Kang GURU Travels to Sumatra

by Sue Rodger

Sue from KGRE went to Sumatra in May to present KGRE meetings and teacher workshops to the teachers and students in Sumatra. Sue visited Matauli near Sibolga, Laguboti near Lake Toba and Medan. Here's Sue's report for KGRE.

Ogi at KGRE, teachers, schools and English clubs in North Sumatra had planned another busy trip away for KGRE. It was my turn to head far, far away from Bali again. I enjoy it actually. I began the trip on Saturday 5th May and flew from Bali to Medan. The plane flew right over Lake Toba and Samosir Island. It was a wonderful sight.

After checking into the hotel I telephoned Wibowo from the Medan English Speaking Club and he picked me up at the hotelan hour later. At 2:30 we set off for Pesantren Raudatul Hasanah. At the Pesantren we were warmly greeted by the principal, the teachers and students. The Pesantren often has ‘English’ days where all the students speak English and conduct all their activities in English. I saw photographs and posters of recent English drama events held by the students. As we walked through the school I saw several groups of students playing computer scrabble and another group was listening to a story telling competition. At the outdoor story telling event several students were brave enough to ask me questions. Then I moved indoors to meet the teachers.

They had lots of questions about motivating students and the best ways to teach English. Some students also attended the meting and they too had questions for me. We finished the meeting about 5: 00 with some KGRE games and quizzes. Wibowo, Boo and I then went to one of the malls in Medan where there was an ‘Education Exhibition’. Wibowo's English club had organized English games there earlier in the day. We gave out some KGRE fliers informing people about KGRE radio show and Wibowo's interactive show. Then I went back to the hotel and I packed my bag for the next part of the trip.

After an early breakfast I returned to the airport for a flight to Sibolga. It wasn't a long flight, about an hour and once again we flew over Lake Toba. Because it was a small plane we were flying quite low, however there was quite a bit of cloud so the view wasn't as good as yesterday. At Pinang Sori airport I was warmly met by members of the committee and students (including Jaya – see p.1 March KGRE Magazine). As the plane taxied to a stop I received a very funny SMS from Ibu Riza. It said, ‘I am the lady in the brown suitcase!’ I think she meant she was wearing a brown suit! We stopped for a delicious seafood lunch before driving to SMAN1 Matauli Pandan. The school is very modern and there were lots of green areas between the buildings and facilities.

After meeting the principal Mr Sumartono I walked into a hall full of teachers and students. Wow!!! The room was full, full, full. There were lots of questions by both students and teachers and no-one was worried about making mistakes. It was amazing. Some maths, physics and science teachers were there too asking for tips on how to teach their subjects in English including Mr Arnold. I awarded him the ‘best student award,’ because even though speaking in English was new for him he took every opportunity to practise, he wasn’t shy about making mistakes and tried correcting himself when he realized he was wrong.

Of course to finish off the session we had some KGRE fun and games with both teachers and students. We finished about 4:00 clock and Ibu Riza invited me climb Puncak Panggabean behind the town of Sibolga for the great view. We actually drove to the top - I was worried we had to walk up there! On the road to the summit, cars and other vehicles have to drive through two tunnels carved through the rock by the Dutch a long time ago. The view from the top is spectacular, right down over the bay. Back in Sibolga, we went for an early dinner in Pak Nas, a Padang restaurant where the food was very good. I went back to the hotel for a restful nights sleep.

Next morning I was up bright and early and was at SMAN 1 Matauli for the workshop by 7:30. As we waited for the head of Diknas to arrive and open the workshop I enjoyed coffee and cake in the ‘Wisma’ at the school with the principal and members of the committee. Mr Budiman Ginting from DIKNAS was very happy that KGRE had come to Sibolga again to assist teachers and students and in his opening speech he invited us to visit every year. The workshop began and the teachers worked hard and were ready for their lunch at 12:00. After lunch the workshop continued till about 3:30. The teachers enthusiastically played games and competed for KGRE prizes until the workshop was finally over at 4:00. Lots of photos were taken and by the time we packed up and left the school it was after 5:00. Before going back to the hotel Ibu Riza, Arnold and some of the committee took me for dinner in a Chinese restaurant.

After I got back to the hotel I decided to go for a walk near the hotel and see a little bit of Sibolga. I walked past the fire station with its old fire-trucks, bought some pulsa and sent a message to the KGRE forum from a local warnet. When I had done all that it was after 8 pm and so I returned to the hotel to pack my bag for the trip back to Medan.

Next day before we returned to the airport for the lunchtime flight I still had some appointments in Sibolga. First I went to RRI to check there were no problems with KGRE shows and to thank them for giving us airtime. I met Dra Darmawati, Pak Edy Syaputra and Ibu Milliwati an enthusiastic presenter. Before I left RRI Ibu Millawati and I recorded an interview to play on her show later in the week. Then it was back to SMAN 1 Matauli where there were 150 students from various schools around Sibolga. I told them about KGRE and then they had lots of questions for me. We finished the session with KGRE fun and games. The students were delightful and it was a pleasure to meet them. Thank you Pak Johanes and all the other teachers who organized this visit.

After the fastest photo session ever when each group of students had their photo taken with the KGRE banner and myself it was a rather rushed goodbye to Pak Sumartono and the staff of SMAN 1 Matauli before setting off on the bumpy 45 minute drive to the airport. At the airport I checked in and went into the waiting room. Ibu Riza and Ibu Rhoma came in and told me passengers usually wait at the warung next door. So we ordered some tea and suddenly a car drove up with three more teachers – including Arnold, Jaya and five more students! They had all come to say goodbye to me!!! I was honoured. It was lovely they had come to say goodbye. Before long the small Merpati plane from Medan landed and the passengers were called into the waiting room, to board the flight.

The flight back to Medan was uneventful and when I arrived at the hotel I checked my schedule. Phew!!!! Free for theafternoon! I had a rest and then later walked around the area near the hotel as I wanted to buy some fruit. Actually only 5 minutes walk from the hotel was a large superstore and I got everything I needed there. The weather had changed and when I left the mall to return to the hotel there was rain in the air. That evening I stayed in the hotel and contacted Rentauli at my next port of call DEL Politeknik Informatika in Laguboti… And I packed my bag again!

Just before 8:00 the next morning I made contact with Pak Sihar who was to drive me the 5 hours to Laguboti and we set off through the early morning Medan traffic. The journey was interesting, and we passed built up areas, rice fields, palm oil plantations, rubber plantations and finally started to climb the hills east of Lake Toba. We arrived at the hotel about 12:30 and Pak Sihar went to rest and I unpacked and prepared for the afternoons activities. I also changed my room so that I had a view of Lake Toba rather than the car-park!! At 2:00 we set off for the Politeknik. This was a pleasant drive with dramatic hilly landscapes on one side and flat plains going to Lake Toba on the other. After about an hour we arrived at the modern campus at Laguboti. What a beautiful situation for a campus, right on the edge of Lake Toba. I met Rentauli, Maria and Sylvia and other members of the committee for tea and we talked about KGRE and the workshop, ADS scholarships, IELTS, and lots of other things. I also met ‘Granpa Lenny’ from the USA who is staying at DEL for 6 months helping them prepare an English glossary of IT vocabulary.

Then it was time to go over to the auditorium and meet the members of DEL English Club. The whole campus has a bright and airy feel to it with lots of open spaces, rooms without doors and high ceilings. Air conditioning isn't necessary as the natural breezes cool the halls and auditorium. The club members were very lively and had prepared a program of events for the KGRE visit. There was a DEL rap, a chant, some songs in Indonesian and English, plus lots of questions and of course some KGRE games. At the end of the meeting the club presented me with a beautiful Toba blanket beautifully embroidered with the logos of KGRE and DEL. Then it was off to the canteen on the campus for dinner. I think we all felt quite relaxed in each others company and chatted about all sorts of things. Suddenly Maria announced that it was already 8:00 and I had an hours drive back to the hotel! So I left them to their last minute preparations for the workshop and found Pak Sihar for the drive back to Parapat. The wind was really blowing as we drove up the hill to the hotel and I had only been in my room a short time when the rain came. I left the balcony door open as I signed the certificates for the next day's workshop but didn't notice all the small flying insects coming in! When I did notice it was too late! The room was full!! It is cool near the lake and even cooler after the rain but after another busy day I slept well.

Pak Sihar picked me up and we drove back to the campus at 6:00 the next morning. Teachers were already registering when I arrived and I prepared the workshop materials and chatted to the early arrivals until it was time to begin. About 55 teachers attended the workshop and they were quite a quiet group at the beginning. After about an hour they began to liven up and worked with their partners, discussing answers and joining in the activities. Some teachers asked pertinent questions and I hope the answers I gave will help them all. We ate lunch out in the entrance hall area, again cooled by natural breezes. After lunch the time went really quickly and the teachers were very enthusiastic about the KGRE quizzes played to close the event. Some teachers had travelled for over 2 hours to come to the workshop and were keen to get home. I hope all of the teachers enjoyed it and went home with some new ideas to motivate your students in listening classes.

My day wasn't over though, as at 3:00 I had a whole new group of about 60 students from different schools in the area who had come to DEL to meet KGRE, ask questions and play games. They were a very lively bunch and I really enjoyed meeting them. They all went home with a KGRE souvenir and renewed enthusiasm for learning English. One student Franz asked to interview me for his school magazine so we moved to a quieter part of the hall and conducted the interview. He was very polite, told me about himself, asked me some questions and was very interested in KGRE.

Before I left DEL (as it was still daylight) I joined Rentauli and the committee for a walk down to the lake and a tour around the campus. What a great location. The students and staff are very lucky to live, study and work in such a beautiful environment. I drove back to the hotel with Pak Sahir as it was beginning to get dark. On one of the steep hills we encountered a traditional funeral procession. People in traditional clothes were walking up the hill and about six men were carrying the coffin slung between them on ropes and poles. Pak Sahir told me that 6pm was the usual time for this ceremony among the local people. We arrived back at the hotel in the dark and I had another evening view of the sparkling lights along the lake.

The next morning, determined to see Lake Toba in daylight, I got up at 7 and enjoyed a cup of tea on my balcony overlooking the lake. All too often on KGRE trips visit some fantastic places but rarely get time to go sightseeing! By 8:30 Pak Sahir was ready for the drive back to Medan and after one break for coffee he dropped me off at the airport just before 2:00. The flight back to Jakarta was scheduled for 3:00 and it was a little after that when the plane left Polonia and headed for Jakarta.

Phew, another successful KGRE trip. I met a lot of lovely teachers and students, radio presenters, club members, drivers, hotel staff and ordinary citizens. I hope one day I can return and meet them again and explore new areas of Sumatra.