Plug Your Nose...It Stanks!

It'd be like living in Muscatine or Cedar Rapids:  you would just get acclimated to the smell.  Nope, not here.  The view (right) out of my apartment window is great, but walk around the other side and you get knocked on your ass by the smell of the river.  No wonder, when you see people openly throwing trash into, what could be, nice waterways.  I'm not going to say its anywhere comparable to Amsterdam, but the former Dutch colony does have potential.  There's a lot to dislike, but a lot to enjoy about Jakarta.


Speaking of shit:  this is the first mention of the poor man's bidet in our bathroom.  Actually, there's an ass sprayer in every toilet stall.  Have I used or would I ever recount my experience with the ass sprayer? No, sorry readers.  With the lack of proper plumbing that Jakarta tends to have, flushing your toilet paper down is frowned upon.  So, the age old question:  do you just toss your tp in the bin next to the toilet or do you inject bacterial-infested water in your caboose?  Being red-blooded North Americans, we chose the former.  We're assimilating, but we have our limits. A man can only handle so much.

Back in the States, this aforementioned stank would flow right into my next topic:  the students.  However, it's the exact opposite here.  The kids are unlike anything I've ever seen.  Are they like every other teen?  In many ways, yes.  The discipline they show is incredible though.  First shock was when I walked into my first class and all the kids stood up and said in unison 'Good morning, Sir'.  I was planning on coming in there and being a hard ass.  The whole 'This is my ship:  get on or jump off' speech, but I'm sure the look on my face had to be comical.  Never had I been shown so much respect for being a teacher.  From students, administration or parents.  I'm used to taking the first five minutes of class to quell the mutiny and start managing.  Actual teaching is completely out of the question.  The students here though:  attentive, respectful and they WANT to learn.  AND  that isn't even the best part!  Are you kidding me?  These kids after thank me for teaching when I leave the room.  Is it sincere?  Maybe not. Probably not.  But it makes me feel special on the inside.  I'm only twelve hours away, but it's like I've landed on a different planet. 

Very tentative, but there's a possibility that the next post could be talking about our pending visit to Bandung.  Volcanoes?  Yes, please.  Still waiting on the trip to Singapore.  It was a bit unfortunate that I wasn't able to go with my other roommates, but they didn't even get any goodies from the duty free store! Haha....rookies.  I won't make such mistakes.  Until next time everyone, enjoy 'Merica and have a diesel for me.