Don't Get Too Wet

I know you’ve been waiting to hear if I made it back safely to Jakarta…well, I did J and, obviously, I have been slacking on writing this post, so I’ll try to make it short and sweet.

I have been to the local market, which is a short ten-minute walk from my apartment. There were the typical fruit and veggie vendors, but I was there late in the day, so carts were few and far between.  There is also a big building with a bunch of ‘shops’ inside, with all of the typical ‘housewares’ and mostly anything I would need, ranging from a belt, to school supplies, to shoes and clothes. There is also a supermarket on the top floor. I didn’t buy anything, but now I know the shortcut to the market. I don’t remember the name besides it has the word Pasar, which means ‘market’ (my roommate thinks it is called Pasar Tomang).

This is (supposed to be) a street

So much water!

You may have heard about some flooding in Jakarta a couple of weeks ago (I know my brother read about it in the Wisconsin State Journal). After returning from the Christmas break, which I spent at home with my family and friends, my school cancelled classes on the Thursday and Friday of our first week back (it is currently week 3).  We actually all came to school on Thursday, but it was decided that students needed to be picked up after about one hour of school, because the rain was not getting worse. It rained a lot during Wednesday and Thursday, which caused some areas in this low-lying city to flood, including a lot of neighborhoods where locals live, including some of our students.  On Friday, since we didn’t have school, a few of my friends and I went out in the area surrounding our apartment buildings to survey the damage, and see how bad it really was. The street that we usually drive on to get to school in the mornings was completely flooded, with water up nearly to my waist in some spots. There were even children swimming in the water, as if it were a pool. They seemed to be having fun, but all I could think of is how dirty the water must be. The canals are where the water is supposed to drain to, but they are full and blocked with trash a lot of the time, so the water simply overflowed and moved to the lower areas of land.  As we walked, we noticed people carrying big rafts above their heads, so we followed them…obviously. Not far from our apartment, down the road less than a couple of miles, we made it to the flooded part of the main road, where they were heading with the rafts. There were many calls to us, with offers to climb inside of a cart and be wheeled through the floodwaters, for a small fee, of course. Unfortunately, I had only brought enough money to get me to one side of the flood, and then I would not have had enough left to get myself back, so we opted to skip the cart. It is very unfortunate how much some people in Jakarta, mainly the lower class, are severely affected by the flooding, many losing their houses and some losing their lives. I felt very fortunate to be living where I am, with my safety and comfort not having been affected much, if at all. I did, however, think a lot about everyone who has been affected by the flood, and said a little prayer for them and their loved ones. And, no worries, because I am safe :) 

Last but not least…school. I came back refreshed and renewed, only to find out that there had been a change of my schedule. Due to one of the Maths teachers leaving the school, I am now in charge of her sixth grade class instead of my small pull-out class. I was sad to not have the opportunity to work with the students I had gotten to know last semester, but I am enjoying the new class. The kicker is that I went from teacher the lowest of the low students, academically, to teaching the students with the highest grades in sixth grade. It is taking some getting used to and a lot of extra planning, including projects and enrichment. It has been exciting, so far, and I can only hope I will continue to challenge them in the way they need.

Short and sweet enough, I hope.