First Week Highlights and Delights...

We started school last Monday and by Friday it seemed like a whizzing whirlwind swept the week away. Anyone reading this who has ever spent time teaching can certainly relate to how quickly the days pass when you start a new year. There never seems to be enough time to get things done, which pretty much continues until the last day of school. Ahh, one of the many joys of our profession:)

Despite how busy we may feel at the moment, we are both extremely happy and excited to be here. Our students seem great and so many more things are in place than have been at our previous schools. For the first time in over three years, I will not have to reinvent the wheel...this astounds me! Our school does such a great job of making life easy so that we really can focus on why we are here: helping students learn. (Example: There are banks and post offices on every campus!



We had a three day weekend thanks to a national holiday, which was a nice way to recover and from our first week with students and take time to indulge in some of the perks of living in Indonesia. At this stage, we haven't done a whole lot of exploring because we are still setting up our home. Although I was able to visit an area called Kemang, where furniture and interesting home decor is sold. There were so many beautiful pieces to see and I only went into a few shops. It appears that Indonesia will be a shopping paradise.



One of the highlights or maybe delights of our weekend was going to the Sunday Brunch at the Mulia hotel with a few other teachers who we have connected with. It was such a wonderfully decadent morning that we have pretty much agreed to do it again next week. It is so unbelievably affordable to have five star brunches here.



Another delight that cannot be left out was going to the spa...On Friday I had an hour Javanese massage with essential oils and then a conditioning cream bath on my hair. It was so good that three of us decided to go back Saturday morning for facials! I think a visit to the spa will definitely be a regular part of my weekly schedule. (While the girls were at the spa, the guys were out golfing. I guess this is the male version of relaxation.)

Needless to say, life is good. Jim is back to playing basketball twice a week and I start my first yoga class tomorrow. Our transition appears to have been pretty seamless. We have met some really nice friends and are starting to discover what Jakarta has to offer. It is a very exciting time and we appreciate that you take the time to share in our adventure by reading our blog.

We haven't been taking many pictures lately, but here are a few from our brunch.

We don't look too full, right?

A brunch isn't a brunch without a choclate fountain!

Away We Go...

After an amazing summer our "life of leisure" came to a screeching halt as we packed our bags and closed up our new house in preparation for our next move: Jakarta, Indonesia. Everything went without a hitch, or at least we hope it did, and we set off to join the ranks of the working once again. It was difficult not to reflect on our past year as we looked forward to what was ahead. In just the short span of an academic year we experienced: a sudden school closure, deportation from Syria, the loss from leaving pets behind, the beauty of the first snow, holidays with family, game nights with friends, life changing journeys through South America, cramped hands from signing the paperwork for our first home, and most importantly treasured time with family and dear friends. It truly was an amazing year.

And now after four connections and many hours of flying we have arrived in our new home. The school provided orientation has been absolutely fantastic. From the minute they greeted us at the airport to our final social gathering, everything has been seamlessly planned and organized. They put so much effort into making our transition here as easy as possible it never seems to amaze me. Simple things like having paperwork to open a bank account filled out so that all you have to do is sign or the simple fact that they offer a transportation service available 24/7 until we receive our resident permits and can buy a car. They really take care of you here!

We are feeling a little like we are living a dream life. Our beautiful four bedroom home comes with a live-in staff. (The school pre-assigns help for those that want it; we of course pay for their very affordable, but invaluable services.) Iboh and Sukito are an absolutely lovely married couple that has been working with expats over twenty years. They were with their last family for eight years, so we know they are good. Iboh really knows her way around the kitchen and Sukisto can iron like no one I have ever seen. I was not sure how I would like having someone do everything for us, but I have to say that it is so great to start the day with breakfast on the table and after a busy day at school it is so nice to have dinner taken care of so that I can have time to myself to exercise or swim. It really makes life more enjoyable. Although I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, I will gladly wait for to the weekends or summer time.

Our school facilities are like nothing we have ever seen. There are three campuses, two elementary and one secondary. Jim and I work adjacent campuses that look more like parks than school grounds. The buildings were designed so that there are no right angles, ensuring that every classroom opens up to green space. It is really something to see. We haven’t taken any pictures yet, but will be sure to in the coming weeks so that you can get a better sense of where we spend our days.

So far everything has been phenomenal. We really like the other new staff members and are excited to see a little more of Jakarta. There is so much more to say, but by now I have surely maxed out your reading limit so it will have to wait for our next entry.

Our new home

Click the link to see inside...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lizhaske/BintaroHome?authkey=Gv1sRgCPP_l5SI29qUyAE#