THURSDAY 31ST OF JAN - Arrived at Jakarta International Airport in the afternoon where I was picked up by my colleague - who I will refer to from now on as Irish C - who took me to my humble abode and gave me the low-down on Jakarta and school life. As soon as he left me to go back to work, I had a much needed nap in my room. When I woke up, I was greeted by one of my six house mates, Scottish J . Since I was still in a bit of a sleep induced haze and not to mention the fact that I did not know much about my surroundings, J took me to get some money changed and got some beers. By the time we got back, a few more house mates turned up ( two Canadians girls, Girl J (who I will be working with at the same school) and Little C and another Brit dude, Big P) after their long day at work. We promptly went out for dinner with other teachers which included my other two other house mates (English J, a dude and another British girl L) from other schools and two which was cool but then, the jet lag kicked in around Midnight. Got back home where I slept with my eyes open (I can't sleep in a new place) but drifted off eventually.
 |
| Indonesian Rupiah - Still trying to get my head around this currency |
FRIDAY 1ST OF FEB - Woke up at 3 (yes 3 in the afternoon, jet lag claimed me!) and realized much of the day was gone ; regardless, I went out and got myself a cheap phone at a shopping mall called Thamrin City (cheap bazaar type plaza). I also got dinner with Little C at Grand Indonesia Mall (grand as it is hella dear). Spoke to my boyfriend via Skype to say I am good (I updated on Facebook the day before that I was OK) and people are cool. Did I mention, that I was woken by the Call to Prayer at 4:30 in the morning?! I think that was why I spent the whole day in bed.
SATURDAY 2ND OF FEB - Found my way back to Thamrin City to a supermarket to get some toiletries food, hangers and the like to set up home and finally unpack my bags. I also got my phone registered and got credit on it thanks to a Indonesian girl who spoke good English and two cheeky boys who spoke no English.
SUNDAY 3RD OF FEB - Went to a buffet with my house mates and other teachers. I ate and drank my weight in seafood, fish ,cheese, cakes and red wine. This will probably be the last time I eat this will in Jakarta. More on that in another post. I also found myself at a party with a few Jamaicans living in Jakarta, thanks to a couple of acquaintances -Jamaican D and American M- I made before coming to Jakarta (gotta love social media). The party was great with Jamaican food and music I was getting down to some old school Dancehall tunes like no one's business, why not?!
 |
| Buffet Food |
MONDAY 4TH OF FEB - First day at school I was picked up from my house and taken to school by a driver; who will all also drop me home (this is just for two weeks though *sad face*). I was introduced the school's Director of Studies Big J, an Englishwoman who just came back from compassionate leave. The electricity also went out at the school for a LONG time, but in that time I became acquainted with the local staff and a warung (Indonesian eateries) where I got my lunch. But regardless, I got to meet my fellow teachers and observed a couple of classes. One with pre-schoolers and the other high level teenagers (taught by Girl J). This showed me the stark differences between teaching kids and older kids.
TUESDAY 5TH OF FEB - Spent another day at the school observing a couple of lessons taught by time with senior teacher, London boy T and Irish C.
WEDNESDAY 6TH OF FEB -A day of firsts - Indonesian rain and Indonesian traffic. The latter is something that will irk me on no end. I also co-taught a class of intermediate girls. I planned the lesson with one of the local teachers -there are three at my school- and added a Taylor Swift tune to the lesson to teach the 3rd Conditional because pop music in English lessons always translate well. This class will be mine to teach for the coming weeks so it was nice to get to know the girls.
 |
| Jakarta Traffic |
THURSDAY 7TH OF FEB - Finished work early.One observation and going over lesson ideas with Big J because I teach my first class on Saturday *biting nails* *silent scream*. I also did another observation of a lesson with Brighton A , a dude from Brighton.
FRIDAY 8TH OF FEB - Day of rest (no school!) but planned my 3 hour class for Saturday and went to another part of Jakarta known as Kelapa Gading and met my acquaintance from the Jamaican party. I got there by taxi in Jakarta traffic at a tune of 50,000rph ( £3) which made my soul cry as it is pretty steep. Kelapa Gading reminds me so much of Croydon near South London, a city within a city because it was PROPER busy! I also tried Nasi Goreng- the Indonesian national dish- for the first time at a restaurant there and it was DELICIOUS!
 |
| One of the many shopping malls in Indonesia. This one is in Kelapa Gading |
 |
| Roundabout in Kelapa Gading |
 |
| Yummy Nasi Goreng and Chicken Satay |
So there you have it my first few days. Stay tuned to find out how my first class went.
Are you an expat living or had lived in Jakarta? How did you find it?
No comments:
Post a Comment