A Journey Beyond Borders: My SEA Teacher Experience in Indonesia 

If you were to sum up my college journey so far, it’s been a beautiful whirlwind of late-night studying, campus leadership, and a deep-rooted passion for teaching. In fact, that passion started long before college through my experiences volunteering in community outreaches. Seeing the impact of education firsthand during those outreach programs is what truly inspired me to choose this path and dedicate my life to education. I am Cyril Borlado Diaz, a fourth-year Bachelor of Elementary Education student at the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture.

I entered college carrying the proud title of my Senior High School’s Batch Valedictorian, and during my freshman year, I was incredibly honored to receive the Gawad BEED SICAT 2023 for my dedication to academics, leadership, and service. Beyond the university walls, I’ve spent the last six years working as a private tutor—a rewarding experience that taught me how to truly connect with different kinds of learners and shape my instructional skills early on. On campus, you’ll often find me balancing multiple roles: serving in various student organizations, facilitating extension programs, hosting events, or speaking at institutional activities.

But things got even more exciting when I decided to take my passion for education global! I first expanded my horizons as an exchange student under the International Credit Transfer Program (ICTP) at Universitas Mataram (UNRAM), where I also co-authored and published a research study in an international journal focusing on the benefits of BEED internationalization programs from 2022 to 2024.

Following that academic milestone, I stepped into international teaching immersion as a proud SEA Teacher in the 11th Batch of the SEAMEO SEA Teacher Program, which brought me to the beautiful country of Indonesia! Traveling there meant trading my familiar CBSUA surroundings for an international classroom. It was an incredible journey of teaching through language barriers, shadowing expert Indonesian cooperating teachers during my first week of observation, and ultimately taking over the whiteboard to manage and teach an international classroom independently.

Every step of this journey is molding me into a more competent, adaptable, and globally competitive educator. This blog is dedicated entirely to my SEA Teacher experience in Indonesia—from the lesson planning jitters and classroom breakthroughs to the unforgettable cross-cultural moments that completely reshaped my perspective on education.