Our day began with an early teacher meeting at IMAN Cendekia School.  Asked to speak about green school and International Baccalaureate programs, we arrived to speak with a few interested teachers.  We’ve witnessed an attempt at recycling awareness on many campuses in the form of posters and some class assignments, but noticed an alarming absence of trash and recycling conatiners.  While the teachers asked many questions about our recycling programs, it soon became evident that their infastructure problems with sanitation halts their progress.  We suggested that they don’t wait, but rather start teaching the children, ideally in primary grades, about how to reduce, reuse and recycle.  We’re hopeful that we can continue to provide them with examples through Skype or email when we return to the US.

We were able to ask the teachers some of our essential questions, and found that they believe that Indonesians are generally shy and don’t share their opinion-in fact, they will often go along with something they don’t agree with.  They have no word for love, and no polite way to be angry.  They believe that boys and girls are treated equally, and that men are generally more polite.  They think their students need to study American history to know what are the best ways to run their country, so they choose to study the American Revolution, the Boston Tea Party, the Civil War, and Malcolm X.

The average wage of an Indonesian teacher is $100/month, and for $75/month they feel they can live well, although they may need to commute far for work.  Earning $200/month is considered middle class, enough for school, rent, food and a little savings.  $10,000 will purchase a good house.  We found most items very inexpensive, especially food.

Observing on Friday meant students weren’t in uniform, making religious affiliation more difficult to discern.  These students looked so much like our American students; in fact, this girl was excited to see a photo of my daughter wearing the same shirt!

A teacher, Eva, met us there because she was deemed the best
bargainer.  She proudly told us, ‘this is
not comfortable for shopping, but comfortable on the wallet.’  And she was right-we spent the first hour in
shock and amazement as she led us up escalators to the thirteenth floor,
through labyrinthine paths to find the items we wanted, and back out
again.  When the mall closed at three we
went upstairs to the mosque so our guides could pray, then back down to find a
taxi.

Jakarta traffic is unlike any other city.  Busses and taxis have an easier time,
especially when they drive up onto the curbs to scoot past the cars and
motorbikes.   Although the train would be
faster, our guides felt it would be unsafe for us to utilize it during rush
hour.  Two hours later we were happy to
arrive at the hotel, break our fast and fall into bed.

Today I was reminded of the disparity between schools in
Indonesia.  The differences between the
strict, traditional religious education and the more modern structures is a
perfect reflection on what I see happening in the country.  I’ve noticed a conflict between those who
would like to stay true to their traditions and culture, and those who want to
embrace modern living.  It feels like
holding on too tightly to the past is causing problems with looking forward
into the future; I’m hopeful the children can figure out a balance that will
keep everyone happy.

Although she managed well, I couldn’t help but think that
the huge amount of respect paid to us as English teachers  made her nervous.  We felt as if they felt that they thought they
couldn’t teach us anything, but they were wrong.  Observing their understanding of English, the
misunderstanding of nuances of the text, and the dedication of students was
quite informative.  We marveled at the
similarities of our students in their answers, their joking manner and
eagerness to please.

We were excited to travel to SMAN 2 Tangerang High School, a
government school of 1,100 students in 32 classrooms.  Surprisingly, we noticed few students in
Muslim dress, although the VP told us it was ‘mostly Muslim’, but also
Christian, Hindu and Buddhist.  Unlike
the US, student’s religions are not hidden.  

Students attend school from 7:00 am to 3:15 daily, except during Ramadan
when they are released at 12:45.  The
goal of this school is to become an international school, which would allow
students to study abroad.  They focus on
English, character building, and science. 
Interestingly, they had a remedial program for struggling students; at MAN
Cendekia, students who fail are expelled.

Prepared with ‘Gift of the Magi’ lesson plans, we arrived
late for our 7 am class because our driver overslept…thinking our teacher would
have started without us, we were surprised to be ‘on’ the moment we walked into
the classroom.  The 12^th grade
students were very polite and shy, and as Amy and I began our lesson, we were
pleased that our teaching styles meshed so nicely and things moved along
seamlessly.  The teachers are fascinated
with our collaboration, and share their desire to learn how to work with each
other as well as their frustration with unsuccessful attempts.

Indonesian kids are similar to Americans in many ways, except these kids spend many more hours at school – class begins at seven, and ends
after three.  During Ramadan students
wake at three, pray, eat and arrive at school by 6:30 am.  We ignored the yawns and listlessness of some
students, and empathized with what they dealt with on a daily basis.  We learned that 3,000 students apply for
admission, and only 120 are accepted.  It
is a great honor to attend this school, and many students use government
scholarship for tuition.  Teachers refer
to the program as ‘career studying’.
Students who don’t pass are expelled – there are no second chances.

After two classes, each videotaped by the teacher, we
switched to 11^th grade English and our presentation on the US and
our state, schools and families.  The
students asked more interesting questions about American culture, boy/girl
relationships, the CIA/FBI, what ‘Sin City’ was, and the American Dream.
Several classes have told us they know America is a ‘superpower’, and that they
can earn scholarships to study in our colleges.
They have such hope for their futures.

We ended our visit with a traditional ‘break-fast’
meal.  Interestingly, we start with
sweets (dates, coconut drink, steamed buns with rice paste), and end with
savory (chicken, rice, and fresh vegetables).
Sitting on the floor, eating new foods and watching our hosts so adept without
utensils, we reveled in the gifts they were sharing with us.

The day started like any other, really – 3am fireworks
accompanied by my hotel room neighbor pounding on the wall shot me straight up
out of bed.  The call to prayer broadcast
for Ramadan reminded me that it wasn’t time for me yet, but instead of falling
back to sleep I started thinking about the day ahead.

As part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms program, our
host school visit is designed to help us both help other teachers understand
American culture, while simultaneously soaking in their education system.  From our online look at MAN Insan Cendekia
Serpong school before we left America, it appeared to be a very strict, formal
boarding school.

As we waited for our 6:30 am pickup by an unknown driver, we
had plenty of time to get nervous.  Were we
wearing the right clothes?  Would we make
it through the day in accordance to the rituals of Ramadan?  Would the children speak enough English to
understand our presentation on the US and California?  Would the teachers be interested?

The school sits at the end of a long driveway and sprawls
over a large campus.  We were happy to be
greeted by our host teacher, Yuna, as well as nearly every adult that we ran
into.  Our first class began at 8:00, so
after a quick tour we entered our classroom to teach 10^th grade English
students.  We were asked to remove our
shoes before entering the building – besides feeling like a fool for having the
only four-inch heels sitting on the steps, I felt awkward teaching
barefoot!  In Indonesia, students stay in
the room and the teacher moves each period.
It felt strange to have students watching me set up for the lesson, but
their eager smiles put us at ease rather quickly.

Using our Prezi about California, our schools and our
families created a great environment for discussion about what they know about
America, and what kinds of questions they would like us to answer.  We were shocked with their sophistication and
knowledge level – they wanted to know what Americans think of Muslims,
especially after 9/11, how can Indonesians get US college scholarships, what
were the causes of the Civil War, what are the differences between democrats
and republicans, how do Americans feel about the election and Barack
Obama.  Some of the more amusing ones were:
does the mafia really runs the country, what is the difference between British
and American accents, do we prefer bread or rice, and have I ever met Arnold
Schwarzenegger!  The students were
thrilled with the red, white and blue pencils and candies we gave them as a
parting gift, some even promising to save the wrapper to remember us.

After teaching we headed towards the teacher work room;
since the teachers are mobile here, they each have a desk in a large work space
with cubicles.  It’s a great idea!  We met the next English teacher we would be
working with, and began reading the story “The Chapel” she wanted us to prepare
a lesson on for the next day.  This
became our most challenging situation to date.
After realizing it was about a 13 year old girl who is raped, becomes
pregnant, her husband is killed, and the eventual rapist is revealed as her
white priest, we politely requested that we select another and chalked it up to
cultural differences.  We chose ‘Gift of
the Magi’, and then realized we’d be teaching about Christianity to
Muslims.  It works both ways.

It is evident that Indonesians are eager to learn English,
and their teachers excited to take advantage of our visit.  On the way to the van we were requested to
prepare lessons for two classes the next day, so we left with impending lesson
plans to complete before our night time activity – Batman.

This was the hardest day so far.  We are so conscious about everything we do,
and try hard not to make any offensive errors as we navigate this unfamiliar
culture.  Not a day has gone by that I
haven’t felt like the ‘outsider’, and I’m again reminded of what our students
must experience as they come to the US to study.  By talking with the students I realize not
only how much they know about America, but also how much they have bought into
the media stereotypes that are often their source of information.  Yes, they have studied English and American
history in school, but today’s kids are learning more from the internet and social
media. Even in this private, Islamic boarding school they know about Harry
Potter, Hunger Games, Harvard, MIT and Washington DC, and that they should
study hard to earn the chance for education in the US.  Kids who cannot date or use Facebook know the
Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Twitter.

 The world really is
shrinking, and our best bet at understanding each other is to sit down, look
eye to eye and talk without fear of looking stupid or being misunderstood.  If we can come together for Batman with subtitles,
surely we can break down the stereotypes we have of each other, and make
progress towards becoming true global citizens.

Hey Batman, can you give us a hand?