Happy Independence Day Indonesia!

Today is Indonesia’s 64th Independence Day. We had most of the day off, with the exception of a flag ceremony students and teachers were required to attend. It reminded me of my elementary school days in Mexico. We stood in lines, all facing the flag, we were instructed to salute, stand at ease, stand at attention, stand at ease, salute again. I didn’t really understand, so I just followed what other teachers were doing around me. We sang national songs, I listened, and we counted the drops of sweat dripping off our foreheads as we stood under the hot sun. Independence day is celebrated in each little neighborhood by playing games with all the kids. This is a picture in my neighborhood of kids having a decorated bike contest. It looked like they were going to race, but I didn’t stay around for all of the festivities.