By: Nengah Merdekawati, EBPP English Teacher
All EBPP students and staff were very excited to welcome back a new group of three teachers and seven high school students on 17-18 September from Mount Barker Community College, Australia for their first visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. As in previous years, Mount Barker students collaborated with EBPP students in various passionate educational activities.
On the first day, after dividing EBPP students to 4 groups, the fun started! One group practiced English conversation through interactive games; another group learned to tie different knots on bamboo frames, with the third group painting motivational words on flat volcanic stones – like slates, and the fourth creating ‘music’ with drum sticks on upturned small plastic buckets buckets.After rotating the groups to all the activities after about 30 minutes, all went to play friendly volleyball matches on our Daya court. After the break, it was our students’ turn to teach Mount Barker students who wanted to learn Balinese dance and bamboo crafts, such as making "balancing dragonflies."
On the second day, Komang Kurniawan, EBPP Team Leader gave Mount Barker students an in-depth insight into the natural disaster challenges facing the Ban communities and explained the disasters that struck this village, ranging from the eruption of Mount Agung in 2017, earthquakes in 2018 and 2021, to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion also touched on the issue of child marriage which sometimes still occurs. After the discussion session, they returned to learn to weave bamboo baskets together guided by EBPP Pengalusan students.
We thank the students and teachers of Mount Barker Community College for this valuable and enjoyable visit, strengthening our relationship, and we hope these visits can continue in the future.
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