Extended Studies Program

One of the most exciting things we learned about the Middle School here was the Extended Studies Program (ESP) that all the students attend every spring.  It's a 5-day trip with only students and faculty (and nurses, security, and staff)...no parents and no phones!  The outings are all planned to go along with classroom learning and they would each keep a field notebook to use for projects when they returned.  This was Ben's small group with his English teacher in the classroom the week before departure.

 

I'm not going to lie...as excited as I was for him to take this trip, it was really hard for me to say goodbye to my baby at 6am and know he was getting on a flight without me!  And no phone to tell me he arrived safely!! The school had a parent website and kept it updated frequently with all the flights going around Indonesia and arrivals at hotels for each of the groups.  All of 6th grade, around 175 kids, flew to Jogyakarta on two separate flights. 

 

I saw this picture on the website the first night and I was so happy to know that Ben was eating :)

 

When we visited Jogyakarta as a family earlier this year, we really wanted to visit Prambanan, a 9th century Hindu temple, but decided to let Ben explore it for the first time on his trip.

 

It looks pretty amazing and it's one of the biggest temple complexes in SE Asia.

 

 
I had to look through thousands of pictures that all the teachers shared so I was thankful that Ben chose to wear a bright green shirt on this day so I could find him!

 

 

Afterwards, the kids had the opportunity to sample some fried grasshoppers...Ben declined!

 Two groups together on the bus.  Mr. Gibson, Ben's teacher, is on the right, Ben is at the back doing the iconic Asia picture.

On another day, Ben's group went cave tubing to study the patterns of weathering in the rock and see cave formations.  I'm pretty sure this was most everyone's favorite activity.

 

  One day was spent at a local museum and farm, learning about rice farming.  The kids learned about all the work that goes into it...

...then got into the fields to help out a little.

I noticed that Ben kept his baseball cap in lieu of the traditional bamboo hat.

The kids got to watch the water buffalo at work as well.  

Afterward, they got some lessons on the drying and processing of the rice.

 

 

Another day was spent on volcanic Mt. Merapi.  First stop was the museum to learn the history and more about the geology of volcanoes.

 

It's one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes (and incidentally erupted with steam and ash a month later).

 

 

 

After the museum, they went out onto the slopes of Merapi to study some of the old lava flows and examine the different types of rocks.

 

When they weren't out learning and exploring, they were doing activities in the evening at the hotel.  One night, all the students painted traditional masks using beeswax and stain.

The final night was a big dinner and social for all the kids.

They even had a DJ and dancing.  I asked Ben if he danced but he said there was too much drama in there and he stuck to ping pong in the other room.  That's my boy.

Finally, they were back at the airport and headed home.  I was SO happy to meet this guy back at school!  His teacher said he was an awesome kid (of course!) but that Ben needed a leash because he'd get distracted and have to be called back to the group.  Yep, that's my boy.

Overall, it was a really great experience.  I was so proud of Ben for packing and managing this trip (mostly) on his own.  Part of the reason phones aren't allowed is because the kids are learning to be independent, but so are the parents.  It was a great lesson for me as well to let him go and watch him succeed on his own.  I love this school and all the opportunities it is giving our kids here.