A big hello from Bandung!

Slightly surprising fact: I've now been in Bandung a whole month. I know it's a cliche, but the time has gone really fast! So, I thought it was high time I proved I was still alive and kicking, plus shared what this amazing experience is like ;-)

I'll start with my housing. I have one room in a 3 story house, in a housing complex about a bit under 10min drive from school. There is a kitchen upstairs (which is seriously small! SERIOUSLY! There is less than 1/3 square metre of bench space and only one gas burner - I am slowly figuring out what I can cook! One-pot meals, anyone?). In my room I have a fridge, water dispenser (that does both hot and cold water), a microwave, a wardrobe and all the other obvious things. Here's a photo:

I also have a seriously small ensuite bathroom (and I thought the one at our share house at uni was small - Robert you could have done better!!!). It's basic, but it's actually quite nice to just have the things I need and live simply. Although, I am still accumulating cooking implements - there was no can opener or cheese grater - I mean, really? Come on!

My balcony doesn't have a good view, but when I'm hanging out my washing on the top floor (that's when it's not raining - more on that later) the mountains look amazing. I'm waiting for a clear sunny day to get a good photo. Something else that has a great view is the school. It's kind of off on it's own, with no houses right next door, and it's really nice at the start and end of the day to be able to see right across Bandung. Again, I will have to wait for the right day to be able to truly do it justice. It also looks pretty in the rain, but that photo didn't work! Instead I have one of one of the Secondary 2 (Year 8) classroom with a lovely smiling student :-)

Well, that's enough for now - I am getting picked up at the usual time tomorrow (6.30am) even though it's Saturday, because the junior school is having a fun day/open house and I'm going to be a judge for one of the competitions, plus run a game booth. It will be lots of fun, plus as tempting as it is to whinge that I'm not needed until at least 8, I will be able to finish my lesson plans (they have to be submitted at the start of every week, which seems odd in my experience but is actually a great way to stay organised). Then I will be able to go to the supermarket in peace on Sunday, and tell you all about it afterwards. I have now gone by myself twice - experiences which include getting two different angkot on the way home because the first one turned too soon, and having an ability to always end up being out in the rain!!