For Week 2, we were able to meet with the other schools that will be joining us in our exchange, which were from the following:  Udon Thani Rajabhat University (UDRU) and Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST).

Saturday

It was a great adventure wherein we had to leave at 7 AM to get to the train station in Yogyakarta! We had a joke about fighting for a seat on the train. A delegate from NEUST & now a close friend named Echo, did not realize we were going on a trip and wore his formal black shoes the entire time, wherein we had to walk for a solid 8-10 hours.

The trains were so much more different from what we have here in the Philippines because a lot of infrastructure from Indonesia's former colonization by the Dutch was preserved. Taman Sari was such a beautiful place of not only great scenery, beautiful history about princesses, and even showcases what the living situations were when you were part of royalty! The Museum Senobudoyo showed me the rich history of the royal family traditions, weapons used from the past, wooden door carvings, statues, and their traditional puppetry. It was such a beautiful experience as the lights inside of the museum started with dark rooms, which symbolize the start of the country's origins and all the way to their most modern cultural changes that was shown little by little when the lights of the rooms began to become brighter with even the light from the outside shining inward.  The innovations in technology, where I played some rhythm games and virtual archery, to the history of their masks were amazing.

Malioboro was one of the last places we went to as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful place with streets that showed the beauty of their roads, nature, and a great mixture of old and new cultures being combined. The long trip to get to Yogyakarta was worth every moment.

Sunday

We went to the Pura Mangkunegaran to further understand the beauty and rich history of the Javanese people. We saw beautiful golden lions at the entrance with a ceiling that had a symbol of color that gave good karma to those who were able to hug one of the pillars entirely, with their fingers touching. I was only able to barely make it because one of the UDRU delegates (Krit) helped push my arms together. This entire building was made for the royal family, and the thought of being in this presence was extravagant. 

Pusat Gosir Solo was a place we went to for the other delegates to go shopping for their own batiks. Although we didn't have to buy any more as we already bought our own from the first week, I wanted to buy one more with the other delegates. It just so happened that 4-5 of us bought the EXACT SAME batik design.

We were able to go to the following:

Taman Sari

Malioboro

Museum Senobudoyo

Pura Mangkunegaran

Pusat Grosir Solo

We were welcomed by the FKIP-UNS through a welcoming ceremony, with a tour of the university and an introduction to the religious buildings that UNS has for all students of diverse beliefs. I am forever thankful to UNS for giving me genuinely an opportunity of a lifetime. The video below was my reaction to UNS showing our faces announcing of our arrival!

Before we were given the opportunity to teach the students of SMP 1, we were given the opportunity to learn from our Supervising Teacher's class. It gave us an idea on how to teach the class especially on the emphasis of repetition with a slow and steady approach.

After observing our Supervising Teachers and being able to get great feedback from my mentor Bu Yayuk (Ma'am Yayuk), I was ready to handle the section of 9E, 9F, 9G, and 9H! It was a bit difficult, but it was fun! I was being observed by Bu Yayuk to further improve my teaching in the next few weeks.

My final demo was a success! Throughout understanding the teaching approaches of the teachers from Indonesia, the techniques I needed to use to get the students involved with learning, and the creative ways to implement the lesson of procedure in both a slow and steady process, I was able to successfully finish it! I was able to show the class on how to make an origami crane! They all loved it as it was a flappable version of the crane where they can make it "fly"! 

During our duration, we were invited to several dinners and were given such great food recommendations! I knew that Indonesia had amazing food, but after tasting the flavors of my now favorite food of Fried Tempeh, everything in life made sense now. If you can't handle spice, I wish you luck!

Recommendations:

• Fried Tempeh

• Ayam Geprek (Smashed Fried Chicken)

• Fried Bakwan (Vegetable Fritters)

• Anything with Sambal (spicy)

Bulan Bahasa was an event to get students to learn more of the English language through challenging games. "Bulan Bahasa" is also translated as Language Month! There were two activities done: vocabulary relay and guess the vocabulary word. We were lucky enough to participate as timekeepers and as judges for checking the English words written if they were spelled correctly or not. 

The museum is the oldest music studio in Indonesia, and is an interesting place for music enthusiasts. It had a wonderful and interactive showcase of the history of music throughout Indonesia. It showcased the albums that shaped Indonesia's music and even the process of making a song! We were accompanied by the delegates from the Saint Louis University (SLU) and I was inspired by one of them (Giulian) to take a lot of aesthetically good looking photos. We also explored the other stores surrounding the museum.

Throughout my time in Indonesia, I believe I did a great job being as friendly as I can and showcase some of my personality. However, I was not ready to be given an actual gift from two students and I will forever be grateful. I was ready to only just get a "thank you for being with us", but I will never forget all of their kindness! Same goes for the teachers in SMP 1 Surakarta who unexpectedly gave me a bag!

Our entire journey throughout this SEA Teacher Program would not be anyway possible without our dorm mother, Bu Dewi (Ma'am Dewi) and the countless amount of help from UNS buddies, especially from the captain of the ship, Kamilla! Lastly, I cannot forget to thank my co-delegates, Guia and Raemonn for being there through all of it. I would not change a thing. Their kindness, patience, and great attitude will forever be something I will be thankful for as people who I can safe to say are my friends and I wish to keep in touch more often in the future! Thank you so much for everything!