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WEEK 1

To be honest, we were actually blessed that we experienced and witnessed the anniversary of UNDIKSHA or what they call Dies Natalis. I was expecting that on our first week, we will be just oriented and introduced to the school but unexpectedly, we were given the rare opportunity to be part of one of the biggest events of the university. For this part, I will show you the highlights of our stay during the first week. 

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(Photo credit to UNDIKSHA Facebook Page)

In the morning of January 14, 2019, the UNDIKSHA held a warm welcoming program for us. It was held in the main campus of UNDIKSHA and we were with the Rector, Vice Rector and other coordinators and staff. I was actually amazed by the setup of the venue of the program. The mini garden at the center makes everything look classy. During the welcoming program, we were properly received by the Rector and were given the chance to introduce ourselves. We were actually eight that were received. Starting from the right, the two girls wearing white blouses are from Thailand having their internship at UNDIKSHA. Their names are Apple and Ben. Next to them are our friends Joey and Regine who are also Filipinos and same with the next two boys beside them, Recom and AJ. One friend of mine, AJ, was the one to represent for us to deliver a speech for the warm welcome. After the welcoming program, we were introduced to our own supervising teachers that will help us with our teaching in the laboratory school. While having conversations, we had breakfast and snacks provided by the university. We also tasted different traditional snacks of Bali. After the short but meaningful conversations with the teachers, we were told that we have to go to the laboratory school because there will be another program. For your information, their main campus is 10-min drive by car and 5-min drive by motorbike from the laboratory school.

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This was the time when we had another welcoming program in the laboratory school. The program was held in their auditorium and the moment I entered, I was amazed because all the teachers of the laboratory school were there. Right after the program, we had our lunch (right photo) with Ibu Prabawati, the coordinator who always communicates with us even when we were still in the Philippines. Fun fact: she was the one who interviewed me when I was applying for the SEA Teacher. She is a kind and very lovely person. After having lunch, we had a tour around the laboratory school. The school is so big and very nature friendly. Below are the pictures I took during the observation.

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As you can see in these pictures, their school was surrounded with trees even in the center of the buildings. During the observation, I wondered how relaxing it is to study here since nature kind of gives people a sense of relaxation. 

DIES NATALIS

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The opening program for the Dies Natalis was held in the Auditorium Undiksha. I was left with amusement when I entered the venue. It was very big and I can already hear the sound of traditional instruments. I thought that this is much different from the way we hold programs in the Philippines. In UNDIKSHA, I already saw how they value their culture. They did not use any music aside from their traditional instruments and even had their traditional dance performed in the event. I was told by one staff of UNDIKSHA that the dance performed is only for the Dies Natalis. We were lucky indeed that we were able to watch it whole and live. After the program, we took a picture with the people wearing the traditional costume, I presume. 

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One night during the first week, we were invited by our friend Bibit (on my left). It was a night where organizations of the university had different booths. Most of the students of the university were there with their friends. 

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I even had the chance to hold a baby snake in the event. Actually, there was another one that is bigger but I don't have enough courage to hold it. Some of my friends actually were able to hold it.

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This part was actually my favorite event during the first week. Why? Because we were given the chance to showcase a glimpse of Filipino culture. The UNDIKSHA had us perform traditional Filipino dance. Fortunately, one of my friends is well-familiarized with one of the traditional dances of Filipinos. He performed the Igorot dance which became the highlight of our performance. I am really grateful that we were given this opportunity because it made me feel like I am already an international performer. I  never did this in our country but I did it internationally. This night is very unforgettable because this is one great way to show how proud I am as a Filipino. Additionally, our Thai friends performed with us and they also performed their traditional dance. 

WEEK 2

It is now time for us to be immersed in the laboratory school. We met our cooperating teacher namely, Ibu Agita. She is kind and easy to communicate with. We had observations first in her class. How she teaches and how the students behave in a class. I met all the classes of Ibu Agita during the second week, starting from Class VIII-1 to Class VIII-4. The first time we met our students, our cooperating teacher had us share about our country, Philippines. Maikah and I showed the class the traditional things and national symbols of the Philippines. We also told the class some things about the our school and the city where we live in.

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Photo of Maikah and I with Ibu Agita (coordinating teacher) and other student-teachers from UNDIKSHA

Photo of Maikah and I with Ibu Agita (coordinating teacher) and other student-teachers from UNDIKSHA

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Photo of us with some of the staff of our hotel (Note: they are so kind)

Photo of us with some of the staff of our hotel (Note: they are so kind)

This is the first time we wore the traditional Balinese clothes. We were helped by one of the staff of the hotel. We bought our clothes near the hotel, maybe around 10-min drive by car. I keep on saying by car because the only transportation we could afford together is by using Grab car. Anyway, it is cheaper than in the Philippines plus the fact we will pay equivalently for the fare. So far, these are the only highlights for the second week. We now have to prepare for the lesson plans we would be using for the next week.

WEEK 3

Third week was allotted for our first independent teaching. I had two sections, Class VIII-1 and Class VIII-4. If you have read the Teaching section in my blog, you already know the description of the two classes I had. For the first week, I taught the class Stating General Truths. I used animals to help them state general truths. For example, elephant is a heavy animal and another example is, tiger being the biggest kind of cat. To describe the animals, I had them state the habitat, food and characteristics of the animals. I also based this on the book we are using so that it would be easier for them to understand. Here are the pictures during my teaching in the third week. 

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On the third Saturday of our stay as SEA Teachers, we had a short tour with some of our coordinatrors and staff from UNDIKSHA. We went to Beji Temple first and then to Menyali Village. In the Menyali village was where we had our lunch and the outdoor activities. We also learned about the yoga named Surya Namaskar. I am still learning how to do it because it is hard to do as a first timer. We had meditations where we learned the seven sources of our chakra. It was so fun that we didn't care about our skin is getting darker already. Even if it was hot, we still enjoyed everything especially the food that was served to us. For the last destination, we went to Air Sanih where we swam in a cold water that is very perfect for the hot weather. I'll just show the pictures here for I will discuss everything about the excursions we had in the Excursion section of my blog.

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WEEK 4

The saddest week. This was the last week of our stay as SEA Teachers. For this week, we had our own final teaching demonstrations and we even had our own tour during the holiday. We wouldn't like to waste our time spending it in the hotel doing nothing. For the tour we had, I will include it in the Excursion section of this blog while for the final teaching demonstration, you can refer to the Teaching section which is also in this blog. Everything about my final demonstration is in the Teaching section including the materials I used and the photos taken during the final demonstration.

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During this week, we also had our farewell program with the Rector, Vice Rectors, Ibu Agung (SEA Teacher Head Coordinator) and Ibu Rahtmi (Coordinator). We were given the chance to have a farewell speech and I was the one to represent for the group. We exchanged tokens like a figurine of Ganesha, the symbol of UNDIKSHA and a figurine of Arch of the Centuries from us which also symbolizes our university in the Philippines. They also gave us certificates that state the recognition of our practicum in UNDIKSHA Lab School.

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(Photo credit to UNDIKSHA Facebook Page)

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Ganesha Figurine

Ganesha Figurine

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Certificate of Recognition

Certificate of Recognition

For the rest of the days, we spend more time together with our friends especially our Indonesian friends because it will take for sure a long time before we get to see each other again. We exchanged gifts too. I wanted to cry but I thought I wouldn't have to cry if I will see them again some other time. I realized that this program would not only prune students to become teachers but also the program establishes good relationships with other people, regardless of the difference between cultures and beliefs.

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