INDONESIA!

Wow! I can't believe I have already been here for 4 days! I am having a great time. I spent the first day getting to know the kids and the center, and that evening we took the kids to the mall to play in the arcade. I'm a kid all over again! ;-) This was my first time venturing outside the center in jakarta and it was quite an experience. The bus ride we took was filled to the gills, with guitar players and animals, and it never really came to a complete stop when we're getting on or off. That night we brought the kids back, and Prashant (my fun co-director from London) and I went and explored downtown Jakarta, in the Jalan Jaska area. We tried the Indonesia Bintang beer, and walked around a bit. It's a pretty lively city! Sunday is everyone's day off, and we wanted to take the kids to the park nearby, but it poured rain unfortunately... the rainy season is upon us! That night Prashant, Ayu and I went to the grocery store (we took this little taxi-like car, but it was the size of a golf cart and had the appearance of a bus, with one bench seat in the back), to get certain things needed for Ramadan and some soap. Everything is so cheap here i can't believe it. Rini, our cook, feeds all 9 of us at the center 3 meals a day on $5 everyday. Internet at an internet cafe costs 50 cents an hour. A bus ride costs 20 cents. Wow!

Monday was the start of Ramadan, and I fasted (meaning no food or drinks-even water- from dawn to dusk) with the kids just to try it and share the experience with them.We woke up at 3am, and prepared some food, and the kids stayed awake until their 4:30am call to the mosque (at which point I went back to sleep). Fasting wasn't as hard at I thought it would it be.... and Rini fixed a fabulous meal that we all devoured at 6pm. The food Rini makes is incredible, tons of ground chilis, onions, and garlic in everything she makes. I am really enjoying the spicy, flavorful food! Ramadan is special because the kids go to mosque twice a day; once at 4:30 am and once at 7pm, and they have special clothes they wear (the girls wear their full veil dresses, and the boys have long skirts and little hats).

With the onset of Ramadan, Prashant and I were told to take advantage and establish new rules for the center. Apparently their friends have been eating and sleeping here, and using our precious water resources to shower and wash their clothes. So we called a house meeting and laid out the new rules. Additionally, 2 of the boys (age 15, both of them) have only been going to school for 6 months, and for some reason they only currently go to school 3 hours a week. In order to go to junior high they have to pass an entrance exam in October. So we created a mandatory study schedule, whereby Prashant and I would make them study at the center 5 hours a day, 10am-3pm. We started our new schedule yesterday... one of the older boys taught them English for an hour,and then Prashant and I worked on math with them. One of them was really resistant and difficult. And they are both VERY behind. Even the 7 year was teasing them. I enjoyed the math session though, I gave them timed multiplication tests, and then we spent time working out complex multiplication problems.

Anyways, I have to end this blog now to go back and teach again... its time for 11:00 math class!

Hope all is well with everyone! I look forward to hearing from you all!

Love, allie