an entry somewhere else

Selamat Datang! Hopefully, you came here of your own volition and not because you were required to do so. I’ve set this up with the help of a friend and I don’t plan anything extraordinary. This is primarily so that my friends and family can see what I’m up to when they feel the urge. I just bought a digital camera, so I will be putting up some photos of my wanderings around Manado. I am also, slowly, uploading most of my photos from my years in Nepal.

A few, necessary other things: I am currently living in Manado, INDONESIA on the island of Sulawesi. Sulawesi lies south of the Phillipines and east of Borneo. Sulawesi was not affected by the tsunami that occurred on 26 December. Manado is a city with the population of about 400,000. Manado has an international airports with flights to Davoa, Phillipines and Singapore. The islands off the coast of N. Sulawesi also has some of the best diving and snorkelling in archipelago. Are you jealous yet?

Manado is the Bible Belt of Indonesia with 80% of the population being Christian. This means that pork is served and served often. The city is also known for its unique cuisine that includes dog, forest rat, and fruit bat. I have eaten all of these. Dog is the most available with rat and bat being cooked for special occasions.

The public transportation in Manado is known as mikrolet. It is a small van that seats nine people, all uncomfortably. Each ride, regardless of distance, is 1,000 rupiah (~10 cents US). This is how I usually get to and from work as well as shopping and to the gym. The mikrolet themselves are interesting in that the owners customize them in many different ways. Often you will see a very small steering wheel like that of racing cars; many mikrolet also have wide wheels that extend out past the wheel wells. The exteriors have all kinds of detailing and it is also popular to have decals on the windshield, obstructing the driver’s view! I have even rode in a mikrolet that had a karaoke screen on the dash. The mikrolet are ubiquitous and one rarely has to wait very long for one to drive by.

Work: My official title is English Language Fellow, but I usually just say I’m a dosen, or lecturer. Life works a little easier that way. Last semester, I taught a few sections of speaking & listening, a reading for academic purposes course, a reading for medical students course, and a class on TOEFL strategies. This semester I’m being called upon to teach another reading for academic purposes course, teaching methods, applied linguistics (vague, I know), TOEFL strategies (reading section), and speaking & listening for medical students. I also hope to hold a seminar for high school teachers of English but this is getting delayed for one reason or another. I also plan to hold a monthly screening of an English language movie. Plan, ah, plans. I’m on a ten-month contract and will be in Indonesia until mid- to late-June.

Enough!