Since I wrote my last blog, we’ve been super lucky to have seen almost all of the interns (sad to have missed ya Bri, Callum, and Rex!) in three different locations. Starting off in early July, our lovely CIPS (Centre for Indonesian Policy Studies) interns, Anna and Claire, paid us a visit in KL. The first of many familiar faces we’d had the opportunity to see, it was an amazing time showing the girls around KL & MSRI as well as getting to hear about their experience so far in Jakarta.
It was super impressive to see how they have been picking up on the language and same goes for the other interns in their placements as well. While my Malay is nowhere near up to par in comparison, in reflecting on how well the other interns have grasped the languages spoken in their placement countries, I quickly recognized that we are in quite a different position here in our internships in KL. Although the school at MSRI is taught in English, there are students in attendance from over a dozen countries whose mother tongue ranges from Arabic to Persian (Farsi and Dari) to Somali and more. In the last few weeks especially, I’ve noticed that there are so many similarities between Arabic and Tigrinya, the language I speak with my family. One day in particular, I caught a few words in conversation between some students speaking Arabic and chimed in with a “Merhaba”, a common form of greeting. The shock and joy in their faces that I could understand a language that wasn’t English being from Canada, let alone a little bit of the one they spoke, is something I’ll never forget. It has been a special experience to discover and share with each other the intersections of our languages.
Before we had another visitor in KL, myself and the MSRI interns took a trip to visit Zack, who is working with GAATW (The Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women) in Bangkok, Thailand. Observing how Zack has picked up on utilizing Thai whether it be in navigating the vast public transportation system or ordering dinner for the group was spectacular!!! Better yet, a few days after we visited Bangkok Zack returned the favour and came out to KL in the beginning of August. The entire month was a whirlwind of CAPI visitors from Thailand coming by with Julia from KSDC (Karreni Social Development Center), Lindsay from FED (Foundation for Education and Development), and even Robyn all the way out from Victoria. With so much going on and so much to say about life here in KL, I’ve found it hard to describe it back home to family and friends. Although I’m a firm believer in the phrase that pictures can be worth a thousand words, the experience is just not something that can be fully captured through photos and phone calls. That said, being able to share a part of this journey at MSRI with our fellow interns who have come to visit us in KL has been one of the biggest treats I could have asked for.
Speaking of my journey at MSRI, in these last few weeks I’ve definitely found a sense of comfort in the chaos brought upon by exam season as the students recently wrapped up their second semester of the year. In addition to the Homework Club I’ve been running for students in need of extra support, I’ve spent a significant amount of time substituting in subjects ranging from anywhere from Mathematics to Science which was a little jarring at first as an English and History major. However, it has easily become my favourite part of working at MSRI as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the students on a more personal level.
The first day I began substituting, I was called in about an hour before class as a teacher who was sick couldn’t make it in. Asked to prepare a lesson for the Global Perspectives course that was taught separately to Grade 6, 7, 8, and 9, I improvised given the time I had by creating a Jeopardy challenge that could be used in all 4 classes. After successfully making it through the afternoon, I vividly remember the Global Perspectives teacher asking if he could see me the following day. I thought without a doubt that I was in trouble for going a little bit off script in utilizing Jeopardy for my lesson. However, to my surprise the teacher had come to ask if I could show him what this new game the students were raving about in his class was. Taking a BIG sigh of relief, I shared how I created the Jeopardy and was subsequently thanked by the teacher for showing him something new he could implement in future lessons. Although it was a quick interaction, this was definitely a highlight in being one of the first standout moments that my position here at MSRI made an impact even though it was something as small as a classroom game used for learning.
Wrapping up the time between the last blog and writing this one, 10 of us interns managed to make a group trip planned to Krabi, Thailand at the beginning of September. The opportunity to gather and reflect on the last few months together was a memory I will hold closely. It was strange that after waiting all these months to see so many familiar faces, I couldn’t help but feel bittersweet about it all. Not only would this be the last time I’d see the interns until we get back to Canada, but it sunk in that reaching this point of the internship meant that we were over halfway to completing our time here at our placements. While I’ll surely see all the interns again, I can’t say for certain whether that would be the case with the people I have grown so close to at MSRI. Although I knew this was the reality going into the internship, it was a harder pill to swallow when actually going through the motions. That said, I’ve come back from this trip more grounded and even more appreciative of the time I have left here!
Until next time,
Dinah!
