Today seems to gave quite a financial theme for me. I just read something my sister posted to FB - that she bought 6m of ribbon for 2000 rupiah (around 20 aussie cents). Earlier today I was reading an article on The Age website, which contained rather alarming facts about the cost of living in Australia. Apparently Melbourne and Sydney are more expensive to live/visit/do buisness in than New York!!! Also today I bought a magnum ice cream for around $1.30 (I can't remember how much they cost at home, but it is definitely more than that!). A while back, when I told my Canadian friends the starting salary for a graduate teacher in Australia they told me I was stupid for leaving (I took a bit of a pay cut to come here, but money was not my motivation and I feel like I'm getting so much in other ways). I guess in the end it's all about perspective. To some of my students, I'm just a poor teacher without (heaven forbid) the latest gadgets or a driver, cleaner and cook. At the same time, some of the cleaning staff at my school earn around 1 million rupiah per month (about $100 - and this is only rumor, I have no solid facts). I'm grateful for what I have, which includes more magnums than I would have at home ;-)
On a completely different note, this morning I was standing next to the photocopier, gazing out the window while waiting for my worksheets to print, when I saw something move in the garden bed outside. I had to look very hard, because it was camouflaged really well, but after a while I realised it was a frog! A tiny, brown frog. Going about its buisness while I went about mine.
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