Teaching....well sort of....

So I have started teaching. I am teaching in a Muslim High School. My students are all really nice to me, but most of the time they are afraid to talk to me or participate in class. I think it is because they are afraid of making a mistake. I try to speak Indonesian to them so they can see how much I mess up, but I don't think it is helping.
Also I think they are really bored in class. I am trying to figure out a way to make my classes more interesting. I could use any help and advice that anyone has! I am going to make journals for all of my students and have them do at least one journal activity a week and then out a fun assignment in it once a week also before I hand them back after grading... something like a fun translation assignment or word search and define assignment . I am hoping that will be something they will enjoy.

The teachers I teach with are all nice and welcoming to me. It makes me feel really good. But they do things a lot differently than I was expecting. They don't lesson plan. They don't set rules in their classes. They really don't have any fun activities and just teach right from the book, which really isnt all that great. It is very noticeable that the book was not made by a native speaker. That kind of makes me sad and frustrated but I have to work with what I have. So I will be spending the next couple of weeks going through the course book and making new assignments and activities that I feel the kids will actually enjoy. Listening activities that are fun and from movies or music that they like. Everyone of these kids is crazy for Justin Beiber and even Celine Dion.  Hey... if that is what it takes... I will totally work with it!
If you have any words of wisdom and ideas PLEASE send them my way!

The school days are shortened for the month of August. It is Ramadan time. We are all fasting from 4:00am to 6:00pm, so everyone is low on energy and not wanting to be in school. So I will have the new lessons ready for the end of Ramadan. We are going to restart with a bang! That is the goal anyhow. Hopefully this works and doesn't blow up in my face.