Catharina Cahya Kristanti

S1 History Education Class of 2021

PLP at Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur (SIKL)

 

I am Catharina Cahya Kristanti, a History Education undergraduate student at Surabaya State University. Since childhood, my parents have always encouraged me to try new things, both in the field of music and sports. My parents always encouraged me to try various things. Since childhood I have a hobby of singing which shows my interest in art and self-expression, then I also have an interest and talent for new things, and exploring new things and it reflects me as someone who is open to new experiences and knowledge. In 2023 I had the opportunity to join FISH International Mobility, which gave me the chance to learn and interact with the Indonesian community in Malaysia. This program not only broadened my horizons in the academic field but also improved my interpersonal and professional skills which are very important in today's world of education.

I was hesitant to apply for the International Mobility program, but at that time I received support from all the people closest to me who convinced me that I could join and apply for the International Mobility program and finally I was accepted and could go to Malaysia. Malaysia is a country that never crossed my mind, but in 2023 I was able to set foot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to run the International Mobility program. While in Malaysia I ran the PLP (Introduction to School Field) program at SIKL (Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur) while in Malaysia I taught History subjects to students there, then the classes I held were classes IX, XI, and XII. When teaching there I was greatly helped by students who were active and cooperative when learning. When students are learning, I give interactive games to review the material that I have explained before to make the class situation more active and exciting. While there, I gained new experiences besides teaching, I also had the opportunity to participate in SIKL's annual activities (Pentas Seni and Latihan Gabungan Pramuka) where the activities involved students who were PLP at SIKL at that time. I was actively involved in the SIKL Art Performance activities, namely being a stage crew and helping SIKL students who became the Art Performance committee. All students perform with different cultures in Indonesia, from Papuan culture, Aceh culture, West Java culture, and more, it is very happy to see SIKL students preserving Indonesian culture in Malaysia. Then I also had the opportunity to experience the Scout Joint Exercise held by SIKL once a year, that year I was placed in Semenyih, Malaysia, which is a city in Malaysia and at that time I accompanied class 8A and helped make them yell and movements for campfire activities during the Scout Joint Exercise. My class 8A friends were so welcoming to me that I could be their story buddy at that time. Participating and being directly involved in all the activities carried out by SIKL was a very valuable experience for me as a PLP student at SIKL at that time the experience became a long story and I will tell it to anyone as a motivation for everyone around me. What distinguishes PLP in the country from PLP abroad is the atmosphere, the atmosphere of teaching Indonesian students abroad is even more challenging, because we will know the level of nationalism of the students there and then the difference in living in a foreign country is not easy but that is a challenge that I have to face and live with during International Mobility in Malaysia.

For tips and tricks that I apply when applying for the International Mobility program is to involve God in my plan to join the International Mobility Program and always believe that our plans are not as good as God's plans, we want to make perfect whatever our plans and plans are, if God does not want it, it will not happen, but if it all happens, believe that God is working for our lives. Then communicate and ask for blessing prayers to parents to be smooth from preparation to implementation of PLP International the most important thing is to believe in your own abilities because you want hundreds of people to strengthen yourself to apply something that is outside your comfort zone if you still underestimate yourself then hundreds of people are nothing. So you can say that believing in our own abilities that we can, is the key to starting something new. They believe that trying something new and outside our comfort zone gives a new color to our lives. If at that time I didn't believe in myself, maybe this story would never have been written by me.