Kang GURU
Travels to Jakarta — March, 2007
by Kevin Dalton
Kevin travelled to Jakarta in late March to collect interviews for KGRE. He met
with Tora Sudiro for an interview and with the crew of
Extravaganza at Trans TV. Kevin also met and interviewed
John Pariwono, a senior member of the Academic Interview panel for the
annual Australian Development Scholarships program (ADS). Kevin met with
AusAID and Cultural Section staff at the
Australian Embassy as well as spending time at IALF Jakarta.
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This trip to Jakarta started off with flight problems but at least I made it to
Jakarta. That's the main thing in the long run!. I went straight from the
airport to Pondok Indah Mall No.1. It seems to be the place to meet artists for
interviews as I have already met with Sammy Rizal and Piyu from PADI there
before.
This time it was a meeting/interview with movie actor and Extravaganza
star Tora Sudiro. He was there having his favorite food, Japanese, with his
parents and his manager, Pak Didik. Tora was very interested to hear of the
work of KGRE and was surprised to hear that KGRE has almost 130 radio stations
broadcasting KGRE around the country.
Tora answered questions about his movies, his work, his love of food, hie
involvement with ‘Extravaganza’ and his time in Perth, Australia,
in the late 90s. The interview was more like a chat than an interview. I also
put questions to Tora given to me by KGRE-ites such as Joseph and Adi from IALF
Bali, Pak Bowo from Banyuwangi and Laura, an old KGRE friend from Jakarta. Tora
was very happy to answer all of those questions about his movies and his life.
He commented that he doesn't often get opportunities to use his English these
days and how he enjoyed our chit chat together. His English is really natural
and you can hear him on KGRE radio soon.
Don't worry too much. I am sure that Pak Didik and Tora ARE good freinds but
they couldn't resist fooling around at the interview. Thanks Pak Didik for
helping organizing the interview AND to Ogi from KGRE as well.
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On Monday I called into the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction
and Development (AIPRD) office in Kebon Siri, Jakarta, to chat with Sari
Siahaan about KGRE. Sari looks after KGRE for AusAID and it was good to chat
with her about the future of the project. I then had coffee with Karen Ingrams
from AusaID Canberra and with Mia Salim, AusAID Public Relations, based at the
Australian Embassy in Jakarta. We talked a lot about Ogi's planned trip to
Australia in late April and in particular, Ogi's visit to AusAID Canberra. Ogi
will give a brief and informal presentation to staff at the Canberra office of
AusAID. Ogi will also visit important landmarks in the city including the
National Gallery, Parliament House and the National War Museum. Then it was
onto IALF head office in Jalan Rasuna Said for a brief chat with Geoff Crewes,
CEO of the IALF.
Just after lunch I headed to Bogor. I interviewed John Pariwono, one of the
principal Indonesian academics who works together with the Australian
Development Scholarships (ADS). For the past 15 years, John has been a member
of the academic interviews panel for ADS. Along with other Indonesian and
Australian academics, John interviews candidates who have applied for these
valuable scholarships. This KGRE interview was basically about John's tips and
advice for candidates. The advic will definitely help candidates to do better
when they undergo their academic interviews. The interview, along with the
corresponding English language test and interview (IELTS) determines whether
the candidate will be awarded one of the scholarships. John's advice will be
featured in the June and September KGRE magazines. Applications for the next
round of scholarships opens in June this year so check the June KGRE magazine
and KGRE website for John's advice about filling in the Application Form
successfully.
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Aming, a regular performer on Extravaganza is also studying English
amongst other things. Aming was being photographed (still photography)
for the show and was dressed as one of his most popular characters — a
glamorous, gorgeous woman. It was quite a funny experience chatting to him
while he was dressed that way. We exchanged phone numbers. Aming is quite happy
to do an interview with KGRE at a later date so we will keep him to that
promise. That interview should be fun for sure. During the next hour or so I
was introduced to many off the cast members including Sogi and Indra.
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I also watched rehearsals for that night's taping of the program. That was a
very interesting experience. Extravaganza rehearsals are hectic indeed
with artists and technical people everywhere. It was somewhat like a party
really with music, laughter and people doing crazy things all the time AND
working at the same time. Just before 8pm Tantri took me to the audience area
to get a good seat. Soon after that the evening's audience came in and took up
their places. It was probably 8.30pm before taping got underway. I stayed until
around 10.00pm and during that time I probably watched five or six Extravaganza
sketches being taped. Then I went back to my hotel. I think the taping probably
went on for another hour or so.
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On Tuesday I visited the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. First visit was to the
office of the Cultural Attache, Fiona Hoggart. Fiona and her team are great
supporters of KGRE. They have assisted KGRE with many stories in the past. The
Cultural Section of the Embassy is a very busy unit. One of its roles is to
facilitate cultural exchanges between Indonesia and Australia. Check the June
2007 magazine for full details. I interviewed both Fiona and her fellow member
of staff, Ibu Wati. It was interesting to hear that Ibu Wati has worked at the
Cultural Section for the past 30 years. A real veteran! While at the Embassy I
also spent time with Felicity and Nunik from the Australia Educational
International (AEI). We talked about future cooperation between KGRE and AEI
especially in relation to the promotion of Australian Scholarships in Indonesia
over the coming year. After lunch with Fiona at a nearby warung I returned to
IALF.
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