Hello everybody!!! Well the trip came to an end a little over a week ago and I have been back into the swing of things! I have had a chance to reflect on the whole thing and thought I would share some of my reflections with you!
I originally signed up for the trip on a whim. I have wanted to do some travelling as part of a field study and the opportunity presented itself to me so I took it. I have travelled on my own before and really wanted to have the opportunity to travel with a group to a place I probably wouldn't consider travelling on my own. What a great experience it was! I learned a lot, and would now choose to spend time in back in Indonesia in the future.
I did not know what to expect, going into the trip. I had no clue! But I just "went with it" and made up my mind to have a good time. However, I'm not that easy going!! The the that I was concerned the most about, wast my practicum placement. I was so nervous before my first day I could hardly stand it! After the first day though, my fears were relieved! I loved the people, the children and the whole experience.
The people in Indonesia were so inviting and wonderful. They are very hospitable and I had to learn how to say no, which was very hard for me. In Canada we have a tendency to feel the need to be "polite" by saying we like something or saying yes to doing something we may not want to do. It is now a good idea to do this there as the people are so nice and such good hosts, they will make sure you will have plenty of that thing you said you liked but you really didn't and will fill your day with plenty of that thing you said you would do, even if you didn't really want to!
The group process was a difficult one for me, and I think it is different for every group that travels together. It is a long story and really it only pertains to those who were on the trip but my advice for those travelling as a group in the future actually comes from one of the instructors who came with us. She commented on how our group spent a lot of time focusing on the things that weren't working for us, rather than the things that were. This bit of advice works for ever aspect of the trip. There is a need to re frame things and turn negatives into positive, and by this I don't mean live in a false reality, but understand that this trip is a month out of your life...it will end and everyone soon goes back to their own lives!
Culture was the other factor that influenced this trip in a big way -- obviously!! I mentioned it briefly above but considering we were in another country on the other side of the world, culture would have to play a large role! I learned so much about culture I do not know where to start! I think it is just one of those things one has to experience on their own. I can talk a bit about culture shock though. It is real, and it does get easier. It isn't just about the people. It's about the heat, the smells, the food, and everything else in between. It is part of travelling, and the trip would be the same without it! Just about the time I was leaving Indonesia, was when I was really starting to enjoy myself and really did not want to come home!
My life was impacted hugely by this trip, and has influenced me greatly. I would love to go back, or use my experience and try somewhere else. The whole trip was about perspective, we all have different ones, and need to respect that. What was really great for one, wasn't so great for another and vice versa. Having the best attitude possible and keeping an open mind and heart and the best tools you could employ!
Anyways, goodbye for now,
Janine D.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Amaryllis School
The Amaryllis School is a private school for children with different learning abilities and challenges. Currently there are 17 children ranging in ages of 7 to 19. The children are separated into different classes based on their abilities and ages. In each class there are no more than 3 children for one teacher. There are approximately 12 teachers and they rotate through the classes based on what they are teaching to the students.
When arriving in the morning the students start their lessons from 7:30 am until 9 am. Then they have a break for 15 minutes and classes commence again from 9:15 am to 10:30 am. At this time the younger students leave to go home while the older students have a break and another session of lessons start at 10:45 am to 12 pm.
Each of the lessons are designed to focus on the needs of the individual children and they also try to focus on curriculum that is mirrored by government curriculum. There are 2 children who are currently studying under government curriculum. Some of the other lessons focus on some basics such as numbers, letters, reading, and grammer. There are also some lessons with the focus on social skills and vocational learning.
The role of the practicum student was to teach and interact with the children through games, songs and activities. There were many opportunities for the practicum student to demonstrate their skills and build relationship with the children and teachers. This was a great opportunity to see how a different culture relates to special needs children and to see some new techniques on teaching to these children.
When arriving in the morning the students start their lessons from 7:30 am until 9 am. Then they have a break for 15 minutes and classes commence again from 9:15 am to 10:30 am. At this time the younger students leave to go home while the older students have a break and another session of lessons start at 10:45 am to 12 pm.
Each of the lessons are designed to focus on the needs of the individual children and they also try to focus on curriculum that is mirrored by government curriculum. There are 2 children who are currently studying under government curriculum. Some of the other lessons focus on some basics such as numbers, letters, reading, and grammer. There are also some lessons with the focus on social skills and vocational learning.
The role of the practicum student was to teach and interact with the children through games, songs and activities. There were many opportunities for the practicum student to demonstrate their skills and build relationship with the children and teachers. This was a great opportunity to see how a different culture relates to special needs children and to see some new techniques on teaching to these children.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Hospital Day Care
The hospital day care is a day care situated at one of the hospitals in Indonesia. It consists of a small building which also has a room where kindergarten is taught. The children range in age from infants to five years old. The average age of the children is about three years old. There are approx. 60 children and 14-17 staff members. The activities and format of the day care is very similar to those in North America as the day care format is based on a format out of Florida. The children are active in fine motor skills with such activities as colouring, building, manipulating materials, learning about hygiene, water play, food play and other similar activities. The practicum student has done such as activities as finger painting, bubbles, song, and reading as well as working with the children during their daily activities which are similar to those the student has introduced.
Yogyakarta
This past weekend we went to Yogyakarta. This is another major centre with about 4.8 million people.
We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!! There was a lot to see and do there. Yogyakarta is famous for the shopping and decent prices! We shopped until we dropped! It is also a beautiful city with a slower pace than Surabaya.
We went to the Borobudur Temple, a very large Buddhist temple with an incredible view of Mt Marapi (a volcano!). We also went to a beautiful beach and saw and incredible sunset, rode in a pony carriage, and some of us braved a motorcycle ride!
Yogyakarta is the Javanese "highlight city" as Bali is the centre of the Balinese culture. The people were lovely and accommodating as always and our tour guide was comical!
We really had a lovely time as a group and learned a lot about group process throughout the trip! Definitely a recommended stop if in Indonesia!!
We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!! There was a lot to see and do there. Yogyakarta is famous for the shopping and decent prices! We shopped until we dropped! It is also a beautiful city with a slower pace than Surabaya.
We went to the Borobudur Temple, a very large Buddhist temple with an incredible view of Mt Marapi (a volcano!). We also went to a beautiful beach and saw and incredible sunset, rode in a pony carriage, and some of us braved a motorcycle ride!
Yogyakarta is the Javanese "highlight city" as Bali is the centre of the Balinese culture. The people were lovely and accommodating as always and our tour guide was comical!
We really had a lovely time as a group and learned a lot about group process throughout the trip! Definitely a recommended stop if in Indonesia!!
Pondok Hayat
Pondok Hayat is a facility for single expectant mothers. It is a Christian organization and is funded by donations and a church. There are about 35 children ranging from 0-4 yrs. The staff is made up of paid, volunteer, and there is help from the mothers who have had their child or are still living there.
The mothers usually arrive at the facility when they are 6 months pregnant. Pondok Hayat will accept any woman of any age or religion for any reason. After they give birth they usually stay for an additional 2 months. If the mother decides to keep her baby rather than give it up for adoption, it is during this time they will be able to have support for raising a child.
The students at this placement are speding two hours with the preschool children (2-4yrs) every morning. They have attempted to introduce a structured play schedule to suit their learning needs. It has been noticed that these children do much better with additional supervision as there are 3 practicum students to 6 children at any given time. Normally there is only one teacher to 6 VERY active children!
The caregivers also requested lessons in Baby massage, hygiene, and growth and development. These teaching sessions were kept informal and conversational and the caregivers appeared to benefit greatly.
The mothers requested to have stretch and relaxation session as well as a time for questions and answers. The students also enjoyed themselves durning this time with the mothers and caregivers and learned just as much from the mothers and caregivers surrounding the cultural piece as they did teach.
Over all this placement was an excellent experience and a lasting relationship was formed!
The mothers usually arrive at the facility when they are 6 months pregnant. Pondok Hayat will accept any woman of any age or religion for any reason. After they give birth they usually stay for an additional 2 months. If the mother decides to keep her baby rather than give it up for adoption, it is during this time they will be able to have support for raising a child.
The students at this placement are speding two hours with the preschool children (2-4yrs) every morning. They have attempted to introduce a structured play schedule to suit their learning needs. It has been noticed that these children do much better with additional supervision as there are 3 practicum students to 6 children at any given time. Normally there is only one teacher to 6 VERY active children!
The caregivers also requested lessons in Baby massage, hygiene, and growth and development. These teaching sessions were kept informal and conversational and the caregivers appeared to benefit greatly.
The mothers requested to have stretch and relaxation session as well as a time for questions and answers. The students also enjoyed themselves durning this time with the mothers and caregivers and learned just as much from the mothers and caregivers surrounding the cultural piece as they did teach.
Over all this placement was an excellent experience and a lasting relationship was formed!
Friday, June 8, 2007
Up date about our practicums
We would like to up date you all on what it is we are doing at our practicum sites, so in the next few post we will be doing just that!
Don Bosco
Don Bosco is a Catholic orphanage, run be sisters and care givers. This practicum site has a very positive feel as it is evident the love both the sisters and care givers have for the children. At this site the student there has been working with the sisters in a variety of areas, such as, nutrition, language development, hearing screening, baby massage, and child development. The toddlers and infants as this site are precious and the student at this site feels very privilege to be having such an experience. The language barrier between the practicum student and the children does not seem too much like a barrier as their ability to communicate non verbally is amazing.
SDN Menegal
SDN Menegal is a public elementary school. The student at this practicum site spends the morning going to different classes teaching planned English lessons. She has taught the grade five's and six's about Canadian geography and recently the grade 3's and 4's learned about Canadian money and value. The students at SDN are really enjoying playing Red Rover and Heads up 7 up. They are also teaching the practicum student how to play traditional Indonesian games and dances.
The practicum student at SDN is finding it challenging to be fully covered in this un-airconditioned school and there is a lot of confusion and chaos most of the time. Over all the practicum student at this site is finding this experience very rewarding.
Don Bosco
Don Bosco is a Catholic orphanage, run be sisters and care givers. This practicum site has a very positive feel as it is evident the love both the sisters and care givers have for the children. At this site the student there has been working with the sisters in a variety of areas, such as, nutrition, language development, hearing screening, baby massage, and child development. The toddlers and infants as this site are precious and the student at this site feels very privilege to be having such an experience. The language barrier between the practicum student and the children does not seem too much like a barrier as their ability to communicate non verbally is amazing.
SDN Menegal
SDN Menegal is a public elementary school. The student at this practicum site spends the morning going to different classes teaching planned English lessons. She has taught the grade five's and six's about Canadian geography and recently the grade 3's and 4's learned about Canadian money and value. The students at SDN are really enjoying playing Red Rover and Heads up 7 up. They are also teaching the practicum student how to play traditional Indonesian games and dances.
The practicum student at SDN is finding it challenging to be fully covered in this un-airconditioned school and there is a lot of confusion and chaos most of the time. Over all the practicum student at this site is finding this experience very rewarding.
Sorry about the technical difficulities
We apologize for the brief absence of posts as we were having technical difficulty with the web site. Currently it is all fixed so we will try and give you a summary up date!
Bali was beautiful and for most people a much needed break where we could relax and explore!
While in Bali we went to a few different beaches, one in particular was a water sport beach where we went snorkeling, wake boarding, boating to turtle island and para sailing. Another activity some members of the group enjoyed were taking a guided touring of Bali which took you to the other side of Bali and allowed for the individuals on the tour to see what the traditional Balinese villages look like as well as soak in the breath taking scenery. On our last day in Bali we went to a Hindu temple, Tanahalot, which was located on a little island just off the shore. We were not able to go into the temple as the it was high tide, but the sight of it was worth seeing. It was sad to leave Bali but it was also nice to be back at Kassanda as the Family who runs the guest house are lovely and the beds more comfortable!
Bali was beautiful and for most people a much needed break where we could relax and explore!
While in Bali we went to a few different beaches, one in particular was a water sport beach where we went snorkeling, wake boarding, boating to turtle island and para sailing. Another activity some members of the group enjoyed were taking a guided touring of Bali which took you to the other side of Bali and allowed for the individuals on the tour to see what the traditional Balinese villages look like as well as soak in the breath taking scenery. On our last day in Bali we went to a Hindu temple, Tanahalot, which was located on a little island just off the shore. We were not able to go into the temple as the it was high tide, but the sight of it was worth seeing. It was sad to leave Bali but it was also nice to be back at Kassanda as the Family who runs the guest house are lovely and the beds more comfortable!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Bali Bali Bali
We have made it safely to Bali for some rest and relaxation for a few days. We had the opportunity to experience the culture in many ways this first day. We have seen some traditional Balinese dancing as well as a traditional village. We are all looking forward to seeing some more sights of Bali and to enjoy the relaxing life style. The communication is still a challenge at times however there appears to be more of a Western feel to the atmosphere here and there are more individuals speaking English. We will be posting in detail about the rest of our Bali trip and some more practicum experiences.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Practicum Placements
At our practicum placements we are completely immersed in the Indonesian culture and ways of being. This cultural immersion has required everyone to adjust as well as question their ways of being in relation to others.
We have translators at our practicum placements which we are very thankful for but we have still found communication to be a challenge. Short conversations can often take an hour to two hours as meanings can be "lost in translations".
And when all else fails we use sign language!
We have translators at our practicum placements which we are very thankful for but we have still found communication to be a challenge. Short conversations can often take an hour to two hours as meanings can be "lost in translations".
And when all else fails we use sign language!
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