Front Cover - A collage of transport 'snaps' from Indonesia and Australia.

Road Signs from Oz: What do they mean?
KGRE's Transport Competition - June 2006
Welcome Letter from Kevin
KGRE Staff 2006-2007
Listeners' Letters
Idioms Inggris
Quick Fix with Cheryl
Transportation - Icons, Trains and Planes
Travelling the World
Wow Wow Whiz
Australia Indonesia Partnership
The World Around Us
A Slice of Life
Oz-Indo Connections
Kang Guru Connection Clubs
Kang Guru in the Classroom
Entertainment in Indonesia
Different Pond Different Fish
Future Transportation

What does a car, truck or bus registration plate actually show us? What is it used for? Look at these Indonesian number plates. Do you know what the letters and numbers mean? Here are 2 tasks for you to complete. Send your answers to KGRE before October 31st.

TASK 2 - Look at the 8 car registration number plates. They are from different parts of Indonesia. Can you tell KGRE what areas these registration plates are from?

TASK 3 – Choose one of the 8 registration plates. Tell KGRE where the plate is from (city/province) AND then write 100 words about your favorite city from that area. Tell KGRE why that city is such a fantastic place.

Prizes will include KGRE jas hujan, Aussie car number plates, KGRE keyrings and of course, KGRE t-shirts.

KGRE's Transport Competition - June 2006

KGRE received many wonderful entries in the two transport competitions from the June magazine. There were so many great entries so thank you to everyone. Many of the entries, plus the prizes, can be seen on the KGRE website -
http://www.kangguru.org/kgrecompetitionwinners.htm

The 3 winners of the Transport Drawing Competition are Ervina Liliana (1) from Kanagarian Bamah Gunuang in East Sumatra, Andin (2) from Mataram in Lombok and Yuliana (3) from Binjai in North Sumatra. These lucky people have won a Collins Australia Atlas, a small Australian Wall Hanging showing lots of great information about Australia PLUS a KGRE t-shirt and other KGRE gifts. Well Done!

train of thought

A train of thought is a series of connected ideas, just like a line of railway carriages. Sometimes when we’re talking about something really interesting we have a lot we want to say. Then a friend comes to ask if she can borrow a pen. We try to start the conversation again but we can’t remember what we were going to say.

"Dewi interrupted my train of thought. Now I can’t remember what I was going to say!"

put the cart before the horse

To put the cart before the horse means to do things in the wrong order. For example, buying new clothes to wear to a wedding before you get an invitation, or worrying about where you will live in Jakarta before you have the interview for a new job.

"My brother is worried about the food he’ll eat when he goes to Australia, but he hasn’t even applied for his scholarship yet. He’s always putting the cart before the horse!"

ships that pass in the night

Have you ever met someone really interesting who made a big impression on you? We often meet these people only once or twice and don’t ever see them again. We say we are like ships that pass in the night. One day a friend showed me a photograph of a man she met ten years ago.

"I met him at the airport and we talked for two hours until his plane left. I never saw him again but I’ll always remember him. We were like two ships that pass in the night."

in the same boat

To be in the same boat as someone else means that you’re both in the same difficult or unpleasant situation. University students often have a lot of assignments due at the end of the semester and it’s very hard to get them all finished on time. One day I heard two students talking about this.

"I agree, it’s hard to get them all done, but at least we’re all in the same boat."

 

The first one involves the word ‘ever’. We often use this word in questions when we want to know about the things people have done. For example, ‘Have you ever travelled in a bajaj in Jakarta?’ I asked a number of people that question. Look at their answers.
"Have you ever travelled in a bajaj in Jakarta?"

Sue: Yes, I have.

Kevin: Yes, many times.

Ogi: No I haven't, but I have travelled by bajaj in Bengkalis.

Many English language learners make the mistake of translating the word ‘pernah’ into English and including it in their answer. You do use the word ‘pernah’ in Indonesian but we don’t use the word ‘ever’ in English when we’re talking about the things we have done.

The second problem is the expression ‘of course’. The problem with this expression is that some people use it when it’s not appropriate.
When I first started at KGRE I asked Kevin the following question: ‘Have you ever been to Jakarta?’ His answer was: ‘Of course! I often go there for AusAID meetings.’

He said ‘of course’ because I should have known the answer to that question. In other words, the answer was obvious. He’s the Manager of KGRE so of course he’s been to Jakarta many times. However, many people use ‘of course’ instead of ‘yes’. They use it too often, and their English doesn’t sound natural.

Japan’s famous Bullet Train started operating in 1964 and was the world’s first high speed train. Its average speed is 262 kilometres per hour (kph), but its speed record is 443 kph. In this photo the bullet train is speeding past Mt Fuji, another Japanese icon. Another railway icon is Amtrak, not a train but an American railway network. This covers 35,000 kilometers and in 2004 it carried 25 million passengers.

If you look at a travel brochure for Hong Kong you’ll probably see a picture of a junk. Doesn’t this one look interesting against the background of modern office and apartment buildings? Gondolas are another form of water transport, found in the Italian city of Venice. This beautiful city has lots of canals so water transport is very important, especially as there are no cars in the city. Today many Venetians travel to work and school by fast modern ferries but there will always be gondolas in Venice.

Every day in Indonesia millions of people travel - to the market, school and work, and then home again. In Jakarta some use a form of public transport that we associate with that city – the bajaj. Others travel by becak or taxi and millions travel by bus and train. Perhaps the most popular with tourists are the bajaj and becak. Many Australians go home from Jakarta with photos of the bajaj as a real reminder of their Indonesian holiday.

Many New Yorkers (people who live in New York) travel by the famous yellow cabs- taxis in other words. London taxis are also well known but they’re black. Its double-decker buses however are bright red and very easy to see. This one is on its way to East Acton station, so perhaps some of the passengers are planning to go to work by the underground railway. That term refers to the train network in tunnels under the city.

Railways in Indonesia

The Netherlands East Indies Railway company began building railways in Indonesia in 1867. The first line went from Semarang to Tanggung. By the late 1880’s a railway line connected Jakarta to Surabaya. This trip took three days! This was because the trains didn’t travel at night. But although this seems like a long time to us today, before there were trains, people would have to travel by horse drawn carriage and this would take two weeks! These trains were steam trains, powered by coal. Today if you visit the Museum at Ambarawa, Central Java you can see many of these locomotives and between June and August it is possible to take a trip on one of them from Jambu to Bedodo.

Some interesting railway facts -

• The longest journey on one train is in Russia, on the Trans Siberian Train. This train leaves Moscow and travels 9.297 kilometres to Vladivostok. That's the same as travelling from Merak to Banyuwangi fourteen times!
• The heaviest train in the world was recorded in Australia in 2001. It was 7.3 kilometres long, and weighed 95.000 tons. That's the same as 2.8 million 10 year old children or 27.000 elephants.
• The longest, straightest stretch of railway is in Australia. The part without any curves (tikungan) is 478 kilometres long. That's nearly the same distance as Malang to Cirebon!
• The longest railway platform in the world is in England. It is 602.6 metres in length. That's more than six football fields long! Surabaya station's platform is only 200m long.
• The fastest train in the world is the TGV in France. It can travel at 515 kilometres an hour.
• The “Chunnel” (English channel/tunnel) or Euro tunnel is actually three connected tunnels under the English Channel. They are 50.5 kilometres long. Trains travel through them between England and France.

TASK 5. Would you like to go overseas? Of course you would! KGRE invites you to write to us and tell about one overseas city that you would really like to visit. Maybe it is Tokyo, Sydney, London, Mumbai, Cairo, Mecca or Mexico City? Your choice! Tell us the reasons why you want to go to that city. Make sure your reasons are easy to understand and show how wonderful that city really is.

Five lucky winners will win a book about famous cities in the world AND one very lucky winner will win a three day holiday in the provincial capital city of their province here in Indonesia. Entries to KGRE by October 31st.

Anggun - Concorde

When KGRE spoke with Anggun in May 2006 she talked about one of her most memorable travel experiences – travelling on the supersonic jet called the Concorde.
'I think the most impressive thing was when I flew in from London to New York in the Concorde. I have to say that was one of the highlights of my travelling life. (K: Just the once?) I, no, three times actually, hi hi hi. I know. Lucky me. I was just so impressed by this machine, this bird, but my first travel in the Concorde it was worth it the three and a half hours when we reached the mach 2 I didn’t feel the difference but you know ahh this going faster than the light, this must be something'.

Kevin – Narrogin

Do you still live in the town where you were born or where you grew up as a young child? In June 2006 Kevin went back to the town where he was born and to the two towns where he grew up. Together with his parents and his brother, Kevin went back to Southern Cross in West Australia. He was born there and lived there for the first 4 years of his life. Then he and his family moved to Narrogin, about a four hour drive away. Kevin was surprised that he actually remembered both towns, although of course Narrogin was clearer in his memory. Kevin lived in Narrogin for 6 years and he even went back to see the house that his father built in the late 1950s. It was still there. Kevin went to see his old primary school too – it hasn’t changed much at all. Just like the old days really.

Vlad - Brazil

I recently conducted training for new IELTS examiner trainers in Sao Paulo, Brazil in South America. I was excited about going there but at the same time I was concerned about the pollution levels in big South American cities and the security. However Sao Paulo was very enjoyable – friendly, ethnically diverse people, good food, and relatively pollution free. One thing I didn’t really count on was how far South America was from Bali. The travel agent recommended I fly on KLM from Jakarta via Amsterdam, saying this would be the shortest traveling time. So how long was it? The return journey from my hotel in Sao Paulo to my home in Bali was 43 hours! I survived, but just barely. I was sick of airline meals by the end of it. The jet lag took almost a week to shake off. So I am not volunteering for any more trips to that part of the world in a hurry. And I am left wondering what it was like in the olden days before planes. Traveling in a ship would have taken several weeks - nice! (Vlad is the Program Manager, Academic English Language Services at IALF Bali and IELTS Examiner Support Coordinator for the Americas).

Brad - Greece

Kang Guru received this story from Brad Otto who works for the Macfarlane Burnet Institute from Melbourne Australia on AusAID-funded public health programs in Indonesia. I went to visit friends in Greece. I flew to Athens via Singapore. After a two-hour hydrofoil ride from Athens, I arrived in Hydra where my friends were. The interesting thing about Hydra is that no motor vehicles are allowed. To get anywhere you have to walk. That doesn’t sound so bad, but the island is very hilly. Even the main town is mostly steps and almost no smooth roads or paths. People often get around on horses or mules, and there are a few pushcarts to help people get things to their houses after shopping. After Hydra I visited Santorini by ferry, an overnight trip. Then I took a high speed catamaran to Mykonos. At least in Mykonos they have taxis and buses so I didn’t have to walk everywhere! From Mykonos I flew to the island of Skiathos where I spent a lovely week visiting beaches and eating wonderful Greek food. Finally it was time to go back to Athens and end my trip. After wandering around the old part of the city and taking lots of photos of the Acropolis and other ancient Greek monuments and statues, I had to get my taxi to the airport.

Try This Now! How may types of transport did Brad use?

Geoff - Ethiopia

Last year I attended a Language and Development conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was about the role that language plays in a country's national development. Different African countries presented issues concerning colonial languages (English and French), language planning and language policy. For example, should children be educated in their local language or the national language? After the conference I travelled to the north of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a big country. I saw baboons roaming wild in the countryside, a spectacular waterfall on the Nile and, in Lalibela, churches carved out of rock - an amazing site. I met locals everywhere I went, including this talented young artist. My supply of IALF pens ran out after the first day. Local students loved the pens all the way from Indonesia. Let's hope they use them during their classes. (Geoff Crewes is the CEO of IALF Indonesia)

This month’s magazine is about Transport and Travel so I’d like to tell you about an animal that also travels long distances. It’s the great white shark. It lives in Australian waters. They’re very big. Male white sharks are between three and four meters long and weigh between 300 and 500 kilograms. Scientists in Australia studying these animals discovered that they often travel 500 to 700 kilometres during periods of about three weeks. They often go much further than this however, as they travel from South Australia to Queensland and even as far as north-west Western Australia. They are protected in Australia and scientists study them so they can learn more about how they live. If you’d like to find out more here’s an interesting website that shows where they travel: http://www.cmar.csiro.au

Do you like word puzzles? I certainly do. The 5 jumbled words below are all forms of transport mentioned on page 4 of this magazine. Do you know what they are?

Here’s an example: sbu = bus. Send your entries complete with your name and address to KGRE before Oct. 31st. KGRE's HP - 081 2387 0479

1. dalonog
2. refyr
3. nkju
4. ultbel natri
5. enlap

Travel Stories in Kupang

How do you get to work? Last year I walked or took an ojek, but this year I find myself on all kinds of transport. My name is Bevis and I work for the Australian Embassy on the issue of illegal fishing. I am helping Australia and Indonesia with a public information campaign in eastern Indonesia to raise the profile of this problem. This means I spend most of my time travelling around eastern Indonesia, using many different types of transport.

As there are so many islands in Indonesia, I often go by aeroplane or boat. The shortest flight I have ever been on is from Kupang to Rote, which is only 18 minutes – barely time for the plane to take its wheels up! On the other hand, when I went on the fast ferry it took 1 ½ hours and the waves were very strong… I visited a fishing village in Rote and went on a small boat to see a seaweed farming project funded by the Australian Embassy. These boats have a motor, and are called bodi. Although they are quite small and often overturn, many of these boats go all the way from Sulawesi to Australia to fish illegally. Those onboard risk bad weather and possibly jail if caught.

Australia and Indonesia face similar challenges when it comes to illegal foreign fishing. By working together, we can address the problem far more effectively.

(Bevis Worcester participated in the 2000/2001 Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP), which was held in Punten village, near Malang, East Java - see page 11)

Travelling in East Java

Who are these people? Where are they going and what will they do when they get to their destination?

These people work for the Indonesian Australian Partnership in Basic Education (IAPBE) based in Malang, East Java. They work with 180 rural, semi rural and city schools in the districts of Jombang, Gresik and Jember. IAPBE uses all types of transport to get its job done - cars, buses, motor-bikes, push bikes and also visit our remotest schools on foot. Since beginning work in 2004 the IAPBE consultants have traveled over 150,000 kilometres, visiting schools, district education offices, teachers and students. In fact the IAPBE team have traveled so much and so frequently that they can see changes in buildings, communities and people along the way. Travelling through these areas it is still possible to see the ancient, tried and true ways of transporting produce and people. The sugar cane trains, the oxen drawn carts full of bricks and stones, the bullocks hauling logs, the becaks and the funeral processions. East Java, a traveller's delight!

(Russell Keogh is a part of AusAID's IAPBE team based in Malang. Pak Syaiful Anam, a former school principal from Jombang, is holding the Aussie tea towel)

Road Construction

Can you imagine Indonesia without roads? Of course we can’t imagine that. No roads would mean no trucks, buses or cars for example. It would be total chaos. How would trucks deliver food around the nation? How would drinking water be delivered to shops? And what about medicines to hospitals? Visiting distant relatives would be extremely difficult. Airports and seaports all depend on road transport too. In fact, the whole nation is dependent on roads. Roads need to be well constructed, strong and safe. Did you know that there are certain roads which are called national roads? These are sometimes called ‘corridors’. They are the very important roads which connect islands, major cities and seaports. AusAID and Bina Marga have awarded the first contract for the Australian-funded $328 million national road improvement program, which will repair and upgrade approximately 2,000 km of national roads and 4.5 km of bridges. Construction work activity is expected to start in 2007.

AusAID and the Ombudsman

Lisa Luhulima is Assistant Ombudsman of the National Ombudsman Commission (NOC) in Indonesia. Lisa graduated from elementary school in the Indonesian School in Tokyo then graduated from junior and senior high school in Hong Kong. She then graduated Law School in Universitas Trisakti, Jakarta before completing her Postgraduate Program at Hull University in England. Lisa joined NOC in 2000, as a Senior Investigating Officer and at present she is also involved as a Research, Development and Planning Officer.

An ombudsman is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who looks after the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. They help people agree on fair settlements, especially between people who have disagreements such as consumers or students and an institution or organization. With support and training from AusAID and the Commonwealth Ombudsman Office in Australia, the role of ombudsman in Indonesia will be strengthened, socialized and expanded.

Boats and Ferries

Did you know that the ocean liner Queen Mary 2 is the largest, longest, tallest and widest passenger ship? It is 345 metres long. That's the same as twenty-six inter-Kota buses parked end to end, or over one hundred bemos! The Pelni ferry M/F Fudi which sails from Surabaya to Balikpapan is less than half that long at only 148 metres. Queen Mary 2 is three times larger than the Titanic. If you stand beside the Queen Mary 2 on the pier it is as high as a twenty-one storey building. From the bottom of the boat to the top of the funnel is 72 metres. But Monas is taller at 132 metres. A Pelni ferry travels at less than 20 knots an hour. That's about 37 kilometers an hour. The Queen Mary 2 can travel up to 56 kilo-meters per hour. The whistle on the Queen Mary 2 can be heard for 16 kilometers. How far is that from your house?

Car Ferries

Indonesia is a sprawling archipelago and boats and ferries provide an important link between islands. Pelni (Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia) is the national shipping company in Indonesia. It operates 25 passenger ships around the archipelago. On the busy crossings between Java and Sumatra and Java and Bali car ferries run twenty-four hours a day. The type of boat which is used is called a roll-on, roll off ferry or RoRo. These boats have built in ramps which allow the cars and trucks to be “rolled on” and “rolled off” the boat. Before the 1950s moving a car on a boat was very expensive and difficult. The car was lifted onto the boat by a crane. Boats which have cranes to lift cargo on and off are called LoLo’s (lift on, lift off ). RoRo ferries between Bali and Java carry about 45 cars. The largest car ferry in the world was launched on the 1st of September 2000. Called Ulysses, this ferry can carry 1,342 cars or 240 trucks. A ferry from Bali to Java would have to do the trip approximately 30 times to carry the same number of cars! What a long queue that would be!

How far is it…?

Did you know that it is 674 kilometres from Jakarta to Surabaya. If you fly it will take you about 1 hour but if you go by car it will take you more than 9 hours. If you walked at 4.5 kilometres an hour then it would take you almost 150 hours! How many days is that?

Flying from Banda Aceh to Jayapura takes at least 14 hours. That's almost the same as it takes to fly from Jakarta to Holland! Can you believe it! Passengers have to change planes in Jakarta and maybe even in Makassar too. The distance between Banda Aceh to Jayapura is 5091 kilometres.

Try This Now! Can you answer these questions?

1. Which is further away from Jakarta: Sydney or Beijing?
2. Which is further east: Kupang or Manado?
3. Which city is further north: Jayapura or Padang?
4. Which city is further west: Denpasar or Balikpapan

Returning to Malang with AIYEP

Many years ago, way back in 2002/2003, the Australian Indonesian Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP) placed their exchange students in Punten, close to Malang. After their stay in Punten, the AIYEP students, both Indonesian and Australian, produced a CD of local Punten poetry and songs. Upon returning to Australia, they sold the CDs to teachers of Bahasa Indonesia. The money earnt from sales of those CDs was used in May 2006 to provide the 75 Malang based participants in a KGRE Teacher Workshop with KGRE SMP Teacher Packages. The workshop was organized with help from the Cultural Attache, Fiona Hoggart, at the Australian Embassy, KGRE and DIKNAS. Fiona flew down from Jakarta. Other guests included Bevis Worcester and his wife. Bevis is now working in Kupang.

The Language Access Centre

Fakultas Bahasa dan Sastra UNIPDU
PP Darul ‘Ulum Jombang

The Language Access Centre (LAC), located at Pondok Pesantren Darul Ulum Peterongan Jombang East Java, is a study centre where students can learn about English while also having fun. The LAC opened in 1999 and had very few resources. During the following few years the LAC grew slowly but surely. In 2004, two Australians arrived at Pondok Pesantren Darul Ulum from Australia. Ben, an Australian Volunteer (AVI) worked in the LAC while Amber worked in junior high schools on AusAID’s Islamic Schools English Language Program (ISELP). In February 2006, with help from the LAC staff, the centre was lucky enough to be granted funding from Australian Embassy’s Direct Aid Program (DAP). The new centre has since been renovated. The LAC team have bought new bookshelves and tables along with equipment including CD/VCD/cassette players, computers and televisions. KGRE has visited the centre many times and KGRE materials are well featured. How about your language centre?

One of the KGCC clubs at the Get Together, the English Club of Pamekasan Youth (#068), recently invited a local businessman and a psychologist to speak at their club meetings. Getting people in your community involved is a very good idea, isn't it? Perhaps other clubs could invite interesting members of their communities to speak on an interesting topic. They do not have native speakers either!

In the April-June POUCH, KGRE announced two easy competitions. The SKY English Club (KGCC#083) in Cianjur, West Java sent this great entry for the Transport Competition and won the Panasonic Combo from KGRE.

The second was a Cartoon Competition. The winner was The Excellent Club (KGCC#026) in Jombang, East Java for their cartoon illustrating the following sign seen in a zoo in Budapest: ‘Please do not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty.’

After the earthquake in the Jogyakarta area lots of people volunteered to help, including two of our clubs. Members of English Society Club RRI Semarang (KGCC #10) were kept busy in Klaten helping in many ways. They were involved in helping injured people, providing assistance to medical teams and also helping younger victims to have some fun.
"We went out together in the field to see football from the big screen. You know what, we have walked miles and miles to get to that place. But it was FUN. Yes, football can make some of the survivors forget their sadness and they can smile or laughed out loud when their team won."

Here are Keyko and her club members in Klaten working together with local people affected by the earthquake.

Another club helping in the earthquake area is the Student English Activity – UMY (KGCC#032) in Jogyakarta. Daru reports that although the club’s activities have been interrupted by damage to their facilities, they have been helping students in Bantul with their English. "…we help children re-build their education through many institutions. One great success was the involvement of members in a one day outbound for children helping them with children's games and English." That's another great example of KGCC club members helping others.

Teacher's Competition

Would you like to win all four KGRE Teacher Packages including the latest 'Listening and Reading Class Set' plus a KGRE t-shirt? Total value over Rp 350,000. Okay, here is what you need to do. Do you have 'good' students in your English class? Of course you do! What are the characteristics of a 'good' student'? Send your ideas to KGRE by letter or email by October 31st, 2006.

Australia assisting with construction of 2000 schools in Indonesia

Australia and Indonesia have agreed to build and extend 2000 schools in Eastern Indonesia over the next three years. The cost? Around Rp 2.4 trillion, but isn't that money well spent? This will help to improve the quality of education and also improve education management in both public and Islamic schools. The Australian-funded project will include both public junior secondary schools and Islamic junior secondary schools. Schools will be built by local trades people using locally supplied construction materials.

Why Not Invite KGRE To Your Town?

In the first eight months of 2006 Kang Guru has conducted workshops in West, Central and East Java, Sumba, North and South Sulawesi, Bali and West Sumatra. By the time you read this we will also have given workshops in Pamekasan, Bangkalan, Pemalang, Tarakan, Pontianak AND Gowa. WOW! The Kang Guru Team sure do get around! Thanks to all the teachers and organizing committees who have invited us to conduct workshops in their areas. Your hard work makes sure every one has a great time. If you would like Kang Guru to conduct a workshop or visit your English club then send us an invitation and we will fit you into our busy schedule. Come on guys! We’re waiting!!!

Have you seen ‘Cars’ yet ? It is one of the most popular movies of 2006. It is a Disney Production and is so very, very good. It is all about CARS of course - animated cars!

"Well we all know that cars are inanimate objects and have no feelings. Maybe that's debatable? The film was quite good with fabulous animation. I would probably give “Cars” four stars, but it did make me sad. After watching this flick I am not sure if cars really do have feelings, maybe they do. I think this is a very suitable film, both for the kids and the adults, so put your hand in your pocket and head for the cinema. Enjoy!"
(Margaret Rollings, ISELP teacher trainer
based in Madura)

Zelda Zavitri

Zelda is a well-known face on METRO TV News television. Zelda works behind the scenes producing programs and writing scripts. When Zelda was in high school she already knew that her future was with the media. She was fortunate enough to be able to study at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, majoring in television produc-tion and cinema studies. Although diploma courses in media studies are available here in Indonesia, Zelda told KGRE that undergraduate courses were not available to her at the time. Perhaps you are interested in a career in the media? Here’s some advice from Zelda for you – watch as much television as you can especially news programs, both Indonesian and from overseas, get a degree, develop your English language skills and be determined to achieve you goal. Don't give up! Zelda feels that she will still be in news and television for quite a few more years. She believes there is a need for more English language programs in Indonesia. She firmly believes that by learning about other cultures and studying languages, people will become more aware and alert.

When I came to Indonesia to work I never thought I would have to do so much traveling around. I often travel around East Java with my workmates visiting our different sanitation projects. Each road trip is a new experience because often we go to places where not many Australians go. As I travel, I must use Bahasa Indonesia but also I am quite surprised at how many young people use English. On a recent trip to Mojokerto, Kediri, Blitar and Jombang in East Java, we visited many communities to talk about our SANIMAS (Sanitasi Oleh Masyrakat) programs. We always get help from local government departments during these road trips and they always know the best places to eat with the tastiest food. One of my favorites is bakso from Blitar. By the end of the trip we were all very tired and just wanted to sleep. Thank you to all the team and to all the communities that participated in the SANIMAS selection process. You can see more stories about our trips around Java and our programs at www.best.or.id.
Written by Michael Sides who is an Australian Volunteer International working with SANIMAS and BEST in Surabaya working on community based sanitation programs.

Subagia is a teacher at IALF. He recently spent some time in Australia as part of an IALF Teacher Exchange. When he stayed with a host family he discovered that their teenage children had to go through a long process to get a licence to drive a motorbike.
"To get your learner's licence for a motorbike, that's an R (L) licence, you have to be 16 years old. First you have to do an eye test, a medical test and then take a written examination. Then you can drive a motorbike with an engine that's smaller than 250cc. That includes mopeds. After that you have to take lessons with an instructor. When you are old enough, 16 and a half in some states and 17 in others, you can take the test for your R licence. The R licence is the full licence."

When I remember this moment I laugh and laugh. I had to catch a train for a meeting. My professor said, 'I can pick you up at Oakleigh train station in the morning.' He did pick me up as I had never been to his school of science campus before. I took an early morning train to where I had to meet my professor. At the station I read a sign - FOR OAKLIEGH STATION, PLEASE BOARD FOUR REAR CARS ONLY. Then I boarded the train but didn’t notice the number or position of my carriage. I never thought that it would be a big problem. When I got to my destination the train door was locked. It would not open. I panicked and forced it to open. I thought there must be something wrong. There was no platform. So I jumped down to the train lines and had to cross the railway lines to reach the platform. Then a fast train came from the other direction. I was shocked and surprised. I soon realized that I was very lucky that morning. Then I met my professor and I told him my train story. He explained that I should always read and pay attention to signs at train stations. If they say Please board four rear cars only, it means that the train station only has a short platform. Oh God, I am so stupid!

(Penta, an ADS student in Melbourne)

Since moving to Bali two months ago from East Java I’ve had some funny experiences. In Paciran I had that very interesting experience with cats (June 2006 magazine). Here are two of my recent animal related experiences with a snake and some roosters in Bali.
One day I found a dead snake in my garden. I didn’t know if it was a dangerous one or not so I decided to ask a local person. It was a small snake so I put it in a plastic bag and took it to my local warung. I asked the teenage son of the owners, ‘Is this a dangerous snake?’. He looked at me like I was a bit crazy and shook his head. Then he answered, ‘No. It’s dead!’
Another day I saw a man holding a beautiful rooster. I stopped to talk to him because I like chickens. (In Australia we say ‘chooks’.) He said in English ‘I have sick roosters’ I was startled because bird flu is a problem in Indonesia. I was trying to think of a way to leave quickly without being too impolite when he pointed to some bamboo cages and said ‘One, two, three, four, five, sick roosters!’

(Cheryl, KGRE staff member)

BRITISH engineers have developed a three-wheeled car that, at a metre wide, is designed to squeeze into the tiniest of parking spaces. The car is called Clever - compact low emission vehicle for urban transport. Its developers hope to see it on European streets within five years. The designers say the car combines the convenience and fun of a motorbike with the safety and comfort of a car. The body is enclosed in an aluminium frame and plastic coating. The vehicle emits about a third as much carbon dioxide as conventional family cars, with fuel consumption equivalent to 2.17 litres per 100 kilometres. It has a top speed of 100 km/h and takes seven seconds to get from zero to 65 km/h. It can carry one passenger in a seat behind the driver.

Sutiyoso test drives new environmentally friendly ‘bajaj’ (taken from The Jakarta Post)

Say goodbye to the dark puffing smoke and the loud roaring noise of the orange bajaj. Say hello to the new clean and quiet compressed natural gas (CNG)-fueled blue bajaj. Starting this month, about 80 CNG-fueled bajaj will roam the capital’s streets, replacing the gasoline-fueled bajaj that are one of the city’s major sources of air and noise pollution. According to Jakarta Transportation Agency’s data, there are 14,424 bajaj in Jakarta. “Of all the vehicles operating in Jakarta, the bajaj is the one which produces the most intolerable gas emissions,” he said. Jakarta Transportation Agency head Nurrachman said only current bajaj owners would be able to obtain the new model. “Bajaj owners will be able to get a new one by showing their official letter of bajaj ownership,” he said. The CNG-fueled bajaj cost Rp 36.5 million each.

GPS in Cars

The Global Positioning System, usually called GPS, is the only fully-functional satellite navigation system. Above the Earth, over 20 GPS satellites broadcast signals by radio waves to GPS receivers. These receivers can be in aeroplanes, ships and even cars. This system means that they can accurately determine their location (longitude, latitude and altitude) in any weather - day or night - anywhere on Earth. When Kevin hired a car in Melbourne in June 2006, it was equipped with GPS. All Kevin had to do was enter the destination he wanted to go to and the GPS system gave him perfect instructions how to get there. These instructions were given on a small screen in the dashboard of the car and also by speech from within the monitor. Even Kevin couldn’t get lost with that system in his car!