ANTRIAN

30 Juni 2016

Setelah sekitar dua tahun saya menempuh studi di Amerika dan kembali ke Indonesia, saya mengalami beberapa shock budaya. Salah satu diantaranya adalah tentang kedisiplinan masyarakat Indonesia dalam hal mengantri.

Ketika saya baru sampai di bandara dan mengantri untuk mengambil koper-koper saya, saya menemukan bahwa budaya antri di Indonesia masih jauh tertinggal dari tempat dimana saya belajar. Dengan sistem pengambilan koper yang harus mengantri dengan struktur alat yang melingkar, saya memperhatikan banyak sekali orang yang berusaha mendekat, menjadi yang paling cepat, terdepan, dan ingin segera mendapatkan koper mereka. Nyatanya, hal-hal tersebut justru membuat antrian tidak efisien dan memakan waktu yang sangat lama. Mengaca pada pengalaman tersebut, seharusnya para penumpang sadar diri dimana mereka hendaknya mengatur posisi mereka ketika mengantri untuk mengambil koper. Para penumpang yang memperhatikan koper-koper yang baru keluar dan terletak di atas conveyer hendaknya paham bahwa ketika mereka berada terlalu dekat dengan mesin yang berputar justru akan mempersulit penumpang lain yang telah mendapatkan koper mereka dan ingin mengambilnya. Disamping semuanya itu, budaya mengantri yang saya temui dan alami ketika pertama kali datang di Indonesia membuat pemandangan di sekitar bandara kurang rapi untuk dipandang.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN LEARNING?

Columbus, April 2016

During the process of learning at The Ohio State University, there several crucial things that I have been learning, too many to name them. However, I was thinking to share what I have been learning from one thing that my campus provides, the Writing Center.

From the writing center, I have been learning how to organize my ideas. Putting my opinion in papers is not an easy way, for me. Besides arranging my ideas, I have to deal with my instructors’ expectation in writing assignment. For instance, when my instructor asked me to write a reflection paper, I had to be able to share my ideas, what I have been learning from the books that I read, and supported my arguments with the theories from several experts. Sometimes I felt stuck even if when I had to write a simple sentence. It was because I might too tired to work on the assignment. Sometimes, I felt too overwhelmed with the ideas that I had to translate them in sentences that influenced me found difficult to start the writing. However, with the help from the writing center, I found it was easier to work on my assignment. 

The staff in the writing center helped me to find the terminology that I needed. When I did not how to express an idea in English, since English is not my first language, the staff helped me finding the terminology in English. Furthermore, I have been learning that writing is one of communications that is different from listening. Unlike listening, I have to put information as detail as I can in the writing because readers may not ask directly to me when they have questions. Too often, I miss the detail information that I need to put in my explanation. However, the writing center help me through questions that they ask to me such as what do you mean by ... Even asking simple questions, they help me thinking what I should add on the detail information needed in my writing. Overall, I have been learning many things for my writing.          

I LOVE BRUTUS

March 30, 2016

I Love Brutus

This is a story about why I love Brutus so much. Brutus is a mascot of my university. His head is circular like a marble, colored in brown. Brutus always wears a hat, a red and scarlet t-shirt, and a red pant with a small towel inserted in front.    

I love Brutus because he is alive. Students or other people who know the Ohio State University do not only see Brutus from a photo, a video, statues, but they also can meet him directly. I can meet him in several campus activities because the event organizer sometimes invites him to present in an event. Students who attend in that event can touch him, hug, kiss, shake his hand, dance, and do silly things. Brutus’ presence is a proof that he exists. 

Brutus is really friendly. In each occasion, he always greets people with his friendly gesture because he cannot produce any voice from his mouth. Moreover, he always tries to wave to other students whom he meets, signaling that he wants to make friends with them. In one occasion, I remember a child cried when she met Brutus for the first time. The Brutus came to her and tried to hug her. However, the closer Brutus was, the louder the child cried. Knowing the response from that child, Brutus seemed blamed himself for the fact that he came closer to the child. However, it did not take longer to calm down the child because her mother was there to convince them that Brutus was a friendly character. I believe that Brutus did not intend to scary the child. She might think that Brutus was scary because of his appearance was not as usual person she met.   

Between those reasons, I love Brutus because he helped me realizing the 20 to do list before graduating from OSU. I read a magazine in one of buildings in OSU explain several activities to do before students graduate from campus. One of them is taking a photo with Brutus. I had tried to have a photo with him but it always difficult to realize. He was always busy with his fans that also wanted to have a photo with him. Too often, even if I was lining to get closer to him, I went home with the empty photo because he had to leave the event on time to be in another event. Nevertheless, I never give up to have a photo with him because I want to fill the one of to do list before graduating from this university.  Last week, I met him in a special event held by OSU and Brutus was there pretty long time to cheer everyone. Without thinking too much, I grabbed my cellphone and took a photo with him. Luckily, my friend, Valen, was there to help me capturing the precious moment. Even if it was a brief meeting, Brutus had realized one of 20 things to do before I graduate this year.   

What is success?

Columbus

March 23, 2016

Some people may define success when they can achieve what they want. Others may interpret success when they have luxurious cars or many houses. Personally, I have the following definitions of what success is: 

Success is not merely measured by how much money that I have.

Success is when I can share my knowledge with others.

Success is when I can comprehend what I am learning. 

I remember what my friends said, 

“You graduate from one of the top universities in the U.S.”

“You can travel to another country.”

“You have dollars in your pocket.”

“You are the only friend who are successful.”

These responses are some of example that I received from my friends who see me as a successful person. 

I feel grateful of what they understand about me. However, deep down in my heart, I am fful because I have been working really hard to be in this level. I have been participating in some volunteering activities that teach me the importance of sharing happiness with others. With the wonderful facilities that my sponsor provides, I may not choose to volunteer in any activities because there is no formal or academic credit I obtain. I also do not earn money by involving in some volunteering activities. However, even if I am not paid, hearing and seeing smiles from other people whom I serve makes me more than happy, happier than when I obtain lots of money.  

From what my friends have said, there is another crucial thing that depend my definition of success. I would argue that I am successful because I can learn from my experiences and reflect to myself. For instance, when an instructor asked me to arrange an activity in a class to discuss certain topics, I tried to relate to my own experience. It was challenging to maintain multiple ideas from 19 classmates who were enrolling in different doctoral program. I was required to facilitate the class to create a group discussion and made sure that the voice of each individual was heard. Even though it was not easy, I would claim that I was successful because each student in the class that I enrolled was able to share their idea. This activity encourages me to pay attention on what should I do, in my future teaching, especially when I have diverse students.

In other words, by reflecting to my own teaching, I understand what are my strengths and areas of improvement are. So that I also know how to extend myself within the concept of learning.   

    Overall, defining success should be various. There should not be a fix definition because each person may have different experiences. 

“Never say it’s impossible!” Mark Hickson

Columbus,

February 17, 2016 

I attended an event held by OUAB, at Ohio State. The speaker was Mark Hickson who an imagineer for Disney. His journey in pursuing his dream motivates me to keep dreaming.

"I wanted to be an Imagineer as long as I can remember. When I was in 3rd grade I spent an entire day drawing a big map of Disneyland on my desktop. I had rendered every attraction in the minutest detail. But my teacher caught eye of my masterpiece, made me scrub it off my desk and then sent me to the principal’s office to get paddled for my obsession. Mind you, I’m not really obsessed, but it seems that I had a little “pixie dust” flowing in my veins even then. As a young adult I tried to get hired but to no avail. So I eventually gave it up. Years passed… and then one day I got a card in the mail. It was from Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) and it simply said, “We want to talk to you”. At that very moment I knew I had the job I always wanted. That was the beginning of a seven-year journey. A journey into imagination, creativity, passion, pushing the envelope, and a lot of hard work with the most talented people you could ever find in one place. I started on the Splash Mountain/Critter Country project at Disneyland. For a year and a half I absorbed everything there was to know about the production, construction, installation, and operation of a Disney attraction. After the successful opening of Splash Mountain I was chosen to become part of the Tokyo Disneyland Project Office. Over a period of four years we conceived, produced, and with our Japanese partners, installed 13 attractions including their very own Splash Mountain, Adventureland Treehouse, and Mickey’s Toontown. I was a member of the high level policies & procedures team, corporate synergy team, and new technology committee. I was also involved in contributing to some very special projects including the “Aida” and “Beauty and the Beast” Broadway Productions, Disneyland’s 35th Birthday celebration, and the development of Tokyo Disneyland’s 5, 10 & 20 year Master Plan. I concluded my Disney career working on the EPCOT development team and leading the S.S. Disney Floating Theme Park effort. I couldn’t imagine working with a greater team than at Imagineering during those years. I had the distinct honor of working daily with true legends in their respective fields. And now that I have moved on, it feels like I was part of a most special fraternity. The experience challenged me, and changed me, and lit in me a creative flame that still burns brightly today."

-“OUAB event”-

Hickson’s story reminds me how I worked hard in realizing my dream. When I was a child I had a dream to go overseas. My dream was getting sharpened when I pursued my bachelor degree. However, realizing my dream was not easy.  So many people laughed at me when they knew that I wanted to study overseas with my degree, elementary teacher program. Some people considered this program as a less prestigious program that could bring someone overseas. They thought that only specific programs can brought someone to study abroad such as law, economic, and medical.

Within the response that I received from my community, I kept my dream tightly in my mind. And now I made my dream happen.

What Hickson said in his talk also reminded me that we should not say something impossible. Instead, all things can be really possible if we want to work hard and put our heart on our dream. Moreover, we need to add our passion on it to bring ourselves to become a total person who involve in our dream.

Since I have made my dream come true. Undoubtedly, I will list my other dreams.

One of the lists is go to Finland, France, and Maldives. These countries inspires me to learn more about different cultures and relate them to the education.

Becoming a writer and an illustrator for picture books.

Keep dreaming because everything is possible as far as you have passion for your dream!