A few weekends ago 8 ETAs, myself, and our Indonesian friend Oscar went beach camping. Oscar is a professional photographer and he had a photo shoot scheduled to take place on this little secluded beach outside of Yogyakarta. He invited us to go with him the night before to have a bonfire and camp for the night. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but we love and trust Oscar and so away we went.We slept in the lean-to pictured below. It is made out of bamboo and sits on stilts directly on the sand of the beach. The view can't be beat, but bamboo does not make the most comfortable mattress. None of us had any camping gear so we slept under sweatshirts or towels and used each other as pillows. Needless to say, we didn't get all that much sleep. But the experience did not disappoint! The bonfire was beautiful, the weather superb, and when we woke up to the ocean view...it didn't matter how much we slept.
In the morning, we walked down the beach and around a point that had kept our area secluded into a tiny little fishing village. These boys went out in this boat to catch us a fish for breakfast. They then proceeded to grill it up with rice and vegetables. It was a delicious local meal.
While we were waiting for our food, Thom played us some soothing music on a guitar that was lying around. (Lucas: Thom works as a counselor at Farm and Wilderness Camp!)
After breakfast we went for a swim in the warm, blue water. The waves were just big enough to make it interesting. We all agreed that we would like to extend our stay, but with classes to teach the next morning we headed back to Yogya that afternoon to return to our schools.
In the morning, we walked down the beach and around a point that had kept our area secluded into a tiny little fishing village. These boys went out in this boat to catch us a fish for breakfast. They then proceeded to grill it up with rice and vegetables. It was a delicious local meal.
While we were waiting for our food, Thom played us some soothing music on a guitar that was lying around. (Lucas: Thom works as a counselor at Farm and Wilderness Camp!) After breakfast we went for a swim in the warm, blue water. The waves were just big enough to make it interesting. We all agreed that we would like to extend our stay, but with classes to teach the next morning we headed back to Yogya that afternoon to return to our schools.
My students absolutely loved this activity! All the other Halloween songs, games, poems, costumes, scary stories, and even candy were quickly forgotten when I pulled out the bucket of water and explained what I wanted them to do. They laughed, took pictures on their cell phones, exclaimed in surprise at how difficult it was, and clapped with incredible enthusiasm each time one of their classmates successfully got an apple.
For me, there was something quietly inspiring about watching girls in jilbabs (Muslim headscarves) determinately bob for apples. I did not tell them that they had to do it, but they watched the boys do it and they stepped right up for their turn. They flatly refused to remove their jilbabs (even when I offered to kick all the boys out of the classroom) or have help holding them out of the water. I felt honored to watch them go after their apples with fiery determination and gusto. And I was touched by the way they cheered for each other and even more so by the soft, kind way the boys encouraged them. 
