Private School and Transvestites (6/9/11)

s opposed to the excitement of yesterday, today was a pretty relaxed day. We visited Sekolah Pelita Harapan Elementary school. It’s a private Christian school that teaches kids ages 3-18. The literal translation of Sekola Pelita Harapan is “School Light Hope” or “The School of light and hope” with their motto being “These schools can change Indonesia through Christian character.” Their fundamental teachings are based off of the KFC philosophy, or rather “Knowledge, Faith, and Character.” There are 3 levels of schooling in Indonesia. SPH schools are in the top tier and normally for the elite class. The middle class schools are called Sekolah Dian Harapan, and the lower class and cheaper schools are referred to as Sekolah Lentera Harapan schools.  In this system the SPH, or elite class, schools have very high tuitions and use part of that money to fund the SLH schools, which not have as many resources and may not have accredited teachers, but are free to attend. The SDH schools for the middle class are the most populous so it’s possible for them to be self-funded.

SPH, pronounced Es Peh Ha, was very impressive. They have about 250 students in grades k-12 so class sizes are very small and interactive. The facility was beautiful and fully equipped with soccer fields, basketball courts, music rooms, and even a dance studio all for exploratory classes. After a grand tour of the campus we played games with 3^rd graders (I got beat in UNO by a bunch of 9yr olds..they ganged up on me). This was their last day of class before summer break so we attended their final assembly and they performed some traditional songs and dances for us. It was so very rewarding experience to interact with them and meet with all their instructors. Overall, the entire facility was very impressive.

3 o’clock marked the end of our adventures for today. On our ride home we saw a couple transvestites on the street soliciting money from businesses. Coming from a small town and a fairly sheltered lifestyle, this was completely foreign and surprising to me. Apparently there aren’t very many traffic regulations either. Everybody treats the lane markings as “suggested” and can turn a 3 lanes into 5 when it gets crowded. It’s also very common to see whole families on scooters or motorcycles. We see dozens of babies holding onto parents as they go buzzing by our van. At first I was surprised and appalled to see 3 kids on the back of a Honda motor bike, but then it hit me that THAT was the entire family’s mode of transportation. These cities are very crowded and it’s impossible to get anywhere in a vehicle. The people on scooters can pass on by during traffic jams and it’s much more economical to own a scooter as opposed to a full-sized car. It’s still entertaining for us to play “count the babies” during our road trips, but we’re getting used to it with each passing day.