Feeling a Little Faint

So as I have mentioned it's damn hot here. Like I think 35 sweaty degrees during the day, this involves teaching in this heat. So the other day I had two classes
in a row. I was fine for the first class then I went to the second... started feeling a little weak, I excused myself and went outside to drink some water came back and got even worse. So I sat down. Had to explain to the poor kiddies that I was sick. Cause i was feeling faint though I couldn't go anywhere until I was feeling better - so i sat there like an eejit for 15mins while the kids where "Miss, miss are you ok?" I was gone all white, broke out in a sweat, and could barely talk!Eventually I escaped the classroom to the nicely air-conditioned headmasters room. Everyone was so concerned. Later in the evening I persuaded to have an Indonesian massage from the maid to make me feel better. This was all very strange I was rubed with a coin on my back, nice enough, little sore. However,later while I was getting into my pyjama's for beddie boys I noticed my back - looked like I had been whipped! I have been assured that it will go in a few days. Healed me right up though feeling wonderful now, still my fainting episode got me the next day off school and only in the 3rd week more sickies to come I'm sure! Looking forward to rainy season... Cooler weather please. Plus I get to escape to Ipung's cooler city next week as it's holiday time in Indonesia and Muslims will be able to eat like normal again :)

Sunday in Semarang

Home sweet home.
This is the little house where I am living with a lovely family at the moment.
Fruit seller wandering past my gate.

The fisherman and his rabbits!

The neighbourhood budding photographer! He's the cutest kid ever. Lives across the road and comes to visit me all the time!

The river just near my house.

Another friend of mine.

Monkey entertainment. He danced for us and did all kinds of wonderful things. Poor little pet!

I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky.

Supposedly my lovely milky white skin is lucky to touch... So I get these people brushing past me for a touch of my bare arm!

Getting around in Indonesia
It's so much fun... We hop on to these little vans called ankots, there are seats inside and for extra fun you can hang out the door :) The drivers will stop for you to get on anywhere and stop for you to get off anywhere, it's ultra cheap. They do have their cons though... you may end up waiting as the driver stops for some smokes or petrol, or sometimes they just sit on the side of the road until the fill with passengers. Ah wonderful.

Pictures from ceremonies in Malang

All The Darmasiswa crew

The Gamelan (I wonder what's under the plaster!)


The Aussie girls dressed in Javanese and Balinese outfits

Me looking ever so Irish amongst others!

Javanese Dance

The group from Papua New Guinea performing.

A trip to the mosque

So the other evening I decided to attended the evening prayers at the mosque after my family had broken their fast. This was quite an exciting cultural experience for me :). So I dressed in a full white outfit from head to toe with only my smiley face on show. Still very obvious that I didn't belong there. So I went in with my host mammy and the maid. Off I went with my little rug and laid it out on the ladies side of the mosque. Met loads of lovely ladies that were delighted to see me there, I told them (actually my host mother told them) all about my husband in Yogya, when we got married, where we got married, why I'm not pregnant yet, my plans for the future (My marriage is such a wonderful topic that my host mother tells absolutely every stranger that I meet.)So rather than sit there and look more strange than I already did I joined in with all the standing up and kneeling down and all the malarkie. Was all very exausting in the heat and all the layers of clothing. By the end of the hour and few strands of my naughty hair had come on show... opps... Watch this space for the pictures.

Other news from Ramadan
So as you know bold things between non married couples is ever so naughty in Indonesia. Therefore during Ramadan the ever so friendly policeman go around all the hotels. They knock on the doors of the rooms and check on the activities of the people inside. If they happen to find a boy and girl and they don't have the proper marriage identification to allow them to be in the room together doing whatever that people of the opposite sex do in hotel rooms together. Well then they get in big big trouble... naughty naughty!

Another thing I love about hotels is that the ceiling always has an arrow letting you know which way to pray. Very nice of them indeed.

That's all my news's... things are all lovely. My burn is healing up nicely, my scabies are gone (oh I never wrote about them - I got scabies in my feet and on my back - apparently little crabs that burrowed little holes to eat my tasty skin - basically they are bedbugs - from beds that aren't aired out and the person who slept there before left them in the mattress. Lovely eh!)