Homestay

Last week we were blessed with the opportunity to visit another island and stay with an I. family for a week! It was a great time of getting immersed in the culture and learning a lot more of the language. Here is a glance at one day on the island:

Ini Pengalaman Saya (This was my experience):

Bangun jam 6 (Wake up at 6am)

Berdoa (Pray.)

Mandi (Bathe. It is a common question to ask someone, "Sudah mandi?" when you see them in the morning. "Have you bathed yet?")

Pergi ke pasar dengan Ibu dan membeli makan pagi. (Go to the market with the Ibu (Mother) and buy breakfast)

Makan pagi (Eat breakfast.)

Pergi ke kelas belajar b. I. (Go to language class. Our teacher came to the family's home 3 days while we were there. The island was only a 15 minute ferry ride from our home.)

Makan siang (Eat lunch. Lots of fish!)

Belajar membuat donat, nasi goreng, pasti, dan mie goreng...etc. dengan Ibu (Learn how to make donuts, friend rice, curry puffs, fried noodles...etc. with the Ibu. EVERYTHING was fried!)

Tidur (Nap. We also used this hour to spend time with J and read our Bibles.)

Jalan-jalan ("Go round-round". This is the time of day when everyone leaves their homes to walk around and visit their neighbors, bring snacks, play sports, swim...etc. Jalan-jalan is very much a part of everyday life in I. If someone is not working during this time, they are likely out "jalan-jalan")

Pergi ke monyet (Every day we went to see our new friend, Monkey.)

Mandi (Bathe. Culturally, we are expected to bathe twice a day. Once in the morning and once before dinner. The home we stayed in didn't have running water, so we used buckets.)

Makan malam (Eat dinner.)

Cek Facebook =) (The family owned an internet cafe in their home...)

Duduk duduk saja dengan keluarga (Just sit and talk with the family. Sometimes we would do karaoke with them, watch I. tv, go out to see different parts of the island, or sit on the roof and have great conversation.)

And... Tidur (Sleep.)

There were a lot of things that were hard about the week but J. gave us so much grace to walk in HIS peace and HIS joy, even when we were uncomfortable. There were a couple great conversations that He led us to have with the family. We also learned a lot more about how we are perceived as Americans and what things we should and should not do in order to be well received in this culture. I am so thankful for these first few months of simply learning the language and culture before jumping straight into min. Already we are able to see how fruitful this time will be in the long run.

Blessings!