Is Ben actually posting more often than every other month? No. No, he’s still not. Small update though on my devices, everything is broken. Every single electronic, power bank, converter, every single thing I brought over is broken. But I bought a cheap phone and have been borrowing a laptop. Sadly I will not be capturing nearly as many photos as I normaly do however, God is good. I need not worry, I shall not want. I promised this post to describe in detail what an average day looks like and so it will. Here it is, the fourth post.
My day begins at 5:45 - 6:00 AM, depending on how many times I hit snooze. I wash my hair and then eat a quick breakfast. Most Indonesians eat a breakfast of rice, eggs, chicken, or noodles in some combination but there’s no way I’m waking up early enough to make that. So, cereal it is. The milk here is pretty interesting, the box says, “Made with real milk” and you don’t actually have to refrigerate it before opening. It’s pretty sweet and every morning I wonder what I’m actually eating. Staff worship starts at 6:45 and I roll in anywhere from 6:40-6:55. I should be on time but with such a long commute of 8 minutes, traffic can really affect me. I’m kidding, I just have to walk through our neighborhood and it’s very common for me to be the only one on the street save for the guys selling bread from their bikes. I love my little walk in the morning, it gives me time to reflect and look at the trees and flowers around me. Some mornings there’s an older man fishing in the river or if I’m lucky a cat or two. I usually arrive earlier than more than half the staff so I’ll take it.
I teach at Makarios Christian School. I don’t think I’ve ever said it. Look up their Instagram, it’s really good.
Morning worship is actually quite the production here. It begins with prayer and a song, usually a common one from the hymnal or a good ol Gaither classic that I don’t know because I was raised on David Crowder and Toby Mac. I play my violin for this worship set of one, two or three times a week. It doesn’t quite scratch my music itch which is actually something I’ve been struggling with. After the song, someone gives a 15-minute worship talk. I always pictured morning worship for teachers in the States to include a five-minute devotional but here it’s usually around 15 minutes, sometimes more. We are going through the book Christian Leadership (I think it’s called that) by Ellen White. It can sometimes get a little repetitive hearing the same devotion five days in a row with no added stories and verrrrryyyy similar insights. Most of the teachers give it in Indonesian so I can’t really follow unless there are slides or someone translates. I’ve given worship two times and I think I’ve strayed more from the assigned topic than anyone else just because I want to tell personal stories or bring up a different topic than the last two weeks. Finally, we end worship with the same three songs: A prayer song and two Makarios theme songs. Morning worship, especially when I don’t understand it, gives me some time for reflection and talking to God. I try to take this time to prepare myself for the day.
Classes begin around 7:45 and my schedule is different every day. As of right now, Monday and Tuesday are extremely busy for me. I only have a lunch break of 30 minutes, that’s it. I nearly teach from 7:45 to 2:30 without a break. It’s quite a busy day and honestly I need to prep better for it in the future. I teach Biology in both Senior High and Junior High. That’s right, they have Biology as a class in Junior High. The school is divided as follows: TK: Day Care/ Kindergarten, Elementary (SD): Grades 1-6, Junior High (SMP): 7-9, Senior High (SMA): 10-12. If you notice, there are only three grades in High School as opposed to the US-preferred four. In the US Biology is usually taught in Grade 10 and that’s all. Here, it is taught in grades 7-12. This creates a really interesting dynamic where I am teaching six different subject matters. I am trying to communicate and convey six different levels of Biology all in the same week. It’s not like I have to teach the same class twice, just to two different sections. I need completely unique subject matter according to the curriculum (which is very limited) for six different classes. I teach each junior high class once a week for 80 minutes. This forces me to entertain 12 year olds for almost an hour and a half, while at the same time feeling short on time because I won’t teach them again for seven days. There are two different sections for each grade so the second class usually gets the more improved and refined class. One section is in person and the other section is hybrid or fully online. The hybrid class is extremely difficult to teach, I feel that the online kids get a much inferior version of the class but the other teachers assure me by telling me they pay less to go to school here. I still don’t think that information comforts my hurting insides and existential worry of failing these kids ;)
Senior High is a much more enjoyable beast, I get class twice a week but I only have a quarter to teach each semester. Let me explain that better. I have three months of Biology, then I don’t see them for three months. Then I have another three months. Again this leads me to feel like I need to fill an hour and a half with enough information to cover everything but not too much as to overwhelm and bore them. I am finding the balance. In fact we are going on a mission/ study trip to Central Java and my project for grade 10 is birding! How the turntables. I love these kids, they’re just studious enough to keep me feeling good while at the same time being disrespectful and comfortable enough to ask me about my girlfriend and if I drank on my Christmas break. They keep me honest, laugh at my jokes, and look at me extremely confused when I start talking really fast and use big words.
I try to be as creative as I can, coming up with any random excuse to take my kids out of the classroom. Maybe we can go to the lab and test our blood or take a walk in the urban, polluted sprawl of Jakarta. Whatever I can do, I try to do it. The curriculum is just a student textbook so I often just do my own thing. I find videos or come up with activities to tie in. A lot of times I make my own worksheets since I don’t know if I have a budget or not. It has really pushed me, I feel so prepared to be a teacher in the States because of this year. Coming up with six different lessons on the same topic is not easy but I feel that I do a decent job. I wish our classes met more often so I had more time to do projects in class and spend time doing more fun stuff.
Lunch is a highlight. The cafeteria is vegetarian which is so comforting. However, don’t let me fool you, it is quite literally the best cafeteria food I’ve ever had. Of course it’s always asian food but it’s soooooooooooo flavorful and always amazing. They sell so many snacks and treats as well for so cheap. I often buy rice or noodles for breakfast if I’m in a hurry that morning or just crave it (which I always crave it now). The servings are not the largest but I have been supplementing it recently simply by buying more food. Oh and did I mention? It’s completely free for teachers. Amazing.
The afternoon classes are always the hardest, I do my best to stay awake for my classes but often fall asleep to the sound of my teachers' lectures. Wait no that’s not right. Just gotta push to 2:30 when I start extra circulars! Last semester I did Basketball on Monday, violin lessons on Tuesday, Photoshop on Wednesday, and English lessons for teachers on Thursday. It was a lot and these were all things that I was sort of told to do ha ha :| This year I stepped down from Photoshop and luckily English lessons have not started yet so my afternoons have been manageable.
I head home anywhere from 3:30 to 5:00 and usually do some grading or lesson planning. Then for supper, Auntie cooks. Usually, it’s meat and she’s a great cook. I eat so so good, pretty much every day, I will miss the food in this country so much.
Something I have been doing recently is teaching Sabbath School at an English speaking church. The kids there are very sweet and we just recently implemented doing a full Kids service every single week. I teach once or twice a month and love helping out. I played Adventures in Odyssey for them last week and when I saw them this week, a few of them asked, "Sir when are we going to listen to Adventures in Odyssey again??" I loved that so much. The Pastor there is great and he’s originally from Malawi Africa but has been Pastoring here in Indonesia for a while. I often invite him to come play basketball with my students. Between that and futsal I can get somewhat of a sports fix.
So that’s pretty much it as far as day to day stuff. Life is starting to become somewhat routine but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I am extremely comfortable but also starting to miss the States, home, and school. There is something missing here, a creative outlet as well as deep connection. I have found some deep connections, one in one of my fellow teachers, Sir Erick. He’s great. He is extremely dedicated and hardworking while at the same time sees the school from a very real point of view. He also knows how to have a good time. I am extremely grateful for Sir Erick. Others are extremely kind but still that deep connection is not there. Jesse and Makena visited which was very nice. I felt a connection I had not felt in a long time. I spent days with people who completely understood me. It was nice.
There is an Indonesian word, “Betah.” It means to feel at home. I think it’s really special that there is a singular word to express a very complicated and complex feeling, especially for me. Feeling at home implies that this is not your home. The place you are in is not your original place, it’s not where you are used to being. However, you are adjusting. You are finding warmth in the new. You feel solace in the unfamiliar. Aku betah. Indonesia is not my home but I am starting to feel at home. Of course, it’s still not the same. I sometimes wonder what it will be like when I go home, will it feel the same as when I left? Will we still be friends? Will I be a different person? Will I be a BETTER person? Time will tell. Until then, I think about how I now find comfort in Indonesian chicken and beef soup. I have changed. I ate chicken feet and kinda liked it. I can eat cartilage now. I most certainly have changed.