A VERY Good Year

When you look back on your life (even if you're just in the middle of it), some years jump out as "amazing" or "blah" for a variety of reasons. Hiking Machu Picchu culminated my high school career and culminated a great year; Moving to Kenya with my new husband was an amazing year; Having my kid diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome was a very bad year; and teaching with Maureen Carpenter has been a professionally brilliant year! The story I will go on to tell you will explain more...

Maureen and I were on the verge of wrapping up our inquiry unit about water. Students were exploring how "Living things need water to survive and people have a responsibility to care for it." It was during our final planning that we realized we hadn't actually gone in-depth about our responsibility to care for water. Then, a shock of brilliance crashed into the room and the 2nd grade water project was born.

Maureen and I returned to class and asked the kids, "How do you get water?" The answer was a variation on, "I walk to the Aqua jug and fill'er up!" To help our students learn empathy for those people who do not have immediate access to water, the 2nd grade students role-played the water journey of people in different countries around the world: Kenyans, Brazilians, Indonesians, Americans, and Europeans. Here's their story...

Kenya: "We walked several kilometers with a heavy backpack. In one hand we carried our water bottle and in the other hand we carried a pillow which was like carrying a baby."

Brazil: "We walked about a kilometer to reach our water source. After filling our water bottles, we had to run back to our classroom due to an unforeseen problem like a war or natural disaster."

Indonesia: "Our water was dirty. We had to filter it, but still, one person in our group died because of a water-borne disease." The sign around his neck says, "I am one of 1.4 million children who die every year because of water-borne illnesses. What are you going to do to help children like me?"

America/Europe: "We were able to drink as much water as we wanted. All day long. 

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To learn about how this project affected their life and inspired two teachers to make a difference. Watch the video.

On April 28th, water on our campus will be a commodity. When people want to fill up their water bottle at our school, they will be required to pay 10,000 Rp. (about $1). All the money will be used to buy a water well in Cambodia. We are seeing change... one child at a time!

This has been a VERY good year!

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breathtaking bali

alanglands' photostream on Flickr.

Back to reality

It's been a whirlwind few months here in Indonesia. Since my parents visit in December/January, we have been in hyper-mode at school so our adventures have been somewhat limited. But with Tricia's visit come-and-gone, it is time to sit back and reflect on our fun before we get back to reality!

It all started a few weeks ago with our Festival of Nations celebration. After weeks of practices and some rather tense moments, my little Belgian-Americans joined the school in a spirited evening. The night started with an international food fair where families toured the school's lobby to taste home-cooked treats from some of the various ethnic groups at our school. My personal favorite was the Indian food booth because it's the only Indian we've been able to find in Surabaya. Anouk was happy at the American dessert table, Rob loved the Indonesia satay cart, and Xavier... well, he was just happy with all of it! Once the food event came to an end, students proceeded through the school by country.

Xavier and Anouk joined the only other Belgian at the school to stand on stage and listen to a snip-it of the national anthem while some interesting facts about the country were shared with the audience. When they cleared the stage, they quickly took off their Belgian shirts and merged with their friends from the USA.


The night culminated with some cultural presentations. The USA presented a tour through the states with a few vignettes--a little top-hat and cane number from New York, a bit of line dancing from West Virginia, and some beach fun in California. Anouk and another 5-year old friend sang a few rockin' verses of John Denver's "Country Roads" while Xavier danced with others in the background. When we got home all wet (from the torrential downpour) and wiped out (from the chaotic week) we sat glued to the TV watching the coverage of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Though the island of Java was briefly on the watch-list, we were far more concerned for our friends and the families of our students who were unaccounted for. We went to sleep knowing our friends were safe.

Our last week before our spring break holiday was hectic (as expected), but Tricia's arrival helped to offset some of the chaos. Late night conversations into the wee hours of the night were somewhat quashed by the 40+ hour journey my dear friend took to arrive here. Poor girl was WIPED OUT! Tricia arrived just in time for our Elementary Assembly which included Xavier's class' choral reading (enhanced by water jug drumming) of the story, Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain. Unfortunately, Anouk was too feverish to perform with her ballet class but was able to receive an award from her teacher. The school day ended with a Javanese shadow puppet show by a 15-year old puppet master. It was amazing until I learned that the shows carry on all evening or for numerous days.

Bali... the real spring break excursion...

Truthfully, I wasn't too excited about going to Bali. Though Bali is high on most people's "must-see" list, I have heard so many expats talk about how Bali used to be and how hectic and touristy it is for enjoyment that I wasn't too thrilled about going. But Rob, using his typically tedious research skills, strategically planned and arranged for a villa rental at a somewhat secluded and small hotel in Sanur (which the guide books call "snore.") He couldn't have made a better choice!

In many ways, Bali surprised me the same way Nairobi did. Just minutes from the airport, I was amazed by the color! God certainly used all the color crayons here! At every nook and cranny, colors abound--from the various greens of the flora, to the stark grey of concrete statuary; from the vibrant hues of the fabrics to the fading colors of flowers and sweets in banana leaf banten (the daily offerings and favors which are believed to bring good karma) on every store's threshold--Bali was bathed in color.

Our drive from the airport, through lush and beautiful, was made more adventurous when I was pulled over at a stoplight. Yup, that's right... I was AT a stoplight and was pulled over for questioning. Since my Bahasa Indonesian is still pathetic, I just pulled out my Indonesian driver's license because I figure that's what he was asking for. Once he saw that, he apologized and directed me to go. (So that's what racial profiling feels like. Hmmm.)

Our first day found us exploring our digs and the 2 pools. It was far warmer and humid in Bali than it is in Surabaya (what a difference a 50-minute flight makes!) Besides swimming, lounging, and finding the best gelato in Sanur, we didn't do much of anything. We kept saying, "we should walk down to the beach." But night fell in Sanur and we never made the 50 meter walk to the ocean. The pool was far too inviting.

Day 2 was a bit of an adventure as we tried to find the Elephant Safari Park in Ubud. Lying in the center of Bali, Ubud is known as the center for art, music, and dance. I have never passed so many art galleries and studios in my life--from painters to sculptors, glass blowers to wood carvers--all art is present in Ubud. Unfortunately,  the back seat of the car held two kids desperate for an elephant adventure so stopping off for a shopping trip was not in the cards this time.

The Elephant Safari Park was gorgeous and more well-maintained than I imagined an Indonesian "safari park" to be. The landscaping was impeccable and natural while also being home to 30+ Sumatran elephants. In an effort to avoid the circus-type show where elephants walk across logs, paint pictures, or do math... we waited for our ride in the lovely open-air restaurant. Being there with Rob and Tricia was great because we were able to reminisce about happy times in Kenya--the similarities are everywhere!

While, Tricia, the kids and I went on our 45-minute elephant safari through the park grounds, Rob stayed firm on earth and played with his new camera (hence the amazing pictures we've added). Climb a few steps to a vantage-point and you notice that you are surrounded by emerald-green rice fields. Our next visit to Bali will have to take us farther inland to the UNESCO World Heritage rice terraces. Until then, we'll have to be satisfied with the amazing landscapes we saw.

From the mouthes of babes: Anouk says, "My elephant was named Boris. He was a boy. He was very fast. I went in the water with my elephant. My elephant was a trickster and pretended he was going to step on poop, but then he stopped and didn't. He even opened the gates so we could go on our adventure. My elephant was a good boy!" Xavier says, "My elephant felt bouncy. My elephant was always hungry and I know because he grumbled. Mama was scared when the elephant went in the water. It was a good day!"

After our animal adventure (specifically tailored for the kids), we decided to quickly throw in a cultural stop for the adults in the group. We stopped at the Tirta Empul Temple. Discovered in AD 963, the water at the Tirta Empul Temple is believed to have magical healing powers. The kids rinsed their hands and faces in the cool water and seemed slightly transformed by the visit--they didn't nag about being ready to get back to the villa! By 5, we were back at our place for another pre-dinner swim. Another day came to a close in beautiful Bali.

On the morning of our last full day, we finally made the short trip to the beach. Though we were all stocked with loot for a day of beach bumming, we were truly BUMMED out when we arrived. The beach was dirty-- a rough, rocky beach, with dried-up seaweed mixed with garbage and streaks of seaweed to wade through before reaching the open-clear water. Hindsight being 20/20... next time we'll arrange a snorkeling trip to one of the nearby Gili islands or out at sea so we can avoid the sad-looking beach.

Our last full day took us to the Hollywood-inspired Pura Tanah Lot. It is one of the most popular temples visited in Bali though we avoided the obligatory sunset viewing. Overly commercialized, the walk up to the temple was annoying through the streets with vendors and hawkers clamoring for our attention. But once our eyes met the crystal blue water, we were at peace again. Though the temple has been staged and (most of it) rebuilt, Pura Tanah Lot is one of the most important water temples for the Balinese. The story is that the sea temples were created in the ocean so they could be seen by the next water temple. This one has some connection to a priest named Majapahit, but I don't know much about it and will have to learn more next time. Unfortunately, the tide was too high so we couldn't walk across to the temple. Instead, we took in the sites, spiritually sipping sodas and water.

It was hard coming home. As we approached Surabaya (about 35 minutes into our flight) the flight attendant told us to buckle-up because we were approaching a storm. Yup, we were back! Surabaya was drenched in a torrential down-pour. The experience of rolling our bags from the departure terminal to the car was a great story in itself, but really requires my animation to tell.

Beautiful Bali is behind us but a return is on the horizon.