Saturday, January 24th 2015. The students of the developing countries partnerships scholarship program (Indonesia: KNB) joined a visit to Solo, the city of culture in Central Java. During this visit, they also visited the Graduate School of Sebelas Maret University, where they met other international students, recipients of the same scholarship program.
The students shared their experiences in adapting to the new environment. “When we first arrived in Indonesia, we had challenges such as the food, culture, and many things which are different from our countries. We tried hard to adapt to the new environment. Now, here we are, feeling this is our home,” said one of the participants.
After sharing their experience, they got the chance to enrich their knowledge about Indonesian culture and heritage. The Sangiran Museum was their next destination, The museum, which is one of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, houses fossils of Sangiran early men and dioramas of prehistoric animals. The second museum they visited was Danar Hadi Batik Museum.They learned the batik making process, kinds of Batik, and the patterns such as Satria Manah and Semen Rante.
When the guide said that the two kinds of batik are worn by men and women in their engagement day, most of the students who are not married were amazed. The museum also batik collections from most regions in Indonesia, so that the students could see a range of different batik motifs and the richness of Indonesian culture. (OIAP)