Posh Corps...

For those of you who doubted that I have been doing anything productive for the last 2 1/2 months...

Julie, Prez Kennedy and I!

Kenalkan. Nama saya Sarah. Saya beresal dari Amerika Serikat. Umur saya 23 tahun. Sekarang saya tinggal di Indonesia. Saya sudah tinggal di Indonesia selama 11 minggu. Saya belajar Bahasa Indonesia selama 6 minggu, dan Basa Jawa selama 1 minggu saja. Tetapi, kemarmin saya bertimu Rois, dan dia akan mengajar saya lebih banyak Basa Jawa! Saya senang sekali dengan keluargan baru saya di Mojoagung, dan semua guru-guru di sekolah saya ramah sekali. Saya harap bahwa saya bisa melakukan hal-hal baik selama 2 tahun!

Not perfect, but then again what is!

Haha! So here's some info on what's been up in my life the past week.

Last week I spent most of my time with other volunteers and the cultural facilitators, and yes, I may have been slightly freaking out that in a mere few days I was going to be on my own for the first time basically ever. On Thursday I met my principal, Pak S, who came for the principal conference.

My principal and I!

I was FREAKING out that morning. This was some sort of weird like blind date...meeting my boss for the first time. Was he the one who advocated having me at his school, or someone else? What if his is indifferent? What if he doesn't like me? What if we can understand a darn word the other is saying? AHHHH!

Fortunately, his is a very kind man who knows his stuff! After spending time on Thursday with him and driving to site on Friday with him (though thankfully another volunteer and his principal were in the car, too, to help foster conversation!), it was clear that he wanted me at his school and is going to help a whole bunch! His happiness is also apparently contingent on mine:

Kalau anda baik-baik saya senang, sebaiknya bila anda tidak baik saya jadi sedih.

If you are doing well then I am happy, but if you say that you are not doing well, I am sad.

Yikes!

Anyways, on Thursday I had a goodbye party with my host family, complete with donuts and pictures. It took all I had not to burst into hysterical laughter when my family decided the best photo of Bu Mul and I to take together would obviously be us lying on the living room mattress together. When stuff like this happens, sometimes I wonder how my friends think I am the crazy one!

Friday we finally became volunteers and has a beautiful closing ceremony. Everyone wore batik and looked amazing! The ceremony was quick: some greetings by important people, including the US Ambassador for Indonesia, Scot Marciel. A speech in Bahasa Indonesia by two other volunteers...very impressive! The Indonesian and American national anthem. And reciting the 10 Peace Corps Core Values in Bahasa Indonesia. After the ceremony, Ambassador swore us in with the same oath that all federal employees take, including, more or less the same, presidents!

Then came my hysterical crying as I freaked out even more than before that I was about to be alone. Oh my gosh. It was funny to see the volunteers like me who had tears, and then those who were like, "Oh brother. See you in three months anyways!" Well, we are who we are! And for the record, my host family cried, too, including my brother. But it was more like a few tears as our principals threw our stuff in the car and were like, "Let's go!" whisking us away to some remote location...

Which brings me to my new family! I was a little nervous upon arriving, but no big deal, just like 6 teachers to meet me, my host parents, and a slew of siblings! That is obviously an exaggeration! It was totally a big deal! Meeting your coworkers and family for the first time means you have to impress. Luckily, in words that Kelsea always uses, I was lookin' fabulous. While I will discuss more later about my struggle to come to terms with how posh  Peace Corps Indonesia is, at this moment I was glad to be looking good and having all the cosmetics I needed to do so!

Ido and I!

 It took me about 3 days, but now I can recognize who is in my family, who is extended family, and who is a teacher. Does that mean I know people's names? Absolutely not! The teachers think it's hilarious that I have a running list of who they are, what they teach, and maybe one fact about them. Such as Pak F: teaches religion and is responsible for the sign. See below.

Olah, what a big photo!

There are few times in my life when I have been truly embarrassed. The first is when Samantha took our cardboard cutout of Edward from Twilight, put a big sign on him that said, "Sarah Prather, I hate you for making me want you so much," and proceeded to put this on the balcony of the biggest common meeting place at Carleton. Thank you for that, Samantha.

Yes, I used your full name. You know what that means.

Anyways, this sign was the second time I have been totally embarrassed. I know that my school was trying to welcome me, but a huge sign of my big, white face? Olah.

My family is great. They are well-respected in the community and pretty, well, rich. My house is yet another mansion (who would have thought I'd live in two in my lifetime!).

Which brings me to the big discussion about what the Peace Corps means. I am not going to hide that I joined the Peace Corps still chasing the romantic idea of being in the middle of nowhere with no modern-day amenities. Instead, this is my house...

My new room! Don't worry, PC, the mosquito has since been put up!

The facade of my rumah!

The parlor upstairs

My fancy hallway

Kamar Mandi!

I know. Not quite a hut in rural nowhere. And my counterparts all speak English pretty well. And my school is beautifully kept. And the teachers have computers, internet, etc.

So what is my role here?

I do not doubt that there is something I can bring to the community, but my selfishness leaves me asking, what about the hardships and stripping away of comforts I wanted the Peace Corps to bring?

Maybe I'm jumping the gun when I say that I don't foresee some of these hardships happening, and anyway, why do I desire these hardships? Actually, my Peace Corps friend and I were having an interesting discussion about hardships. He was telling me about a class of his on Muslim and Christian martyrdom at Brown University, and he commented that the Christian idea of martyrdom can be manifest in many different ways. This includes how monks began to live in remote locations without the best amenities. It was considered giving up worldly things and struggling in order to be closer to God. I wonder if that is what I sought when signing up for the Peace Corps, in addition to wanting to serve in educational development. Huh.

 On a positive note, I think that I am going to fit into my family and staff nicely! So far all th teachers are really nice, want to hang out with me and just talk, and are very conscious of making sure I feel at home. I am so impressed that so many teachers and my host family have asked me about whether or not I was able to go to church. Everyone wants to help me find one to go to. There are three to choose from, and I will begin checking them out next weekend. About a 15 minute drive, and on Saturday night, so I'm not sure exactly yet how I'll get there because biking at night may not be my first choice. I will have to befriend a parishioner with a car!

My host family consists of A'ang and his wife, Nurul, and their son, Adira (2). They are in their mid-20s and Nurul and I are already becoming good friends. She really wants to improve her English and is very brave to constantly try! Udik (24), Iqbal (20) and Fahri (13) are my other host brothers, and Fitriah (15) is my host sister. Ibu and Bapak are in their mid 40s and early 50s, respectfully. Everyone is very excited to hang out with me, learn about American culture, and help me learn Basa Jawa. I am definitely going to take advantage of Peace Corps' offer to pay for a tutor for the first year of my service. To see people's delight when they hear me try to speak is encouragement enough to continue to learn. I don't know if it is surprise that a white lady can speak their language(s) or happiness that someone like me cares so much about the people here that I want to learn their language, but I am happy to be that-white-lady-with-the-ridiculously-large-picture-in-front-of-school-who-is-learning-Javanese!!!

Myself with 3 of the teachers, Bu Ifa, Bu Tatik and Bu Lilik (one of my counterparts!)

Like Vanna White in the library!

The library!

The B-ball court and the library in the background (the white building!)

The volleyball court in front