adventures of M.Do

ok, so look to the side of the page.... see that list of "links to the people I love"? Let me intoduce you to my buddy Mark, a.k.a. M.Do. (Like J.Lo or better yet, L.Bo... you get the picture?) Mark has just set out on the adventure of a lifetime.... I enjoyed his first newsletter so much, I figured you'd like to have a little read so you can be doing your "nija best" for him too! It's a little long, so grab a cuppa and enjoy.
(hey Markus, I hope it's ok I posted this!)

Subject: Hey I'm in Indonesia

Hello Everybody...

Well yesterday marked a week of me being here in beautiful Lippo Karawaci, so I thought it was time I wrote. We have been incredibly busy, and my time on the internet has been precious and short... have an hour free right now, so I'm at the internet cafe around the corner.

Anyhow, the flight was ok, but LONG. St. Paul to Tokyo took forever (12 hours) but Tokyo to Singapore seemed quick (only 7 hours). Most of the newbies stayed at the Traders Hotel, which was quite nice... I recommend it to anybody needing a very expensive place to stay in Sing... You didn't even have to get your own ice... it was delivered to the door! Much better than all the Journey's End Motel's I've stayed in in the past. I was able to meet quite a few of the teachers at the hotel. Jess (from London ON) and I flew together from Sing to Jakarta.

We arrived in Jakarta on the Monday night... got to my NEW APARTMENT, and it's not bad... needs a bit of a paint job, but it has cathedral ceilings, and new air con, so it's a pretty good place to stay. We had orientation all last week and we went shopping on Wednesday and Saturday to equip our apartments. I managed to drop about 3 million rupiah, which is about $400 Cdn. Sunday I went to church in Jakarta at International English Service(IES) which is an Assemblies of God congregation. It was pretty good, although the worship leader wore a bright yellow shirt and a matching bandana. It was a good thing the fashion police weren't at the service.

This week has been meetings and classroom prep. I'm teaching one of four Gr. 4 classes... I have a wonderful team and a wonderful teaching partner named Ibu Betty, which means Mrs Betty.... Which brings me to the fact that we go by our first names here... the Indonesians are Ibu (Mrs) or Pak (Mr.) and the Expats are Mr., Miss, or Mrs. So that means the kids will be calling me MR. MARK.

When will it end?!

I am very excited about meeting the kids on Monday for our 'meet and greet'. I have 20 little ones, so the teacher/ student ratio is 1:10!!
My flat is in an area of Karawaci where there are a number of similar flats... most of the singles live in this area, so I think I may have an abundant social life. In our unit (or Taman-- which means garden) there will be 5 Canadians and 1 Australian... The other Tamans in the area have a good number of singles as well...

Oh ya... I've been travelling around by Ojek... which is a very fast and cheap way of travelling... on the back of a motor bike. The cost to school is 4000 Rupiah (~60 cents) and back home is only 3000 Rupiah. If I want to go the Mall, it is 5000 Rupiah. At first it was kind of unnerving driving at breakneck speed between cars, but I've adjusted.

Today I got cable which was a hassle, but it was finally installed after pleading the kabelvision guys (who were at Jess' house) to come... they needed a permit, which, apparently aren't given out after 4pm... grrr...

I also got a maid today! I will be sharing her with Gary, a senior school teacher who lives in the Taman across the road. She will be washing AND ironing my laundry and cleaning my flat. I wouldn't normally boast over opulence, but it's not everyday one gets a maid.

Well it's been quite an adjustment and I wish I could fully explain what life has been like here... it's so different and at times I'm loving it, and at times I just want to come home! I do miss you all and think of you often... I wish you could experience this with me:)

I will be updating my weblog soon, so pleased keep in tune to what's happening in my life, and please be in contact! I would really be excited to hear about what's happening in your lives,

Peace,
Mark

www.whereismark.blogspot.com


~Lesley again... I've got itchy feet just reading that!