Red Light, Green Light

When I put Kate's shoes on everyday at 4 PM, I never know what the hour outside may look like. All I know is a bunch of kids will be there. Sometimes they rollerblade or ride scooters; other times they play soccer. A few weeks ago it seemed like the kids weren't really playing with each other. Almost like they didn't know how? I noticed these kids all standing around, and my head was screaming," Play with them!!!" So... I did.

I taught them the old playground favorite of "Red Light, Green Light". The rules are simple: run on green lights, walk on yellow lights, and stop on red lights. (This is an interesting concept here, because these traffic laws are only obeyed going one direction, which only applies when the power is on or when you feel like it.) We began our play using Indonesian, and then I thought I would teach them the words in English. Most kids are taught English in school and are eager to try it out with a real live English speaker. They caught on quickly and soon knowledge of the game spread through our street. When it was time to go home and make dinner, the kids were begging us to come back tomorrow and play. So... we did. We played "Red Light, Green Light" for about a week straight. When we weren't outside playing with them, we saw the kids running with big smiles on their faces.