look into the world of

my 11th graders, who have been some of the most enjoyable people to meet, ever in my life, have created blogs as part of our 'national program' english class. you can access our ever-evolving web-logs through my teacher blog at: www.iwillsheepfarm.blogspot.com.

Today will be my first day of Tae Kwon Do (...uh, spell check, please) training. one day soon, i will be a warrior princess. once i have the garb (belt and all) and a camera, i'll post a pic to make you laugh out loud.

it's strange that a person can have numerous infestations of the critter kind and love some and hate others. geckos, for example, are highly enjoyable, especially when falling onto your head during one of their ceiling capers. cockroaches, on the other hand, make me want to scream expleltives. ants, i can live with.

my dear, sweet, amazing, spirited, contempletive, whimsical, insightful friend carrie reeb arrived two days ago. she got a job at my school and has now been swept up into a whirlwind of job-training-on-the-spot while a new round of cultural adjustments barrage her on every side. she handles herself so well. and i love it that we share a room with one fake wall between us. we can hear each other teach.

i nearly fell off the ojek this morning as i desperately tried to side-saddle it (skirt-clad) on a motorbike that i realized had a taillight where the handgrip should have been. nevertheless, the mountains were breath-taking and i can't wait to see them again on the way home.

UNblocked!

The internet at my school has had a pretty heavy filter on it -- all the kids have wireless, each with a laptop in class -- and there's a philosophical debate about whether or not the students should have full access.

Anyway, until recently, blogger has been blocked. So, I've not posted. But now I can! So check up on me. Like when there are earthquakes here. Like today. It was a lot bigger (and a few more seconds) than the first one I experienced, but I think my recounting of it that morning was pretty similar to the way I felt at 12:05am today. This time I just kept thinking "God, why are you shaking this mountain? God, why are you shaking this mountain?"

There is much to tell, besides the earthquake parts. For now, the entry below is what i wanted to post on July 19th.

And here is my eyeball. giving a perspective of what i see out my bedroom window. 5pm is my favorite time of day.

from three weeks ago...

I have never felt the earth tremble before. Until 15 minutes ago. The alarm clock buzzed at 4:30 and about 5 minutes later my room started shaking. Since I was still sprawled out jet-lag heavy as a rock, I could feel every rumble. At first I thought it was some kind of alarm clock and I blindly, half-heartedly patted the bedding. A split second later I realized I couldn’t turn it off and that the whole building was shaking. The question ‘why is my house shaking?’ ran through my blurred mind. It was incredibly disconcerting, for although I was not alone (a friend was sleeping in the room next door) I was still very much out of control of the situation. I realized that I have not been trained in earthquake procedures (seriously, that was my thought: “hmm, what is the procedure for this?” like it was some kind of drill and I had kids to get under desks or something) I didn’t really know what to do. Get up or stay down? Run down the stairs and hide under a table? Do a little dance?

Never before have I understood so clearly Psalm 46. Right after the description of the earth trembling is the first ‘selah.’ And then immediately these words:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved…

It’s now 5 am. I’m off to jog. The view is incredible. At some point when I feel comfortable describing the indescribable, I’ll write about it. Until then, I think Psalm 46 does a pretty good job.

The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah