What a day! I’m not going to lie, when I saw on our itinerary that our last school visit was going to be to a Junior High School, I completely dismissed it. But boy, was I wrong! We had one of our best experiences here. Not only were we given a royal welcoming complete with a military line up salute and a gift of traditional hand-woven clothes, but they were the most hospitable and gracious staff we have met. They treated us so well there. We got to see their welcoming dance from Papua and got a performance from their show choir. Members of Glee…watch out! These middle schoolers know what’s up! This one girl had a Maria Carey-like solo. We were ALL blow away with their poise and talent. After just their opening number we gave them a standing ovation…then we realized they had 3 more songs for us, so we took our seats again. They did a traditional Indonesian set which was glorious; the harmonies blended so beautifully. Then they went in to their “American Show Tunes” set. Mom, you would have wet your pants. They were so good! They started with “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away” by the Beatles and moved into “My Favorite Things” from the Sound of Music. I was even pulled up on “stage” during their closer “Sing, sing a song..sing out loud…sing out proud! Don’t worry that it’s not good enough..for anyone else to hear…just siiiiing, sing a song!” You know the one Carol! I hope you were singing and snapping along! It was FANTASTIC! I loved every minute of it and wished I had been recording it just to watch again! J Very talented group there.
As we were leaving, we had a little car trouble and were required to take the Junior High van back home from Jakarta. We felt pretty cool. But the principal made our commute a little easier by ordering 5 pizzas for us. They were so unbelievably gracious and thoughtful. I was completely overwhelmed and very appreciative of their hospitality. And when we tried to thank them they just smiled and said, “that’s what we do for our important guests.” It was an honor and a joy visiting that school.
Our night was not yet finished until we had a BBQ dinner at John’s house. This man is a character! And his house and strong perscription glasses just FIT him. I had a blast J He made chicken, hamburgers and sausages..delicious J We all hung out on his deck and just had a chance to unwind and have fun. It was much needed, and a great way to end our trip here.
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