Learning Express Journey to Indonesia, Malang - Sep 2015

MODULE: OVERSEAS SOCIAL INNOVATION PROGRAMME

Location: Indonesia, Malang                                  Trip Date: 6th Sep – 19th Sep 2015

Learning Express Journey – Reflective Journal

Many Singapore Polytechnic students from the various courses signed up for the Overseas Social Innovation Programme (OSIP) which involves countries like Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. We had a LeX Administration Briefing, Design Thinking Workshop and a Pre-Departure Briefing to get ourselves ready for the overseas programme. I was very interested and keen on applying my knowledge and using Design Thinking tools to help our target audience in our Plastic Bucket project. Since the SP Buddy Programme in June, where I met my Indonesian Buddy in Singapore and brought her around Singapore for site-seeing, I started to be curious in Indonesia’s Culture such as their language, their way of life and their food. 

Preparation of the Trip

I was heading to Indonesia, Malang in September for my Learning Express Journey. I heard that my group would be staying in the Hostel which was done in collaboration with the University of Muhammadiyah Malang. During the Design Thinking Workshop before the trip, it equipped us with Design Thinking Skills to help us with our project during the 14 days in Indonesia.

During the Pre-Departure Briefing, 25 students, 3 Lecturers and 1 Event Coordinator, did the morning circle together to break the ice. I volunteered with my other groupmate, Yong Chuan, to facilitate the morning circle. To start off the morning circle, we started with the Introduction and continued with the Energizer or Icebreaker Game, then Give thanks and appreciate the people who has helped us, our Hopes and Dreams for the trip, the Problems faced at the moment and lastly, end it off by summarising everything that we did for the morning circle. It was a very fun briefing and we started to get to know one another. 

14 Days Trip – Indonesia, Malang

DAY 1

On the 1st day of the learning journey, 6th September 2015, we had to gather at Changi Airport at 5.40am. My flight was at 7.50am. We took Singapore Airlines and reached the airport at Indonesia at around 9.30am. Then we were met by the Indonesian friends who greeted us at the Surabaya Airport in Indonesia. We took the bus to the University of Muhammadiyah Malang which took about 3 and a half hours to get to the Hostel. It was an amazing journey as I was fascinated on the roads and houses along the way. After that, we settled down and left our luggages in our rooms before heading to the nearby minimart to buy some snacks, tidbits and insect repellent. At about 3pm, I started to play UNO cards and we had an enjoyable time together. Next, at 4.30pm, we went down to listen to the briefing and did the evening circle together. I feel that it is really a blessing that everyone is so enthusiastic here and this keeps me motivated and energised. Finally, to end off the day, we cleaned up the room, showered and I hope that I would not get any mosquito bites. 

DAY 2

On the 2nd day of the learning journey, 7th September 2015, we had to assemble at 7am. The local buddies was introduced to us with some interesting icebreaker games. They also showed us around the campus. I found the campus very well-organised in terms of the building arrangement and the river that flows around the whole campus. Then we had a cross–cultural understanding talk and a Bahasa Indonesian Language lesson to help us in terms of communication with the people at the village. From the cross-cultural talk, I learnt that Indonesians embrace harmony in social systems and have basic cultural values such as the “Gotong Royong” or Mutual Aid. Indonesia is also the world’s 4th most populous country with 237 million people, and over 300 ethnic groups and more than 700 living languages. I also learnt some basic greetings in Bahasa Indonesia Language like “Selamat Pagi”, “Apa Kabar?” and “Anda berasal dari mana?” which means “Good Morning”, “How are you?” and “Where do you come from?” It was an enriching experience! Moreover, we went to buy the Indonesia SIM card so that we could use the data roaming instead of the WIFI in the Hostel. It cost about 62,000 rupees or $6.20 Singapore dollars for 4GB data. To end off the day, we had dinner and a meeting. We used the mah-jong paper and started to write an overview of the Plastic Basket Project so that we could present it to the UMM Students the next day and tell them about it. 

DAY 3

On the 3rd day of the learning journey, 8th September 2015, we had to assemble at 6am. We started off the day by eating breakfast and going to the UMM Campus to assemble. We played three games with the aim to bond more with the Indonesian buddies. For the first game activity, we played the game where we had to tie our legs with the strings provided and walk in one straight line as a team to the finishing line. However, we did not manage to beat the opponent team as they were faster than us. I thought that we needed to improve our communication skills and we should only have one person to lead and give the signal so that it would not be so messy and we would not misunderstand the instructions passed down. I believe that this activity was to test our teamwork and we discussed on how we could improve the communication in our group and break down the language barrier between Singapore students and UMM Students. For the second activity, we played Charades. We began to have better communication and teamwork which made this activity a successful one. We managed to successfully finish the game on the second try which gave everyone a sense of joy and achievement. For the last activity, we had to choose between the Director role and the Artist role then on the second round, we would swap roles between the buddies. This game taught us that patience and verbal communication is very important. 

Next, we had an empathy workshop on “Striking Effective Multi-Bilingual Conversations”. I learnt that we need to listen actively and concentrate on the key points especially when we are the note takers for our group during an interview. After that, we conducted interviews on UMM Students’ most recent memorable purchase. We asked questions like “Did you go shopping often?”, “What do you usually look out for when you shop?” and “What is your most memorable or favourite purchase?”  Next, we shared and discussed our Plastic Basket Project with our Indonesian Buddies. I felt that this discussion was very useful as it helped me and the Indonesian Buddies to know more about this project and how we can reduce the unemployment rate of the housewives there in the village. 

Moving on, we also shared our Flipchart which includes the Problem Statement, Project overview, Potential issues on hand and some interview questions to ask the villagers with the other two groups. It was very interesting to see how the other two groups approach their project and how they used their knowledge and creativity to come out with the ideas to help their targeted audience. I did learnt that not everyone has the same perception and mind-set. Therefore, we need to think more about how to communicate with them by asking questions that can make them feel comfortable with opening up to us. We could make assumptions such as “Do you also feel back pain like IBU SITI?” which could lead to “How do you cope with the pain?” Then the day ended at around 9.40pm after my group meeting. I am grateful and appreciative of the fact that I have awesome group mates. For example, the other girls besides me are so enthusiastic and active. They really liven the mood up and I hope that I can bond more with them in the following few days of this learning journey. They even created the Plastic Basket Cheer and taught everyone the cheer including the Indonesian buddies. Also, Yang Fan had a lot of creative ideas which really helped our project a lot as well as Sheryl who took a lot of pictures and also the rest of my group mates, bunkmates and Indonesian buddies for caring for my well-being.

DAY 4

On the 4th day of the learning journey, 9th September 2015, we had to assemble at 7am. We went to the village and talked and build rapport with the villagers, head of village, IBU SITI, her husband and son and the workers. Then we went to the homestay home and did the evening circle. Played 2 truths 1 lie with the buddies. Then we went to the mall, ate dinner together and shop around. Then we went back to the dorm. 

DAY 5

On the 5th day of the learning journey, 10th September 2015, me and my buddies had an early meeting at 7.45am to discuss about the interview questions that we were going to ask IBU SITI, her husband, son, workers, village chief, middlemen, consumers and shop-sellers. We split into three teams, Team A, B and C. For Team C, the team that I was in, we interviewed IBU SITI and 2 housewives. It was a very interesting experience and we managed to capture many data points and insights from our interviews. We also used the POEMS to observe the surroundings and the interviewee’s body language. Then we had another night meeting to collate and think of more questions to ask them and fill up the gaps that we might have missed. For example, we found many contradictions in the stories that they shared. 

To conclude, I feel that it was difficult to try and understand IBU SITI’s mind-set. Even though we used the Design Thinking skills such as writing on Post-it notes for the data points and clustering it, I feel that there might not be a very good solution to increase the productivity of the business as we cannot persuade IBU SITI on changing and trying new things as she does not like complicated things. I hope that we can figure out a solution by tomorrow as it is the last day before we go back to the UMM Hostel.

DAY 6

On the 6th day of the learning journey, 11th September 2015, I started the day at the village. We visited IBU SITI and 4 workers today while reviewing the questions we were going to ask them. We interviewed IBU SITI again and it took about one and a half hours. Next, we went to interview four housewives as well. We came back to write another set of data points and clustered it. Then we moved on to make the insights and the needs statement for IBU SITI and the housewives. Afterwards, Yang Fan and I presented on our group’s needs statement and the other groups presented theirs as well. In the end, according to the majority, we chose the needs statement which is ‘I need the un-rolling process to be easier, quieter and easy to maintain’ and ‘I need a comfortable working environment’. We also did the Persona. Boon Huat and I took initiative to start the chat on the Persona information as we were all scattered around doing our own discussions. We finished it quickly and decided that we would be waking up earlier to watch the sunrise. 

In my opinion, the Homestay is great especially the rooftop. I slept outside the room on the rooftop which was kind of exciting for me as it might be my first and last time sleeping outside without a roof over my head. It was quite cold. Even though there might not be a lot of stars spotted during the night, it is a great experience and I am enjoying the company of my Indonesian friends. This is almost the end of the Homestay in the village. Tomorrow, we will be returning to the UMM Hostel to continue our Ideation and Prototyping. 

DAY 7

On the 7th day of the learning journey, 12th September 2015, as I was sleeping outside the room on the rooftop, I was fascinated by the stars in the dark, blue sky at around 4am in the morning. My group decided that we will meet up outside the house at around 5pm to watch the sunrise. We walked about 10 to 15 minutes to the plantation to watch the sunrise. It was a captivating sight. I did not know that the sun actually rises quite fast. Then we did the Plastic Basket Cheer, took some pictures and videos and went back to the house to have breakfast. Then we played the “what is this” game to start our ideation mind going. Each team received a bottle cap and we had to use our creativity and derive ideas from it. Some examples would be to use the bottle cap as a cup, earring, button, compass and cookie mould. The objective of this activity is to let us know that “Working in a team is better than working alone” as we can think of more ideas together and we should not stay on just one idea. We could also reflect and ask questions like ‘Was there a time in the game where we could not think of an idea? Why?’ This activity also shows that ideation is not on quality but on quantity. 

Then we took a bus back to the Hostel and ate lunch. I was already beginning to miss the homestay at the village as the food and hospitality is excellent. Next, we needed to come out with the ideas to solve the needs statement. The two needs statement are ‘I need the un-rolling process to be easier, quieter and easy to maintain’ and ‘I need a comfortable working environment’. Some ideas that I came up with is to change the floorplan of the workshop, to help to reduce the jam of the un-rolling machine and to find ways to make the workshop brighter such as changing the material of the roof to a transparent glass panel to let the sunlight into the workshop or make a back rest for the worker’s chair. This would help to increase the productivity and comfort for the workers. 

I also learnt some additional Design Thinking skills which is important for the Ideation and Prototype. We need to be visual by using more pictures to express our thoughts better, to build on each other’s expertise, to go wild by thinking out of the box, to have fun by having fun while also taking the project work seriously, to keep an open mind as nobody is perfect and we should be open to opinions, to use the user centric approach by putting ourselves in other people’s shoes and to understand their situation better, to defer judgement and give constructive opinions especially during group work collaboration. Then we had to choose a solution from the needs statement with these 4 factors in consideration; user desirability, technical feasibility, business cost and sustainability of the prototype. To conclude, each team presented their solutions for the needs statement and I will be thinking more about the solution and prototype tomorrow. 

DAY 8

On the 8th day of the learning journey, 13th September 2015, after eating breakfast, I went with my Indonesian buddies to the UMM Campus to participate in the Traditional Activity. It includes playing the sack bag, a game similar to Captain’s on Deck, Marble Race, Rope and Nail Race and the “Catching” Game. In between the games, I was applying my First Aid on my friends as they had cuts and bruises from the games. Even though my group did not win, I had lots of fun. 

After the Traditional activity, my Plastic Basket group started to present their prototypes and during this Prototyping process, I learnt that we should use key criteria and quality to make sure that the decisions that we make are fair. By using the key criteria such as the Ease of Maintenance, Comfort, Ease of Operations, Affordability, Safety and Efficiency. We ranked it accordingly to our Persona and how it links back to the needs statement. Then we started on doing a small Prototype made out of recycled materials such as cardboard or plastic bottles and we also started on the workshop floorplan to reorganise the space to make it more spacious and comfortable. Then, we celebrated Ano’s birthday today and I am happy that my buddy is having a good time. 

DAY 9

On the 9th day of the learning journey, 14th September 2015, my group went back to Batu Village to introduce our prototype and ideas to IBU SITI and her husband. At that moment, I was anxious to see how they would react and hoped that they would really accept and think about our ideas on making their workshop more productive and organised. Thankfully, they were quite engaged and gave their opinions on how to make the prototype even better. They also took a liking to our floor plan design. After that, we went back to the UMM Hostel to have lunch and started to edit our prototype keeping in mind of her husband’s suggestions and improve on it. The lesson learned today was that we should always know that by adding more materials, it would cost more. We should cut down on cost, try to use the materials available here and to think about the ease of maintenance and operations.

DAY 10 & DAY 11

On the 10th and 11th day of the learning journey, 15th and 16th September 2015, we did our prototype at their workshop. I did the floorplan with the help of my fellow group mate, Sheryl who is an architecture student. Some ideas would be changing the workshop’s floorplan, reducing the jam of the un-rolling machine and brighten up the workshop by changing the material of the roof. This would help increase productivity and comfort. My other group mates and I also took turns to build our prototype in the workshop so that we could show it during our Gallery Walk on Day 12.

DAY 12

On the 12th day of the learning journey, 17th September 2015, we presented our ideas to the UMM Students, public and our client, IBU SITI and her husband. It was a very fruitful and interesting Gallery Walk. The day where we presented our ideas and prototype to the public, IBU SITI and the other 2 groups. It was a great and fulfilling experience for me when I saw IBU SITI bring back our prototype and use it in her workshop.

DAY 13
On the 13th day of the learning journey, 18th September 2015, I did not sleep much as we had to assemble at around 12 - 1 am in the morning to get ready to sit in the car for a 3 hour ride to Mount Bromo. After the 3 hour ride, we had to sit in a mountain car where the 30 minutes ride was rocky and quite uncomfortable. I felt nauseous yet excited during this short ride. After which, we walked up the Mountain for about 15 - 20 minutes and reached there at around 4.30am in the morning before we waited for one hour plus to see the sunrise. However, at around 4.30am, the stars was so bright and it looked really near from the place where I was standing. The sky looked so near. The view was magnificent. After watching the sunrise and taking as many pictures as I can, we went back to the mountain car and went to climb the 253 steps to the crater edge of Mount Bromo. But before the 253 steps, there is a long walk across the sandy path (a bit like the desert even though I never saw one before). The steep path really was quite tedious. Thanks to the cold weather, I hardly felt hot or even sweated.

By the time I reached the top of Mount Bromo and conquering the 253 steps, the scenery that I witnessed was breathtaking. I could hardly see the place that our car was parked at. I could hardly believe that I actually climbed an active volcano and saw the crater smoking out steam. It was partially exciting and partially scary. HAHA but I guess it was awesome and I climbed with 3 guys that I met along the way to the 253 steps just then. Then, we stopped by a place to have breakfast before returning to the UMM Hostel for a break. I was exhausted. Moving on, in the evening, we had another group gathering where we sat in a circle and said our last feelings to everyone in the group. People were crying but I wasn't. I guess I was just heartless, no emotions welled up. Oh well...

DAY 14
On the 14th day of the learning journey, 19th September 2015, it was the day where we needed to say farewell to our UMM Buddies and take an air plane back to Singapore. We had to gather at around 10am plus. This dream journey was awesome. Going on this module to finish it in 2 weeks is extraordinary. Nothing can be better! I love OSIP module and the experiences that I felt will forever remain in my heart.

THANK YOU, MALANG BUDDIES and SP BUDDIES!

To the memories that are coming back to me every now and then~~