Happy Thanksgiving

As I sit on my couch listening to Christmas music, I know that at this exact moment my family is at church commencing their celebration of Thanksgiving. It's strange to think that they're doing this without me. This is the first time in my 22 years that I've missed a Thanksgiving.

There's something about this particular holiday that always seems to get me in all smiles (and it's not because of the random couple of days off of school - although that always seemed to help). Spending a whole day with family, eating some of the best food you could eat all year, and dwelling on all the blessings and thankfulness that we so readily forget is a great way to spend a day.

I can't help but think of all the things I'm thankful for. The holiday is instilled in me, even if we don't celebrate it in Indonesia. I want to share some of the awesome blessings that I am thankful for.

• My family - they bring so much laughter and encouragement to my life.
• Having a job that I love doing, especially with the tough economic times.
• The military who defend our country and sacrifice their time, talents, and lives for us.
• My brother Brad coming home safely from Afghanistan.
• Modern medicine that allows my Grandma to fight against cancer.
• Jesus dying on the cross and giving me the ultimate gift: salvation and eternal life with HIM.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! May we not only be thankful for one day, but every day - all year long!

A One of a Kind Day

Today I woke up thinking it was Friday. To my sheer disappointment, I quickly got slapped with the reality that it was only Thursday. However, the day turned out to be quite exciting in more ways than one (whether that's a good thing, I'm not quite sure).

The kids went to PE right away, leaving Budi and I an hour to plan and prep for the upcoming week (which is stressful for the single fact that we are being evaluated and assessed - as all teachers are). Its a widely known fact that our classroom is messy and usually reeks more havoc than Gotham City, which works for us. However, with knowing that we're getting observed, you could probably see why we are stressed. At least we know that the principals commend our "taste of creativity" so to say. I'm sure they'll be in for a real treat when they sit in.

Anyway, I took the time to work on some centers that my kids are going to do. In Unit of Inquiry we are learning about communication and one of the ways we can communicate is through codes. Some of the codes we are learning in our centers are Morse Code, Pigpen Cipher, Backwards Alphabet, and Invisible Ink Codes (which will ultimately lead us into a discussion about treasure hunters and prep us for the awesome movie "National Treasure"). We joked and laughed, which I think helped us through the hour because we're both feeling tense (as everyone is about this).

When the kids came back, they were spitfires hopped up on caffeine to say the least. I honestly can say that I've never met a bunch of more hyperactive kids in my life. They're good behaviorally - but sometimes I feel like I'm in a room full of superballs. I got them settled quickly and we began some Christmas decorating. The good old Christmas paper chains got them hooked quickly. Gotta love those!

By break time we had hung our masterpiece across the room (with the hopes of making more quite soon). After break we had chapel. Nothing new to report except some wiggle worms and chatty cathys :)

By lunch I zoomed off campus to head to the bank. Today is the best day of the month. That's right, you guessed it: payday. There is a lot of paperwork that goes into banking in Indonesia, especially when transferring funds to my bank back in the States. However, I am becoming the excellent little banker.

After the bank I still had a half hour to kill, so I went to Hypermart in Bellanova (our mini-supermall). I decided that I would budge and buy some Christmas decorations for my classroom. The whole reason I've been holding out is because Christmas decorations here are quite costly because not many people celebrate it. I know Christmas is not about materialism, but there's something that always seems to brighten the holiday spirit with decorations.

Roaming through the half isle of Christmas decorations, I was stalked some short Indonesian man who kept touching me and following me. Now I'm used to people staring at me and occasionally asking to take a picture with me (because I'm white), but he was really getting on my nerves. I was trying to make the best of my break and here I was getting harassed by this random man. I was getting really edgy and started giving him evil looks and pushing him away (probably a little bit more forceful than was necessary). Anyway, I turned the corner to look at the wrapping paper and thought I lost the creeper. No such luck. I found him standing behind me. I did some kind of double take and then did the speed walk of lightning to the cashier.

As I was checking out, I talked to one of the security men (one who I knows speaks English) and was telling him about this guy. The guy ended up getting kicked out. I made my way out and headed back to school with a three foot Christmas tree in hand while steering with the other. I'm sure it looked a sight!

I parked in the back and started decorating the tree when one of the Grade 6 teachers I work with came to help me. I was telling her about this guy and she knew who he was. She said that he is always harassing people in Bellanova and gets kicked out frequently.

Anyway, long story short - got back to my classroom in time to teach my Bible lesson. We're trying to take objects that are tied in with Christmas and seeing the deeper meaning behind them. Today we talked about holly. (The white in the leaves represents the purity of Jesus' birth. The green leaves represent the crown of thorns. The berries represent the blood and nails that Christ endured). We made handprint/thumbprint holly as part of our decoration.

Apparently the paint texture freaked out one kid so much that he puked. He made it to the sink, but not before puking on my feet. The day I decided to wear sandals I get puked on. Oh, I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it. We cleaned him up and when we finally did, we realized that two of the boys decided to smear paint all over their uniforms and faces. They don't make it easy on me :)

Budi and I tagteamed them and scrubbed them down just in time for the final break. After duty I taught Grade 6.

When the day was over, I sat back in my chair and realized that this had been one of the most eventful days I'd encountered in quite a while. A creeper in the super market, getting puked on, and a paint war tops the list of highlights of the week. Gotta love teaching in Indonesia and in Grade 3. Never a dull moment!

Bravery Comes Naturally

Who am I kidding? I am the biggest wuss to walk the earth. In my head I tend to play the worst case scenario game more frequently than I realize. I hate creepy crawlies and being home alone and the power going out from a ferocious storm. All these things give me the heebie jeebies just thinking about them.

However, since being here, I feel like I've stepped up my game and stared my fears in the face until they are conquered. Last month I killed a beastly scorpion that stung my cat (although I admit slamming it with an art canvas was not the most graceful way to kill it - but then again - is there a graceful way to kill a scorpion?). For the last two months I've been living in a ginormous house by myself. I used to dread being by myself (what if I pass out and no one's there? what if someone breaks in my house and tries to kill me?). And yet, these thoughts have seem to fly away like dust behind a moving vehicle.

Tonight I faced my greatest fear: the power going out. Yes, I admit, I am afraid of the dark. Every shadow makes me jumpy and kick starts my imagination. It didn't help that there was a booming storm outside. My concrete walls were trembling with the thunder and I could see the lightning bolts in my backyard (and that is not an over-exaggeration). It's a good thing I bought some tea lights a few weeks back for my burning oil.

Immediately I pulled them out and placed them in glasses (might as well be precautionary considering I am not the most graceful person on the planet). I strategically placed them all over my bedroom (barricading myself in a confined place) and surprisingly found a sense of peace. The power stayed out for a good 3 hours and by the time it came back on, I decided to bask in the candle light a little longer.

I guess sooner or later you have to face your greatest fears. I always used to think that if I was faced with a disaster I would neither fight nor flight, but freeze, but now that I think about it - I guess I might be a fighter. Running away from a problem or a fear only intensifies it.

A Refreshing Holiday With a Not-So-Refreshing End

In light of my last minute (forced) cancellation of my trip to Vietnam, I decided to make the best of my time off of school. On Thursday I spent the day relaxing and watching movies. Something I haven't been able to do in quite a while.

On Friday I went out for lunch with my neighbors. We went to this fantastic little Middle Eastern restaurant in Bogor. It was probably the most delicious meal I've ever eaten in my entire life. The spices were like a party in my mouth. Soon after I hitched a bus and a taxi over to Siloam Hospital in Karawaci to see my friend Dini.

It was good to see her and spend time with her. She is healing quite well but still in quite a bit of pain. I spent the night there and for a hospital it was quite enjoyable. I walked out of the hospital room in the morning to get the nurse for Dini and realized that I looked like the Bride of Frankenstein. Of all days to have bad hair days, it had to be in front of a ton of gossipy doctors and nurses. I'm sure it caused a lot of chatter amongst them - seeing a bule with some wild hair roam out of a hospital room.

After the morning, I took a cab in to meet up with my friend Mandy. We did some shopping in the tunnels (which is this underground mall that has all kinds of handmade scarves and bags). Then we went to Plaza Ambassador to buy some DVDs and jewelry. I got some beautiful accessories for my Christmas Eve outfit. Can't wait to wear it!

On Sunday I woke up with a case of raging and painful food poisoning. It is to your advantage that I spare you the details but long story very short is that I ended up at the doctor's office with numerous medications to take for the next five days.

I spent all day (Monday) re-cooperating and resting up for my return back to school. Aside from the food poisoning, I'd say it was a fairly serene holiday. And now as I head back to school tomorrow, I realize that I will be home for Christmas in less than a month. Life from here on out until the end of the semester will be busy - but in a good way.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Have you ever heard that saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" ? I'm pretty sure everyone has. However, when I got denied entrance to my flight for my holiday in Vietnam - I'm pretty sure the only thing I wanted to do with those lemons was chuck them at airport security. Sure, you can make something good out of a bad situation - but I just wanted to get rip roaring angry! And I did. Did it help - not even a little bit.

The truth is, I couldn't change anything about what happened. I was told conflicting information from the US embassy and when it came down to it, I was a prisoner in my own country (okay - the country that I am a current resident of).

I rode home literally weeping in the back seat of a taxi. God bless the man. He was so distraught that this crazy white chick was losing her cool. He tried to talk to me in broken English - but when I responded in sobbing incomprehensible jibberish phrases, I think he gave up. I made sure to give him a good tip for putting up with me.

After a couple hours, I finally calmed down and decided to construct a monumental backup plan for the holiday. Sure, it wouldn't be as exciting as Vietnam, but it would be better than moping around my lonesome house for six days.

To kickstart my holiday off on a new note, I did some yoga. Gotta admit - it definitely brings a sense of ease and serenity especially in a tense situation. I think after doing that it was the most relaxed I've been in weeks. It was as if I was shot with a tranquilizer. Cool as a cucumber.

I went to bed and slept like a lion - tossing and turning (having terrifying dreams of killer spiders - sadly this is a reoccurring dream). I woke up to my maid poking me. I shot out of bed, nearly missing a potential head injury and literally fell to the floor. I forgot she was coming today. Actually I think she was just as shocked to see me as I was her (as she expected me to be out of the country). However, her visit did bear some good news - the school maintenance men were here and had fixed my internet (after 8 days of trying to pinpoint the problem). They wanted to double check that it worked.

I sauntered down the stairs with my computer in hand, praying I didn't miss a step. Thankfully I (and my computer) arrived in one piece. And the best part of it is - my internet is officially fixed! You never know the importance of something until it's broken (especially for an extended period of time).

After dwadling on the internet, I went into Bogor and decided to treat myself to a reflexy (otherwise known as a foot massage). Best choice I made all day. It was just what I needed. Afterwards I felt like I was walking on air.

So now I sit here, updating this blog. I still have to admit it would be way more exciting exploring the exotic lands of Vietnam - but I'm determined to make the best of my situation and relax and unwind so I can be rejuvenated for the final four weeks of school.

The Final Curtain Call

I woke up yesterday to the sound of absolute silence. No rushing around trying to get ready. No cat trying to gnaw off my toes. No stress. At least not yet. I rolled out of bed and pushed open my blinds and laid back in bed under the rays of the sun. I'm not quite sure how long I stayed there. An hour or so, just relaxing, knowing that the last performance was coming close and the mayhem of a drama schedule was coming to an end.

The serenity of a relaxing Saturday morning came to an abrupt end when a massive storm surged through Sentul and caused a city-wide power outage. The rain slapped against the window harder than a handful of rocks. I had just finished getting ready when I had to face the wicked weather. So much for looking nice.

I rode to school through large puddles of water (nothing compared to Jakarta flooding) with rain pelting against my body. It was very painful. By the time I parked my bike, I had bruises on my hands.

The power outage also affected the gym. It was pitch black and quite scary. I was admittedly very jumpy and waiting for someone to come behind me and attack. I always seem to play that "worse case scenario" game in my mind when something like that happens.

After using flashlights to get things organized and eating dinner, we were graced with the lights once again. Still behind in the schedule, but not terribly. All the actors were able to get dressed, painted with makeup, and went through sound checks by 6:30. We pushed back the showtime about a half hour so we could to some last minute things.

The performance went amazing. So much better than Friday's. There was a lot less running around, however, there still seemed to be some confusion. We accidentally flipped ahead a few scenes and had a character in the middle of a costume change when she was supposed to be on stage. However, with four people getting her undressed and redressed, we fixed the mishap in minimal timing.

When the curtains closed and opened one last time for the actors, crew, and directors to take a final bow, I felt overwhelmed with pride for these kids. They put on a great performance. Even despite the stress it brought - it definitely was rewarding.

After countless thank yous, flashes from cameras, and hugs from people both known and unknown, I walked out of the gym. Nothing but photos and a basket of memories left to look back on this experience.

The Cast, Crew, and Directors of "A Little Princess"

Comic Relief in a Chaotic Drenched Classroom

Sometimes I get overwhelmed just stepping into my classroom. I know my students love having me as their teacher, but some of them drive me to a whole new level of insanity that I never knew existed.

Today was one of those days. After a morning of hard work, I walked to the threshold of my classroom and hesitated for a few moments. I was enjoying the day out of my classroom and yet, I missed my kids and my teaching partner dearly. Two polar opposite feelings seething through my veins, debating what action I should take. I undoubtedly chose to reunite myself with my kids.

When I walked in I found three kids sitting in front of my desk with their chins against the front, looking at the ceiling. The music teacher was at his wits end and decided that a new course of consequences should be developed, thus the chin-to-desk strategy emerged. I almost fell to the floor laughing. Probably not the best course of action considering it belched a stream of laughter through the entire classroom.

From there I was surrounded by a mob of students, my paparazzi of fans. With hugs and hellos, even from the naughty ones, I knew that there was no other thing I'd rather be doing with my life than teaching them. Even despite the days where I want nothing to do but crawl into my bed and sleep the week away, I always seem to find joy in them. They see the world with innocent eyes and smiles pasted on their faces, no matter what the circumstance. They find joy where adults can't. It is contagious and I find catching their joy and reverberating it at a whole new decibel. I am so blessed.

A Means to An End

Today was the day. The day of our first production of "A Little Princess." I feel like I've had an out of body experience for the last three weeks with all this stress this production has caused me. However today I finally felt a surge of energy sweep through my body like a comet travels through space.

The day started off at 7:45. I was gifted with my first ever director shirt. Gotta say I felt pretty darn special and important as I sported the t-shirt. Anyway, after slipping on the shirt, I slipped into drill sergeant mode.

I was in charge of getting the actresses dressed (all 10 of them). With the ill fitting costumes, it was quite difficult getting them zipped and buttoned up. However, the difficult task was successful with only minor injuries (to both the costumes and actresses). The next step was makeup. We were blessed with five extremely talented mothers who volunteered their services to our drama department. They were very patient with my incessant requests for changes and alterations of different characters.

By ten o'clock, otherwise known as showtime, the makeup was finally completed. I talked with the office boys and initiated curtain cues. I also happened to have to do platform and stage cues. For those of you that do not understand what that all entails, it basically means running around a space no bigger than a bedroom like a crazy woman.

The performance itself was pretty good, considering it was the first one. Sitting in the role of the director and watching practice after practice, it's easy to be skeptical and see all the things that go wrong in a short period of time. However, there was nothing but positive feedback. The actors and actresses worked extremely hard and performed great. There are some changes that will be happening tomorrow for our final performance, but overall, I am anticipating a fantabulous show. It's so neat to see how God has gifted these students with a passion and talent for acting.

It also brings back some great memories of when I did dramas in high school. I do miss participating in acting and back stage work, but there is something cool about being in charge and putting everything together. Watching this production being knit together to the final product is almost magical.

Pray for Indonesia

Since coming to Indonesia I have become a hardcore news junkie, especially pressing issues that are occurring in this country. After all I am officially a resident of Indonesia, I might as well know what's going on, right? However the news can be depressing after a while. Honestly, how many natural disasters can happen in one week? In case you weren't counting, we had five.

#1 - Volcano eruption in Yogakarta (going on four times already).

#2 - Earthquake in Mentawai

#3 - Tsunami in Mentawai

#4 - Flooding in Jakarta

#5 - Obama coming to Indonesia (okay so this one doesn't really fall into the one week category or a natural disaster - but it sure was something that Indonesia would rather have avoided)

It's so strange to be subject to such natural disasters that are practically unheard of in the States. These occurrences happen all too frequently considering that this country (a chain of over 27,000 islands) lays right in the middle of the ring of fire (the most active tectonic plates in the world).

SPH has been praying like crazy for our country, as I'm sure most of you back in the States have too. We also have been cooking up a plan of action. In two days our kids raised over 3,000 dollars and a truckload of clothes to be sent to victims of all these disasters. How great is that? It was so moving to see all these kids so involved with helping their fellow countrymen.

Please continue to pray for Indonesia. It's gone through so much hurt and agony in past weeks, and there will be much more as the volcano seemingly continues to erupt and the ash spreads farther and farther outward (even into Sentul where I'm living). However, God is faithful and he has a plan. Sometimes in the midst of chaos and mayhem, we forget to see that. God is in control and he knew that all these things were going to happen long before they actually did. He knows what he's doing.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Life never goes as planned. You wake up and you think, "this day is going to be a great day - nothing could go wrong." Just saying that always seems to jinx your day. At least that's what happens to me, I don't know about you readers. However, I am so thankful for all the ups and downs that happen in my life each day. I can testify that it definitely builds character and also helps me count my blessings.

This song that I named my blog title after "Just Another Day in Paradise" is written by Phil Vassar. All these crazy happenings occur throughout the day, yet it is just another ingredient to every day life. Sure, nothing goes as planned, but it's all about how we respond and improvise. "Well it's okay. It's so nice. Just another day in paradise. Weather's okay. There's no place I'd rather be. Two hearts, one dream, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I ask the Lord every night for just another day in paradise."

As I look back on the day, there were some crazy things that didn't go as planned. A short devotional that somehow turned into a discussion about aliens, an English lesson about bibliographies that ended up being dreadfully boring, a student deciding that the only way to communicate with others was through mooning them, kids forgetting their lines for the middle school drama production, and my cat thinking a scorpion was a chew toy and ended up getting stung in the face. All these things weren't planned, yet it made the day so interesting and comical - making it just another day in paradise.

Life these last few weeks have been rocky with all the things happening at school, but I have decided to take it with a grain of salt and appreciate all that God has given me. I really wouldn't trade this for anything, despite the many things that seem to go wrong in one day. It truly is another day in paradise.