Last Minute Questions

1. What kinds of clothes should we wear to the schools? Would a T-shirt and jeans be okay? Or should it be more formal?
2. I saw you mention the Power Adapters on the blog..what would we need the adapters for?
3. Should we have cell phones there? or is there no need?
4. Just in general, what are the houses we will be staying in like?
5. Do girls need to wear head coverings?

1.) t-shirts and jeans are fine. that's what i wore when I taught last year but i definitely dressed a lot more casually than some of the other volunteers. dress comfortably but in general, girls must either wear a skirt or long pants; so for guys, long pants are a must. for both sexes, closed toed shoes are required.

2.) adapters are just in case you bring any electronics with you. i know volunteers lasst year brought laptops, iPod, digital cameras, etc.. you are welcomed to bring them but at your own discretion. two years ago, a volunteer lost her iPod. I don't know the circumstances though.

3.) Cell phones are very helpful and I would recommend getting one there. Students will ask for your number and constantly call/text you, hahaha. I would get a cell phone there, perhaps buy a used one for about $30US and then all calling plans are pay-as-you-go. if your US phones allows it, you can just buy an indonesia sim card and place it in your phone. I don't which phones allow this and which don't though.

4.) hmmm, they differ. some have hot water, some don't and you'll have to boil a pot for yourself when you need it. some have flushing toilets, some you have to dump a bucket of water in manually to flush out the contents, haha (that was my situation last year). in general, the host families will accomodate you the best they can. the houses will be in neighborhoods only a few streets away from a main city road. the houses are gated, as are most houses in malang, so you feel secured.

5.) Nope! As you will soon see, Indonesia practices a very liberal form of Islam. Girls have the choice of whether or not they want to wear a head cover. It is definitely an interesting topic to bring up with students. I asked about it last year to three of my students and was enlightened thoroughly. It's amazing and beautiful how mature Indonesian children are about their religion.

Okay, keep sending in questions! Oh! One last note, bring your own toilet paper for orientation week! i remember going to the bathrooms when i first got there and all I saw was a hole in the ground, a bucket of water, and a hose. i couldn't do the math.