First Week

NEW THINGS LEARNED
This week was pretty much an adventure. I was introduced to so many new things. Through interacting with Indonesian people, I have learned so many Indonesian words. I also found out that so many Filipino words are the same in Bahasa Indonesia, such as mahal, mura, tawa, lima, dua, makan, ada, and some are almost similar, such as paha (paa), tahun (taon), minum(inom) and meja(mesa). I also learned that Indonesians do "salim" which is like "mano" in the Philippines, but they touch their left chest indicating their heart after. It means they take the greeting to heart. The students do "salim" to me all the time.The most significant thing I have learned though, is that Muslims are also people. They love to laugh, joke around, and they also make mistakes.

My Cooperating Teacher, Bu Linda, joking with students.

They are also human. I met a Muslim who has a girlfriend, even though girlfriends and boyfriends are not allowed in Islam. Like us, they sometimes break the rules.

THE GREAT BARRIER
Since I'm in another country, I have to learn their language. It's a bit easy, since there are a lot of similar words, but the language barrier still exists. People at my school who know how to speak straight English are quite rare. But everybody wants to talk with me, and they do so in Bahasa Indonesia, thinking I understand. Then when I tell them that I can no longer understand, we struggle to understand each other. My Indonesian vocabulary is still limited, given that I've been here for only a few days.

My students comparing Philippine money with Indonesian money. Through introducing things from our countries, we communicate and learn.

"WORDSY"
My cooperating teacher, Bu Linda (Bu is Indonsian for Ma'am) gave me an English-Indonesian, Indonesian-English dictionary.

Thank you, Bu Linda! By the way, when she gave me this, I found out that "dictionary" in Bahasa Indonesia is "Kamus."

 "Oh yes," I thought. Now at least I have a tool for better communication, and just like that, my week became "wordsy."  I handed the dictionary to whoever was speaking to me in Indonesian if I couldn't understand a word. They would search for the word then show me the translation. Also, if I was trying to say something to them and I didn't know a certain word in Indonesian, I'd search for it in the dictionary and show them the word. At the same time, my Indonesian vocabulary widens. In addition, I write all the new words I learn with their corresponding English meanings, even while talking to someone. They love seeing me learn their language. I am happy to say that i can now construct sentences, and finally manage a basic conversation with Indonesians. I think if I keep this up, I'll be quite good in Indonesian by the end of my stay here.