| Home > KGRE Travel in Indonesia > Tarakan, Pontianak and Gowa |  |
KangGURU
Travels to Tarakan, Pontianak and Gowa
written by Sue
In August Sue went to Tarakan with Adi from IALF Bali then onto Pontianak alone. A few days later Sue headed north with Ana from IALF Bali to Gowa, just outside Makassar. KGRE was presenting Teacher Workshops, visiting schools and radio stations. Here's Sue's Report on her activities. “Hold my hand! I’m scared!” This is what Adi said to me as we were about to land in Tarakan, East Kalimantan. He was scared because we had already experienced one very bumpy landing in Balikpapan when the overhead lockers burst open and we were almost shaken out of our seats. Thankfully it was a smooth landing in Tarakan and after a long day (we left Bali at 10 am that morning) we arrived in Tarakan in the evening. We were met at the airport by Ibu Arbaya Kumalawati, The Director of SMA Negeri 1,Tarakan, Ibu Arinda Susanti, and the bodyguard Pak Slamet! They took us the short journey into Takakan and our hotel. Adi and I went to our rooms and agreed to meet an hour later to find some food. Tarakan is a small city but quite busy. Adi and I ate dinner then decided to go back to our rooms as the workshop was to begin at 8:00 am the next morning and it was already quite late.
The teachers had already attended Workshop One given by Kang Guru and had some interesting questions to ask us about using KGRE materials in the classroom. Most of them already use KGRE materials and were keen to learn more about how to exploit and adapt them. They were also keen to learn ways to motivate their students to learn English. Hopefully during the day their questions were answered and they learnt some ways to encourage their students to enjoy English.
One of my most interesting experiences in Tarakan was being interviewed by three lively students, Desy Tarakanita, Ani Pissa and Dina Evi Septiana for the school website. This is the first school I have visited where the students have their own website. The girls were enthusiastic and professional in their interview techniques. and asked about learning English. Before we parted they proudly told me that their website had come in the first 16 in a competition for all school websites in Indonesia. Well done to all the students involved. What a great idea from Ibu Arbaya and Pak Slamet.After the workshop we had a quick tour of Tarakan and saw the impressive new Borneo University building and a beautiful beach. Unfortunately there wasn’t time to do many things in Tarakan as we had to leave the next day to go to Pontianak. Thank you to Ibu Arbaya and all the committee for a great workshop and all the time you spent with us. Thanks too for the lovely gifts. The ikat is already hanging on the Kang Guru office wall. Next stop was Pontianak. Adi and I had to go leave very early in the morning, 5:00 to catch the flight to Jakarta. There we parted ways: Adi went to Semarang to meet Cheryl and I was catching a different plane back to Kalimantan but this time to the west coast. I arrived in Pontianak and was met at the airport by Pak Djoko and Ibu Dia who drove me into to the hotel. Sunday afternoon in Pontianak seemed quite quiet and I went out and bought some of the famous Pontianak oranges. They were delicious. Monday morning I went to SMP Immanuel and met with Pak Martin Teopilus the head teacher and Ibu Lusi an English Teacher. Kang Guru gave prizes to over 70 students who had entered a competition in the Kang Guru magazine. Over 100 students had gathered in the hall and we had lots of fun with quizzes and games. The students were lovely and really tried hard to use their English. The teachers here are obviously working hard at the communicative approach and the students weren’t shy about speaking English. It was lovely to meet you all and good luck with your studies. Don’t forget to join the Kang Guru Connection Club network. Write to Kang Guru for details.
|
 |
 |
 |
