2 months in Indonesia

It's officially been two months since I first arrived in Indonesia. Pre-service training is coming to a close within the next week and then I will be off to my permanent site in Bogor. I'm so excited to get started with teaching but I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to all of the amazing people I have built relationships with over the last couple of months. From fellow Peace Corps trainees to my host family in Kediri to Peace Corps staff, it's going to be difficult to say our goodbyes. We've have been able to make a ton of memories over the last few weeks so I thought I would share with you.

Model School

During the first full week of November, I spent my afternoons teaching middle school English. My partner and I were eager to get started and plan fun, engaging lessons for the kiddos. Each day centered around a different theme including listening, reading, vocabulary, writing, and speaking. Our class already had a great knowledge of English and impressed us greatly. It was a pleasure to teach them and we miss them already. On the final day of class, they surprised my partner and I with boxes of our favorite Indonesian food. It was amazing!

Practicum

Over the last two weeks, I have been teaching English at a local Islamic high school. I am working with a counterpart (Indonesian teacher from the school). At first, I was very nervous because almost all of my friends had a partner (another volunteer) they were going to teach with but I was also eager to accept the challenge. I've learned something from each day which is what matters most and I know I will take with me what I've learned to my permanent site. My counterpart and I have planned lessons surrounding cause and effect. It's a new topic for the students but they shown comprehension by the end of lesson. There are two observations during practicum including a peer observation and a Peace Corps staff observation.

Language Classes, Language Proficiency Interview, and Farewell Party for Language Facilitators

On Friday, November 22nd, interviews were conducted by Peace Corps Indonesia staff members to assess trainees on their language skills before we head off to permanent site. I am happy to say that after two months of classes and a lot of studying done by myself and with my Ibu, I passed the interview and scored really well (better than I expected!). We celebrated with a Farewell Party for our amazing language facilitators. Our teachers have worked so hard to prepare us for service and we will miss them so much!

Village trips to Malang, the beach, a waterfall, and more!

Over the last few weeks, I have been really lucky and have gotten to spend my weekends traveling around where I am currently staying in East Java. My village and I went to Malang where we visited a waterfall, a very colorful village, and watched the sunset in the mountains. We left at 6am and we didn't get home until 11pm but it was totally worth it. The following weekend, I went with another village to the beach! The beach is quite possibly my favorite place on earth so I have been looking forward to my first beach experience in Indonesia for a while. I spent the day swimming, boating, and relaxing with friends. We even toured some caves on the way home. During this past weekend, I went with a few friends to a local waterfall. The hike down to the waterfall and back up were utterly exhausting but yet again, the views were worth it. We spent the rest of the day watching Frozen 2 at the movie theater. I have been waiting for this movie for so long and it did not disappoint! Overall, I've been so grateful for all of the opportunities and experiences I have gotten during pre-service training and it's crazy to believe that it is coming to a close. Thank you for reading! -Niki