First Lovely Week

A First Time Trip to Mindoro, Phillipines

Hello! I'm Kirana Bintang Bangsa. Here I’d like to tell you about my experiences as a SEA-Teacher participant! Stay tune! :) Become a participant of SEA-Teacher Program was such an amazing moment for me. In 31st of August 2018, my journey had begun. Here I did a trip with my friend, she's Ain who has also the same university that is PGRI University of Yogyakarta. We chose train for our transportation from Yogyakarta to Jakarta which is more comfortable for us. It took us about 9 hours to reach Jakarta or Pasar Senen station. Oohh it such a long time spent many hours inside the train then finally we touched down in Jakarta at 00.30 am in 1st August. When we reached the airport, we immediately sat in front of the 4th gate of 3rd terminal of Airport. While waiting the boarding gate open, we talked together, ate some snacks, and also took a picture with a statue of our president of Indonesia, and zero sleep hahaha.

It was 11.30 am at that time and it was time the plane to take off. Believe it or not that I was afraid when the plane started to take off because in fact that, it was my first time riding plane after years, only by myself hahaha. At 17.30 pm based of Phillipine’s local time zone, we finally arrived in Manila. I blessed at that time because we arrived safely. Then we decided to buy sim card to communicate with our coordinator and other friends. The sim card price was 1000 peso or almost 300.000 IDR for 800mb/ day and I get 24gb for a month (but unfortunately it was only good signal in Manila). Next, after waiting not for so long time, we met our coordinator he is Sir Jerome and we also meet our buddies they are Sir Anthony and Dave, they are so funny anyway hahaha.

Sir Jerome, Dave, and Sir Anthony are very humble and helpful persons. After fetching us from airport, we accompanied by them to have a dinner in Big Mall of Asia or people usually call it MOA in Manila which known as second largest mall in Asia and they, or maybe the campus, treated us so well hehe. The journey to reach Victoria, Oriental Mindoro has not finished yet and after eating dinner and bought some stuffs, we had to go by ship to reach the main campus of MinSCAT for the total trip from Manila was around 6 hours. Oohh it was so tired for me and for my other friends. But, we were very grateful that we arrived safely.

The following day in our MinSCAT dormitory, I was very happy because all of students there include my coordinator and my buddies welcomed us gladly. We really felt we were in our home. Best thing ever had in my life to be a part of them which will never get it from the other person who didn’t chosen to be a SEA-Teacher Program. Then, I realize that its opportunity would never happen twice in my life so I have to maximize it. I was very grateful because all we need here are provided by MinSCAT from the room, beds, kitchen, air conditioner, and all even little tools to survive even it’s far from the city.

My buddies and my coordinator are very kind. They invited us to look around the main campus of MinSCAT in Mindoro and also treated us some snacks which only exist in Phillipines, they were banana qiu and balut. The weirdest snack I ever tasted in my life (the balut) even it tastes good. Another snack that I have ever tasted is banana donut. The tastes of it also good. For your information that Mindoro has rich banana fruits so the citizens make foods which use banana as the main ingredient. The prices all snacks there were not expensive, it was around 10-30 peso (3.000-9.000 IDR)

We also provided breakfast and lunch from campus. I was so lucky because I can also explore the Phillipines foods. Do you know that most of Phillipinos are prefer to have sour taste in every food? They usually put vinegar in every food, or they also provide a small lemon or they usually call “kalamansi” but not all of foods. We surprised because it’s quite different with our tongue. Ohh how various things that we could get and learnt there. In the evening, we we accompanied by our coordinator and our buddies to buy some snacks and many ingredients to cook in Mercury Drug Shop. That shop is very famous and has a lot of branches which located in everywhere.

Day by day that we already through it happily together with other friends. We made a good communication to build warmness as a family who live in dormitories. We came from many cities of Indonesia such as Medan, Padang, Samarinda, and many other cities. We felt really grateful to be gathered in MinSCAT until we officially received by the university opposition through the opening ceremony. Each of student given an opportunity to perform the own campus information and performed an entertainment to entertain the event.

In the evening we also invited to attend the welcoming freshmen of Informatics Technical Department event. The event was really entertaining and we learnt a lot about Phillipinos characters and cultures. We also performed our Indonesia’s dance that was Maumere dance. The participants there enjoyed watching our performance and they also danced with us togeteher. We also provided dinner and soda there.

How lucky I was in surrounding them who welcome us kindly as their family. I felt I didn’t want to place anywhere except with my new family here until the announcement came and told me and my friends that we will be placed in MinSCAT Bongabong Campus. But I just kept smiling and let it goes by the flow until the proper time happen. Then, we spent our time together to avoid boringness and we are invited by Sir Jerome or our coordinator to visit MinSCAT Calapan Campus, ate lunch together in Jolibee, shopping in Robbinsons Supermarket and last night but not least to gather with them by attended Sir Jerome’s dad dinner invitation in Shakey’s restaurant. Mr. Jessie is very kind person just like his son, Sir Jerome. He always jokes with us just like Sir Jerome. In the middle when we ate dinner, surprisingly the waiters approached us and sang Happy Birthday song in Tagalog language and I was realized that they celebrating my late birthday was actually in 3rd of August. Even though it was only a day different, but I couldn’t determine how happy I was. I was very grateful to be there at that time. I really love my new family here (I said in my deepest heart).

 

The last night in MinSCAT main campus was passed. On the next day when the announcement came, finally Ain, Marini, Ricky, and I officially placed to MinSCAT Bongabong Campus. At 12.05 pm, we picked up by our new buddies they are Miss Gladys, Sir Enrique, and Sir Emmanuel. Two of them are teacher in MinSCAT Bongabong School and Miss Gladys is a staff administration in there. Before leaving our coordinator and other friends in main campus, we hug each other and saying good bye for a while. I realized that I will miss this warm atmosphere in the dormy full of memories and also our craziness together and not least is our shopping time together hahaha.

A long trip went to MinSCAT Bongabong Campus was passed happily and safely. We felt so comfort in reaching the new place because our buddies always made the atmosphere getting warm like their new family. The trip took about 2 hours and it was very far from MinSCAT main campus. A few regions passed to reach the place. On the way to that place, we talked about our experience in main campus. They also shared their experiences when they became the 5th batch of SEA-Teacher Program. When we in the middle of the trip, then the driver stopped the car in front of the Jolibee restaurant and Sir Enrique got mango pies for us. It was really proper time because we were very hungry at that time. It was such a perfect snack, it was very delicious. The trip must be continued to reach the place, and in the one of Bansud region, we are stopped by the car to took a picture in front of the biggest banana ever have hahaha.

After reaching the MinSCAT Bongabong Campus, we were accompanied our buddies to the resort where will Ricky stay there. How lucky he was because his room near with the beach. He only needs to open his door to enjoy the scenery or see it through his window. Then they accompanied us to go to our room and that room also complete with the air conditioner, television, kitchen, and many other stuffs. We were really lucky to have it and also very glad. In the afternoon we accompanied by them to go to the director of the campus, he is Sir Bryan’s house. We introduced our self, one by one in front of him. Then we spent our first night with had a dinner together with our buddies and tried Lece a new experience food that we tasted in Phillipines which is made from egg and sugar. The taste was really sweet and creamy.