Have you heard of the app, 1 Second Everyday (1SE)? It lets you compile a video of one-second clips from every day, creating a fun, fast-paced glimpse into your past.
Inspired by some of my fellow ETAs, I jumped on the bandwagon and started adding daily clips. I kept it up for the entire year, and finally finished my Fulbright Year video. Enjoy this glimpse into my daily life in Indonesia!
I spent 19 of the last 21 months living in Indonesia. It was a wild ride from start to finish, but one that I wouldn’t have traded for the world. I also learned a lot… some things serious, others less so… I’ve spent the last month or so developing this list – I hope you enjoy!
Mock-teaching in Bandung
At my favorite cafe, Bottoms Up, with my favorite food, Nasi Ayam Lada Garam… spicy chicken with rice.
I wore this proudly
Vacationing with friends is the best
My kids had lots of questions for Martha about the U.S. government’s feelings towards Muslims and what it would be like if they ever went to America. I was so proud of them for asking those questions.
I’m sure I learned hundreds more things but this is what came to mind. It’s weird to think that I’m back in the States for good now, and can’t jet off to climb an active volcano or stumble upon a deserted beach. But America has many modern conveniences that I am eternally grateful for – hot showers, sinks, clean drinking water, all the Western food, the ability to pass unnoticed wherever I go… I’m grateful to be home but will always miss the beautiful country of Indonesia that I was lucky enough to call home for two years!
The spring is so much better than the fall semester as an ETA. You finally understand how things work at your school, you have routines, you know your students and are much more comfortable in the classroom, and… there are so many great things to look forward to!
My lovely coteachers! Ibu Asni, me, Ibu Sukma, and Ibu Ernida
In the spring, AMINEF hosts an English speech and talent competition in Jakarta called the WORDS Competition. Each ETA hosts their own local competition at their school and then the winner gets to travel with their ETA to Jakarta to compete in the national competition. My weekend in Jakarta with Telsy last year was my favorite memory of the whole year. You can read about last year’s competition at SMAN 5 here and last year’s national competition here!
Telsy and I at last year’s national WORDS Competition
We had our MAN 1 competition on March 3 after weeks of preparation. This year’s theme was “Cicak on the Wall”, a take on the English expression, “fly on the wall.” Students had to write a short speech answering, “If you were a cicak (or fly) on the wall at any point in the past, present, or future, where would you want to be? What room or place would you want to observe?”
(A “cicak” is a house lizard. There are dozens in my house. From Kate: “Sometimes they make little chirping noises…like “eya, eya, eya.” They are very fast but are friendly because they eat mosquitos and ants so we like them. They are as long as finger and green/grey/yellow in color.” Cicaks are everywhere so they were a fun, culturally relevant substitution for a “fly” on the wall 😉
Initially, this theme was a little difficult for my students to understand, but I believed in their creativity. With a few of my classes (the English language track) we worked on brainstorming ideas and topics in class. I had them come up with 9 different potential places and then helped them choose their best three (most creative!) ideas. From there, students wrote further on each topic, describing what they might hear, see, feel, think, smell, etc., there. Then, the student and I chose the best one.
Dilla and Shohibah, my sweet 11th grade girls!
Students brought me drafts of their speeches every day for weeks. It was exhausting but so worth it! I loved helping them work through the drafting process, it’s something most of them have never done before. Teachers usually assign textbook work and so students rarely get the chance to exercise their critical thinking and revision skills.
Elanda and Febby, two students who brought me countless drafts of their speeches 🙂
In addition to the speech, students also had to present a talent. Singing and dancing were favorites among my students. We also had students do magic tricks, taekwondo, and paint a beautiful watercolor. All in 2-3 minutes!
Mitha painting her watercolor…
Mitha’s incredible watercolor! Her speech was about NASA so she painted this (in three minutes!!!)
Misra reading her speech before doing Taekwondo
Irfan doing magic tricks!
In addition to helping my students prepare their speeches and talents, I also had to design and get a banner printed (which ended up being the biggest banner I have ever seen in my life), prepare score sheets for the judges, design and print certificates for all the students, prepare prizes, and organize photographers and videographers… It was a busy week leading up to the competition!
Tell me this isn’t the coolest banner you’ve ever seen 😀
My students being interviewed before the competition began…
The competition went off almost without a hitch! The only issue was the hour long mati lampu (black out) that started just as we were going to begin. Of course… Luckily, it only lasted an hour and everyone was patient. Shelby even led all the students in a round of the “peel the banana” song and dance while we were waiting 😀
Finally, the competition began. The topics of the speeches ran the gamut from wanting to be a “cicak on the wall” in an alien spaceship, to Heaven, to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, to her parent’s shoe store, to Edison’s workshop as he made the first lightbulb, and on and on…
My kids were fantastic! I was so incredibly proud of them! Most left the stage with gigantic smiles on their faces, so proud of what they had just accomplished. Many of the students had never given a speech in English before and they were so proud of themselves! A few left the stage in happy, relieved tears. They had been so nervous that once it was all over, their emotions just came out in the form of adorable tears. I was ready at the bottom of the stairs for each one – with a hug or a high-five.
Sweet Redita in tears after she finished <3
I had three lovely judges for my competition – my sitemates Kate and Shelby as well as my Bahasa tutor and friend, Yuni. I was grateful I didn’t have to be a judge because I don’t know how I would have chosen a winner!
Much thanks to my fabulous judges! <3
When all 19 students had finished, the judges huddled together and decided on the first, second and third place winners. I contributed my opinions for a few superlative awards (best talent, most improved, best pronunciation, etc) and then it was time for the announcement. As I called students up for the superlative awards they were so excited that I could hardly take it. My kiddos had worked so hard for this and it had paid off in a great competition.
Our third place finalist was Fadillah, who wrote a touching speech about wanting to be a cicak on the wall in the hosptial when her dad was sick and passed away. She beautifully sang, “Flashlight” as her talent, to round off an extremely touching performance.
Dilla, 3rd place
Our second place finalist was Syerin (pronounced Sharon), who wrote an excellent speech on wanting to be a super cicak in a voting booth. He wanted to gather an army of super cicaks to influence the hearts and enlighten the voters to who would be best to lead the Indonesian nation.
Syerin, 2nd place
And our winner was Elanda, an 11th grader who wrote an inspiring speech on the Indonesian heroine, Kartini. During Dutch colonialism, Kartini was taken out of school and secluded in her home, following traditional Javanese nobility customs. Kartini wanted to continue learning so taught herself at home and corresponded with Dutch friends. After her marriage, she built a school for girls before dying in childbirth. Kartini is remembered today for her passion for women’s rights and education. Elanda, as a cicak, wanted to go to the past to be in Kartini’s room and observe her as she wrote letters and educated herself. Elanda had put in a lot of work and her speech was well-thought out and passionate. It was a no-brainer for the judges as to the winner 🙂
She wrapped me in a huge hug when I called her name as the winner <3
Elanda, 1st place <3
Elanda and I head to Jakarta in just two and a half weeks! I can’t wait to show her around the big city (she has never been to Jakarta!) and treat her to a week like she’s never had before 😀
A month later and I’m finally about writing the second half of my Vietnam adventures. January and February were busy months with our Mid-Year Enrichment Conference and then getting back into the swing of things at school after six weeks off. It felt like the second semester was starting off at 110% – there was so much to be done and to prepare for this semester (WORDS, YES Scholarship, etc). Then, add in a new American President and you have me spending a majority of my free time reading the news…Today is election day in Indonesia so it’s a holiday! (Take note, America.) This means I have a blissfully free Wednesday to sleep in and do as I please. Aka finally writing a blog post.
I left off the last post in Hue on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, we packed up and headed to Hoi An, via motorbikes! It’s (theoretically) about a half day journey by motorbike from Hue to Hoi An and we had heard fantastic things about the trip.
We stopped at a number of places throughout the trip – submerged rice fields in the countryside outside of Hue, an incredible cemetery, a beautiful lagoon, a waterfall, and the Hai Van Pass, which takes you along the ocean and over the mountains and is absolutely beautiful. A flat tire, running out of gas, and losing Daniel turned our trip into a longer day than it should have but I can’t recommend this trip highly enough! It was SO COOL!
Submerged rice paddies
These resting places, in An Banh village, are incredibly beautiful. Plots like this stretch one after the next, for as far as the eye can see.
The average family spends $70,000 to $100,000+ on these grave sites… um WHAT?
I’m sure I wasn’t supposed to climb on the dragon and ride it in a cemetery but when else can you ride a $20,000 dragon?
The view from our lunch pit stop… jaw-dropping
Along the Hai Van Pass
Travel Buddies!
The view coming down the other side of the pass. The city of Da Nang is in the distance.
Then we spent three nights in Hoi An, a charming little town known for its tailors and lanterns. It’s a tourist trap but I loved it after living in far-off Indonesian places for so long. Unfortunately, on our second night there, we got food poisoning and became horrendously sick. We spent the next day in bed, hardly able to move, and cursing the food gods. We were looking forward to spending a day at the beach that day but alas, that didn’t happen.
Best breakfast spot in town
Exchanged Christmas presents <3
Lanterns for sale in the market
The famous Japanese-covered Bridge
The next day, we hauled ourselves out of our sick beds and made our way to the airport. We were much better by then but still a bit queasy. By the time we arrived in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), we were feeling better and up for a night on the town. We stayed at the COOLEST hostel – The Common Room Project – and luxuriated in the down comforters, beautiful bathrooms, and incredible rooftop. It’s a little out of the way from the Backpacker District but if you are wiling to take cabs to and from wherever you are, it’s 100% worth it. Seriously, this place was amazing.
Photo from The Common Room Project website because I was too busy enjoying the place to take a picture
The shared kitchen <3
View from the rooftop patio
We stuffed ourselves with pho, got drinks at the fancy Skybar in the tallest skyscraper in the city, fell in love with a dozen puppies, soberly made our way through the Vietnam War Museum, and went on a food tour with local university students. On New Year’s Day we went on a tour to the Chu Chi Tunnels, about two hours outside of Saigon. While the whole thing was way too touristy, it was still neat to see and I’m glad we went. We spent the rest of New Year’s Eve bar-hopping with some of our other ETA friends! On New Year’s Day, we said goodbye to Daniel, and Kate and I headed back to Kendari.
Pho from the gods <3
At the Bitexco Tower fancy-schmancy bar
Falling in love with puppies. Look at his little face!
$50 and he could have been mine… gahhh I should have bought him!
Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon
Chu Chi Tunnels where the Viet Minh guerrilla hid during the Vietnam war
We got to crawl through one of the tunnels! It was a tight squeeze!
New Year’s in Saigon – looking down on the streets from a rooftop bar
We had to spend a night in Kuala Lumpur before getting back to Kendari so we decided to book a hostel in the city so we could see the Petronas Towers. Damn they are incredible. We stumbled upon a food truck park at midnight and devoured some pizza before crashing back at our hostel for the night. We woke up at the crack of dawn and headed back to the airport to catch our flight to Jakarta, then to Makassar, and finally back to Kendari. Of course, when we got back to Kendari we discovered that our bags hadn’t made the flight and were still in Makassar. Thankfully, Kate’s landlord (and our ride) was there to help us sort things out and our bags were finally delivered the next morning.
Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Because in Asia, you gotta have a selfie!
Books to read before going to Vietnam
I read a number of books about Vietnam before we went. I wanted to know more about the history, in particular about America’s role during the Vietnam War, but also about the history of French colonialism and Vietnamese culture. I searched around on a couple of websites and found these recommended books so I bought the kindle versions and read them in December and throughout the trip! These books were especially interesting to read as they all took place in the cities we were traveling to. Now, having been there, I can picture what it must have looked like and the references to different locations (Old Quarter vs the French Quarter in Hanoi) mean so much more. Here are my selections:
On December 19th, I packed up my bags, headed to the airport, and boarded my first of four flights to Hanoi, Vietnam! It took us about 24 hours, including an eight hour overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur, to get there. 24 hours! I could have flown back to the States in that time! This goes to show how far Kendari is from anything… it took us half a day just to get back to Jakarta…Over the course of 2 weeks, we traveled to five different places in Vietnam, going from North to South: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
I traveled with my friends, Kate, Caroline, and Daniel – all my fellow ETAs in Indonesia. We also ran into five other ETAs throughout our travel, who had similar vacation plans 🙂 Besides Kate, my sitemate, I haven’t seen the other ETAs since orientation, back in September, so this was an exciting chance to catch up with everyone.
Daniel, Kate, me, and Caroline ~ on a rainy morning in Hue
Our first stop was Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and the second largest city. Kate and I spent our first day exploring and eating Vietnamese food as we waited for Daniel to arrive later that night. Our second day was spent shopping, visiting museums, making arrangements for the rest of our trip, and finding Caroline later that evening.
Bon Ca ~ a Hanoi speciality. It’s essentially a make your own soup? They give you everything individually and then you add it all together in your bowl, and continue adding until you are stuffed!
In the middle of Hanoi is a small lake. There is a temple in the middle and it is located in the Old and French Quarters so surrounded by coffee shops, famous sites, and tourists.
Vietnamese coffee… incredible. How did I never know about this? It’s like an espresso shot (a little more) on top of a little bit of condensed milk. Stir it all together and you have a delicious coffee!
The Old Quarter of Hanoi is full of shops selling anything you could need. And in addition to the shops, are dozens of bicycles overflowing with goods, like this man’s flowers.
This narrow alley is famous for the train that runs through it twice a day. Apparently, you have to flatten yourself against the wall of one of these houses when the train comes! We tried to catch the train but after 30 minutes or so, we gave up and went home for a well-deserved nap.
We finished our time in Hanoi eating incredible Indian food. Yes, I know we were in Vietnam and should be eating Vietnamese… but we’ve gone too long without some of our favorites, and it was time to splurge 🙂
After two days in Hanoi, we packed up and jumped on a tour bus to Ha Long Bay. Four hours later, we could see the ocean and massive rocks jutting out of the water – we had arrived. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the “New Seven Natural Wonders of the World”, Ha Long Bay is a breathless site.
We spent two days and one night on an old pirate ship exploring the Bay. We kayaked, ate, drank, played, jumped off the boat, and ultimately spent a lot of time sitting in wonder gazing at the beauty surrounding us.
Our pirate ship
Kate and Caroline on their kayak!
Sunset from the boat
Swimming in the Bay
After a four hour bus ride back to Hanoi, we had an hour to kill before boarding our 12-hour overnight bus to Hue. Yes, 16 out of 17 hours on a bus. Could have planned that better but oh well… we survived 🙂
Sleeper buses aren’t so bad when you have a whole bed/seat to stretch out on!
We arrived in Hue in the morning, checked in to our hotel, and decided to wander the city and explore the Imperial Citadel. After exploring the palace and grounds, we met up with our friend Jukie to wander the market, and then went home and took a well-needed nap and finally met up again for a Christmas Eve dinner!
Hallways of the 1800 palace
The grounds of the Imperial City
Drinks on a rooftop bar for Christmas Eve
In an effort not to make extraordinarily long posts, you can find the second half of our Vietnam trip (including a motorcycle tour through the countryside, food poisoning, and New Year’s Eve festivities) in the next post… 🙂
Merry Christmas Everyone!
It’s December 18th and I’m packing and cleaning my house before I leave for Vietnam tomorrow. I am super excited for our trip – I haven’t left Kendari since we arrived after orientation in September and I’m itching to travel! We’ve spent the last several weeks planning our trip – we’ll start in the north in Hanoi and make our way south to Ho Chi Minh City over the course of two weeks. We’ve booked our hostels and flights and looked up fun things to do in each of the four cities will be in but other than that, we’re planning to take each day as it comes! I’ll be traveling with Kate (my sitemate) and Caroline and Daniel, two fellow ETAs. There will also be a number of our other ETA friends in Vietnam so we hoping to see them along the way, too.
I can’t wait to be in a place with lots of holiday spirit, Western and Vietnamese food, and hot showers. You have no idea how excited I am for a hot shower after four months of pouring buckets of cold water over my head and calling that a shower…. (I’m not exaggerating in the slightest).
But before we get ready to enter 2017 I want to look back at 2016. Who would have thought I’d still be in Indonesia, still rooming with cockroaches and giant spiders, still eating rice for a majority of my meals, and still have no idea what I want to do with my life…?
2016 Year in Review
January: highlights included the Fulbright mid-year conference in Jakarta, finally getting to see the other ETAs after four months in our respective cities; and traveling to Ko Tao, Thailand and getting scuba certified!
February: finally got into a teaching routine after months of evacuations and joined my kids in a crazy mud-filled scout camp.
March: hosted our SMAN 5 WORDS Competition, spent a beautiful week in Bali, and officially decided to return for a second year!
April: Hung out with orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park and spent a week in Jakarta with my student, Telsy, for the National WORDS competition.
May: welcomed Spencer to Palangkaraya, said a tearful goodbye, and began our Indonesia adventure heading to Nusa Lembongan and Flores/Komodo National Park.
June: Finished our Indo tour in Ubud and Jogja and came home to the USA! Did a whirlwind trip from Seattle to DC to St. Louis and back to Seattle.
July: Enjoyed time with my family, played a lot of golf, attended a lecture by Malala, and worked my ass off to finish the 1 million step challenge (success!)
August: Returned to Indonesia, spent a few weeks in Jakarta working with AMINEF, visited my kiddos in Palangkaraya, and finally went to Kendari for the first time!
September: Attended orientation in Bandung, settled in to my new home in Kendari, and started the crazy BBG workout.
October: Explored my new city and settled into a teaching routine.
November: Visited Moramo waterfall, despaired over Trump’s election, celebrated Thanksgiving three times, and shed pounds doing Kayla’s BBG workout.
December: Chilled with no school for 2.5 weeks and headed to Vietnam!
Books of 2016
I read a lot (29 on #30!) of books in 2016… I enjoyed almost all! Here is my list with the starred ones as my favorites:
If you have any highlights from your 2016 book list, let me know – I always love book recommendations!
Game-changers
What have I acquired or done in 2016 that changed my year for the better? Here’s my list!
Left: June 2nd, 2016 Right: December 18, 2016. All due to three months of BBG.
I find myself entering 2017 with the same career questions and future unknowns as I did last year… but I’m not worried about it, rather, I’m excited to get going on the job search post-vietnam and to know where and what I’ll be doing come June!
2016 has been year full of meeting new people, making new friends, and exploring so many new places. I’m incredibly blessed to get to travel as much as I do and to see so much of the world and I’m excited for one more journey in 2016… to Vietnam!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
