FAMOUS FOR A DAY

by Rima Sturiyono

My sister, my friend and I, were invited to Pakenham Hills Primary School to perform an Indonesian dance. We couldn't go by ourselves, so we went with our dance teacher and also her boss. We left at about 8 o'clock and we got there by 9:50 a.m. There was a special Indonesian Day there and everyone at school had been told to wear a sarong, which some of them did. All the students in Pakenham Hills Primary School had been taught some Indonesian, they learned a lot of Indonesian culture (language, foods, clothes, etc), which they really did enjoy.

When we arrived, we looked for the teacher who had invited us. But then two very kind grade six students took us to the staff room. I remembered one of them was called Andrew Colesby, he was wearing a sarong and a funny top, that matched. He looked so cute in them. He was a very, very nice boy, so was his friend.

We went to the gymnasium to get changed, do our make up, and prepare everything. We heard the kids happy shouts from the change room.

We did two dances, the first one was called 'Bosara Dance'. Kids were clapping and whistling when we danced. They liked it! The video cameras were on for the whole time we were on stage. We could feel the camera flashes all the time. It was great! People really liked our dancing. I thought no one would like it.

Our second dance was called 'Candle Dance'. We've never imagined that they would be amazed with what we did. We were very surprised. Everyone gave us thunder of applause and I could tell they loved it!

We got changed into casual clothes because we had finished our dancing. We left the gym and everyone who saw was staring, smiling, and saying 'hello' to us. We were so amazed, no one had ever been like that to us before. I thought "Wow, this is amazing!!! They wanted to shake our hands, take photos with us and they even asked for autographs!!! Can you believe it!" Everyone did that as if we were famous people. We didn't care why they did that, we just did what they asked us to do. We were in their videos, photos and books. Three of us thought "You know what? We're famous!!!."

We went to one of the toilets to get rid of our make up and everyone followed us (except the boys, who couldn't go in the girls toilet). We were trying to take off our make up in front of a mirror, and the girls were standing behind us until we finished. They also asked loads of questions. It happened again when we went out of the toilet! How could it be greater!!!

It was time for a dancing lesson for the grade fives and sixes. It was fantastic, they learned so fast! We were also impressed with them, they spoke some Indonesian very well. I loved the way Andrew said "Excellent" in Indonesian, it was so cute! We talked a lot to the boys and some girls. They were lovely and comfortable to talk to. We were friends in no time! They asked a lot about us, we also asked some questions about them.

We've been told to go to the staff room, to relax. The teachers were trying to move the kids who followed and tried to get hold of us. Oh my God! We were mobbed by the kids!!! Isn't that great, it's been my dream to be famous (but more than this kind of famous!). But at least I know how it feels to be famous. The kids were so crazy about us. I think they hadn't seen any Indonesians before.

At last, we had our special lunch that we've been waiting for, because we hadn't eaten anything for the whole morning. One of the boys who was trying to shake my hand got pushed by one of the teachers, because she thought the boy had done something rude.

It was time to go home and the kids were still following us to our car. They still asked questions when we were in the car, knocked on our windows and gave us far kisses. Everyone said "Goodbye" in Indonesian and followed us to the school gate. Andrew and his friends climbed up the fence and gave us far kisses. I heard them shouting "I love you!!!" over and over. And we said it back.

We looked back and still saw they were waving at us. We loved them, they were wonderful kids. We hope that we can go there again to see those smiley faces. We couldn't stop thinking about them and about being famous for a day. It was absolutely great!!! We want to experience it again, who knows, maybe someday we'll be famous!


Big Book '97