Unit 7!!

Here we are, a whole three days into unit 7 and I'm loving it a lot more than unit 6. Especially because the homework load is noticeably lighter. The idea of the higher units is for us to delve deeper into why people think the way they do and why they do the things they do. This country is still heavy into traditions and customs dating back many years. Example, "masuk angin" = this is a phrase that means the wind entering your body. Many people belive this to be true and that the wind can make you very sick so they will wear big heavy winter type jackets or vests that look like bullet-proof vests while riding motorbikes so that the wind doesn't get into their bodies. Apparently now, doctors are now starting to tell people that "masuk angin" is a myth. Anyways, it is very helpful if we understand the traditions and values of this culture. So each day we spend an hour with a teacher and interview them on a topic that we would like to know more about. We also spend an hour a few days a week reading a passage from scripture and translating it into english. It is interesting to note how some things are written slightly differently. Like when Jesus converts the water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. In the English NIV it says that the people at the feast had too much to drink but the Indonesian translation says that they were satisfied. A slightly different meaning not? We also have to do one presentation a week and we get Fridays off. (yippee!!)
Christiaan got whatever Mikah had and has been home from school for two days now. Last night I went with a mom and her daughter (New Zealanders) to a hospital as the daughter has been sick for two weeks. They asked me to come along to translate for them as the mom has only just started unit 2. The girl, Jamie, was admitted into the hospital and they figure she has a respitory infection. Going to the hospital is frustrating here because they just don't explain things to you. And when you ask a lot of questions, like I did last night, they think you are weird. Indonesians don't ask questions. They view doctors as being half gods so they just do whatever the doctor says. If he says take these yellow pills three times a day for ten days, they just do it even though that yellow pill might be just vitamin C.