This week Christian College Geelong welcomed its first exchange students since 2018 when 15 students and two staff from its Indonesian sister school SMA Negeri 2 Mataram arrived on Monday.
The year 10 and 11 students from the Indonesian island of Lombok have been received enthusiastically by Christian College students, said the school’s Head of Indonesian Exchange Jessica Bijaksono.
“They’re all having a great time; it’s the first opportunity our Christian College students have had to connect with young Indonesians before,” Mrs Bijaksono said.
“They’ve been learning Indonesian in the classroom or online during COVID times, but this is their first opportunity to engage with an Indonesian and use their language skills for a practical purpose rather than an academic one, which is fantastic.
“They’re becoming aware of cultural differences, but also similarities between the two nations and between young people around the world, no matter what country they’re from, their background or what religion they follow.”
While the Indonesian students are spending most of their stay at Christian College’s senior Waurn Ponds campus, on Wednesday they visited the college’s Surf Coast campus in Torquay to meet grade five students who are just beginning their Indonesian studies.
Mrs Bijaksono said the exchange program was an integral part of the globally-connected education Christian College wished to provide its students.
“As Australians, we’re very isolated in the world,” she said.
“Our students aren’t as worldly as students from, say, Europe. Having the ability to speak a second language is not as common here.
“We’re proud that at Christian College we are successfully able to create worldly students that have an intercultural awareness and a desire to connect with others and speak a second language.”
