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!
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