Bonansa English Show

My very first show with my neighbor, Andini

I had heard of the Bonansa English Radio Show from one of my English-speaking neighbors in the village. The Bonansa Radio Show is an hour-long English radio show broadcasted in Kediri City. The broadcaster interviews a few guests about a certain topic, all in English. At first, I was hesitant to join because it was the radio. I’ve never done radio before back home. But after my neighbor said it would be a great experience for the broadcaster and other radio guests to meet an American, I saw it as part of my job to do it. The funny thing with me is if I assign a task to my job description, my insecurities don’t play a large part in completing the task. Fake it till you make it I guess. After that first night, I was hooked. I was a frequent guest, and it’s never been difficult to say yes to an invitation since.

I guess the difficult question is: What do I make of this experience? Other than contributing to my personal growth and entertaining the broadcaster and listeners with my funny mispronunciation of the Javanese language, I was confused as to what I could make of this. The broadcaster had the great idea of inviting my students as guests so that they could practice their budding English skills and to expose them to different situations.

The first few students I brought were my middle school students. They were very shy, but seemed to enjoy the experience. The next students I brought were my university students. While the experience seemed to increase the ego of some of them, it also brought me closer to one. I teach English speaking to first year university students at the local university. In one of my classes, one of my students, Andy, often talks out of turn, disrupting the class in the process. The first few months were difficult with him. I would talk to him and ask why he would be disrespectful to the learning experience of the other students in class. He would make some flippant remarks, so I just ignored his behavior.

One day, Andy’s classmate said Andy disrupts class because he really wants my attention. I informed the classmate that acting inappropriately during class is the worst way to get my attention. After discussing the issue with some volunteer friends, I decided to invite Andy as a guest on the Bonansa English Show. Maybe that would help release some energy that he reserves for disrupting my class.

From Left: my university student, me, the broadcaster, an English teacher, a university student, Andy

The night of the radio show was one of the most memorable times of my Peace Corps career. Andy showed up and was ready to talk. Right before the show, he shyly came up to thank me for giving him the opportunity to show off his English skills. He even admitted that he was nervous. After encouraging him for a few minutes, he had a successful hour-long show, all the while looking for my encouraging nods.

Afterward, he thanked me again and apologized for being disruptive in class. He said he felt really comfortable with me and that he wanted to be confident like me. We then discussed more appropriate ways to express confidence that didn’t negatively affect other people. It was a good night, and I hope Andy took something from our conversation.

I have about nine months left of my Peace Corps service. It’s time to tie up loose ends and to share what I’ve learned with the new volunteers. They arrived in country a few months ago, so I’ve introduced the Bonansa English Show to a couple of them. I hope it can help them become confident like it did for me and to give them an opportunity to share that confidence with others. There are other Andys out there, and I hope they can all be given the opportunity to discover healthy ways to express confidence like my Andy did.

From Left: an English teacher at Max's school, Max (a new volunteer), a guest, the broadcaster, me