Home › KGI
Travel › KGI travels to Sumatra to deliver a teacher workshop for AIBEP teachers - November 2010
Kang GURUTravels to Lampung/Natar
- November 2010
Here's Sue's Travel Report
I left home earlier than originally planned following a heavy rainstorm in Bali and the journey to the airport which usually takes just 45 minutes took almost an hour. My taxi battled traffic jams, broken down vehicles and floods. So I was surprised I managed to meet Mahendra at the airport at the agreed time. Mahendra works for KGI in the IALF recording studio and is a media specialist. Check out Mahrendra's video of the trip to Sumatra with Sue for AIBEP
We checked in and the plane left on time. Normally, a flight from Bali to Jakarta flies right over Java – often flying right over Mount Bromo and giving some great views of the volcanoes in the area. But with Mount Merapi blowing her top the plane kept well out of the way and flew above the sea to the north of Java the whole way. In Jakarta there was just time for a quick look in the book shop before boarding the next plane to Tanjung Kerang and Lampung. During the flight Mahendra was busy documenting the trip with the video camera! On arrival at the airport we met with Dedi from MTs Babul Hikmah and Ulfatul Hasanah a teacher in training. We made arrangements for the following day then Mahandra and I set off on the 45 minute drive to the hotel.
The next morning we set off from the hotel at 7:00 with all the boxes packed in the back of the car. We sped through the centre of Lampung then turned down a smaller road. There was lovely rural scenery all the way to the venue, including driving through a large rubber plantation – a popular spot for wedding photos I heard. The journey took over an hour but the time seemed to fly by – even though we could only travel quite slowly as the road was in very bad condition for most of the way. Finally we arrived at the brightly painted MTs Al Ishlah in Natar. Some of the teachers had already arrived for the 9:00 start and we were introduced to the Principal, Pak Mulyani. I prepared my materials and after giving the teachers an extra 10 minutes to arrive we began the workshop. KGI was warmly welcomed by Pak M. Abdul Adib the head of the yayasan at Pondok Pesantren Al Ishlar Natar and after several prayer readings the workshop got underway. About 28 teachers arrived and although they were rather shy to begin with they gradually began to join in. One teacher arrived at 10:00 – he had fallen off his motorcycle on the way to the workshop, but he said he has never had the chance to have a workshop like this, so he picked himself up and carried on!
At lunch time myself, Mahendra and all the participants were invited to the home of Pak M. Abdul Adib where his family had cooked a delicious lunch of local fish, soup and vegetables for us all. Thanks. While the participants went to pray Mahendra and I wandered around. I chatted to a couple of the young boys who stay at Al Ishlar about their life there. Before too long we started on the second part of the workshop. The KGI workshop for AIBEP school teachers is slightly different to those for the MGMP. It still involves using KGI material and has a focus on listening, but also include some lesson planning tips for the teachers. About half way through the afternoon session the rain came down. It poured – and the electric went off, and came on, ... and went off…. and came on … and went off! Luckily we had almost finished and at 3:30 the participants went home with their packages and a promise of a box of KGI goodies to be sent to their schools. Mahendra and I packed up and returned to the hotel along a bumpy and now waterlogged road. It was difficult to gauge how deep the holes were when they were full of water!
That evening Mahendra went jalan jalan with Dedi but I decided to stay at the hotel – it was still raining! The next morning we checked out and went to the airport. The waiting room at Lampung airport has plenty of seats. But that's all, seats – no toilets, no shops! Nothing to do while you wait for the plane except sit! We were worried that the planes might have been delayed because of Mount Merapi but that wasn't the case. In fact in Jakarta we had to almost run to catch the next plane. No time to spare. We arrived safely back in Bali around 4:00. Thanks Natar for another great KGI trip.
