Malang :)

Ahh!! I'm in Malang!! I am so extremely excited to be back, and I think I've been smiling constantly for the past four days!

The train ride was exciting and rather uneventful (which was good), and we were among the first passengers to take the "Eksekutif" train from Surabaya to Malang, so now we 10 are part of Indonesia transit history...which is kind of interesting ;-)

When we arrived in Malang, my host family from last year was there to pick all of us up, and as soon as I saw them I just got this huge smile on my face and I felt like I was home. I know, that's really cheesy, but it's the truth. The best part was when we got to SMAK Santa Maria (the high school I taught in last summer), because there we met up with Joice (yay!!) and the other host families. Joice had arranged the cutest little welcome party for us, and I made a lovely impromtu speech about how much LE means to me and how grateful I was to all the host families...blah blah blah.

Not everything went off so well, though. Indonesians have this idea that all American have to be white. Apparently you can't be American if you are of Asian or Africa descent, so some of the host families were thrown off that we had 2 people of Taiwanese descent and 2 people of Indian descent. The two Hindu girls got placed with a family that basically didn't really want them, so I had to work fast to get them into a better situation. We solved that problem in less than a day. Go us!

We have been having such a blast! My host family is amazing...my host dad doesn't speak any English at all, but he is possibly the cutest little Indonesian man I have ever met. My host mom is adorable. My host sister, Amelia, is approximately 4 feet tall and is quite a good cook! (She made us hamburgers and minestrone soup for breakfast...I am not joking...they are very big into having "real" meals around here!). My host brother, Octa, is a workaholic. He's only 20, but he goes to school full time and works like 50+ hours a week. My host mom and dad work 12-15 hour days at work, and they explained to us that is apparently typical in Indonesia because the government doesn't really help anyone out, so they must work really hard and long hours just to get by. These people are absolutely amazing! They work so hard all day, and then come home and play host to us silly little Americans. I mean, simply just good people. I get to share a host family with Kathy, who goes to AU as well and is volunteering this summer, so it's really nice to have her there. Everyone says she looks just like Andi! :)

We've done so much already - learned how to use public transportation (aka cram as many Indonesians as you can into a little minibus), made a fool out of ourselves trying to call people on the phone (Indonesian housekeepers speak about as much English as we speak Bahasa Indonesian), ridden on the back of motorbikes, seen traditional dancing/gamelan playing, been to a couple of weddings (already!), gone bowling Indonesian style, visited the biggest Muslim university in Asia (which just happens to be in Malang), and been woken up at 4AM every day by the call to worship. I absolutely LOVE it here.

I do miss teaching, though. Jon and Kathy let me sit in on their classes, and it was then I realized just how much I was meant to be a teacher. In one of the schools, there are 2 girls who are absolutely swamped with classes, so I may see if I can take one of their classes off of their hands for them. I just miss it so much!!

Well, I'm off to hang out with some volunteers and my host sister. Check ya laterrrr!!!

~ Tori =)

Orientation

Hey everyone!!

I don't have much time to update, as I am currently watching the charges mount ever so slowly...

Tonight is the last night of orientation, and everyone is kind of sad that they have to leave the group tomorrow. But then again, we're all really excited and I'm eager for them to meet their host families. Tomorrow morning we'll wake up and travel to Malang, where we'll have a little potluck (a la americaine) to welcome everyone to the city.

The volunteers all got in on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I gotta say...I picked quite the group. It's so diverse and everyone has such a great story. Everyone gets along and we've had so much fun.

We've been traipsing around the city, dodging ever so carefully all of the motorists and becak drivers. We've gone shoppping and eating, to the zoo, to the waterpark and everything. We've had our pictures taken and we've been the object of many a stare and many a cat call.

Gotta go! Fifteen seconds...!!

Surabaya, Indonesia =)

Selamat siang!! (Good afternoon)

So after over 40 hours of plane food, layovers, and swollen feet, I have FINALLY arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia.

My first two nights here were decent. The hotel that I found on the internet was not so hot. The lobby and restaurant were nice, but my room was really sketchy. But at least it had hot water...

I met up with my friend Kiki yesterday, and he took me around Surabaya a little bit. The best part was that I got to ride on his motorcycle! It was such a rush - all that traffic and weaving around. He promised to drive slower so that I didn't freak out, but it was still a lot of fun!

We had lunch at a little "warung" or food stall. Warungs are nice because it's very cheap (even by Indonesia standards), and I like it because you get to share your meal with everyone. They are usually right there on the side of the road, and the warung owners just set up a little table and plastic chairs for their customers. It's very Indonesian. We just happened to be right across from a mosque when they had their call to worship. Mosque leaders come over the loud speakers and call everyone to come to the mosque to pray. It's really quite the experience. It sounds like loud, very off-key, singing. It was great!

He helped me find this gem of a hotel. It's not as cheap as I'd like, but as a foreigner I have to get used to paying more. Here there is a native Indonesian price, a price for people of Chinese descent, and then a foreigner price (which is usually at least double the Chinese price!). So basically you get ripped off wherever you go. There's no hot water here, but it's right across the street from an internet cafe and the street it's on is very busy and colorful. I love it here!

I've gotten used to the calling, "Hello, miss!" And the gawking. And the cell phones taking pictures. Just wait until my volunteers arrive and there are 10 of us walking around...that will be a sight I'm sure most of Surabaya has never seen!

I'll write more later. I've got to e-mail the parents and let them know that I'm still alive. :)

Selamat datang!!

Selamat datang dalam "Bird Flu or Bust!"
Welcome!

This is my silly little way of keeping you all updated on my fabulous adventures in the exotic lands of Southeast Asia! Here's hoping I don't come back and start a bird flu pandemic in the states! ;-)

Here is where my summer will be spent...
15 June - 21 June: Surabaya, Indonesia
22 June - 24 June: Yogyakarta (the land of the volcanoes and earthquakes) or Pasir Putih beach
25 June - 30 July: MALANG!!
31 July - 2 August: Jakarta
2 August - 6 August: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6 August - 10 August: Bangkok, Thailand
10 August - 14 August: Singapore
15 August: Back to the Nasty!
25 August: Back for Senior year in the District :)

I hope you all enjoy! You know it is my secret ambition in life to have people live vicariously through me, so feel free to be very, very jealous :)

Love you all! See you back in the states in August!

~ Tori =)