jakarta june

First, remember that sambal is included with every meal. Lunch and dinner bento boxes will always have a snowball of rice, wrapped in twisted paper. “It’ wouldn’t ‘s not a meal if it doesn’t have rice”, one dear friend informed me years ago during my first trips to Indonesia, and I’m sure her opinion has not changed. There will be beef or chicken, tempeh or tofu, cucumbers raw or greens cooked, but do investigate the sambol first. This relish of hot pepper and oils comes in varying degrees of heat, the most mild being “oh wow, (running nose sniff), that is… (sweating forehead) powerful” and progressing to “I think just a bit on the tip of my tongue will be good for the day”. At no point should you look around at your fellow diners and note how all of them have dumped the entirety of their sambol, heaping tablespoons of magma, onto to their food without concern or comment. Do not feel pressure to emulate.

So yes, there is heat in this beautiful country. Heat in the tropical day and reflected evening, heat in the bright batik colors of shirts, dresses and hijabs, heat in the sambol and black pepper sauce, but also in a collective passion for Montessori education, still in a nascent stage for Lower Elementary. Consider this a note from abroad, saying that Montessori is alive and well, and well, growing in interest and scope in Java, Sumatra, Surabaya. After five virtual webinars in the Spring, concentrating on philosophy and methods, it was an honor to participate in the first comprehensive teacher-education program for Montessori Lower Elementary in Indonesia, and the first to run for two consecutive weeks, This cohort of twenty plus adult learners, working through Montessori Haus-Asia, spent a week each learning and practicing Arithmetic and Geometry. It’s easy to say that they were among the most hardest-working and practicing groups I’ve engaged with as a teacher-educator, a role I’ve played with TEPs since 1992. I often tell groups that a successful training session is really a partnership; a high level of positive energy that both presenter and adult learners bring to the process, is crucial to its result. These past two weeks were testament to that supposition, and very much looking forward to more to come in 2026. Bring on the sambol.