Two weeks from now I'll have just arived in Jakarta for an in-country ELF in-country orientation. Next week I will be in Washington ( hence the photo ) for the big orientation for all ELFs - I'll meet the other Indonesian ELFs and staff and get a lot of questions answered, I'm sure.

Not a lot has happened since I last wrote. Only a few days ago did I finally get the key authorization form from the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs that I needed in order to apply for my residence visa, which I hope to pick up in DC. I have had a couple brief communications from the Language Center Director at IAIN and a few other documents from the Embassy. I know I'll be teaching Cross-Cultural Understanding and Curriculum Development plus speaking to the teacher-ed students, but don't know the level of the students, which is making it impossible for me to plan except in the sketchiest terms. And I have not been told if there are assigned texts for those classes, or even an existing syllabus I'm expected to follow. I do know there will be 30-40 students in each class. I have shipped 3 boxes of EFL textbooks to the Embassy and will bring more with me. I hope most of it is actually useful to me; it's a real hodge-podge and mostly lower-level or teacher-training oriented. I'll leave it all there when I depart. Also I've learned that there is no MicroACCESS scholarship program in Palembang, so that will not be part of my responsibilities.

Folks at IAIN have lined up even more houses for me to select from once I'm there, but I don't have any photos or other info on them. I will try to choose a house within walking distance ( when it's not raining or too hot ) to IAIN and shops, and also in a guarded compound since theft seems to be common. I also hope to find a place where I can grow at least a few vegetables, since I enjoy gardening. I also know which hotel I'm at when I first arrive; looks nice, and I'm easy to please anyway; clearly it will a quantum leap up from the hostels where I usually stay when I travel!

Almost as soon as classes begin ( on Sept. 7 ) there will be a big end-of-Ramadan holiday when most of the country 'shuts down', I hear; most other ELFs are planning a quickie trip to Bali then but I don't plan to go - maybe I'll visit the hill town of Bukittingi or somewhere else on Sumatra for a few days, though. I've been wanting to go there for 20 years at least. It's impossible to plan till I'm there and know what my actual situation is.