Indonesia Cultural Program
My Experience on the Indonesia Cultural Program 2025
On the 13th of September 2025, myself and seven other Monivae students, along with Miss Neeson and Miss Towers, set off from Melbourne to Jakarta for the Indonesia Cultural Exchange Program. From the very beginning, there was a real sense of excitement as we prepared to explore a new country, embrace a different culture, and represent Monivae College.
In Jakarta, we explored the historic Sunda Kelapa Harbour, Fatahillah Square, and the impressive National Monument. It was amazing to see how Indonesia’s rich history and modern city life come together.
We then travelled to Palembang, where we spent four nights doing a homestay with local Indonesian families and attended school at Sekolah Kusuma Bangsa. Every morning we got up at 5am to go to school. The school days were very long and tiring, but it was an amazing opportunity. School started at 7am and finished at 4pm, although we stayed behind a few extra hours due to our homestay students having extra classes. The families were all so kind and welcoming, and it was incredible to experience everyday life in Indonesia. We went to a school basketball game one night and had so much fun. During our time at school, we learned a traditional Indonesian dance and performed it in front of the whole school. This is definitely a moment we will never forget!
Our final stop was Yogyakarta, where we explored the Sultan’s Palace, tried batik painting and silver-making, and took part in a fun Indonesian cooking class. We also went on a horse and cart tour of a local village and visited Borobudur Temple - the world's largest Buddhist temple. One of the most unforgettable moments was seeing lava dripping down Mount Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes, during our jeep sunrise tour. This was truly a once in a lifetime sight!
On the 25th of September we flew from Yogyakarta back to Jakarta and had an 8 hour layover before our flight home. At 2am, we finally boarded our flight back to Melbourne and arrived home on the 26th of September, just in time for the AFL grand final. This trip was filled with amazing experiences, new friendships, and unforgettable memories. I’m so grateful to Miss Neeson and Miss Towers, Monivae College, Sekolah Kusuma Bangsa, and Educational Journeys for providing us with such an incredible opportunity. This was an experience I’ll always treasure.
Macy Riley
Year 11 Student
In late September, I, along with a group of 7 other students and 2 teachers, were lucky enough to embark on this amazing journey to Indonesia through Education Journeys. We began our journey early Saturday morning, where we flew from Melbourne to Jakarta, where we met our tour guide for our time in Jakarta. While we were in Jakarta, we were challenged with cultural and lifestyle differences. We got to experience a wide range of activities, including a tour of the national monument of Jakarta, walking through Chinatown, visiting a mosque and lastly visiting a cathedral. All of which we thoroughly enjoyed and learnt many things.
Following this, we flew from Jakarta to Palembang, where we were greeted by our host families. This was an enriching experience where we got to experience different cultures, ways of life, and cuisines. While we were staying with our host families, we spent three days at our sister school in Plaembang, where we observed both high school classes and junior school classes, we did cooking classes, visited a museum and did bonding activities with the host family. On our final day at Kusuma Bangsa, we were lucky enough to get to perform a traditional dance, which we had been practising over the course of our time in Palembang, in front of the school during our farewell journey.
After our time in Palembang, we flew to Yogyakarta, located in south-central Java, where we stayed for the remaining 6 days of our trip. Over the course of the 6 days we were in Yogyakarta, we experienced many tours of different locations such as tea tree plantations, goat farms, palaces, mosques, etc. We also did activities such as batik making classes, cooking classes and silver making workshops. On our final day in Yogyakarta, we were lucky enough to experience an exhilarating 4 by 4 sunrise jeep tour where we got to see the beautiful Mount Merapi being bathed in golden light as the sun rose.
Overall, our experience was one we are all sure to remember for the rest of our lives, and we are all extremely grateful for the experience we had.
Annabel Anderson
Year 10 Student