Sara and Lee . com

The Indonesians (and particularly the Javanese) are very much a community oriented people.  Unlike Americans, everything in Indonesia must be shared and fair.  This plays into many aspects of life.  Most recently it played into my quest to get a teaching schedule.

Before actually starting, I was told by the VIA Indonesia program director and the VIA field coordinator that I would be helping with listening in many classes as well have a class of my own suited to students with strong aptitudes and/or interests in learning English.  I don’t know if my current situation could be any farther.
While trying to sit down and arrange my schedule, the principle and English teachers thought it would be best to share me equally with all the students at the school.  Problem is there are nearly 1000 of them.  I tried to push back and say that this would not allow anyone to learn effectively.  That did not go over well.  It was more important to share; it also is not fair to say some students are much better than others.
Already weary from other cultural difficulties, I have given up that battle for now.  I am now on a 2 week rotation.  One week is junior high, the next is senior high.  Over a two week span I cycle through each and every English class in the school.  I am still at a loss for what the best way to go about lesson planning should be.
On the bright side, my colleagues at the pesantren may just be making it tough to begin with.  A couple days after setting the schedule, they said there might be room to adjust after Ramadan (which starts in a week or so).

More as news develops.