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Goodbyes are real tear-jerkers. I can't believe that this month-long journey can bring me so much happiness and sadness at the same time. All the memories of my stay here came as a flashback in my mind and I honestly didn't know what to do or what to say when we were about to leave. But one thing is for sure: we built friendships that could last forever.
September 28, 2019: This day was the time of our flight to Jakarta, Indonesia. We were scheduled to go to check-in at 4 pm in Jenderel Ahmad Yani Airport and the plane will leave at 6:50 pm. But before leaving Semarang, Ms. Nani fetched us at our boarding house at Jl. Sendangguwo (near the school, SMAN 2 Semarang) around 10 pm to say farewell to our buddies.
When we finally arrived at the College of Languages at UNISSULA, we met our friends and talked with them for a while. We were almost emotional at that time but we decided to keep it as casual as it can be since we no longer want to shed any tears before we leave. During that time, I took some selfies with them and we even played cards together such as Uno and the classic deck of cards. It was really fun and I suddenly thought that I will be missing these awesome, bright and fun-loving people when I go back to the Philippines. Even now that I am writing it, I miss them already.
Around 12 noon, everyone gathered around in the middle of the room and we finally get to eat lunch. There were no lengthy speeches nor crying moments. It was simply us eating lunch together and enjoying our small talks while waiting for a few more minutes. Finally, when we were done eating Nasi Tumpeng (made by Deliana's mother), we took our last group picture together and then, we left off.
We stayed at Ms. Nani's office first to arrange a few things first. I also check my luggage and some other things before going to the airport. Then, Ms. Nani with Senja (an OIA employee) and Muham (our friend at UNISSULA) called us to get our things inside the car because we were about to travel to the airport at Jenderel Ahmad Yani International Airport.
Around 4:30 pm, Walter and I checked our bags in and we got our boarding pass. We followed every procedure inside the airport including security checks and finding the boarding gates. As soon as we boarded our planes, we only waited for an hour and we're at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport around 8 pm.
When we arrived at Jakarta, we still have 4 hours to spare. So, we went to Nasi Kapau to eat Indonesian food for the last time. I ate beef, chicken, and prawns! I didn't hold myself back at that time because I know I'm going to miss the food and nobody cooks Indonesian food in the Philippines so I dig myself in at the restaurant.
Finally, it was time. We checked in our luggage, went through security checks and passed through immigration. Then, we boarded after a few minutes. We are headed back to the Philippines and this is officially my last stay in Indonesia. I'm going to miss it a million times!
If I have to say my final words to Indonesia, I would say THANK YOU for welcoming us, treating us well, taking care of us, teaching us a lot of your culture, teaching us to be better teachers in the future and also for allowing our Philippine culture in your beloved country. Thank you Ms. Nani Hidayati, Mr. Mat Ibnu, Ms. Riana from OIA, and to our buddies and students in SMAN 2 Semarang and UNISSULA. All of you will be greatly missed! I will visit soon and that's a promise! That's all for now. Sampai Jumpa Indonesia!
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