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International Education Week Projects 2015
A clipping of seven projects by:
Bela Citra Aqidah
Bina Antarbudaya - KL-YES - PAX
Indonesia – U.S.A. 2015/2016
International Education Week Projects
First of all I would like to thank KL-YES and PAX for the amazing opportunity they have given to
me. Since before I departed, I've been so excited to share my culture and learn new cultures in the
United States. I began my International Education Week projects far before the date of International
Education Week itself, and I am still looking forward to do some other projects regardless the contest. I
am doing projects because I love it and I enjoy it.
My name is Bela Citra Aqidah, my home country is Indonesia and I am hosted in Boynton Beach,
Florida, U.S.A. My host school is Atlantic Community High School, Delray Beach, Florida. I am a senior
here, attending seven classes with block scheduling system.
1. Batik Day Project
My first project was a simple introduction to Batik Day on October 2nd 2015. Batik is Indonesian
traditional cloth. It comes in many forms and patterns. In Indonesia, we celebrate the day of Batik as our
national cultural heritage each October 2nd by wearing our Batik together national wide. I thought it
would be very interesting if I can introduce Batik and Batik Day to my American friends, so I decided to
make this project idea a reality.
On October 2nd I wore Batik to school and I also had a sticky note on my chest. On the sticky
note I wrote, "It is National Batik Day in my country, Indonesia! #askmewhat" I wore the sticky note to
make my friends curious and ask questions, that way I can get a chance to explain to them what Batik is
and what Batik Day is. I also bring Batik for my double placement sister from Mexico and had her
wearing it that day. My host father also participated by wearing sarung to his office that day. Sarung is
Indonesian man skirt. My host father is a middle school teacher.
My Batik Day project was a success. My first period classmates were so curious, so I explained to
them when the teacher gave me a chance to do so. My second and fourth period teachers and
classmates were also curious, so I did a short presentation about Batik in those two classes. My sixth
period classmates were asking questions too, so I did a short presentation for those two classes. So did
my friends at the bus stop and lunch break. My host father told me how he ended up introducing my
culture to his students that day and he told me he was happy to be involved in my project. My double
placement sister also told me how fun that day was, a lot of her friends asked her what is she wearing
and told her how pretty it is.
Although that was just a simple project, I felt like I re-discovered my culture that day. I also
learned how to communicate better, and how simple presentations I did using nothing but words and
Batik I was wearing as the physical item means a lot to my classmates, teachers, host father, his
students, and even my double placement sister. My audience that day learned about one of Indonesian
heritage, Batik, and how Indonesians value it. In total, that day I have shared my culture to
approximately 60 people.
2. JROTC Class Presentation
My second project was a power point presentation I did on October 20th 2015. I am an Army
Junior Reserved Office Training Center cadet, and I did my presentation in that class. I had 38 audiences
which were my classmates, my instructor from the U.S. Army, and two senior cadets from that program.
I opened that presentation by setting an Indonesian map in front of the class which I brought
from my country. I told them how many islands there are, which island I came from, and where the
capital city is. Then I began my presentation using power point slides. I told them a piece of history of
my country, and then I told them about my culture. I brought some Indonesian traditional crafts and I let
them see the things I brought closely and touch the things by themselves. I also wore my traditional
cloth that day and told them the traditional purpose of the cloth.
That day, my audiences went on a journey to Indonesia through my presentation. They have
learnt Indonesian history, Indonesian culture, and Indonesian values. That day, I fell in love with my
country all over again. I have learnt the best way to share it, and the best way to appreciate it without
hating other cultures.
3. Q&A Sessions at Don Estridge High Tech Middle School
My third project was question and answer sessions I did in Don Estridge High Tech Middle
School, the school where my host father works as a teacher. My double placement sister and I did this
project together on October 22nd 2015.
We went into Spanish class for two different periods, Language Arts class for three different
periods, and World Geography class for five different periods. For each period, each class has about 20
students. Approximately our audience that day was about 100 students in different times!
Due to the age of our audiences that day, we decided not to do a slide show presentation
because we were afraid it would be boring for them. We chose to present our country in a more
interactive way that day, question and answer session. During the session we introduced ourselves to
the audience and gave a little information about our country, and then we let our audience ask
questions. We managed to answer all of the questions well. The teachers thanked us and told us how
amazing the session went. We have provided them many information they couldn’t find in the text
books. Many of the students recorded a video of us because they were so excited to have us. They asked
many questions to us, from the interesting ones to the funny ones. We enjoyed all of the sessions we
had that day.
Our audience that day have learnt about our language, our culture, our geographical conditions,
our values, our thoughts, our views, our religions, our traditions, and even our experiences, also many
other things about our home countries. The discussions we had in each session covers so many
knowledge and topic, because we let our audiences ask things that they truly curious about. We
ourselves have learnt how to respect each other that day. Interactive sessions truly taught us how to
communicate and deliver information in a better way.
4. We The People Presentation Project
My fourth project was a presentation I did in one of the club I join at my school here. We The
People is a club consisting students who want to make differences in the society here. On October 28th
2015 we had our weekly club meeting after school, and I did a 10 minutes presentation in our club
meeting.
I began the presentation by setting a map, just like what I did in my JROTC class. Instead of
talking about my culture, I talked about an issue that was going on in my country at that moment. I told
them how it started, where it happened, and how could we help. At the end of my presentation, we
planned a project to help with the issue.
Although by the time we began our project the problem was solved and we ended up not doing
that project, we are still planning on doing other projects for another issue which my country is facing.
We are also doing many other projects to help the community here. My audience that day was about 25
people, and I was so happy I did that presentation. Through the presentation on Indonesian current
issue I did that day, I have learnt how to make difference. My friends in that club have learnt further
about Indonesia that day, and they’re so excited to learn more. We took a selfie together at the end of
that meeting. The club’s president thanked me for what I did, and he told me how much he learned
from me.
5. A Journalism Trip to Palm Beach Post
My fifth project was a visit to Palm Beach Post office on November 6th 2015. Journalism is my
passion, and luckily one of my neighbor here is a journalist. I call her Mrs. Stacey. She is so nice and we
often share our passion. I have an experience as a student journalist and children ambassador in my city
in Indonesia, and Mrs. Stacey gave me an opportunity to share it at her work place.
We went to her office in the morning. Mrs. Stacey introduced me to her colleges and I had a
chance to share a little bit about my culture and my journalism experiences to them. I was so honored to
be invited to attend a morning meeting there. I was given a chance to share my thoughts there.
After that we went to the Courthouse of Palm Beach County to attend the inauguration
ceremony of Judge Dina Keever. After the ceremony, we walked across the street to a historical
museum of Palm Beach County and had a tea time. I got a chance to share my culture at the tea time. I
talked about how children ambassador works in my country, how I became a student journalist in my
province, and some issues that was going on in my country that time. We had amazing discussions on
how teenagers like me supposed to help making differences in the community, how to solve the current
issue that was going on in my country, and how Palm Beach County would be better if it is applying the
children ambassador system that my city in Indonesia has. I talked to approximately 15 people that day,
including Judge Dina Keever herself. I felt so honored to be there and share my culture, thoughts, and
experiences to amazing people.
I learned a lot that day. I learned how to make a bigger difference by small actions, how
journalism in U.S.A. works, and how to contribute in the society here. They also have learnt simple
things from me, like how I became a student journalist, how my country was facing an issue, how
children ambassador system works in my city, and of course how my culture differs from American. That
day, I felt so honored and lucky to be able to do that project and have discussions with amazing people.
6. The Squall, The School Newspaper
My sixth project still has something to do with journalism. On November 18th 2015, my school
newspaper was published. Since I was a part of school newspaper team here, I decided to use the
opportunity I have to share my culture. I wrote an article about my country and my cultural experiences
in U.S.A. My article was placed on the center page of that edition of school newspaper, the International
Education Week edition! All of teachers, students, and staffs of my school got that newspaper right the
day it was published and they read my story, and that gives me over 2,000 audiences! My story became
a trending topic of the week. When I walk in the hallway, some students or teachers would said hi to me
and asked, “Are you the foreign exchange student who wrote that story in the newspaper?” They also
asked me a few other questions that they are curious about. I was so happy to know that they really
read what I wrote and enjoyed it.
I have learnt a new way of sharing my country through another media from this project. My
audience that day, or should I say readers, have learnt about my country and my cultural experiences in
U.S.A. through my article. In that article, I explained how Indonesia and U.S.A. are really different and
yet the same. We are the people of the world, and we should always respect each other. My readers
have learnt that differences are beautiful if we value it the right way.
7. International Education Lunch Project
My seventh project was a collaboration of me, other exchange students who also attend my
school, and the student government of my school. On November 17th and November 19th 2015 we held
an event at the school cafeteria. Because our school has over 2,000 students, we have three different
lunch times. Me, exchange students from India, Tunisia, Mexico, and Yemen, also the student
government made all three lunch times of those two days super fun!
We decorated the cafeteria. We hung posters which we painted ourselves, and each poster has
information about our countries including general information, education facts, values, language
knowledge, geographical information, and cultural information. At all three lunch times, we made a
stand in which students can come and ask questions, have their face painted, or see and touch
traditional crafts and currency from our countries. Students can have their face painted using a safe face
paint with different words in our native languages like peace, love, and happiness. They could also have
their face painted with their names in our native alphabets like hindi or Arabic. Not only answering
questions on the stand, but also we walked around the cafeteria and approach tables to share some
knowledge and cultures about our country. We wore our traditional clothes and told them about it.
Students could enjoy their lunches while listening to our short presentations. They could also ask
questions and learn more about our country while enjoying their lunches. They were so amazed by how
many islands there are in Indonesia, how many traditional languages we speak, and how did we get
here. Our event was a success and I thanked student government for helping us arrange the event.
From this project I have learnt how to work together with people from different countries.
Without the teamwork we did, this project would never be a success. Our audience that day, which was
approximately 2,000 students, learned a lot about our cultures, languages, values, facts, and how to
appreciate it. We made a lot of new friends that day and I am looking forward to do another project.
By doing all of my seven projects, I have learnt to represent my country better and to appreciate
other cultures in order to build the bridge of understanding between my country and other countries.
These experiences have given me a sense of peace, made me discovered even more about my own
country, helped me understand more about America, and given me the sense of being a citizen of the
world. I am so thankful for the chance I have got so far, and I will continue doing some other projects in
some other chances.
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