The beauty of Indonesian language and literature has once again amazed the international world. One of the students of the BIPA (Indonesian Language for Foreign Speakers) Program at the Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB), Đàng Nguyễn Trúc won 3rd place in the Indonesian Language Competition organized by the Affiliation of Indonesian Language Teachers and Activists for Foreign Speakers (APPBIPA) Jogja.
In the poetry reading competition, the Vietnamese student performed stunningly with the poem Hujan Bulan Juni by Sapardi Djoko Damono. Her performance, which was full of emotion, managed to attract the jury’s attention.
In an interview, the student, who is familiarly called Melly, shared her experiences and challenges during the competition. She revealed that she had previously read many famous Vietnamese poems, but reading Indonesian poetry provided a new experience.
“Reading poetry in Indonesian feels very distinctive and is a challenge for me,” she said.
The biggest challenge for her was to understand the deep meaning of Hujan Bulan Juni and convey the emotion of the poem to the audience. To prepare, she watched many videos related to the poem and practiced intensively to perfect her emphasis and pronunciation.
Melly also highlighted the importance of support from the BIPA community during her preparation. She also mentioned her friends who always accompanied her during practice sessions.
“As an Indonesian language learner, it’s not easy. But I feel fortunate and grateful for all the help. My teachers, especially Ms. Faridah, gave me moral support and helped me understand how to express emotions in this poem,” she explains.
Through her experience, Melly conveyed an inspiring message to fellow BIPA students.
“Don’t hesitate to try. Learn from experience, enjoy the process, and remember that true success lies in how much we learn and grow. As Nelson Mandela said, ‘I never lose. I either win or learn,’” she concluded. [acl/dts/PR FCS]
