A good meeting, a school, and more house hunting

Today there were three things on the agenda. First, to attend my first faculty meeting (it's still two weeks before classes start). Second to go look for a school for the kids. And third to continue looking for houses. By the end of yesterday, I felt committed to the house I had posted with the seashells under the glass on the table. It has a rambutan tree after all, and with the common pawpaw (asimina triloba), I think rambutans are some of the most intriguing fruits. Rambutans taste pretty good but their punch is their appearance. Pawpaws look pretty normal (even though few have seen them in person) but their punch is in their taste. But rambutan tree or not, I wanted to look at a few more places.

I didn't take any pictures at the meeting, so I'll just describe it quickly. To my surprise, it was a meeting called for the specific purpose of  welcoming me and introducing me to the faculty in the English Department. I had thought it would be on getting ready for the beginning of the semester. So it was really a kind and gracious thing to do. The department head spoke first and talked about me and told them I had lived in Indonesia when I was younger. And he told them what I would be doing here--teaching and consulting on the curriculum. And then the dean of the fine arts and letters spoke about me, encouraging faculty to interact with me and share their research with me. He indicated how surprised he was that I'm so young, since he had been expecting the visiting professor to be older. And then I was asked to speak. Fortunately being asked to speak in an impromptu way might be better in Indonesian than it is in English. There are only so many things I can say in Indonesian, and it's apparent that I'm still learning, so I think people are forgiving if I'm not particularly eloquent. Among the things I said: I thanked the dean for saying I seemed so young, and I apologized for seeming so young. And I pointed out that it would be normal for anyone to expect me to be older, since the title bestowed by my fellowship is "Senior Scholar."

After the meeting, I talked with a very interesting faculty member who is writing her dissertation (for a nearby university) on the American TV show The Closer. She's still at the beginning stages, and she wondered if I might be able discuss ideas about the show. Remarkably, that's one of the handful of shows that I've watched all the seasons of, so it seems I'm in the right place. After that, I spoke with some other colleagues about fast food, which I was reminded is an entrance for many people into US culture. All of a sudden, given that the Am studies program here focuses a lot on popular culture, my modest knowledge of the "better burger" trend and McDonalds' declining fortunes became objects of interest.

After the meeting, I was shown my carrel in the same room with my thirty or so colleagues. I'm sitting right across from a colleague who exchanged ideas with me about mid-twentieth-century Indonesian literature.

Soon thereafter, some undergraduates took me to a school that N and I have had our eye on for W and S. I had emailed twice, once in English and once in Indonesian, but I didn't receive a response. When I arrived, though, they told me that they had responded to both emails, so I guess they got lost somehow. In any case, it looks like the school will work out for W and S. They'll receive instruction in English for four subjects: English, math(s), science, and "IPC." And they'll receive instruction in Indonesian in: Indonesian language study, civics, social studies, and the Javanese language! Hopefully their teachers won't expect very much out of them for their civics exams.  

With the headmaster, I stopped by what I think will be William's class. We interrupted them while they were taking an exam, so that may explain their exuberance.

I can hardly imagine being this happy, though, in the middle of taking an exam.

No shoes aloud in the classroom, so the walkways outside are lined with shoe racks. 

There's a central courtyard with a basketball court.

I stopped by the class were I think S would go. They were just trickling into the room after a field trip to a tea plantation.

Then we went to look at some houses. Doesn't this look like a cool green house?

Look at those parapets and the tower. It's a scene for a Javanese version of Hitchcock's Vertigo.

Walking through the wooden doors that have known what it's like to exist in humidity.

One bedroom had a bed without a mattress.

Another had two mattresses stacked.

This bathroom had a shower. One bathroom in the house.

An outdoor kitchen area

Which conduced toward a slightly detached indoor kitchen area.

Having ascended into the tower!

Outside on the balcony. The man showing us the house pointed out that this plant had a bloom on it although it wasn't being cared for.

The view from the balcony.

Then we moved on to another house that one of the students had just learned about from a friend, someone very knowledgeable of the happenings in this town.

This kitchen looks nicer than our kitchen at home, no offense to us.

This is the traditional Indonesian style mandi.

Right next to that bathroom was this bathroom. I'm not quite sure how this one is to be used, but I'm here and willing to be educated.

Dining room table with refrigerator

A bedroom. This one seemed nice. There are two bedrooms downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs.

Second bedroom downstairs.

A main living area looking onto the front door.

Along the stairs, there's a mural, but not just a mural--a mural done in bas-relief. It has a crouching tiger in it!

Now we're upstairs

Bedroom upstairs.

The bathroom upstairs.

Second upstairs bedroom with no bed.

Out on the balcony, overlooking a banana tree and some rubble

A nice set up for entertaining, back downstairs

Stairs that go up to the roof. 

An area to hand clothes to dry, with a clothes line. When one of the students pointed this out, I asked if there was a washing machine and he said there wasn't. Then he said he was sure there were some laundry services nearby.

Another pic inside a downstairs bedroom.

This room would be for a potential pembantu.

Oh one thing that I liked about the house, as the students pointed out, is that it's close to the church building, walk-able close. And the people showing it said it already has internet installed. It seems like a good house. So the kind students I'm working with are contacting the owner to begin negotiations.