Kang GURU Travels to Soe, Rote, Kupang and Alor in NTT — October, 2007

Wednesday: October 3

Last year I went to NTT on holiday. I had a great time exploring remote and fantastic places and met some lovely people. At the beginning of October I was lucky enough to visit some of those places again, this time with KGRE. Ogi and I flew first to Kupang and were met at the airport by Theresia and Pak Fritz. Theresia is one of the members of the KGCC in Kupang and Pak Fritz turned out to be a very reliable and safe driver. We went to the hotel and checked the arrangements with Theresia for the rest of out visit. She was going to accompany us to Rote, her home island and she had made arrangements for us to meet English teachers and students in Kupang. Later that afternoon Ogi and went to meet Debbie Bowman at the new AusAID office in Kupang. This is one building but houses several different projects under one roof. While we were there we also met Richard Manning who is Program Director for ANTARA – Australia Nusa Tengara Assistance for Regional Autonomy and he was happy to give KGRE a short interview.

We arranged to meet Debbie and Quein the next morning at 7 am and then went to the Regional Health office to meet Dr Phillip Passmore and Ibu Latifa Bay. They have a very interesting job working on something I have never thought about – the distribution and storage of drugs. Medical Supplies Management is a sub-program of ANTARA. Dr Phillip and Ibu Latifa were very informative and positive about changes this program hoped to achieve. One of the most important messages Dr Passmore wants to pass on to everyone is not just a problem in Indonesian but also worldwide - the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Part of this program is to inform Indonesian healthcare workers about this serious problem. Later that evening Ogi and I walked to a nearby restaurant and enjoyed a delicious dinner of local fish. Ogi was very adventurous and chose an unusual drink from the menu – cucumber juice! We didn’t stay out late as we had an early start in the morning.

Thursday: October 4

The drive to SD-SMP Nunkurus turned into quite an adventure after we turned of the main road about an hour out of Kupang. The road turned into a track and was dry and very dusty. It was difficult to see where the road actually went as there were bushes growing all along the track! We had stopped and were wondering where to go when luckily a local man came along on his motorcycle and led the way. It was a rough and bumpy track but we finally made it to the school.

Nunkurus students and Kang Guru in October 2007

Sue from Kang Guru at Nunkurus in October, 2007

Some of the SMP students studying here had not been attending school until these classrooms had been built as the nearest school was just too far away. Behind the new classrooms were the SD classrooms. These were built with traditional bamboo walls and atap roofs but still full of students. All the students were very friendly and some practiced their English with us.

Students at the opening of their new school on November 9th, 2007

Mr, Bill Farmer, Australian Ambassador to Indonesia at Nunkurus on November 9th, 2007

We couldn’t stay too long as we had to drive back to Kupang and catch the one thirty flight to Kalabahi, Alor. We arrived at the airport in time but the plane was late leaving Kupang so when we arrived in Kalabahi we had to get straight to work. The drive from the airport had given us some tantalizing glimpses of white sandy beaches and clear turquoise water but we were there to work not there on holiday! Pak Amos walked with us from our hotel to the workshop venue and we began to set out chairs and get organized for the next day’s workshop. We had a banner to hang but couldn’t find a ladder, but that didn’t stop one of the helpers who climbed up a precariously balanced stack of plastic chairs and pinned it to the curtains. Thanks! We returned to the hotel about 5:30 and later that evening Ogi and I walked down to the port area and around the night market before bed. It had been a long day.

Friday: October 5

Rather than get a bemo to the workshop location with all the boxes of materials we used the car from the hotel. Some teachers had already arrived and after setting up the materials we chatted to them. Soon all the participants had arrived and the workshop began. They were a great, active group of teachers and we all had a fun time. Teachers in remote places like this don’t have access to many materials or a constant electricity supply but that doesn’t stop them trying hard. After the usual KGRE quizzes the teachers left the workshop with some new ideas for their English classrooms and some KGRE souvenirs. After the workshop we visited a nearby school and I was very impressed by the level of English of the students, especially the SMP students. One of the students sang a traditional song from Alor and later we played some games. Then it was back to the hotel and packing our bags again (between power cuts) as we were leaving lovely Alor in the morning.

Saturday: October 6

Back to the airport and the flight back to Kupang. On the drive back to the airport we stopped to take a few photos of those fabulous Alor beaches, but there was no time to go swimming! While we were waiting for the airport to open Ogi and I started on the ole ole! Pak Amos had bought us two boxes of freshly cooked homemade bagea and they tasted delicious!

Back in Kupang we had a couple of hours rest before setting of to the Kupang Fans English club in the afternoon. Kupang at the end of the dry season is a very dry and dusty place but as we drove to the club we saw bougainvillea in flower in fantastic shades of purple, pink and orange. It looked lovely. Theresia took us first to the small club meeting room and we met six or seven of the members before locking up and walking over to the campus where there were lots of English students waiting for us. They were great. Some of the first semester students were a bit shy at first, but they got braver and there were lots of questions about learning English, KGRE and myself. As usual we finished the meeting with a KGRE quiz. Then came a surprise – the club members gave Ogi and I a locally made scarf and then we tried some traditional snacks such as kue rambut and corn chips.

Sunday: October 7

The next day Ogi and I were on the move again, this time to catch a boat to Rote. Theresia came with us, and a good job too, as we had an assortment of boxes and bags. Everyone convinced me that the waves were small and taking the fast ferry was the best way to go. I was not so sure, but actually it was fine. There was an exciting film on - Escape from Taliban, which lots of the passengers were watching but unfortunately we arrived in Rote before the end of the film! Did they ever escape from the Taliban!
We loaded our bags and boxes onto a bemo and drove the short distance to the hotel. That afternoon we took a fleet of Ojek to the school. We had to take all the boxes too – my arms were aching when we arrived at the school! KGRE certainly does get around Indonesia on all sorts of transportation! We helped the students arrange the chairs and tables for the workshop and after an hour or so we got back on our ojek and returned to the hotel. About 4:30 we set off for a walk down the beach. It was lovely. Then we stopped at a local restaurant for some BBQ fish before walking back along the busy street of Ba’a to the hotel.

Monday: October 8

After a good night’s sleep we left the hotel early for the next workshop. Our ojek were ready and waiting for us and off we went to the school. Some of the teachers came along bumpy roads from up to 70 kilometres away, They had left home before 5 but were happy to come to a KGRE workshop. We had a great time. The teachers really enjoyed themselves and of course we finished with the popular KGRE quizzes. Although we had hoped to meet some students holidays for Lebaran had begun and many of the students came from villages a long way from the school and had already gone home. On the way back from the school we called into the local radio station. Unfortunately the owner was not there so we made arrangements to meet him in Ba’a. That evening we shopped in Ba’a for some locally made ole ole and we also ordered some susu goring - a local speciality to take bake to Bali with us.

Tuesday: October 9

The next morning we met the head of the local radio station and he seemed interested in playing KGRE. Then it was back on our ojek to the harbour and the boat back to Kupang! They ojek drivers even managed to balance out suitcases on their bikes! The fast boat takes less than 2 hours so we got back to Kupang mid afternoon. Ogi and I went in search of some ole ole but couldn’t find any! Instead we bought fruit and decided to have a rest!

Wednesday: October 10

Another early morning – 6:00am for the drive to Soe. It took about one and a half hours to climb up the winding roads through the hills to Soe. We passed local markets and saw some spectacular scenery on the way. We took three of the Kupang club members with us and there was lots of excited chatter from the back seat. The workshop was held in the local government office and although the room was rather small everyone had a seat. The workshop was well under way when Debbie and Quien arrived – they had come to see what went on at KGRE workshop. They joined in with the teachers and did the activities too. At lunchtime we had some delicious food and then it was on with the activities. Again some of the teachers had come from quite far away - near Atambua and had a long drive home ahead of them. I’m sure everyone enjoyed themselves and the workshop taught teachers some new listening activities and reminded them of others. We made arrangements to meet some of the lecturers at the TEFLIN conference in December in Jakarta and then packed up the car for the journey back to Kupang. The journey back was much quieter as everyone in the back seemed to fall asleep! We stopped on the way to buy some of the famous Soe oranges and bananas. We ate them in the car on the way back to Kupang – delicious!

Thursday: At last the whistle stop tour of NTT was over and before I went to the airport Ogi and I visited some schools in the Kupang area. I went to SMP Goevani and met members of their English club and Ogi went to a different school. The students were great, some of them were really chatty. But before long I had to make my way back to the airport and take the flight back to Bali. I had had a great time again in NTT and met some lovely people. I hope KGRE is invited to go there again.