At the end of last November, Acicis welcomed 21 students participating in the ILSC Nov-Dec program in Salatiga. The students came from 12 universities in Australia, of whom 18 received support from the New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant. This program was co-hosted by Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana (UKSW) through its Language Training Centre (LTC) for three weeks.

One of the highlights of the program was the Seminar and Culture Exposure activity held outside the campus. The students visited Glawan Village, located in Semarang Regency, just 15 minutes from campus. In the village, students joined a seminar delivered by  Dr. Ir. Sri Suwartiningsih, M.Si, a lecturer from Faculty of Social and Communication Sciences UKSW about Javanese traditional ceremony.

After the seminar, students participated in a Javanese wedding simulation, where they role-played one of the sacred rituals in which the bride and groom asked for forgiveness and blessings from their parents. This ritual is called ‘sungkeman’. 

The activity is followed by a stroll through the village to see how residents live. This experience has allowed students to immerse themselves in Indonesian culture and society. 

 

Another highlight was when the students joined in an impromptu Nutbush dance battle. The dance battle happened after the students, who were divided into four groups and paired with four groups of Indonesian students, gave presentations on Australian culture. The topics ranged from education, language, food, and culture. This activity allowed students to build cross-cultural understanding between Australian and Indonesian students.

One of the participants, Zara Heiland (ANU), mentioned that the Nutbush dance battle with all the students after culture sharing presentations was delightful and hilarious. She said she made many Indonesian friends afterwards.

Three weeks went by so quickly, and just like that! On the 19th of December, the program concluded. On the last day, students attended the program closing and graduation ceremony. Students received a token of appreciation from the LTC teachers. A group of students and Indonesian buddies performed in the choir, where they sang a song titled ‘Ingatlah Hari Ini’ by Project Pop, an Indonesian musical group.

Acicis extends its congratulations to all the participants who completed the program and wishes them the best in their future endeavours.

 

Sampai jumpa lagi di Indonesia!

Learn more about the Indonesian Language Short Course (ILSC) here