Here's the plan--fly out of O'Hare Airport to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles I will be meeting the other teachers and we will take off for Indonesia via Hong Kong. Once in Indonesia, me and my TGC fellows will be spending a few days in the capital city of Jakarta getting acclimated to the culture, visiting historic sites and meeting with officials from the US Department of State.
After spending a few days in Jakarta, our group of teachers will fan out to our host destinationwhich are located in various places on the Indonesian archipelago. Jeff Nichols (a Global Perspectives teacher from the Latin School in Chicago) will visit the city of Pangkalpinang located on the island of Bangka. There we will team with our host, English teacher Akhmad Faisal (Second from left below).
Bangka has a rich multi-ethnic, religiously plural history with Hindu, Buddhists, and Muslim rulers occuring throughout its history.