Kang GURU Travels to Karangasem in Bali

Kang Guru is based in Bali but we don’t do many trips around this lovely island. However on Saturday 19th April Ayu and I enjoyed a trip to the Eastern region –Karangasem. We were looking forward to our trip but the only downside was that we had to leave he office at 6 30! That meant I left my house at 5:45 and Ayu left hers not long after! I set off in the dark but by the time I arrived at the Kang Guru office it was light. We packed up the car and then se off for the workshop. We set off along a new coastal road and the scenery was great. Then we ran into heavy rain. However it didn’t last too long and about 2 hours later we arrived in Amlapura. We had to ask for directions for the workshop venue and had actually past it. However we were not to far away. When we drove in at about 8:30 there were already lots of teachers waiting. This was an exciting day for them. The MGMP in this area had only recently become active and the KG workshop was their first event.

Ayu and I entered the Sanggar Kegiatan Belajar and were greeted by Pak Sagata, Tuti and other members of the committee. The committee were very well organized and took us to a side room where we checked the schedule and the sound system. A good sound system is very important for a Kang Guru workshop. Not only so the teachers can hear the presenter but also so they can listen to the recordings clearly. It doesn’t have to be an expensive system but it must be loud enough so all the participants can hear. The room was built in the Bali style and had cooling breezes blowing through it. Small tables were arranged around the room with 4 to 6 chairs placed around them. This was a very nice arrangement as the teachers could interact easily.

Promptly at 9am Pak Wirta (Kepala DIKNAS) opened the workshop and then we all had tea and cakes before the KG workshop began. Then Ayu left to visit students in the area and I conducted the KG workshop for teachers. This was the first event the MGMP had held and the teachers were a little quiet at first. But they soon got into the swing of things and by lunch-time they were like a different bunch of teachers! We ate lunch just after 12:00 and then startedthe final part of the workshop. The time seemed to fly by. Before we knew it was already three o clock and time for the workshop to finish. We had our closing speeches and I packed up my things. I turned to see all the teachers still sitting in their chairs. I thought they were just being very polite and waiting for us to leave, so I said It’s OK you can go now. Be careful etc! Then I was told they were waiting to start another meeting!! Whoops!!

We climbed back in the car and set off back to Denpasar.