The call to prayer begins at the local mosque at 4 am every morning. It is a recording and hauntingly beautiful and rhythmic. I've decided to get up at 4 am and pray too, following the routine of millions of Muslims here in a country with the largest Muslim population in the world!
After a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal or red rice with papaya, guava and pineapple topped with yogurt or a tad of thick coconut cream, I get dressed in something called smart casual and head out by 6:30 am to walk to school. In ten minutes I have passed the three guard stations, practicing my Bahasa greetings: Selamat Pagi in the morning and Selamat Siang in the afternoon or Selamat Sore after 6pm. I get very enthusiastic responses. My next trick is to ask how are you -Apa Kabar? and when they ask me the same I say Baik, Terima Kasih! And finally, See you again later- Sampai jumpa!
(I have a private lesson every Tuesday by a man named Paul. He charges RP 90,000 an hour. (Divide by 10,000 to get the approximate dollar amount. Services are inexpensive here, but quality Western goods are not!!!)
The air temperature is cooler in the morning and lots of people are at the track exercising as they are also in the evening. The weather is quite agreeable here. Unfortunately, I spend too much time in a/c, but recently I got a few fans for my apartment and use them. My classroom has a/c with no thermostat, as are most of the offices. It is like a freezer. I go outside to warm up. I teach two 90 minute periods of either 6th grade math of science, separated by a period where I am usually in a meeting. Out of the entire week I get only two preps. During these times though you usually go to the campus bank, post office or some other office to sign up for a course or some other administrative task. A stop at the fruit smoothie bar is a must as well. They have so many kinds of fruit to choose from for a price of RP 13,000. The server gave me a small one, which is what I thought I paid for and then in checking my slip he gave me another small one to equal much more than a typical large, which I actually paid for.
At the end of the day we have a 1.5 hour meeting after school twice a week and Thursday mornings there is a Stand up 20 minute meeting at 7 am.The meetings are with all sorts of combinations of people. Just 6th grade teachers, just middle school teachers, just 6th grade math/science teachers, just science or math MS teachers, all teachers in the Cilandak Campus, with counselors...You get the picture. Irt is great to keep the faculty in sight of each other and I'm learning a lot. After school you can sign up for adult classes or lead a club or coach a sport. It is a very busy place. And the number of e-mails you get!!! At least an hour a day just to read them and they are all important, but also usually change at least three times.
It takes me about an hour to recover, and then when I am ready to go home, it starts to pour!! By the time I do get home it is dark and after 6 pm.
At home, the maid has cleaned up and chopped up my dinner so I just throw it in the Wok. I only eat Indonesian dishes. This way I get to learn what all those strange fruits and vegetables are. She also shops for food, otherwise I would never buy any of it. I also learn what to eat by my church friends and students. One Korean student gives me a package of dried seaweed to snack on. It can also be used for sushi. It is very good.
After reading a bit, grading papers or going online or on MagicJack to talk to family I try to go to bed early. It is usually almost 11:00 pm.
Nightlife here is available in clubs and hotels. Mostly expats frequent them. Large grocery stores are open till 10 pm. But banks are from 10-3:00 pm and you can only do certain transactions at certain times, so you better get there in the morning. Expats drink a lot. Every invite I get involves alcohol. It is hard to get though, as the traffic is so bad and it is only sold in Duty Free shops. In restaurants I hear that the quality doesn't match the price (of wine at least).
It is quiet in my apartment, as I am facing the 30 acre school. The views are spectacular from every window as we are one of the few high rises. On the other side it is quiet too, as everyone uses A/C or fans.
This Friday we take the 6th graders on an all day picnic and then the following Thursday through Sunday it is Idul Fitri or the celebration of the end of Ramadan! It is a very difficult thing not to eat or drink for a month between dawn and dusk. There are exceptions, of course. Laborers and breasting feeding moms and children are all exempt.
During this holiday, many Jakartans go home to their village, so it is more congested than usual. I'll be taking a trip to a resort on one of the 1000 islands off Jakarta, 1.5 hours by boat away to dive and hang out on a beach. I'm looking forward to getting out of town!
Pictures of that trip are coming soon, followed by a weeks vacation to one of the most beautiful dive sights in the world and a backpacking trip up a volcano 3 hours away. The streams we cross are running very hot water. Wow! I hope it doesn't downpour like it has been doing lately and unexpectedly , since it is not the rainy season.
Wow, this paints quite an amazing picture of "a day in the life . . ." I don't think I would have the energy to do all that! Especially the part about going to bed at eleven and getting up at four. And I didn't know about the fasting for Ramadan -- it's all fascinating. Thank you for such rich information!
ReplyDeleteHi there, Thanks for sharing. I am thinking about working at the school and wondering what the accommodations for singles are? Did you have access to a pool? Thanks for the contribution
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