ACICIS was delighted to have six students and two accompanying teachers from Mandurah Baptist College to Yogyakarta in 2016 on another ACICIS Indonesia School Tour. Their fourteen-day tour in Indonesia covered twenty hours of language classes, six hours of tutorials, as well as some workshops and visits to some well-known places in Yogyakarta.
Apart from having language classes at Lembaga Bahasa Universitas Sanata Dharma, the students also participated in traditional Javanese dance workshop. An experienced tutor taught the participants to do step by step of angguk dance which originated from Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta.
Participants also had the opportunity to mingle with some local students during their school visit. By visiting two different schools, an Islamic Boarding School and a Christian School, participants enriched their knowledge of the diversity of students’ daily life at school in Indonesia. They had the chance to create a hijab decoration, to observe kaligrafi workshop, to sing some Indonesian songs and play gamelan. Furthermore, they also participated in classroom activities and in a school orientation session by introducing themselves in Bahasa in front of the students.
The most awaited activity for the participants was the village stay, in Nglanggeran village on the slopes of Gunung Api Purba, the no-longer-active mountain. Staying with families in a traditional houses, they immersed themselves in the Javanese culture and tradition, together with challenging themselves to speak Bahasa more often. They also interacted with the local children playing soccer in the local public field. They also had a chance to explore the beauty of Nglanggeran village. At 3.30 a.m one morning, the students hiked to the peak of Gunung Api Purba to see the sunrise. Reaching the peak of the mountain was a wonderful achievement, even though the sun was covered by the thick cloud and fog.
Other workshops the students attended included fabric and wooden mask batik making, kite making and wayang (puppet) making. All of these workshops added to their unique experience on an ACICIS Indonesia School Tour.
Thank you to all of our Mandurah Baptist College participants. It has been lovely having you – we look forward to seeing you all again!
To find out more about our ACICIS Indonesia School Tours, please click here.
