DAY 2: First day overseas!

Good morning Medan! It’s our first day to actually go to the school. I’m so excited and nervous at the same time. Since our dormitories are near from the university, we went there by foot with Gita accompanying us. Gita is one of our buddies that we will be with for the next couple of days to guide us with living here in Indonesia since we don’t know much about the country. She’s also our translator especially when we buy things from stores or ordering something in an eatery. Today, we had Mie Balap for breakfast. She also explained the “Mie” means noodles and “balap” means racing. So, Mie Balap is racing noodles. They call it such because they cook it really fast and it had to be stirred quickly so it wouldn’t burn. We then head to the school and meet the other buddies – Mayang and Willy. They’re all from the English department and a pair of us would have one buddy, but I guess we haven’t followed that rule because we’re all together at all times. Haha! We first talked to the Vice Dean, Ma’am Dewi, and a few other faculties then we went on to our campus tour. After that, we went to the conference room to have our orientation about the university and meet other facilitators there. Afterwards, we took photos with our buddies and few of the administrators before heading to the school where we were assigned to teach – Al-Amjad School. We finally arrived after an hour drive from UMSU. The students welcomed us by performing a traditional dance. They were all stunning with their colorful costumes and beautiful makeup. I honestly didn’t expect the school to exert such effort to welcome us. It was really heartwarming how they show that our presence in their school is something to be celebrated. The administrators asked us to introduce ourselves in front of the students. I was the last one to speak and the moment I said my name, the students started cheering – clapping and shouting. I just laughed because I didn’t know what they’re cheering about but it was a really nice gesture. Gita said I have so many fans. Well, students of Al-Amjad, thank you for your support. See you at my concert, haha! Kidding aside, the students cheering made me more excited than nervous. I can see that these people are the type of students I can get along with in the discussion. They’re friendly but still respectful. That night, we had our dinner at Al-Nazwa Café, near the university, with our buddies. They bought us undergarments with long sleeves and hijabs because we were required by the school. We talked a lot and if I may say, we may have bonded. We had a great time and I had my best non-spicy meal if I hadn’t mistakenly eat chili thinking it was a vegetable; which reminded Willy that he can eat FIVE of that chili. He actually ate one and Miel, being a Thomasian who is suppose to be committed, compassionate, and COMPETENT, said he can do better. Then, when he’s suppose to eat it already, HE. CHANGED. HIS. MIND. Thanks to Arvin trying to save the fun, said that “I’ll eat it if you eat it”. Then they ate the chili together…………… and cried. Lesson learned: Don’t challenge Indonesians in a chili-eating contest; you’ll never win.