School | Swimming

Being in kindergarten, we got slated for swimming early in the schedule this year! Not wanting to find it necessary to rely on my CPR training, I swam with the kids each day. I am glad to report that we were incident free!

School | The Giant Jam Sandwich

We've been learning about communities and how they work together to accomplish common goals. In conjunction with this study, we read a super cute book called The Giant Jam Sandwich, in which a town is infested with millions of wasps and the community must work together to make a giant sandwich that the wasps will get caught in.

As an extension, we worked on our procedural text type by writing down (drawing) the steps to make a jam sandwich. Our study culminated with using our recipies to make our own jam sandwiches!

Jakarta Timur | Indonesia

IES helps run a kindergarten for the children that live in the Nagrak-Cilincing area. We got to spend the day entertaining them and exploring their home. The children were of course, precious, no different than my students here in Lippo or those in my neighborhood in Salatiga, aside from the circumstances into which they were born. Here are some of their endearing faces:

Nagrak-Cilincing | Jakarta Timur | Indonesia

Recently, I joined my church in local outreach at one of the large trash dumps that flanks Jakarta. The mountain of garbage (containing everything from McDonald's to medical waste) was several stories tall. There is a population that lives here, looking for recyclable items that can be resold for a profit. We walked to the top, informing workers along the way of the medical clinic which was also taking place on the same day. It is an environment that is difficult to imagine unless you have experienced it. Rising above the stench of refuse, the constant and ever-present hum of flies prevailed. With every step, our feet sank into the muck. I tried my hardest not to look down and avoid eye contact with the maggot-littered ground beneath my feet.

With each step we took, it became harder and harder to digest that people live here.

Kelapa Dua | Tangerang | Indonesia

During my time abroad, I've explored a large portion of Southeast Asia. This weekend, some friends and I decided to explore the kampung in our own backyard. After meandering for about five minutes, we had amassed quite a following!