Where in the world is Kelly?

181 : Hours so far in Sidoarjo.
95 : Minutes to Jakarta by plane.
866,500 : Excess baggage fee to get my stuff from Jakarta to Surabaya (in IDR).
1,996,001 : Population of Sidoarjo, now including me and based on a 2014 estimate.
24 : Javanese words learned. When used properly, these words give the impression that I actually understand what people are saying.

8 : Gojek*/Uber rides around Sidoarjo and Surabaya.
2 : Other vegetarians besides me! They are Krupa, my sitemate (below, left) and Bu Ony (below, right) my fabulous counterpart and one of my co-teachers.

Krupa and I FEASTED at an Indian restaurant in town. We’ll be back for sure.

Ibu Ony has been a vegetarian for a long time so she is an excellent guide to what I can and can’t eat here.

29 : Fulbright ETAs getting acquainted with their new communities at this very moment.
36 : Introductions I have done in various classes. One introduction takes about 10 minutes and includes Q&A and sometimes singing and dancing to Indonesian dangdut music.
500+ : Students I will be teaching this year, which includes all of class 10 at SMA Wachid Hasyim 2.
3 : Co-teachers I will work with to teach the aforementioned students. My co-teachers are Bu Ony, Bu Amaro, and Pak Burhan.
6 : Languages studied by Sensei Yoshi, the Japanese teacher-in-residence at SMA Wachid Hasyim 2.

Me and Bu Amaro.

From left to right: Me, Bu Aan, Sensei, Pak Udin, Pak Burhan, Bu Ony.

Sensei Yoshi, aka Mr. Fish, is the Japanese teacher-in-residence. Our desks are next to each other and we had a wonderful joint welcome party.

I wil teach all of these students and more this year.

There is no getting out of singing in public once you admit that you like certain songs.

Photo op on school grounds.

300,000 : Rupiah spent on pulsa [phone credit] to access the internet and make phone calls this first week.
50 : Kilometers to Maduratna, a restaurant and batik gallery on the island of Madura that I visited a couple of days ago with teachers from my school.
1 : Party crashed at City Hall after Krupa and I sweet-talked the guards into letting us in. We got to see traditional dances, drink (juice) for free, and we even walked away with some cool swag. It’s the start to a very good year.

Sunset over Madura.

Crossing the SuroMadu Bridge, which is a lot like the Sunshine Skyway in Florida.

Catching a glimpse of our first Reog, a traditional puppet-like costume in East Java.

Ibu Risma, the mayor of Surabaya, welcomes competitors from around the world to an international pistol shooting competition.

Krupa and I lucked out at getting to watch a great dance show.

734 : Estimated number of ants who met their maker after coming into my house.
5 : Beds in my new house, including one in the kitchen. If you are passing through and need a place to stay, let me know!
0 : Trips to kantor imigrasi so far. This number is expected to rise soon.
Countless : Times I have felt grateful to be back in Indonesia. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to return for a second year: my bahasa Indonesia skills are tolerably conversational, I understand cultural cues and know how to be polite in return, and I even have some practical experience with teaching English. I didn’t realize how great the second year could be until I got here and realized how comfortable I already feel being back in this welcoming, wonderful, diverse, and baffling country.

* An ojek is a motorcycle taxi, so Gojek is an app like Uber but for motorcycles. You can also get food, beauticians, masseuses, and so much more delivered with Gojek.