My Neighbors

I've been pretty busy the last couple weeks. I have been teaching and also doing lots of things on the side. I've been asked to give a 30 minute speech to a couple thousand people for graduation on Nov 15. I'm nervous, to say the least. I have also been asked to appear on a local English language radio show once a month. Additionally I have been visiting various schools in the area to say Hello and let the students meet a native speaker. I've also had time to start getting to know people better and make friends, so I'm really happy about that.

Indonesians are really close with their neighbors. Therefore, my neighbors are really interested in being very close with me. Every time I leave the house I am invited into every house I pass for coffee or juice. I shake hands with numerous old ladies every day. And neighbors come into my house and watch tv with me. The bravest and smartest is Tina and she comes every day, whenever she sees that I am home. She's only 10 but she speaks a bit of English and we can usually manage to communicate, more or less. It's really nice, actually.

Here are some photos of some other neighbors/roommates I have acquired, as well as some new additions to my home. But first there are some photos from the Alun-Alun or town square one night.


This is me with my roommate and another teacher from school. My roommate weighs 83 pounds. She is the tiniest healthy adult I have ever met.


This is a lion statue in the Alun Alun. There are a ton of them here.


This is one of the many lizards that live in my house


A goat that spend the day in the empty lot across the street from me.


We got some new furniture for the porch. It's a great place to sit and chat.


One of the many cats that wander in and out of my house.


A neighbor girl and a chicken. The chickens run around completely loose and everywhere


These are the steps that lead to my roof in the back and sometimes kids play on them and I'm afraid they're going to break their heads open.

My new house!

I have moved into a new house! I had been staying at the home of the director of the school but his home was very far both from my school and from the center of town.

The school bought a house and fixed it for me as well as other teachers and any volunteers who may come here after I leave. It's really really nice. It was an old house but they've done extensive renovations. The really nice thing about the school owning it is that they are completely furnishing it and I don't have to worry about paying for anything.

As you will see in the photos below, it's very green, which is kind of fun. I have counted four different shades of green: Lime, Forest, Sea foam, and um...regular. It's common here for houses to be painted very bright colors.

Maybe my favorite thing about the house is that because it is close to campus, I can be social with other teachers MUCH more easily. In Indonesia people usually leave their doors open and guests drop by unannounced whenever they feel like it and wonder in. this is such a warm tradition and great when you are getting to know new people. Teachers are always coming to the house to see how I'm doing and just hang out between classes or after class.When I lived at the family stay I didn't have much opportunity to socialize.

Right now I am living with one other teacher, Miss Enny, who is about my age I think and has pretty good English. There is also a guy who works for the school (i'm not exactly sure what he does, maybe groundskeeper or something? seems to be a general go-to-guy) named Mr Agus who has been spending a lot of time at the house helping to move heavy stuff and hang things and whatnot. They call him the house "Security" as a joke. He also drops by sometimes to see if I want to go to campus. He speaks no English whatsoever so communication with him is limited at best but sometimes his friends (male teachers from the school) come over in the evening and hang out on the porch drinking coffee and smoking. I was surprised by this, having heard that the genders are pretty separate here as far as socializing but since it doesn't seem to bother Miss Enny, it doesn't bother me. It's really nice to have people around to chat with.

I am told that in the future they will be adding internet to the house! This would be pretty amazing. right now I am using a cafe nearby. They are also going to make a guest room for me so my VIA friends from across Indonesia (and any of you american's who want to make the journey:) ) can stay with me easily.

I have a mailing address now, so letters and care packages are welcomed : )

Heather Nicole Phillips
Jl Ukel No 32
Kel. Kertosari Kec. Babadan
Kabupaten Ponorogo
Jawa Timur, Indonesia


First, my keys! Thanks Dad, for the key chain!



The bathroom is awesome. This is the first sit down toilet I've seen in this city.


bedroom - small but nice





Out back is still a work in progess....




stove and kettle


The only sink in the entire house


Nice little fridge


The kitchen!


Rice cooker and various containers


Kitchen stuff


The exit to the side porch


The common room


The side, facing the street


The side


Entrance Hall


The door stop and shoe area


Note the green



The Front door



The side of the house


My Green House


The front "yard"


Fake rocks/trees decorating the front area


Front porch


The front of the house


And this is the tree in the front yard-ish area

Update

Well, i haven't updated in awhile because I have been off from work, so I've had a pretty boring life. Mostly I sit around, maybe grade papers for my host father, and watch tv shows on my computer. This is sort of just to let you know that I am still alive. I have off for another week so maybe i will try to think up something interesting to say here!