Today, Indonesia is celebrating its Teachers' Day. For the occasion, our Art teacher assigned the students to create digital art of the teachers' portraits. And to my surprise, I got this beautiful artwork from Marsya. I got sentimental.
Marsya is one of the brilliant students I've come across with. I accompanied her to an extemporaneous speech competition before, and the girl blew my mind. She was only in Grade 7, but she was well-spoken. Incredible. And to receive this gift for Teachers' Day this year just touches my heartstrings even more.
I've been teaching online since June 2020 due to the pandemic. Lately, this mode has been taking its toll on me emotionally, especially because I am one of the last few teachers teaching online in my school. The feeling of missing out is strong these days because it's Teachers' Appreciation Week, and they have daily activities, which I can only experience vicariously through our WhatsApp group chat.
I miss outings like this. God is good. When I opened my OneDrive today, the photo memories included shots from five years ago. And these were of our Teachers' Day program at a nature park in Pekanbaru. I was still teaching kindergarten then. It was the best Teachers' Day I had with this school so far, especially because it was out-of-town.
I think it would still be another year or so before schools could have activities such as this. But we can hope that it would be sooner.
Having fun with my co-teachers! 😄
I remember waking up early that day, a Saturday, because it was an almost two-hour drive to the venue. I hitched a ride with my co-teachers. I remember two of them got carsick that we had to stop a couple of times to take a breather. (I also experience carsickness when I'm in Indonesia, but that day, my gut was good to me. The White Flower oil helped, hehe.)
We were dancing to an Indonesian song here. I didn't understand the lyrics much, but the rhythm was so good. 💃
I wish I had photos beyond the venue, but it was so hot that day. By hot, I mean equatorial hotness, hehe. Yes, the city is only an hour or so from the equator although I have never been to the marker (I should go there someday--bucket list).
We had lots of games. I have never laughed so hard in parlour games till that day. The kindergarten spirit must have gotten me, and I'm really glad about it.
Near the end of the program, the principal decided to give away the remaining prizes through a riddle game. It was my lucky day! I won two of them, hehe.
Since we were already in the city, we decided to stay overnight for some relaxation and shopping. We also went to our favourite hair salon for a haircut.
Please excuse the face. I was goofing with my coteacher. 😂 But yes, that's how accommodating the hairdresser was. She'd let us eat sumptuous mie goreng from her husband's restaurant while waiting for our turn. I just had a shampoo here.
To clarify, I am returning to this school in Indonesia. I was there for more than three years before I came back to Cebu to finish my master's. After graduation, I decided that it would be best to go back.
With that being said, Selamat Hari Guru! Happy Teachers' Day! 🌸
You may read more about me and my interests here: Get to Know April: A Self-Intro Blog
For more of my Indonesian experiences, you may check out the following:
- Selamat datang di Padang! (Welcome to Padang!) | Island Hopping in Sumatra
- An Ode to a Lost Love | Bukittinggi Memoirs
- Soto Betawi: The Search for the Ultimate Indonesian Food
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