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KGRE Teacher's Workshop in Jember
and KGCC Get Together at Papuma Beach, 2-3 December 2006
Ogi and I were lucky on this trip to be driven by Supardi, one
of the IALF drivers. It was much easier than taxing taxis and planes
and more enjoyable. It was a long drive from Denpasar to Jember
but it was the first time I’d been on that road so I’d
been looking forward to it. The country between Banyuwangi and Jember
must be one of the most beautiful parts of Java: blue hills,
teak forests, rice terraces, corn fields, colourful houses and mosques
of many styles and sizes. The weather was very hot and humid but
this time of year is beautiful as there are many bungur
trees in flower on the roadside. |
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After a rest in our hotel in Jember we met the committee
to discuss the two day program. There were about 75 participants at
the workshop the next day at the University of Jember. Many of them
had travelled from other places including Banyuwangi, Genteng and
Bondowoso just for the workshop. That’s real commitment! One
thing that really impressed me about this group was that only one
mobile phone rang during the entire workshop. They participated well
despite the heat and humidity, although as usual the most enthusiasm
was evident during the quiz. |
| Straight after the workshop we left for the beach. After passing
Watu Ulo beach we drove up a very steep road over a headland at the
water’s edge. The area is covered by teak forest, most of which
looked very dry as there hasn’t been enough rain yet for the
new leaves to appear. The view from the top however was spectacular,
a small sheltered sandy bay with rocky islands scattered off shore.
This was Papuma. |
The water here is deep and there were large colourful fishing boats
moored not far from the beach. On the shore there were hundreds
of tall shady trees sheltering a camping ground, a few guest rooms
and warungs. Late in the afternoon Ogi and I were lucky to see some
of the native animals of the area in the trees in front of our rooms.
I don’t know their names, but one looked like a giant gliding
squirrell.
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| By dark about 70 club members from Get Me English Community (KGCC
#071) and USEF (#060) had arrived, and we met at the camping ground
for dinner. This was prepared by the local people: rice with grilled
fresh fish and vegetables. I think it was the best fish I have ever
eaten. At dinner I also met three other foreigners who had been invited
to join the club get together. Eric is Danish and Danielle and Jeremy
are Americans teaching at the University of Jember. There were also
five guests from the Pioneer English Club in Madura (#019) who drove
from Prenduan. I’d met some of them before at a club get together
at Pamekasan in July. |
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After dinner we sat under the trees talking and I was impressed to
hear that most people were speaking English. I had a number of conversations
with different groups, including about scholarships to study in Australia,
but the one I remember best started when someone sneezed. They asked
me to tell them some new words in English as they mimed them: ‘sneeze’,
‘hiccup’, ‘burp’ ‘dribble’ and
finally ‘yawn’. They asked about that word because I was
very tired and couldn’t stop yawning. Finally a few drops of
rain sent everyone looking for cover and I went to bed. Luckily it
didn’t last long as most of the club members were sleeping in
tents.
Early the next morning I spent some time at the beach watching the
fishing boats returning with the night’s catch. After a breakfast
of nasi pecel we started the day’s program under the
trees. The club members divided into seven groups, then I taught them
a game and an Australian song, and we finished with a quiz. The quiz
included questions about general knowledge, sport, entertainment and
even grammar and arithmetic. Fortunately some of the participants
helped me by suggesting questions about an Indonesian movie, music
and sinetron show. |
After a break the clubs provided
some entertainment which included poetry, a very funny version of
the Indonesian story Maling Kucrit and a comedy routine
organized by Jeremy and Danielle. There are some great actors (male
and female) in KGCCs! After photos and farewells we left at midday
as we had a long trip ahead of us, but the clubs planned to stay
until late afternoon.
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Thanks to the committees who organized the teachers’
workshop and the club get together, and the participants who made it such
a good experience. Special thanks to Umi and Alvian from Get-Me English
Community and Liva, Herbert, Sofian, Suhud, Hendi and Diah from USEF.
Thanks also to Danielle and Jeremy who joined in so enthusiastically despite
the heat and agreed to be interviewed for KGRE. Very special thanks to
Ogi who made sure everything went smoothly and Pak Supadi who got me home
safely through some heavy rain and very heavy traffic.
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