To Poop, or Not To Poop...

A few students playing some music on campus

Today marks October 24. It was a little over two months ago that I embarked on this journey. What a whirlwind it has been! I have just completed week 5 at the University and am up to my ears in student essays and scholarship recommendation letters. I adore these kids, though. There's something about their willingness and sincere appreciation that helps me realize why I chose the path I did. Over the past three weeks I have been the Keynote speaker at a National Seminar (I know right? Really?), been on television twice (I'm channeling my inner Jennifer Aniston) and hiked to the top of one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Do I get homesick from time to time? Of course. Do I feel lonely every once in a while? Most definitely. But this time, more than any other, I feel good about what I'm doing. I feel like I'm making progress as a human, as an educator, and even as a leader. Alright, enough sappy stuff...

Friends on top of Gunung Merbabu

Have you ever been told specifically not to poop? I imagine not. I mean, it's not something that would normally be forbidden. For someone like me, this is similar to telling a child not to take a cookie from the cookie jar. Once you tell them no, they immediately grab! When you tell me not to poop, my stomach automatically does a reverse flip and sends me flying to the nearest facility. Keep reading. An explanation will follow. I was lucky enough to meet some amazing people over the last few weeks and two weekends ago was invited on a camping trip. I was over the moon with excitement for so many different reasons. I was getting out of the busy city and into nature with an incredible group of people who have taken me under their wings. On top of that, we were hiking! It's always nice to exercise outside of the gym (Although the Spin instructor had me at hello... What is it about them?). We left early Saturday morning and split up into three different cars. In my car on the way to the mountain it was my friend Ina who explained the four basic rules to the mountain, which were established over time in order to preserve its sacred value. 1) No Curse Words. Well, shit. 2) No Complaining. Okay. I've worked for Nike Tennis long enough to be able to follow this one well. 3) No Sex. Ha! Who in the world am I gonna break this rule with? One of the mountain goats? I'm not quite desperate enough for bestiality... at least not yet... 4) No Pooping. Oh, dear God. Turn around and take me home. I can't go! At the sound of this my morning coffee and corn flakes immediately lit up... and they already wanted out. I kept my sudden urge to myself and simply said a little prayer to the Poop God and asked that he hike with me that weekend... for the sake of the sacred mountain.

The view from the summit of Merbabu

We left base camp around 11 am Saturday morning and set out on a 5 hour climb up. We had an amazing group of porters with us who did a fantastic job of paving the way, finding the drinkable mountain water, acting as our security and transporting most of our equipment up the mountain, all the while smoking Marlboro Reds. Their stamina is unmatched. The climb was grueling, but very worth it. The views were breathtaking, the company great and the fresh air a relief. We reached our camp site around 4pm and set up shop. Ina had warned me that the weather would be cool. I figured that cool in Indonesia though, was maybe jeans and a sweatshirt. By 5 pm I was bundled up by the fire wearing two pairs of pants, four pairs of socks, a t-shirt, sweatshirt, jacket and a pair of gloves. We barbequed sausages that night and sat around the fire as Phil played the ukulele and everyone took their turn singing harmony. I could have sat there forever. My friend Vero and I shared a tent together and slept on and off for a few hours that night, struggling to keep warm and finding a comfortable position on the ground. By 5 am we were back up and drinking hot chocolate (I would have enjoyed some coffee but was fearful of rule 4. So far the Poop God had worked in my favor.). We left the campsite around 6 am in pursuit of the summit. An hour later we were enjoying the remarkable views from the top of Gunung Merbabu, something I'd never in a million years thought I'd be doing. It was the perfect way to spend a weekend. We returned to our campsite, enjoyed some breakfast, then began our descent.

Ina and I enjoying a little rest

Our incredible porters who carried this load all the way up

The view from our camp site

I also had the opportunity to (finally) take in some of the sites and sounds of Semarang. Although I live here, it's been hard to find the time and opportunities to really explore. Friends Wulan and Lestari, along with Pak Muntholib, the favorite of the university drivers, picked me up last Sunday morning for a day of sight-seeing. We traveled around the entire city, visiting a Chinese Temple (wait, aren't I in Indonesia???), Masjid Agung, the largest mosque in all of Central Java, an outdoor fish market, a coconut juice hut and a Hindu Temple above the city that overlooks all of Semarang. It was the perfect way to spend a Sunday and learn a little more about the city.

Masjid Agung

The inside of Masjid Agung

The view from the tower above Masjid Agung

Another view from the tower

The center of Semarang

A young coconut, being prepared for consumption

An outdoor fish market

These poor goats. They're about to be sold and turned into someone's dinner. I miss Fred.

Another somewhat exciting piece of this journey has been my participation on RELAX. I was asked by the RELO office in Jakarta to take part in a television program here in Central Java. Every Thursday the local television station airs an English Debate program designed for high school and university students to come and debate about an assigned topic. Topics have included sending Indonesians abroad to work, giving money to homeless people on the street, and giving condoms to "sex workers". I sit on stage and offer feedback and comments to each side, mostly praising them for their efforts. After commercial breaks, each school has a musical act who performs. Students come out and either sing a song or perform a choreographed dance. My first Thursday (in the picture above) I had the pleasure of listening to a young girl sing Right Here Waiting For You by Richard Marx. Okay, really? Do they not know my history with that song? Every time I hear it I get misty eyed and think back to my very first slow dance... at Nike Tennis Camp with a boy named Brian. My second Thursday there I was treated to a rendition of Bryan Adams' I'd Die for You from the movie Robin Hood. I could barely control the emotion. Angie, it took every muscle in my soul not to tear up and run off the stage for the nearest phone to call home to you. Jeezhus! After taping is over there is always a mad frenzy from each school to have their picture taken with me. It makes me giggle, really.

There I am, center stage on local television. So funny!

Other highlights include my amazing co-workers and friends, who keep the table in the office stocked with food and snacks. I've made some great friends from all over the world who I look forward to getting to know better. I take my vitamins everyday, get to the gym at least 5 times a week (partially because I'm in love with the Spin Instructor, but that's a different story) and have successfully tried all kinds of different Indonesian dishes.

Some great friends and co-workers, Pak Abu, Pak Arida, and Ibu Cristine
One of the many amazing dishes that Ibu Cristine brought for us all to enjoy
New friends, Janine from New Zealand and Beth from Ohio

On that note, I am off to dance around my little house, all alone, in celebration of the Giant's JUST clinching their spot in the World Series. I am so grateful that European ESPN is airing the games... Giant's, baby! GIANTS! Hummmmm baby!

Until next post...

Be well.

Noreen

October has arrived

Two weeks of teaching in Indonesia are officially down in the history books. I often wake up and wonder if I'm actually here or if this all just a dream. It's hard to believe that October is already upon us. There are a few things that have made me somewhat nostalgic while welcoming the new month. For one, I was unable to see our Beloved Britney make her comeback on Glee Tuesday night. It made my Wednesday morning a little rough. While attempting to listen diligently to my students speak about the most important person in their lives, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not Britney was singing one of her old classics like Baby One More Time or keeping it current with something like 3. I wondered whether or not you could see her hair extensions or if she sang a duet with Mr. Scheuster. My biggest concern really, was whether or not she did well and that the writers paid enough homage to her. These things are important, you know? And how about those San Francisco Giants? What a run! It's painful not having the option to even watch the highlights on ESPN. Come playoff time, I'll be putting myself up in an international hotel for a few nights where I can watch the games, no doubt.

Classes went well this week. My students are young and bright-eyed and eager for more. I can't help but giggle when they remind me their names. Seksi and Titis were partners the other day and I couldn't help but add Mala (bad, in Spanish) to their group, more for my own entertainment than anything else. For two days in a row, every student that walked through my classroom door had done their homework, which is unheard of, really. I mean, when was the last time a teacher collected completed assignments from every single student in the classroom, even if they were absent the week prior? Amazing, really. They blew my mind.

The University campus is an older one. There is a new one being built that will be ready for us to move into by January. Everyone is looking forward to the move, as it is located on a hill above the city among all kinds of greenery and on a lot of acreage. It's beautiful, really. Monday afternoon we celebrated the completion of the Humanities building and traveled to the new school together as a department for a what I thought would be a small gathering. When I walked in however, there were people everywhere, all wearing their finest Batik. Yikes. I looked down and realized that I was wearing a sweaty pair of navy blue pants on which I had spilled yogurt earlier. God. Of course. I spotted a familiar English teacher who waved and motioned for me to join them. Thank God. She introduced me to her peers and explained that this was a very typical celebration here in Indonesia. Once a new building is complete, you bless it before you use it. The blessing is a party consisting of prayers, food, music and then more food. Everyone was speaking Bahasa Indonesia so all I could really offer was a smile and lots of nodding. Once the ceremony began we all took our seats on the floor and sat and listened to each speaker. Twenty minutes later and not a single word understood, I hear my name spoken into the microphone. Crap! The woman next to me nudged my arm and whispered to stand up. Ummmm, okay. Next thing I know the gentleman with the microphone is asking me to sing Michael Jackson's You Are Not Alone. Pardon me? I politely declined, then was asked again. "No thank you", I said. "I'm really sorry ". Cricket... Cricket... I looked back at the gentleman and apologized again, then took my seat, ears on fire and heart pumping. The woman a few people down offered to sing and belted out a rousing rendition of the first few lines, then gave up because she didn't know the rest of the words. I felt bad. Really, really bad. Soon thereafter the food portion of the celebration began, something that I am much better at participating in than singing. Everyone was handing me something different to try. I happily accepted, and soon found myself unable to balance the plethora of delights in my two hands. In one word I can describe this part of the afternoon: Delicious. "Oh, Miss Noreen, have some more". Never one to turn down seconds I ate until the party was over. We had rice, vegetables, chicken soup, coconut juice, fresh papaya. The only minor consequence came the next morning, when everyone in the office was giggling, explaining that they had yet to see someone eat so much. Really? REALLY? How little they know me...

I'll end this post with an explanation of something that I mentioned earlier. I asked my Upper Intermediate Speaking students to come to class this week prepared to talk about the most important and influential person in their lives. They did a fantastic job. One student spoke about Raphael Nadal and explained what an inspiration he was to her and her aspiration to work in the world of fitness. Another student spoke about Johnny Depp and how he aspires to be an international actor solely because of Depp's work. However, as we went around the room the common theme was that of family. I heard student after student describe their mothers and fathers as the most important and influential people in their lives. They spoke so highly of the role of their parents and with such passion. One young girl was brought to tears as she described her father and the sacrifices he has made for his family. It was a moving morning. We all learned a little something new about one another in that classroom. For the first time I didn't care that there was sweat dripping down my back. I was exactly where I wanted to be. And when it was my turn? I followed suit and shared with my students my Mom and Dad, who are by far the most important and inspiring people that I know. Love you both.

I'll post some pictures when the Internet isn't so slow.

Les mando besitos.

Be well.

Noreen