Cora and I went to the open market yesterday; in the mornings the market is larger and has fresh fruits, veggies, meat, and fish. I found the experience to be exhilarating and at time overwhelmingly different from my own shopping experiences back home. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
We had an opportunity to meet with the faculty today and explain a little bit about the American education system and to answer questions. It was very educational and interactive. The Indonesian teachers had a lot of questions about what education is like in the States. They also had some misconceptions about education that we were able to clear up. One thing that Cora and I noticed was that they do not have professional learning communities where they can collaborate and work together. This is something that some of them are very interested. I was particularly touched by Yuli who is a history teacher like me...she is passionate about her job and wants to network together in the future so that she can learn more effective student engagement strategies. The main method of classroom instruction is lecturing in Indonesia. It is clear to see that just like in America educators chose teaching not for the money, but because of their passion for teaching and desire to make a difference.
After meeting with the teachers Sri arranged for us to go into the jungle! Cora, my awesome colleague from Oklahoma, is a biology teacher and wanted to experience everything natural! So off we went. I sprayed myself down with an additional amount of mosquito repellant, borrowed some socks from Cora, and we were off. I have included photos of the adventure. The jungle or forest as Sri calls it was not too scary although I did manage to see a walking leech! True story!
This experience has truly altered the lens in which I see the world...
Looks like you're having a wonderful time! See you soon!
ReplyDeleteI'm inspired.
ReplyDeleteFabulous! Love the socks with sandals in particular :). XO, Jenn
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