying to replace staples in a new stapler because each can be a little different. Now imagine having no concept of a stapler.

That is a lot what first year teaching is like. You see the end product, the stapled paper (the information the students must learn), but you are rather unsure how it got there. And to make things more complicated, there is only one way to load a stapler, but there are many ways to teach a lesson. What is right for one teacher may be wrong for another. I can not simply follow another's lesson plan or even copy another teacher. I must find what works for me and my class.

Each class is also different, with different personalities and abilities. Different grade levels demand different strategies and I teach three grades.

I don't mean to complain, or in any way say my job is too hard or unfair. It is a challenge, one I knew I was signing up for when I decided to become a teacher. It tests me each day to see just how far I can stretch myself. A common joke we have at the end of the day is that we "have no more words" as if to say we have thought too hard, made too many decisions, and now we can't produce more ideas. It is quite funny if I go out with some of my teacher friends on a work day because we have trouble picking a restaurant as none of us want to make any more decisions. They say teachers make more minute by minute decisions than brain surgeons. My job is constantly testing me.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Boredom is no longer a word in my vocabulary and for that I am grateful. I am nearly never idle. Even at home, while cleaning or cooking I am thinking about how to rearrange my classroom so certain students won't talk to each other. I am thinking about the next day's lesson and how I might present it better or if I need more visual aids. I question the decisions I made that day and how I might do it better next year. To rest is a treat and I saver my holidays like fine chocolate.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I find I thrive on challenge. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment to know that each day I am doing something I have never done before. Each day is a surprise, a question mark that by the end will often be an exclamation mark.

I may be the teacher, yet I often feel I am the one doing the most learning. I have to be the most creative one, the one with all the answers, the one who can solve all the problems. I fall short, of course, nearly every day. Yet I walk home knowing I can try again tomorrow.

And try I shall because I won't have it any other way.

Bahasa words:

Try: Berusaha

Teach: Mengajar

Tea: Teh

-Rachael

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