My Trip to Indonesia
By: Aileen Giselle Chua

When my school informed me that I was chosen to represent the Philippines in an international competition, I was so happy and, at the same time, excited. This was my first time to join a contest abroad. Since my brother Albert had already joined several international math competitions before, I had this fervent wish of also joining one someday.

My trip to Indonesia was a memorable one. Together with seven other Philippine delegates, we went to Jakarta, Indonesia. I was given a rare opportunity to represent our country in the 1st ASEAN Mathematics and Science Olympiad last October 17-23, 2003. This event provides primary school students in ASEAN countries the opportunity to meet in a friendly competition. There were a total of 62 participants from nine ASEAN countries.

On the day of the contest, I felt a little bit nervous, but I kept on praying and asking for guidance from God. The tests were composed of short answer and essay type questions on the first day and math explorations on the second day. When awarding day came, I was very delighted because I was awarded a silver medal.

I learned many things from this experience. It allowed me to come in contact with people from other nationalities and learn about their culture. It also gave me a glimpse of how different and similar we are and how we can relate with each other. And finally, it made me realize what a world of knowledge is out there for me to discover. I thank God, my school, Grace Christian High School, and last but not the least, the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild, for giving me this chance to widen my horizons.



Aileen Chua is a Grade 6 student from Grace Christian High School. She has represented the country in four international competitions