School Starts Tomorrow

Since you can read (thanks to a teacher), you can see that tomorrow is our first day of school at Peningki Hill School.  Peningki is the name of the neighborhood so there really isn't a translation for that word.   I think I'm ready for school to start.  No teacher is ever completely ready.  There is always one more idea that would be good to use.   But in less than 24 hours, students will be arriving expecting me to know what is going on.  And by 8:30 tomorrow morning, I will. 
 

Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth grades; taught by Aunt Lynne

Third, fourth and fifth grade classroom; taught by Uncle Chad

First and Second grade classroom; taught by Aunt Mary


 

This is the view from my classroom window out onto the local cemetery. 

You will notice that the teachers go by Aunt and Uncle.  This is a tradition amongst missionaries from time immemorial.  As a child in Brazil, I called the adult missionaries Aunt and Uncle.  I have no idea where the tradition got started but it seems to span all continents.  I like the tradition.  Because essentially, the families that are serving here with you become your family.  So for this year, I will be Aunt Lynne and I will relish the title.  :o)

My classroom

Here are a couple of pictures of my classroom.  Disclaimer:  it is still a work in progress. 

 I live in what is called the "schoolhouse."  The walk-out basement is the actual school and the upstairs is the house where I live.  The school has three rooms:  two classrooms and a library.  This year we are very fortunate to have three teachers.  Therefore another classroom was needed.  Since I only need one bedroom, the third classroom (mine) will be in one of the spare bedrooms of the house. 

Now for something totally unrelated; a picture of what we use here to remove fingernail polish; varnish remover. :o)  The yellow sticker is the price:  5,500 Rupiah which roughly equals 55cents. 



Next week I'll post before and after pictures of making my house into a home. 



At Home in Tarakan

I've been in Tarakan for eleven days now.  The trip from my door in Oklahoma to my door in Tarakan took 52 hours.  That's counting airline check-ins, airport layovers etc.  I was allowed to bring three suitcases with me as far as Jakarta.  After that, I could only check one; the other two had to be shipped separately.  They arrived in a timely fashion so I quickly had access to all my stuff.  I thought it was interesting how the two suitcases came wrapped.  Kind of kept them protected from harsh treatment, I guess. 

A few days after arriving one of the ladies gave me this delicious pineapple.  Although green, the bananas were ripe and very sweet. 

A cheechuck (gecko) story before I close.  As you may remember from my posts two years ago, I have a lot of geckos in my house.  I allow them because I am told they eat bugs.  I would rather have geckos than cockroaches.  But I don't want them in my bedroom.  Any room except that one.  I've heard stories from the other missionaries of cheechucks dropping on them while they slept.  Shiver!!
Anyway, I took my laundry off the drying rack (see the picture below this story of my clothes drying room), and into my bedroom.  I picked up a hand towel to fold and a cheechuck was clinging to it.  Believe me that towel flew out of my hand.  But I didn't want the gecko in my bedroom so I kicked the towel out the door into the hallway.  Thankfully, the cheechuck ran away, but left a bit of his tail behind which was still wiggling.  I should have taken a picture of the wiggling tail but I was a little disconcerted and not thinking rationally.  Picking up the still-wiggling tail with a wad of Kleenex, I disposed of it in the trash can.  Adventures.  They make good stories.  "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."