It has been a very busy week here in Indonesia. On Wednesday all of the students had a big test. On Friday, was Indonesian Independence Day, and today is Idul Fitri, the equivalent of the Muslim day of Atonement. It is a feast to celebrate the end of the month of fasting, and also a time to reconcile and forgive each other. Many Christians here celebrate it, and I have been invited to two different homes to celebrate tomorrow (my friend Abby had four homes to visit after church today).
I am so thankful for the new cultural experiences I have been able to have since I have been here. Never mind that there were very loud fireworks and singing all night or that most of the restaurants have been closed for the month, it is amazing to see the world through eyes other than what I grew up with. There are so many things here that you have to get used to, that are just different, and yet the fundamental principle that people are people all over the world remains the same.
This week will be busy as well. On Thursday I leave for Singapore, I will be there for four days, and I will get my student visa. Once I get it, I must go to IMLAC (the school I will be studying at) and give all of the proper paper work to the man in the office. Once I do that he will give me a KITAS, (not sure exactly what it stands for) and I will have to go to Semarang, the capital of Central Java and register there. Once that is done (and everything is paid for...which by the way, I need you all to pray for finances to come in, because as of July 1st their prices went up. Also, I am praying that I can get a motor bike while I am here. They cost around 1,000 to 13,000 and it would be a huge help this year while I am going up and down the mountain all the time.) I will begin school in mid September. Until then, I have been helping to teach English to the kids, and have also been teaching cross stitch or "kris stik" as they call it here.
So as you can see, there is a lot to pray for, and there have been some challenges, but I am good. I understand a lot more Indonesian than I can speak, and you would not believe how nice it is to actually be able to understand some of what is going on. They all want me to learn Javanese, but I have asked that they let me learn Indonesian first. Actually there is a girl who is staying here right now from Papua...she speaks all 14 of the indigenous languages of Papua....truly amazing....and for some reason she is shy to learn English with me... go figure. I will tell you however, that on Independence Day I sang and danced with the kids for a performance at church. We sang "This is the Day that the Lord has Made" in Indonesian, Mentawai, Batak, Sunda, Papua, and English while dancing traditional dances from each island...needless to say they enjoyed the extra tall white person dancing their dances, and honestly I had fun. Normally I don't like to do things that I am not good at... (who does?) but I had a good time.
Anyway, I am looking forward to next week, and we will see what happens...life is an adventure (read: challenge) and I am just getting started.
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