Indonesian Independence Day
The month of August holds significant importance for Indonesians, as it marks our 78th celebration of independence. We commemorated this occasion on Thursday, August 17th, with a joyful gathering featuring food, games, and songs. The students engaged in games like 'Congklak' and savoured traditional treats such as 'Martabak' without nuts, 'Putu Ayu' (pandan / coconut cake), and layered cake. We also held competitions for eating 'Kerupuk' (crackers) and lollies. Despite the windy conditions, we were fortunate that there was no rain.
In addition to the festivities, the Year 10 Indonesian students celebrated at an Indonesian restaurant, D'Penyet. They relished dishes like sate, tofu, 'tempe', fried noodles, and special fried chicken. A special highlight was the presence of the General Consulate of Indonesia for Melbourne, Pak Kuncoro, who coincidentally dined at the same restaurant during our visit.
Sue Sumarno, Indonesian Teacher
Independence Day Reflections
“Hari Kemerdekaan Indonesia kemarin sangat baik! On August 17th, we celebrated Indonesian Independence Day, with lots of Indonesian desserts, goodies, music and games. We even had a couple of amazing singing performances, including our wonderful Ibu Sumarno, who sang “Cinta (Love)”, her high school song. It was hilarious to see students playing “Lomba Makan Kerupuk”, a game where rice crackers are tied to a piece of string and players have to eat them without using their hands. Hopefully everyone had as much fun celebrating and commemorating the 78th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence!” - Year 12 Student
“Despite the gloomy weather, the whole Mac.Rob community came together to celebrate the Indonesian Independence Day. There were so many delicious foods such as martabak and lapis legit and engaging games such as the ‘Kerupuk’ eating game! It was overall such a fun experience that exposed many people to Indonesian culture through music, food and games!” - Abigail M (Year 10)
“Indonesian Independence Day was a great event to celebrate as it showed me more about Indonesian culture, by immersing myself into its food, games and music. It was an altogether amazing experience and I hope to be part of it again in the future.” - Chiara T (Year 10)
Indonesian Restaurant Excursion Reflections
“On August 9th, the Year 10 classes got to visit an Indonesian restaurant in the city to have a taste of the wonderful cuisine. After studying the topic of restaurant/food in the previous term, we got to experience it for ourselves! Different dishes that we got to try ranged from prawn crackers, satay, noodles, tofu, chicken and cendol (sweet ice dessert). They all were really delicious, and we kept going back for more.
“During the meal, we also happened to meet Pak Kuncoro who is the Consulate General of Indonesia for Melbourne. He talked to all of us in Indonesian and expressed his happiness toward our visit. We got to take a photo with him! The excursion was extremely fun, and we all wholeheartedly appreciated the immersive experience. Thank you to Ibu Sumarno for planning this trip and accompanying us alongside Ibu Siu Lin and Mr Vi.” - Aparajita P (Year 10)
“On the day, I was super excited to go to the restaurant because I wanted to try the different Indonesian cuisine with all of my friends. When we got to the restaurant, it was a super calm place, and slowly all the food came out, filling the room with a delicious smell. We ate ayam goreng (fried chicken), mie goreng (noodles), tahu (tofu), kerupuk (prawn crackers), sate (satay). My favourite was mie goreng because I really liked the flavouring. At the end, there was an unexpected surprise. Pak Kuncoro, the Consulate General of Indonesia for Melbourne, was at the restaurant, and we got to meet him. It was a great experience and I had lots of fun with my friends.” - Yeju L (Year 10)
“The Indonesian Restaurant experience was really fun and informative. The Indonesian food was delicious and it was rewarding to taste everything that we have seen in our books. The ‘Sate’ was especially yummy! It was also really interesting to meet the Consul General of Indonesia for Melbourne, Pak Kuncoro, who allowed us to use our Indonesian skills in a real-life situation and talked to us about Indonesian Independence Day. Overall the experience was really rewarding and fun!” - Feba G (Year 10)