Listeners' Letters	Idioms Inggris	Greg's Learning Tips	Aussie Flora
Indigenous Australians  at work WOW WOW WIZARDS	inc. news from ISELP, the Bali Rehabilitation Fund and ASEAN	Oz-Indo Connections The Muslim Exchange Program to Australia  and  Oz Indo links in West Sumatra - amazing!	Aussie Music with NORTH   and The Crocodile Hunter

Listeners' Letters

Australia - Good Neighbour!
I would like to express my appreciation to the Royal Australian Air Force. As I have seen on TV, they have been doing great things to help our government to help the people of Aceh swept up by the tsunami. That's what we call 'Good Neighbours Make Good Friends'

Andhika Rahardyanto
Ambarawa - CENTRAL JAVA

Thanks for your lovely letter Andhika. All our thoughts are with the people of Aceh and all the other areas devastated by the tsunami. There is a lot of work to be done to rebuild the area affected. Friends helping friends - people from countries all around the world are helping in so many ways and great progress is being made.

Grateful KGRE Listener in Papua
I was very happy because I could get your address. KGRE, how beautiful it is. Although we do not know each other, your face and myself. KGRE, I was very interested about your program on my local RRI station every Wednesday (FM 90 MHz) and Friday (Pro 2 FM) at 18.00 wit in Jayapura - Papua. I always join and follow your programs. I really support and listen to your radio program often. I will not give you something but just big thanks very much and the Lord bless you forever.

Simon M. Yatipai
Jayapura - PAPUA

It is really wonderful to hear from a listener far away in Papua! Thank you for the letter. KGRE would love to visit Papua this year and if we are coming your way then we will let you know. Please check the KGRE Travel Page on the website regularly so you know all KGRE's travel plans.

Aussie Teachers in East Java
Hello, my name is Muhammad Nurhadi. I am a new English teacher at MTsN Darul Ulum or Junior High School of Darul Ulum Foundation in Jombang, East Java. I have been teaching English here for two semesters. I now have two Australian teachers helping me, Mr Benjamin and Mrs Amber. I heard about the KGRE magazine from them. I think that KGRE magazine is a wonderful magazine which provides me some interesting information. It adds to my reading material a lot.

Muhammad Nurhadi, S.Pd
Jombang - East Java

Thanks for the letter. I hope you joined the KGRE teacher workshop in Jombang last March organised by Amber from ISELP and your school - Darul Ulum. Read more about this AusAID activity on page 13

Problems with Grammar
By this letter I want to get KGRE magazine regularly. I am very interested in it after reading it at my friend's house. I often learn about your country from TV and your magazines. One day I want to go there. That is my great dream. Because of that I must improve my English. By the way, I have a problem in my English. Until now I don't understand how to distinguish between complement and object. I hope you will help me to solve my problem. I think that is all. Thank you for your answer and good luck KGRE.

Eka Juliawati
Gianyar, Bali

Hi Eka, thanks for the letter. The magazine is on the way to you right now. I am sorry but it is not possible to answer grammar questions here on this page. But if you have access to the internet why not put your question on the Kang Guru Forum's Language Channel? You may get the answer you are looking for from a fellow KGRE-ite. Best wishes to you and I hope that one day your dream of going to Australia will come true.

Tune in to KGRE
I'm one of the English teachers at SMAN 3 Kota Manna Bengkulu Selatan who is very interested to write this letter after reading the KGRE magazine given by my friend and listening your program on the radio. To prepare the students facing 'listening section' on the national final test (UAN), I asked all my students, the third class in particular, to listen to your program on the radio Mitra FM every Sunday at 11-12. I also gave them tasks while listening and they enjoyed it. But I got the difficulties to bring it in the classroom, for example when it is needed to re-listen. Could you help, please.

Sismeidarti
Manna, South Bengkulu - BENGKULU

That's no problem. We are happy to help. Please send us your teacher ID number and then we can send you our Reading Class Set for this magazine in early May, okay? We can also send you copies of our radio programs on cassette. Order soon!

Need Help Please!
How are you? I graduated from senior high school in 2000. This is the first time I write a letter in English. I've never written in English before until this one. I read your wonderful magazine for the first time when I was on the bus and I saw a student who sat beside me. She was reading your magazine and I thought it's really interesting and entertaining. Oh ya KG, there are many children at my village who are interested in studying English and they asked me to teach them. I really want to help them but I have no materials to teach with. So I want to request a free English book or magazine. Thanks for your attention.

Udin
Kab. Dompu - NTB

Your letter is so good. I cannot believe you have never written an English letter before! We are happy to send you the magazine during 2005-2007. I hope you will show it to your friends too. Do you know about teaching materials from KGRE? We hope you do and if not, check out our website.

Australian Slang
I want firstly introduce myself to you. My name is Van Van. I'm studying in SMAK Petra Surabaya. Last October I joined a study group of 4 students visiting Sydney for a study tour. It was a pleasant opportunity for me to visit kangguru country. I enjoyed my homestay there with my generous Australian family. Unfortunately I feel that Australian English is more difficult than American English although I had English lessons regularly at school and even took English course after school hours. However I still failed to hear and accept the Australian slang. As a guidance in listening your radio program every week and to improve my English skill please send me regularly your KG magazine.

Van Van
Surabaya - EAST JAVA

Thanks for your letter Van Van. It is difficult getting used to hearing native speakers talking in an English speaking country, isn't it? We hope that our radio program can help our listeners get used to the Australian way of speaking. If you have access to the internet try and look at the Kang Guru Forum on the website. Kang Guru readers and listeners often have discussions on this site about slang. It's a good place to post your questions and hopefully get quick replies. If you can Van, please post up some of the slang terms you heard in Australia so others can learn about them too. Thanks so much. Your name and address is now on our list and you will be getting the magazine throughout 2005 and 2006.

Idioms Inggris

Here are some interesting idioms with the names of fruit. 
They were suggested by Greg Gibbons of AusAID's ASEAN Australia Development Cooperation Program.

To be as cool as a cucumber means to be calm at a time of danger, upset or difficulty. We usually use it when someone is calm but we expect they should be feeling stress. Greg says, "My brother almost had a motorbike accident in Jakarta yesterday. A bus drove right in front of him. But he was as cool as a cucumber. He didn't panic. He quickly moved out of the way. I don't think I would be as relaxed if that happened to me". Greg's second idiom is life is a bowl of cherries. If we say life is a bowl of cherries we mean that our life is pretty good and that we are very happy with what is going on in our lives. "I have a great job here in Bali. My children are happy at school and when I really think about it - life is a bowl of cherries actually. I couldn't be happier really".

Our next idiom is peanuts or to cost peanuts. We use this when we want to say that something was very cheap to buy.

          "Your jeans are nice, they look very expensive", said Jack. "Not at all. I got them in a sale so they were peanuts",
             replied Mary.

Another one is drives me bananas. This idiom can be used when we want to say that someone or something is making us confused, making us 'go crazy' or even making us a little angry.

"The old man comes to my house every day. Sometimes five or six times a day asking for something. Sometimes he asks for sugar or tea or rice or fruit. I never get a rest as he's at the house all the time - he drives me bananas actually".

You can also use nuts - kacang - instead of bananas. Here is a present continuous tense version of the idiom for you.

"If he doesn't stop coming around all the time I will have to tell him to stop. He is driving me nuts".

to be as cool as a cucumber - tenang sekali, to cost peanuts - murah sekali
life is a bowl of cherries - kehidupan yang menyenangkan
driving me bananas or driving me nuts - membuat orang frustasi/jengkel/kesal atau sedikit marah

Learn some basic words and phrases as soon as you can. These are key words to get you started. "hello", "thank you", "yes", "no", and "how much?". Learn to say "what is the word for ...?", or "how do you 
say ...?". 

Whenever you meet a foreigner or an English speaker you can ask them for a little help. People will be happy to talk to you and help you. If you ask someone for a word and then you quickly forget it, don't worry! Ask them to repeat the word until you have got it right. Keep asking and soon you will remember. 

Learn to count up to a million.

When you learn new words such as numbers and the basic words and phrases above, try and use them immediately. 

Don't be afraid and don't wait till you think you know them perfectly. Just practise and have fun. 

Use every opportunity to practise your new language. Ask anyone you know who speaks a little English (such as your friends and workmates) to speak with you only in English.

Aussie Flora

Sturt's Desert Pea This beautiful flower was first discovered by the explorer William Dampier in 1688. It is an annual - it flowers once a year. It is found mostly in the dry inland of Central Australia and further south to northern South Australia. It grows quickly after rain. It is a slow-growing, creeping plant that grows along the ground. The flowers stand upright up to 30cm tall. The large flower can be various shades of red, with a base of deep red to purple to black. It was adopted as the floral emblem of South Australia on 23 November 1961. Remember Deli from the December 2004 magazine? Sturt's Desert Pea is her favorite Australian wildflower.

Indigenous Australians

Australia is a multicultural society made up of people from all around the world. Today the Australian population is made up of many different cultures, religions and lifestyles. During the past 200 years, hundreds of thousands of people haved moved to Australia from Europe and Asia. However indigenous Australians, the native people of the continent of Australia, have been living there for thousands of years. They too had their different cultural groups, and still do. There is no single indigenous culture, but a mixture of contemporary and traditional thoughts, ways and practices.  Many years ago these indigenous Australians lived a hunter and gatherer life. The men hunted large animals such as kangaroos, emus and turtles and the women and children hunted smaller animals and collected fruits, berries and other plants. On the coast people caught fish and collected many types of shellfish including mussels and oysters. Every part of the animal and plant was eaten or used to make things such as clothing, baskets, tools and weapons. Just as in the past, indigenous Australians now live throughout Australia. This includes cities, towns, coastal, rural and country areas, plus the outback. When Kevin visited Australia last year he met with several indigenous Australians. One was Dean, a Park Ranger in the Kakadu National Park and the other young man was Aaron, an aboriginal artist from Daly Waters.

Aaron lives in the Merrepen community near Daly Waters in the Northern Territory, 250 kilometers south-west of Darwin. He is 22 years old and his mother is a full blood aboriginal. He is the Assistant Manager at the Merrepen Arts Centre - an art centre well known for indigenous art. The centre has been operating for 17 years. Seven to eight thousand people visit the centre each year. There is an Annual Art Festival which lasts for several days. It includes concerts and other artistic activities. Aaron explained to KGRE why he is so interested in indigenous art, "That's just a natural thing because it's been passed on from one generation to another. It started with my great grandmother who's still alive and she passed it on to her daughters then she passed it around to her grandchildren and now she has passed it on to us, her great grandchildren".

The money from the sale of the art works goes back into the community. Thirty percent goes to the centre to cover materials but 70% goes back to the artist. Most of the art works are done at home. There are about 10 artists who work with the centre and about 60 to 70 people who actually paint within the community. At the moment Aaron is studying at the Charles Sturt University in Darwin. He is doing an associate degree in Arts and hopes to be manager of the Arts Centre one day in the future.

WOW WOW WIZARDS
Australia has many interesting animals. In each magazine this year KGRE will tell you about one of these unique Australian animals. The first animal is the Tasmanian Devil. Have you heard of this animal before? It only lives on the Australian island state of Tasmania. Here are two questions to think about as you read.

1. When does the Tasmanian Devil sleep? 
2. What does the Tasmanian Devil eat?

The Tasmanian Devil is a marsupial like the kangaroo. This means the mother has a pocket or a pouch where she carries her babies. The Tasmanian Devil is mostly black but sometimes it has some white fur on its chest. It has short legs and a long tail. It looks a little like a very small bear. The largest male can be about 30 centimetres high and can weigh up to 12 kilograms. That's about the same size as a small dog. But the females are usually smaller. The Tasmanian Devil is a nocturnal animal. That means it likes the night time. It sleeps in the day and gets up at night to look for food to eat. In the daytime it will sleep under a fallen tree or in long grass.

The Tasmanian Devil was given this name by the first European people who went to Tasmania. They called it a devil because they were afraid of it. They were afraid because it makes a terrible sound and because it is horrible to watch it eat. The Tasmanian Devil has a strong mouth and very sharp teeth. It eats a lot of meat. It will eat small animals like rabbits, birds and reptiles such as lizards. It will even eat dead cows and sheep if it can find any. The Tasmanian Devil sounds like a very scary animal indeed.

AusAID in Indonesia

ASEAN Australia Development Cooperation Program

Greg Gibbons is the Project Director and Program Director of ASEAN Australia Development Cooperation Program. ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The ten members of ASEAN are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The aims of ASEAN are the integration and increasing competitiveness of its member countries in the world market. It is quite similar to the European Union, for example.

The ASEAN Australia Development Cooperation Program is a A$45 million dollar project distributing money to all member countries of ASEAN. It is managed by a company called ACIL Australia. Most of this money, A$37 million, goes to two major projects. The first is the Program Stream Project, which started in 2002. The other is the Regional Partnership Scheme Program, which started in 2003. Both projects will continue until 2008. These two projects provide money to a lot of smaller projects. These projects cover a range of areas from agriculture to electronics, from commerce to fish and fisheries, customs, standards, forestry, skills development and counter terrorism. There are 10 projects up to three years long costing between A$1-2 million and there are 17 smaller projects of A$500,000 lasting up to two years.

Greg can explained this with an example, "... I think a good example is in the fruits and vegetables projects under the Program Stream where one of the aims is to develop ASEAN Good Agriculture Practice, or GAP. A GAP would be an all ASEAN standard for fruits and vegetables. The advantages of this to Indonesia would be that when Indonesia wishes to export fruits and vegetables to anywhere in the world it would be under an agricultural standard that is common for 519 million people, so would include all of the countries. And so ASEAN as an exporting block would have advantages and Indonesia would partake of those benefits. ... in this world today the European Union has got a European Union GAP. America has got an American GAP. So big groups of countries and big exporters have a GAP and this project is actually about developing one for ASEAN and that is certainly helping Indonesia". To learn more about these and other AusAID projects have a look at the KGRE website AusAID Pages.

Bali Rehabilitation Fund (BRF)

The Bali Bombings of 2002 have had an incredibly negative affect on Bali, the Balinese people and business. It was only during the last few months of 2004 that the numbers of tourists visiting Bali began to increase again. Many people had already lost their jobs because of the drop in tourist numbers. For example, there had been less people buying handicrafts or using taxis. Many others who worked in industries that depend on tourism could not earn enough money to live on.

In March 2003 AusAID started the Bali Rehabilitation Fund (BRF) as part of the Australian Government funded Australian Community Development and Civil Society Strengthening Scheme (ACCESS). The BRF is a fund of A$1.5 million used to improve the opportunities for earning a living for those Balinese and other Indonesians who were badly affected by the bombings and the reduction of tourism. The main tourist area of Kuta was not the only area that suffered. The bomb had a terrible affect on the lives of people all over the island. Donna Holden, Manager of the BRF explains why, "... over the years in Bali many families sold their land to get the money to send their children to tourism college. These children then got jobs in the tourism industry in Kuta. The families then relied on the money their children sent home. Many, many people lost their jobs in the tourism industry after the bomb and returned to their villages. These families then had no way to earn money."

The purpose of the BRF is to provide grants of money to local partners who can then help people who lost their jobs and income. Many of the projects organised by the local partners involve projects to retrain people in new jobs and give them new skills. Then they are better able to earn money that is not dependant on the tourism industry. These local partners include local Non Government Organisations (NGOs), community based organisations, government organisations and local communities themselves. Donna explains, "... personally we do not implement our projects. We help local NGOs design projects, then we provide funding for the projects and we offer technical assistance during the project."

One example of a very successful BRF project is a pig-raising project in the Jembrana district of west Bali. Women and children in Bali tend to have a traditional role of looking after livestock, especially pigs.

BRF worked with a local micro credit organisation called Dian Bhuana Lestari Foundation (DINARI) who developed a pig farming system suited to the needs of this local community. The women borrow 1 million rupiah from the micro credit fund, at a very low rate of interest. With this money the women can buy three small pigs and enough food for the pigs for six months. They receive veterinary care for the pigs and training in pig-raising. At the end of six months the women have paid back the loan in full, they have received an income during the six months and they have also made a profit. They can then use this profit to buy more pigs or they can spend it if they need to. They can then get another loan from the fund and start again. Three hundred people in this area have benefited from this project.

The BRF has also provided money for eight vocational training projects. One of these projects was a traineeship in non-toxic pest management. Four young men and one young woman participated in this project; the first of it's kind in Bali. The four month apprenticeship was developed by Yayasan Gelombang Udara Segar (GUS). The funding from BRF enabled GUS to develop training resources in non-toxic pest control, management and marketing, and provision of tools and wages for the trainees. Since completing the traineeship four of the trainees have received support from BRF and have now set up their own pest management business. They are also planning to start training ten more people in this type of pest control. The fifth trainee now works as a contractor to GUS. This project has in effect created a new industry and many new jobs.

Friends Helping Friends in Aceh

"Within hours of the tsunami having taken place, the Indonesian government immediately asked for foreign help and countries like Australia were more than happy to respond to that. The Australian government has announced the contribution of 1 billion Australian dollars to assist the people of Aceh to rebuild their lives and to rebuild their schools and their hospitals and so forth. That obviously has been welcomed by the Indonesian government from the President down. The President told the Prime Minister personally when they met in Jakarta a week after the Tsunami that he would never forget the Australia's help for Indonesia in its hour of need. The Australian Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, declared a day of national mourning for the victims of the tsunami (Sunday, January 16th). Millions of Australians observed a minute of silence at that time. Our flags flew at half mast to show our solidarity with the people of Indonesia and the people who suffered through this terrible tragedy".

Since December 26th last year there have been many sad and terrible stories from Aceh, and even more recently from Nias, Simeulue and the Banyak islands. It is estimated that well over 150,000 people died in Aceh, the worst affected area in all of Asia. The people, cities and communities of Aceh will continue to be affected for many years to come. People the world over have been extremely willing to help the people of Aceh to rebuild their lives and towns. The donations pouring in from around the world, and from within Indonesia, have been truly wonderful. Rebuilding will be an ongoing task for years to come. Many schools and their students have been badly affected as well. To try and help, in just a small way, KGRE sent 500 ‘student packs’ to students living on the islands off the west coast of Sumatra in mid January, 2005. Their swift delivery was made possible through the work of AusAID in conjunction with Sumatran Safaris based in Padang. 

In February, the IALF, in cooperation with KGRE, sent 2,000 packs of school supplies to students affected by the tsunami in Lhokseumawe, Aceh. Zainul Abidin Kazhi, an enthusiastic user of Kang Guru services, who lives in Lhokseumawe, assisted the IALF with distribution of the packages. These packages included KGRE exercise books, pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, coloured pencils, pencil cases, erasers, rulers, Tippex and Kang Guru magazines. Zainul spent three days distributing the packages to thirteen primary and junior secondary schools in both the state and Islamic school systems in the Lhokseumawe area. IALF and KGRE are very appreciative of the efforts made by Zainul in ensuring that the school supplies reached students in need. KGRE intends to fulfil earlier plans to provide Teacher Workshops in Aceh, in conjunction with the IALF and LAPIS (see below) in the near future.

Islamic Schools English Language Project (ISELP)

Australian teachers are becoming a familiar sight in many parts of East Java. Several of those teachers attended the KGRE Teacher Workshop in Lamongan last February. Prue Price and John Rollings are from Australia.

They are now working with teachers at Pesantren Qomarrudin in Bungurasih - Gresik, East Java and at Pesantren Annuqayah in Guluk-Guluk, Madura respectively. Along with other Australian teachers based in places such as Malang, Paciran, Jombang, Genteng and Paiton, they will be assisting to train local teachers in their everyday classroom situations. This new and exciting project comes from Australian Volunteers International (AVI) and AusAID. It is called ISELP - Islamic Schools English Language Project. Read more about these teachers and their schools on the KGRE website Travel Pages.

Oz-Indo Connections

Muslim Exchange Program from AII
Tubagus Erif Faturrahman went to Australia in October 2004. He was a participant in the Muslim Leader Exchange Program sponsored by the Australia Indonesia Institute (AII). Bagus was born in Banten in 1974 and is now the Head of International Relations in HMI or the Islamic Students Association based in Jakarta. Why did he join this exchange program? Bagus was concerned that Australians and Indonesian stereotype each other. This basically means that they have ideas about each other that are not necessarily true. Some of his ideas about Australia were quickly dispelled when he visited Australia. Bagus told KGRE in January 2005 that he was quite surprised what he found out about Aussies. 

".... they are very good. Frankly speaking we are very surprised about their lives, about multicultural Australia. There was bad news in Indonesia that Moslem people in Australia are discriminated against by the government, by the people in Australia".

Oz Indo links in West Sumatra - amazing!
On KGRE's recent visit to West Sumatra, Kevin was amazed at the number of people and activities he encountered that had direct connections to Australia and to AusAID activities in Indonesia.

Kevin's first surprise was meeting Sri and Afrizal, and their three children Puti, Arif and little Aini in Solok. They had just returned from three years in Australia. Sri and Afrizal are Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) alumni. Sri studied Educational Administration in Perth while Afrizal studied Civil Engineering specialising in ground water salinity. Their young children went to Australian schools. Sri and her husband helped to organise the recent KGRE Teacher Workshop in Sijunjung in conjunction with SMKN 1 Sijunjung.

Kevin also met Alhafiz Saputra who works at DINAS Kesehatan in Solok Regency

In Padang Kevin met Wulan Fauzanna and Diah Tjahaya Iman who both lecture at Andalas University. They are involved in the university's Australian Studies Centre. Wulan is an AIYEP alumni and has just been awarded an Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) for 2005. Diah was an ADS participant from 1998 - 2001.

Aussie Entertainment
One of Australia's latest music groups is called NORTH. Their first single 'Glory of Love' is currently being played on all major radio stations in Indonesia. They are Asia's newest and most exciting musical act. They are four young Australian guys from Melbourne. 'Glory of Love' is the first track from North's first self-titled album. Of the 12 tracks, 10 are written by North.

The Aussie lads say that they don't really mind being called a boy band because that's what they essentially are. North is a band of boys that sing and dance. Each of them contribute in their own ways to the band. Scott is the graphic designer, Beau the image consultant and choreographer, Alf the producer, and Thanh is the vocal trainer. North writes their own songs, produce their music, choreograph their dancing and style their 'look'. The members of the band feel that if the Beatles were here today they would also be called a 'boyband'.

For Asia, the second North album will include a lot of very new material as well as remixes and reworked songs from the debut album released 8 months ago.

"We can assure all our fantastic fans in Asia that the new album will be very fresh and that some of the older material will sound very, very different. As a group, we have taken a big step forward with almost every aspect of our act ... you will certainly hear it in the music and the production."

THE CROCODILE HUNTER
Steve Irwin was born in Victoria in February 1962. His father, Bob Irwin was very keen on reptiles. He moved his family to Queensland in 1970 to start a small reptile park. This family business grew into the Australia Zoo. In 1991 Steve's parents stopped working and Steve started managing the zoo. Since Steve took over management of the Zoo in 1991 it has grown and prospered.

 Steve and his father are very proud that every crocodile in their zoo was either caught by their own hands or was born and raised in their zoo. When he was a young man Steve's father volunteered for the Queensland Government's East Coast Crocodile Management program. The purpose of this program is to preserve crocodiles in the wild. However, if there are any crocodiles that may be a danger to humans, livestock (farm animals) or dogs, the crocodile will be removed from the area. These crocodiles may be put in crocodile farms or zoos, relocated to other areas where they will not be a danger, or in some circumstances they may be killed.

When Steve was old enough he also volunteered for the same project. It was a difficult life, as he had to live on his own near the creeks, rivers and mangroves of this area. The area is full of dangerous wildlife, there are lots of mosquitoes, it is very difficult to get around and it can be very hot. Steve was alone and had to catch huge crocodiles without any help. Steve was fantastic at this job and is quite famous because he caught a record amount of crocodiles during this time. In 1990 an old friend of Steve's came to film a television advertisement at the zoo. Steve and his friend John Stainton came up with an idea and decided to film a program together. In 1992 they made the first ever 'Crocodile Hunter'. It was a huge success. So far, Steve has made over 70 episodes of 'The Crocodile Hunter', 53 episodes of 'Croc Files', 43 episodes of 'Croc Diaries'. And he has a new series coming out later this year called 'The New Breed Vets'. A huge five hundred million viewers worldwide have seen his programs.

Their most recent project was March 2005 opening of a large new area for tigers at the zoo. Australia Zoo now has three Sumatran tigers, Juma, Singha and Ranu.

Kang Guru Connection

The KGRE Connection Club (KGCC) network is rather amazing. There are so many wonderful members for one thing. Secondly they do the most amazing activities together. At the moment there are about 60 active clubs in the network. Maybe you don't know, but KGCCs can be found practically all over Indonesia. To the far south-east there is the Kupang based Fan's English Club. To the far north-east the Medan English Club is always surprising. There are also wonderful clubs in Bengkalis, Matauli, Bengkulu, Lubuk Linggau and Labuhan Batu. Java has many clubs as does Sulawesi and Bali. There may not be KGCCs in every province yet but before too much longer there just might be.

To read about all of the KGCCs just look at the KGRE website - Connection Club pages. Feel free to read website copies of THE POUCH bulletins too and they will really keep you up to date with what is going on. Some of the recent Clubs of the month have been the English Conversation Circle Meeting Club from Makassar, the English Society Club based at RRI Semarang, the Student English Activity at the University Muhammadiyah, Yogyakarta plus the Gazebo English Study Club in Trenggalek, East Java.

Makassar In December last year Kevin visited clubs in Makassar. Thirty members from the five KG Connection Clubs in Makassar met Kevin at the Istana Laut Seafood restaurant for dinner. It was a good opportunity to meet with members of these clubs and to inform them of the latest news from KGRE. Twenty two clubs members attended - Best Forum #3, PEMCC #21, ECC # 34, Benteng # 39 and MAKES # 49. The members enjoyed receiving the latest KG magazines 'hot off the press'. It was an informal night. Members asked many questions about club membership, activities and the plans for KGRE for the next few years. Plans for a second Makassar based KGRE Get Together for mid-2005 were initiated and hopefully that will go ahead next year.

Kang Guru In The Classroom

Every year KGRE travels around Indonesia meeting and assisting English language teachers. So far in 2005 KGRE has met hundreds of teachers in places as far apart as Sibolga, Banjarmasin, Balikpapan, Lamongan, Malang, Madura, Jombang, Jakarta and Sijunjung in West Sumatra. KGRE Teacher Workshops provide an excellent opportunity for teachers to find out more about the services that KGRE has to offer, including teaching materials plus practical suggestions and ideas. Feedback from these workshops has always been very positive.

I am an English teacher at SMUK Tirta Marta BPK Penabur. I came to the teachers' workshop held by Australian Education Centre (AEC), IALF Jakarta and KGRE on the 12th of December 2004 at the Wisma Budi Building in Jakarta. As you opened the workshop you asked, sort of jokingly, whether the teachers attending were there to get a day off work, a free lunch or the certificate, or were they there to hopefully get some practical ideas and activities for their English classrooms. Your question made me think. I am trying to be a good teacher and I really thank you for the tips you gave to create a more productive English language classroom. In the exciting four hours (interrupted by the free lunch time - ha ha), you encouraged me to be a student too.

Eva Khaliska Hamdani

Response from Capt. KGRE
I want to thank you for your wonderful letter. I hope that my comments that day didn't offend you. There are many, many hard working teachers in Indonesia and I can tell that you are one of them. Sometimes teachers can become demotivated, not only here in Indonesia but also in Australia. I was very pleased with the reaction of that group of teachers at IALF. It was not difficult at all for me as all participants tried hard to get the most from the day's activities. I am also pleased to hear that some of the tips I gave you have been helpful.

Response from Capt. KGRE
Rizavatmi is a very active and dynamic teacher at SMA 1 Matauli Pandan. Riza and her organising committee invited KGRE to present a Teacher Workshop in Matauli Pandan, Sibolga. It took a few months to organise the event but it took place on January 15th. Over 100 high school English teachers attended. One of the teachers was Mislan from Mandailing, Natal. Riza had read Mislan's letter to KGRE in the Listeners' Letters section of the December 2004 KGRE magazine. Riza made the effort and contacted Mislan to invite her to attend the Matauli workshop offering her accommodation at the school as well. Thanks for your support and thoughtfulness Riza from all of us here at KGRE. Mislan really enjoyed the workshop activities and is now busily using KGRE materials in her busy, busy classroom.

Different Pond Different Fish
Language Misunderstandings

He Left Forever
When I was in senior high school, I became acquainted with an Australian man - a father of three children. This man was the foster father of one of my classmates. This Aussie and I wrote letters and sometimes I sent cassettes because he liked dangdut songs. One day, a mutual friends's father had an accident and I wanted to let my Aussie friend know. I wrote in my letter, "Her father left the family forever ...". My Aussie friend was confused by this because he wrote back and asked why my friend's father had left the family forever. I then explained that my friend's father was dead because of the accident. Later I understood that we can not translate Indonesian words 'meninggalkan keluarga untuk selama-lamanya' directly into English. Instead, we have to say 'passed away'. It is true that in a different language, sometimes we must express the same ideas with different words.
by Nur Fatimah

Berapa harga dalam celana?
An Australian man visited a supermarket in Indonesia. He had just started learning Bahasa Indonesia, so he could not speak very fluently. He wanted to buy some underwear so asked the shop-assistant in Indonesian, "Berapa harga dalam celana? (How much for inside of the pants?)". This guy thought that the Indonesian language had the same structure as English! Of course the shop-assistant automatically laughed and the Australian man had to ask him for clarification. Now he understands a little more about the structure of Indonesian!
by Alfons Arsai

Baby or Bayi
As you know I have only been here in Indonesia for a couple of months. I still haven't learned Bahasa Indonesia well. A few weeks ago my best Indonesian friend introduced me to her sister who had just had a baby. The baby was only a month old at the time. Her sister speaks very little English so I really wanted to try out some Indonesian with her. I also wanted to try and talk to her a little without having to ask her sister to translate everything. When she arrived with the baby my friend introduced us. I said hello and how are you in Bahasa Indonesia. That was fine and she understood me well and I understood her reply. But then I pointed to the new baby in her arms and I said, "Bagaimana babi yang baru lahir?" My friend started laughing and her sister looked a bit surprised. Then I realised I had said babi instead of bayi! Oh dear! I think babi came into my mind because it is so similar to baby in English. They both thought it was very funny but I was so embarrased I almost cried.

By Rachel, KGRE's new ELT Media and Training Specialist.

So Many Idioms!
Lydia Kurniawan is a Senior Information Officer at the Australian education Centre in Jakarta. Lydia studied in Australia herself and she told KGRE how she found some Australian language strange at first ...

"The accent was strange for me when I first went to Australia because here we are used to listening to and watching American movies. But there the accents are all Australian accents. It was pretty difficult to listen at first. You just have to get used to it by listening and watching the television. And there were some idioms that I didn't understand, like how they say thank you they say 'ta' and when they say toilet they say 'loo'".

A Keen KGRE Presenter
My name is Bowo Pranoto. I was born in Blitar on May 4th, 1966. I am an English teacher at SMPN 2 Banyuwangi. I graduated from Jember University in 1988. I am also a teacher trainer and Managing Basic Education facilitator in my area. I knew KGRE for the first time when Mr Kevin Dalton presented a KGRE workshop in 2001 at the Asida Hotel, Batu - Malang. The workshop was supported by the Education and Culture Department of East Java province. I was so interested in KGRE program so I asked Capt. KGRE some questions about the program and whether KGRE could be broadcasted in Banyuwangi.

KGRE Writing Competition for 2005

Would you like to win a trip to Bali for you and a friend, just like last year's winner Eka and her sister, Syenja did last year? All you have to do is enter the 2005 KGRE Writing Competition.

Here is the topic for this year's competition - What I have learned about Australia from Kang Guru

Your essay should be between 200 and 300 words. Try and make your essay interesting, entertaining and original. Even if you think your English is not good enough you should have a go. It doesn't matter what level of English you have. Your grammar and structure don't have to be perfect to win this competition. Eka, the 2004 winner, said she never thought her story was good enough to win, but it was. You can tell us about anything you have learned about Australia from KGRE. Maybe it is something you found out that was interesting, unusual or funny. So have a go and you could win a trip to Bali for you and a friend. The trip includes staying in a big hotel and an airline flight courtesy of KGRE, AusAID and IALF. Please send your essay to KGRE before the 31st of July 2005.

KGRE hints:

Spend some time thinking about what you are going to write. Get a piece of paper and write down anything at all that comes into your head. Write this down in English or Bahasa Indonesia.Remember there is a limit on the number of words you can use. That means you can really only write three or four paragraphs. Use your notes and plan what you will talk about in each paragraph before you start writing. Try and be imaginative and descriptive, but don't worry too much. Just give it a try!

Ogi arranged their itinerary so that they could do many things and visit many places during their four days in Bali. Eka told KGRE that she first knew about KGRE from her English teacher at SMUN 2 Kendari, Ibu Amelia Amas. She then sent a letter to KGRE and received KGRE magazines regularly and listened to KGRE from RRI Kendari. While for Syenja it was a different story. She had met Capt. KGRE when he visited RRI Kendari in August 2003. She came to the station and found out more about KGRE and became a regular reader and listener. Ogi took them on tour to Kintamani, Istana Tampak Siring, Monkey Forest in Ubud, and shopping at Sukawati arts market. They were thrilled with the beauty of Bali. They took lots of photos and shopped a lot. They had a long list of people who asked for souvenirs from their Bali trip. They also tried Balinese food during lunch in Ubud although it was a bit hot (pedas) for them.

On the trip back to Kendari they had to stay overnight in Makassar because there was no direct flight from Denpasar to Kendari. And of course they didn't waste the opportunity to see Makassar. They went around by becak - a great way to see the beachfront areas of the city.

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