Impressive! That’s one word that represents my feelings for this joint conference in 2022 from AsiaTEFL TEFLIN and iNELTAL. I still remember when I wrote the motivation for applying for this sponsorship. My main motivation at that time was to build a network of connections with conference participants, and as long as I attended this conference, I tried to make it happen.
Honestly, when I first attended the pre-conference event, I was like someone who was confused. I could not keep up with other rhythm. I felt small. At that moment, I felt I was in the midst of great people. Not only in terms of knowledge, but in terms of personality I found new things.
My starting point was when I chatted with my senior while studying at UNS who is now a TEFLIN board, Mrs. Hilda Rakerda. From small talks with her, I was introduced to Mrs. Maria Hidayati (TEFLIN secretary and public relations in this conference) and Mrs. Khotimah Mahmudah (also my senior at UNS, as well as a fellow awardee of this sponsorship). From Mrs. Maria, I learned how to be assertive in administration. There was no tolerance for administrative infringement. From Mrs. Khotimah, I started to learn to build light communication with other participants, especially Professors from overseas.
Little by little, I ventured to build conversations with fellow awardees (Mr. Mukrim and Mr. Iwan), TEFLIN commitees, volunteers from UM, and lecturers from inside and outside of the country that I could not mention every name of. I even ventured to talk about the prospect of writing my dissertation to Prof. Shaheed regarding his topic at this conference (i.e. academic writing). He was very enthusiastic and promised to send me references when he got home.
Everyone I knew there was humble professionals that I only had met through their writings. They wanted to be approached by me who did not have the experience and abilities as great as theirs. They provided constructive support for me to progress. They did not even give me a cynical or insulting look. They shared valuable experiences for me to practice in the future.
On the occasion of this conference, I absorbed new knowledge to strengthen my preexisting knowledge and get alternative ideas from theories. From Prof. Kessler, I learned to arrange a presentation schedule according to our interests. When attending previous conferences, I only attended random meetings and did not record points from the presentations that could be used for writing topics and research gaps in the future.
I guaranteed the facilities prepared by the committee for awardees were very good. The awardees had the opportunity to stay at the Aria Gajayana Hotel. Transportation was also provided by the committee for shuttles. Then, the conference location had good facilities and infrastructure. The food provided was also very delicious. All of these things made the awardees comfortable in joining the conference from beginning to end.
Finally, with every meeting there always comes a farewell at the end. I felt deeply saddened to part with the people and activities at this conference. Before the farewell ceremony, the committee held a fantastic cultural night. There was a variety of traditional food and spectacular traditional performances.
On this occasion, the ten recipients of the British Council sponsorship were called upon to receive the award directly from Mr. Colm Downes. I still could not believe I was one of the top ten awardees. After leaving, the two people who contributed to my ability for research on campus, Prof. Dr. Joko Nurkamto (former TEFLIN President and head of the UNS English Education Master’s Degree Study Program) and Dr. Nur Arifah Drajati (member of TEFLIN board and my first supervisor) congratulated me and Ms. Khotimah. There was a look of pride on their faces towards their two former graduate students. In this occasion, I thank them. I couldn’t have gotten there without the two of them.
Thanks to British Council Indonesia for the sponsorship provided. Thanks to TEFLIN for this opportunity. Thank you to the conference committee, especially Mrs. Maria Hidayati who patiently took care of the awardees. Thank you also to all the conference participants who I cannot mention one by one. I am writing this on my way home. Hopefully this experience will be my first step on a mile-long journey. I hope I will have the opportunity to attend AsiaTEFL in South Korea, TEFLIN conference in Aceh, and iNELTAL in Malang next year and contribute to becoming a TEFLIN member in the future. Aamiin.
