Indonesian Culture Day

On Friday we had a school wide celebration of our host culture, Indonesia. All students and staff were encouraged to come dressed in traditional Indonesian clothing. One of my student's parents donated batik fabric to all the new teachers to be made into a sarong (traditional Indonesian skirt) and I bought my top, called a kabaya, at a local shop.

A group of Indonesian moms from the school helped the committee who was in charge to plan the day and worked hard to decorate our school gym.

We started the day with a whole school assembly, including many parents who chose to join us for the day. As part of the performance some local musicians came to sing and play traditional instruments.

At one point they invited people up to dance with them, which turned into an all out dance party.

Also some middle school students did a wonderful job performing traditional Indonesian dances. Many of the younger grades performed songs or dances they had learned in Indonesian class.

We ended the assembly with a contest to see who had the best Indonesian costume. We picked two winners, a guy and a girl, from elementary, two from secondary, and two teachers. Here you see all of the staff up for a group shot before they announced the winners.

Next we gathered into our teams for the rest of the day. I led the Papua team along with the art teacher. They had put us into mixed groups so we had students from Kindergarten all the way through Twelfth grade in each group. We buddied up the little ones with the big kids so no one would get left behind. It was neat all throughout the day to observe all different ages of students interacting and helping each other. I was so impressed with how the big kids took on and cared for the little ones. Next we began the fun part. As a group we rotated to nine different stations for 15 minutes each. Each station was named for a different part of Indonesia, such as Java, Bali, Siluwasi, etc. The stations were various games and activities indigenous to Indonesia. At some stations we got to try food like sate, nasi goreng, and other traditional foods. At one station a guy was chopping open coconut and we drank some of the milk straight from the coconut. Then they let us scoop out some of the meat and taste it. At another station our students watched a man make batik and a few of them even got a chance to try it.

At different station we decorated kites and then tried to fly them. At another station our students attempted to climb a greased pole (the same event we had seen grown men struggle to do at Indonesian Independence Day).

At a different station the students attempted to walk in wooden sandals, two long boards that hold four people who have to use team work and coordination to walk around in them.

It was so neat to see the high school kids working together with the first and second graders, despite some frustration.

Lastly, at another station we got to take a becak ride. A becak is a form of transportation in Indonesia with a bike in the back where someone peddles and a carriage in the front where you ride. Here I ride with one of my 9th grade students.

Before we started the rotations each student got a map of Indonesia, as we went to each station they got a sticker that represented that place to add to that specific location on their map. Here one group takes a moment to put on their stickers and sample an Indonesian noodle dish.

By the time we were done with all of this the half-day was over and it was time to go home. It was a crazy and chaotic day, but so much fun.
The committee worked so hard planning the day and did a wonderful job.

To see all the fun pictures from the day visit this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyinbandung/IndonesianCultureDay