Spending Quality Time with with Bu Emy, Bu Titin, Student buddy and co-exchange student Jeremy

The purposes of why we were sent here in Indonesia aren’t just all about knowing their education. The society and the country’s identity are also some of things that we have to get to know. Visiting one of the tourist spots near Lamongan is definitely a good way to start in getting to know about their culture more.

               I woke up early as we would have to travel by 9:00 AM. We have to do our preparations and eat breakfast and condition ourselves for the “Jalan-jalan” or excursion we will do today.

               Before I forgot the promise I made to my students the day before, I dropped by Basmalah store just nearby SMK NU 1 school to buy some chocolates and candies and sweets my students deserved for having done great work yesterday. I went to SMK NU 1 and handed the sweets to them, inside their classrooms. I painted smiles on their faces when they saw me entering the class bringing that bag of sweets and appreciation for them.

               I was overhearing a lot of gratitude and grateful words from them although some are said in Bahasa Indonesia. My day started so good receiving comments from students that they are happy but sad at the same time that we will no longer meet as next week we will have to fly back to the Philippines.

               Despite the idea of me not having a lot of time to be with them anymore, I still tried to enjoy the day and made the best use of my remaining time here in Indonesia. After all, I also have to know the place and enjoy this opportunity at the same time.

               A teacher from SMK NU 1 transported us to WBL using the car from their school. Accompanying us are my cooperating teacher Bu Emy, Mr. Alawi our student buddy, Bu Titin, another English teacher from SMK and of course my co-exchange student Jeremy Zulueta.

               We were heading north for quite some time now and we still didn’t run out of topics to talk about. At last, my compass tells me that we are now heading west, taking the left turn and that tells me that we are about to arrive in WBL or Wisata Bahari Lamongan.

               We walked a little distance from where our car stopped to the entrance of the big amusement place. As soon as we got our tickets, we were welcomed by a traditional music band. The music that welcomed us, I thought, is a very familiar music or it may not be but I felt that the music was very closed to my heart and it didn’t sound foreign to me at all.

               Now that set my mood for the day and we started our WBL journey by sightseeing some animals which some we have never seen before: camels, raccoons, some species of cats and the bulls. We looked at the map and went straight to the 3D movie theater.

               After which, we enjoyed our lunch and my co-exchange student and I ride the Speed Spin which was literally a mess. During the entire duration of the ride we just closed our eyes and scream our hearts out saying, “Stop the whole thing and just let us live!” Going down the swing, we find our knees and hands shaking all the same. It was one of the things that we won’t forget here in Lamongan.

               We then tried to just have relaxed tours and went sightseeing again on some planetarium and museums and smooth train ride inside what seemed like a cave of a palace.

               This day the weather was scorching hot and it led our feet nearby the shore in one of the gazebos. We rest for a while and took some photos.

               The day was a bit tiring but every bit and piece of this excursion is a memory that I will forever cherish.