Jogja

Well the rainy season has finally begun. last week we had we first of the rain, and this week we have had it at least three times. right now it is just a cool breeze and a low fog, which are a welcome break from the muggy and sweaty weather of the late morning and early afternoon. Many people say that the wet season is hotter than the dry, but in actuality it is only one hour of the day which is more humid, but not hotter. Now the threat of rain is hanging about, but no water yet, which makes me sad. (I love the rain) I would love to sit here writing with the rain as my inspiration all day. 

Sometimes I wish I could really embellish the stories that I have here to make them seem more beautiful and book-worthy, but I know that if I embellish the dull ones, people are less likely to believe the good ones.

I spent the last two days in Jogja (aka Yogyakarta) with my friend Uthe, and one of my students Ifan. I decided it might be fun to go with Uthe on Saturday and Sunday because I love Jogja, actually it is probably my favorite city so far. In general it is clean and organized, and genuinely pretty. It also has Malioburo (a street filled with awesome shops and a mall at both ends) which, thought crowded is really good for shopping and batik. Perhaps I will go there again once before Christmas and see what happens ;) . Not to mention that it has a theater and coffee shops. 

Before this trip I had only been to the famous parts of the city, but this time I saw much more of it and still thoroughly enjoyed myself there. We stayed with a Pastor and his wife who are friends with Uthe. He is Batak (one of the tribes of people here) and she is Chinese/Indonesian. They have (I think) a son and a daughter, but their house is quite full due to the fact that the whole worship team lives there, as well as a young mother of two who is having trouble with her husband. I liked them very much and hope to see them again. I also enjoyed my time with the young people, though they spoke little English. We talked a little, played guitar a lot, and just had a good time. One man was named Anton and he spoke mostly with me is he had the best English. He was not handsome, but he had a good head on his shoulders and was kind. There was another one named Johnathan who was extra skinny, had long hair, tattoos and smoked. He was the kind of person I usually don't really talk to, but he was funny and I liked him. He taught me how to play B and Bm on the guitar...which was nice of him...since he taught me in Indonesian and it was a tad confusing... 

You see, this story could use just a little bit of embellishment...

I have been in school for close to a month, and you would not believe the difference it has already made. Just by teaching me words like "but" "for" "left and right" "the other one" "myself" and the like. They were holes that desperately needed filled in. I believe that the next Unit will help with vocabulary (kosakata) and then we can just go on from there. The faster I learn the language the faster I will be able to talk with the students, which is the real goal. To be able to tell stories, to listen to conversations and ideas, to share advice and things like that. I am going to school every day so that I can effectively communicate. My hope is that within the next few months my Indonesian will be good enough that I can preach, pray, or just really get to know them all. When that has been accomplished, I will take the time to really teach them English well, then may we have communication. And it is my wish to teach them to really pray and seek God as well, then will we truly know and understand each other. Right now the trick is to balance my time between writing, prayer, reading, studying, teaching, friends, alone time, spending time with them, practicing guitar, (which I have finally started to learn) practicing piano (which I am working hard to continue to learn) and countless other things. It's no wonder I feel like I never have any time now!