One component of the id page is a list of “three things I like.” A male student wrote “praying to God.” Okay. But once he wrote that, the head teacher came over to me and asked if it was appropriate! In a place where all students have a full week of Ramadan religious education in place of normal classes, a Mushollah in a conspicuous, central area of the school, and a group prayer at the end of every class or school day, the teacher asks me whether the boy’s “like” is appropriate! I was a little thrown by the unintentional irony here. Also with these id pages, several students wrote that they did not like "drugs" or "smoking." With a huge statue in front of the school that depicts a giant hand clutching a lit cigarette and a sign above reading "No Drugs! No Smoking!," I can't say that I'm surprised, but I am a little shocked by how easy it is to brainwash these high school students.
On the light side, I tried “es degan” today. It’s young coconut flesh on ice with coconut water and loads of sugar. Absolutely delicious. And I’m now the proud owner of a kilogram of jambu. The food choices are never-ending here, that is, once you realize that nasi goreng is not the only meal in Indonesia.
I took my first spinning class today at the bule-centric gym. I loved it, and especially how ridiculous it is that one of my Indonesian “firsts” is something that was invented and popularized by an American.
The other day as I was walking around my area of the city and getting pretty lost, a young guy in a group of friends asked me "Can I kiss you?" Ha! The funniest thing is he probably heard it on a movie or tv show and was just repeating it back to me. Speaking of naughty English, yesterday one of my students said aloud to his friend (both boys) "Please kiss my ass" in as robotic voice as you can imagine. I had to chastise him a little bit, but it was obvious to all that I found it really funny. Whoopsie.
In other news, little Mau is loving her new life as a housecat. I keep meaning to post pictures. ! I even had confirmation by an outside source that she's a cute kitty. Last night I walked into the kitchen and found her looking rather guilty in front of something that looked like a really large animal turd. Well, after I looked more closely, I realized that it was a filthy, dusty, stuffed kangaroo key-chain accessory. Suffice to say Mau has fallen in love with it, and Kanga has given her hours of entertainment. At one point I saw her crouched in the water gutter, positioned to attack. I love my little predator!
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