And the winner is...

Surabaya, Indonesia.

Surabaya is the capital city of East Java and the 2nd largest city in Indonesia. It is known as the "City of Heroes" because of it's importance during the Indonesian National Revolution from the Netherlands in 1945.

We are really excited about this opportunity for a variety of reasons... here are some of the perks to life in Indonesia:

• Rob will get to work in a 1-1 laptop integration program. (All students in grades 6-12 get a school laptop to use in their wireless school.)
• Angela will get to teach grade 2 or 3.
• Xavier and Anouk will spend 1/2 of their PE classes in the school's Olympic-size swimming pool.
• The school facility is new, modern, and spacious.
• We'll get a house with a garden, grass, and trees (maybe even a house with a pool!).
• The kids can get a dog.
• We'll be a 50 minute flight from Bali.

Surabaya will be a great place for our family. There's a nice work hard, play hard attitude at the school and this is a welcome change for all of us. We will be in a culturally stimulating environment living on one of Indonesia's 17,500 islands. Yes, we'll remain in a Muslim country, but we'll be living in a place that's also been inspired by Indian culture as well as the Buddhist and Hindu religions. We'll have the opportunity to see fabulous new art, culture, landscapes, and animal life: volcanoes, rain forests, orangutans, tigers, and Komodo dragons, just to name a few.

We're considering a Spring Break trip out there to scope, begin our orientation, and help the kids begin our transition. We shall see what the purse strings can swing!

We're very excited and hope you'll come to visit!