Day 8 - Indonesian Schools meet Australian Schools

Day 8 saw us all readying ourselves to meet our Indonesian counterparts.  The day would consist of a meeting from 10:00am through to about 4:00pm with us and the Indonesians from the partner schools and the officials from both the East Java province and the Sidoarjo Education Authority. 
The meeting was held at our hotel, the Surabaya Plaza Hotel.  There was a certain amount of nervousness on the part of everyone involved, both the Indonesians and the Australians. 

The previous day, after our market challenge, we had met as a group to go over our presentations and also the agenda for the day.  This was a really valuable thing to do, as it helped with some of the nerves that people had and it also bought back to the fore why we were undertaking this program. 

The morning began at 10:00am, although some of the Indonesians had trouble with the Surabaya traffic.  Straight off partner schools sought each other out and greeted each other.  Certainly for both Miss Cooper and myself we were very please to meet our hosts Ms Sumiati and Ms Fitri.  They both greeted us with a smile.  Amazingly Ms Fitri had already found me on Facebook and sent me a contact request.  Indonesia is the third largest Facebook nation in the world. 

There were welcomes from the Indonesian Education officials and also and overview of Victorian education given by Judy Rose.  All the way through this, there was much translation being done by both Deryn and Bu Icha (who was the MC) from English to Indonesian and from Indonesian to English. 

Each cluster school gave a brief outline of it's demographics and facilities which were translated by Deryn into Indonesian.  The partner schools really appreciated the information that was given to them.  The Indonesian schools then gave an outline of their own school.  It was then time for some lunch together. 

After we had had some lunch we all headed back into the meeting room to get to know each other a bit better.  Both the Indonesian and Australian participants took part in activities designed to get to know each other.  It was loud and busy, but it was also good fun.  At the end of the day we had a light dinner before our Indonesian friends headed off. 

Day 7 - Race Around Surabaya

After a full day at Lapindo the day before, and dinner at the large Sujo shopping centre near our hotel, everyone enjoyed a good nights sleep ready for our Race Around Surabaya.  Our group assembled at 8:00am in the morning ready to get our instructions. 

The idea was that we were to break up into our school groups, with each group being given a local traditional market to head off to.  We were not told what type of market that they were.  We were also given 100 000 rupiah each, (au$10) with the challenge of purchasing something that could be used as a teaching resource in the classroom. 

Our group Miss Cooper, Judy Rose (from the Hume region) and I headed off to our market in a taxi, excited to see what type of market we were going to visit and also wondering what it was that we could bring back as a resource. 

When we arrived at our market at 8:30pm we found out that our particular market did not open for another hour and a half.  There were a couple of stalls who were open and we were able to figure out that this particular market had some food stalls - mostly dried bulk foods, but the majority of the stalls were clothing stalls.  The couple of stalls that were open specialised in wedding clothing, which was very ornate and intricate in it's design.  Miss Cooper decided that traditional head wear would be great teaching resources, so we set about purchasing  one for both the boys and girls.

We bargained for each of the head pieces, with Miss Cooper being a very uncompromising customer.  She bought the first head piece for 21 000 rupiah, down from 50 000 rupiah. 

We then explored the market further taking a look at some of the fresh food stalls, which were not like the types of stalls that we might find in an Australian farmers market.  There were baskets of sardines, whole chickens, vegetables - many of them asian greens and meat (not identifiable).  There were also other clothing stalls that were begining to open - which had mostly western style clothing, not traditional Indonesian. There was also a tailor and stalls selling shoes.  We soon located another stall which sold traditional dance head wear, which we purchased as well. 

With our challenge completed we headed back out to find a taxi to take us to the shopping centre for some shopping, lunch and some r and r. 

Day 6 - Sidoarjo mud flow or Lapindo mud

Today was, we were told, going to be a full on day - and it was.  Although we didn't have to move off until 9:00am, so that meant that we were able to have a quite breakfast, visiting the Lapindo Mud flow was always going to be a big day. 

For those of you who are not aware of this environmental disaster here is some of the background information to it.
The mud 'volcano' has been erupting since May 2006, as the result of drilling by the company PT Lapindo Brantas.  They were drilling for gas in the district of Porong in Sidoarjo.  There is much conjecture over the actual cause of the mud eruption, however it would appear that due to a drilling misconduct when quarter height drilling wallpipe was used.  The mud flow continues to spill it's hot, toxic mud out of the drill site, spreading out over the flat plains that surround the drill site.  The mud flows have been contained by large levy banks which have been constructed around the disaster site.

The left hand side shows the levy banks built to hold the mud flows

The impact that this environmental disaster has had on the surrounding area is significant, with 11 villages of up to 300 - 500 people being effected and in many cases having to be relocated from their homes, farms and villages due to the impact of the flows inundating their villages, homes and schools. 

At it's peak the mud flow spewed out 180 000 cubic metres of mud per day.  By August 2011 that had reduced to a flow of 10 000 cubic metres per day.  Along with mud however there are also a number of other elements such as lead, mercury and other heavy metals which are being released by the mud flows, which are poisoning the local environment and the residents which are left close to the mud flow. 

We were addressed by a member of WAHLI - which is an Indonesian Environmental watchdog.  He told us that the exposure to the local environment, based on the testing that WAHLI had done should be limited to 8 hours, due to the mixture of chemicals in the air released from the mud flow, yet the village that we visited was only 800 metres from the levy banks of the mud flow. 

After we viewed the mud flows from the observation platform we headed back to the village to share lunch with the villagers.  At the village the families and children shared lunch with us, and then the children performed for us, singing traditional Indonesian songs and playing drums. 

At the end of the music, we spent time asking the villagers and the representative from WAHLI questions about the disaster.  We then gave the head man some gifts and then left the village on the bus back to Surabaya on the bus. 

It was a huge day, one filled with much emotion at the disaster and the impact that it has had on these innocent Indonesian villagers. 

Day 5 - Borobudur Silver and Surabaya

From the beautiful Puri Asri Hotel, we headed off to Borobudur Silver.  This is a silver filigree factory where jewellery and decorative pieces are hand made from silver.  The work is very fine and delicate and we were able to see the silver crafts men and women as they created the very finely detailed jewellery. 

 

 

As you can see even Eric the echidna was very interested in the very fine work that the crafts men were undertaking.  At Borobudua Silver there was a very large gift shop as well, filled with all sorts of jewellery and decorative items.  There were so many things to look at and choose from that many people spent quite a long time in there (and consequently quite a bit of money). 

Borobudua Silver also has a great restaurant attached to the complex, which was where we were to have our lunch so after purchases it was off to the restaurant for another of those wonderful Indonesian buffet lunches.  The food was once again authentic Indonesian and was beautiful, set in the wonderful open air restaurant. 

Lunch was delicious with rice, chicken, vegetable fritters, asian greens and many more other delights.  Along with these was the delicious and refreshing lemon squashes which were very quickly becoming the drink of the tour.  So refreshing in the warm day and a delicate balance of sour and sweet.  Delicious!!!!!
Lunch was enjoyed by all, including Eric the echidna, who enjoyed a bit of a hello with Julie Butler from Tallangatta Valley Primary School. 

After we had finished lunch then it was time to head back onto the bus, for the drive from Borobudua to Yogyakarta to the airport.  At the airport we were to board a plan to Surabaya.  Now I have to tell you travelling as a group of 16 people can sometimes be a challenge, and this was one of those times.  Our domestic flight from Yogyakarta to Surabaya was with Wing Air, an Indonesian domestic airline, which also meant that the luggage limit was a domestic one!!!!!  Ok so this was a bit tricky, but thanks to Pinta and Derryn (our group leaders) they were able to get all of us and our luggage onto the plan bound for Surabaya.  Whewwww!!!!!
At the airport we also said farewell to our second tour leader Mr Bin.  He had been fantastic in leading us around Yogya and also Borobudua.  Thanks Mr Bin!!!!

On arrival at Surabaya airport we collected our luggage and headed off to the bus.  Once on the bus we made our way through the streets of Surabaya to our next hotel Surabaya Plaza Hotel.  The streets of Surabaya were definitely busier than Yogya, but not to the extent of Jakarta and our first impressions of Surabaya were of a city on the move, with many constructions projects underway and many new, architecturally striking buildings evident.  It seemed to be a city on the move!!!

Arrival at our hotel, check in, shower then group dinner in the restaurant, before we were let loose on Surabaya exploring some of the areas close to the hotel. 

Day 5- Borobudur Temple

So getting up at 3:30 am in the morning can be quite an ask, but we were promised that the temple at Borobudur was something special and it was.  4:15 am in the morning is early though, so the conversation on the way to Borobudar was very light on.  On our arrival at the hotel where the tour departed from we were given a batik sarong to wraps around us.  This was worn as a sign of respect for the guards of the temple and then they would let us pass.  We also received a small torch because it was so dark.  Finally we made our way up to the temple.  Borobudur is the said to be one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world.  It was built around the 8th century and it is estimated that it took 100 years to build.  The temple is created with 8 terraces which run around the complete structure. 

 Within the temple structure there are 432 Buddha statues.  Within the Buddha statues there are five different statues.  Some of the  Buddhas are in niches in the walls, whilst others are hidden inside of stupas.

We were however dealt a blow with the cloud cover hiding the sunrise over Borobudur.  However as light came, so to came the realisation of the enormity of what had been constructed at Borobudur.  The intricate work that had been done on the frieze relief panels which surrounded the temple on the lower terraces was beautiful and the system of drainage which had been put into place to ensure the longevity of this massive structure was so very clever, with small gaps between the paving stones and drains to move the water away from the terraces.

 

 

 

 

Even Eric the echidna had gotten up early for the wonder of Borobudua.  He loved getting in amongst the stupas. 

There were many tourists there for the sunrise, many with their cameras set up on tripods to catch the sunrise.  They were most definitely disappointed on this morning.  After wandering around for a bit of time and looking at the wonderful buddahs and carvings, we headed back down from this fascinating structure.

 

 

After such an early start we were all looking forward to getting back to the hotel for breakfast.  We then packed up, ready to travel to Borobudur Silver. 

 

 





Day 4 - Travel to Magelang

After spending time with Miss Windy, Miss Dewi and Miss Maria from Olifant where they answered our many questions it was back onto the bus and off again to one of the wonderful restaurants that we have been having the most beautiful Indonesian lunches at.  This time it was 'Pecel Solo', a restaurant set in a traditional Indonesian pavilion style building.  The building itself was made in the traditional style and was actually transported onto it's current site. 

Lunch was a wonder buffet of traditional Indonesian dishes including tofu, a vegetable fritter dish, green vegetable and of course a spicy dish of some sort. We enjoyed our lunch a great deal, then it was back onto the bus and travel to Magelang, which is located close to the temple of Borobudur, which was our destination on Day 5.

 

 

After the beautiful lunch I think that some of our group may have spent some of the journey time to Magelang catching up on some sleep from the early airport departure the day before. 
 

We arrived at our next location, the Puri Asri hotel, which was a beautiful resort style hotel set amongst lush gardens, ponds and facilities.  The rooms were located in small clusters which were dotted across the property.  The staff used small golf buggy type vehicles to transport guests and their luggage around the property to their rooms.  Roaming around the promptly were also peacocks and turkeys. 
 

After a rest and a wander around the property or a swim in the huge swimming pool everyone gathered together for dinner, once again in an open pavilion style building.  The dinner was a buffet style meal which was beautiful.  During the course of the meal Deryn presented some of the awards that people had won during the trip so far, and then presented some other awards which came from things that people had done so far on the trip. 

 
 

Although it was a full day it had been a very rewarding day with a look at a very different school from the mainstream Indonesian schools.  An early night, because a 4:00am wake up to be on the bus at 4:15am faced us all in the morning!!!!!

Day 4 - Olifant Kindergarten and Elementary school

After breakfast at the very trendy All Seasons Hotel in Yogya we packed up our belongings and boarded the bus ready for our visit to Olifant Kindergarten and Elementary school. 

Although we knew that it was a fairly new school having only opened in 2007, I certainly wasn't ready for the beautiful and modern building that we discovered the school in.  Unfortunately right from the start we found out that Olifant has a very strict no photography within the school buildings policy - not even in areas in which there were no students - so there are no photos I'm afraid, however the website of the school is found here www.olifantschool.com/ and there is a gallery of photographs that you can access. 

 The early childhood part of the school caters for children from 1 year old to 5 years old through a range of different services; day care, play group and formal kindergarten.  The building was beautiful and well maintained.  The facilities were also spectacular with each early childhood room catering for a maximum of 20 students with 2 to 3 tutors - depending upon the age group.  Each room also had its own individual outdoor space with bi- fold doors that opened the room up to the outside space - a very clever design.  The early childhood area also included a play room with small climbing and play equipment.  We discovered that parents were encouraged to come into this too with their children for facilitated play time.  The lobby area also contained a waiting room for parents that had one way glass looking out over the main play area for the younger children.  Parents could sit and watch their child to make sure they settled before heading off.  Parents can also log in via the Internet to various parts of the school to see their child via CCTV.  Children at Olifant learn English from the time that they start and indeed we saw three year old children counting in English to 5 already. 

 We then visited the Elementary school which has children aged 6 to about 9 at the moment, with plans to continue to extend and grow as each year passes.  The building which houses Olifant was built for it to grow and there are classrooms empty waiting for the expansion.  As each year passes so they add a new year level.  Currently children up to year 2 attend, next year they will extend to year 3. 

 The elementary school has a core educational philosophy which is built on the notion of 'unity through diversity'.  There are three pillars on which the curriculum is built - exploration, enrichment and entrepreneurship.  The pedagogy at Olifant was researched and developed by Professor Irwanto PhD.

 We visited the wonderful facilities which were named after the major continents - Australia music and culture centre, African Arts centre and Chinese library just to name a few.  The school, unlike most Australian schools, was multi story, so some of the playground equipment was actually inside of the building.

 We visited some of the classrooms where we saw some singing, writing and an English lesson happening.  The classrooms in the Elementary school are also capped at 20 students and most often we discovered at least two adults in the classroom working with the students. 

 The board of Advisors to the school was very impressive, with the very highly qualified people advising the school on it's program and curriculum.  There was some acknowledgement that what the school is doing is very different to the norm, which means that it can be hard to convince the community that what they are doing is the right thing to do.

 Overall Olifant was a very, very impressive place, with a philosophy to education which was evident from the age of 1 in a child's l I've through to the elementary classes - a well thought through and structured contemporary curriculum.