In the land of “The Thousand Rivers” - My 1st week diary in Banjarmasin
(August 06, 2017 - Sunday) Finally, landed in one of the province of Indonesia. A two (2) and a half hours plane ride from Jakarta, Banjarmasin province, the capital of South Kalimantan. It is known to be The Thousand Rivers where rivers can be found anywhere in the place. When I arrived in Banjarmasin, I immediately felt happy that some of the “international buddies” were already there waiting for me to arrive because travelling to another country alone may be nervous especially for me that it is my first solo international flight, I feel nervous to be in an unfamiliar land, and I'm glad that these buddies are there and buddies are not hard to communicate with because they can speak and understand English language very well.
After the long and tiring flight, we went straight to the dormitories in Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, our host school. Universitas Lambung Mangkurat the oldest university in Kalimantan. A government university in Banjarmasin and Banjarbaru named after the first Negara Dipa's Patih (Prime Minister)
After the long and tiring flight, we went straight to the dormitories in Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, our host school. Universitas Lambung Mangkurat the oldest university in Kalimantan. A government university in Banjarmasin and Banjarbaru named after the first Negara Dipa's Patih (Prime Minister)
The 1st and 2nd day (August 07 & 08, 2017) was rest day for us, bonding time with other international buddies through quick tours and building relationship to one another as we eat lunch & dinner together and hang out to some nearby places in the school. I talked and bond with the international buddies and as well as other foreign exchange students from Thailand and one from my homeland, Philippines.
On the 3rd day(August 09, 2017), I finally met the Headmaster to the school where I will be having my observation and teaching practice, Mr. Wiyanto, S.Pd the Headmaster of the Sekolah Islam Sabilal Muhtadin, a private school located in Banjarmasin, Indonesia. Mr. Wiyanto along with the teachers in the school warmly welcomed us by accommodating us from time to time even though language is quite an issue but yet, we manage to get along perfectly fine because of our translators, our international buddies. We talked about so many things like how Indonesian and Filipino have similar cultures and talked about similarities in languages and words. After, we began talking about how the system of the school goes, the resources that they have and some of the culture they have in school, faculties and students.
Along with the 4th day (August 10, 2017) of the week, me together with another students from the Philippines, Mylyn, started our observation to the grades 4, 5 and 6. Together with Mr. Muslim, S.Pd our assign teaching mentor. He is an English major graduate, teaching English subject to levels 4, 5 and 6 in Sekolah Islam Sabilal Muhtadin. He accommodates us very well like how other faculty accommodates us in the school just like the culture that we have back in the Philippines. It is such a joyful to see that students in Indonesia respects their teachers by kissing their teacher's right-hand when they see them. I was shocked when me and fellow student-teacher was approached by so many students and individually they grab our right hand and started kissing them. It was so overwhelming that as early as today, they already see us as their teacher and respects us even if we are still in the road of being a teacher.
By the last weekday of the week, the 5th day (August 11, 2017). I was feeling excited because today, the school conducted a weekly "English Morning Activity" which me and my fellow student-teacher was asked to do and organize the said activity. The activity consists of singing English ice breakers, songs and communicating with the students to enhance their communication skills in English and as well as to boost their confidence in speaking English in front of the crowd.
The first thing we did together with my fellow student-teacher is that, we introduce ourselves and then we let the students ask anything about us and our country, Philippines. It's a good thing to see that many students we're curious and delightful to ask questions about us and about our country. They ask so many things from personal questions down to questions about our provinces and places back home. I feel very happy that these students tried their best in speaking English even if they find it really hard to express themselves. The next activity that we had was giving students Ice-Breakers and songs. The first Ice-Breaker we all perform was the "Good Morning Song" and "Hookie Pookie Song" after that, I was asked by the students to sing a song from my country. At first I was nervous and I hesitated but seeing the students' curiosity to hear local song from my country boost my confidence, and I sang a song which is a Bisaya Song entitled "Balay Ni Mayang". After all the singing and dancing part of the activity, it is the teachers' time to ask anything about me and my fellow student-teacher. The teachers asked about our educational system and how English is being use in our country and some teachers even ask how is Indonesia's culture being different from the Philippines. After all the questions, it was time to end the one-hour activity that we had. The headmaster gave a closing remarks and everyone went back to their respective classrooms happily. After organizing the program, me and my fellow student-teacher head back to our respective class as well for our daily observations.
The first thing we did together with my fellow student-teacher is that, we introduce ourselves and then we let the students ask anything about us and our country, Philippines. It's a good thing to see that many students we're curious and delightful to ask questions about us and about our country. They ask so many things from personal questions down to questions about our provinces and places back home. I feel very happy that these students tried their best in speaking English even if they find it really hard to express themselves. The next activity that we had was giving students Ice-Breakers and songs. The first Ice-Breaker we all perform was the "Good Morning Song" and "Hookie Pookie Song" after that, I was asked by the students to sing a song from my country. At first I was nervous and I hesitated but seeing the students' curiosity to hear local song from my country boost my confidence, and I sang a song which is a Bisaya Song entitled "Balay Ni Mayang". After all the singing and dancing part of the activity, it is the teachers' time to ask anything about me and my fellow student-teacher. The teachers asked about our educational system and how English is being use in our country and some teachers even ask how is Indonesia's culture being different from the Philippines. After all the questions, it was time to end the one-hour activity that we had. The headmaster gave a closing remarks and everyone went back to their respective classrooms happily. After organizing the program, me and my fellow student-teacher head back to our respective class as well for our daily observations.
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