"Thank God I found the GOOD in Goodbye!" - Beyoncé

It happened. We threw our going away party last night. But for all intents and purposes it was more of a gathering of friends to break the fast. It was absolutely wonderful having all our friends, and those who have practically become family, all together in our house. We got to gather together, give thanks, and celebrate; because these past six weeks have been well worth celebrating.

We had our first Selamatan. A Javanese tradition celebrating the unity of everyone participating in it, sort of like an Indonesian Thanksgiving. And what would our first Selamatan be without a tumpeng? It's a giant food platter shaped geographically like the mountains (which are spiritually and culturally important in Java). The tumpeng is a symbol of gratitude and there's a ceremonial practice in how it is cut and served, honoring a particular person (or people, in our case).

Our tumpeng.

As Wikipedia so eloquently explains, "with tumpeng, people express the gratitude to God and appreciate togetherness and harmony" and I don't think I could find a better example of what occurred last night. I am so thankful for everyone who's been a part of this trip. Hands down my favorite part of Indonesia is the people I've met here.

And by no means could we end without a bang... but thanks to Nana and Ayu we ended with quite a few, as they bought us fireworks as well.

I'm Nearing the End....

I've finally reached that point where I had to start saying goodbye. And let me tell you, it's breaking my heart. I know I've only been here a month, but the love and support everyone's shown me has been incredible. Today was my last class with my Level 1 students. I might've taught them the English language, but they taught me a whole new culture and way of living. They taught me everything from how to get around Bangkok by myself to where I can eat near where I live. So without them I'd be both lost and hungry.

Truely though, they are some of the nicest people I've met. It's so hard to leave them. Mamay is going to come see me off at the airport when I leave, and all the others are already asking when I will be returning. Oh, and they also asked if I had Skype, because they want to see live snow. I told them I'd do one better, that I'll Skype them from my iPhone and hold it when I go sledding so they can vicariously see what all the fuss is about. I honestly can't wait to show them snow.

Class photo!

Oh, and they even got me thank you gifts for teaching them! (As my Pre-1 students phrased it, "for sharing your knowledge".) The four girls who are friends together at KMIT got me a handmade bag. They want me to wear it around in the US and show them pictures. I can't wait! And one of the boys gave me a little handmade doll keychain. Oh, and funny story, Thai's don't hug. They have a very specific cultural stigma of personal space. They just don't do it. But all of the girls hugged me before they left today! I felt very honored. The guys just shuffled out after asking if I would tell them when I was coming back so they can take another class with me. I'd call that a success.

The keychain Kim gave me. 

I adore this purse. It's even cuter on the inside!

(A gift from May, Mint, Nes, and Chompu.)