Today was so much better because so many things are properly planned, and there were areas that we improved on, so we agreed that it was a fun day at the end.


(Using flash cards, asking them to answer in Bahasa, and then into English.)

First, we started off with teaching the children at the school (picture above), Bantul, and we were not really very positive towards this, and we were worried about the activities we set for them. Luckily, these children were very smart and managed to follow us. However, we needed Pahl (friend and translator) to help us do a lot of translation to the children and for us. Language was still a problem in the end, but we enjoyed ourselves as they were so interactive and learned a lot of things, and in the process, I also learned a little Bahasa while teaching them.


(Origami-folding with a few of the girls.)

Then, we moved on to play some games with them, and I found the childrean very keen on following whatever we did. I taught some of them how to fold a panda (origami, picture above) and they were all involved, though it was hard to coordinate. In the end, I used the easy phrases in Bahasa to praise and instruct them, so it went a lot faster, better and much easier then before. I was afraid to use it because I have never taken Malay before, and only learned from the Indonesian maids I had. It turned out, as I slowly recalled those words, that the words were correct, and that posed another problem for me: more Bahasa! It actually made me think of learning more Bahasa and their culture. I also didn't like children, but this activity made me change my viewpoint.


(Touching up on mural painting.)

Finally, we did painting, and we were glad to be able to clean out the dust and finish touching up. This made us feel even more accomplished compared to our second day. We were more effective as we managed to allocate people their work.

Overall, it was a lot more eventful compared to yesterday.