The Consulate General and her staff were amazed with the students since the presentations were done in Indonesian.
On Friday 12 May, students in Year 8 visited the Indonesian Consulate General Perth and Monggo Indonesian Restaurant.
By entering the Consulate, we were legally entering Indonesian territory in Perth. The program commenced with an opening prayer in Indonesian by one of the students, Aaron Widyadi. Ibu Listiana Operananta, the Consulate General then gave a welcoming speech. She addressed that as neighbouring countries, Australia and Indonesia should maintain a good relationship and that this excursion was one of the many ways to make that happen.
Some students had the opportunity to perform by singing, dancing and poem-reading. Mia Agleham and Naomi Gong sang a famous Indonesian national song whilst Rebekah Fraser gracefully danced to the song, ‘Indonesia Tanah Pusaka’, which translates to ‘Indonesia heritage land’. Joy Teo read a poem titled ‘Indonesia negaraku tercinta’, meaning ‘Indonesia my beloved country’.
This was followed by a Indonesian traditional instrument workshop led by Bapak Antonius Prawira Yudianto. Students got the chance to play a traditional instrument named Angklung. They also watched a short movie about Indonesian Puppetry, Wayang Golek.
After enjoying some Indonesian snacks including Tahu Isi (fried tofu with veggies) and Risoll (square-shared croquette), we concluded the program with a closing speech delivered by Gabrielle Kimbal.
The Consulate General and her staff were amazed with the students since all the items were presented in Indonesian.
After our time at the Consulate, we went to an Indonesian restaurant, Monggo and had a delicious lunch. After Jamie Matthews said grace, we got to enjoy some Lumpia (spring rolls), Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Mie Goreng (fried noodles), Ayam Goreng (fried chicken), Nasi Kuning (yellow rice), Ayam Bakar (grilled chicken) and Bakwan Jagung (corn fritters).
After the enjoyable meal, students got to enjoy Es Campus (mixed jelly with shaved ice) and Dawet (iced green jelly drink with coconut milk and palm sugar). Kenneth Tanady concluded our excursion and time together with a prayer in Indonesian.
