Participants Kismoore D. Padua (BSE Bio IV), Rachelle C. Estacio (BSE Math IV), and Zoe Zeph F. Dizo (BS Math II) cross borders to Indonesia for their one-month practice teaching under the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization’s SEA-Teacher Project.

The three SLUC students embarked on their journey last August with Padua and Estacio representing the College of Education, and Dizo from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Padua was hosted by Universitas Lambung Mangkurat (ULM) and was deployed at Sekolah Menengah Pertama Negri (SMP) 1 Banjarmasin to share his expertise to his Grade 9 learners.

Dizo and Estacio, on the other hand, were received by Universitas Muhammadiyah Parepare (UMP) and Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) 5 Parepare — providing them an international experience on teaching Mathematics in Grades 10 and 11, respectively.

Inevitably, the trio also got the chance to immerse themselves in Indonesian culture through taking part in heritage tours, donning traditional costumes, and eating local food.

The SEA-Teacher Project was initiated by SEAMEO to achieve its objective of revitalizing teacher education through offering overseas practice teaching opportunities in the ASEAN community. In addition, participants get to learn about other cultures and practice their English language communication skills in a foreign context.