Can It Really Be... My Final Unit of Language School?

It is hard to believe it but I have less than two weeks left of language school! In just a few weeks, I will transitioning from full-time language learning to serving at the hospital. Language learning will be something I do as long as I serve here in Indonesia, but it is exciting to know that I am getting ready to make this transition.

This picture is what they draw on the white board during the orientation for each new unit. It shows the basics of the curriculum at IMLAC (the language school I am attending). There are 9 total units. The first three units are focused on speaking and listening. The second three units are focused on reading and writing. The final three units are focused on learning the culture using the skills learned in the previous 6 units. The culture is broken into three areas with unit 7 focusing on beliefs, unit 8 on values, and unit 9 is about making decisions.

I have now reached that final unit, so I am at the very tip of the drawing above. This time my pelatih (instructor) drew a little person walking down the slope to the very end and then in front of me, she drew the road ahead :)

The structure of this unit is similar in many ways to the structure of Units 7 & 8. Monday I spend an hour talking with one of the instructors about issues or any unanswered questions I have and then an hour watching a movie in Indonesian. Watching a movie is harder than you might expect and usually in that hour I am only able to watch about 20 minutes because I have to keep rewinding it to listen to it again. After each scene I have to be able to explain to my instructor what happened and use new words I have learned in a sentence.

Three times a week I conduct interviews of my instructors about how they make decisions about issues in their lives such as relationships with friends and money. Then I write up an essay that they read and we talk through what I have learned, to make sure I understand it. Three times a week I also read and discuss a Scripture reading and devotional. My final two hours on Friday are spent discussing an article chosen by my instructor and doing a presentation on all I have learned that week.

Each of these last three units I have also had to read a novel in Indonesian. This final unit I am also required to write at least a 10-page paper on a topic of my choice that I wanted to explore in depth. I have chosen pregnancy - big surprise I know! I am looking at values and beliefs related to pregnancy, such as when a woman becomes pregnant before she is married or a couple is infertile, plus the many superstitions related to pregnancy. It has been interesting exploring the topic, although the writing of the paper will probably be less interesting :)

I will wrap up this unit and language school the end of next week with a one-hour evaluation conducted by several of my instructors. Then hopefully I can enjoy a few days of vacation before packing up my things and moving to the island of Kalimantan and the hospital.