Orientation in the School and An Interesting Experience

             On Monday August 6^th this is our day 1 of Orientation around the Campus, and everything goes well today. At 6 am in the morning I and two of my friends wake up and prepares to go the Campus of course we are all so excited. At first we are going to campus by using LRT. Dr. Alner Bravo fetched us at the dorm and try to teach us how to use an LRT. This is my first experience of using LRT, that’s because this is my first time trying to use LRT and it was amazing I think and such a nice experience for me. Actually in Indonesia there is also LRT but it is not in my region. In my region, the railroad is still being built. By using LRT we across 4 stations to get the Campus. That is from Gilmore Station until we are stop at Recto Station. After arrived at the last station that is recto station, we continued our trip by walking until arrived the Campus. Actually, we can also taking a Jeepney to get Far Eastern University, but we prefer to walking in order that we can know the way to get there. It takes about 30 minutes from the dorm until get the Campus by using LRT. Of course it faster then we use a car even motorcycles to get there. By the way, Jeepney is the traditional public transportation in Philippine. After arrived at the campus so directly we did our Orientation in the campus.

Far Eastern University established on 1928. The president of Far Eastern University Right Now is Michael M. Alba. Far Eastern University also had a Core Values which is the stands for from its name FEU. F for Fortitude which is means moral courage and strength of character allows you Tamaraws to persevere and achieve more than is expected of you. E for Excellence which means a commitment to perform to your fullest potential while thriving in a culture of excellence. And U for Uprightness which means development of morality and integrity is expected as we learn inside and outside the classroom. We stay true to our principles and live on high moral standards despite the many challenges that lay ahead.

Well, today is also the Freshmen Orientation for the freshmen student, then we attended the Freshmen Orientation Institute of Education in Far Eastern University. So that, the campus was really crowded because of the Orientation of the Freshmen Student and also the class will start for the next week. After arrived at the campus we are attending the welcoming event for the Freshmen Student. Far Eastern University established on 1928. The president of Far Eastern University Right Now is Michael M. Alba. In Institute of Education in Far Eastern University there are eight Programs that are, Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd), Bachelor of Special Needs Education (BSNEd), Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) major in Mathematics, Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) major in Science, Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) major in English, Bachelor of Physical Education (BPE), Bachelor of Science in Exercise major in Sports Management (BSESM). For the graduate study, there are some program such as Doctor in Education which major in Educational Administration, Curriculum and Instruction, Literature and Language Education. There is also Master in Physical Education and Master of Arts in Education major in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Administration, Special Education, and English Language Teaching.

Next, we are going to have a lunch with the Vice President of Academic Development Far Eastern University Dr. Myrna P. Quinto Ph.D and Dean of Institute of Education Dr. Elisa S. Manalac. There, we have a lunch together with some staffs, lecturer and also the Program Head, Institute of Education Dr. Stephen Jay D. Co. We feel very honored to be able to had a lunch with them all. After having a lunch we are going to having a Campus tour. And Mr. Jeremy accompanied us to travel around the campus and see all the buildings, some of the Institute of the campus, and also the high school building. And around 4 pm Dr. Stephen accompanied us to come back to the Dorm. 

On Tuesday August 7^th this is our second day of observation, but this become the day 1 observation in the FEU Senior High School. We also going to the campus by using LRT after arrived at the last station, we continued our trip by using a jeepney, like what I say before that’s a traditional public transportation in Philippine especially in the Manila. It was really famous in here, the driver were driving too fast at the time. It was a nice experience also, because that is my first time of using that. But this become the very famous transportation in here Manila, because most of the local community using this transportation in their daily life. Such us if they wanted to go to school even to go to work.

Interesting Experience Along a Whole Month Stay in Manila

This program gives me so many new experiences that I will never forget. The first day we arrived in Manila, the Philippines we received a warm welcome from lecturers from Far Eastern University, it was a pleasure for me, that I could take part in this program and be able to meet many people and get as many experiences as possible others may not feel it in life. For the first day we arrived and were picked up by lecturers from Far Eastern University the first thing we got and the first difference we got between Indonesia and the Philippines was that in the Philippines the driver was on the left, in Indonesia the driver in Indonesia was on the right. There are so many interesting experiences that I got while in the Philippines. Very friendly people make us feels like home there.

In the first week, we conducted orientation and observation in the campus area, where the day became the first day for new students to enter the campus. We attended the new student admission program held by the Far Eastern University Faculty of Education and received a warm welcome from the dean of the Institute of Education of Far Eastern University where we also had the opportunity to have lunch with the dean and its staff. An interesting experience for me because I was able to surround the campus and see all the student activities that took place there, where there were several activities carried out by each faculty to welcome new students. Likewise when I had the opportunity to make observations in the school area.

This week, I feel very lucky where I have the opportunity to see a concert held by FEUSCO which is an organization that is carrying out this concert. This is a concert held every year and this is a welcome concert for new students known as "Tata k Tamaraw". This concert was very large and became an extraordinary concert because it was attended by all FEU students and students. This is very interesting, because all students and students are very enthusiastic about attending this concert, and it is very visible that this concert was made with great effort. The most unique thing that is part of this concert is that all students and students draw on their faces in the form of "tamaraw" or FEU emblems with golden and green yellow colors which are the great colors that mark this campus, from the morning until the concert is held by all students alternately giving pictures and colors in their faces, and indeed the concert went very lively by inviting some local artists, even though they sang in Filipino or tagalong, but we were still able to enjoy the excitement of the concert. In the middle of the concert there was rain too, but the enthusiasm of all students and students made the concert a huge concert.

The end of our trip this week was closed with the first cultural tour where we had the opportunity to visit the National Museum of Fine Art in Manila. On that day, it was the hardest day for us, where on that day when we wanted to continue the journey of bad weather, where strong winds and heavy rains flushed the city of Manila at that time, there was an alarm to alert against bad weather coming in. on our phone. In the Philippines, when there is bad weather, our phones will immediately vibrate which is an alarm or warning of the onset of bad weather that makes us more aware of the occurrence of bad weather, and makes us more careful. When we walked on foot, the umbrella we held several times was almost flown by the wind, which showed how tight and heavy the rain was at that time. 

In the second week, my friends and I practiced teaching at school. Many interesting things I found in school. For the first day of teaching practice that is Monday, we have prepared everything to do our first teaching practice, namely on Sundays where at that time the city ​​was hit by heavy rain and strong winds so that the possibility of bad weather would occur. Of course we are very nervous because this is the first time we will do teaching practice, but at night Dr. Stephen sent a short message containing that there were no teaching and learning activities taking place at school and the class was postponed so the school was off. So we practiced teaching us on Tuesday.

Education system in the Philippines and in Indonesia is different. Where the curriculum used is different curriculum is currently in effect in Indonesia that we are familiar with the name K13. While in the Philippines the current curriculum is K to 12 which includes kindergartens and 12 years of basic education where 6 years for primary education, 4 years for junior high school and 2 years for high school. Likewise in Indonesia the education system in Indonesia also includes kindergartens and 12 years of basic education but the difference is in Indonesia 6 years for primary education, 3 years for junior high school and 3 years for high school. Therefore , in FEU High School there are 11th and 12th grades. In Indonesia the high school level is divided into 2 majors or branches namely Mathematics and Science and social sciences in contrast to the Philippines at the high school level there are 4 academic majors namely STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), ABM (Accountancy, Business and Management), HUMSS (Humanities and Social Sciences) and GAS (General Academic Strands). On this occasion I did my teaching practice in the 12th STEM class, I was very lucky to be able to meet the students in the school they were very kind and friendly, so the practice of teaching could be more enjoyable . There are so many interesting experiences that I got during my teaching practice.

On the cultural tour part 2 that we conducted in the Philippines we had the opportunity to visit a lot of tourist attractions on that day due to the very favorable weather in the Philippines at that time. The first place that I had visited with friends and Sir Jeremy who accompanied us was the National Museum of Anthropology and the National Museum of Natural Science. After going around the two museums for a day, in the afternoon we had the opportunity to visit intramuros or walled city, a beautiful place because there were so many tall buildings that had many walls. After circling intramuros for about 1 km, we continued our trip to Fort Santiago .

In the third week, it is implemented the mid term at school, all the students focus to the mid term are implemented. Likewise the teachers who focus on preparing the mid term. In this 3rd week, all Muslims carry out the feast of Eid al-Adha, as well as me and my friend. In the Eid al-Adha we set out to look for the nearest mosque that we will visit to perform Eid al-Adha prayer. We traced Manila using Google Maps, until finally we arrived in Quiapo, where there were Moslem Town and Eid al-Adha holidays there. I feel this is a very valuable experience for me where I can feel holidays in a country that is a minority of Moslem. However, I am happy because I can still feel the feast of Eid al-Adha with my friends there. This week too, was the last cultural tour for us. On this occasion, we visited Manila Ocean Park where there was a very large aquarium in this place, and there were also a number of performances from the animals in the place. 

On the fourth week, this is the last week we were in Manila. We spend time preparing our final demonstration. Besides that we also have the opportunity to buy some souvenirs which of course we will bring back to Indonesia. This final demonstration was a very valuable experience for me, where I prepared a lot of things to face my final demonstration. I prepared a number of strategies in delivering material in my teaching practice. After the final demonstration on the last day we were in Manila, we attended the Closing Ceremony where at the closing ceremony there was a feeling of happiness and sadness which we certainly felt, where I was happy because I had completed this program, and I was sad to leave this city. In this closing ceremony we present our traditional dance which we have prepared for 3 weeks. This was the first time I danced in public, before I had never danced traditional dance at all, but on this occasion I tried to do traditional dances that my friend and I had prepared for a long time, namely 4 ethnic dances from the province of South Sulawesi. And so did the students at FEU who also presented to us Filipino traditional dance. I feel very proud to take part in this program, because I have so much experience.

  The most interesting experience I got during a month in Manila was that I was able to bring myself into the lives of people in the Philippines. Because every day, I and my friends use LRT as our public transportation to go to campus or return to the dormitory where we live. Where every day LRT is a public transportation that is very popular with Filipino people as evidenced by the many Filipinos who use LRT every day, especially in the morning the station becomes a very crowded place that I visit every day. The use of this LRT is because we can arrive at the destination faster than using other public transportation.