However, his first visit to Indonesia was on a school trip with Geelong High School as a student in 1978. That Indonesian Language Study Tour went to Jakarta, Bandung, Jogja and Bali. Then in 1984, when he was 22 years old, he was a participant in the Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP) with extended stays in Lampung and Central Java. Then in 1989 he came back to Indonesia as a teacher in Maluku province in Tual and Ambon. It was during his time in Tual that he first experienced KGRE. He was sent a KGRE work booklet and cassette recording which he immediately used with teachers in his teacher workshop sessions. The materials were very interesting, very modern and at that time very appropriate for teachers. Alistair is in East Java until late 2006 and he loves Indonesia - and always has!