Time doesn’t seem to slow down in Cerme as ETA Gabriel “Gabe” Umland has had a whirlwind of an October. Amidst his regular teaching, Gabe also made fajitas with home made tortillas, attended school marching band competitions, ran a 7K race with ETA Nathan Kumar, judged an English story telling competition, swam in a hot spring at the base of a volcano, played in an ultimate frisbee competition, and celebrated Halloween. But best of all, this month SMAN1C (SMAN 1 Cerme) celebrated Bulan Bahasa.

Bulan Bahasa was an incredible one-day event put on by the students of kelas Bahasa featuring music, dance, theater, and a fashion show, all inspired by different languages and countries. In the months leading up to Bulan Bahasa, the students of kelas Bahasa spent countless hours after school preparing for the event. During October Gabe had the pleasure of joining them in their late-night preparations, especially during the last week leading up to the event where Gabe and the students spent nearly 13 hours at school each day preparing.

During the event, in addition to singing a duet with one of the students, Fara, Gabe also debuted his role as “King Gabriel” in the school play. However, the true highlight of the day was seeing the hard work of students pay off as they flawlessly executed an incredible event. The music and dance performances left Gabe in awe and overwhelmed with pride and joy.

This month Gabe was endlessly humbled and honored to be invited into these spaces with students, and couldn’t be happier and prouder to call them his friends.

Gabriel “Gabe” Umland is currently teaching at SMAN 1 Cerme, East Java.