Once, I went to school very tired and I didn't want to do work, then I remembered that was everyday of my 5 years of high school

Well I think now that I have been to school for 7 days I should talk about my school in Indonesia. I go to SMAN 3 Bandung (Public Senior High School 3 in Bandung. pronounced es-em-ah TEE-guh). Its located in Old Bandung in a building built by the Dutch, which it shares with a different high school, SMAN 5 Bandung. Everyday, Students put on (in my oppinion) ugly and uncomfortable uniforms consisting on a white collared shirt embroidered with your name and school, and an ankle length bluish skirt (bluish pants for boys). Recently, I got my skirt caught in the door of the Ankot on the way home from school. By the time I got off, it was wet from puddles the ankot had driven through. On fridays, you where a shirt patterned with your schools batik. Hopefully, I will be able to post some photos of this. I've been told this is the best high school in Bandung and that if you want to study, you go to SMAN 3 and if you want to have fun, you go to SMAN 5. Getting into high school in Indonesia is more like getting into college in the US: you get into high school based on the grades you had in middle school, not based on where you live. This means I have a long way to drive to school everyday haha. As classes start, the school plays a little western folk tune. I kind of wonder if the school realizes what they are playing since fiercely anti-alcohol SMAN 3 plays “Little Brown jug” on a daily basis. Also, instead of going from one teachers class to another, you stay put on wildly uncomfortable wooden chairs (I've been taking a cushion to school to sit on) and the teachers come to you! Sounds nice since there is less walking, but it means you can't really choose your classes beyond picking a major in science or social studies. I'm majoring in Social studies at our schools only tiny 11th grade social studies class.
Now I'd like to introduce you to the controversy; the reason why my class is so much smaller than all the others: If you major in Science in high school, you can major in whatever you want in college, but if you major in Social Studies, you can only major in a field of Social Studies in college. As a result, students have to take tests to get into a pure science class, and if they fail, they are placed in social science. Also, students are encouraged by parents and teachers to take science even if their interest is in social studies, and those who taking social science anyway are labeled as slackers. This was strange to me coming from PCEP, where most of our best teachers are in social studies, and it seems a lot of kids are pushed the other direction. This school system was set up by the Dutch and my schoolmates postulate that it was to keep Indonesians from fully understanding government, making them less politically powerful and easy to govern. If you haven't already figured this out, the reason my class is so small and that it is the only social studies class in the 11th grade is because SMAN 3 has a reputation to uphold. Not only are the parents of students at SMAN 3 more likely to push their kids into Science, but the school does as well, because the more engineers from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB for short. Its the Indonesian equivalent of MIT), the better the reputation of the school. At this point, I drew a parallel: I remembered how Mrs. Caldwell, my 10th grade bio teacher, used to tell us she was preparing us to get into the University of Michigan and our school counselors telling us the school requirements were based on those to get into the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. It seems Indonesia is in a frustrating educational position that many students want to change. Good luck to them!
I'll end on a good note telling you about some of features of my school. Our school has really good, cheap, food which you seem to be allowed to eat in class. SMAN 3 has a very nice cafeteria, and (to the annoyance of 3's students) students from SMAN 5 will come to each there causing it to get a little crowded (but not PCEP crowded haha). My school also has two fountains, a garden, and wifi so I find it very pretty to go there. I'm liking my teachers, although I have no idea what most of them are saying, except my German teacher who teaches part of her lesson in English (I think because English is closer to German) and my civics teacher who I think made her lesson partly in English for me.hmm...if theres anything else you'd like to know about my school, shoot me a comment.

Discussion Topic

I've been asked this question or a question similar to this many times in Indonesia (most recently my civics teacher asked me this) and I thought I'd open up this question to all Americans as well as anyone else who has a thought (American or not).

Anyway, the question: Why does the United States get blamed for so many of the worlds problems?

So I've set it so anyone can comment on this even if you are not a member. I think maybe it would be cool if you stated which country(ies) you are from too.

Things I appreciate more from the US

1. Immigrants!!!!! I love Immigrants!!!! Immigrants are the reason I can eat a Greek breakfast, Japanese lunch and Ethiopian dinner. You don't know what I'd do for a piece of fresh bread from a La Shish-type Middle Eastern restaurant right now. Immigrants are also the reason you don't see people yelling, staring or taking pictures of foreigners on the street (something I find really annoying here). Last, immigrants are the reason I can talk eloquently about Islam, as well as many other religions are cultures, and frankly it has eased my culture shock. So Arizona, WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! haha

2. 2% milk (I thought it was quite apt to make this #2 haha). I can't find it here. It makes me mad because I only drink 2% because it is DELICIOUS. Oh well, I guess I will have to stick to tea for now.

3. As previously mention, Michigan's particular blend of ethnic food. Its really quite good, and the middle eastern food is much more authentic than the skinny meat-skimpy "kebab" here that is doused in mayonnaise. I hope all of you in Michigan are adventurous enough to eat it.

4. No squat toilets. They really do scare me, haha, and aiming is not something a girl is used to doing.

5. Fluoridated, drinkable tap water. No fear of bowel trauma in the US (unless you're Mexican), just white, shiny teeth.

6. Barbeque ribs. No pork in Indonesia, so no ribs :(. If Indonesians wanted to, they could use beef but I haven't seen it.

7. Makeup. You can buy makeup, but I don't see too many teenagers wearing it, so I've tried to avoid it.

8. No call-to-prayer. This is probably more of a downside of the US for Muslims, but as a non-Muslim, I do enjoy uninterrupted sleep haha.