January 23, 2014

Workshop with Marasaraswati University Students

Free time in Bali

Today was a fun day of meeting and learning with the Indonesian students at Marasaraswati University.  We were able to learn a lot from Jan’s seminar this morning, and then we were able to connect with many of the students in smaller groups.  My favorite part of the activity was discussing the religions with the Hindu students there.  They had some wonderful questions that truly opened my eyes to what the world thinks and believes about Christianity.  We also had the chance to discuss and plan lessons with the students, which opened my eyes to Indonesian education and teaching strategies.  Some of the students in my group had some very detailed lesson plans, but they were not organized at all.  When I mentioned the idea of playing a game with the students, the Indonesians thought this was a brilliant idea.  This shows a lot about the difference in American education and Indonesian.  They called their professor “lecturer” instead of teacher because the university teachers only lecture to get their information across.  The teacher told many groups that they did not have good ideas, but did not help the students to point them in the right direction.  The teacher did not stress organization in lessons, and they must not talk about proper teaching strategies and methodologies to develop proper second language acquisition in their classes.  Some of the ideas they wanted to plan for our lesson were very good ideas, just implemented poorly.  By the end of our hour-long session, we had a very small amount of actual lesson ideas ready, so teaching tomorrow may be a struggle.  We have to teach for 90 minutes, and we maybe have about 30 minutes of information available to the students.  Everyone was extremely friendly, though, and I am looking forward to seeing and teaching with my new friends tomorrow.  I have been thinking of alternate ideas in case the lesson doesn’t go too well, but I will sit back and let them control the majority of the lesson.  It doesn’t sound like organization is a huge priority in Indonesian education, so I’m sure our lesson tomorrow will go fine.  After the workshop at the University, we had a relaxing night in Bali.  We went to watch the sunset on the beach, went shopping at some local stores, ate dinner at Pizza Hut, and swam in the hotel pool before the rain forced us to exit the water.  It was a great day; I’m excited for tomorrow.  

January 22, 2014

Travel day to Bali

Today we left for Bali at six in the morning.  It was a really long trip, but it was great to connect with some of the great friends I’ve made on this trip!  We got into Bali around 9:30, and we quickly went to sleep.  We hope to explore the hotel more tomorrow.

January 21, 2014

Muslim Pesantren

Wesley International School

Today we went to teach at a strict Muslim school, called a Pesantren.  Many people were skeptical about going to this school, especially since Jan had mentioned that schools like this breed terrorists, but I was so surprised by the greeting we received.  They had snacks there when we arrived, and we enjoyed a very nice welcome from all of the students upon arriving in the classroom.  The students listened so well and they really enjoyed the games and songs we showed them.  They all knew One Direction, so we ended up singing “What Makes You Beautiful” to get them engaged in what we were doing.  At the end, their teachers translated some questions for us, and they had very insightful questions about American culture.  We gave them all of our Facebook account information before we left their class.  Whenever I got back to my room, I received so many Facebook messages from the students, many of whom were girls who said “Thank you for visiting our school.”  I was so surprised to see them be so friendly and open to us coming.  As I continued to talk with one of the female students, she mentioned that she really hoped to come to American sometime soon, but she had no financial way to leave Indonesia.  It really broke my heart to see how much she wanted to get out of her home country, while some of us were dreading going back to ours.  This conversation was one of the most powerful moments of this trip.  It was such a joy to bring life and bring home into this girl’s dark situation, and I hope that I can continue to witness to her through Facebook interactions.  We went to Wesley today for our last day teaching, and we went as tour guides with the ESL students to a local Hindu temple.  It was great to meet some of them and help them with a history project, while also learning some about Hindu culture myself.  When I returned to music class, I was able to help the students learn to play the drums.  The first and second grade students were learning how to play the drum set, which was pedagogically incorrect on so many levels.  The students do not have the coordination to play one part of the drums with the correct technique, let alone a whole drum set.  The students were struggling and getting frustrated, which was a hard thing to see as a teacher.  Instead, Mr. Gallagher should have focused on basic rhythmic patterns and playing with good technique before he moved on to something this difficult.  I was very disappointed in this teaching practice, but I was able to help them as much as I could.  I was glad that I made gains in musician skills through my time at Wesley, because I would have been unable to play the drum set, even at the most basic level, without my time spent practicing during my free periods there.  After we were done teaching, I said a thankful good-bye to Mr. Gallagher, and I went back to the hotel.  I exchanged my contact information with Mr. G, so hopefully I will be able to stay in touch with him if I have any questions about praise band or worship leading.  As much as I did not agree with some of his pedagogical ideas, I respect him a lot as a musician and a worship leader, so I hope to keep him as a contact.  Mexi, a friend from the English teaching seminar, came to visit us at the hotel tonight, and it was great to see him again and play some music with him before we left.  We recorded “Be Thou My Vision” and he sang it in Indonesian; it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard, and I cannot wait to show this recording to my friends and family at home.  Tonight was the first night all trip that we did not have to write lesson plans and do assignments, so it was quite a joy to play games with some of the other members of the trip. 

January 20, 2014

Ma Chung University

Wesley International School

Ludiya’s School

Today we went to Ma Chung University in Malang, where we set up a cultural exchange program with the students there.  We presented a little about Messiah culture, and they presented about Ma Chung culture.  They also showed us a traditional Javanese dance and allowed us to try it with them, which was a fun cultural experience.  These students were extremely friendly, and I enjoyed getting to talk to them about their culture and our culture.  They gave us a tour around their campus, and it was beautiful.  After going to the University, we went back to Wesley where I was asked to teach choir warm-ups again.  The more time I spend there, the more I learned about classroom management, and these students had a lot of fun singing while still sticking with my lesson plan and behaving well.  As long as I start class by explaining the rules and give clear directions throughout the lesson, the students behave quite well.  I also need to hold them to high standards for posture, singing quality, and noise level through rehearsal, and I do not settle for anything less than their best.  The students behave quite well when we do this.  I also had the opportunity to practice the drum set for a while during a free period today.  After teaching at Wesley, we went to Ludiya’s house where we taught some of her students through English games.  Although they didn’t understand too much English, as long as we were clear in our directions, they were able to grasp our lesson and games.  We had dinner at Ludiya’s house, sang a couple songs, tried durian, and then said goodbye to her son, Teo, which was pretty bittersweet.  He has become a good friend, and I hope we can stay in touch.

January 19, 2014

Indonesian Church Service

Malang English Service

Today was a Sunday, so we had another opportunity to visit an Indonesian church.  This church was a much larger church than the first one, but the people were just as friendly and welcoming as before.  After the service we went to the house of one of the congregants for a men’s meeting.  The service was all in Javanese, and it was cool to hear a different dialect of the language here.  They also had traditional music, and I got to play the gamelon, which is an Asian instrument similar to a marimba but with metal keys.  It was so great to interact with some church members and learn a new instrument and cultural style.  I also got to share my testimony at the men’s meeting, which was a new experience as well.  It was much harder to share a testimony through a translator than I imagined, because I had to interrupt my thoughts and use simpler language.  Regardless, I could tell many of the men enjoyed my story, and I praise God for using my story to minister to the people there.  After we ate a traditional meal and were given many gifts, the pastor took us home.  Sunday afternoon was the Malang English Service, where all of the Messiah team was allowed to lead.  It was a powerful time of worship where God was truly there in our midst.  I really missed leading worship at my church throughout this trip, so it was a joy to be able to lead a new group of people towards God in a powerful worship experience.  As one of the girls said at our night meeting, “The Holy Spirit worked through Luke…that worship was a spiritual experience.”  Praise be to God for using me to lead people into His presence in a powerful way.  Although it was a busy day for everyone, we had a great time to connect with friends and get closer to God in a special way.  God is so good!   

January 18, 2014

TESOL Seminar at Worldbridge

Today was another Saturday, so we had seminar with the Indonesian teachers again.  It was great to see some old friends again and connect with some new ones.  The seminar today talked about grammar and how to promote effective feedback to the students.  Although it got long at times, I did learn a lot about how to teach grammar that I never realized before.  I found it interesting that the Indonesians in my group knew the grammar terminology much better than I did.  They said they primarily learned English through memorizing rules and filling out worksheets, while most native English speakers learn more from listening to the speakers around us.  At the end of the seminar, it was hard to say goodbye to so many close friends, both in the seminar and at Worldbridge.  I never imagined I was going to make so many close friends here; everyone has been much more friendly than I ever thought.  Tonight, we went to a Pizza Hut in Malang, and it was great to have a small taste of home again.  Pizza Hut was a high-class restaurant, which came as a large surprise for me.  Regardless, it was a very welcome treat to have some delicious pizza.  We came back and continued to plan the Malang English  Service for tomorrow afternoon. 

January 17, 2014

Surabaya

Cita Hati

Today we left early in the morning to visit Surabaya.  It took us a little longer than expected to get there, so our time at a large souvenir shop was more rushed than we would have liked.  Regardless, everyone was able to buy something that they liked, and it gave us some ideas of what to get everyone in Bali.  I go a djembe drum with an elephant painted on it, which I will be able to use in my classroom someday.  After we were done shopping, we went to Cita Hati, a very wealthy school in Surabaya.  This school greeted us very warmly, as almost every school has, and they gave us some of the most delicious lunch food we have eaten yet.  The head officials and some teachers came to give us a talk about Cita Hati and what the school is about, and it sounded like a fun place to work.  They have very good benefits, there is a nice pay rate, and they are very flexible with scheduling, all of which sound like great perks.  Our main job at this school was to interact with the students, so we went to different classrooms to present about Messiah College.  The students in my class seemed very timid, although they were respectful to   us during our talk.    We had fun splitting into groups and talk individually with the students about their major and their plan for college.  After we were done with our Messiah College promotion, Jonathan and I went to Band Club for one of the extracurricular activities.  We walked in thinking this club would be a concert band, but it ended up being a rock band club.  The teachers were extremely welcoming, and they wanted us to play a song before class started.  The rest of the hour was spent listening and helping the students with music, and it was one of the most fun times I’ve had on this trip.  By the end we were able to play Hillsong music with them, and this was another experience that showed me how global worship music has become.  At the end, we shared email addresses with the students and took a group picture;   Next came a seminar by Ibu Jan, who talked about how to foster character development through effective classroom management.  The group that Jonathan and I were with was great!  We sat with a couple elementary school teachers, and they shared a lot of good ideas with us.  They were also respectful while Jan was teaching.  It made me very sad to hear that many of the other groups and experiences were not as positive as ours was.  All of the people at Cita Hati were extremely welcoming and friendly to me, and even though it didn’t feel like a school I would enjoy teaching at, I enjoyed my experience there much more than the rest of the group.  We got back to Malang right at seven o’clock, so I ran over to Wesley to help lead the High School service.  I had a great time worshipping with the students there, and it was a great joy to see most of the Messiah team members come over as well.   

I had a great experience.

January 16, 2014

Grace’s School

Wesley International School

Worldbrige Language Center

Today we went to Grace’s school to teach.  Kendall and I taught a lesson together about American music genres.  The students at this school had a hard time responding to the lesson because their level of English was very low compared to the students we had worked with before.  We ended up singing to some American popular songs, which the students enjoyed more than the scheduled lesson.  We also taught them “Lean on Me,” and they were able to learn some English language through that experience.  The people at this school were so friendly; they gave us many gifts to show their appreciation.  Each student shook our hand as we walked out of the classroom, and it was one of the sweetest things I’ve experienced this trip.  At the end, they gave us many presents, and I walked out of the school with a handkerchief, a scarf, a headband, lots of water bottles, and a donut-like pastry.  Their kindness was very much appreciated; they went above and beyond to make sure we felt welcomed.  After that, we went back to Wesley and I taught a lesson again today.  This time, I was given an assignment to prepare a day in advance, so I felt more prepared and confident in my lesson this time.  I set very strict classroom rules for the students: I didn’t talk if they were talking, and I made sure that I kept control of the class the whole time.  My classroom management helped this lesson to go much better, and I was extremely excited.  By the end, we got to learn a fun song from the new movie “Frozen.”  I could tell the students were really enjoying music class, which is a very rewarding experience as a teacher.  At Worldbridge, I helped Rachel lead her lesson about

clothing and colors.  We only had four of our seven students show up for the lesson today, so I was able to go see other groups and take pictures for them.  It was very cool to see how everyone was enjoying their lessons- it made me realize how special of a team we have here on this trip.  I was also able to help some of the Worldbridge workers by taking pictures for publicity.  After Worldbridge, we came back to the hotel and relaxed before dinner.  After dinner, I was able to go play with the worship team at Wesley again, and we figured out the songs we wanted to play at the service tomorrow night.  It has been such a joy to meet new friends and learn some new songs during this experience.  It has continued to amaze me that even though I am in a new country, across the world, we can still worship God together. 

January 15, 2014

Charis National School

Wesley International School

Worldbrige Language Center

Today we had a busy day of teaching.  This morning, we left early to go to Charis National School.  I started out the day by leading chapel service, which was one of the most fun things I’ve done on the trip yet.  Every time I get the chance to lead worship or present a Bible story, I can tell that I am meant to do some kind of ministry work for the rest of my life.  I never feel more comfortable, free, or joyous than when I am leading people closer to Christ.  Although I have no idea what that will look like in the rest of my future, possibly in America, possibly internationally, I know that God has called me to serve Him and His people with the rest of my life.  After chapel, Jonathan and I taught a class for third grade about a market.  We compared and contrasted an Indonesian market to an American supermarket.  Then we allowed the students to make American dollars and buy candy at the candy store located at the back of the classroom.  I had a lot of fun, and I could tell the students did too.  It was a really encouraging experience to have a lesson in an unfamiliar subject and age group go so well!  I always love hearing students reactions after the lesson, and multiple students asked when we were coming back because the lesson was so much fun.  After teaching at Charis, we went to Wesley where I was asked to teach a lesson to third grade students.  I did not have much advanced warning to prepare a lesson; the teacher asked me to teach about 45 minutes before the lesson started, so I felt extremely unprepared.  The lesson didn’t go very well at all; I did not find a successful way to keep the students from talking over my instruction. It was stressful to have to yell over the students for the whole period, definitely not a successful teaching experience.  I debriefed with Mr. G after this teaching, and he gave me some good tips on how to keep better control of the classroom.  Hopefully, I can establish a more controlling attitude at the start of the lesson, so the students know they must listen to me for class to be fun.  After Wesley, we went to Worldbrige where I helped Becky teach her lesson about the family.  Tonight, I was able to go to worship practice with a group of students from Wesley, and I had such a great time.  It is such a joy to be able to form relationships with Indonesian students and teachers while worshipping God at the same time.  I’m really looking forward to our worship service on Friday night.  Tonight I also had the chance to have some quiet time with God, something that hasn’t happened as often as I would like.  As I was sitting on a bench outside of the chapel, I had a huge experience with God involving my future.  I have such a desire to teach, worship, and travel that I am on board for any journey God wants to take me on.  This trip has revolutionized my ideas on what it means to do international missions, and I have loved every second of this experience.

January 14, 2014

Mt. Bromo

Traditional Indonesian Restaurant

Today was a day off school because it was Muhammed’s birthday, so we did not do any teaching today.  Instead, we took a trip towards East Java to hike up Mt. Bromo, a volcano.  We got up early to go see the sunrise, but unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see.  We did, however, get to ride ponies to the top of the volcano, see a beautiful view, and come back to an authentic Indonesian restaurant in Malang.  Definitely a nice break!  We spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping after our early morning, but I was able to lead a worship service at our hotel tonight.  I love the heart for worship that this team has, and I am looking forward to the many more times where we can draw closer to God together through group worship and sharing. 

January 13, 2014

Muslim Elementary School

Wesley International School

Worldbridge Language Center

Today was our first day teaching in Indonesia!  We started by teaching at a Muslim school this morning.  It was Muhammad’s birthday celebration today, so we treated the students to some games and songs to celebrate.  I had lots of fun leading the songs, and the students responded really well even though they didn’t know much English.  I was amazed at how friendly and welcoming the students were towards our team.  After a little bit of confusion when we walked in, the students enjoyed our activities.  I had a little fan club calling my name by the time we were leaving; it always feels good to make a connection with students.  After the Muslim school we went to Wesley International School, where I worked with Mr. Gallaher, the music teacher.  His class was very entertaining, and the students had fun while in the class, but he did not have much control over his classroom.  He also did not have a logical flow of progression between his ideas, and he chose a very difficult song for the students to learn.  Although I enjoyed watching his class, I would not have done much similarly if I was teaching the same lesson.  I was very disappointed in the lack of quality music education these students were getting.  I then went over Worldbridge, where I taught a lesson to seven students between eight and ten years old about how to make pizza.  We used flashcards to discuss the steps necessary to make pizza, and then the students were actually able to make it themselves.  I also developed some games to teach sequence words, and the students comprehended the words quite well after the games.  It was hard to gauge what I should teach because the student’s English level was so varied, and today was the first lesson we had with these students.  A couple of the students were able to easily answer my questions, while two others were unable to answer yes or no questions without a lot of help.  By the end, we established a positive rapport with the students, and all of them said they enjoyed the lesson and wanted to come back on Wednesday.  Today was a really great day, filled with many different teaching experiences.  I learned so much about adapting the lesson to meet the needs of the students, especially at Worldbridge today.  I was also amazed by the friendliness of each of the different groups of students.  I have loved the opportunity to work in so many different schools and work with so many different people already; it has really opened my eyes to the idea of how an international teaching can be a huge mission field as well.  Even though the Muslim school and Worldbridge are not Christian schools, it is a great opportunity to love these students and show them Christ’s heart through my teaching.    

January 12, 2014

Indonesian Church Service

Malang English Service

Today we went to an Indonesian church service.  The service was actually very similar to an American service, and I enjoyed it very much.  The lyrics for the songs were printed in both Indonesian and English, so we were able to follow along with the songs.  It amazed me that the songs had very similar messages and music styles to that of an American church.  The pastor played piano in a contemporary style, and another woman sang, almost exactly the same as my home church.  Throughout the service, the missionaries we traveled with were able to translate for us, and I enjoyed the pastor’s message about trusting in the Lord to keep us from being afraid.  The church started promptly at 6:30, which was a surprise for the missionaries and ourselves, considering the typical culture of Indonesian people being late to social events.  After the service, we went downstairs and had a breakfast prepared by one of the women in the church.  She woke up around two o’clock this morning to buy a chicken at the market, and then she prepared the food until the service started.  I never realized how much advanced preparation was a part of any formal meal here!  Everyone was extremely friendly, and I got to hear about one man’s ministry of giving food and Bibles to the homeless people in his hometown.  It is always encouraging to see what God is doing in the lives of people across the world.  After this church service, we went to the Malang English Service at Wesley International School, and it was great to worship in a language we could understand.  Our God is so big, and He has blessed us so much already in this trip. 

It’s such a joy to give back our praise to Him.

January 11, 2014

TESOL Seminar at Worldbridge

Today was a seminar day with about twenty local Indonesian teachers.  Ibu Jan taught the seminar, which was focused on how to help English learners acquire the language better.  Although today was a really long day of class and learning, I really enjoyed working alongside of the Indonesian teachers.  My partner, Mexi, was another musician who teaches in a school we will be visiting next week, and it was awesome to share some of my music with him.  We both come from very different backgrounds, so it was great to hear what his English language learning process was like.  We were both able to share contact information so we can keep in touch after the seminar as well.  At the seminar today, we talked about many different theories of how students develop language.  I was able to relate many of these to my previous language experience.  I took Spanish for three years in high school, and I did not enjoy learning language because my teacher did not use proper strategies in her teaching.  The seminar today helped me to realize some common misconceptions in my thinking and how I can help change those as I begin to teach language acquisition. 

January 10, 2014

Downtown Malang

TESOL Class

Today was a big day filled with many different kinds of experiences!  This morning we went to the Pasar Besar and got to experience a typical Indonesian day at the market.  I bought a shirt along with the other students in my group.  We enjoyed the conversation we were able to have with the Indonesians; although simple, it was rewarding that I could say “good morning,” and they understood what I was saying.  Afterwards, we went to the city park where we observed the Friday prayers at a Mosque.  Everyone was very excited to take pictures with us, which really surprised me.  I was afraid that we would be invading the ceremony, but in fact, the exact opposite situation happened.  After this, we went to McDonalds before heading back to class.  In class today, we discussed some important strategies for TESOL.  Although some of these are very similar to the strategies of music education, some of them were completely unfamiliar to me.  Some of these, especially Leveled Questions, Cloze, and Dictoglos, will be useful for my lesson at Worldbridge.  We figured out the songs for the Muslim school today as well, and I got to think through some ideas for how to teach songs to younger students.  Although I was extremely tired by the end of the day, I enjoyed the variety of cultural experiences that we got to be a part of today. 

January 9, 2014

TESOL Class

Indonesian Lesson

Today was a long day of TESOL class, although it was informative.  We spent lots of time discussing what we learned from the readings and how we can implement TESOL strategies into our classroom.  My favorite part of class today was comparing world cultures, especially comparing Western culture to Asian cultures.  I never realized how drastic the differences are between Americans culture and Indonesian culture.  Many different exercises helped me understand how lost English Language Learners’s can feel inside an American classroom.  We watched and discussed a video about a Spanish student in an American classroom, which really showed me how confused many immigrant students feel.  He could comprehend the material, but he didn’t have the English skills to respond to the questions in the manner the teacher wanted.  He was unable to use his Spanish dictionary on the exam, which allowed him no chance at success.  There were major things wrong with this scenario, which we all discussed in the class.  During our Indonesian language lesson today, I felt extremely overwhelmed with the new language, which again helped me to realize how ELL’s feel in a typical American classroom.  Today we had our first checkpoint meeting, and it was great to know I wasn’t alone with my fears and struggles of being on this trip.  I am having a great time so far, but I’m still struggling with feeling out of place in the language and feeling constantly tired because of jet lag.  Thankfully, many people are in the same situation, and we can all work through these things together.  Today was a fun day and I’m excited to continue to learn more about TESOL strategies in our coming days here. 

January 8, 2014

Introduction to Indonesia

Indonesian Lesson

Today was our first full day in Indonesia!  We had our first two meals today, consisting of chicken and rice, and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.  I’ve never been a fan of rice in the United States, so I am anxious to see if I learn to like it throughout my time here.  We also were able to exchange our first bit of Indonesian money (100.000 rupiah is equal to 10 American dollars, so it goes a long way here!).  We went to a corner store to get some snacks for the night, and I was amazed by the different flavors of chips, Oreos, and sodas that were available here.  I bought some strawberry soda, Ice Cream flavored Oreos, and Cheesy Pizza Lay’s potato chips.  Today, we also got to see the two main schools that we will be teaching in, Wesley International School and Worldbridge Language Center.  All of the teachers seemed extremely friendly, and I am really looking forward to my time at these schools in the coming weeks.  I met the worship pastor and music teacher at Wesley, and it will be a great experience to work with him as well.  After our tour of the schools, we got our first Indonesia lesson by one of Ibu Jan’s friends, Ludiya.  The language of Indonesian seems fairly simple (no verb tenses, fairly simple number system), but it was very overwhelming at the first day!  I hope this gets easier the more classes that we are able to take.  We finished up the day with some TESOL reading and watching National Treasure with Indonesian subtitles. 

January 7, 2014

Travel Day

Wow, what a crazy day!  This morning we left Messiah and drove to JFK airport in New York City for a 16 hour flight to Hong Kong, then a 5 hour flight to Surabaya, Indonesia, then another 2 hour bus ride to Malang.  This was my first international experience, so I was extremely excited by the video machine on the plane, the airplane food, and the helpfulness of all of the people on the plane and in both airports.  The airport in Hong Kong looked very similar to an American airport, as most signs were in English and similar stores such as McDonalds and Starbucks were present.  As we got off the plane in Surabaya, the first thing that I noticed was the humidity.  We were definitely not in Pennsylvania anymore!   There were palm trees surrounding the airport, and the humidity felt as if it was 1000 percent.  This got better as we proceeded into the mainland of the island, although the humidity is still much higher than in the states.  Today has been a great day, but extremely tiring, so I will be excited to see more of Indonesia after I get some sleep!