Victorian Young Leaders to Indonesia Program

The VYL Indonesia program is a six-week in-country immersion program for Year 9 students enrolled in Indonesian language in Victorian schools. It is a life-changing opportunity, where students live and attend school in Jogyakarta, Indonesia. Students experienced daily life as a student at an Indonesian school, spent time in homestay with an Indonesian host family and discovered Indonesia’s thriving culture, from the traditional to the modern. The program took place in September-October 2019, and four MFG students were lucky enough to take part in the experience, accompanied by Mr Ben Lehmann for the first half, and Mr Michael Keast for the second half.

From the 9th of September to the 20th of October myself, Zirva Zahra, Chloe Visser and Mena Allabdulah from year 9 travelled to Yogyakarta for 6 weeks. This was such an incredible experience that I will never forget. The culture of Yogyakarta and Java in general, is so interesting and very different to Australia. In the first week we explored destinations in Yogyakarta such as Prambanan and Borobudur. From the second week onwards, we attended a local school and had language lessons every morning. The language lessons were very beneficial to me as it was a chance to put my language knowledge into practice, by talking with native speakers. I have been lucky enough to meet some amazing people and make some very close friends with students from both Victoria and Jogjakarta. Back in Australia I’m already missing having rice for breakfast! Overall I am so thankful for this opportunity and will definitely be visiting Jogjakarta and Indonesia again. 

- Isabel Smith

My name is Mena and I was part of the Victorian Young Leaders to Indonesia program. It was the best experience that taught me so much. It developed my language and intercultural skills. I got to try new foods, visit amazing places and meet lots of amazing people! I’d definitely recommend this trip to anyone who gets the opportunity :)

- Mena Allabdulah

I went on a government 6-week program to Jogjakarta. It was the best experience I’ve had in my life. It helped me so much with my confidence and especially my intercultural understanding. We also got to stay in host families which was such a different experience. I’ve learnt a lot through this program and would recommend it to anybody who’s doing Indonesian!

- Zirva Zahra

Being in Jogjakarta for six weeks as a part of the Victorian Young Leaders to Indonesia program personally has changed my intercultural understanding of not only Indonesia but of the wider world. The amount of appreciation and respect that I now have for my life back in Australia has grown massively. From the perspective of someone coming from a privileged family in a first world country going into a developing country it really makes you stop and think about how we really are living in such a materialistic and money-oriented country when realistically money can’t buy happiness and the happiness that comes with getting something new or expensive eventually wears off with time. The locals in Indonesia reflect this statement and their overall happiness and how hospitable they are, no matter where their house is or how it looks, is really inspiring. For me, I was fortunate enough during my homestay to really experience a true Indonesian village culture, where everyone knows everyone, it really reminded me to be appreciative for my house and my family back home. I loved going to some of the stunning temples in Jogjakarta and hearing all the stories behind them - it made the 2 am wake up worth it. Another highlight of my trip was teaching young locals aged between 8-11 English. I enjoyed watching them achieve their goals and I also loved seeing how they live and seeing the dedication to education they have even from such a young age. For me, there is no single 'highlight' - I loved every second of it and I have so many memories. To anyone lucky enough to have the experience I would very much recommend going on the VYL Indonesia trip, I have created lifelong friends and am so thankful for this experience, it is something I will never forget.

- Chloe Visser