Arriving at Balikpapan and Samarinda

My first thoughts? It has the same atmosphere and vibe to the provinces in the Philippines. It has a clean and quiet airport - reminds me of the Puerto Princesa airport in Palawan.

The process of arriving at Balikpapan went smoothly. The immigration is fast and the people their are friendly, while they are super strict in security. I remember that there is a dog that goes back-and-forth to the line to sniff our belongings, and a guy asking us if we are foreigners. In other words, the dog is cute and the people their are super friendly.

When we go pass the immigration, we meet our international buddies, "Nissa and Raysa" waiting outside. Before we officially say hello to them, I saw something very familiar , "OMG, they have an Alfamart here!!" I told Enthel. Alfamart is a very common convenience store in the Philippines. You can find it practically every corner of the street, and sawing one in Indonesia felt really funny to me.

Group photo with the international buddies

We introduced ourselves to them. Nissa currently majoring in physics while Raysa took Biology. They gave us a warm welcome and help us to put our luggage at the back of the car. They told us that they are once went to Australia once to teach, just like our program today. When Enthel ask Nissa to visit the Philippines one day, she politely disagree and instead wanting to go back to Australia.

The time it takes for us to arrive in Samarinda is a three hour drive from the Balikpapan airport, and while waiting I noticed strange landscapes near the mountain. Once asked, Raysa said that those are mines from the mining company. They added that coal is the cheapest and profitable source of energy in Indonesia, and that's why there are so many coal mining facilities around the mountains.

Once we arrived at UNMUL, we went go straight to our dormitory to unpack our luggage. Raysa told me that I have 2 roommates from Timor Leste and Enthel have none (Lucky...). When I open my room I saw two double-decker bed with two closet in the middle of it and a row of table with a lot of items at the top of it. Once I placed my luggage near the back door. I went outside to meet our coordinators in the faculty of education. Once arrived, we meet Bu Ping, Pa Atin and Bu Nurul in the office. They are super nice and friendly! They told us to rest for a bit so that we are fully energized for the welcoming ceremony tomorrow!

Our first day in Indonesia is a pleasant one. It ease up my tension and felt a little comfortable. In fact, it give me hope and determination! I feel like I will not regret participating in this program.