Something about small, yellow houses

There is something about small, yellow houses that I have discovered today. These are the ones that I call, "home." Yes, all 2 of them! Though my room not be the biggest within them, I have found that these are the ones where I have a space of my own, to daydream or rest, a safe place to invite people over to simply enjoy life with me.

Today I taught first grade ESL using creative arts. We each created a house of our own. A home can be a single house or it can be an entire city. We combined all of our houses to make a city! We may each have just one house, but we form a community, a home, when we all come together.

Peanut Butter Toast

(untoasted)

July 22
When I was growing up, I would visit my grandparents for a week
during the summer. There, I especially loved breakfast. We would
add a soupspoon of sugar to oatmeal. That's my favorite place for
the perfect waffle recipe. And, we would have peanut butter toast.
My grandpa would bite it into the shape of a dog. It would bark and
run around. And then, he would bite the head off. It was hilarious
as a kid! It still makes me smile now. The memories, the love, the
simplicity of childhood.

My cousin and I would look through pennies to find old ones made
before 1940. My grandparents had a 5 gallon water bottle for pennies.

The internal process: MUFHH by OC: July 22.

Healing Process

July 21, 8:44 p.m.
Jennifer and Juliana have left to check out the Vario Motorcycle
Club. This afternoon we looked at a 2005 Honda SuperFit. It's not
an automatic, but if I purchase it, I can practice on it at my
leisure. Looking to go for a test drive this week.

This morning we went to the pool - it is one of the biggest I've
seen. It included a lap pool, a wading pool, a heated pool, a cool
pool to float around on inner-tubes, and a kiddies' pool! Not to
mention 2 restaurants, poolside service, a fitness room and a
spinning room! It was a perfect day to take a mid-day retreat! And
though I was sad to not be able to get into the water, I could at
least put my feet in and lay out in a lounge chair listening to
podcasts. Definitely peaceful.

For now, the stinging has restarted with the cleansing of new skin
growing. We'll see how much of this I can tolerate! It's just the
beginning.

And, I began drawing on the canvas.

Refreshing Favorites

July 21, 9:28 a.m.

A few of my favorite things that I have been able to enjoy in the midst of "momentary drowning" (figuratively speaking of course):

1. Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds.  Had that for breakfast nearly every day for my first 2 weeks.  (I'm down to one serving, but will have to wait until our next trip to Surabaya to get more.)

2.  Chunky Skippy Peanut Butter on bread - no toaster here.

2. Handmade greeting cards - I brought just a few of my stamps from home, but purchased a simple black ink pad and card stock here.  Not the variety of colors as my supply back home, but the colors are still vibrant!

3. Michael Buble, the Beatles and Jars of Clay - Yay, ipod!!!

4. and 2-ply toilet paper!!!!  It's not in every public restroom.  But at least it's available to purchase!  That's definitely more comfort than I was expecting!

Today, I'll go to the pool with Jennifer and Juliana.  And though I can't get into the water, I can at least check out what's around!  They say there's a restaurant and bowling alley.

It's definitely fun to watch life here in a way that I couldn't absorb in only 2 weeks.

Joy in the little things.  

Who would've ever guessed that in the middle of the ocean, salt would keep you afloat?  Look at the salt in the salt-shaker; it's so simple, so tiny.  Or when you have too much of it in food, it tastes bad.  Yet - they have salt pills to make sure that you're drinking enough fluids!  The salt comes out of your pores when you sweat heavily (ok, so that's not for the average civilian).  Still, this same salt, will keep my head above water until I regain strength to swim again.  All I have to do, is relax a little MORE!  Sounds a little lazy, yet, it's what I need to do in order to stay alive, to not cramp up, to not panic.

I see that I'm, now, beginning to swim beyond the first sprint. For now, I "walk": It is the process of not having yet arrived. As much as I do need to pace myself, I also do need to simply rest, and take time to bask in the presence of a little salt compound.  Normally, salt on a wound would sting immensely!  For now, I simply have to trust that this salt will make me stronger.  And that it's not to harm me, but to maybe cleanse the the deepest parts.

Walking into the end of week 2

Jalan jalan = walking > the journey > the process of arriving.
Today, a little glimmer of hope. A little more joy. Patiently
awaiting.

So today, I went to the art store and found a canvas to paint for my
wall. I haven't thought about how I'd bring it home, but for now, it
will be fun to create my own wall art! Nor have I decided what
colors I want to use or what I will paint.

I got my leg checked out from the motorcycle burn. No problems,
looks like it's healing fine. Got a months worth of supplies to
change the dressing daily. at the Apotik Anugrah, you can find
anything. And they even deliver, no extra fees!

And then, spontaneously, I went to a wedding reception with a bus
load of teachers. It was in the last village of Malang. It was as if
we drove through the jungle on a paved road, yet it also reminded me
of driving through Hawaii. Love looking out to see the rice fields
or a man crushing rocks for gravel in his handmade teepee of sticks
for shade.

A traditional cousin reception - some similar food as we have for
Chinese dim sum! Coconut appetizers reminded me of my favorite gai
mei bao! Rice cake, gin doi, and sweet tea! Peanuts, too! Then,
right when we were about to be full on appetizers, they open this
curtain, you walk though and there are tables of bowls and food!
Including Nasi Goreng (fried rice) and Basok (meatballs - reminds me
of fishballs at home).

I'm learning about time and days of the week and months, how to count
rupiahs and tell people how much I have - it takes me longer
translate than to count all of the coins and bills! But, I'm learning!

The weather was hotter this week. It rained Sunday and Monday
night. They say it's more humid because of the rainfall, so it feels
more nasty. I agree.

Well, it's nearing 4. Everyone's packing up. I shall return Sunday
night Cali time! Sampai minggu depan! (Until next week!)

All you need is Love

All you need is love, All you need is love, All together now! All you
need is love, love, love is all you need...

And (not in this order) a cup of English Breakfast tea, a scoop of
triple chocolate ice cream with friends, a few hours alone simply
delving in chapter after chapter of Psalms, a few songs that release
the questions, frustration, hurt and doubts, and a new morning...

Your grace is amazing. Your grace is amazing. All we like have
sheep have gone astray... No shepherd's face had tears like yours.
Amazing is your grace...

Things I've learned in my first week...

Week summary: Everything is new.

I can hardly believe it's already the first week.  And what a week it's been!  

- Learned over 100 Indonesian words.  

- Learned the Indonesian alphabet (only after I learned all of those words!).

- Learned that my language teacher, Stephen and I all have the same birthday.  

- Learning about rupiahs.

- Thursday I went to the Flower Market.  They also sell mini turtles!

- Learned how to play Dutch Blitz with Katie.  

- Friday, I learned the pain of slamming the car door on your thumb, only to be followed by having my fingers pressed for fingerprints at the immigration office!

- I learned how to ride the ankots around town. 

- and I learned to play Nertz at Juliana's birthday party.  

- Saturday, we went out twice so that I could learn and practice how to ride the motorcycle - an automatic scooter, as opposed to a manual motorcycle.  (But it still felt heavy to me!)

- And finally, learning how to treat a burn.  The BEST story for my first weeks has to be that I burnt my leg on the muffler!  Definitely NOT fun!  But I could actually ride it for a few yards by the end of our first practice.

If you ever want to learn, here are three words I discovered in my attempt to ride. 

1. Control.  You must always be in control of the bike - acceleration, brakes, balance...  

2. Centered - Not only to sit up straight and find the center of your body aligned with the bike for balance, but also to stay focused.

3.  Courage.  I thought I was learning this while I was riding.  But, I think my greatest lesson today was to be courageous to get on again after getting burned!  It was scary enough having to get on the back to come home.  Though they say that everyone has had their accidents and stories of learning, I was still shocked.  After a few hours, the stinging and burning sensations have finally subsided.

Next week, I add 2 hours of language study with Juliana. SO much is new; it's a bit overwhelming and exhausting.  I miss everyone at home.  But, I have to say I'm surrounded by great encouragement.   It's mentally uncomfortable here, stretching.  But one day at a time.  And each one is unique...  So good night and we'll see what happens tomorrow!

Hari Tiga

Day 3:
Hung out with teachers. It's a fun way to explore language for all
of us. And we get to know about each other's cultures too. I think
of sushi and mexican food often thus far. Good thing we're having
Mexican food for out team dinner tomorrow night (besok malam)!

I got to sit in on the dream session for SPRING. There are 5 amazing
artists and it is definitely exciting to hear about their potential
projects for the coming year! Documentaries, short films, animation
and books in progress, all beginning with a small group of artists
with the intention of affecting the country... What an honor to work
with and learn from them! Sounds fun to me. And they really did
save a desk for me!

I finally learned the Indonesian alphabet - much like Latin/Spanish.
I feel SO much better about language study. And I have my Indonesian/
English dictionaries! Tomorrow, I will learn an Indonesian song.

Had my first catered Indonesian lunch. Visited the flower market.
It's true - here, all of the flower vendors are on one street. All
of the furniture vendors are on another. Not great for marketing,
but great for building community. I purchased my night stand! So
they will deliver it tomorrow morning.

And Jennifer and I enjoyed watching Elizabethtown. We've both taken
multiple cross-country, road trips! It's funny to sleep at 10, yet
that's WAY past my bed time here. But, the call will be my
alarm clock at 4 a.m.! Made it through Hump Day!

Tuesday: Hari Dua = Day 2

My second day of language tutoring was definitely easier than the
first. I have just 10 new words to learn.

I'm little tired today. The calls were on from 8-10 last night and
began again at 4. I was able to fall asleep with my ipod, but could
have used another couple hours of good sleep.

Got my HP (cell phone) set up last night.

4 jobs for the year: 1) working with artists at Spring. 2) teaching
english with creative art during the school day. 3) teaching art at
the after school program. 4) teaching art at the kompun/slum school.
I will need an interpreter or more language for this.

For now, I'm learning about rupiahs, a whole new currency. I'll take
my first walk home for lunch this afternoon. It's about 8 short blocks
from the school. And I sit through teacher training - even though
it's 95% in Indonesian.

Day 1: Detours to Malang

Have you ever had to pay someone to lead you through a detour?! That's what we experienced on my way to Malang. An entire city was flooded by mud because a company wanted to drill for oil and in their digging, they opened a hole that has since been spewing literally TONS of mud each day.

I'd never seen a street flooded by mud, let alone a whole city! On some streets, the mud covered the top of the door ways. People had retrieved some of the roof tiles. People of the neighborhood don't want to leave because if they leave, there is no guarantee they will be reimbursed for their property. So they stay around and help people get around the traffic jam by leading them through detours, charging tolls along the way. And if you dare try to take the detour without a guide, know that gangs are on the lookout.

We left Surabaya at 12 noon. Arrived home after 5 p.m. They say it used to only take 2 hours. I saw Cyndi and Josiah today!

Day 2: Sunday. Woke up before 4 - the call to prayer comes through the loudspeaker from just over the wall and across the Wesley soccer field. Yay ipod! I can plug it in and eventually fall back asleep. If the morning chant didn't last half an hour, I probably could have fallen back asleep without the help. But it's a good time to get some reading done.

Spent the whole day traveling via motorcycle; Jennifer took me around town. I went to ROCK, an Indonesian celebration this morning at 8. We spent the afternoon shopping at MATOS (Malang Town Square) and setting up my room. And the english celebration was tonight at 4 - literally up the street from our house. I got my hape (hop-A = cell phone) number set up. We ate at Wendy's for dinner: cheeseburger, fries and Coke! Pretty well adjusted to the time. People sleep around 8-9 and get up at 4-5. Much to learn!

4 airports, 4 countries = 48 hours

I'm here! Arrived in Surabaya last night. The sun sets earlier here. I can hardly believe I'm really here! Slept well. Enjoyed breakfast by the pool - love the landscaping! We leave for Malang within the hour - a 3 hour ride to my house! definitely surreal.