6 months in Indonesia

Pool at  Ciputra club

I have now lived in Indonesia for 6 months. I decided since this is my second country overseas instead of blogging about all the little differences I have noticed I would just summarize and put into one post.  I have also made some comparisons between Malaysia and Indonesia.

School-  In Malaysia I taught at a school, using American curriculum, of 70 students (the 2nd year I was there-55 the first) from grades 7-12 with students from 20 different countries. The whole school was only 5 rooms and the second year I was there they brought in a portable building. Although, they are working on building a bigger school with the rapid increase of students. We increased to 9 teachers by the middle of my second year. Plus, the Director of Studies who also taught part time, two secretaries, the owner, a housekeeper and a bus driver. In Indonesia the school is an IB World School using the International Baccalaureate curriculum with PYP, MYP, and DP. They also have the Indonesian program. The school has three buildings and goes from toddler all the way up to year 12 and has 1,100 students total. Most of the students are from Indonesia with a handful of International students. There are about 70 staff members in just the high school alone.

Angkor Wat

Housing accommodations- In Malaysia I was just in a boarding house that was pretty restrictive. No cooking, or people over. I got permission my second year there to do laundry on Saturday.  The first year I had to take my laundry to friend's houses or a dobi (where they do the laundry). There were more rules, but that will give the reader a base for my comparison. In Indonesia I have a house. It is 3 bedrooms and three bathrooms. It is close to the size of my home that I had been living in before I moved overseas. I have a small front and back yard. There is also a washing machine that I can use any time I need to use it. I have a nice, little kitchen that I can with both stove and oven. I also bout a microwave, so I can pretty much cook or bake anything that I can find ingredients for (more on that later). I have a kitchen table and living room so I can have people over, I haven't yet as I have been busy getting settled.

Floating village in Cambodia

Transportation- In Malaysia I used an occasional taxi as they didn't have as many and were harder to get them to pick me up. I had people give me rides most of the time. I also had a lady I hired the second year to drive me to work and back and the occasional errand if I scheduled ahead of time. In Indonesia I have my own vehicle. I can drive myself to and from work, to the Super Mall (which is the end of my comfort zone) and other places around where I live. It is also super easy to get a taxi so when I need to go somewhere on the other side of town it is easy to get a taxi there and back.

In Seoul

Social- This is a larger school that I am working in so there are more employees. In Malaysia my school had two expats. The other expat had lived in Malaysia for 20 some years and was married to a local lady with a family. I did hang out quite a bit with the local teachers. They are all wonderful people and created some amazing experiences and memories for me by all that they invite me to do to learn about Malaysia. There were some other expat families in the town I lived in but most of the women did not work, so many of the activities were done during the day. In Indonesia there are about 15 other expats that work at my school. Plus, just across the field is another International school and not too far down the road is a third International school. I am also still trying to get to know the locals and do things with them. This is a much bigger city so there are more places to eat, movie theaters, malls, shops, etc.

In Seoul

Technology- In Malaysia I had a USB modem that I just plugged into my computer and could use anywhere around town. I was able to pay my monthly bill online with my bank account. In Indonesia I tried a portable wifi but the connection never seemed very good. Plus, it just used a cell phone sim card and I constantly had to run to the nearest mall to top it up. I recently got Internet through the telephone line and wifi. It does seem to work much better.

In Malaysia I didn't have cable television. In Indonesia I have satellite tv.
In Malaysia I had one sim card. I could put three different RM amounts on my phone using the Internet and my bank account and I could use talk for several hours to my parents back home before I had to top up on the Internet. In Indonesia I have a sim card and I have to go to the closest super market or mall and have them top it up or get them to give me a scratch card to put money on my sim card. I have learned to always carry a spare one. I have tried calling back home and will go through a whole Rp100.00 card in 10 minutes. So now I try to use Skype.

Seoul Tower

Help- In Malaysia since I just had a room and bathroom I did all the cleaning myself and once a month the servants would come in for an inspection and clean to make sure everything was up to snuff. In Indonesia, I recently got a pembantu or helper. It was a big adjustment for me. I resisted it for the first six months as it was not something I wanted to do. But as time has gone on I can see how having one can be helpful especially with the language barrier. The lady that I got speaks pretty good English. She is more knowledgeable than I am about where to get things done or how to do things. I think it will make things easier for me and take less time to do certain things. I also learned today how grateful she is to have a job and be making money. So, I am glad I revised my thinking. I still try to make things easy and not create a huge mess for her to clean up or anything like that.

Karanggongso beach

Weather- In Malaysia it was hot and humid all the time. During monsoon season it would rain for days at a time, all day long. In Indonesia it is hotter than Malaysia all the time. Probably because this city is not on the coast. It is not as humid all the time, but during rainy season it is just as humid. It does not rain as much. I might rain for 20 minutes to a couple hours and be done until the next day or the day after. This breeds more mosquitoes instead of getting rid of them.  I definitely get way more bites here. I am trying everything anyone is recommending to keep from getting bit but so far nothing has stopped them. I am worried that at some point I will get dengue, but in the meantime I am still trying to get them to quit biting me.

campsite at Karanggongso beach

Other- For the second time in my life I went camping. The last time I was two years old and it was in the mountains. This time I was on the beach at Karanggongso with students and other teachers for a total of around 70 people. It was an adventure.

I traveled to both Cambodia and South Korea on my two breaks earlier in August and October, respectively.

I went on a tour of East Java that included a botanical garden, tea plantation, Kaliandra and a temple. It was a great way to see some of the other amazing sites outside of the city. I am looking forward to another one this spring. 

I went to my first Sweet 17 birthday party and was amazed. It felt almost like I was on the MTV's show " My Super Sweet 16" only it was in Indonesian.

On East Java Tour

Every break from August 2011- October 2012 I traveled. I loved to travel and I want to make the most of living close to all these countries that I have always wanted to visit. For my Christmas break December 20, 2012- January 14, 2013 but nothing worked out. So for the first time in my life I spent Christmas and New Year's alone without my family. It was tough and I chose not to celebrate them, so I hope that I am not in that position again, but I survived. I didn't do much but relax, sleep, watch movies, read, and run errands. Sometimes it was boring but I had lots of things to think about and it gave me the time to do that.

At Kaliandra

Less people speak English here and more things things are written in Indonesian. It is more challenging in Indonesia to buy things, order at restaurants, etc. Most people in Malaysia spoke English and most things were in English, so it was much easier to buy things, get around and get things done.

At Kaliandra

Both Indonesians and Malaysian are a really wonderful group of people. I am truly glad that I have had the opportunity to live overseas for however long it lasts. I think it has made me a better person. I feel like I was open minded before I moved overseas, but I feel that I am even more open minded now. Media does not always portray the positive aspects of people and places, so I am glad I have seen and experienced many wonderful things and met many wonderful people in both countries.

My trip to Seoul, South Korea

The first week of October was our end of term break. I was going to go by myself. I had wanted my mom to come visit me in Indonesia, but our camp week for school had been moved to after the break so it did not work out since it takes four days to get here and one week would not be enough time. It turned out that it was only a one day journey to Seoul and so my mom was able to meet me there. We had a great time together. I arrived on Sunday September 30th in the morning. My Mom had gotten there the day before so she could adjust a little for the time difference. When I walked into the hotel she was waiting for me downstairs to greet me. When went up to the room and visited awhile before I showered and changed. We ate in the deli at the hotel. Then we took a walk around the block to get some fresh air. My mom was still feeling tired and was feeling the beginning of a cold coming, so we just had dinner in our room that evening.

War Memorial Museum

On Monday we went to the War Memorial Museum. It was a holiday so many places were closed. We really enjoyed learning more about the history of Korea. Mom wasn't feeling well, so after that we caught a cab back to the hotel. I finally found a pharmacy that evening that was open and I was able to get my mom some cold medicine. I was looking for a place to get the passcodes for wifi access since they don't have SIM cards to use in cell phones or Ipads when a person is traveling. I came across this Olleh wifi information when at the museum. The information said that it could be purchased at any of selected stores and I could not find any of those stores that had it.

Changdeokgung Palace (one of the buildings)

On Tuesday Mom didn't feel well in the morning. We went to Changdeokgung Palace and the secret garden. My parents had been recommended this secret garden as incredible by someone that they had talked with. It was ok, but not what we expected. Some of it may be that we saw it in the fall so there were not tons of flowers like the person described. It was also a large group we had to go with as they require that to tour the garden a person goes on a guided tour. We went to Insadong market. There were lots of cool shops and I got some great gifts that I sent home with mom for friends and family. I wanted to also go to Jogyesa temple but somehow missed it. Saw the sign and turned off on correct road and then saw no temple or additional signage. Ate at Bibimbab, one of many restaurants in the mall connected to our hotel, for dinner; they had dishes also listed in English. It was ok. 

Part of Secret Garden

On Wednesday we went to the National Folk Museum of Korea and Gyeongbokgung Palace which was huge and nicer than Tuesday's palace. The National Folk Museum was very interesting. We learned about the culture and people of South Korea. I always enjoy learning about other cultures. It is part of the reason I am living overseas and traveling to other countries. Went back to Insadong. Still couldn't find Jogyesa temple but saw great little shops and galleries and got some gifts.

National Folk Museum

Girls in Traditional costumes taking pictures with Samsung products

Gyeongbokgung Palace (one of the buildings)

On Thursday we went to Myeong- dong area, Myeong-dong Cathedral,  Namdaemun market, and Cheonggyecheon Stream. We weren't really excited about the two markets. There was not anything that we saw that we would buy. Lots of it was very cheap stuff and cheaply made. Nothing was unique to Korea or Seoul.

Myeong-dong Cathedral

 We saw a show - acrobatic at the Seoul Festival. There was a guy from Spain. He had a pole and a four straps going from the pole that he had four guys volunteer to hold tight so that he could do his routine and climb up the pole and do tricks from it. I was interesting to watch. Cheonggyecheon Stream is set down below street level. It is a couple miles long. We walked down most of it but as we got farther along it was the older part and was not in as good of upkeep as the more recent part. There were lots of people that were walking along. There were some people in the river doing some sort of photo shoot. There was a wishing well and two waterfalls. Saw a stage set up for some concert. According to the cab driver it is Psy- Some dude and something about Gangnam style.

Namdaemun market

Cheonggyecheon Stream

A presentation at the base of Seoul Tower

One of many of the scenes at the Teddy Bear museum

Friday was our last day in Seoul. We went to World Jewelry museum. The museum of the jewelry was a lady's private collection that she had collected over the years of jewelry from different people and cultures over several hundred of years. The museum is not really well known. It is not well advertised because it is a private museum, so they cannot do any advertising in government museum. We saw part of Bukchon village as the World Jewelry museum was on the outskirts of the village. Couldn't find Hanbok museum. It was supposed to be outside of the gate of the palace we had seen the day before but since I could not access the Internet I was not able to look up the directions again. Also, went to Seoul Tower and Teddy Bear museum. The Teddy Bear museum has the history of Seoul shown through Teddy Bears. I thought it was a pretty clever way to teach about the history of Seoul and help even get young children interested.

Seoul Tower

 I had to get up early Saturday morning as I had a pretty early flight back. I left my mom in the hotel since her flight was not until early evening. It was a great trip and nice to see her after such a long time since I last saw her.