Have I been lazy.... or busy?

It's been a while since I posted my last blog or photo gallery, and I have missed my goal of posting something at least weekly.  You'll have to believe that I've thought of it often, but that's not much good - pages don't write themselves.  I've stil got photos which I haven't downloaded and labelled. 

Looking back at the time since my last post I see I've really done quite a lot, and although much has been the same, there have been many things which have been different.

What is the same?  Well, mainly the weather.  I can't locate online weather forecasts for "my town" of Dalung as it doesn't seem to warrant online forecasts.  But Denpasar, the capital of Bali, is just 15 km away.  Although weather in Dalung is not the same as Denpasar, the trends are probably similar.  And apart from "is it raining?" and "do clouds cover all or just part of the sky?" the weather doesn't vary much.  This week the 10 day forecast for Denpasar was daily maximum of 29, overnight minimum of 25 - for 8 of the 10 days.  On the other 2 days the range was 26-30.  I do miss a bit of fluctuation, but now only the humidity fluctuates - between 75 and 95 - and that has been knocking me about, as has the chili which is in just about everything I get if I eat out or buy my lunch.

Before I get onto what has been different I'll quote some statistics.  I found the "stats" section for my blog.  The following "hits" have been recorded ......

  * Australia 35

  * Indonesia 5
  * Netherlands 2
  * Thailand 2
  * United States 2
  * Canada 1

These represent contact from different computer addresses and not just the number of times the Blog has been accessed since I started writing 6 weeks ago!  After all, I've logged on more times than the 5 for Indonesia!  Some more "hits" would be encouraging, but I can truthfully say that I have an international audience spanning Australia, Asia, Europe and North America.  Thankyou for reading, and also thanks for the comments you leave.

Now, what is different?  Obviously not weather!  "I've been to a wedding" - nope, used that line before, but this one was number 3 and the reception was on my back lawn at the College.  Christine, the Director's Secretary, was married and I joined about 15 staff members in singing at the service.  Those who know me well may laugh at the mental picture, but yes, I did!  It was a wedding song, and I carefully translated the words into English so I knew what I was singing (in Bahasa Indonesian). 

"Ayu" ("beautiful") strikes a pose for "Mister Paul"

The entertainers at the reception were female impersonators in Balinese dancers' costumes.  When I got in close for pictures I attracted their attention, and a stream of jokes about "Mister Paul" and "kangaroos"  followed throughout their act.  Perhaps it's just as well I don't know what they were saying.  I retreated back into the crowd of guests (about 1500) but still the comments and, I suspect, lewd invitations came my way.  The couple beside me had tears running down their cheeks as they gave me snippets of translation.  They had words of advice for all the wedding party but the bride's younger brother came in for a good deal of attention.  The picture shows "Ayu" (a common Balinese name meaning "beautiful") hamming it up for me.  After this I moved away as fast as I could.

There will be another reception here on Sunday.  I had intended to "gatecrash" (after all, it's my back yard) but I met the bride and groom who invited me to come along.  That will make "4 weddings".  I just need "and a funeral" to match the film title (Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, 1994 - for those too young, or who can't remember).

Last Sunday I was up early, ready for collection at 6:30 (yes, AM) to attend the service at the church in the next town.  It was a harvest-thanksgiving service with fund-raiser.  The front of the church was filled with offerings of fruit, vegetables, bags of rice, and items of processed food.  After the service these were auctioned off as a fundraiser to assist the construction of the child-centre.  Congregation members bid and outbid each other for items being auctioned at many times the original values.  The pool of auctioneers made great sport of the occasion, especially if a bidder lost track of the current bid and offered a lower bid.  It was a very entertaining morning.

Now that the academic year has started, the college has been humming with the sound of students, and their motor cycles.  Classes start at 7:30 and students start arriving in number soon after 7.  As one of the scooter parks is below my window there is no sleeping in - but especially when I'm taking a 7:30 class.  On the past 2 Wednesdays I've taken 7:30 - 9:10, 9:25 - 11:10 and 11:20 - 13:00 classes.  Same material, equivalent streams of students in their first semester.  I move between class rooms so there is not much time to do more than have a sip of water before I start again.  By 1 o'clock I'm emotionally elated, but physically quite tired.  Just calling the roll is a challenge - I apologise to students before mangling their often lengthy names.  Last Monday I had a class 13:00 - 14:30, a coaching session 14:45 - 15:30 and a class 15:45 - 18:15.  These are the classes with students, and I'm picking up more (I'm a handy "relief teacher").  I have a great deal of flexibility and freedom as my topic is usually "listening and speaking", but I don't just talk about anything - I try to reinforce the curriculum material.  I also have 4 sessions per week with staff members, and my times in the training restaurant. 

At lunches and dinners I had the same menu 5 times in 2 weeks.  At each "sitting" I have a small captive audience of 3 at the table plus the student waiting on the table.  At the first sitting I got students with little English, so the conversation was a bit laboured, but on the other occasions we've had good chats, and I also take the waiter "outside the script".  Most have reacted very well as I sprung little "surprises" or situations on them.  I've had some students try to get back to my table - which is a great compliment - but I get shared around.  The dinners are good as it saves me preparing or buying something, although it is unusual eating dinner at about 4:30.  No such thing as a free lunch - I certainly work for mine!

For a day I was a millionaire, at least in rupiah.  I had to withdraw cash to pay for a ticket for a weekend trip I will make on Sept 17th.  The return air fare was about $230, but as A$1 = 8,000 Rupiah (approx) I had almost 2 million!  It was quite a stack of notes.

Yesterday after almost 6 hours in class and follow-up I attended the last 2 hours of a workshop raising awareness of "stategic planning" - what is it, why do it, and how to begin?  It's just "overview" material at this stage.  When the convenor came to my table for comments about "resistance to change" I contributed some ideas which were translated for the assembly.  I've had more than a little experience - whilst with CSIRO I undertook an extensive management course, and although it was focussed on IT Service Provision and Management it contained much generic material about advocating and implementing organisational change.  The convenor commended me for my insights and afterwards asked about my experience.  I was able give a very simple definition of "change" which says succinctly, and without "management speak":  "Change is the process of moving from where we are now to where we want to be".  Most people here just identify me as "English teacher" but I've also been talking to the IT manager about details and limitations of his systems.  OK, so I'm not a "Renaissance Man" but isn't it satisfying to be multi-talented!  (I'd put a "smiley face" here, but the blog toolbar doesn't have one!)

The teacher and staff groups are challenging and rewarding, and even fun, and the members show great enthusiasm.  Although a few manage the "th" sound very well, most have some (through to great) difficulty with "th" (it comes out as "t", or often "d" - "thinner" said as "dinner" or "tinner"; "father" as "fudder" etc). English is full of "th" sounds and it's an important sound to master - homework, more homework! "Sh" and "Ch" are also tricky for some.  So my instruction goes beyond mere conversation practice, but has an element of speech pathology and phonics as well.

Those of you who are teachers may say that I don't seem to have many "contact hours".  As my brief is to "improve English conversation skills amongst staff and students" I'm doing just that for hours each day.   If I don't have specific commitments (classes, preparation) I join staff in the lunchroom and talk with whoever is there.  I move around the grounds and building talking with students, housekeepers, librarians, reception staff, groundsmen, guards and drivers. Some (guards, groundsmen for example) can just handle simple greetings.  Those with enough English can start at a comfortable level, and I then try to move through courtesies to some simple questions - just as icebreakers. Some are confident (but not necessarily competent speakers, but they'll try), and others need gentle coaxing.  I've had some engaging and exciting conversations with students who really made an effort and asked me many questions about home and my time here.  It's a very dynamic activity, and one which involves as much effort on my part as on the other speaker.  If the speakers are struggling to find the right word I give them time before offering some suggestions (or sometimes just a wild guess if it really isn't obvious).  I don't jump onto random errors, especially if the speaker usually gets it right, but I will repeat or rephrase things that are consistently mispronounced.  I can do it by rephrasing and repeating back what has just been said; the speaker will often then say it correctly after me.  Perhaps the hardest part is keeping within a limited vocabulary - simple, not simplistic.  Even with just a core vocabulary I still maintain correct grammar - I don't drop "a" and "the", or just use present tense verbs when the past or future is obviously needed as that would undermine my other efforts.  Still, it is a challenge to be clear, simple, correct and encouraging - and never patronising or censorial.

We are at the start of an extra long weekend.  The Muslim fasting period of Ramadan has just ended and across Indonesia people in their millions are travelling to their home villages and towns for celebrations.  Government and many large business offices, banks, schools, and shops owned by Muslims all close down from Thursday to Monday.  Even though Bali is mainly a Hindu province there are still many Muslims.  As the college shuts down I have a chance to get out for some visits - unfortunately the roads and transport facilities are packed, and the places I most want to see, such as the Bali Museum and some galleries are also closed.  Today one staff member took me out to some sites, but it rained from almost the moment we left - definitely a "wash out". 

I probably could have kept half of this back and submitted it in a couple of days, so I could claim 2 postings in less than a week, but I'll post it all at once. 

Here's my last bit of "what's different".  I've just chased a cat down the corridor and managed to land a swift kick up the backside (bare feet only, so more of a "surprise" to the cat rather than any harm).   There are several miserable looking feral cats which prowl around the buildings, and even come into the corridor - and I'm up on level 4 (that's 53 steps up and down, several times a day).  The outside doors are always open to encourage air movement, although there isn't usually much breeze.  They knock over and raid the waste bins along the corridor, sometimes they shred the Welcome mats or "scent them", or they just patrol and howl all night.  The ginger tom is the loudest, but tonight's tabby isn't far behind.  Just for a moment I "got my own back".  That's one cat which wont reappear quickly. 

And on that brief moment of elation I'll sign off. 

This is "Paul in Bali".   Sampai jumpa  (until next time)