I also learned why it is important to learn people's correct pronunciation of people's names. It is personal. That being said, I did a terrible job of pronouncing student names today. Yulia wanted students to practice introducing themselves and I tried saying "Nice to meet you, Ronol" by repeating the student names but there were a LOT of students and they talked quietly. It was rough.
Today started with pick up at 7:15 and then to the school to join them for "morning activity". This is what it looked like:
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| This school is 4.5% girls. You can see them in the way back, across the open space. The staff speaker is on the podium and the students in the center are putting up the flag. It looked a LOT like a military performance with the way all the students walked around. |
It seemed very much like a military performance. Lots of standing in lines and marching in place. It was highly nationalistic. It made me think if we did this in our schools. I can see how this creates a strong common culture, but I am guessing that protesting the flag is not well received here. The whole thing is supposed to last about 45 minutes but it can go longer if needed.
As it got later in the morning, the sun crept over more and more students, I was like "for crying out loud, dismiss them already!" Apparently Indonesian students are tougher than US students (or US teachers for that matter). I still think back to 2ish years ago where we had some crazy hot days in September and MPS cancelled school for some students in non-AC buildings. That's not happening here.
As it got later in the morning, the sun crept over more and more students, I was like "for crying out loud, dismiss them already!" Apparently Indonesian students are tougher than US students (or US teachers for that matter). I still think back to 2ish years ago where we had some crazy hot days in September and MPS cancelled school for some students in non-AC buildings. That's not happening here.
From there we went to a staff room where we were once again offered food.
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| I am seriously starting to think our hosts think we don't have food in the US. |
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| All staff wear brown uniforms on Mondays and Tuesdays. |
"O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
According to Wikipedia, this is actually the 4th verse, but MIGHTY. "Conquer we must"?! I'm surely not a fan of that...
We also saw more musical performances.
Welcome performance at our host school! SMK 5 in Padang pic.twitter.com/rOvTTK2XcH— Kaitie O'Bryan (@Kaitie_Obryan) July 29, 2019
Check out that banner in the background! I’m so thankful @KnowlesTeachers got us headshots at our first meeting, that’s come through so many times! #IndonesiaUSA70th pic.twitter.com/1zdGewsOdA— Kaitie O'Bryan (@Kaitie_Obryan) July 29, 2019
Afterwards we talked with some of the performers. They had a good amount of English but clearly not as fluent as the high school students at the boarding school we visited. One word they did know was "selfie". I took several selfies with the students (and some teachers).
The school was clearly very proud to be chosen to host these "american teachers". It made me realize how challenging diplomacy is. Perhaps this school was chosen for a political reason, but I got the sense it was just a school that we were able to get to with a host who was interested. They clearly took a lot of pride in this though. Also, I would tell everyone I was from the US, or "the states" and I would get a confused look until Yulia said we were "american". Even students who asked us, and knew the answer to the question, would repeat back "you're from America" when I would say I am from "Minnesota in the US".
The school was clearly very proud to be chosen to host these "american teachers". It made me realize how challenging diplomacy is. Perhaps this school was chosen for a political reason, but I got the sense it was just a school that we were able to get to with a host who was interested. They clearly took a lot of pride in this though. Also, I would tell everyone I was from the US, or "the states" and I would get a confused look until Yulia said we were "american". Even students who asked us, and knew the answer to the question, would repeat back "you're from America" when I would say I am from "Minnesota in the US".
After that, we went for a tour of the school. The school is a "vocational school" meaning all of the students will go straight to a job after finishing. They have a networking, electrical engineering, and automotive program. Below is a picture of the
The tour involved looking at various classrooms and talking to some teachers. We saw mostly "workshop" classrooms where students were doing hands-on training in their program.
I am not going to lie, it was HOT. Literally had sweat dripping down my back without doing any work at all. I cannot imagine how the kids in the automotive program were managing - or even the kids sitting in class. Being a student in the school would be an endurance sport for me. It felt like hot yoga, except with no actual relief.
Then it was time for lunch. Here's what my lunch box looked like. They have a beef dish that is roasted for 8 hours or something like that with spices that they are known for. I need to get the name, but I think this is the third time in 3 days that I had that dish. It is good. The big round "container" is the rice. It was a lot of rice. Jem commented ted that since rice is cheap and available, they will lots of times give a lot of rice with their meals and less meat/veggies. I ate all the meat and some of the veggies with some rice, but I think the headmaster was confused when I was done since there was SO MUCH left over. Again, with the heat, I wasn't that hungry - and we had been offered food every 30 minutes, so, I didn't think I was about to starve at all.
I also ate with my hands today which was an adventure. It was odd eating so "casually" with the administrator next to me, who was also eating with his hands. It was kinda like eating spaghetti at a business dinner - super messy but without any other option, so you just dig in.
From there we went back to our hotel for an "afternoon rest". Part of me felt like we should have stayed longer, but it was so hot, it was hard think about anything other than how hot it was. Jem has a great strategy of thinking "cold thoughts" (ice cream, ice, snow, wind, drafts, etc). I am going have to try that tomorrow. My thoughts are more like "HOLY MOSES!! IT IS FREAKIN HAWWWT!" - I think it would be a good idea to monitor that thinking a bit more.
Going back to the hotel also gave me a chance to get caught up on some blogs too (here we are!).
After school was done (~3) Yulia and Ronol came to pick us up to go to the "turtle sanctuary".
I wasn't really sure what this would be, but it turned out to be pretty awesome! It is this one dude who just loves sea turtles and pays fishermen to bring the eggs to him that they find on random beaches. This guy then takes the eggs and puts them in some sand and waits for them to hatch. He pays about 3k Rupia per egg (that's about a quarter a piece) and fishers bring in about 100 at a time. He also goes around and finds eggs himself and brings them back. He said if the fishermen bring them, they can lose about 50% of them but if he finds them, it is close to 100%.
HERE'S the cool part! He had some sea turtles that were only a day old.
Only 8 of the 100 survived, but they were really adorable.
From there we grabbed coconut water on the beach.
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| My school did n't have equipment like this and I know how expensive it is to add. One of the things I will miss about not being at MV next year is seeing the "How to make almost anything" class we added. I would love to observe our students in this type of environment. Some would struggle. Some would blow me away. |
The tour involved looking at various classrooms and talking to some teachers. We saw mostly "workshop" classrooms where students were doing hands-on training in their program.
I am not going to lie, it was HOT. Literally had sweat dripping down my back without doing any work at all. I cannot imagine how the kids in the automotive program were managing - or even the kids sitting in class. Being a student in the school would be an endurance sport for me. It felt like hot yoga, except with no actual relief.
Then it was time for lunch. Here's what my lunch box looked like. They have a beef dish that is roasted for 8 hours or something like that with spices that they are known for. I need to get the name, but I think this is the third time in 3 days that I had that dish. It is good. The big round "container" is the rice. It was a lot of rice. Jem commented ted that since rice is cheap and available, they will lots of times give a lot of rice with their meals and less meat/veggies. I ate all the meat and some of the veggies with some rice, but I think the headmaster was confused when I was done since there was SO MUCH left over. Again, with the heat, I wasn't that hungry - and we had been offered food every 30 minutes, so, I didn't think I was about to starve at all.
 |
| Jem is Philippina and said her family also provides lots of food when they host people. So, while I have joked that we eat way too much and are offered a ton of food, it seems like it is a cultural trend and sign of being welcoming. We feel very welcomed here. |
I also ate with my hands today which was an adventure. It was odd eating so "casually" with the administrator next to me, who was also eating with his hands. It was kinda like eating spaghetti at a business dinner - super messy but without any other option, so you just dig in.
From there we went back to our hotel for an "afternoon rest". Part of me felt like we should have stayed longer, but it was so hot, it was hard think about anything other than how hot it was. Jem has a great strategy of thinking "cold thoughts" (ice cream, ice, snow, wind, drafts, etc). I am going have to try that tomorrow. My thoughts are more like "HOLY MOSES!! IT IS FREAKIN HAWWWT!" - I think it would be a good idea to monitor that thinking a bit more.
Going back to the hotel also gave me a chance to get caught up on some blogs too (here we are!).
After school was done (~3) Yulia and Ronol came to pick us up to go to the "turtle sanctuary".
I wasn't really sure what this would be, but it turned out to be pretty awesome! It is this one dude who just loves sea turtles and pays fishermen to bring the eggs to him that they find on random beaches. This guy then takes the eggs and puts them in some sand and waits for them to hatch. He pays about 3k Rupia per egg (that's about a quarter a piece) and fishers bring in about 100 at a time. He also goes around and finds eggs himself and brings them back. He said if the fishermen bring them, they can lose about 50% of them but if he finds them, it is close to 100%.
HERE'S the cool part! He had some sea turtles that were only a day old.
 |
| Cute. |
Only 8 of the 100 survived, but they were really adorable.
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| Here's the giant sandbox that has the eggs inside. He dates the eggs by when he got them and numbers them. |
From there we grabbed coconut water on the beach.
And then... we got to release the turtles!
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| Off they go! We took them out of the bucket and let them walk to the sea. |
But really you need to see a video, to get the picture:
We arrived at the turtle sanctuary JUST in time to release the day old sea turtles. @usembassyjkt pic.twitter.com/1fQJU9tkxm— Kaitie O'Bryan (@Kaitie_Obryan) July 29, 2019
A time-lapse video can't hurt either.
All-in-all, just cute.
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| The man on the left is the head of the "turtle camp". We are doing our best sea turtle impersonation. |
Just for kicks, we also saw a goat eating a coconut. Also pretty cute.
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