Bits and Pieces of Serpong (Tangerang)

It's been a while since I last posted and I have lots and lots of photos and stories to share! (I've been very busy with classes and the internet keeps breaking my heart--still no internet in my flat!)This first post of many will show photos of the monthly gathering of women on campus, my cute little neighbors, and what I've been doing up until my first trip to Bali this past weekend!


Below are some photos of many of the women on campus (teachers and wives of teachers). Once a month all the women get together at someone's house; the name is drawn via lottery system. There is lots and lots of yummy food! The women come together to talk, eat, and enjoy their time together. At each meeting, all the women chip in money to help pay for the cost of all the food. Children are also welcome!


The new infant was passed around!




I have the cutest neighbors in the world. Every day when I am walking back from class I usually see the group of girls playing outside our houses. The second they see me they run up to me and say " HI MISS! HI!" and then proceed to ask me lots of questions, many of which I do not understand. They usually ask me where I am coming from and what I have been doing. One little girl, always points at my earrings and asks me where I got them. All the little girls are so cute and friendly and I love seeing them every afternoon.





The benefits of living in a tropical country:

mango tree across from my house
papaya tree in my neighbor's yard
(I have a medicinal fruit tree in my yard)

Last weekend I was walking around campus and noticed some students staring longingly at the mango tree across from my house in another teacher's yard. I asked them what they were doing and they said they wanted to climb the tree to get some mangoes. They found a long pole with a small basket on the end and tried to get the mangoes down by using it but it didn't work. So they scaled the tree--to the very top--and started picking mangoes and tossing them down to their friends who were waiting at the base of the tree. They gave me a bunch!

Below are my fearless mango tree climbers:








I still need to post pictures of my house!--for now here is the outside of my house and my neighborhood area on campus. My house is the first one on the left! There are 3 flats in this small complex. You can see the top of one of the girls' dorms behind the flats. There are 3 houses, just like mine, across the small drive from my house and then 2 on the top of a small hill to the left of my house.



My neighbors' flats across from mine.
Another angle of my house (the one on the left).