A GLIMPSE OF MADIUN AS A CULTURE HAVEN

What's New?

"We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring."

Catherine Pulsifer

Cultural Immersion is one of the highlighted events of the SEA Teacher Project. Aside from undertaking various academic activities, the participants are expected to be engaged in the cultures of their receiving university. In my case, the culture of Madiun, East Java, Indonesia.

CULTURAL EXCHANGE - The Batch 7 of SEA Teacher Project during the Cultural Immersion by the International Affairs Office of UNIPMA

Language is part of someone's culture. In order to understand a certain country, you must first understand their language, how people communicate their thoughts and feelings.

Before the welcoming ceremony, the buddies took us to the BIPA (Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing) Class or Bahasa Indonesia for Foreign Student to learn some basic Bahasa language. With the leadership of Ibu Lusi and her company from the English Department, they taught us the basic regards, greetings, introductions and expressions. Terima kasih, Ibu Lusi.

Thankfully, the lessons that we've got in the BIPA Classes was highly applicable in my every day tasks such as buying foods, ordering Go-Jek, communicating to some Indonesians and even to the buddies in the dormitory.

"The best way to win a man's heart is through his stomach" - Anonymous

Ayo Makan! Indonesia offers a variety of food which makes you crave for more. Aside from the food that they offer in our arrival, the best food that we had is when we visited varoius food stalls around UNIPMA and Mandiun.

One of my favorite is the Nasi Goreng. Well, everyone's favorite, all-time favorite. We ordered Nasi Goreng for like every dinner or sometimes, for lunch and dinner. Nasi Goreng is a kind of fried rice with some toppings like sausages, chicken, and vegetables. Its delicious taste makes you crave for more.

YUMMY - Nasi Goreng is one of the famous dishes in Indonesia

Madiun also offers one of a kind recipe called Nasi Pecel. Its a sticky rice with some vegetables and topped with peanut sauce. The peanut sauce is quite spicy that gives additional flavor and aroma to the dish. While you are eating Nasi Pecel, expect your body to be sweaty as the spices enter your system. Nevertheless, this dish will give you enough reasons to stay in Indonesia.

SPICY - Nasi Pecel in its finest.

Traditional Dance of Reog

Traditional Dances give identity to a certain country. The intricate details of the costumes, props, and even the music that they've been using has a great implication to the plot or story being told in the dance.

Reog is one of the local culture in Indonesia combined with mythical stuff and entertainment. it was originated from Ponogoro, East Java. It consists of the biggest mask in the world, Dhadhak Merak, Warok, Jathilan, and Bujang Ganong.

UNIPMA students gave us a glipmse of how Reog is danced.

SENI REOG - Ibu Lusi as she presented the story of Reog (beside her is the part of the biggest mask use in Reog