My New Home

Here are some pictures of my new home in Palembang. I am living with a lady, Ibu Yuyun, and her son Harris, who works at Sony in Palembang. The home is very nice, one of the nicer homes in Palembang that I have seen. The floors are all hard marble-like surface and you must take off your shows before coming inside, as is true with many buildings in Indonesia. What I like most about the home is Ibu Yuyun's beautiful garden in the front yard.

Beautiful trees and plants that Ibu Yuyuan maintains in her front yard.

Some more beautiful plants in my front yard.

My counterpart and fellow English teacher, Mr. Jack and I outside of my home!
He always puts his thumb up against his pointer finger to illustrate our height difference haha.

Chairs for chillin' on the porch. I can't sit here if I'm feeling unsocial
because if I am spotted by one of the neighborhood kids,
they all come running over!

My beautiful bedroom and huge bed. I am spoiled.
My room is the only one with an A/C unit.

The family room. There is a poster in the background with all
the world's currency that Bu Yuyun's sister made. 

The living room/ entrance room.
That green couch has been destroyed by kitty paws.

The dining room. That green basket is used to cover the food when no one is eating.

Some of Ibu yuyun's many cats chillin' hard in the kitchen.

This is my bathroom. Western toilet with a shower head next to the water tub.
It's only setting is freezing cold and I love it.

One of Ibu Yuyun's cats had kitten! They are currently living under the sink

Close-up of the kittens. Their eyes are always shut and they just fumble around
and cuddle with each other.

My friends invited me to play futsal with them on Friday night. It was tons of fun.
Sometimes I forget how much taller I am than everyone else until I see pictures haha

I thought this was a pretty sweet picture that I took during our futsal match

Went to see Insidious 2 for the second time with one of my English classes at a nice theatre in the mall. Chances are I'll be seeing it again soon.

I am very grateful to be living with Ibu Yuyan during my time in Indonesia. She is, like everyone that I have met here, infinitely warm and kind. Her English is as advanced as my Bahasa Indonesia, so there has been a bit of a language barrier which we have overcome with patience and lots of smiles. She cooks my meals for me and even does my laundry. I tried to communicate to her that I can do it myself but the gesture was lost in translation. 

Indonesians have a natural tendency to feel responsible for each other, especially in situations like a homestay. In fact, because my school is providing the homestay for me, myself and my actions are a responsibility of the school. Therefore, I must consider that my actions are not only a reflection of myself, but of my Ibu Yuyun, my headmaster Pa Budi, and my school. I continue to see how deeply the people within the community are intertwined and I think that it is a beautiful thing.