ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sitting in Krispy Kreme in Grand Indonesia for one reason and one reason only. No internet or electricity! I think I am partially to blame for this and here is a short version of events. I plugged my laptop to charge and then I did the clumsy move of pulling my laptop towards me (I am lying in bed and the socket is high on the wall) so out came the whole socket and off went the lights and the power to the whole house. *smh*

However, the smart cookie that is Little C turned on the breaker and the bottom  floor of the house was lit up like a Christmas tree but my floor (the top floor) still had no electricity. I called the handyman nearly 6 hours ago and no sign. Therefore, tonight and tomorrow is going to be a struggle for 2 reasons: 1) no AC so it is going to be hot as Hades and 2) no light means I cannot get dressed as the natural light into my room is appalling and the bathroom has no light at all *smh*

My thoughts on this situation is best expressed through this lovely bit of art.

On Being an English Language Teacher

Since I started blogging about my experiences of living in Jakarta; I realized I have not done a single post about the job itself. Apart from the post about my first lesson; I have not really talked about how teaching English is going. It has now been eleven weeks since I switched countries leaving the cold and frankly horrible British winter for the hot and humid concrete jungle that is Jakarta. I have now adjusted to Jakarta and have been very fortunate to meet as many like-minded and interesting people not just Indonesians but of course all the other teachers within my group. I can almost call myself a teacher of English.

But I digress, what I really want to talk about is how teaching and I fit together. The truth is, I kind of enjoy it and rather like it! However, there have been times when my mind goes blank in the middle of a class when I am explaining the use of a grammar point, or miss out a word in a written sentence that I wrote on the board showing an example of the grammar point or new piece of vocabulary or write down the wrong form of a grammar point and then loudly chastise myself in front of the class (that happened only once). The mind literally goes 'Fuck this, I'm out of here' and I look like a fool. On reflection, I tend to just forget about it and move on hoping to God it doesn't happen again EVER!

I teach three classes a day Monday to Thursday and one on Saturday. These classes are of different levels (Elementary to High Intermediate) and of course different age groups (6 - 38). I have to plan different lessons each week bearing in mind those factors and choosing appropriate and fun activities to keep them engaged with language and the lesson. My lesson plans are never fool-proof but I like to think my students do understand what I am teaching; after all, they do produce the language or grammar point thereafter.

I gained a certain amount of confidence when my lessons were observed by Big J (soon-to-be ex DOS*) and T (soon-to-be new DOS) back in February and March. They observed my best and worst classes respectively, I was feeling apprehensive about being observed but they gave me some good tips that I have since taken on. I still feel there is room for improvement on my end to get students to talk more throughout the lesson (I know ramble on and increase TTT*), correct their own and each other's mistakes and all other things that should make a lesson go smoothly and effectively.

I am going to be observed again but this time by a new teacher at my school. She's called E and is from New Zealand via South Africa. Thankfully, she has taught before so this just the adjusting fortnight for her like I had,he he! She has been in Jakarta for just 72 hours and had a taste of Jakarta night life last night. She was carted off from Ladies Night to a Karaoke bar by yours truly and the rest of the crew. I'm sure she's still sleeping with jet lag kicking in and a wicked hangover,lol!

But to come back to topic, I like being a teacher of English and I am enjoying the variety of teaching as well. Who would have thought it eh?!

*DOS – Director of Studies

*TTT – Teacher Talking Time (something to be kept low,oops!)

Update!

Once again, I am going to apologize for the lack of posts in the last couple of weeks. There is a reason for that of course and that is I have been a busy bee! If I am not busy, I am spending my time exploring Jakarta's night life  Not to say that I am out every night partying up a storm but I have to blow off steam one way or the other, right? Anyhow, there have been some changes and I thought it would be a good idea to tell you about it:

• I have now been in Jakarta for over 10 weeks nearly 3 months! In TEFL terms, I am no longer a newbie and will soon be having new teachers observing my classes as I did in the beginning. This is something that fills me with dread as I don't feel especially confident in my teaching abilities.
• DOC HAS A JOB! After 8 years of further education, my other half has landed himself a job. He started at the beginning of the month. It has been a long wait since he finished his Phd in December, but people in Britain know just how difficult the job market is. This means I can see my cutie pie soon.
• Scottish J and Girl J have left the teacher's house *sad face* but not to worry because they've moved on up! I am yet to visit their new place but it has pool and a decent view of the city and is only 15 minutes walk from my place/their old place. Girl J is missed at my school especially by Irish C and myself of course. Oh and I also took Scottish J's old room which is the biggest room in the house. YASSSS!
• My other house mate English J has finished his contract too and will be leaving Jakarta in a couple of weeks. He is one of my favourite people and I will miss him and his quirks a lot. Did I mention L left a few weeks ago? She's a personality and a half and her presence is missed in the house. Another teacher from my school, Brighton A has seen out his contract and has returned to the UK. He was a beautifully strange man and his departure was quite dramatic to say the least. *smh*

• We have new house mates albeit temporarily. My travel buddy Manc C and Withnail have moved in. They are house mates of T, who I mentioned was having renovation works on his room. Turns out the whole place needs renovating. So they are staying here for a month while work is done on their house.
• Manc C and I are off to Lombok in May for eight days. Might seem like a long time but boy I have not seen a beach in a year and I am really excited to get out Jakarta for more than a day.
• I've been teaching 7 year olds for the past month. If I am being honest, it is really hard especially when   there are a couple of troublemakers in the group who test my patience. I made one cry a couple of weeks ago and he has not been back since *shrug shoulders* tough titty! 
• I have becomes fast friends with another teacher called Aussie R. She works with me at my school and is now pretty much a permanent member for well over a month now. Prior to Girl J's departure, the three of us would go for coffee and also socialize outside of work with the rest of the other teachers. Despite her name, Aussie R has spent most of her life here in Jakarta and is fluent in Indonesian and is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to teaching English - she's been doing it for six years - so all in all, a good person to know.
• We are getting four new female teachers. Two of them will be based at my school and most likely will be moving into my house. I can only hope that they are as sound as my current bunch and not as demented as Big P.

That is all the gossip I have about what is going with me personally and professionally and of course the people I work with. All is well with me because I am surrounded by some of the quirkiest, intelligent and sweetest people ever. I know that it won't last long with people's contracts finishing before mine but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

More photos from Bogor

Her are some more photos from my trip to Bogor. I was not able to add these as Blogger was acting foolish and not saving and adding stuff as it should. So enjoy!

The deerfields

An angcot - not my favourite.

Old colonial Protestant Church

L not liking her Durian and Coconut ice cream

The lake

S contemplating climbing the bamboo tree

My companions S, L and Manc R

Tamarind

Pandan

Cafe on the hill!

View from the cafe on the hill

Mount Salak in the background

A Day out to Bogor

First and foremost, HUGE apologies for not updating this blog in over two weeks. I have been extremely busy with work and settling into Jakarta. It is still no excuse though and I have a bit of slack to pick up. I will give you and update as to all the latest goings-on with me but for now let me tell you about Bogor.

Welcome to Bogor

When I decided to take my first trip out of Jakarta, I knew it was going to be sooner rather than later. In the same week I was due to go to Singapore (almost 3 weeks ago), there was a public holiday on Tuesday so the question was 'what to do?' The obvious thing was to take a day trip to the outskirts of Jakarta and our town of choice was Bogor.

Bogor is located an hour south outside of Jakarta. It is an colonial town with only some old buildings and is renowned for being the wettest place in Java. Anyhow, the main point of our trip was to visit the Bogor Botanical Gardens. So my house mate L and I took off from Juanda Station for the hour long journey. The train we got on was ghetto, there were no doors and people were just hanging out of them willy-nilly. Plus, it was packed! It was so packed that one of the commuters on board showed his 'admiration' for L in a very inappropriate manner!

So after all that, we finally made it to Bogor. It reminded me of a smaller Jakarta. The scenes out of the train station were chaotic and noisy. The main mode of transport in Bogor is the angcot , my least favourite mode of transport for reasons I will explain in another post, I was determined not to use one to take to the gardens so we went on foot.

After walking around for what seemed an eternity, EUREKA we found it, sort of! In fact, we found only one of the many closed entrances to the gardens. This part of the gardens was a Deer Conservation, where you could feed the deer carrots and pet them through the gates. We did not lose sight of the fact that we still have not found the main gate. So onward we trekked until FINALLY WE MADE IT! I paid the bule admission fee of 30,000rp (£2), while L paid 15,000rp. Rip-off or what? But I did not care after, I waltzed in and started to fall in love with what I saw.

I had to take in the greenery and lushness of the place, this place is too beautiful! The gardens had a variety of places to visit including a zoology museum, the Presidential palace and a lake. There was also a river that flows through the gardens. We were also joined by a couple of other teacher friends, girl S and Manc R were in the train behind us. We trekked all over the gardens and still missed out on loads including the lunch at the posh café that overlooks the park, meh! We were having too much fun. Would I go again? Most definitely, the gardens were beautiful and well maintained and I gotta try the lunch in the café for just the view alone.

My companions and I left the gardens in search of food and the train home. We got on an angcot and made our way to a warung near the train station, where I tried Ayam Bakar for the first time. It was hella tasty to say the least. 

After that we got on a train back to Jakarta, this time the train had doors. So here ends my recollection of my trip to Bogor. It will certainly not be my last trip out of Jakarta, in fact, I am going to Lombok with Manc C (from the Singapore trip). I will be taking in some sand and surf. HAPPY DAYS!