Parting Gifts

If you ever find yourself leaving the junior high school in East Java where you've been teaching English for several months, here is something you'll want to keep in mind: gifts. Large and uncompromising presents from each class, and sometimes from class sections within the classes, from the teachers, from individual students. You'll want to prepare for this in one of two ways. Save up plenty of money to accommodate exorbitant shipping costs, or make your limited capacity luggage situation clear to your gift givers in the first place (though I don't know that this latter option would actually make any difference whatsoever). I did neither of these things and was wholly unprepared for the showering of oddly large items I received. The intentions are not just good, they are too generous. These are a truly kind people.

However, intentions must be tabled at some point. The last minute present ceremony left me with the following large and uncompromising gifts: (in the order they were received)
1. two foot wooden horse statue (the symbol of Rongolawe, the hero of Tuban)
2. model set of tuak merchant's stand in enclosed glass case. tuak is the local palm wine. the glass case was not unlike a medium sized fish tank.
3. party box (wrapped cardboard box with a hole covered with clear plastic on top to peak in) with entire traditional javanese costume; batik sarong, lace shawl, and coolie hat (rice paddy hat)
4. Large oleh-oleh (souvenir) sized shrimp flavored krupuk (prawn crackers)
5. Variety bag box. I was literally handed five large handbags in a box with cellophane.
6. Photo album of my departure ceremony
7. Batik fun pack: two batik shirts and one batik shawl

Some of these items unfortunately have not left that small East Javanese town with me, but they will forever remain, in all their splendor, in my mind. They really serve more as a representation of the great capacity of the students of SMPN1 Tuban to rally and upstage the rest of the millions of kids in Java. I'm sure of this. As for the rest of the gifts, they should be at my parent's house this week, baring any unforeseen postal service errs, which essentially means they might get here by the end of the winter. Really from the first offering of the horse statue by a neighbor student before school at 6:30 am, I should have seen it all coming.

Pics of me with departure favors to come!