Controlled Chaos

Salaam

Kami berharap semuanya baik-baik aja.  Kalian semua sudah bertanya ke lokasi internet/website www.rdihongkong.com dan kita sudah berkomunikasi sama anda pada waktu lama.  Kami senang bisa mengumumkan kita akan punya konferensi informasi di Jakarta tanggal 20 Maret.  Silahkanlah datang, jadi anda bisa bertemu kami dan mengunakan kesempatan ini untuk:

-Dapat jawaban tentang pertanyaan anda tentang kursus

-Mendiskusikan kemungkinan anda akan melamar dan harganya aplikasi atau harganya kursus

-Melihat buku-buku yang bisa membantu anda belajar dan laporan-lapan dari masa berlalu

-Menilai sertifak dari universitas anda

-Berkonsultasi sama penasehat kami

-Tolong bawa resume anda, transkrip, atau sertifikat anda jadi kami bisa menilai dan menasehati sama anda.

-Menikmati ke US$645

Konferensi ini:

-tanggal 20 Maret

-Mulai jam 1030 pagi

-Tempat belum dikonfirmasi

Konferensi ini gratis.  Anda bisa bawa teman kalau mau.  Tolong membalas ke email ini.

Terima kasih dan sampai jumpa nanti.

Salaam,

On Mar 10, 2010, at 6:51 AM, Ristiya munazzahatin wrote:

Hay jonthon,could you explain to me about the means of this email if

you have free time…?

Dear Indonesia Enquirers,

Re: Meeting you in Jakarta

I hope you are well. You have made enquiries to <http://www.rdihongkong.com> www.rdihongkong.com website previously and we have been in communication with you for a while. We are pleased to inform we will have an Information Day and Workshop in Jakarta on 20 March 2010. Attend our Jakarta Info Day, so that you can meet us in person & use the opportunity to:

!P         Answer all your questions about the course(s)

!P         Discuss your eligibility to apply and application process or tuition fees

!P         View study materials & textbooks & past papers

!P         View final certificates awarded by the University

!P         Consult freely with our advisors

!P         Bring your CV, transcript or copy of certificates for us to assess & to advise you

!P         Enjoy bursary up to US$645

The details of the event are:

!P         Date: Saturday, 20th March 2010

!P         Time: Start from 10:30am

!P         Venue: To Be Confirmed

Attendance is free of charge. You are welcome to bring a friend or a

colleague. Please simply reply to this email or

<http://www.rdihongkong.com/distance-learning/information-seminar.html>

click here for reservation.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in Indonesia!

Regards,

Inquiries have validity in their own right, and sometimes the way is as valuable or moreso as the destination. In considering a question, one must open their mind, consider reality, and lay bare the presuppositions of the self. Of course, this is a much more apropos statement with regard to open-ended questions, especially those of religious, philosophic, or political nature, as they encourage debate and the transfer of ideas, exploration of the world and the self, and more. Questions are the impetus to action, and without them the world would be bland and sedate. Questions lead to inventions, understanding, and success sometimes, but far more often, they lead to more questions. Thus, questions possess a power for exposing the infinite that an answer never could.

[[Current mood:guruish]]
[[Category: Religion and Philosophy]]

< >

the next five years will only be a piece of my life, which seems to always be moving (perhaps there aren’t enough spirals of relaxation…). That said, I think they will make me more well-read, more fluent in Indonesian, and, insyAllah, more Indonesian!

9 lbs 4 oz

(Oliver – 9 lbs 12 oz)

Clip Syndicate Video: Yankees Pep Rally In Bronx School.

This is the school I taught at for two years prior to leaving for Indonesia, getting excited for the Yankees on Good Day New York.

The title of this blog is controlled chaos, and today exemplifies why this is an apt description for my life.  I’ll go reverse chron through the wackiest two moments of my day, in keeping with the reverse chron of the blogosphere:

So, at the end of the day, I was all excited to be leaving by 6:01 (I left at 8:13 yesterday), but I end up in an office, where I am informed that, for the rest of the year, I will be teaching high school ESL two times a week to seven kids who will no longer have an artistic period because they require these services.  Someone else will teach them another two days a week.  I’ve been informed that the students will be more or less hostile to this schedule change.  I accepted it with a smile.

Also, I paid $50 to extend my certification, but the DOE moves slowly (think snails), so I am technically not certified.  This means I’ll have to team teach my classes with another woman until I get the papework from the DOE.  I called the DOE’s TEACH office to attempt to rectify this, and ended up writing the following email to my headmaster:

“You’re gonna looove this…

I called TEACH at 518.474.3901.  The two prompts that apply to our situation are 4 and 5.  5 is to speak to a representative.  Upon doing this, I was informed that the office was very busy, and given the option of dialing 1 to reach an automated system or being disconnected.  I chose the latter and called right back, this time opting to press 4.  4 is the option for requesting expedited processing.  I was then given two options: 1 for NYC public schools, and 2 for NYS public and non-public schools.  I pressed two and reflected on my good fortunate not to be part of the circus/DOE.  (I had no idea I would come around on the charter school thing so quickly!)  I was then informed that my superintendent or principal can apply for expedited processing *and has already been informed of how to do this.*  I was then dismissively told that the call would now be disconnected.  Never did I speak to a human being.

So that wasn’t particularly fruitful.  And I’m guessing the automator is incorrect in presuming that our and all schools are aware of how to go about expediting application processing.

As best I know, that means we are left to wait.  Don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything else I can do in the meanwhile.”

I start grad school two nights a week starting tomorrow.  I hope I can get around to blogging about my summer and last month in Indonesia before the end of the year…

W.O.R.D.S. article

This is a Jakarta Post article about the competition we brought students to in Jakarta.  Oh, memories…

America has thrown a lot of work and stress at me, but I have overcome; in other words, I’m doing pretty well. I have been traveling in America – Montana, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Wyoming, the Upper Green, Utah, the Land of Marmots (SLC), Colorado, Fort Collins, and the open road. Now I am in my old college town to work on my thesis.

This weekend I will go back to St. Louis to see my family. Then on August 11th, I will drive with Ken, another ETA, to New York City, where I will be teaching this year.

To clarify for my Indonesian friends, I won’t be coming back to Indonesia this year.  For better or worse, there are some things I must attend to in America this year, not the least important of which is attaining my Masters degree in Teaching. I am already taking the first of four classes remaining to attain that degree. With it, I plan to apply for a Fellowship in the hopes of returning to Indonesia and working on educational reforms. I might even stay for two years (perhaps even in Makassar!) if I do that.  As my friends and family in Majene would say, “Insya Allah!”

I’ll give more details about my trip soon, when I get time to type them up.

New York is the polar opposite of Majene.  That’s not to imply that Majene was all that small, but rather life doesn’t get bigger than New York City, maybe.  And that’s where I am again, back at my old apartment up in Harlem.

I don’t live here.  Actually, I am homeless and unemployed.  Try saying that when making new friends.  I’ve actually been doing exactly that, reveling in my currently unleashedness.  But it can’t last forever.  I can feel myself yearning for structure.

On that note, I feel very much in touch with myself right now.  I described it to a friend as “possessing the blue pearl of wisdom,” a la “Eat, Pray, Love.”  Indeed, my self couldn’t be more out of sync with my current surroundings.  So much traffic (in every sense of the term), so much available for sale, so much so much.  And yet I remain unmoved, calm and patiently awaiting word back on my job interview.

I interviewed for a position at Apsirations Diploma Plus High School in Brooklyn on Tuesday.  I think the interview went well; I don’t know exactly what needs they are hoping to fill, but am confident that I will be hired.  At the risk of sounding overconfident, I think I would be able to help the school a lot.  But for now, I wait.

I shiver, too.  I am cold, everywhere.  I wear three shirts and a hoody when I go out at night.  My body hasn’t adjusted yet.  My mind is also not too keen on the idea of going to bed before about 3am yet either.  We’re making progress there, though.

Tomorrow I will go to BCSM for the award ceremony, followed by the graduation ceremony on Saturday.  I am very much looking forward to reconnecting with the students and some of the teachers of my old school.

There’s really only one cause of concern I have right now, and its actually dictating my use of free time: if I get hired, I need a place to live.  And right now, I don’t know of anyone else who is really looing for an apartment.  I could pay the $1000/mo. for a studio apartment or single bed, but that’d suck.  I was hoping to save money this year…

My first day back has not left my feeling shocked and dazed, well not exactly.  Despite my efforts not to have jetlag, I do.  I got in at 6am, couldn’t sleep until 4am even though I’d been up since the equivalent of 9.  The my dad woke me up at noon on my instructions for lunch, but I went back to sleep after lunch.  I went to my mom’s that night, and this time couldn’t sleep until 5:30am.  She woke me up to go to Mattoon at 9, and kept me up until after lunch, when I got a small nap.  I went to sleep around 10, and now I seem to be back on schedule.

Jetlag aside, I did get a lot accomplished.  The first day I was home, I got my bags entirely unpacked and, as best as I could, sorted.  There’s a pile of stuff to take to NYC in a week, a pile of stuff to take with me to Troy and Mattoon, and a pile of stuff to give out as gifts (oleh-oleh).  After unpacking, Trevor Buckingham, a childhood friend, came out, and we walked around downtown St. ouis, stopping at Lafeyyette plaza(?) to look at the arch).  The we made our way to Maggie O’Brien’s, where we had a free beer care of Brett Ramsey and coincidentally ran into Luke Wels, his girlfriend, Kyle Saurwein, Mike Crosby and Jason Tedesco.  We planned our 10=year reunion (or joked about doing so – Mike is the class president, so maybe it’ll happen, and if it does, it’ll likely be along the lines of plans such as those made that evening).  The next day/evening, I watched old American Idol shows on DVR with my dad, and became starstruck at the singing talent that is Adam Lambert.  Then I went to dinner at a Mexica restaurant and discussed God with my dad and Lambert, which was interesting.  Then I got driven to my mom’s house, where I unpacked my stuff and organized the basement.  The next morning it was off to the farm to eat, meet family, show off my video, pictures and knives, and hang out.  I was amazed to find that there is now high-speed wirless internet out at the farm.  We also went to a Wal-Mart up there, which was in an itself an experience.

Here’s some Americana I have reacted to since being back:
-Prices.  Sure, every jualan in Indonesia has a harganya of at least 5 digits, but once one does all the math, things in America are SO EXPENSIVE!  A hotel costs around $100 a night; in my Lonely Planet USA (bought online!), I can find guest houses in StL for $20.  In Indonesia, the last place I paid to stay at cost Rp25.000 a night, or $2.25/night.  And its not just housing.  A pool cue costs $25.  A gallon o iced cream costs $6. A marked-down DVD costs $13.  And this is at discount prices, at Wal-Mart!  A DVD in Indonesia cost me 62 cents.
-Highways.  They sure are smooth.  Nearly no motorcycles weaving through and slowing down traffic, few if any potholes so my spine isn’t clanking like a slinky, and *paint* – on the roads!  There are lanes!  Sure, it’s a huge waste of money and enables us to pollute-weapons into the heart of the planet, but damn it, it so freedomish!
-Nature.  My grandma asked me if things were as green in Indonesia as they are in America.  I didn’t know how to explain at first that America is like a black and white picture compared to the 256-color prints of Indonesia.  Just, there’s no comparison.  I ended up explaining that the forests of Indonesia aren’t maintained, that it is in the tropics, that Indonesians have a lot more nature at their disposal…I think I failed to get my point across.  Nature in America has been paved.
-Family.  I love my family, and its complexities.  I have a step-mom now, and a new cousin-in-law, and one less girlfriend-in-law.  I sat with my mom on the farm and looked at old family albums of relatives I have heard the names of but, until now, never seen pictures of.  And that made me recall getting an email while in Indonesia about the Coulson family history, which is so complex I couldn’t even make the canopy of it for a family tree project when I was in middle school.  Nd I respect these complexities – I really do.  They are a sign of individualism, of a hearty respect for individual ambition, of the idea that blood can bind across generational divides.  Indonesian amily breed collectivism which reminds me more of what I think mericans generally conceive of as “family.” If that idea of family which is defined as nuclear is to be held as an ideal, I think Indonesia has more stable family units than I do, and than most Americans.  If I look at the photo albums, I see that My family, like most 1940s-era American families, used to be like that.  But I think the evolution of the American family is a good thing.  I can have love for my family, but I can also have enough self-confidence and independence that I can travel the world as well.  Just so long as I make sure to come back and see them every once in a while.
-More.  There’ll be more.  This is only day three!