Reflection of Binabud's National Orientation

DAY 1 ACTIVITY

Session: Cross Cultural Adjustment

REFLECTION In this very first session, I learnt how to prepare self to be able to adjust to a new environment. I learnt that culture is actually a pattern and a way of thinking that is possessed by a group of people. And being in a new environment means learning to adjust to a new culture. One criterion that matters the most of adjusting between cross-culture is that everyone should be happy.

Meaning I can be happy with the new culture and other people can be happy with me existing around them.

I also learnt that culture is another Ice Berg phenomenon – what we see is only a small segment of it. More than just traditional art and performance, culture is all about values and beliefs as well as customs. That way, talking about cultural adjustment leads us to an equality talk. I should not think that one could have one best culture because at the end, human will back to what makes them human. AND that thing is in each human.

In this session we share things that we want to get during the exchange year and the concern that we have for the exchange year as well. My concern was basically about my adjustment there and what I will be after the program generally. I didn’t have much concern on how things can run there like the usage of the dry toilet or the usage of dish-washer because such things are sort of uncommon in Indonesia.

Session: Managing Hopes and Concern

Session: Cross Cultural Simulation

While if we talk about the hope I realized that the best thing of thinking of hoping is by having a clear way in mind to make that hope really happen. We need to understand that managing expectation is also about accepting every possibility that might happen because thing might not always go right. It doesn’t mean we become pessimistic but instead we try to be realistic.

It was a very fun simulation. We were divided into two tribes: Na and Za. In the simulation, I need to learn a way of living and a way of how the people in Na tribe do a business. In the middle of the simulation, some of Na people went to Za to be the ambassador or Na and learn Za’s culture to be share to Na people.

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It was apparently a hard thing to do especially to adjust ourselves to a new place with a foreign culture, foreign language and foreign custom.

People usually react emotionally to different culture at first. This is what can lead them to a frustration. It will be hard, indeed. BUT it’s not impossible to do. It will take time for sure, and there might be some shocks. That is normal, though.

DAY 2 ACTIVITY

Group Discussion: Who am I?

Session: Effective Cross Cultural Communication

Session: Problem Solving and Decision Making

Session: Beliefs and Behaviour

REFLECTION This was my second group discussion because in session Managing Hopes and Concerns we actually had a discussion as well. This group discussion, the way I see it, was more like a sharing session. Everyone needs to be honest to one’s self and others. I learnt to be more open and more frank to other people. This discussion made me more confident about myself. This is like a first step for me to know my strength and weakness. I learnt more about myself. To be understood by other people, we need to understand ourselves first. At the same time, I also learnt more about my friends’ personality and any personality a person could have.

Moreover, I also realized that everyone has their own problem and that no one could judge people unless they understand.

Through this session, I learnt how to process to import a message to other people using some media to survive and live in a new environment. I learnt that to communicate effectively I have to be clear with the purpose that I intend to communicate. I need to be aware of my communication partner(s) too. I have to listen as well and hold my tongue sometimes. Plus being flexible will be helpful.

In this session, I and some of my friends faced a problem. Through a short discussion we need to provide a real solution of the problem as well as to determine the problem itself. The discussion mostly covered a decision of making decision over some choices offered.

This was where I learnt about beliefs and its relation with our behaviour. I also learn some values that need to be applied in my daily life. I saw a real example that intellectual capability plus high belief and values will produce a good behaviour competency that will give advantage to everyone.

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DAY 3 ACTIVITY

Session: Indonesia Past, Present and Future

Session: Leadership / Menjadi Duta Bangsa yang Tangguh (Becoming a Tough Ambassador)

Session: Kehidupan Beragama di Luar Negeri (Religious Life Abroad)

Session: Self Health, AIDS and Drugs

REFLECTION I discussed how Indonesia was, how Indonesia is and how Indonesia will be in the future. I learnt many things about Indonesian history and how it matters for nowadays life. I also got to know more about what world thinks about Indonesia.

At the same time we discuss into what we will bring Indonesia later.

As an ambassador all the things that I do will be used by the people there as their way to asses Indonesia generally. At the same time, I will meet many challenges that will come from the environment as well as from me myself. This session taught me that becoming a good ambassador is being a good example and a good representative of my nation as well as being a tough person that can overcome the challenges and benefits from it.

Muslim in Indonesia is quite a majority. While in US it is most likely I’ll be a minority. Religious life is very important to keep. Here I learnt more about what religion is actually. Further I also discussed what I expect could do regarding my religious life there and how I can make it happen.

To keep my body healthy is another important thing to do. Self-health session – covering body cleanness, fitness and good dietary and medication – helps me to improve my awareness of my body health. Moreover I also get another presentation session about AIDS and drugs and also their danger so I can be more aware about those things.

DAY 4 ACTIVITY

Group Discussion: Scavenger Hunt

Group Discussion: Diskusi dengan Returnee

REFLECTION This discussion was more like a fun game that I enjoyed really much. We were asked to find a person with a sentence of a characteristic as the clue. We were allowed to ask everyone BUT they respond might vary. Some asked us to dance; others spoke foreign language like Japanese or German, while others might ask us to do a fun mini game. This was actually an application of effective cross-cultural communication. Since I learnt it directly through this game, I understood the theory a lot better.

These two sessions were actually merged and

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(Discussion with the Returnee) Group Discussion: Boys Talk

Group Discussion: What do People Think About Me?

intended in order to give a clear picture about what actually will happen in my exchange year.

Since the returnee has a hand-on experience about the exchange year, they could give a real answer and solution for our question.

Through this group discussion, I learnt how to criticize other people in a positive way. At the same time, I also learnt to accept and filter other’s critics about me. AND it was not only about criticizing but also about focusing on one’s strength and uniqueness to help them and us to grow better from that.

DAY 5 ACTIVITY

REFLECTION

DAY 6 ACTIVITY

Group Discussion: What I am Feeling Now

Session: Bridging Understanding

REFLECTION This session was actually a sharing session with my friends in a group. This time I evaluated the whole orientation day and shared them how I feel about everything regarding my departure compared with my feeling before the orientation. I was glad to see that I became more prepared and my anxiety about exchange stuffs pretty much reduced. I also feel that I get better than I was.

This session was actually about the goal of the YES program which is to bridge mutual understanding between the two countries: USA and Indonesia. This is actually job that I have to do during and after my exchange year. Realizing that Indonesia has the largest Muslim population, while we know after the September 11 accident, American people understanding about Islam and Terrorism is quite destructed and messed up, as an ambassador I will need to show them that our understanding about one thing could be approached the same way by them and vice versa. I learnt that I have an obligation to bring Indonesian values there and gain as many as good positive values from American to be brought back to Indonesia.

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DAY 7 ACTIVITY

Session: Getting to Know America

Session: Introduction to LOC / Basic English

Session and Discussion: Making Stories Based on Pictures

REFLECTION The presenter of this session coming from US Embassy. This session introduced me to how American looks like, their custom, their culture and their values generally. I learnt that American teach their children about independence since they were very young which is good because it means they are independent since a very young age. They mean what they said, because American people are those frank, blunt and bold people. I learnt pretty much things about America.

This was the first LOC session and it was about basic English. I find it easy to follow because everything has been learnt at school. At first I underestimated this session as what I stated before it was easy. BUT then I realized that one thing that will make this very basic English very hard is their pronunciation. I learnt many new way of pronouncing some words that I did not learn in Indonesia. So I have got to pay attention on every session no matter how simple it is.

This session allowed us to try to imagine as creative as possible because we were given such a very weird picture and we need to create a unique story from the picture. I did not find it hard to create such story because luckily I got quite many crazy ideas in my head to try to share. I was satisfied with every story that I made as well. My group finished one picture faster than other groups so we decided to take another picture until we create about five stories from five pictures. That was entertaining and fun to share and listen to the stories.

DAY 8 ACTIVITY

Focus Group Discussion

REFLECTION In this discussion, we were given a problem or a case of one topic that we need to discuss. We need to gather as many points as possible from our opinions about the topic. I found it fun to do this but the turn for one to speak was not organized well that one person could speak very much while others only addressed some sentences. For some topics, I found the discussion was not hit the point of the discussion, like we were not on a track of the

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Continuing Stories Based on Movies

Discussion: Skit

Amazing Race

Interviewing People

discussion because we started to talk about different topic. I’was glad to see that we finally realized it and then can go back to the main topic.

This session was pretty much the same as Making Stories Based on Pictures, because we need to imagine a story that possible to happen.

What makes it different is that now we make a story based on a movie. We watched The Best Exotic Hotel movie. The movie was stopped on the 25th minutes. The problem raised from the movie was that the actors and the actresses use British accent that was hard to be understood and the beginning of the movie was a little boring that I almost fell asleep. I think everyone faced the same problem. The story of the movie was hard to understand. My group decided to just make the continuation of the story based on our understanding. It was finally finished well, though, so everything was basically good.

This was another part of English learning in this camp. Each group should make a very short drama (skit) in length of only about 3 minutes with some topics to choose. Everyone in a group should play a role. Our group choose a topic of Lunch at School and it was not take so long until we chose the role and had a short practice. I think my group has done a very good job. Our skit was not longer than how it should, the message was delivered pretty clearly and it was entertaining as well.

Amazing Race was another game made by the committee. We have some posts to attend, there we should do something or answer some questions to pass the post. I and my partner did not do it very well because we didn’t win the game though we’ve cooperated very well, I think. The other problem of this game was that there are too many groups for only 5 posts.

Things that I think I can do better were to move faster and decide everything quicker but with full consciousness.

This session, I think, was there to train us to dare to start and to open a conversation. I interviewed Kak Amri and I think he was an amazing person. I talked many things, from hobbies, family even about Indonesia. I found it fun to discuss thing with him. What I learnt was that it’s actually very important to not just listen to what other people talk about but also to understand what they talk about.

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DAY 9 ACTIVITY

Session: Journaling for Growth

REFLECTION Journaling here means to put our experience that we think special, inspiring and important to remember. It also means to keep a track of how we are doing in everyday life. This is actually just the same as reflection time that I usually had.

The purpose of journaling is to keep our best moment in memory and to watch our life.

Further this can be used as an evaluation tool for us to grow better. It looks like writing a diary.

But we can basically do whatever we want with our journal: we can draw on it, we can write as long as we want.

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