New Food Friday...Lalapan

Even though I've been here for almost 1 year, there's still new foods I try all the time(sometimes I never really find out what it is. People tell me and I nod my head, smile and pretend to know what it is:) Something recently I discovered is called "Lalapan." It's actually one of my new favorites to get to eat.

 It's a plate that comes with nasi(rice), some sort of protein(tempe, tofu or chicken) and always has some cabbage leaves, cucumbers, basil leaves, and of course fresh sambal.

Yesterday, I went out to a new warung with my friends, Lila and Ida, and got some Lalapan. The warung was set up right out of this woman's house in their kampung and she had a mat set out on the front yard to sit on. It was just like a picnic! So fun to spend some time with them and fill up on some good Indonesian food before I go to the States for a bit. :)

TK Open House

A couple weeks ago was the last week of Kindergarten before they went on break for the Summer. In light of the end of the year, the school hosts an Open House for the families of the students and for new students. The kids all perform either a dance, drama, presentation or song for the Open House. They got split up into small groups for their performance and for the past month have been practicing diligently for the Open House. Everyday after school they would practice together. I got to teach a group of 4 students a modern dance, since there was going to be a traditional Indonesian dance as well. It was such a blessing to be able to teach them. By being there everyday, I feel like it really allowed me to connect with the kids way more than I had before when I was only helping twice a week.
The kids worked so hard and were so cute the night of the Open House! Below are some pictures from that night.

In the presentation there were some policemen, cooks and doctors. Tough crowd man...I couldn't get them to smile for the camera!

Ella and Bintang...Ella's got the police stance down to a t :)

Latif & Tita in their garb for the traditional dance...they were so great!

This picture just makes me smile every time...I have a feeling Kristin just didn't wanna wear that thing. She makes the cutest flower ever though!

All the "Pak Polisi" giving their presentation

The chefs showing how to make their food :)

The teachers at Rujak Berkat and most of the students...I think some of them ran off before I could take a picture. So thankful for the time I had to help there. Can't wait for next year to start again!!

I can't believe I don't have a picture of the little kids in the dance I taught them...this one is the one I tried to get, but we were mauled by the other kids :) The ones in the hats are the ones that were in the dance. They were so cute!

Experiencing Malangan Dancing

Last week, the mother of a little girl in my ballet class invited me to come with their family to a place that teaches traditional Javanese dancing. As usual, I had no idea what to expect, but excitedly said yes. She met me at my kost this morning and I rode there with her and her daughter on my bike.
We ended up at a place that had an outdoor stage and had about 20 kids learning and praciticing a traditional Malangan Dance. I started talking with a girl there and she said that all the kids are "anak jalanan" or street kids. In Indonesia there are many kids who beg for money on the side of the street or at intersection, many of whom are forced to beg for money by their parents, who can't provide for them. This group was formed by an older Indonesian man and a group of students at a local university. It's a place for these kids to meet every week to learn this dance and eventually perform around Malang. I got to talk to the man about his vision, which revolves around teaching these kids this type of dance as a way to learn more about Indonesian culture and sharing it with the people of Malang. He also wants to pour into the education of these street kids and provide education where they may not receive it otherwise. It was so awesome to talk with him, hear his throughts and vision and to share some ideas. I am looking forward to going there again and being able to help out in any way that I can. These kids are precious and to see God's desire for them to be cared for through this man is great.
This was definitely not at all what I expected, but it turned out to be way better!! Here are a couple pics and a video of the kids dancing. Sorry in advance for the horrible quality, but they were taken on my phone. Stupid me forgot my camera. The kids made me join in toward the end of the time, but I was AWFUL. Don't worry...the man who started it gave me a DVD of how to learn the dance! Now I can practice in my kost with my kostmates!! :)

A traditional mask that is worn in a Malangan dance. Don't ask me how they see through the little slit for eyes!

New Food Friday...Sate Hiu

As I already posted before, last weekend was Malang Tempo Dulu. There were so many vendors selling all types of food. After I thought I had tried all the types of sates here, to my surprise, I came across a new one--sate hiu...or shark sate!!! Yummmmmm! It was so good that I even went back to the festival 2 days later just to get it for lunch. This one was hands down my favorite of all the sates I have tried. You know what they say...save the best for last!!

The guy making it fresh for us! I hope none of his cigarette ashes fell in... :)

Shark sate in all it's glory. The peanut sauce and fresh sambal made it even better!