Ok. Time to calm down. You know when you write a blog post, or reply to someone, or an informative letter or something and you do a really smooth job of it? When it sounds great, and you’re beginning to think you’re a literary genius? But then something happens and your time and effort goes down the toilet, and you really can’t be bothered replicating for the second time, and so your next piece is facts, essentials, and half bottomed (I couldn’t bring myself to write the ‘A’ word, even though I have no problem saying it… Weird.) So feel free to make up your own story to my facts. I’m a little disheartened that even here, in Singapore, the computer crashed mid-way through typing my blog. It happened twice in Indonesia before I started writing as a word document and then cutting and pasting, but now that it’s happened here – with good internet – the only explanation is that Blogger.com hates me. But luckily I don’t take it to heart and I’m actually ok with that. There are more important things to concern myself with while in the tropics – such as how I am doomed to have fluffy frizzy hair. Always. Even with product (yes – expensive salon product), and even using GHD hair straighteners… Yep, doomed. Oh, and air conditioning – hate it. Dries you up and means you always have to wear long pants and a cardigan – everywhere!!! Urgh! I finally live in a country of perpetual summer and have to dress like it’s perpetual Autumn… So, like I said – there are way more important things to concern myself with.
So. Singapore. Again. That sounds like I'm complaining- but I'm really not. Just setting the stage, adjusting the lights, and getting you in the right frame of mind to hopefully enjoy this prose. (Is anybody else reminded of our yr 12 English exams when you read the word 'prose'?)
I'm in Singapore because in order to get a new visa for Indonesia I have to leave the country. Singapore is good because it's close, it's civilised, it's got a wide variety of cheap, yummy food, and there are so many shopping malls that there's something new to see every day at the top of every train station. And the train transport is so cheap and efficient that you feel like you're getting special treatment from the train service!
I am currently sitting in my hostel resting my feet due to all the walking I've been doing! Most everything is trainable except for the Indonesian Embassy - the only reason I'm here mind you. That's about a 10 minute walk from the closest bus. That's not a bad walk in itself -it's more the hours of walking the shopping centres that kills the feet! So I've given myself a compulsory day off. Time for a blog catch up!
Ok. So here's the latest school news. A few weeks ago we had a new teacher arrive to teach the prep class of kids. She's an Indonesian teacher and has really enjoyed living on the base and teaching the kids. For me, this is a wonderful relief! Prior to Julie arriving I had 26 children ranging from 5yrs old to 13yrs old. For anyone who knows kids, you can only imagine what that's like! So this new separate class meant that 7 of my youngest were moved to another classroom and now I had less of a gap academically, and the younger children were getting teaching to their level too. This was truly an answer to prayer! A huge load of stress was lifted and now I could focus on the kids in my grade 1 class.
And now they're flying! I have children reading and understanding English beginner readers - which I wasn't sure if that was going to happen in my time here! I am teaching predominantly in English now - pretty much no translation - and the children are beginning to write sentences in English about various topics! I was pretty sure that was not going to happen... There are, of course, several who are more behind than the others, and there are some that are more advanced - but it's super exciting to see what they're learning and how far they've come!Singapore this time round has been nice. It’s always a good getaway for me. Like complulsory school holidays. Because unlike most other teachers, I have to live with my kids. They’re generally ok though. They know when it’s ok to annoy teacher and when it’s time to go. (I’ve trained them well!) The kids are learning well – they’re writing and reading simple English now which is super exciting because I wasn’t sure if they’d get that far while I was teaching them. They started so slow with no English, but now they’re memorizing spelling patterns, and learning facts about different topics and learning maths all in English! The amazing thing is that when they learn about a new topic – they have to learn all those new English words too. They’re really little superstars! I’m going to miss them when I go!
When I get back from Singapore I have 2.5 months left of teaching in Indonesia before I return to Melbourne and if time continues at its present rate – it’s going to fly by!! One year is almost complete! After that I have a couple of months in Melbourne and then in September I’m going to Redding, California to study 1 year at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. It’s funny because I always said I didn’t want to go to America, but since I’ve been in Indonesia I have met some fantastic Americans who have helped me warm up to the idea of living in the states. Plus, after losing 8kg in Indonesia I need a get fat quick scheme – America here I come!!
Not a lot has happened since the last blog post. There haven’t really been any big adventures or near death experiences (well, none out of the ordinary) but I thought I’d catch you all up on some of the interesting (or not, depending on your interests) facts about staying in Halmahera.
One thing that strikes me as crazy is that many of the kids wear flannelette pyjamas to bed. In the tropics. Tops and bottoms. Most Aussies struggle to sleep un-airconditioned and these kids are sleeping in flannelette…
My most favourite smell in the whole world is a grape vine outside the Scarborough’s house. At nights it releases this most perfect fragrance. It is difficult to sum up this aroma with words, but it’s like, um (2 mins later), so fresh (mmm boring word – told you it was difficult), like if you can smell this fragrance in its natural surrounding then you know that somehow, everything bad will not be so bad, because if God placed a scent such as this, purely to be enjoyed, then how much more does He care about the other things in our life that need help. But it’s not the kind of fragrance that could be captured and replicated (well – they tried – it’s called grape flavor hubba bubba). But if we’re comparing Hubba Bubba to this – it’s like the HB is a kidney stone and this essence is a diamond. Wow! And the funny thing is – if you haven’t inhaled this sweet fragrance, then you will definitely think I’m mad and have lost the plot. But the truth is – if you haven’t smelt it – you haven’t lived.
Ok… spent way too many words on the grape vine… sorry. On a completely opposite and slightly more revolting note – I watched them butcher a steer. From the almost-start. I didn’t want to watch the slitting of the throat so I arrived fashionably late for the butchering ceremony. Cows have HUGE guts!! 4 stomachs – and all of them big in themselves. I was surprised at how not bad it smelt while they were chopping. I was also surprised how I could so easily watch. I was surprised more at how easily I could eat the meat after seeing its original owner. In fact I was more surprised at how people CAN’T eat meat after seeing its original owner. But then I’ve never really been an animal lover – and I’m pretty sure they can’t feel anything when they’re dead, right? Ha! So thank you mister steer for providing a welcome change from rice and vegies. Your memory will be honoured in my iPhone (thought I’d better not post the pics for those of you who might not be as fascinated as me…)
Oooh!! A couple of other cool things. I killed a snake! Woohoo, I just received the jungle Jane award. The funny thing was, I hit it several times but it was during school time and had to go back to teach, so I left the snake still wriggling and wasn’t sure it was dead (cos the head was still on). So I put a rock on top to make sure it couldn’t get away if it was still alive. Later, after school I went back to check it was dead but it was gone! I was positive that I couldn’t have done that much of a hack job, and ended up finding out that one of the kids had already grabbed it and taken it to the rubbish heap. There was snake offered as a meal at Steve and Naomi’s wedding – but that one was a lot bigger and already lost its head.
The storms here are pretty ferocious. Not in terms of wind, but the thunder cracks so loud sometimes that you actually feel scared!! It’s weird, cos I don’t scare easy and I know it’s just thunder – but it’s like my body has a mind of its own and gets scared even when my brain isn’t allowing it. The cool thing, however, about the lightning is that occasionally there is a cloudless night with stars out, but in the distance on the horizon there are huge clouds and inside these clouds is where the lightning happens! If I had the right camera I could get the most amazing photos. It’s like the cloud is housing the lightning. There’s no thunder. And the whole cloud lights up as if God is striking a match inside the cloud then the wind blows it out. It is phenomenal to watch.
Ew. Something else. I’m not sure how many of you have heard the rumor that spiders travel in 2’s. Well usually that’s true here. The trouble is that they’re huge! Which generally means if I only see one, I’m a nervous wreck til the 2nd one is found… Yuck! One time we found 1 huge one and sprayed it only to discover the mummy and baby one running out too… GROSS!! I know they’re not poisonous, but they have 8, hairy legs that all move on their own accord… Ew. They’re not the only creepies too. You can’t leave any food out anywhere! There are ants that come within 5-15 mins depending on where you are and they swarm! One minute you put your chocolate down on the desk, and 5 mins later it’s protein enriched and moving… Ants are not so bad cos they’re pretty clean, but when they walk all over you it’s just annoying.
Here’s a handy tip I learned too. If you made the mistake of buying bedsheets (and I imagine this will work on other items too) that pill, I have found an inexpensive fix for it. Use a shaver. Shave those buggers right off! At first I used a sharp knife but had to be extra careful that the point didn’t cut into the fabric. Then – I don’t remember the exact moment, but I decided to use a shaver and have never looked back!!
Also, it’s funny that people in Halmahera don’t wear sunglasses. But they see people who do like celebrities. I could hang out at the base wearing standard casual clothes and no one would notice. But if I wear a pair of sunnies – everyone notices and comments and wants to try them on and take photos on their mobiles. It’s THE funniest thing! And then when you go in to the town – sunnies or not – the people all stare like you’re famous! They stop what they’re doing and just watch. No way could you get away with picking a sneaky wedgie… someone would definitely see. At first I hated it, now I tolerate it because it’s not going to change any time soon. And I know now that I don’t want to be famous if this is what it’s like.
I’ll finish with a cute story illustrating lost in translation. We have had a family visiting with 3 children, Tasmin, Darcy and Toby and on the day they arrived they were helping set up for Tessa’s birthday but got separated from Esther. So Esther asked one of her teenage girls to look for Darcy and Toby who got lost on the footpath. The only problem was the Merna hadn’t yet met Toby and Darcy and in Indonesian ‘dasi’ (means a tie (you wear)) and ‘topi’ (means hat) sound like the boys’ names. So Merna was so confused looking for a tie and a hat somewhere on the footpath until she was enlightened to the boys and their names!! That was particularly funny for me – you probably had to be there and understand Indonesian, but there you have it – a latest update from me. Thank you for reading this far. I have also included a selection of photos just for those of you more visually inclined.
Thank you to all of those who have contributed to this journey through provision of funds, prayers, visiting and practical advice!
Can’t wait to see you all in person!
Xoxo Aimee
The dock where we caught our speed boat once. Although much of the city is dirty like this. The toilet for 'number 1s' goes straight into the bay.
The view from the end of the pier. Too bad the sun's not out - doesn't usually look this dreary.
This was an old Japanese war ship from WWII. They had a military base near Kao and not sure how this sank, but it's here, and we snorkeled it. I've watched too many movies and was afraid I was going to die the whole time. If not by a shark, then by some mega sized sea urchins, or an octopus or something equally as deadly/scary. I'm not sure why, but the ocean is soooo much scarier than the forest.
Definitely not me. I had my fill of tall jumps at the waterfall. The drop is way too long to be enjoyed. But good on you Cassie Allison!!! A champ in my eyes!
Right when the locals saw us coming a whole bunch of kids came out to the ship too and just shadowed us the whole way. Too bad the underwater views were not that clear.
Bonnie and Cassie's leaving bonfire. The two girls on the left are in my class. The one at the front is 9 and couldn't read or write Indonesian or English at the start of the year. Now she can read and write Indonesian and is learning English quickly! So encouraging!
Cassie and me with some of the teenaged girls.
The local waterfall. The best place to wash your hair cos the waterfall washes all the conditioner out real well and you get a head massage at the same time. (In saying that - I've only been there once, but the rest go quite often - I just never hear about going til they've come back, ha ha!)
My school girls sitting up properly and responsibly at the party (as opposed to running around like headless chooks like the boys)
I was asked the other day what kind of toys the kids play with here - rain is definitely one of them!
We had a wedding in our main meeting hall and they decorated it to the nines.
This is a wall of speakers. Yes, every box is a speaker. They hire these out for functions. If you really want to impress your neighbours then you hire 3 of these walls, and encroach on to road space and put up a giant marquee in the middle of the road for all your guests to sit and eat under while becoming more and more deaf from the 3 walls of speakers.
The girls in all their finery for the wedding. Aw, such cuties! (BTW they're not in the wedding party - this is normal fancy garb)
The two girls in red were in the bridal party. They hire the dresses - too bad if they don't fit properly. Even the Bride's dress is hired.
This hut used to be a restaurant, but for whatever reason now it's not, but we were able to bring our picnic lunch and eat it there. It's nice cos you need to take a raft to get there which meant that the hordes of followers couldn't swamp us on the floating boat. The water is so nice to swim in too! This is one of my favourite places in Halmahera so far.
Me and some of the kiddies. Man I love em.
Ah, the teenage boys, same in every nation, *cough* posers!
