I am definitely starting to get the hang of my new Jakarta lifestyle... the showers that consist of pouring water over my head with a bucket. The toilet that's a toilet seat on the ground. Bahasa Indonesia language (I can count to 10... sahtu, dua, tiga.... I can also say greetings, and I've become fairly knowledgeable of math terms from teaching math tutorial everyday!) The random thundershowers. The incredible amount of motorcycles on the roads (they outnumber cars at least 2 to 1). My mosquito bed netting. Indonesian rupiah ($1 equals about $10,000 rupiah.... it always throws me for a loop.) The chili paste and white rice that's in every meal. 

Our cook/cleaner staff woman, Rini, is getting married tomorrow, so she has left us to fend for ourselves! The kids have been great and have been doing her chores in her absence. I went with Ayu to the market yesterday to buy our food for the evening meal, and it was a fun experience. The local market is filled with tile stalls selling everything from clothes to food, with cats and kids running around, and we went from stall to stall buying our veggies, tofu, eggs and spices. Everyone is super friendly to me, and they always smile and ask me what my name is. I havn't had a chance to help out in the kitchen, to cook, but Ayu and Ade have done an excellent job cooking the meals while Rini's been gone. Last night they made this great curry, and tonight they made a spinach dish to go over rice, and made a ground chili paste to go with it (we were all sweating...it was SO spicy!) They made fried bananas for dessert. Yum!

Ramadan is fun, because its the only time in the year where we all sit and eat dinner together. (Normally food is just prepared and then kept for us to eat whenever we want throughout the day. ) We all sit on the floor of our house together every evening at 6 and the kids break their fast with mini prayers and a drink made of water and flavored syrup. (They make ice for this drink by filling little plastic bags with water every morning and freezing it!) It's nice.

One of the kids' favorite treats is smoothies (really more like juice) from this smoothie stand on the main road near our house. The stand is covered in different types of fruits, and you pick 2 and the vendor cuts them open and puts them in a blender. SOOO good, and only about 60 cents. I had a dragonfruit-guava one tonight. I plan on trying all possible flavors! (The chicken satay stand is the next vendor over... I'll have to try that soon, too!)

Prashant and I are working on developing an efficient and sustainable school program. Classes have been held here in the past, but it's been pretty unorganized so far. Things we must do include teacher recruitment, student recruitment (we go out to the slums and post fliers), curriculum development, and class scheduling. We worked on the class schedule today, and worked it out so students come to class for English, math, and computer class for 6 hours per week. We will also offer extra-curricular activities like acting, sports, and debate as fun clubs on the side. I am really excited! 

Many of you donated used clothes for me to bring here- thank you so much! I gave them to the boys tonight and they were so happy. It was so cute to watch them trying on everything and trade clothes. They take such pride in their things, and after thanking me for the clothes, they folded them super neatly in piles and put them in their rooms. 

I am off to sleep! Good night! Selamat malam!

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

PS

Hey, I forgot to mention you can check out the Jakarta center's website at http://www.ihfonline/locations/jakarta.php

I am 14 hours ahead of ya'll in California!

xox

Arriving in Jakarta!

I made it to Indonesia... what a long journey it was! I had a 13 hour flight to Taipai and then a 5 hour flight to Jakarta. I arrived on Friday afternoon, and was desperately hoping someone would be there to meet me. Of course they were! A young girl named Ayu had a sign with my name on it, and she was with the co-director of the Jakarta center, a guy named Prashant. We took a bus back to the center (about an hour ride, through the slums and various districts of the city). 

So I was originally supposed to work in the Banda Aceh center, which is the super conservative/Muslim center on the northern tip of the Sumatra island. Right before I left for Indonesia, I got some emails saying I may be relocated to the Jakarta center, since the need for me was greater there. I was fine either way.... although they'd be radically different experiences. Banda Aceh is in a pristine beautiful coastline, and the focus is on the 10 kids who live at the orphanage. But because the area is the most Islamic of all of Indonesia the rules are pretty strict (ie headscarves and no drinking). The Jakarta center is in the midst of a huge third world city, with tons of pollution and slums. The focus at this center is the schooling program, since only 6 kids live at the center, yet hundreds of kids from the slums come through for math/English/computer classes. I think the Jakarta experience is more aligned with my original goals of living and experiencing a developing country.... I guess I'll see in the next couple days what is in store for me!

Anyways, the Jakarta center is a big renovated house in a residential area. It has a big patio (gated of course) lining the street (there is paid security at night). Entering the front door, you walk into a big open room, on the left is the math classroom, and on the right is the computer room (about 10 computers are in there... although half don't work or are super sketchy). The computer room is adjacent to the boys' quarters. Downstairs also has the kitchen. Upstairs is the English lesson area, and the girls' quarters. I am currently living in a room with a bunk bed by myself.  The house is light and airy, although a little rundown. It could use some maintenance, and some new decorations!

I have met the 6 kids who live here... Nia, Ade, Oting, Joko, Mail, and Ayu, ranging in age from 7 to 17. Apparently they all have homes and families, but can't live there for whatever reasons (I guess because of disfunctional relationships). There is also a young Indonesian woman who cooks and cleans (Rini is her name, probably only 18 or so). The kids are pretty self-sufficient, they wake up at 5 am for prayer, get themselves dressed and to school (Prashant gives them money for bus transportation) and when they come home they just hang out with their friends, until 10pm bedtime. Their friends are always hanging out, which is fun, because it creates an atmosphere of like a youth center. Last night there was probably 12 kids hanging out, playing Monopoly, watching TV, and playing guitar/ drumsets (some of the kids are SO musical!) Prashant gives money to Rini each day to buy food with (she gets up early and goes to the market) and she makes a lot of food and leaves it out for us and the kids to eat whenever we want. Sundays are the days in which we all hang out together (like a family, aw) and go on trips. It sounds like last week they went to a public swimming pool, and this week we are going to a park. Prashant wants to go find a beach as a future Sunday outing... sounds great!

So it seems like Prashant and I are just here to oversee the kids, and to really focus on the center's education component. From what I gather, there have never been directors before, and so nothing is organized. Volunteers in the past would come and go and pass on info to one another, so there was no real continuity. The school stuff is a mess. There is no solid curriculum, no consistent teachers, and no system for student enrollment. That is what Prashant and I will be working on primarily, as well as creating manuals/instructions for future staff. We have plenty of time to work on it though, because our center has no classes during the month of September to honor Ramadan. So we have a month to sort things out and set up a basic system. There is a third co-director flying in next week, named Sarah who's from San Diego. So with 3 of us we should fly through this organizational mess!

Okay that's my update for now! Love and miss you all! I look forward to your emails (and blog comments, I guess, lol? This blog thing is totally new to me!)

Love, allie