This post is in response to a comment of the last post. I guess I might have been focusing too much on the negative. I would not be here if the situation was as negative as some would get from the things I do write about.
I’ve returned from Jakarta/Puncak today. The first couple days were spent at a conference at Universitas Indonesia focusing on collaboration among language instructors. The consensus was that the conference was a success and I heard more than once a participant remark the same. It was a little different from usual language conferences in that a plenary address was followed by breakout sessions in which the instructors discussed the plenary. It was a time for people to sit down and talk about teaching and learning. This was a great start working toward collaboration when it doesn’t occur frequently here because most instructors need to arrive, teach, and leave due to financial considerations. They don’t have the luxury that I do.
Following the conference at UI, a Fellow colloquium was held in Puncak, a weekend getaway area for Jakartans (cold and hilly!). Over the past couple years, these have been quite intergral in refocusing the Fellows, setting goals, sharing and collaborating. That’s exactly what it did. We are all going back to our posts with new energy and a focus for the rest of our fellowships. While verbalizing what I was doing (obviously my focus is on the teacher center) I also came to the conclusion that the students are really what makes my day in the long run. They are there, ready to learn and most work hard to succeed. Observing their breakthroughs in language learning, engaging in question and answer sessions for the upper-level students, being open and accessible for resources are what this is really about. It’s not about collections of books, copyright laws, internet access, etc.
The grand opening is coming close. One and a half weeks and I’ll find out tomorrow how much has been prepared. The agenda is pretty much taken care of and I’ll be having a couple other Fellows here to put the sparkle on this endeavor. Keeping the momentum is what I’m looking to do.
Finally, on our return from Puncak we visited the presidential palace in Bogor. We were greeted by hundreds of spotted deer on the lawn. An old tradition that has been retained. We toured the palace and the tour guide gleefully showed up the places where former POTUS Bill Clinton sat when he came to Indonesia, as well as the bedrooms that were given to Condileeza Rice and the current POTUS when they visited. I do have photos and I’ll put them up in due time. Tired is the word I’m thinking of right now. My trusty man, Safir, has put some pumpkin with coconut and palm sugar concoction in the refrigerator for my comsumption. I’ll give it a try.