Third Day of School

July 25, 2018

We were treated to a dance rehearsal today. They have been rehearsing a traditional Indonesian dance for two weeks, and the students did an amazing job.

The choreography and the students's poise were outstanding. This is a traditional Indonesian dance, which tells a story of the women working in the rice fields.

Bob and I got a few lessons from the arts instructor, Prakarya Dan Kewirausahaan.

Of course, there were selfies. Mildawati teaches Math, and was a former student of Nazar's.

Sitting in the teacher's lounge on day three, I could tell that these educators work hard, but there is also a sense of calm here, a wonderful school culture. The way of life is much more relaxed than I have seen in The United States. There's a good balance between work and personal life.

We spent time in the teacher's lounge today, getting to know the staff. I am talking to Religion instructor, M. Adnan Fahrani. All Muslim students know how to speak Arabic as they recite prayers from the Koran. They do not know how to translate. This young man went to University to learn and translate the Arabic language. He shares the Indonesian translation of the Koran to his students and analyzes the meaning with them. It turns out, he is the equivalent of the "English Teacher" in Indonesian High Schools. We had a great conversation about teaching symbolic stories to students, the challenges and the moments of clarity.

We had a lot of laughs in the teachers lounge, and ate these super tasty sunflower seeds.

Along with dance, Prakarya also teaches arts, crafts, and sings. She made this hand bag out of recycled juice containers. When we discovered we both sing. She sang lines from an Indonesian song, and I sang "Do You hear the People Sing" from Les Miserables. Good times and a lot of laughs, just like the faculty room at home.

Just chillin. That's Rasyidah, the English instructor on the left. I presented in her classroom this week. She is a great teacher.

Bob and I taught a lesson together, today. As always, we ended the session with photos. The girl to the bottom right gave us green oranges from her parents's garden. Great group of students. They asked intelligent questions and really engaged with the material.

Peace out!