On Saturday, 16th February, myself and three other illustrious members of Indogro Institute, woke at the crack of dawn to make the long and arduous journey to the quaint little town of Karawang in West Java to attend and officiate the Pupuk Kujang English Competition.
Upon our arrival at the Gramedia Galuh Mas building, we were greeted with warm and friendly smiles from students, teachers, and parents alike from nine different schools around the Purwakarta area. After a brief inauguration and prayer reading, the day started with a sequence dance performance by a group of kindergarten students from Pupuk Kujang who enthusiastically kicked off the days’ festivities. Then, our academic coordinator, Mr. Jerome Schreiber, was graciously introduced to rousing applause from the crowd. Mr. Jerome gave all of the contestants a pleasant greeting and instilled in them a sense of encouragement that I believe helped to make all of the students feel more comfortable and excited before each of their individual and group competitions respectively.
Mr. Alfred Carter, Mr. Jonathan Ferret, myself, and the aforementioned Mr. Jerome were then split up and sent to officiate three separate competitions.
Mr. Alfred chose to be the judge of the spelling bee, Mr. Jerome had the honor of critiquing the storytelling event, while Mr. Jonathan and I delegated as hosts of the Quiz Show tournament. Throughout the day, each competition went smoothly and effectively, and while all of the contestants worked diligently and were competitive, fun was had by all who attended. It was a joy to watch all of the students use the English language with passion and enjoyment. After a demonstration by some young but strong Tae Kwon Do athletes and a dramatic play performance by the staff at Gramedia, the winners were set to be given their awards.
Although like most competitions, awards and prizes must be given to the victors, everyone walked out of that venue as winners in my book. They should all be very proud of themselves. Through their brave and courageous efforts, I believe those who competed in the Pupuk Kujang English Competition left that building feeling more confident in using English than when they first entered.
Adam Wilson
