When I was living with my Indonesian host mother in Philly, Bu Wendy, she mentioned that Indonesian parents are generally more strict about their children’s whereabouts. During one conversation in particular I noted that it seemed like Indonesian kids and young adults have so many responsibilities but not much independence,…
On Wednesday of this past week during my service placement in Timor I got to visit a seaweed farm. This was an interesting visit and I was able to discuss and learn quite a bit throughout the day. I could probably write a whole paper about seaweed farming and the…
These pictures are from my 1st day of teaching English class in Indonesia. I have 2 classes, one lower and one higher level course. I have found as I have begun to teach here that I actually enjoy teaching. It’s been very fun and the students are great.
My first day waking up at my SST placement began at 5 in the morning with the sound of a guitar outside my door. It was somber and I threw on a shirt for morning worship and devotions. Though I can barely make out what is being talked about with…
The names of the people in the photos are me (Antoinette Mpawenayo), my host grandma in Philly (Popo) and my roommate (Courtney Templeton). The two photos are important to me because they show an amazing relationship that Popo and I have. At the beginning of the SST experience in Philly,…
As the saying goes it’s always sunny in Philadelphia, however, that doesn’t mean it’s not cold. So, here we are another frigid day, but sunny, in downtown Philadelphia. Now, you may be wondering from the photos why we are gardening in the middle of Winter. During our time here in…
This is a photo of Ben and I with our host parents Pak David and Ibu Eva at the 17 anniversary of PPC (Philadelphia Praise Center). On this day we attended church with our host parents to celebrate the 17th anniversary and to celebrate pak David and ibu Eva…
This a photo of my host family I was staying with for the previous 5 weeks. From left to right is Oliver (the baby), Kevin, Sandy, Trey (my roommate), Joy and I. Although I do not have a picture from the night I will be talking about, these five…
One of the highlights of my SST experience was celebrating Chinese new year with my host family. This was my first time celebrating Chinese New Year, and I didn’t know quite what to expect. Pastor Aldo had mentioned when we arrived in Philly that Popo – our host Grandma –…
In Philly, I stayed with Hendy and Marina and their three kids Judah (middle) , Levi (left), and Asher (right). Staying with Indonesian host families was a great opportunity to practice our bahasa and learn more about Indonesian culture before heading to Indonesia. This photo in particular was taken…
