Friday, April 29, 2011

Tackling the Togeans

Whoever said "getting there is half the fun" must have made the journey to the Togean islands. Three days of travel were required for me to reach the islands- including three flights (beginning from my site in Sumatra), a very nauseating 6-hour ride in a van, a 4-hour ferry, and finally a private speed boat to our resort. What awaited us was well worth the effort; rugged wilderness, deserted white sand beaches, turquoise waters fading into royal blue, diverse coral reefs, sunsets that looked as though they had been painted, and night skies glittering with stars. We read to our heart's content in seaside hammocks, snorkeled in coves around the island, explored the wilds of the jungle (although "got our butts kicked by the jungle" might be more appropriate), and went to sleep at night to the sound of the waves crashing quite literally outside of our open french doors. While all of this would be enough to make the mouth water of even the most cosmopolitan island-hopper, it was made even more perfect by the company. As our last vacation together in Indonesia I couldn't have asked for more. The friends I have made this year are truly amazing and without them this experience would not have been the same. To the Togeans, and to my friends, without whom this would have been possible...but much less enjoyable.

Since my words can only begin to describe the beauty of the Togean Islands, check out the pictures from my trip.

                   

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Gravity

Six weeks. The realization of this short amount of time is starting to weigh on me, much like my luggage will after I have packed what is left of my life in Indonesia in order to return to the states. The doubts that accompany that realization are also starting to weigh on me. As I listened to some of my students struggle through their verbal mid term exam, questions began filling my head. What could I have done better? How could I have helped them to learn more? O God...have they learned anything!?! It's evident from their willingness to please and their apparent happiness that they enjoy my classes- but have they actually improved their English? Sure, this year has helped me to lengthen my resumes-my professional resume with all of the spare time I have had to volunteer, guest lecture, and speak at various events, not to mention that I get to add "Fulbright Recipient" under scholarships and awards- and my travel resume with all of the time I have spent on vacation- but, have my personal gains contributed to my student's understanding of English?

A few weeks ago I held an English competition at my school- the WORDS competition was started by past ETA's to showcase their student's talents and promote English- and fifteen of my students were brave enough to come out and compete. For most of them it was their first competition and as such their performances were a little rough; but, they still left me beaming like a soccer Mom at her kid's first game. Several of the students who signed up to participate did not come to compete, and a little curious, I asked one of the students what had happened. "There was no information Miss" was the reply I was given. The sinking feeling in my stomach accompanied the realization that I had forgotten two of my students. I distinctly remembered telling this student when and where the competition would be held; but, had she misunderstood me? Obviously. In my obsessive planning of the event I had made the ultimate mistake- I had forgotten my kid's first soccer game, I hadn't even given them a shot at victory. My profound apologies were met with a sweet "it's okay Miss," but I still felt like a horrible teacher.

All I can hope is that after I'm gone my mistakes will be forgotten and I will be immortalized as the beautiful, sometimes crazy teacher from America. I must realize that I am not going to change the world, but that maybe... just maybe I will impact some of my students positively. I must learn to forgive myself and leave the extra baggage of guilt and doubt behind- my luggage will inevitably be heavy enough as it is.

All of the participants minus the winner of the competition, along with Ibu Hadijah and Pak John.

Participants and judges- Lala, the winner (in all white-center), performed traditional story telling.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

ar·chi·pel·a·go

[ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh–noun: a large group or chain of islands: the Malay Archipelago. Indonesia is made up of more than 17,500 islands. 17,500 seems like an impossibly large number- maybe not in terms of the number of times I've heard "hey mister!" while in Indonesia; but, when speaking in terms of land masses, it seems infeasible. On my most recent vacation I witnessed the feasibility of that large number during a ten day tour through Lombok, Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Trawangan, and a plethora of nameless islands in between.Our trip began in Lombok, Bali's less exploited but far more beautiful neighbor. After a much-too-short reunion with some of my favorite ETA's who had been on vacation the previous week, we booked a 5-day boat trip to hunt the infamous Komodo dragon. Our boat, about the size of the S.S. Minnow, was a United Nations of sorts with people from Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, England,  and Sweden among others. Accommodations aboard our luxury liner included a small (6X5) cabin with bunk beds, four shared bathrooms with showers, an indoor dining area, plenty of deck space, three meals a day, snacks, and beer- unfortunately the captain's gala and on board theater were not included. 
The main attractions of this trip were the islands of Komodo and Rinca-and with nothing but a guide wielding a forked stick for protection, we braved the possibility of fatal Komodo bites for a glimpse at these rare dinosaurs. About ten minutes into our trek on Komodo we were stopped in our tracks by a large male sunning in the path. I had seen Komodos on the Discovery channel but that was no preparation for the massive size of this lizard. After time for photos, the guide used his stick to nudge the Komodo out of the way- he retaliated by angrily swinging his powerful tail as he lumbered into the brush. We saw three more dragons that day, two sunning on rocks and one walking along the beach. After stopping in Flores we continued to the island of Rinca, which is also home to Komodos. Unfortunately it was overcast, so while this island looked like a scene from Jurassic Park, the only dinosaurs we saw were those hanging out around the ranger's station lured by the smell of the kitchen. As scavengers Komodos have an innate sense of smell- women on their period are warned against visiting these islands. 
Our five days on the boat were punctuated by snorkeling in the coral reefs, visiting a red sand beach, stopping to explore uninhabited islands, jumping off the boat into clear blue water, and visiting a small village with a turquoise waterfall and rope swing. I swam with graceful turtles, countless fish I can't even name, and even a 4 foot black tip shark! I also faced the possibility of being stranded on an island when I returned to the beach from snorkeling to find everyone else already aboard the boat (Eric claims to have had this under control, but I'm doubtful). Throughout the trip we were never far from land, and we watched the sun rise and set in brilliant orange and pink over uninhabited islands and volcanoes- dark masses looming out of the water at night and picturesque green hillsides during the day. 
When our five-day tour came to an end we headed to the island of Gili Trawangan or Gili T- the largest (4-5 miles around) in a set of three small islands skirting Lombok. Like Lombok, the Gili islands are on the cusp of being the next big thing so resorts and other Western commodities have sprung up all along the coast. Needless to say the last three days of our vacation were spent indulging not only in the white sand beaches and the vibrant waters, but in the Illy cappuccinos, baked goods, sandwiches, Mexican food, artisan beers, and cocktails made with local palm liquor. We were thoroughly spoiled before returning back to the harsh realities of high school. My Picassa web albums contain all of my photos from the trip, so take a look: https://picasaweb.google.com/117936917829784254576/March?authkey=Gv1sRgCIubr9-f4PLm8wE&feat=directlink