RALPH ROBLES
FIRST DAY ENCOUNTERS
06 AUGUST 2018
My heart jumps with joy while butterflies are swirling around my tummy. The first day is just the most nerve-wracking. I am clueless about what to expect in my assigned school. Will I have friends to talk to? Will my cooperating teacher be too firm? Will the students be uncomfortable having me around? I can conceal apprehensions with a big smile. Relax! Nothing's going to happen bad, right?
Ms. Girindra, together with Ms. Wati, fetched us at Wisma Tamu UNNES to accompany us in going to our school assignments. Krystel went Ms. Girindra and I went with Ms. Wati. My school was just a 5-minute ride from the guest house. Welcoming you inside the school is a collection of all trophies they gathered from different school competitions. I had an impression that this school is well-performing in teaching their students competently and holistically. The first thing that we did was to meet Mr. Nusantra, the school principal and Mr. Habsoro, the vice-principal. Ms. Wati
was the one who explained the purpose of the program and the length of my stay. Afterward, I introduced myself and gave them the Ateneo Four Pillars. Mr. Habsoro and Ms. Wati then brought me to the student-teachers' lounge. There I met 12 student-teachers from UNNES who are taking their Pendidikan Profesi Guru (PPG), a program for professional teachers-to-be. I was sitting in the corner of the room while they were all silenced. I did not know what to do. Should I initiate a conversation or are they naturally that quiet? I was overthinking again. They told me that if they're quiet, it does not mean anything. They just wanted to say something, but they're thinking of how to say it in English. Well, that made me feel at ease. They are one of the kindest and funniest people I know in Indonesia. We introduced each other and became good friends. To be honest, I was having trouble memorizing their names so I typed it on my phone. The ice broke, and the feeling feels lighter.
I also had a chance to visit Mr. Habsoro's 9A class. They were all excited and enthusiastic as I entered especially when I said that I'm from the Philippines. Actually, I felt like a celebrity on the red carpet surrounded by paparazzi. Just kidding! They threw tons of questions about me and asked my Instagram account. Then, they asked if can have a picture together, so here it is!
The school has three departments - English, Physical Education, and Mathematics. Uca, Riski, Sarass, and Intan were English majors. Puput, Rudhy, Nurul, and Nindi were P.E. majors. Lastly, Safrina, Sintiya, Sarah and another Nurul were the Math majors. I sat together with my co-majors. In the afternoon, I finally met my cooperating teachers, Ms. Tati and Ms. Yugi. They were approachable and radiantly smiling. Both of them were laughing because they wanted to say many things but they told me that they can't speak English. There's no problem with that. I also laughed and enjoyed talking to them. The 4 Math majors were also with me to help me converse and get my schedule.
