As of Day 9, the trip has been nothing but full of pleasant events. The types and amount of recreational activities lined up since the third day was very educational, besides it being fun. The first activity was Malang City Tour. On the open-top bus, I realised that the Dutch influence was still very evident in Malang’s architecture. The church, bungalows and places around Idjen Boulevard showed the integration between Dutch and Indonesian culture.
The trip to Mount Bromo was the highlight, waking up in the middle of the night and riding a bumpy ride which almost made me want to throw up. The sunrise was spectacular, although half of the time, I was busy capturing the moment for other scholars. Given another chance, I would love to come back but this time, I will be busy soaking in the calming nature instead of seeing sunrise through camera lens.
The trip to Yayasan Al-Kaaf Orphanage was another highlight for me personally. I have always loved the young ones and this was not my first visit to an orphanage. For some reason, I felt very emotional, watching the 104 kids under a mediocre shelter. However, they seemed very contented with what they have. Right there and then, I reflected on my outlook in life and have since then, promised to remind myself to be contented with the simplicity.
Through this trip, I have also learnt a lot about team work and growth as a team player. No doubt, students of RP does team work almost every day but it is different working as a team outside of comfort one like in overseas. I am very thankful for my team and our ability to adapt to each other’s differences and work our strengths together just so that we can do our role as student journalists for this trip properly.
I would say that one of my team’s weakness is that we are self-less and very much dedicated to our job. We give our fullest and takes pride in our job to the point that our feelings, needs and health comes second. Our team’s work starts after SOI students completes their day, which leaves most of our team members with less sleep. But, we don’t complain because we are proud of our work. However, we hope the scholars are more active in sharing and liking the posts we make (heh).
Halfway through this trip, it is safe to say that all in all, I would never trade this trip with any other things because it is that invaluable. I am truly sad that the trip is ending soon but I hope the bond we have forged will never break.