We Have Feet Not Roots

Twentysomething trying to travel without going broke. Currently a Peace Corps volunteer in Indonesia. Instagram: mengajarmaggie The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps

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Snorkeling in Karimunjawa

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Boroburdur Temple, the largest Buddhist Temple in the world.

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Rand in the new year climbing Kawah Ijen, a blue fire crater

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Spent a few days on semester break in Kuta, Lombok

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Just a little nudge of encouragement before national exams start

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Shared some Thanksgiving traditions with my after school 9th grade class. We watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and made hand turkeys with feathers about what we are thankful for!

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So proud of my students for competing in the East Java English Tournament! They did such a great job!

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Today it finally happened. My students asked me about the American Presidential Election. I told them I was sad. I told them I cried a lot. I explained why, to the best of my abilities in bahasa Indonesia and my counterpart translating too,. I told them Donald Trump does not represent all of America. They asked if I would join any protests. I explained why I wear a safety pin and what it means. My students told me how much they support me and asked for safety pins to wear to keep supporting me. Here they are wearing their safety pins to support their foreign teacher. Donald Trump, these are the smart, passionate, kind Muslims you want to ban from America.

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My students are half of my heart

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After a week of In Service Training, my fellow East Java volunteers and I were able to play some games while teaching a little English at a local orphanage! These kids are incredibly smart and kind. I hope we have the pleasure of seeing them again!

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Sharing the Halloween spirit with some treats for the students and spider rings for the teachers

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Celebrated my 23rd birthday with my amazingly sweet students at school! They really do spoil me

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Some days just remind you why you joined

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When your clique is segar sekali

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Bike rides home from the pasar

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No one likes to sit in a desk all day. I like to get my students moving by playing fun games like this vocab review game.

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So I'm not one to write blog posts but a lot has happened in the pass week. Peace Corps can be really damn hard sometimes. You don't know if you're having any impact or doing the right things, you feel lonely being the only America at site, and miss A LOT of stuff from your old life. They say it's the hardest job you'll ever love. The lows can be really low, but the highs are unbelievably high. This week is a high that I'll look back on during the lows. My counterpart used a vocab game I taught her without planning it with me! That's one thing I know will stay even when I'm gone and knowing that makes it worth it. Then I FINALLY got a teaching schedule and started teaching class. I'm finally doing what I'm here for. Now let's talk about today. Cause today I feel like I can take on the world. I sucked up my introverted self and biked to my pasar to talk with the ibus. I was just there yesterday to do my shopping but I don't quite feel integrated yet and maybe they have some kids my age I can actually hang out with. I say hello to the usual ibus that greet me and venture into the pasar. Turns out a teacher from my school also has a clothing stand there! I sat and chatted with her and other ibus for awhile before making plans to go to her house after I buy my fruit. (I also got a free shirt 💁🏼). I go to get my fruit and find a little kitten. This little ball of fur is adorable and I really miss animal companionship. So I sit and pet her for awhile and everyone starts telling me I should bring her home with me. My fellow teacher tells me my Ibu won't care and it's totally ok. She rigs a box to my bike and now I have a pet cat named Hitman Manis! The little fluff ball has already come in handy. Some neighborhood boys wanted to see her and we got to talking. Now I have an English les planned with them after school tomorrow! My first les!! Fast forward to coming back after a run and all the neighborhood boys are out on bikes waiting for me. I get them to all join me in my post run yoga. They keep reminding me about our English les tomorrow which is really encouraging! This is a Peace Corps high. This is what they were talking about. This is why I'm here.