"To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live." --Hans Christian Andersen
This morning Daniel and I were invited to visit with Krida's English Language Club. The club was divided into multiple groups and each Daniel and I were with a different group. In my group I just allowed students the freedom to ask any questions they about me, USA, Oklahoma, or Southmoore that they wished. I would then ask follow up connections of the students. Such as, when asked about the most recent movie I saw at the cinema, I then had each of them tell me the last movie that they watched. I was amazed at how many of them have seen some of the rather recent movies: Ice Age 4, The Dark Knight Rises (Batman), The Amazing Spider-Man, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, etc. It was basically a time for the students to practice their English skills. I also passed around the copy of Southmoore's yearbook which was given by our yearbook class. The Krida students were fascinated by the images they saw of Southmoore students and all of their clubs, sports, and other activities.
English Language Club
This young man gave me a Batik key chain
Next we ventured down the mountain a bit to the elementary school which Krida operates: Tunas Krida Nusantara Elementary School. This elementary school is a day school and the students do not live on campus (unless their parents work at the high school). We visited a wide variety of classes: English classes, Religion classes, and classes of all grade levels. I was able to give nearly every student a postcard written by the students of Briarwood and Oakridge in Moore, Oklahoma. In the older grades, where students had better English skills, their teachers encouraged volunteers to read their card's message out loud to practice their verbal language skills. It was so wonderful to hear these messages read and to see the expressions on the students' faces as they read the card and looked at the pictures. They were so excited that they were also trading cards to see what the other messages contained.
Giving the principal of the elementary school a gift.
I also gave him a postcard from Mrs. Mosier at Briarwood with her school's contact information so that these students can some day send postcards back to Oklahoma.
Reading his postcard's message out loud
Even a 1st grade birthday party
Tonight Betty is taking us out for SPICY food. I'll let you know how that comes out.
This morning I was invited to be a guest teacher in Fikry's English language classes. I had prepared a list of questions to ask the students for written responses. As I arrived in Fikry's classroom he also requested that I speak a little bit about holidays and festivals in the U.S. as that was the next item in his students' textbook.
Presenting Fikry with a "thank you" for letting me visit his classes today
I began each of the four 70-minute classes by having students to fold their sheet of paper in such a way as to produce the outlines of eight boxes. In each box I asked the students to try and write five things that they could think of to answer the following eight questions. I had told them ahead of time that I was the only person who would read their papers and that I wanted them to be completely honest in the answers. A couple of the questions were more about just warming them up in this exercise while others will be used when I return to the U.S. to help compare cultural perspectives.
What do you think of when you first wake-up in the morning?
What do you think about your teachers at Krida Nusantara?
What are some positive things about Indonesia?
What are some positive things about the USA?
What are some negative things about the USA?
What are some negative things about Indonesia?
What are some positive things about life in a city?
What are some negative things about life in a city?
I suspect in some places there will be strong similarities between the responses given by students at Krida Nusantara in Bandung, Indonesia as compared to those given by students at Southmoore in Moore, Oklahoma...especially for questions 1, 2, 7, and 8. I am more curious as to how questions 3, 4, 5 and 6 will compare. I plan to create word clouds (either by using Wordle or by using Tagxedo) to help give a visual comparison to the responses for the respective perspectives on Indonesia and the U.S. Once I have the word clouds completed I'll post them in another entry.
The remainder of class was a brief discussion of holidays. I began by helping the students discuss the similarities between the Indonesian and American celebrations for Independence Day (August 17, 1945 in Indonesia). There are many common elements with government and civil sponsored ceremonies which emphasize the flag and the national anthem. Political leaders often make speeches. There are parades with floats, balloons, and marching bands. And there is FOOD.
We also spent time discussing the history of Thanksgiving and its common practices today. I know that it was very had on these students who are trying to be faithful to their Ramadan fasting because a discussion of American Thanksgiving must involve some discussion of food. We then transitioned into having the students identify some things for which they are thankful. Family, friends, teachers, and faith were all things that were included...sounds much like what an American student might include on his/her list (along with cell-phone, car, and other technological gadgets).
We spent a little bit of time discussing how Halloween is commonly observed in the U.S. Again, the talk of candy was a bit hard on the fasting students. They seemed to enjoy hearing about the costumes of ghosts and goblins, but got the biggest kick our of hearing that many children will dress up like political leaders including President Obama. I had the students practice saying "trick or treat" to which I immediately followed by passing out a round of gifts from the U.S. (I had so many items donated by Southmoore and other local OKC organizations that I have been passing out items in classes all week...THANK YOU to everyone who donated...the students LOVE these gifts).
sporting her new watch from the OKC Thunder
modeling his SaberCat shades and holding up a postcard from an American student
The evening entailed a trip out to one of the local shopping districts where Daniel, Betty, and I dined over a traditional delicacy from the Bandung area: ox-tail soup. It was WONDERFUL. The meat was so tender and the spices were amazing. Dinner was followed by a viewing of the new Spider-Man movie...so, while in Indonesia I've now seen both Batman and Spider-Man.
Tomorrow we are off to an elementary school. I'm so excited to visit some of Indonesia's youngest students and share the postcards from Briarwood and Oakridge students!!
This morning Daniel and I, along with Betty, Efa (Krida's principal), and Fikry (one of Krida's English language teachers), departed at 6:30 AM (yikes) to drive approximately 90 km to SMAN 1 Majalengka High School in Majalengka, Indonesia. While 90 km, or 56 miles, doesn't seem that far to those of us in the USA who can easily hope on an interstate highway and drive at 65 (or more) miles per hour, in Indonesia this distance takes MUCH longer to drive. Without stopping (no potty breaks, no photo opportunities, nothing), the morning drive took well over 2-1/2 hours.
By the time we arrived at SMAN 1 Majalengka, school had already started. As we got out of the Krida Mobile (actually one of the fleet of Krida's mini vans) we were greeted by a delegation of students (3 boys and 2 girls) who spent several minutes making small talk with us so as to practice their English skills. In time, a team of adults ushered us into the head master's office. I presented the head master with a small gift to thank he and his school for inviting Daniel and I to come and visit. We remained in his office for a while and visited.
student delegation who welcomed our arrival
giving SMAN 1 Majalengka's head master a gift: decorative plate with image of a Plains Indian
Approximately 30 minutes after our arrival, Daniel and I were each escorted to a classroom filled with students waiting for us to greet them and tell them about life in the USA. I was again able to use my prezi on life in Oklahoma to share with the students about our way of life. One of the slides which I have learned I need to move past rather fast includes the images of food in Oklahoma. Since Indonesia is a primarily Muslim country, most of the students are fasting during this current month of Ramadan. I can tell from the students' expressions when they see the images of food that it reminds them of their hunger so I try to make that part of the presentation as rapid as possible.
After the presentation and discussion, which included some good questions from the students especially about our animals and about the musicians from Oklahoma and favorite styles of music, I then passed out postcards to the students. I have run out of the cards written by my high school students at Southmoore and am now using the ones from the upper grades from Briarwood and Oakridge elementary schools. I have been promised by Betty that we will be visiting an elementary school or two either tomorrow or Saturday (yes, Indonesia has school on Saturday too) so I will make sure that most of these postcards get into the hands of elementary students here.
As the students were reading their postcards I began taking a few pictures of them. This led into a large group photo (there were about 50 students in this class) of the students with me. Immediately, the students start producing their cell phones with cameras and wanting me to pose with them as individuals or small groups for additional pictures. I felt like I was the newest movie star or pop musician visiting these children and that they ALL wanted to be photographed with me. I'll bet I was already appearing on Facebook before the class time was even over.
reading postcards from USA elementary school students
my geography class at SMAN 1 Majalengka
Speaking of Facebook, as the students returned to their seats for a time of questions and answers the first question requested my Facebook and twitter identification. I wrote the information for the Facebook page and twitter account that I use with my USA students on the white board. By the time I arrived back to the guest house at Krida, I already have 5 new "likes" on Facebook and 8 new followers on twitter. WOW...I am a rock star, LOL.
Following this class, the two boys who were part of the initial welcoming committee gave me a tour of the campus including the library, the students' parking lot, and the teachers' workroom. This school also has construction for a new lobby and I shared with the two boys that Southmoore was also under construction for some additional classrooms. Every chance I get I love to point out the similarities between my experiences in Indonesia and the USA; too often we focus on what divides us and not enough on what unites as a co-inhabitants of planet earth. It was now time to say our good-byes. We once again gathered in the head master's office for pictures and a parting gift: Daniel and I were each given a basket filled with mangoes.
main classroom building
on campus mosque
student parking lot; no cars, only motorcycles
library and media center staff
students showing their artwork to promote environmental protection
I am being presented a basket of mangoes as a "thank you" for visiting
As our group from Krida departed, I was surprised to see that we were driving off in a different direction. I made the assumption that there was an alternate route to get back to Bandung. After about 45 minutes of driving we turned around. Apparently Efa, who was driving, was trying to find a sate stand where Daniel, Betty, and I could get some lunch. However, due to Ramadan fasting he was not able to locate a stand. So on the way back into Majalengka we paused for about 15 minutes at a mosque so that Efa and Fikry could stop to pray.
Our journey continued en route back to Bandung. Eventually we did stop at Kentucky Fried Chicken (one of the few places open during lunch time) to eat. KFC was located in the same building as a grocery store so we also looked around in there for a few minutes. I saw some things I've never seen: Pepsi Blue, unusual fruits and vegetables, and the fresh meat and fish stand where the customers helped themselves to the unpackaged items rather than having an employee provide assistance in a more hygienic manner.
KFC staff is happy to serve you...but no mashed potatoes or mac & cheese
with your chicken, only french fries or a package of sticky rice
what is Pepsi Blue???
many of my Korean & Vietnamese students at Southmoore enjoy Durian
need frozen chicken nuggets or french fries? scoop them and bag them yourself!!!
It was after 5:00 when we arrived back at Krida. The return trip, if you remove the approximate time of an hour for the KFC stop, took over 5-1/2 hours. This should give an idea of how complicated driving is here in Indonesia. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes fighting for every inch on the road. A road paved for two lanes may have four or more lanes once the drivers decide for themselves how to accommodate their vehicles in the road. We were safe, but it just seemed to take "forever" to make the 90 km return trip. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
video of the final road to Krida's campus; barely a
