Where in the world is Kelly?

This post is dedicated to my Uncle Dave “from Florida” Fitzgerald, who has shared many pieces of wisdom over the years. One of my favorite “Uncle Dave-isms” is that there is magic to writing your goals down. From personal experience, I have found this to be true. I have also found that sharing goals creates accountability, so I am publishing my goal list here for all to see.

There is a lot that I want to get out of the short seven months that remain of my time in Sidoarjo and it is my hope that these goals will help me make the most of the time I have. I’ll revisit this list at the end of the year to see how I did!

DAILY

Every day learn one new name.

Do one house chore (besides sweeping the front of the house and doing the dishes) per day.

Send at least one email/Facebook message per day.

WEEKLY

Engage students in discussion and reflection using a thoughtful Question of the Week to start every class.

Visit the classroom of students from classes XI or XII at least once per week to share the love since they don’t have me as a teacher.

Write down class activities for every class each week to keep track of each class’s progress.

Add one new thing (poster, quote, news article, etc) to the American Classroom every week.

Complete at least two chapters from any of my bahasa Indonesia workbooks/novel per week.

Meet with one person/group outside of school. This can include Peace Corps volunteers, U.S. Consulate employees, Universitas Airlangga American Corner troopers, AFS students/volunteers, English Language Fellows, Japan Foundation teachers, etc.  

MONTHLY

Do at least one thing outside of school with students every month, such as a movie night or dinner at a cafe.

Submit my lesson plans and materials to the ETA Resource Drive every month when I submit my SETA monthly report.

Learn two new Indonesian songs per month.

Watch one movie in bahasa Indonesia per month.

Post at least three times on my blog per month.

Email recently-arrived Fulbright researchers each month about Indonesiaful.

Attend at least one “only in Surabaya” event per month, such as a concert or festival or convention.

OTHER

Facilitate at least one letter exchange between my English Club students and World Literature students at St. Charles North High School.

Celebrate major American holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day) in some way with my students.

Host a teacher’s workshop with the help of Moriah, the English Language Fellow in Surabaya.

Act as a judge for SMK N 2 Pangkal Pinang’s WORDS Competition next spring.

Complete all 32 hours of AMINEF-sponsored bahasa Indonesia tutoring with Bu Ninik.

Read a complete novel in bahasa Indonesia.

Write an article in bahasa Indonesia for Indonesiaful.

Do my part to make sure that Indonesiaful posts an article every 4-5 days.

Apply to be an Americorps National Civilian Conservation Corps NCCC volunteer before April 1st.

Pay 2016’s taxes before St. Patrick’s Day 2017.

Save 10% of my stipend in my Roth IRA.

Vote in the 2016 Presidential Election.

Go to Sunday morning “Car Free Day” in downtown Surabaya at least once.

Go biking with neighborhood biking club on Sunday morning at least once.

Use my 14 international travel days to visit a place I have never been.

Visit ETAs in Malang and see all the cool things they do there!

Go to Jogjakarta!

See Komodo Dragons up close and personal!

Take the train at least once.

Go to Mount Bromo, the volcano between Surabaya and Malang, at least once for the sunrise.

For anyone else who is reading this and pondering your own goals, I encourage you to watch this TED Talk. I happened upon it earlier this week and am inspired to try my hand at drawing my future one of these days.