MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017 (PURWOKERTO) - Well, another big day has come and gone. Today was the day that we visited our host school. I've been looking forward to this for quite some time, because going to a school for an extended period of time is a lot different than popping in for an hour or two. My host school, SMPN Puwokerto, is a junior high school that has 6th-8th grades, student population 880. Rudhi picked us up at the hotel at 6:30 and took us to the school, where we met with the principal, Mr. Ongoro. Then he took us to the teachers' room, which is basically a large room with 30 teachers' desks for their workspace. It's a lot different than the US, where each individual teacher (usually) gets their own room, materials, and space. We were introduced to the rest of the teaching staff, and before we knew it, it was time for the flag ceremony. In the United States, students say the Pledge of Allegiance before beginning the school day. In Indonesia, every student participates in a flag ceremony on Monday morning, where they sing the national anthem, listen to a speech from the principal, and follow the instructions of student leaders in marches, hand positions, and more. My partner teacher, Matt, and myself were asked to step onto the podium and give a brief speech to the students. We managed to get a few words in! Then, it was off to classrooms. In Indonesia, students stay in one room the entire day. The teachers travel to them- now that was a different experience! We followed Rudhi into a couple of classrooms, and he had us explain American education and culture to the students. It made for a fascinating couple of hours, especially the last class that I went into. There, I took the Indonesian students on a journey through an ordinary American student's day. This is more difficult than it sounds, simply because of the huge disparity and differences in schools across the USA. Regardless, I did what I could: mentioning that in the USA, there are usually no school uniforms, and students can buy clothes to wear to school. I mentioned that many American high school students feel enormous pressure to get a scholarship, declare a major, to get the best grades, etc. and that the sheer expense of college can land someone in a lot of debt if they're not careful. This class was energetic and fun! They absolutely love having their picture taken.
And then after school...it was time to play! Rudhi took us 10 miles north to the Baturraden Resort. How I describe this place, I don't know. It's on the slope of Mount Slamet, a volcano in the area. There is a touristy resort area, complete with playgrounds, zip lines, mountain swings, and more. Then, if you're willing to venture further (either by hike or car) as we did, you'll get to hot springs. Rudhi drove us to the hot springs, and we quickly descended into the jungle as tall trees and lush greenery engulfed us. The 10-minute drive was cool enough, but what really blew my mind was the hot springs at the end! I had never felt hot water on a mountaintop before- was really cool. After we got some pictures at the springs, a local man asked me if I wanted a sulfur bath/massage. I said sure, why not?! He quickly rubbed mud on both my legs and claimed that it had good healing. Hey it felt great, and if it helps get rid of those pesky mosquito bites on my legs, it was $1 well spent!
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