Due to apparent vigorous Facebook stocking, ETA Gordon “Peter” Bensen quickly realized there was no way he was hiding from his 23rd birthday. When August 28 rolled around, he figured something was in store, but not this.

At 11 am, Peter and his co-teacher were recapping how their first 11th grade lesson had gone, when his counterpart joined them in the teacher’s room. Before Peter could understand what was going on, a huge fight had broken out between his counterpart and co-teacher. His counterpart was yelling at his co-teacher claiming she didn’t understand English well enough to work with the ETA, that he should take over all of her classes, that she was unqualified to teach English, etc. Peter’s co-teacher was screaming back (almost crying), saying how unfair those comments were and how she deserved to work with the American too! The argument went on for 5-10 minutes as a flabbergasted and concerned Peter tried to break the situation up. None of his attempts worked and the argument continued to worsen. Numerous other teachers and the vice principal surrounded the area and looked on in awe.

Finally, an incredibly scared and frustrated, Peter raised his voice and put up his hands at which point the entire room BURST into laughter. It had been one ginormous birthday prank orchestrated by Peter’s counterpart – supposedly a birthday tradition. Heart still racing, Peter was invited to the front of the room where he took pictures and got fed a cake by multiple Ibu.

Selamat ulang tahun!

Gordon “Peter” Bensen is currently teaching at  MAN 1 Payakumbuh, West Sumatra

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All articles from August 2018 edition
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