School | Soccer Carnival

It's exactly like it sounds: soccer and carnival. School was cancelled yesterday in an effort to promote school bonding through spirit, fun, and competition. Our day began with a pep rally. Since they are only a trimestral occurance here, people tend to go a bit over the top! The theme for this pep rally was superheroes. Our house team cheer involved a fashion show and the Harlem shake. It was awesome.

After the pep rally, we headed out to the field for some of the most unintense soccer I've ever witnessed. Sporting events here are the anthesis of sporting events in America. Several times, the ball came to a stop in the middle of the field and rather than chase the ball, both teams simply stared. But, with pizza and french fries fueling the activities from the sidelines, it was no wonder the kids were a bit sluggish!

During the games, a carnival was going on to entertain the spectators. Nothing is ever underdone here. Vendors were selling their wares while teachers took the plunge in the dunk tank. We even had blow up balls rolling around in the pool!

The day finished off with some real competition: the teacher match. I have not been that physically active in quite some time which left me (embarassingly) rather sore this morning. Merapi came in second overall! Thanks to Grace for capturing the match!

Old Batavia | Jakarta | Indonesia

Saturday was a big day. After living here for seven months, I have finally found a part of Jakarta that I enjoy! But first, let me backtrack. If you have not heard of geocaching, check it out. Right now. In summary, geocaching is like a real-life treasure hunt. The premise is simple: people hide objects, you find them. By downloading the GPS coordinates on your phone, you can navigate your way to the hidden locale. There are also ciphered clues to aide you in your quest. It was in search of one of these caches, in a part of Jakarta called Old Batavia, that I set out Saturday morning.

Old Batavia is an area of Jakarta which was inhabited by the Dutch. Decrepit colonial buildings line the roads, a nod to the area's former beauty. I parked on the outskirts of a pedestrian plaza to investigate the area. Peddlers lined the path while performers wove in and out of the bystanders. Locals enjoyed es kelapa muda (young coconut) under trees while picnicking. 

After touring the area, I followed the gps coordinates to this building. It was incredible. I had to sneak in, in order to find the cache. The building is frequently used for photoshoots and after peeking around, it was easy to see why!

School | Harlem Shake

When we started off the year with a photo booth, my shy, innocent crop of third graders looked more like deer in the headlights. Luckily, they have adapted to my love of photography over the course of the year and I now know how to get a smile out of each and every one of them. They go along with my crazy, creative whims, happy to give up their recess time to work on silly projects. This is our latest, the Harlem Shake hits Lippo:

Church | SMP Bukit Gloria

After months of church hopping, I have finally found a new church home! I had not heard of IES (International English Service) until Jakarta flooded around a month ago. Tragically, the basement of the church's building flooded and at least two men lost their lives. However, this put the church on the news circuit which is how I came to know about it.

This weekend, Adrienne and I roadtripped to Bogor on my trusty Scoopy to meet with a group from IES to prepare a school for painting. We worked on the new elementary branch of the existing school SMP Buikit Gloria. This school is connected to a local church and was started with the goal of bringing Christian education to a largely non-Christian area. The middle school was such a success that an elementary wing has been constructed. We worked on sanding down the walls and waterproofing them for painting. To say that we got dirty is an underexaggeration!

School | Book Week

The theme of this year's book week was "One World, Many Stories", which is rather fitting for the multicultural school culture here at SPH. Each day featured a different book/ reading-themed activity. Monday, the kids circulated the school during Move to Read. They visited three different teachers who read excerpts from folk tales originating around the world. I alternated between Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

The next item on Book Week's menu was a guest storyteller. This girl was around the age of my students and told the story of Remmy the rat from the movie Ratatouile. As it was all in Bahasa, I couldn't understand much of what she was saying but her excitement transferred to the kids with each phrase.

What book week would be complete without playing dress up? The students brought their favorite books and dressed up as the main characters. Prior to dress up day, I sincerely encouraged the kids not to be the only one who showed up without a costume....then I forgot to wear mine! Teacher fail. Luckily, my awesome principal saved the day and drove me home for a quick change worthy of a phone booth. Here are a few of my faves from the day! In order: Nikki (Dork Diaries), Tin Tin, Captain Underpants, Ash (Pokemon), Artemis Fowl, Alice, Ramona, Oliver Twist, and I was Katniss from Hunger Games!

Our photoshoot wasn't enough, so as a team, we hosted a fashion show for all of our stars, complete with a red carpet and some kickin' beats!

Our activities concluded with a little D.E.A.R. time, which for all of you non-teachers, stands for drop everything and read.