ACICIS was extremely excited to welcome back Scotch College on an ACICIS Indonesia School Tour in April 2016! Seven enthusiastic students and two accompanying teachers spent one week in Yogyakarta, studying Indonesian language and immersing themselves in Indonesian life and culture.
Highlights of the tour included the visits to leading local non-government organisations (NGOs) in Yogyakarta. To accommodate students’ interest in environmental issues, ACICIS organised a visit to the Centre for Organgutan Protection (COP), a non-profit organisation working in conserving orang-utans and their natural habitats. The students had the opportunity to ask questions and had a great discussion on environmental issues in Indonesia with the COP volunteers, taking in the atmosphere of nearby Merapi. The visit to the COP was concluded with a great session of hands-on environmental activity: planting trees!
The Scotch College students also demonstrated a keen interest in the Indonesian education system. The students spend some time at Project Child Indonesia, one of the notable locally-run organisations focused on alleviating poverty in the community through education. At the Project Child’s River School in Code River, the Scotch College students made friends with the local children in the area. Through playing and interacting with each other, they were able to improve their language skills.
As an important component of the tour, the students undertook language classes at Sanata Dharma University. The students’ confidence in their Indonesian languages skills had impressed their teachers and tutors during their final presentations. To close the language classes, the students tried on Indonesian traditional garments and collaborated with their tutors to do Javanese dances.
On top of that, they spent some time exploring the beauty of Yogyakarta. They were exposed to the “old Yogyakarta” while walking through the narrow alleys of Kotagede, interacting with the local people in Borobudur, and enjoying a Mount Merapi Jeep tour.
Thank you to Scotch College participants for your semangat during the tour – we look forward to seeing you all again in the near future!
