My last bike ride

This was my biker gang for the past 19 months, although it usually was just me and Bapak (far left). I will look for another group to join after we move. I just realized I was the only one wearing a helmet--some parts of our home culture we're not willing to give up!

Finished!

**UPDATE: Today we got the results of our latest language and culture evaluations, and we both achieved our goals!! Thank you for rooting for us these past 19 months.**  
Wednesday, the 20^th, was our last day at the Language Center.  We have spent a year and eight months studying at the language center with over 13 different tutors.  At times it was tedious to go the two hour language sessions, but other times it was like getting together with friends.  It is exciting to be done with our formal national language study, but it is also sad to loose the frequent interaction with friends.  Please remember our tutors as our future interaction with them will be very infrequent. 

Our language tutors (and two office workers and another student's daughter)

Both John and I also had language and culture evaluations last week.  This was our third evaluation and we hope to hear soon that we have reached our goals, not that language and culture learning will ever really stop.  Our language evaluations are actually quite enjoyable, if you can forget you are being evaluated.  A friend of ours has a consultancy business and thankfully is a big help to us in our learning.  Our evaluations basically consist of one hour of conversing with a local, in which we go through various role plays as our consultant listens and records our conversations.  Then we spend about another hour listening to the recordings (my least favorite part) and getting feedback from the local about how I spoke; everything from pronunciation, words choice, grammar, and manners.  We usually spend at least another hour just with our friends talking about cultural aspects we've learned.  Afterwards our friend spends who knows how much time writing up the evaluation and giving us a rating on a scale of just beginning to highly capable.  The write up really helps us to see how our studying time has been effective, how it may need to change, and in what ways it can be improved. 

On another note, I spent an hour yesterday with a local friend learning how to cook local food.  First I learned one way of preparing tempeh, which is a favorite of mine.  I didn't think it existed in the US until I just recently found it in a magazine my mother-in-law sent me.  Who knew!? 


See #6.  Easily available and very cheap here.  A brick as pictured above would be less than $1 and would be more than enough for our family.(Huckleberry's Taste For Life Aug 2013 issue)

The second thing I learned to prepare was a hot ginger drink.  I really like the flavor, but it is usually too strong, or spicy, to finished when ordered at a restaurant.  Now at home I can make it just right for my taste buds!  Give it a try, it is very easy:
Hot ginger drink:
2 cups of water
2" fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2-4 Tbs palm sugar (or brown sugar)
2-4 Tbs coconut milk or creamer (my friend prefers creamer)
-Combine ingredients in a small pot.  Bring to a boil.  Pour into a mug through a strainer.  Enjoy! (Adjust the amounts to your liking.  Here is it usually very strong.)  This is most often enjoyed with friend bananas on a rainy day. 

Recent and prospective happenings

Last Saturday we attended the third of three events of a neighbor's wedding.  To be honest I don't think I had actually met this neighbor before (they live in our complex, but are at least 6 houses away).  A very nice invitation was hand delivered about 3 day prior.  The events began with a party Friday night, the actual ceremony Saturday morning, at 10am, then a reception Saturday night.  We attended the reception, which was held at one of the top 4 hotels in town.  We did not commit any major cultural taboos by only attending the reception!  It was the most lavish wedding we have ever been to, maybe in our whole lives.  The reception hall foyer was decorated nicely with at least 20 large framed pictures of the couple and a small coffee area.  Inside the actual reception hall there was a stage full of musicians and singers, at least three buffet lines with two separate dessert tables, and of course a stage with the couple and their respective parents.  We arrived, signed a guest book, walked across the stage to greet the couple and their parents, put an envelope of money (the gift) in a designated box on the stage, ate dinner, chatted, then went home.  We've been to quite a few weddings here, but this one was definitely unique.

At the wedding we ran into the post office clerk that always helps us.  We often don't recognize her at first as she always wears an orang head covering and shirt at the post office. 

A better view of her fancy dress!

A neighbor we met at the wedding.

The stage with the newly married couple in the middle-blue.

 

In other news, we will finished will all of our formal national language study at the university next week.  At the end of this month we will travel about 5 hours northeast to begin local language study in the city where John has accepted a job position.  We are still on student visas so we plan to study while awaiting the work visa.  For the month of December we plan to live with a local family there.  Thankfully we will be at a good point in homeschooling to take the whole month off while we are transitioning.  After December our plans are to continue living and studying there.  Where we will live, when and how we move all our belongings, and when we'll start homeschooling again are all a little up in the air.  Please remember us in this time of transitioning.  I, Erin, am finally feeling at home in our new country, but the prospect of readjusting again and beginning to study another new language is a little daunting. 

Whitman playing with a mustache turned beard!

Names

We have lived in our house here for a year and a half and I, Erin, still do not know the names of the neighbor ladies next door.  During our first few months in country people would always ask us what Caedmon and Whitman’s nick names were, or more literally translated their “to call” name.  These are just two examples of the issue of names here.  Often when we are introduce to someone for the first time, their name is never mentioned or if it is, it is said once.  With names so different than most western names, it is very difficult for me to catch the first time around, if it is said.  It took me at least two months to figure out that our neighbor Uci, the age of Whitman, was a girl as her name didn’t tell me anything nor the way she was dressed.  Thankfully for us there are more common methods of referring to people then their names.  The age relationship is very important in this culture.  Whether it is at home, in school, or even at the office, people will refer to each other by saying ‘older sibling’ or younger sibling’ then their name.  As we are older than all our tutors, it is natural and more polite for them to call us (in our presence or in our absence) ‘older sibling’ John, or ‘older sibling’ Erin.  Quick side note, there is not a single word for brother or sister, instead there is a single word for ‘older sibling’ and another for ‘younger sibling’.  The same goes for him/her/she/he which are all translated with one word, unrelated to gender. 

As soon as someone marries, they become the equivalent of ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’  So at the tutoring center we are more appropriately referred to as ‘Mr.’ John and ‘Mrs.’ Erin.  Which leads to another interesting aspect of names.  The main culture here on our island (as culture varies from island to island, even within one country) does not have family or surnames.  Children are given 2 to 3 names.  Occasionally the first name of the father will be used as their 2^nd or 3^rd name, but a person always uses just their first name.  Their closer friends will use a shortened version, or nick name (hence every one asking for Caedmon and Whitman’s nick names).  This is also why John and I are referred to as “Mr.” John and “Mrs.” Erin, instead of using our last name, which rarely changes upon marriage.  I recently attended a sports medicine seminar at the university.  One of the speakers was a professor from Australia.  He was referred to as Professor Luke, which was his first name. 

Since I have children I can also be referred to as 'Caedmon’s mom', which is the most common way to refer to a mother, either in her absence or directly to her face.  The oldest child's names is the one used.  This word is the same word used earlier for “Mrs.” just with a suffix.  Without the suffix I can also be referred to as “Mrs.” John.  More often than not we call people, 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' without ever mentioning their name.  This would be like saying, “Mrs. where do you buy your vegetables?”  It works great as I often don’t know, much less understand names, but the concept doesn’t translate well.  Often as I walk to class people yell out, “Hi Mr.” with the very occasional, “Hi Miss.” (not Mrs.). 

our nieghbors' moms, not picture, can be called Sifat's mom and Uci's mom