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.