Be a Good Ambassador of Your Country
“Be a good ambassador of your country,” Mr. Andi Bastari – Acting Consul of
Indonesian Consulate in Perth said to the 11th grade students of Santa Laurensia Senior High School that joined Australia Study Trip 2009. This message was stated in the dinner invitation held in Wisma Indonesia – the official house of Indonesian Consul in Perth. It was a great opportunity for these students and teachers to attend in a dinner at the representative house of our country in foreign state.
Besides visiting Indonesian Consulate, students also visited CIC Curtin University and PIBT Edith Cowan University in Perth during this trip that was held on February 23 until March 04, 2009. After plenty of time on these campuses and gained information about Australian education system, students departed to the main destination of this trip – Margaret River, a small city on the southwest fingertip of Australia Continent. Students spent most of their time in this area. They learned to live with local families and to study at Margaret River Senior High School.
Together, with their buddies, students lived with families cultures and habits than are in Indonesia. Some of the students lived in the city – close enough to the center of daily activities. But most of them lived on farms very far away from the city. They lived on a huge farm with cows and sheep, with plenty of domestic animals and grass fields. They learnt how to live by working and how to work for a living. It gave us pictures that regularity and rhythm of life in Australia.Finally, they felt as a family member with their host. But when it was the time to say goodbye. The farewell party was in appreciation to their host families. They performed Pendet dance and Sik Sik Si Batu Manikam song in front of all families and several senior citizens. This also carried out what had Mr. Bastari said: to be an ambassador of not only our country but also of our culture and tourism. (Mr. FX Widyasmara)