Dirty Olimpic Games

The fact is that Henk and Watche brought 14 t-shirts from Holland I had to distribute between 36 children. Since the t-shirts are from a football team, I decided to change the English games for sports competition. Football and basketball are known and famous sports so...why not a Gymkana with something different? The objective was to get as dirty as possible...see the results:

Everything was ready. Some buckets of water with four apples inside...


Empty stomachs waiting,


and runners ready:


Time for the runners to take the apples with the mouth leaving them on the floor to allow their team enjoy such a delicious fruit (of course, no hands)

mmmmmmmmmmmm


Ups, someone dropped some coins in the flour...



Eggs race; if drop, penalty;
penalty = egg on the head...


And after,


another race with a final explosion...


AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Teachers' evenings

Although there is not much time, the teachers take the lessons in a very enthusiastic and positive way...maybe because of the “pisang goreng” and cakes with tea and coffee after every session. ..

After a bit of theory and introduction, some role plays... I have to say they are worse than the kids!! They shout and laugh with every score in competitions and answer every question quick to be the first. The evenings with them are very good (I do also love “pisang goreng”).

I really like them all, and there is a special communication between us. I feel all the time kindly cared by them at the school so in the evenings it is my turn to give them back my best effort and smile.


Thanks to all of them!!

English is fun!!

I started my lesson at the school with two sessions per week with every group, one “formal” session and another “informal” one. Last week I decided that all my lessons would be “informal”...songs, small dialogs to perform in class, games...

All the kids of Junior and Senior High school have already the usual lesson with their teachers so doing the same myself were not going to be anything new for them. They are not used at all to play in class so at the beginning it was difficult to make them active in the games (mainly in plays and drama activities). After a while the lessons are fun, a great time for them and for me.


The teachers sometimes might think I am crazy though. I have been trying to talk to them about methodology and other much more effective ways for teaching than the traditional “grammar-translation method”...this is boring for all the levels but for elementary it is a totally useless method.
Some of them are very looking forward to meet me always, to come with me to the lessons, to see me doing the monkey and to participate with all of us but the reality is that not all are willing to change their mind and methodology. I am scared sometimes that after I leave all the material I brought will be used only as spider’s house and dust store...let’s hope the change is coming, although little by little.

I have to say that the support of Pastor Frans is very important. He cares every detail of the school and asks me continuously about my work and feedbacks, I like to think he will insist to the teachers to change the list of vocabulary and grammar using this material.
Terima kasi, Amurang.

Tondano

Last week in Tondano was very special.
Everything started meeting Watche and Henk, what a good begining for the week!
I could see then in tondano the results of the efforts of “Children of Amuirang” and the efforrds that from Holland are helping children to graduate and study a degree.
Pastor Yanto showed us, explained us, tought us about Indonesia, about Tondano, about these kids.
Amurang is a hotel comparing to Tondano in these moment, I thought the hygienic conditions of the kitchen in Amurang and some departments were very bad, but after seeing Tondano I can say that in Amurang there is a lot of fulfilled work. Now it may be time to focus a bit more in Tondano to help them too...
The people, as always, warm, with big smiles receiving and welcoming us.
Great experience to see how the communities help each other!!

The engine of the school

I am not really sure who is teaching to whom. I´ve started the experiment with the Kinder Garden pupils this week.

They have never heard or learnt English but they not only repeat every single word I say understanding the meaning and living the context I simulate...They are actually teaching me!!

Their lions are not lions but “singa”, their sun is not sun but “matahari” and they do not say bye but "selamat tinggal" What a marvelous teachers!!!

Building a dream of future

Amurang foundation in Holland is not only building a new school but also developing educative projects and supporting the future of these kids with scholarships from kinder garden to University level. Children have now the opportunity of a high education to contribute peacefully to the development of this part of the world, being educated to be capable of dealing and facing conflicts between religions or ethnical problems.
"If peace is both the destination and the journey then what we teach and how we teach it must not be separated in our preparations for working with pupils."
- Patrick Whitaker
Peace must be understood not only as the absence of traditional forms of direct violence, but also as a positive presence. Educating for and about all aspects of peace constitutes PEACE.

SCHOOL