Washington D.C., December 2, 2021 — The Republic of Indonesia Education and Culture Attaché (Atdikbud) in Washington D.C., Popy Rufaidah, revealed that the number of Indonesian language learners is increasing every semester and comes from 35 states in America. This is shown by the enthusiasm of Americans in participating in the Indonesian language proficiency show held by the Indonesian Embassy in Washington D.C.
“Indonesian language proficiency is displayed by Indonesian Language Class students organized by the Indonesian Embassy. Interestingly, this event was attended by participants from various professional backgrounds. This shows that Indonesian is in demand by Americans from all walks of life,” said Atdikbud Popy at the Opening of the Autumn 2021 Advanced Virtual Showcase with the theme Proud of Indonesian Language on Saturday (20/11). The event was hosted by two advanced students, namely Americans Megan Marie Sie from North Carolina and Tyler Royer from Columbus, Ohio.
Atdikbud Popy is also very proud and grateful for the full support from various parties since the beginning of this program starting last year. “Thank you to the Center for Language Development and Guidance, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, the teachers from both the Fulbright Alumni and the Consortium for Teaching of Indonesian (COTI), and all parties that I cannot mention one by one,” said Atdikbud poppy.
Popy explained, the time difference between teachers and students is one of the challenges of this program. “However, we will continue to consistently hold this virtual class so that it can reach all states of the United States and open up the widest possible opportunities to learn Indonesian,” said Popy.
Variety of American Indonesian Appearances, From Poetry to Chicken Porridge Cooking Demo
The performance at today’s event was opened by Jan Di Girolamo who told the story of the Legend of Sewu Temple, a temple located in Klaten Regency, Central Java Province. “This temple tells the story of Raden Bandung Bondowoso who was asked to build a thousand temples in one night to get the love of Dewi Roro Jongrang from the Tengger Kingdom,” said Jan, an art teacher in Illinois, in very fluent Indonesian.
Mexico City student Leonardo Guiterezz talks about the legend of Mexico’s origins, its country of origin, and the meaning of the country’s flag.
Scott Cheney-Peters, a government employee from Washington, D.C., performs a sock puppet show. He told the story of a man who was going to visit the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, to take part in the celebration of Indonesia’s Independence Day.
Megan Sie, a high school student, who was asked to host the event, also presented her story as an Indonesian language student. He tells the story of the fable “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”. “If someone uses his intelligence for bad things, then he will not be successful just like that,” said Megan explaining the message of this story. [Source Kemendikbud]