From Indonesia to the Philippines: Amanda's Meaningful Journey
Who would have known that after being rejected for a scholarship for two consecutive years, she went abroad under a different circumstance? That is what happened to Amanda, an alumna of English Language Education.
Picture 1 The 8 SEA Teacher awardees from Unesa
Amanda is a former awardee of SEA Teacher 2023 that successfully went to the Philippines, specifically, Naga City in Camarines Sur province. SEA Teacher is an exchange program coordinated by the SEAMEO Secretariat that focuses on pre-service student teachers around Southeast Asia countries. The program, as stated on its webpage, aims to revitalize teacher education in Southeast Asia to fulfil the region’s commitment to achieve a quality education—a part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). So, how did Amanda feel being an awardee of such a program? Read more to know it!
First Time Hearing the Announcement
“I actually still cannot believe it,” Amanda exclaimed. “It only took 4 months from the rejection of my scholarship to be an awardee of SEA Teacher.” She could not believe it when she opened the announcement file sent by her university. The moment her name appeared, in number one too, she felt ecstatic. She was admitted to Bicol State College of Applied Science and Technology (BISCAST) together with other five students to have teaching experience in elementary and junior high school. Amanda had to conduct her teaching practicum in the BISCAST Laboratory High School—a school within the university’s area.
Their departure was expected a month after the announcement, which made Amanda go through her to-do list at the speed of light to prepare everything. From renewing her passport to preparing the letters that made her go to the university multiple times, she did all of them in a month. “Believe it or not, I already had a huge suitcase before this moment arrived; my mother brought me to a department store to choose one after I passed to the last selection phase of the scholarship.”
The Arrival in the Philippines
It took Amanda and the other awardees almost 12 hours in the air to safely land in Manila. They went through the immigration process in Indonesia and the Philippines with ease by showing their letter of acceptance together with their return ticket. “The two exhausting things to do were wait in the queue line in the immigration and walk from the baggage reclaim area to the arrival gate—it was a long queue and I brought two carry-on luggage.” They met with the representatives from BISCAST and exchanged conversations while waiting for the van to go the the nearby hotel to take a rest.
Picture 2 SEA Teacher awardees from Unesa and UPI
The next day, they went to the Rizal Park and the National Museum of Natural History that keep the history of the Philippines. They learned that the monkey-eating Eagle is a national animal of the Philippines. The Rizal Park is known as the resting place of the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. They took pictures and bought some ice cream while looking at the fountain. On top of that, they also met with other SEA Teacher awardees from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) and had some happy talks. They went to the Mall of Asia to have lunch before they were set on a road trip to Naga City for up to 12 hours.
First Two Weeks in BISCAST
 Picture 3 SEA Teacher awardees with the lecturers |
Picture 4 SEA Teacher awardees with the teachers |
Picture 4 SEA Teacher awardees with the teachers
“They welcomed us with lots of warmth and love, and it turned out we were their first exchange students.” Amanda still remembers how the mini theatre that was used for the opening program was packed with the academic community of BISCAST. She performed a self-made choreography of Rek Ayo Rek with the other awardees while wearing kebaya, both at the opening program and on ASEAN celebration day. They also had a Naga City Tour with two lecturers who brought them to the Peñafrancia Basilica, Metropolitan Cathedral Church, Plaza of the 15 Martyrs, and Plaza Rizal. During the tour, they tried kwek-kwek for the first time. It is a street food made from boiled chicken or quail eggs that were dipped in batter and deep-fried. “I love to eat them with pickles and the orange sauce—it was so tasty.”
The first two weeks were the time to have class observations and assistantship together with the cooperating teacher and student buddy. Amanda observed how her cooperating teacher executed the English classes and helped her grade the writing assessment of the students. Her student buddy, Cherry, helped her to understand the culture of the school. Every day before the first subject starts, the teachers and students have to attend the flag ceremony in front of the classes. “The ceremony is not like in Indonesia that was executed every Monday and had up to 2 hours of standing. Oh, and the unique thing that I could not find in Surabaya is every Wednesday is considered as Wash Day; the students are allowed to not wear uniform on that day as long as the clothes are not too revealing.”
Last Two Weeks in BISCAST
Picture 5 A class in the 8th grade
Picture 6 A class in the 7th grade
The last two weeks were the time to have the teaching practicum and reflection both with the mentor and cooperating teacher. Amanda taught all four classes in the school: two classes of 7th grade and another two classes of 8th grade. Her cooperating teacher provided her with the K-to-12 Curriculum that was used during her lesson implementation planning. Before she finalized the lesson plans, she had to show them to her cooperating teacher to get her input. “The curriculum is more complex than Indonesia’s, I think it is because English is already a second language in the Philippines.”
The SEA Teacher provided an evaluation form for the mentor and cooperating teacher to assess the teaching performance of the student teacher. Every day after the class, Amanda had to review the evaluation form in a sharing session both with the mentor and cooperating teacher. That way, she knew what her strengths and weaknesses were to overcome them in her next classes.
Picture 7 A picture with the museum guide
Picture 8 In front of Mayon Volcano
Picture 9 A picture with the commissioner of CHED
Where there was an opening program, there was also a closing program three days after the trip. Starting from the messages from the president, vice president and dean, Amanda and the other awardees shed tears as they conveyed them sincerely from their heart. The six SEA Teacher awardees from Unesa also shared their messages one by one; they expressed their gratitude for the love and effort that the BISCAST community expressed during their one-month stay in Naga City. They also performed the traditional dance of the Philippines together with their student buddies; the art lecturer helped them by simplifying the choreography. “I remember I cried my eyes out while hugging people—they even reminded me to drink a lot of water after that because they saw me cry a lot on that day,” said Amanda. The closing program ended after the photo sessions with the president, vice president and dean. There were certificates on the hands of each awardee.
Picture 10 The closing program
Picture 11 Amanda with the President, Vice President, and Dean
Moments You Remembered the Most & The Final Word
Amanda showed an album on her phone, the title is Mabuhay, PH! and it has more than 900 pictures. She admitted that she always cries every time she goes through the album as she thought she would never experience the memories she cherishes twice. A picture on a dining table came up and she smiled, “Once, we had lunch with some lecturers at the food laboratory. They encouraged us to lead the prayers, so we recited our Islamic prayers out loud when they clasped both of their hands to listen to them. It is such a powerful and meaningful act for me as they respected us a lot.”
Some pictures of her students in the BISCAST Laboratory High School came up and she smiled once again. “I still remember how a lot of students were excited to learn the Indonesian language from us. They even mastered how to say ‘cantik’ and tell us that word whenever they saw us. I also learned how to say that word in Tagalog; it is ‘maganda’.”
Amanda locked her phone screen, “When I wrote about them on the dedication sheet of my thesis—the thesis is about their perceptions of us, the Indonesian teachers—I cried since I still reminisce about them until this second,” Amanda laughed. “I think I am a crybaby whenever it comes to the people and things I cherish. I hope I can get the opportunity to go back to the Philippines in the future and meet with the lecturers, the student buddies, and my students in the BISCAST Laboratory High School. I hope they will always be healthy until that moment comes.”
