KangGURU
Travels to
South Kalimantan in July 2005
Kevin went back to Banjarmasin and then onto Pelaihari
and Kandangan in Kalimantan to present
Teacher Workshops, visit radio stations and meet students. RSPD
Matapura and RRI Bamjarmasin
both have interactive English language radio programs and they were terrific
to see in operation. Kevin also visited Tuntung Pandang FM
in Pelaihari - a new station for kGRE.
| After the
KGRE Launch Day on July 9th, Kevin flew to Surabaya for an overnight
stop before continuing on to Banjarmasin on Sunday morning. Kevin
was a special guest on RRI Banjarmasin's Interactive English language
program broadcast every Sunday afternoon at 4pm. The regular host
is Nila, an old friend of KGRE. Quite a few callers rang in with questions
and comments. Quite a few tried to win the Odd One Out Competition
that Kevin announced during the program - there were several winners.
After the interactive radio program there was an informal meeting
with around 30 KGRE listeners at RRI Banjarmasin. Nila had invited
them the week before so it was great to see them all. Many thanks
to Nila and RRI Banjarmasin and to the people who called into the
interactive program and to those who attended the meeting at the station
too. |
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On Monday Kevin left Banjarmasin
and went to Banjarbaru with Pak Dedek and his members of his Organizing
Committee for the Teacher Workshops to be held later in the week in
Pelaihari and Kandangan. The bus was provided by the Bupati in Banjarbaru.for
that. Several teachers joined the trip along with Nila from RRI Banjarmasin. |
| After a stopover
in Banjarbaru, where the group met briefly with the Bupati, they continued
on to RSPB Matapura to join wit their English interactive show. The
host was Efa and it was a full hour of competitions and chatter. Quite
a few people called in for the competitions and for a chat. One of
the winners actually arrived at the station shortly after winning
the competition - to collect their prizes of course. While the bus
crew waited for Kevin, he and Efa had a great time 'on air'. KGRE
plans to assist that wonderful station more in the future and you
know what? Kevin actually visited that station over 4 years ago when
it was just starting up. They certainly have gone a long way with
better equipment, an air-conditioned studio and obviously more support
from the local government. |
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| Next stop was Pelaihari, a two hour
bus ride from Matapura. Although there were problems with electricity
Kevin still made a visit to RSPD Tanah Laut, the local radio station
- Tuntung Pandang FM. They are very interested in broadcasting KGRE
as soon as possible. Pak Ermanto from the station is keen for students
in the town to have the opportunity to hear good quality English language
radio and as Kevin told him, KGRE is the Best! |
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Tuesday morning was workshop
time at Balairung Pendopo in Pelaihari. Although only 30 participants
took part in the day's activities, they were
keen and interested. After the workshop finished,about
20 students (all SMP, SMU and SMK students actually
on holidays) arrived for a regular KGRE post-workshop student meeting.
They were so shy to begin with but after a few games and joking around
with Kevin, they all became a lot more relaxed and confident.
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The bus arrived at 9.30 am for the 6 hour trip to Kandangan.
The bus was full with members of the Organizing Committee, students
from the meeting in Pelaihari and a few extra helpers.
After arriving in Kandangan the group met with both the Buparti and
the Head of Education. Dinner that night was Ketupat Kandangan - a
speciality of the district - delicious ! |
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On workshop day about 55 teachers
attended the opening ceremony performed by the the Head of the localEducation
Department. |
After an initial delay the KGRE Teacher Workshop began. The teachers
were keen and active. They completed all activities well and seemed to
enjoy them as well. It was a fun workshop with participants ordered about
25 of the 2004 Revised KGRE Teacher Packages. The workshop finished at
2.45pm and that is when students started arriving for their meting with
Kevin.
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The students, about 50 of them, were extremely shy and quiet. In
fact they were probably the quietest group of students that Kevin
had ever met, Four students only asked questions and several each
in fact. They were terrific and even though their English may not
have been perfect, they were still keen to ask questions. Congratulations
to all four of them.
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Many thanks to the Organizing Committee and to all of
their helpers. Great job!
Kevin left Kandangan with a few
of the friends he had met on the trip, including Nila from Banjarmasin.
The road was in very poor condition and there were severe traffic
hold-ups along the way. The car, and its tired occupants, finally
arrived back in Banjarmasin at almost 10pm. |
Return to Past Travels of KGRE in Indonesia
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