Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA) is a leading professional organization representing the national interests of its members and local government professionals around Australia. LGMA is committed to advancing excellence in local government management in Asia-Pacific region. It is an international affiliate of ICMA.

Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Local Government Planning and Budgeting (AIPLGPB) is a program funded by AusAID. It will run over two years with three Indonesian study tours visiting Australia. The delegates include government officials from provincial and central government in Indonesia, who have remarkable interest in decentralization and local governance in Indonesia.

It has been a week since I am back to the cold and windy Melbourne. The beautiful white and purple scarf Anton and His wife has given to me as a leaving gift keep reminding me of the great time during the study tour with LGMA Indonesian delegations.

As part of the program of Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Local Government Planning and Budgeting (wow the longest program name ever!), 13 delegates from provincial and central governments came to Australia for a two-week study tour, visiting three cities - Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.

The first day I met the delegation was a typical bright and sunny day in Queensland. The first group dinner was full of laughter and jokes, when our lovely translator Icha told me that it was a tradition that in Indonesia that when people met for the first time, everyone had to share with others a funny story and they would compete for the funnist story! What a great tradition! One more thing that the rest of the world need to learn from Indonesia :)

End of the journey, I am back to the office with the thoughts and memories full of colors. I will spend some time to paint all the colors for my dearest friends. I will try my best to write down all the stories: the stories when the delegates enjoyed every visit and presentation and the stories that the delegates keep asking presenters questions so we have to delay morning tea and make lunch afternoon tea. More importantly I will tell the the story when I forget my laptop; the story when Conny was so certain that it wouldn't rain and next minute we had no place to hide; the story that Herman and I spent all our coins buying chocolate in supermarket and drove the cashier crazy; the story that our translater was a great performer; and the story that we shared tears and touching moments when the visit was about to end, but we were happy because we know the friendship will last.

It was a study tour full of fun, and it all started when I met the group of people who were wearing the most colorful shirts and dresses. They waved at me even they didn't know me yet and their smiles were brighter than the Queensland sunshine.

For more information about LGMA international programs, please visit our website: http://www.lgma.org.au/