Originally posted on Indonesiaful.com:
For one day only, the fantastic and the ordinary mingled side-by-side in Sepanjang, Sidoarjo. — By Kelly Fitzgerald — “Miss, the students want time to prepare for Muharrom. No class today, okay?” my co-teacher said with a smile Friday morning, five minutes before our last class of the week was…
The word magnificent is created for describing places such as Bagan. Once a UNESCO World Heritage site, Bagan is a small town remarkable for the number of temples dotting the plains of what used to be a thriving civilization. Temples, pagodas, stupas, and any number of other Buddhist relics are scattered across the fields of … More “Quality” Time in Bagan
The road was suspiciously empty. Sam and I had been driving for nearly an hour trying to find the museum in New Bagan. We pulled over, our turn signals letting out a shrill cry to alert the dusty road of our intentions. “Dude, this doesn’t seem right,” I said. We looked up and down the … More “Ning koh lar?”: Living like a local in Bagan
I am writing this post from a fifth-floor balcony in the city of Yangon, Myanmar. I can hear air conditioning units whirring in the night and what I believe is a water pump humming below me. Occasionally the click of a door closing can be heard from the street down below along with the footsteps … More “Min Ga Lar Par”: Hello from Myanmar!
Last weekend I had an event-filled trip to Jogjakarta, the cultural capital of Indonesia. Read about Day 1 in my previous post! DAY 2 WHAT YOU SEE In the morning: the beautiful, relaxing lobby of Ostic House. WHAT YOU DON’T SEE Everything else! User error means all the rest of the day’s Snaps are gone forever. … More Snapchats of Jogjakarta: Day 2
“Have you heard of this thing called Snapchat?” I ask Krupa teasingly. She laughs and rolls her eyes like I am a mischievious child escaping reprimand. Of course she has heard of Snapchat–she (among several other ETAs) were the ones who taught me how to use the app. “You’e created a monster!” I continue to … More Snapchats of Jogjakarta: Day 1
East Java, known locally as Jawa Timur or Jatim (Indonesians love abbreviations), is home to four Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) for 2016-17. Yours truly is in Sidoarjo, Krupa is in Surabaya, and the charming Shreya and Caroline live in Malang. In October, Shreya and Caroline came to Surabaya for the day and helped host … More Warm Welcomes and Waterfalls: A Day Trip to Malang
Halloween 2016 has come and gone. Even though the orange tinsel and paper ghosts are gone from our classroom, memories of the holiday are still fresh in my students’ minds. I was forbidden from holding a Halloween party by the religious officials at my private Islamic school, but no one batted an eye when English … More A Halloween party by any other name
Several weeks ago I went to Universitas Airlangga’s American Corner (AmCor) for the first time. I arrived “fashionably late” (traffic took two hours instead of the expected one) but I still made it! Before I had the chance to introduce myself to everyone, Mas Agung, AmCor’s coordinator, informed me that they were planning on having … More Pasta, Pesto, and Peanut Sauce: An Intercultural Potluck
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 … More Goals for 2016-2017
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World traveler, occasional blogger, and full-time adventurer: Where will she end up next?
“For [we’ve] only got a moment & a whole world left to see” –On the Loose (traditional camp song)
Fulbright ETA 2015-2016
A tale of a girl in Indonesia
“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” ― Henry David Thoreau
Creating site specific original art. You’re at the best WordPress.com site ever
A year in Indonesia as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant
NorCalifornian in NorSulawesi
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"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." - Edith Wharton
An ex-farm girl, part-time poet, and English teacher, wandering at home and abroad.
