The Word on W.O.R.D.S

About three years ago a group of ETA's decided that it would be a good idea to hold an English competition for their students and thus the W.O.R.D.S competition was born. In the intervening years the meaning of the title has been lost; but, what remains is a creative writing and performing arts competition focused on spoken English and creativity in relation to a theme. Each ETA held a school competition in March to decide which student would compete in the national competition which was held this past weekend in Jakarta. This year the competition centered on the theme of "What is My Generation's Vision for Indonesia?," and while the answers to this question were sometimes similar in nature the modes of performance were diverse. All of the performances were extraordinary examples of the immense talent and dedication that many of our students possess which made the six plus hours of performances enjoyable for all of us.

Lala, an eleventh-grade student, was chosen from SMK 1 for her talent in traditional story telling. Her vision for the future of Indonesia is to preserve the rich culture of this country, and she enacted a traditional story as an example of one way to do this.  Lala is a sweet girl, small for her age and sometimes quiet; but, her confidence on stage and her abilities in acting and story telling impressed everyone. I played the role of Mom; feeling nervous while we were waiting for her turn to perform and beaming proudly while snapping pictures during her performance. Four winners were chosen from the 43 participants; Eric's student was chosen for best use of the theme, Brian's student was chosen for most creative, Mary's student was chosen for best use of English, and the final category was for best overall. When they called Lala's name we were both shocked and ever the proud Mom I immediately began crying and continued to cry through most of her acceptance and the photo shoot that followed.

Coming from an extremely poor family, I can only imagine the struggles that Lala has had to overcome in order to be where she is today. I could not have chosen a more deserving candidate, not only does she have an immense talent but she also has an immense need and the scholarship that she will receive as a result of winning the competition will lift a great burden from her family. She is resilient and determined, and the pride and happiness I feel for her can only be compared to that of a Mother and her child. Our triumphant return was greeted with celebration and I received many thanks and congratulations, but the real credit goes to Lala. So, congratulations Lala, you are truly talented and I wish you all the best.