Sand and Students

On Thursday morning in the driving rain, 70+ students and teachers headed out for The Beach Trip. Packed all our stuff and just headed out. We left at 8AM and arrived at the beach, our own beach at about 10:30 AM. What a beach, what an adventure in so many ways. If you have never camped at a beach as I have never, one is not prepared for the insidious nature of sand. BUT I digress a bit, the Senior boys had gone ahead to prepare the land. Cutting out of the jungle places to sleep, go to the bathroom and cook. Obviously not all at the same place. When we arrived, we set up our camp which means, putting up your mosquito net under the tarp with your bed stuff. After all that is accomplished, you adventure out to see whats up. Huge tarp over the cooking area and a hole in the ground with a nice orange tarp to do your business ( This place became crucial when later on we all developed cramps from some bad juju and needed to use the facility on more then one occasion). On seeing the facility, I was temped not to eat or drink for the remainder of the week so as not to have to use the facility.

The weather was still over cast but hey...its warm no matter what the weather is doing so snorkeling and swimming, conversation and walking was the activity at hand. To be honest, I was ready to go home at the end of the day but..that is because I am a big weenie when it comes to dis-comfort. Sand...do you understand how irritating sand is when you have to eat it, sleep with it, walk in it, sit in it, dress with it..I am sure you get the picture. The pictures of beautiful sand beaches in the tropics don't tell the whole story. Again I digress...

Our school director was our speaker and he did a wonderful job bringing us back to the basics of our faith. The first night...have I told you about the sand. Morning finally came after a night of rain, I don't think anything I owned was dry. This day was my designated snorkeling day and it was magnificent. It is just amazing!!! What I discovered about myself other then my propensity for weenieness is that I get motion sickness when I am in the water. Not while I am above the water or even in car on a bouncing car on winding roads... I get seasick when I am in the sea. SO ... I can be out there for about 30 minutes before I get sick, I recoup for about and hour then go out again. I did several cycles of this and then spent the rest of the time having wonderful conversation with students and staff. When there is no schedule conversations can wander at will and relationships can be built. This was the best of the time there...building relationships.

Something was eaten that day that made everyone sick. This was not the fun part of the trip at all. Having the runs is bad enough when you are home and have a bathroom in the next room , it is downright wrong to be on a beach with a hole in the ground. Needless to say, even with stories of snakes in the area and the jungle as your walls, you do what you have to do.

And it was the second night. Since the sun sets at 5:30...the stars are out early and since there is no light, they are out of this world !! The moon was full so the tides were high...I didn't even mention that the boat trip out shook my whole idea of sailing around the world. The waves were about 4-6 feet and with a outrigger we were bouncing over the waves. I screamed, it lets out tension, the students laughed at me but hey, I am a weenie. Our driver kept looking at me to see if I would stop. Again, screaming lets out tension and it is not good to keep it all bottled up. Back to the sleeping part, the sounds of the surf is quite soothing, its the hard ground, sand and damp clothes that makes sleeping a bit more difficult. I was never so glad to hear the cacophony of birds in the morning. We packed up in the rain, and left in the sun. I had been so good about sunscreen all three days until the last trip home. It would have been fine if our driver had not run out of gas in the middle of the cove. I have never enjoyed a shower, clean DRY clothes, sheets and my wonderful family.

But for news here... we have a kitty cat, Yoda. Scott has taken it upon himself to learn how to make yogurt and the Mijo and Nick are maybe a bit thankful they could not come with me these past three days.

Beaches and Birthdays...

We will have to have a picture here of the day we spent at the beach.

YES..it came through. No, I did not steal this picture from an add in a travel magazine...It was Nick's bday on Saturday so we collected 4 of his new friends, packed a lunch, crammed into a taxi, drove 45 minutes on a well traveled road, loaded into a boat with a beetle nut chewing captain, road another 20 minutes or so and arrived at this beautiful beach. We went snorkeling...I was swimming with Nemo and his friends, all except the sharks though I did keep an eye out for them. It is a strange world and a bit uncomfortable...I have no idea what I am supposed to be scared of so right at the moment I am nervous about everything that swims. There were these brilliant turquoise little bitty ones that I thought were very cute and could hardly do any harm so I swam a bit closer to those one. It was truly amazing. Nick said it was the best birthday ever...why not, we were at a warm tropical beach in a raggedy boys kind of country , exploring strange and wonderful new worlds, with PBJ for lunch. That's a good 11 year old birthday party.

I get to do this again this coming weekend. The whole of the high school, all 70 of us are going to spend 2 nights and 3 days on another beach about 45 minutes farther away then this one. I get to go because I am a HS teacher, it should be lots of fun though I am partial to showers before bed. We will see...

First week down...

Scott surprised us all on Wednesday when he had our Motor bike delivered to our front door. It seems that they like to make a production of this new purchase by bringing it to your front door for all your neighbors to see.

Nick was the first to go for a ride on this new bike, down the hill, through traffic, over the rickety bridge..you get the idea. When he returned and I was asking him about his trip he said quietly. " Mom, you know how I don't like it when things are going fast, so I was trying to remember Psalm 23 on the way down because I was getting scared".

So, I am wondering...how fast was Scott going that our son was thinking he was traveling in the shadows of death. Nick wants to get over his fears and bless his heart, even if he has to recite the Psalm every time he gets on the bike, he is getting on the bike. I was on next and no, Scott does not go fast , it is quite impossible to do anything fast here with the volume of traffic, people and road conditions. It is not quite as comfortable as an air conditioned car but much more convenient for the things Scott will be doing.

For me...I walk to school and walk home. I live at the school. It has been a great first week. Homework, learning new names, figuring how to make things interesting, walking home for lunch. It's all good !!!

They say Thank you....

As the students walk out of my class on the first day of school they said to me, "Thank you Mrs. Price". " You are welcome", I answer back. That's different ! I am not used to the whole idea that teachers are appreciated by their students. Makes me want to always do my best in every class all the time. I know, we all have our off days but what an amazing incentive.

Everyone seems to have fallen in love with school. IT is the first day and there isn't that much homework yet and everyone is still really nice, but love the start. Scott has been off in the jungle, quite literally in the jungle helping a team locate a boundary to a piece of property. They killed a death adder in the area not too long ago. As Scott is telling me this small detail I wonder aloud..." I wonder if they are deadly?, Well, Heidi...I don't think the name of the snake is "Comatose adder", or "Not Too Bad Adder"... Well, I am pleased to announce that they killed that snake and I am sure there are no others. They are careful, and they are aware and in reality, it is a jungle out there.

It is so fun to be teaching here....

This mountain...

This is the mountain that's in our back yard. It looks in this picture as it if is far away, but I took it when we were on the lake. It rises about 7000 feet and becomes an ever changing backdrop in the landscape of Sentani. So many of my memories are framed with this mountain in the scenery. So I wanted you to see it as well as enjoy it. It takes a while for me to upload pictures...So I will do it once in awhile and only if I get up early enough before the rest of the compound gets on the computer.

Maybe you can make out the outline of why it is called cyclops. It is supposed to look like a cyclops in repose. Can you see the face?

It is Sunday morning here in Papua, church will start in a few minutes and for some reason the prayer call was not made at 4AM. Maybe someone slept in but it was a wonderful silent morning for us to sleep in. Scott was up at 6:00 but that is sleeping in for him. I checked the weather in Lynden, it seems like you all are getting the rain a bit early this year. It is Sunday, so I am assuming it will be the hottest day in the week. I remember when I was in boarding school it was always the case. We could not swim and we had to take naps and write letters home...it was always the hottest day of the week.

Till next time...

Maaf...I am sorry

I have been having a hard time getting the pictures to download because the computer shuts down every time I try I will keep trying, I promise. Yesterday we had a wonderful experience and took a boat ride on Lake Sentani. All us newbies took the school on this trip and as we maneuvered our way around the lake and the houses on the lake the sun was setting in all its glory. What an evening. We waved at all the local children as they waved at us. We had slathered out bodies with insect repellent so nothing bit...it was a spectacular evening. We came back to the restaurant where all the teachers and their spouses had en evening out. The food was tasty and the entertainment were the rats that ran along the beams. Can't have everything :)

We have been having great conversation and beginning to learn the complexities of life here in Papua. How much has changed since I grew up here. I wish I could write it all down but I am processing the information and the sadness of how it is all unfolding. I have a 10 day view, so I know so little. I hope to know more and understand better what Papua is becoming.

Mijo and Scott celebrated their birthdays. Mijo missing her entourage of friends with every email written her...she has quite the collection of loyal friends and it is helping her in these few days before school starts.

I am getting prepared for school...prepared being the key word. The second weekend the whole high school will be spending 2 days at the beach...I like these field trips!!! Those high school students of mine....you want to be a senior here. We think we are busy in the States...these guys have quite the extensive schedules and extra curricular happenings. Fun to be a part of it all ....

Till next time....

Notes to self...

* When you travel to Abepura to buy a carpet for your very stark but wonderful abode, take money with you. You may not be able to get money out of the ATM that day because the rest of the population of Papua may have the same idea. You will stand in line in the hot sun next to a very old woman who not only chews beetle nut ( looks like tobacco chew except its blood red) but smokes unfiltered clove cigarettes. She was not aging as well as most Asian women do...

* Learn Indonesian as soon as possible, it would make for less mistakes, maybe not as many giggles and outright laughter.

* When the guy at the Jakarta airport tell you that your barang ( Stuff) will get there tomorrow, he really means a week. ( It all finally came yesterday)

* Buy from the vendors who come to your door even if you don't want anything they are selling. They work hard to get to your door and then put themselves out for you...they may even surprise you and give you a bouquet of flowers just because the want too.

* Dead spiders are just as scary as alive ones especially if they are HUGE !!!!

* You had better post some pictures soon or no one will read your posts anymore.