Teaching and other things that bugged me last month

September was a rough month for me. It had been a long time since I had to have extended interactions with Indonesians. After school let out in June, I went home to America. When I came back, I sat tight at site for the month of Ramadan. Then I had a weeklong training in Surabaya followed by another week stuck in Surabaya for medical appointments. The summer of isolation left me feeling disconnected from locals.

When I started teaching again I became easily frustrated with cultural norms that I have encountered throughout my service. Being at school for 5 hours felt like an eternity. Teaching alongside my counterpart felt foreign. My students bombarded me with questions I don’t have answers to. It took an entire month to readjust to school, but here I am feeling like I’m back in the groove of things. I’m a big fan of listicles, so here’s a list of things that used to frustrate me and how I’ve grown to love them….or at least, tolerate them.

1) Jam Karet: the art of being fashionably late

Why this used to bug me: My last job before Peace Corps was a resident assistant position at American University’s Housing and Dining Programs (go eagles). Our motto was, “Five minutes early is on time. On time is late. And late is unacceptable.” When I moved to Indonesia, I knew I would be encountering jam karet, which translates into “time is like rubber” (i.e. it’s flexible). If a meeting started at 2pm, I would be there at 1:55pm, just like my good ole American U roots taught me. Of course, everyone else was late and my blood would boil with every passing minute. Over the last year and a half, I’ve not only learned to tolerate it, but I’ve come to love it.

Why I have come to love it: I’ve learned to use jam karet to my advantage. If I’m running late, I don’t rush myself. In my school, it is more important to eat breakfast, wash up properly, and drink your entire cup of coffee before starting work. I used to feel guilty being late. I would begin to sweat (from heat and stress), walk faster, and ignore people on the street who tried to say hello to me. Being here has made me slow down a lot. I think my fast pace city slicker self needed that wake up call. In the morning, I actually wake up and smell the coffee. My ibu roasts herself and it smells delicious!

2) Students who take notes slowly

Why this used to bug me: I noticed that my students don’t take notes while I write on the board. I’m assuming my students were never been taught these skills because they simply stare at me while I’m teaching. Each day, I have to tell them to write down what I am writing on the board. I used to have to wait at least 4-5 minutes in awkward silence for the students to catch up. I tried to teach them the skill of taking notes while actively listening, but it was only effective on 2 out of 32 students. I gave up and decided to work with it instead of against it.

Why I’ve come to like it: I use this awkward note-taking silence as an opportunity to listen to music. I bring my laptop into class and blast Taylor Swift, Justin Beiber, and Indonesian pop songs. I tell the students, “You have until ‘Blank Space’ ends to finish taking notes.” The kids really enjoy it and even give me requests. They’ve introduced me to a lot of Korean Kpop music while I’ve been introducing them to hit Bollywood singles. Thank you, music, for filling all the awkward note-taking silences.

3) Communal Learning: or cheating, as Americans would call it

Why this used to bug me: I’ve always been encouraged to do my own work. It was a huge shock for me to learn that my students openly cheat. When I ask one student a question, another student will answer for him/her. My students also help each other on tests by turning around in their seat and talking to one another.

Why I’ve come to tolerate it: I can’t stop the cheating that happens during tests, but I have learned to use communal learning to my advantage. I speak to the class in English and expect my students to help each other translate what I say. There are usually 5-10 students who collaborate with each other to decipher my words. Afterwards, they translate it to their peers. It’s a great way to get students to listen and to learn from each other. The students who actively participate see it as some kind of game. I never said it was a competition, but for some reason they race to their dictionaries every time I open my mouth. Whatever works!  

4) Looking Fabulous

Why it used to bug me: Javanese culture (at least in my desa) puts a lot of emphasis on looks. They iron their clothes, they comb their hair, they pin their hijabs with a cute little flower pin….etc. Basically what I’m trying to say is that they always look on point despite the heat and humidity. During my first year of teaching, I could barely get out of my bed without breaking a sweat. I wore the school uniform, which I did not think was flattering at all. I either had to wear a tan army-looking uniform or colorful, patterned batik shirts. This is simply not my style, so I let myself go. I stopped shaving. I didn’t comb my hair.  When people commented, all I could think was, “Why do you care what I look like!?”

Me in all my uniform glory. Not a happy camper

Why I like it now: I’ve learned that it’s good for my mental health to dress like myself. When I packed my bags in America, I threw in a bunch of old skirts, long sleeve button downs, and kaki pants. I figured it was okay to not dress up because I was going to live in a village; who was I trying to impress? I also read blogs from other volunteers saying that they had stopped putting emphasis on their looks. In my mind I took this as, “I’ll look like hobo for two years and come out liking it.” No, that’s not true at all. I had enough of the uniforms and the batik this semester. The loud colors and flower prints are not me. So I asked my counterpart if it was okay to start dressing like myself again. She said it was fine as long as I covered up.

This lesson in fashion also taught me how rude I was being to the local culture. My idea of professional attire do not match their idea. Therefore, I allowed myself to slack off when it came time to dress up. I felt above it and felt like I didn’t need to impress anyone. I’m glad I got off my high horse. No one needs that sort of negative attitude in a school environment!

What I dress like now. My own clothes, necklace that I brought from home, and a new pair of speck. Happy as a clam! 

Don’t get me wrong. There are still things about the education system that bug me. I get annoyed when class is randomly canceled for a teachers meeting. I don’t like lesson planning alone. I grind my teeth every time a student leaves in the middle of class without telling me where they are going. Things aren’t perfect, but I’m back on track and that’s all that matters.

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