It’s a given. Studying and living in Melbourne could be one of the most, if not the most, interesting experience anyone could have. Its vibrant lifestyle, diversity, and excitement just know no boundaries. I lived in Melbourne for 4 years, which might sound like a long time. Ironically, there remains plenty of things that I should have done when I lived there, but didn’t. Now, if you are planning to study in Melbourne, or are currently studying there, here are some of the things that you might need to cross off your bucket list (If one or more is already ticked, congratulations! You are truly living it!)

1. Staying at one of the universities’ residential colleges

After four years of wandering around campus and almost two years after leaving Melbourne for good, I still could not help but wonder how my university life would have been had I stayed at one of the residential colleges. Some of my friends who had stayed at the residential colleges during their university days never failed to leave me in awe with their stories. Living at university colleges allow them to live with other students, especially local Australian students. They got to spend everyday together in a close-knit community and immerse themselves in the local Australian students’ lifestyle. Moreover, they were given a tutor of their own to monitor and evaluate their academic performance, as well as an access to their own 24 hours library.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to live in a dormitory like those portrayed in college movies, or better yet, like the wizards in the Harry Potter movies? If you are planning to study at the University of Melbourne, I recommend you to visit one of the revered residential colleges in the main campus. As a cherry on top, some of the residential colleges would often have a sports competition among themselves. Fun fact: one of the sports included is Quidditch. Yes, that* Quidditch from Harry Potter.

*without the actual flying

How a quidditch game looks like in the residential colleges. Source: heraldsun.com.au

2. Volunteer on activities completely unrelated to your background or major of studies.

Let’s put it this way: I studied media and communication for my undergraduate degree. Hence, I spent three years of my studies being involved in activities that are very much of “media and communication” nature. Certainly, those efforts were really worth the time when I began building my resume.

However, sometimes I am still curious about other volunteering opportunities in Melbourne that I might have missed out. One example, a friend of mine who studied finance spent almost a year volunteering for a charity education center in the outskirt of Melbourne. During her stint, she volunteered to teach Basic English to refugee children from the Middle East. Those activities were entirely unrelated to her finance studies, yet it enabled her to interact and help children who needed her assistance. Whether or not the volunteer work would be an additional asset in her CV (I certainly think it would), she had unquestionably possessed an experience that no one else could take away from her.

Volunteering for social causes could be a great opportunity. Source: oxfam.org.au

3. Volunteer on activities completely unrelated to your background.

No, that was not a typo. Yes, I stopped at the “your background” part. And by background, I mean our identity of being Indonesian. It is, of course, undeniable that the Indonesian Students Association at Australian universities is a great platform to collaborate with other Indonesian students, and also learn how to work in an organization, among which includes preparing for events, conferences, and many others. However, you should try to spend some time volunteering for other non-Indonesian activities within or outside of your campus too.

This item isn’t actually one of the things I should have done because I have done it. I volunteered as a writer for an international affairs magazine whose writers were selected from universities across Melbourne. Through that experience,  I had a brief opportunity to work with students of Australian and other nationalities, collectively working to write magazine articles on international relations and affairs issues.

Moreover, through that experience, I was able to be a part of events whose speakers include former Prime Minister of Australia, the late Rt Hon. Malcolm Fraser, as well as the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange. I could not imagine who else I could have met had I stayed longer. My point is that you should surprise yourself by joining other activities outside of your comfort zone. You never know what lifetime experiences with which they could nurture you.

A shot I took while asking Julian Assange himself through a live web seminar

4. Take a barista lesson at one of Melbourne’s finest coffee roasters

Regardless of whether you like coffee or not, Melbourne has arguably one of the best specialty coffee scenes in the world. I personally think that even coffee shops in cities like London, Los Angeles, or Tokyo could not beat the experiences I had in Melbourne’s coffee scene. To my regret, I never joined any barista lessons in Melbourne, let alone a cupping session at a coffee shop. If you, indeed, are a regular coffee drinker, you should do more than just spending every morning sipping coffee at Melbourne’s greatest coffee shops. Instead, you should attend their events or cupping sessions. Or even better, you should take a barista lesson while you are there. Although it is certainly quite expensive to take such class, I would suggest saving up since the experience would be very rewarding, not to mention that the specialty coffee scene in Indonesia is growing faster than ever. Even if coffee doesn’t really entice your taste bud, you can still consider it for the business prospect.

How cupping session looks like in Melbourne’s coffee shop. Source: singleoriginroasters.com..au

All in all, the list above doesn’t do justice to other vibrant and unexpected experiences that one could gain in Melbourne. The city is full of surprises. Its diversity is real. Its dynamic energy is unstoppable. Make the most of your time in Melbourne and let it surprise you with its various façades of life.

Photos provided by the author

Edited by Hadrian Pranjoto 

One of the great things about studying and living in Denmark is the low-hierarchy system in the Danish society. As a student in Denmark, I am quite lucky to be chosen as one of the representatives from Aarhus University for Youth Goodwill Ambassadors of Denmark (YGA), an exclusive network consists of 180 international students in Denmark from 5 universities to network, learn, and to know more about the future career in Denmark. Before attending an international talent conference in Lyngby, Denmark organized by Copenhagen Capacity dedicated for YGA students, what I had experienced about low-hierarchy system in Denmark were only from the university and work scenes.

In the university where I study and in general in all Danish universities, the relationship between students and the professors/teachers is not very formal and more casual. You never need to address your professor with ‘Mr’, ‘Ms’ or ‘Professor’ and you just need to call them with their first name, not even with their last name. And it is very easy to approach them to ask which part you don’t understand from the course material or even when you want to argue them in the class (but make sure that you do it politely as always in any other situations). While in the work scene, it is completely normal and acceptable to sit next to your boss or even big boss and have a casual chat with them during lunch break. It is also normal to do activities together with your boss outside of office hours like having dinner together, play bowling, go to the cinema, etc.

On April 2^nd 2016, it was the day when I and the other students under YGA attended an international talent conference in the headquarter of COWI, a large engineering Danish company located in Lyngby, Denmark and before coming there, I checked the program that there will be HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark attending the conference as one of the speakers. Reading that, my imagination told me that His Royal Highness must be escorted by many security guards just like in Indonesia when the President and the Ministers are always escorted by security guards and assistants every time they attend any events with many attendees. And then HRH Prince Joachim arrived and walked onto the stage, I and the other attendees stood up for a while until His Royal Highness sat on the chair. During the talk, moderated by the famous TV2 presenter, Natasja Crone, HRH Prince Joachim shared his experience of living abroad and how he always tried to manage cultural differences in one country and another that was not always easy.

So where are the security guards? It was strange because I did not see any of them in that conference. Maybe they are hiding when HRH Prince Joachim talks and will appear later following HRH Prince Joachim after the talk ends. However, after the talk, few students could actually have some short talks and quick photo session with HRH Prince Joachim flexibly and no security guards forbid them. So although he is a prince and a part of Danish royal family; as a Dane he is quite casual and the stereotyping of Danes who hold low-hierarchy social system is somewhat proven. Don’t imagine too much of casualty anyway for the royal family as much as for other regular Danes, because in Denmark when you speak in Danish to the members of royal family you must be using different and more polite way of language that you only use to the royal family (it is a bit like Javanese language system, maybe).

HRH Prince Joachim really supports the initiative to develop young international talents in Denmark and he also encouraged us to gain more international experiences by working or studying abroad and get immersed at international events where we could interact with people from different nationalities and cultural background like the international talent conference I attended.

The conference was also attended by big companies in Denmark like Maersk Line, Novo Nordisk, Coloplast, COWI, Grundfos, and Microsoft. The discussions at the conference were centered on Denmark as a career destination, work-life balanced in Danish society, and matchmaking with Danish businesses as we also had workshops with some of these big companies.

Youth Goodwill Ambassadors of Denmark

The initiative is a spin-off of the Youth Goodwill Ambassador Program founded by Copenhagen Capacity in close collaboration with Copenhagen Goodwill Ambassador Corps and in a partnership with the Danish universities including University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, Aalborg University, Copenhagen Business School and the Technical University of Denmark. The project is funded by the EU Social Fund.

 Photo Credit: Andreas Andreou

Edited by Artricia Rasyid

Perjalanan kali ini sangat berkesan dan begitu emosional bagi saya. Kesempatan berkunjung langsung ke dua karya fenomenal Frank Lloyd Wright, sosok yang sangat tidak asing bagi seluruh insan arsitektur di seluruh dunia. Wright adalah seorang genius di ranah ilmu arsitektur. Dia meyakini bahwa arsitektur sebagai tempat manusia bertinggal harus mampu menciptakan harmoni dengan alam tempatnya terbangun. Pada dua karya Wright yang saya kunjungi, konsep tentang arsitektur organik tampil dalam dua konsep yang berbeda namun serupa. Solomon R Guggenheim Museum yang berada di tengah hiruk pikuk hutan beton di New York, sementara Fallingwater House berdiri di antara sunyi senyap semak-semak hutan alam Bear Run di Pennsylvania.

Perjumpaan pertama saya dengan karya Wright terjadi di pertengahan Desember. Saat Kota New York terus menerus diguyur hujan di musim dingin yang cukup ramah bagi manusia tropis seperti saya. Saya ingat saat itu saya turun di statiun subway di 86th Street lalu jalan menyusuri Lexington Avenue sebelum berbelok ke 89th Street. Karakter jalannya tipikal dengan jajaran bangunan tua dan baru berselang-seling dengan ketinggian yang tidak kurang dari empat lantai. Deretan ambang beragam jenis mulai dari pintu bergagang antik sampai etalase kaca nan nyentrik menggiring saya menuju ke Solomon R Guggenheim Museum. Semakin dekat saya ke persimpangan 89th Street dan 5th Avenue, semakin jelas citra luar Guggenheim Museum yang putih bersih dengan aksen elemen horizontal berwarna hitam yang mengitari. Skala Guggenheim Museum cukup kecil dibandingkan gedung-gedung tinggi di sekitarnya. Beruntung Guggenheim Museum menghadap ke arah Central Park yang sedikit banyak melebur perbedaan skalanya.

Tampak luar Solomon R Guggenheim Museum
(Sumber: https-//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/NYC_-_Guggenheim_Museum)

Di ruang dalam Guggenheum Museum, Wright menyuguhkan atrium berbentuk oval yang tinggi. Pandangan saya didominasi oleh figur dari ramp (baca: jalur yang melandai) spiral yang mengular tidak terputus dari lantai dasar sampai ke atas menuju skylight. Sinar matahari yang menelisik masuk lewat atap kaca menambah kuat karakter atrium. Wright menginginkan koneksi visual yang menerus, dari seluruh penjuru ruang secara vertikal dan horizontal. Saya bisa melihat orang-orang yang sedang menyandarkan tubuhnya ke susur tangga (railing) dari atas, begitu pula sebaliknya. Pergerakan manusia menyusuri ramp menciptakan dinamika ruang dalam yang khas, mungkin hanya ada di Solomon R Guggenheim Museum. Saya berdiri tepat di tengah, mencoba mengambil citra interior sambil menengadahkan kamera dan kepala saya. Atrium ini rasanya megah sekali.

Pandangan saat mendongak ke atas dari atrium

Ramp seperti pita yang melilit ruang dalam Guggenheim Museum

Ramp adalah tokoh utama di Guggenheim Museum. Ramp berperan sebagai alur sirkulasi juga galeri. Di antaranya, Wright menyelipkan galeri-galeri kecil, kafe, dan ruang teater untuk menyokong fungsi utamanya sebagai museum. Saat itu sedang ada pameran lukisan karya Alberto Burri. Namanya terpampang di dinding dekat dengan permulaan ramp. Sayang, jiwa arsitektur saya untuk menghayati aspek-aspek arsitektural mengalahkan hasrat menikmati objek-objek seni yang tentu tidak kalah indahnya. Hal yang ada di pikiran saya selama menyisiri pengalas menanjak ini adalah derajat kemiringannya. Mungkin sejak saya masuk dunia arsitektur, saya tidak akan pernah berada di sebuah objek arsitektur tanpa terbesit satu aspek teknis bangunan. Pikiran ini bukan tidak beralasan, saya tidak merasa lelah berjalan menyusurinya, walaupun tanpa disadari saya sudah berada di ketinggian setara lantai empat. Kemungkinan jawabannya ada dua, desain ruang Wright begitu memukau sehingga memburaikan rasa lelah saya, atau memang perhitungan derajat kemiringannya pas dan ergonomis.

Galeri “terselip” di antara alur ramp

Pemandangan yang unik dari tepian ramp

Wright menawarkan seri ruang yang saling berhubungan, lalu membiarkan pengguna untuk menelusuri kembali jejaknya saat beranjak keluar dari museum. Ruang-ruang penuh lengkung organik yang terinspirasi dari alam, diinterpretasi pada konteks kota yang cenderung kaku dan penuh siku. Ini adalah proyek major terakhir yang dirancang dan dibangun oleh Wright sebelum ia meninggal dunia. Lagi-lagi sebuah masterpiece yang beruntung bisa saya kunjungi langsung di sela masa studi saya di negeri Paman Sam. Wright berhasil memukau saya, bersama dengan ribuan dan mungkin jutaan orang lain yang sudah pernah menginjakkan kakinya langsung ke Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Arsitek-tur saya berlanjut ke karya fenomenal Wright di tengah pepohonan ek dan mapel di Mill Run, Pennsylvania. Sebuah rumah yang saya yakin dibahas di banyak ruang-ruang kuliah arsitektur di seluruh penjuru dunia, Fallingwater House. Melihat langsung Fallingwater house ibaratnya umroh arsitektur buat saya. Boleh saja anggap saya berlebihan, tapi rumah ini terlalu sentimental bagi saya. Teringat dulu ketika masih di tingkat dua kuliah, saya duduk hampir terkantuk di kelas, lalu mendadak sadar seratus persen ketika dosen saya menampilkan gambar rumah yang duduk di atas air terjun, dibingkai pucuk-pucuk pohon berdaun warna-warni kemerahan. Rumahnya ramah, menyatu seirama dengan alam di sekeliling. Arsitekturnya tidak arogan, sangat mengundang dan memesona.

Sisi Fallingwater House yang paling dikenal

Perjalanan menuju Fallingwater house tidak kalah indahnya. Wright pasti sudah memikirkan dalam-dalam pengalaman ruang pengantar menuju karyanya. Saat itu saya berada di balik kemudi, bermanuver di antara pepohonan yang sedang gundul di musim dingin. Jalanan naik turun berliku, terkadang terselip padang rumput hijau memukau. Udara saat itu tidak terlalu dingin, sehingga saya bisa menikmati hembusan semilir angin pengunungan yang menenangkan.

Setibanya di tempat parkir, saya berjalan melalui jalan setapak. Semakin dekat ke Fallingwater House, semakin berdebar jantung saya. Saat itu ramai, tapi saya sudah bisa mendengan gemericik air dari air terjun. Hutan, pepohonan, jembatan, jalanan berbatu, hujan gerimis mengiring saya menuju ke titik pertemuan langsung saya dengan Fallingwater House. Saya ingat, setelah berjalan lebih kurang sepuluh menit, saya berbelok sekitar 45 derajat lalu menatap langsung rumah yang saya kagumi sejak lima tahun lalu. Hanya berjarak tidak lebih dari 10 meter, saya disajikan pemandangan sisi rumah yang belum pernah saya lihat sebelumnya. Fitur horizontal dari tumpukan balkon sangat mengundang. Jendela lebar berkusen coklat tua yang lebar dan rendah dipastikan ada di setiap dinding yang mengitari. Ide arsitektur organik yang diusung Wright sangat terasa. Harmoni antara lingkung bangun dan alam yang erat, menyatu, membentuk komposisi yang menawan.

Pandangan langsung yang pertama pada Fallingwater House

Tampak dari jembatan menuju ke pintu utama

Saya mencoba menangkap beberapa citra luar Fallingwater House sebelum saya masuk dan tidak diperkenankan menggunakan kamera untuk mendokumentasikan ruang dalamnya. Semakin mendekat, saya bisa melihat sungai yang mengalir di celah bawah struktur Fallingwater House yang  menggantung. Tampak tangga yang menjadi ambang dan akses antara ruang tamu menuju sungai. Terbayang saat keluarga Edgar Kaufman, pemilik rumah ini, saat menghabiskan akhir pekan dan bercengkrama di air terjun yang berada tepat di bawah rumahnya. Butuh kejeniusan arsitek dan insinyur sipil untuk mampu menciptakan kemewahan ini, terlebih di tahun 1930-an saat Fallingwater House dibangun.

Tangga yang menjadi akses langsung dari ruang tamu ke sungai dan air terjun
(Sumber: http-//www.archdaily.com/60022/ad-classics-fallingwater-frank-lloyd-wright/5037de0228ba0d599b00009b-ad-classics-fallingwater-frank-lloyd-wright-image)

Tidak lama, pemandu menggiring rombongan saya memasuki interior Fallingwater House. Perasaan luas di alam bebas tiba-tiba ditekan begitu saya berada tepat di depan pintu masuk yang kecil, pendek, dan gelap. Secara tidak sadar saya didorong masuk ke ruang tengah secepat mungkin. Ke ruang yang lebih luas, lebih terang, dan lebih mengundang. Wright dengan sengaja menciptakan perasaan tertekan lalu bebas seketika pengguna masuk ke ruang tengah yang luas. Kemanapun menoleh, saya selalu bisa menatap keluar melalui jendela-jendela besar yang minim distraksi kisi kayu atau kusen. Secara fisik saya berada di dalam, tapi saya tidak merasa saya terpisah dengan dunia luar. Suara riuh air terjun masih terdengar, elemen bebatuan dan warna alam masih mendominasi. Ruangan ini berada tepat di atas air terjun. Ada akses berupa jendela atau pintu yang diikuti tangga menurun langsung ke sungai dan air terjun. Di sinilah tempat Edgar Kaufmann berkumpul dengan keluarganya. Terdapat beberapa set sofa yang mengelilingi ruang tengah, satu set meja makan, dan lemari penyimpanan alat makan. Mata saya tertuju pada tungku perapian berwarna merah di pojok rumah dengan bingkai bebatuan alam yang masih tersusun asli layaknya di alam luar. Wright berusaha untuk meminimalisir intervensi terhadap kondisi alam tapak tempat rumah ini berdiri. Hal tersebut yang menjadi alasan mengapa suasana alam masih sangat terasa, walaupun saya sudah berada di dalam rumah. Pengalas rumah berasal dari batu-batu alam yang didapat dari sungai yang diberi lapisan lilin untuk menciptakan kesan basah layaknya bebatuan di alam bebas. Setiap detil yang Wright pikirkan adalah manifestasi dari kepercayaannya pada arsitektur organik, yang berkiblat pada hubungan harmonis antara objek arsitektur dan alam sekitar.

Suasana interior ruang utama Fallingwater House
(Sumber: http://www.simonedesignblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/design_Fallingwater8)

Memandang Fallingwater House dari kejauhan, pasti didominasi oleh tumpukan balkon yang menjalar ke berbagai sisi rumah. Citra horizontal Fallingwater House diciptakan dari susunan balkon yang merupakan elemen utama rumah ini. Kontras dengan kamar-kamar berukuran kecil dan beratap pendek, Wright memadankannya dengan balkon berukuran luas untuk setiap ruangan. Wright ingin menjuruskan pandangan mata untuk menatap ke arah luar, menuju ke alam bebas. Lagi-lagi ia menekankan pentingnya alam dalam eksistensi Fallingwater House. Mengutip perkataan Wright, “Fallingwater adalah peristiwa fisikal dan spiritual dari manusia dan arsitektur yang menjadi harmoni dengan alam”. Sebenarnya, masih banyak detil arsitektur yang mendukung argumen Wright. Balok yang mengitari batang pohon, susunan batu fondasi yang mengkuti bahasa struktur alami, kemiringan atap yang menerjemahkan pola aliran air, dan masih banyak lagi fitur memukau di rumah ini. Jujur saya kewalahan dengan keindahan dan kejeniusan desain Fallingwater House. Dari Fallingwater, Wright seolah berbisik pada saya bahwa sudah selayaknya arsitektur tidak menjadi arogan dan memalingkan wajahnya dari alam tempatnya berdiri. Sudah sepantasnya hubungan itu diekspos dan disatukan menjadi organisme yang bertumbuh bersama.

Balok yang “mengalah” dengan memberi ruang pada batang pohon

Atap dibuat miring dan berundak mengikuti sifat air yang mengalir

Sungguh, arsitek-tur kali ini menuntun saya untuk kembali berpikir untuk mendefinisikan keterkaitan antara manusia, arsitektur, dan alam. Semakin banyak ditumpahi informasi, semakin tinggi rasa penasaran saya untuk mengeksplorasi semakin banyak objek arsitektur di negeri ini.

Terima kasih, Wright!

Photo Courtesy: Author’s Collection, wikimedia.org, archdaily.com, simonedesignblog.com

Belajar bahasa Mandarin ke negeri Cina merupakan salah satu fenomena di Indonesia terutama bagi para pelajar yang telah lulus kuliah. Jujur saja saya mendapati banyak dari pelajar yang bingung akan apa yang akan dilakukan setelah lulus kuliah, antara ingin melanjutkan pendidikan jenjang selanjutnya, bekerja, atau belajar bahasa asing dan ternyata tak sedikit juga yang akhirnya menentukan pilihan untuk belajar bahasa Mandarin ke Negeri Tirai Bambu.

Mengapa Memilih Bahasa Mandarin?

Secara pribadi ketika masih duduk di bangku sekolah dulu, saya paling anti untuk mendengarkan apalagi belajar bahasa Mandarin. Setiap ada lagu Mandarin di radio atau film Mandarin di TV, saya selalu segera mengganti channel. Karena saya waktu itu menganggap kalau bahasa Mandarin tidak penting dan sangat susah untuk dipelajari.

Memasuki bangku kuliah semester 7, saya mulai iseng-iseng untuk membuka lowongan pekerjaan dan ternyata saya mendapati bahwa beberapa perusahaan menuliskan kriteria penguasaan bahasa Mandarin diperlukan untuk melamar pekerjaan. Mulai saat itu saya mulai sadar bahwa kemajuan Cina yang sangat pesat membawa dampak bagi masyarakat dunia termasuk Indonesia. Perkembangan Cina yang luar biasa secara tidak langsung mengangkat bahasa dan budaya dari bangsa tersebut. Setelah itu saya bertekad untuk menguasai bahasa yang cukup menantang ini dan memutuskan untuk hijrah ke negeri Cina, tepatnya di kota Shanghai untuk menimba ilmu.

Mengapa Memilih Shanghai?

Shanghai sebagai kota metropolis dan financial hub tentunya sangat menarik bagi orang asing yang dinamis termasuk saya. Selain memiliki atmosfer internasional, penduduk yang multikultural, dan standar kehidupan yang di atas rata-rata, Shanghai juga memiliki  kesempatan kerja yang berlimpah karena banyaknya perusahaan internasional yang membuka cabang di sana. Selain itu, Shanghai juga memberikan banyak pilihan untuk orang yang tinggal di kota tersebut, seperti pemilihan makanan sehari-hari dan rumah tinggal. Ada berbagai macam pilihan mulai dengan harga yang terjangkau hingga harga yang mahal sehingga bisa disesuaikan menurut budget masing-masing. Alasan-alasan tersebut yang akhirnya membuat saya merasa yakin bahwa Shanghai adalah kota yang tepat untuk saya untuk belajar Mandarin. Sekali mendayung, dua tiga pulau terlampui. Selain belajar, saya juga bisa menjalin koneksi bisnis, mencari pengalaman kerja, dan hidup nyaman sesuai dengan budget.

Pertanyaan yang sering dilontarkan kepada saya selain mengapa memilih Shanghai dari semua kota yang ada di Cina, yakni mengapa Fudan University? Namanya yang jarang didengar di Indonesia sebagai universitas tujuan belajar bahasa Mandarin membuat orang bertanya apa spesialnya dari universitas yang didirikan tahun 1905 tersebut.

Jawabannya sederhana, karena memang Fudan University dikategorikan sebagai universitas yang terbaik di Shanghai. Seperti berdasarkan QS World University Ranking, Fudan University menempati posisi nomor 3 di Cina tepat di bawah Tsinghua University dan Peking University yang berlokasi di Beijing. Untuk kualitas yang pasti tidak diragukan lagi dan secara tidak langsung, nama universitas yang baik akan menjadi poin plus dalam resume ketika mencari pekerjaan di kemudian hari.

Alasan kuat lainnya adalah karena memang di Fudan University memiliki partnership dengan lebih dari 200 universitas di dunia seperti Harvard University, National University of Singapore, dan Yale University, sehingga bermanfaat untuk menambah teman atau koneksi dari negara lain dan saling mengenal budaya satu sama lain. Terbukti ternyata tidak sedikit orang Amerika, Eropa, Afrika dan lain sebagainya menuntut ilmu di Cina dengan belajar bahasa Mandarin serta etika berbisnis dengan orang Cina.

Apabila ingin mendaftar untuk belajar bahasa di Fudan University, caranya mudah, pembaca IM langsung saja membuka website dari Fudan University dan mendaftar secara online. Website-nya dilengkapi dengan bahasa Inggris untuk memudahkan pelajar asing yang ingin mendaftar ke universitas tersebut.

Menjadi Pelajar di Negeri Tirai Bambu

With our Chinese teacher

Tipikal kegiatan sehari-hari ketika belajar di Shanghai tergantung kelas dan timetable yang diambil, rata-rata untuk kelas reguler 20 jam/minggu dan untuk kelas intensif 30-36 jam/minggu. Setelah itu, pelajar bebas untuk beraktivitas sesuai dengan hobi masing-masing. Ada dari sebagian teman yang mengikuti tambahan ekstrakurikuler di universitas seperti kegiatan olahraga, kaligrafi, dan lain sebagainya. Bahkan untuk mencapai hasil yang lebih maksimal, ada juga yang menambah kursus Mandarin di malam hari. Untuk yang suka bergaul, biasanya pergi bersama teman-teman untuk mendatangi objek wisata tertentu ataupun wisata kuliner.

Saya sepertinya masuk dalam kategori yang ketiga. Saya bergaul dengan siapa saja mulai dari pelajar asing, Indonesia, ataupun dengan orang lokal. Demi kemajuan bahasa Mandarin pun, saya meluangkan waktu minimum sekali seminggu untuk makan bersama ataupun ke tempat wisata dengan Mandarin-speaker. Saya merasakan banyak sekali manfaat ketika bergaul seperti mengerti lebih lanjut tentang budaya Cina, adat keluarga, makan, etika bekerja, dan bahkan saya juga mendapat keuntungan untuk mengerti bahasa slang Mandarin yang digunakan sehari-hari yang tidak diajarkan di universitas.

Saya mengambil total 2 semester untuk belajar Mandarin. Saat memasuki semester kedua, saya mulai mencari dan melihat lowongan pekerjaan serta menggunakan koneksi untuk mencari pekerjaan yang saya inginkan. Peningkatan kemampuan bahasa sampai ke business proficiency sangatlah penting apabila ingin bekerja di perusahaan yang membutuhkan bahasa Mandarin sebagai syarat. Apalagi dengan hanya setahun mempelajari bahasa Mandarin, itu belum cukup untuk bisa berdialog mengenai dunia bisnis atau membaca koran dalam bahasa Mandarin.

Akhirnya setelah berjuang mengirim resume dan melakukan interview selama beberapa bulan, saya mendapat pekerjaan yang saya sukai di bidang konsultan magang tepat ketika semester kedua selesai. Yang dulunya saya tidak pernah berpikir akan tinggal dan belajar bahasa yang rumit ini, akhinya saya menghabiskan waktu kurang lebih 3 tahun di negeri Cina. Yang awalnya saat interview perusahaan saya cukup terbata-bata menjawab pertanyaan dari manajer perusahaan dalam bahasa Mandarin, terbukti bahwa setelah 2 tahun bekerja di perusahaan tersebut, bahasa Mandarin saya meningkat pesat karena mau tidak mau saya harus bisa mengikuti bahasa yang digunakan di kantor dan berkomunikasi dengan kolega menggunakan bahasa Mandarin.

Apabila pembaca IM berkesempatan untuk belajar ke negeri Cina, saya menyarankan untuk mempergunakan waktu dengan efektif untuk benar-benar mempelajari bahasa Mandarin dan mencari koneksi bisnis yang bisa bermanfaat di kemudian hari. Paling tidak, setelah belajar bahasa dan mengikuti test HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test), bisa mendapatkan HSK 5 (HSK level 1 sampai 6) yang notabene adalah standar kemampuan bahasa Mandarin yang digunakan untuk melamar pekerjaan. Jangan lupa untuk memilih universitas yang bagus, bergaul dengan orang yang berbahasa Mandarin, dan mencari tempat magang atau pekerjaan full time setelah lulus akan sangat bermanfaat bagi kemampuan Mandarin pembaca sekalian.

Terus pertahankan kemampuan bahasa Mandarin ketika sudah pulang ke Indonesia, selalu keep in touch dengan teman-teman di luar negeri yang berbahasa Mandarin, mengikuti kursus, atau menonton film/mendengarkan radio berbahasa Mandarin, karena dijamin akan membawa dampak positif untuk karir ke depan terlebih ketika kita harus bersaing dengan bangsa lain di MEA (Masyarakat Ekonomi Asean) ini.

Ketika kecil dulu, saya ingat betul perkenalan saya dengan  Denmark sebagai sebuah negara ialah ketika saya menyaksikan pebulutangkis kebanggaan Indonesia berhadapan dengan pebulu tangkis Denmark di berbagai kejuaraan bulu tangkis internasional. Sayangnya, setelah itu pengetahuan saya terhadap Denmark tidak bertambah banyak, hanya sebatas bendera negara, ibukota negara, serta letaknya yang secara geografis berada di benua Eropa (tanpa tahu letak persisnya di peta). Saat itu, tidak pernah terbesit di benak saya bahwa saya akan menempuh pendidikan di negara yang selalu ada di peringkat atas dalam daftar “World’s Happiest Countries”.

Setelah lulus program S1 dan bekerja, saya mulai mencari kesempatan melanjutkan studi di bidang bisnis. Kalau boleh jujur, dalam proses pencarian tersebut, saya tidak punya target negara, maupun jurusan spesifik. Kriteria yang saya tetapkan saat itu adalah keadaan negara yang kondusif dan ranking universitas secara internasional. Untuk yang terakhir bahkan saya tidak muluk-muluk amat. Dalam proses pencarian inilah saya mendapatkan informasi beasiswa yang ditawarkan Aarhus University. Di situ saya mulai riset kecil-kecilan mengenai Aarhus University dan negara Denmark itu sendiri dan mereka masuk kriteria yang saya jabarkan sebelumnya.

Saya pun mantap untuk melakukan proses pendaftaran danditerima sebagai mahasiswa program master dan mendapatkan beasiswa selama masa pendidikan (penjelasan detail mengenai prosesnya ada di sini). Setelah pengumuman, saya mulai mencari-cari informasi mengenai organisasi pelajar indonesia di Denmark (PPI Denmark) untuk konsultasi mengenai paperwork dan sebagainya. Satu fakta menarik yang saya perhatikan ialah jumlah anggota PPI Denmark yang boleh dibilang lebih kecil dibandingkan PPI di negara-negara eropa barat lainnya. Di sini saya mulai bertanya, “has Denmark been a popular destination for Indonesian students, ever?”

Berdasarkan pengalaman saya saat ini yang hamper dua tahun tinggal di Denmark, saya akan coba jabarkan mengapa ini perlu diubah dan Denmark sebaiknya  dipertimbangkan lebih untuk menjadi destinasi tujuan pelajar-pelajar Indonesia untuk menuntut ilmu.

1. Tidak perlu memiliki kemampuan Bahasa Denmark untuk menuntut ilmu di Denmark

Salah satu hambatan untuk tinggal di negara asing mungkin adalah bahasa pengantar di kelas. Di Denmark, mayoritas program pascasarjana menggunakan bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa pengantar. Dan yang tidak kalah penting ialah calon siswa tidak perlu takut kalau tidak punya kemampuan bahasa Denmark sama sekali ketika menginjakkan kaki di Denmark, karena mayoritas penduduk Denmark memiliki kemampuan bahasa Inggris yang sangat baik, sehingga tidak perlu khawatir untuk pergi ke supermarket, misalnya, dan bertanya menggunakan bahasa Inggris.

2. Kesempatan untuk belajar bahasa Denmark

Walaupun bahasa Inggris digunakan secara luas, tetap akan terasa janggal jika kita tinggal di suatu negara tapi tidak pernah belajar bahasa setempat. Bagi mereka yang ingin belajar bahasa Denmark, pemerintah Denmark memberikan kesempatan bagi pelajar asing untuk kursus Bahasa Denmark selama masa pendidikan secara gratis. Jika saya boleh jujur, bahasa Denmark tidak semudah bahasa Inggris untuk dipelajari, tapi akan ada kepuasan tersendiri ketikamengerti bahasa setempat, misalnya surat kabar tanpa bergantung pada Google Translate.

3. Work-life balance

Ketika masa awal belajar, saya kagum dengan dedikasi pelajar setempat yang berdiskusi dengan sesame ataupun duduk sendiri menatap serius layar laptop membaca materi kuliah. Bahkan sampai sulit untuk mendapat kursi kosong di area kampus. Tapi suasana ini akan berubah drastis di atas jam 4 sore; almost everyone will pack their stuffs and leave the school!

 Setelah saya tanya ke teman Danish saya, rupanya ini merupakan cerminan pola  work-life balance yang mereka anut dalam gaya hidup mereka sehari-hari. Mereka percaya bahwa kitaharus menyeimbangkan waktu untuk belajar atau bekerja dengan waktu pribadi. Bagi saya yang tumbuh dan besar di Jakarta dengan ritme hidup yang cepat hingga bahkan kadang-kadang kita lupa untuk meluangkan waktu pribadi untuk diri sendiri, pola  work-life balance di Denmark memberi perspektif baru bagi diri saya.

4. Kesetaraan

Denmark menjunjung tinggi kesetaraan;ini berarti tidak ada batasan berdasarkan gender (FYI, Denmark merupakan salah satu negara yang terlebih dahulu member hak bagi perempuan untuk memilih dalam proses pemilu), umur, ras, dan orientasi seksual. Semua individu memiliki kesempatan untuk berpendapat dan berkontribusi. Ini juga tercemin di interaksi antara siswa dan dosen. Menurut saya ini menciptakan lingkungan belajar yang kondusif dan memberi kesempatan bagi siswa untuk aktif berpatisipasi tanpa takut adanya batasan berdasarkan posisi. Antara sesama siswa juga tidak ada batasan senior dan junior, sehingga interaksi yang terjalin lebih seru. Hal ini tercermin di proses Ospek (Introduction Week) yang diselanggarakan tiap tahun ajaran baru dan juga dari interaksi sehari-hari antar sesama siswa.

5. Less paperwork

Pada masa-masa awal kedatangan sebagai mahasiswa dan pendatang di negara lain tentunya kita akan disibukkan dengan paperwork dan proses pendaftaran kepihak imigrasi setempat. Hal ini saya tidak rasakan sama sekali ketika saya pertama kali datang. Pihak universitas bahkan menjalin kerja sama dengan pihak imigrasi sehingga pelajar asing tidak perlu mendatangi pihak imigrasi untuk menyerahkan berkas-berkas yang diperlukan. Saya mendapatkan kartu identitas dan kartu izin tinggal kurang dari dua minggu setelah pendaftaran. Dalam pendaftaran ke universitas dan pencarian housing juga saya terbantu sekali dengan efisiensi proses pencarian tempat tinggal yang dilakukan secara online.

Sebagai penutup, semoga kedepannya semakin berkurang pelajar-pelajar Indonesia seperti saya yang dihujani pertanyaan “why Denmark?” oleh teman dan keluarga ketika memutuskan untuk melajutkan pendidikan di Denmark, karena kalau anda bertanya kepada saya “why not Denmark?”.

Images courtesy of Alfan Rezani. 

Hai! Nama saya Williem. Laurensius Williem, untuk lebih lengkapnya. Saya baru dibaptis setelah dewasa sehingga nama baptis saya, Laurensius,  tidak muncul di akte lahir. Pada akhirnya nama dengan satu kata ini membantu saya mengisi kolom-kolom lebih cepat, terutama saat ujian. Nama ini juga yang mengundang perhatian seorang dosen di Melbourne yang lalu berkata, “Student with a one-word name? I think he wants to be a rock star”. Haha. Nah, pada kesempatan kali ini saya akan bercerita tentang pengalaman kuliah di Yogyakarta dan Melbourne, Australia melalui program Double Degree Magister Managemen Universitas Gadjah Mada (MM UGM).

Saya lulus S1 Ilmu Ekonomi UGM pada tahun 2012. Setelah itu, selama setahun berikutnya saya melanjutkan studi pascasarjana di MM UGM. Alasan saya adalah saya masih ingin belajar sebelum terjun di dunia riil (praktis). Cukup banyak orang bertanya, “Untuk apa kuliah lagi? Orang tua sudah punya usaha.” Well, mereka seusia orang tua saya dan mungkin belum menyadari bahwa tingkat persaingan di antara tenaga kerja terus bertambah.

Mengapa manajemen? Sejak menjalani program S1 saya sudah mengetahui bahwa perekonomian digerakkan oleh aktivitas di pasar barang. Terlebih, saat krisis di tahun 1997 lalu para pelaku Usaha Mikro, Kecil, dan Menengah (UMKM) bisa bertahan dan menjadi tulang punggung negara kita. Selain itu, menyesuaikan dengan latar belakang bisnis keluarga, jurusan ini sangat tepat untuk saya. Pada akhirnya, sesuai dengan harapan saya, kuliah S2 dan pengalaman belajar di luar negeri telah memberikan insight-insight yang berharga untuk saya.

Penulis bersama para penerima beasiswa LPDP di Melbourne

Program Dual Degree MM UGM menarik minat saya karena saya bisa memperoleh dua gelar S2 dalam waktu 2,5 tahun, di mana saya dapat menjalani 1,5 tahun pertama di MM UGM dan 1 tahun setelahnya di universitas mitra. Yang menarik, saya dapat dengan leluasa memilih universitas mitra MM UGM di luar negeri asalkan semua persyaratan terpenuhi. Selain itu, dengan program ini, persyaratan GMAT yang menjadi momok bagi saya bisa dihindari. Pada awalnya saya ingin kuliah di Rotterdam School of Management, namun  akhirnya saya memantapkan diri untuk melanjutkan tahun terakhir kuliah saya di Melbourne Business School (MBS) milik The University of Melbourne (Unimelb). Saya beruntung memiliki teman-teman sekelas dan sepermainan yang juga turut kuliah di Unimelb. Bersama teman-teman saya Mahwida, Hema, dan Rangga, kami berempat memperoleh beasiswa Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) dan menjalani masa-masa kuliah yang mengesankan baik di Yogyakarta maupun di Melbourne.

Kuliah di MM UGM diawali dengan semester matrikulasi. Bagi saya ini adalah waktu untuk mengingat kembali konsep-konsep yang telah dipelajari di S1 sekaligus sebagai gambaran bagaimana proses perkuliahan di semester-semester selanjutnya. Semasa matrikulasi pulalah saya mengikuti seleksi beasiswa LPDP dan sebuah lomba tingkat nasional. Saya ingat saya pernah bolak-balik Jakarta-Jogja selama dua minggu untuk seleksi dan lomba tersebut. Selepas matrikulasi saya pun mengambil kelas internasional dengan bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa pengantar dan berbaur dengan para bule.

Dua semester di kelas internasional terasa padat walaupun hanya ada enam mata kuliah per semesternya. Di sinilah saya mengalami sendiri perbedaan kuliah sarjana dan pascasarjana. Ekspektasi dosen dan bagaimana mereka memandang mahasiswa, serta materi kuliah dan beban tugas terlihat jelas berbeda. Walaupun materi kuliah dan beban tugas lebih berat, di sisi lain dosen lebih menghargai usaha mahasiswa. Di semester satu, selain kuliah saya juga aktif dalam organisasi kemahasiswaan. Bersama rekan-rekan kuliah, kami beberapa kali menerbitkan buletin dan menyelenggarakan acara kampus. Semester ini adalah masa saya rajin bersosialisasi dan membangun jaringan.

Untuk semester dua, saya lebih fokus kuliah dan mempersiapkan diri untuk berangkat ke Melbourne. Di sisi lain, mata kuliah General Business Environment (GBE) dan Metodologi Penelitian (Metopen) cukup banyak menyita waktu saya. Output GBE adalah dua belas paper kecil untuk dosen pembimbing yang berbeda-beda dan satu paper besar untuk dosen penanggung jawab, sedangkan Metopen menghasilkan sebuah proposal tesis. Sementara itu, saya intensif belajar IELTS dan mengurus administrasi untuk studi di Melbourne, seperti visa belajar, penyesuaian kontrak LPDP, dan letter of acceptance MBS. Di luar kegiatan akademik, saya dan adik menemani ayah untuk operasi bypass jantung di Malaysia. Saya pun izin kuliah selama tiga minggu dan setelah itu berusaha mengejar ketertinggalan dibantu oleh rekan-rekan. Bisa dikatakan bila semester kedua adalah periode terberat dalam kuliah saya.

Setahun berikutnya saya jalani di Melbourne. Datang di bulan Februari 2015, saya disambut musim panas dengan suhu 40 derajat Celsius. Dua minggu pertama saya tidak betah. Mungkin juga karena saat itu saya kurang cocok tinggal bersama seorang penduduk lokal Australia. Saya membutuhkan kira-kira satu bulan untuk menyesuaikan diri dengan Melbourne. Entah karena cuacanya yang mudah berubah (dalam satu hari Anda bisa mengalami empat musim), perasaan waswas tinggal di negeri lain, atau kesulitan dalam memahami aksen Australia yang sangat kental. Beberapa hari sebelum kuliah dimulai, kami berempat mendapatkan apartemen di tengah kota, kurang lebih 15 menit jalan kaki dari kampus. Saya sendiri senang karena lokasi ini sangat strategis, berada di dekat kampus, pasar, tram stop, dan pusat perbelanjaan.

Penulis bersama tim Social Entrepreneurship

Saya mengambil empat mata kuliah di tiap semester, sehingga total ada delapan mata kuliah. Mata kuliah di MBS bervariasi dan memiliki bobot penilaian yang berbeda-beda. Ada yang menitikberatkan pada ujian akhir (60% untuk pelajaran Accounting for Decision Making), mewajibkan mahasiswa membuat video presentasi di Youtube dan artikel di Wikipedia (Managerial Psychology), dan ada juga yang ujian akhirnya berupa essay dan kompetisi ide bisnis (Social Entrepreneurship). Secara umum, semua mahasiswa di Unimelb harus berusaha keras untuk memenuhi ekspektasi dosen, apalagi mayoritas dosen di sini pelit nilai.

Harus diakui bahwa MBS dan Unimelb memberikan fasilitas prima. Perpustakaannya luas didukung jam operasional hingga larut malam, kecepatan internet yang mumpuni, akses jurnal-jurnal akademik top, dan tempat belajar untuk mahasiswa pascasarjana dengan jam operasional 24 jam. Sulit untuk mengatakan ”malas” karena mereka telah menyediakan fasilitas-fasilitas tersebut. Mereka paham bahwa tekanan kuliah yang tinggi bisa membuat mahasiswa stres. Oleh karena itu, mereka memberikan jasa konsultasi dengan psikolog. Bahkan, dalam beberapa kesempatan, mereka menganjurkan mahasiswa untuk bersenang-senang dan sejenak melupakan kuliah.

Selain itu, MBS dan Unimelb turut memberikan pelatihan untuk para mahasiswa yang mengalami kesulitan berbahasa Inggris. Hal ini penting mengingat bahwa para mahasiswa MBS berasal dari seluruh penjuru dunia, dari Asia, Eropa, hingga Afrika. Banyak sekali mahasiswa yang datang dari Tiongkok sehingga pada awalnya saya beranggapan kalau Melbourne bercita rasa Timur. Bahkan, ada pula istilah Australian Born Chinese (ABC) yang merujuk pada orang-orang Tionghoa-nya Australia. Orang Indonesia di sini juga banyak walaupun jumlahnya di bawah orang Tiongkok dan India. Restoran Indonesia pun ada beberapa di tengah kota. Sudah jadi hal yang lumrah bertemu orang Indonesia di satu restoran, tram, bahkan dalam satu kelas.

Transportasi publik di Melbourne tertata baik dengan adanya bus, tram, dan kereta yang nyaman dan aman. Dengan sebuah kartu yang disebut Myki, saya bisa menggunakan ketiga moda transportasi tersebut. Jika sedang suntuk karena tugas dan kuliah, biasanya saya akan jalan-jalan di sekitar Melbourne dan sekadar pergi ke museum, taman, pelabuhan, dan pantai. National Gallery of Victoria dan Melbourne Museum adalah dua tempat kesukaan saya. Koleksi seni mereka sangat ekstensif dan tidak ada biaya masuk untuk mahasiswa. Jika ada waktu luang, saya biasanya pergi ke pantai di luar kota di mana pantainya biasanya lebih bagus dibandingkan dengan pantai di Melbourne.

Pengalaman kuliah pascasarjana, terutama di Melbourne, mengajarkan saya beberapa hal yang berharga. Pertama, jadilah seorang profesional. Dinamika grup saat mengerjakan tugas kelompok adalah sesuatu yang wajar, bahkan diperlukan untuk mencapai hasil yang lebih baik. Walaupun ada perbedaan pendapat yang tak dapat dihindari, grup harus tetap solid dan tiap individu harus berusaha untuk mencapai tujuan akhir yang sama. Di sisi lain, ada baiknya tidak membawa urusan akademik ke dalam hubungan personal karena dapat mengganggu pertemanan.

Kedua, kemampuan untuk beradaptasi dan bersosialisasi dengan orang-orang dari budaya yang berbeda akan meningkatkan toleransi kita. Stereotyping tidaklah selalu benar karena setiap individu itu unik. Hal ini penting karena berhubungan dengan network yang kita bangun. Tidak tepat rasanya bila kita menghindari atau hanya bergaul dengan orang-orang dari kelompok tertentu. Semakin luas network kita, maka dunia akan terasa semakin kecil. Kelak teman-teman dan kenalan-kenalan kitalah yang akan menjadi penolong saat kita kesulitan. Who knows?

Photos provided by the author

Edited by Hadrian Pranjoto

Sunshine? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Zero deadlines waiting? Check. Now the question is, what to do next?

Probably some of you would think ‘aww yeah finally I can go back to my family and see all my friends again!’, but let me politely ask you a question, why? Why would you want to waste Europe’s best season with its long awaited warm weather and thousands of things to do and see, to instead go back to that same old place you’ve known for almost your entire life?

My experience told me that the best way to enjoy Europe is when there’s plenty of sunshine. If you take a look around, you will see smiley faces and that parks are always full of people who are ready for some good fun. No one walks with their hands on their pockets; instead they embrace a good deal of vitamin D on their faces and of course, great companions next to them. No more gloomy faces, pale skin, and dripping wet socks because you forgot to put on your boots. Getting those shorts and tees out without the need to even check the weather app on your phone, because you know for sure that it’s going to be a good day outside.

Now the least you would do is to stay inside.

Call up some friends to chill at the park, or hop on a bus to go to the nearest beach. Even plan yourself to go on a weeklong trip to the French Riviera, or down to the Aegean Sea. Feels like going wild and out? Take the cheapest Ryan Air to one of the Spanish Mediterranean islands, or secure tickets to the most thrilling music festivals from rock and R&B, to techno, gabbers, or even head banging metal. Not to mention backpacking through beautiful Italian cities, meeting with new people from all the hostels you’re going to stay in, and maybe finding your beautiful European chick who could be the one you’ve been looking for.

And the very least you could do is to forget about these possibilities, and book a Garuda flight from AMS to CGK.

At least that’s what I didn’t do last summer. And instead I joined one of the world’s top culinary school and live in the so-called love capital of the world for the whole summer. C’est la vie mec.

But after spending a year away from home without any of my loved ones visiting, why did I choose to not book that cheap Garuda flight everyone was talking about? Why did I choose to instead follow my passion and be more away from home?

Because I valued my time and the fund that I’ve been receiving from my parents very well. The so-called International Business double degree program between Universitas Indonesia and Rijkuniversiteit van Groningen that I’m currently enrolled in will only last me for two years. Which means two chances of every season. And two chances of not regretting the choices that I’ll make each season.

And I’m glad that I passed the first summer without any regret. By enrolling at the Centre de Formation d’Alain Ducasse in Paris, France for their summer program, I learned not only about French culinary techniques and style, but also about how the restaurant industry works, how food is such an essential part of every Frenchman, and most importantly, I learned about their culture. You could learn every cooking technique from YouTube or cooking books, how to make the perfect roux or how to prepare an amazing jus, but you could never learn how the real French chefs work or how to deal with them if you’re not there experiencing it yourself.

Luckily enough, as part of the program I was selected for an internship to cook at one of the two Eiffel Tower’s restaurants. Yes, La Tour Eiffel. That big chunk of metal standing in the middle of Paris’ 1er Arondissiment. And the experience was an eye opener. Who’d ever guess that they have separate kitchen for making sauces located 100m away from the Eiffel that needs to be delivered everyday through the employee’s elevator? And how the locker room inside was as small as a rabbit hole to fit hundreds of people working at the Eiffel Tower? And how the kitchen brigade is as close as it gets to a family, and that they’ll be waiting each night to get intoxicated from substances just to wind up from a long day’s work?

In school, it never felt like anything before. Waking up at 7am in the morning to take the RER train to Argenteuil down from Pigalle station was never that easy. All these sleepless nights didn’t seem to bother, and the train ride was always a thrilling ride, excited to know what I was going to learn for the day. Frankly, it felt like going to school again for the first time as a child.

And that was the reason why I did not come home. That was the reason why I chose to spend Eid-ul Fitr chopping carrots and onions in Paris. Because if I did actually went home, none of this would happen. Sure, it’s always nice to see your family again and your old friends and buddies face to face to tell them what you’ve been doing so far. But why not tell it to a complete new person? A person whose background is far different from yours, a person that you can learn so many new things from each conversation, a person whom you’ll never know will give you new links for your future life?

Although following your passion and doing something that you love will always leave you feeling amazing, getting out of your comfort zone and to actually enjoy doing were the things that rewarded me the most. Yes, I know it is going to be a bumpy ride to get to that point especially if we’ve lived all our lives in the same place with the same people speaking the same language. But once you’ve owned that feeling of uneasiness and anxiousness, it’s a journey with no ending from then on.

If I’m entitled to give you an advice, it would be this: just don’t buy that ticket. Instead tell your parents to just give you the money and spend it instead to buy a one-way ticket to Florence, to Crete, or to Marrakesh. Find yourself your old dusty passion that you let go because you never had the time to take and brush it off, and look for a summer course in that field. Learn a language you’ve always been wanting to learn and go learn in the birthplace of it. Read new and exciting books at the time you’re alone, and don’t, just don’t, ever rely on people as an excuse to not do it. If you don’t like to travel alone, get to know people. Hostels are there exactly for us cheap students with limited money and limited people to travel with. Inside there are more people like you, so say hi to them and surely the next picture in any famous building will feature him/her on it.

So ask Google to find yourself amazing things to do this summer, and have fun making memories for the rest of your life!

Photo credit: Author’s collection and le-banyan.com

Six months ago, Indo2SV, in partnership with Indonesia Mengglobal started its second batch of Mentorship Program. The objective of the mentorship program is to help Indonesian college students to get software engineering internships in Silicon Valley, the hub of top tech companies in the world.

In November 2015, we selected eight mentees through a rigorous selection process. We organized online coding/algorithm challenges, compared resumes and essays, and interviewed applicants through Skype. Since then, we have paired mentees with mentors who gave them weekly Skype calls that include recitations of algorithmic concepts, mock interviews, resume revisions, and communication skills. Our mentors are Indonesian professionals currently working at Facebook, Google, Quora, Equifax, Addepar and Siftscience.

We are proud to share that these five mentees have received an internship offer from Silicon Valley’s leading companies in the technology industry:

1. Sharon Lynn – NUS ’17 – Google
2. Prajogo Tio – NTU ’16 – Google
3. Vincent Sebastian – ITB’17 – Google
4. Nathan Azaria – NUS ’16 – Facebook
5. Fariskhi Vidyan – UI ’16 – Mozilla

In the coming months, some of Indo2SV mentors and mentees will share their experience and tips through Indonesia Mengglobal. Through these efforts, we hope that their experience and expertise will be available and beneficial for other Indonesian college students interested in software engineering, and other software engineering enthusiasts.

As the organizers and Indonesians in Silicon Valley, we are excited to encourage more Indonesians to come work and learn here. We fully intend to make this program better and bigger every year. If you want to contribute or help us in our mission, feel free to send us a friendly email at contact@indo2sv.com

The application process for the next batch of Indo2SV will be re-open around May or June 2016. In the meantime, please share the words and check out indo2sv.com for updates!
—————

Indo2SV mentors:

Felix Halim is a Software Engineer at Google. He has a PhD in Computer Science from National University of Singapore and BCompSc from Bina Nusantara International.

Hilfi Alkaff is working at SiftScience in San Francisco, focusing on improving its backend and machine learning stack. He went to Electrical Engineering & Computer Science in University of California, Berkeley for Bachelor, and to University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for Master degree.

Jonathan Hadisuryo is a Software Engineer at Equifax. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from University of California, Berkeley.

Listiarso Wastuargo is a Software Engineer at Parse+Facebook. He was an intern at Facebook for summer 2011 and summer 2012. He received a Bachelor degree in Information Technology from Institut Teknologi Bandung.

Reinhart Hermanus is a Software Engineer at Addepar. He was an intern at Facebook for summer 2013 and 2014. He has a Bachelor of Computer Science from Bina Nusantara University.

Reinardus Surya Pradhitya is a Software Engineer on core product (post and share) infrastructure at Facebook. He has a BEng (Computer Science) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Thomas Aquinas is a Software Engineer at Quora. He did his own startup Dashsell (e-commerce app builder) and worked for Tecmo Koei before joining Quora. He has a BEng (Electrical & Electronic Engineering) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Veni Johanna is currently a Platform Software Engineer at Quora. She previously interned at Facebook and Quora, while pursuing BS, MS in Computer Science from Stanford University.

Photo Courtesy: http://denniskneale.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/siliconvalley-blogart.jpg

Greeting from Indonesia!

Hi young leaders, my name is Janu Muhammad. I’m originally from Sleman Regency, The Special Province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I graduated from the Department of Geography Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, Yogyakarta State University with some academic and non-academic accomplishments. You know that I’m passionate on education, human geography, social research, and youth development. From these interests, I always try to connect all my activities which are related to my personal background with my future plans. For instance, one of my biggest dreams is to become a lecturer. As the consequence, I should improve my capacity in geography research, teaching skill, and scientific papers writing skill. Above all, the important one is trying to have a good character to be the role model for my students.

One thing that I and my friends have started since 2014 is an education project. It is called Karung Goni Learning Center or you can just call “KGLC”. The main goal of this project is to raise the children’s awareness in reading and improving book literacy by providing an access to the community library. We did this ongoing project close to my house in Ngemplak, Caturharjo, Sleman. KGLC has three focuses, which are library service, non-formal education, and youth empowerment. Nowadays, KGLC has several partners from the government sector: Sleman Regency Government, Public Library of Sleman, and The Department of Education and Youth of Sleman Regency. Meanwhile the Non-government sector are coming from Gadjah Mada University, Gerakan Mari Berbagi (GMB), PPI NTU Singapore, Permira Rusia, KBRI Singapore, Young Leaders for Indonesia, The Community Library Forum of Sleman-Yogyakarta, and U.S Embassy Jakarta as well. Obviously, KGLC is a movement to give the youth opportunity to invest their strong interest in education field by joining as a volunteer. So, this is about how the youth generation can make positive impacts for the sustainable environment in the society. That’s a brief introduction from me and my ongoing project.

So, let’s go on…
Through this short article, I would like to share you about my experience in applying Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative program or we called it YSEALI. I believe that you have observed what YSEALI is. Just type ‘YSEALI’ in Google and you can find it completely! On this year (2016) I became an Indonesian representative in ‘winter’ YSEALI Academic Fellowship on Civic Engagement program with Arizona State University (ASU) as the host university. I was selected to join this program with four awesome Indonesian young leaders: Arie from South Kalimantan, Ihsan from West Java, Onk and Ayu from Nusa Tenggara. So our group consisted of five members! This winter we also had a sociopreneur group (Sheila, Putri, Rara, Juli, Opi, and Oni) which has the same host university.
After knowing about YSEALI (please be active to browse the official website), you have to do this 5 steps. I hope that it will be useful for you.

1. Find your motivation, why should you register to this program?
   One basic thing that you must realize is about motivation. Sometimes people want to join the exchange program mostly for gaining a new experience abroad. Or they just follow the common trend of going abroad through a cross cultural program. Even worse, they are so ambitious only for traveling. Is that correct? Guys, we should not put those personal goals as the main reason to apply this program. Moreover, please think about something that are more useful for our community, society, and country. I have tried to apply this program three times but failed the first and second times. Why? I knew that I have to understand my motivation to join this program. Again, think about your community and how this program will support your project. Mention that you will create more impactful leaders for your community after joining the YSEALI program. This is only one example of how important a motivation is.
2. Fulfill the application’s requirement thoroughly, make an impressive CV!
   Based on my previous experiences, there were three documents that should be submitted to the U.S Embassy Jakarta, including the application form (CV), personal statement, and one recommendation letter. It’s quite simple guys. Here I will share you how to make an impressive CV. Focusing on your main passion in appropriate activities is one the best ways to make a good personal information. I reflected to my last experience when I put all my leadership experiences in some different organizations with different focuses. In my opinion, it will be better if we just put the most relevant or suitable to our background. For example, I want to apply Civic Engagement program which requires the activities on the topic of community service, participatory in civic activism, education, volunteering, social movement, NGOs, or others similar programs. Additionally, ensure that you have filled out all the information (personal information, paid work experience, unpaid internship or volunteer experience, membership in associations, English proficiency, etc) in English. Please read the instruction carefully. Remember that incomplete applications will not be considered. So how to make an impressive CV? I think it should be CLEAR, UNIQUE, and FOCUS. YSEALI is looking for the best candidate to get the scholarship. So, make your CV impressive.
3. Be honest on your personal statement.
   “Tell us about yourself and what project are you working on, or idea for a project that you want to implement in your community (related to the topic). How do you expect this experience will affect your community? How will it affect you personally? Please attach your response, limited to 250 words, and submit along with this completed application and one letter of recommendation from someone who knows you well, to YSEALIjkt@state.gov.” I remember that each personal statement has the specific questions topic to be answered. For the YSEALI program, it is clear that the program will be beneficial not only for the participant but also for their communities and countries. YSEALI is designed to strengthen ASEAN youths in one academic exchange program. Knowing the main vision of YSEALI itself will help you to understand what you should write on your personal statement. First, let’s see the statement: Tell us about yourself and what project are you working on, or idea for a project that you want to implement in your community (related to the topic). It means that you must make a brief introduction. Please do not rewrite the information that have been mentioned on your personal information. Just make 1-2 short sentences. You are allowed to begin with “unique” part. Here my first paragraph: “You need a commitment to do your project by empowering the youths in your village”, said Mrs. Judith. This advice makes me respect my community. It was my honor to welcome Mrs. Judith A. Moon, Counselor for Public Diplomacy of U.S. Embassy Jakarta when she come to Karung Goni Learning Center (KGLC) on September 16th, 2015. You can find your personal style that will attract the reviewer to read your essay. On the next paragraph, you can share about the project that you are working on. This is a very IMPORTANT part. Please give a core information about your project. What are the key achievements on your project? Tell us that you’ve done a relevant project with the YSEALI program. For instance, if you wish to apply Civic Engagement, please give strong explanation with your appropriate project on this theme. The other way, if you are applying for sociopreneur/environment theme, please also give the suitable project example that will reinforce your essay. Second, “How do you expect this experience will affect your community? How will it affect you personally?” It is very clear that you should give a sturdy response in order to the impact YSEALI program. As I said to you before that the YSEALI will affect your community and yourself as well. Indeed, please argue that you will bring positive influences to your community. Think about the specific steps, not too general. How can you implement the YSEALI values to your community? For instance, “I will share my YSEALI experiences to my volunteers in KGCL with the hope that I can motivate them and create more positive programs”.  Just answer the questions in the right way, be honest, specific, and focus!
4. Support your application with a powerful recommendation letter. I got the recommendation letter from my Dean of Social Sciences Faculty who know my personality. I’m sure that recommendation also becomes the key part to be a successful candidate for this program. Just make sure that you choose the best person who knows you well professionally on your organizational activities, academic, and social works. It can be your lecturer or mentor. Families and friends are not allowed to give the recommendation letter. I have a personal experience when I requested to my dean to give me one. He gave me a lot of motivations to this program. I’ve deeply interviewed to get the same perception for the recommendation letter’s contents. Specifically, it would be better if the person who gives you the letter has supporting facts related to your personal statements. Furthermore, he can declare that you have done the project or have strong leadership capability to solve the specific problem around you. However, it depends on her/him to write in a different way but stays sharp to the positive facts. I attached two recommendations, another one was from Young Leaders for Indonesia Foundation supported by McKinsey&Company.
5. Be well prepared for the interview selection! My friend who were selected in YSEALI program said that, “If you have been informed as a shortlist candidate to the interview session, you’re almost reach the finish line. It’s only one step ahead.” I was wondering whether I would be selected or not. I realized that this is a very selective program. Everyone wants to be the delegate. After a rigorous selection process, I was given an email. That’s an unforgettable moment when I was opening my email and I read the first word, “Congratulation…”. Alhamdulillah, I continued to the next round. They invited me to the interview selection through Skype. As quickly as I can, I gave them the time confirmation for having a skype interview. Due to the limited resources, I was helped by my friends to get the reliable internet connection. You can imagine, I was staying in my friend’s boarding house. I remember on that afternoon I’ve been interviewed by three people from Jakarta. I’ve already made a preparation perfectly. I tried to understand my application form, my personal statement, and my project! Actually, I was so nervous but I suggested myself to be more relax during the conversation. I answered the questions as similar as mentioned in the application form. Moreover, I explained KGLC and my future hope in unleashing Indonesia’s potentials through YSEALI program. So, a well preparation is the main point. Besides that, make sure that you have a good internet connection, clear intonation, humility, and smiles. They will help you to speak more naturally.

When I was cleaning up my bedroom in the morning, suddenly someone called me. My phone was ringing and a women said in Indonesian language. She informed me that I’ve been primary candidate for YSEALI Academic Fellowship Program on Civic Engagement 2016. Alhamdulillah, all praises to Allah who gave these opportunity. I felt so blessed and wanted to hug my mother. But she was still in the Sleman market to work. I informed her by phone and she was very happy. This good news was informed after one week I received the LPDP Scholarship result to study in a Master program. All the hard works were paid off. I believe that it was only about the exact time. I failed twice but the third one was the miracle.

So, never give up, keep up your spirit, and be on time to submit your YSEALI application!

From February 20th until March 26th, 2016, I and 43 young leaders from ASEAN spent our time in Arizona State University. We made the new journey of our life through the YSEALI program. You can find my stories in my blog www.janumuhammad.weebly.com as well.

Trust me, you’ll get amazing experiences with the new networks from the United States and ASEAN fellows that will broaden your global perspective.
So, what are you waiting for?
Let’s become the catalyst of change through YSEALI Academic Fellowship program!

YSEALI Academic Fellowship’s Participant

Regards,

Janu Muhammad

PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK (for Indonesian participants)
http://jakarta.usembassy.gov/yseali/academic-fellows.html
the deadline is May 15, 2016

Join YSEALI
Receive updates and other opportunities available for young Southeast Asians from the United States Government.

https://youngsoutheastasianleaders.state.gov/

Read my stories in the United States
http://janumuhammad.weebly.com/my-stories

Photo Courtesy: Muhammad Arie Sya’ban, Roath Sophanna

The article was originally published by Janu Muhammad on April 25th, 2016 at http://janumuhammad.weebly.com/. The article can be found here: http://janumuhammad.weebly.com/my-stories/-five-useful-steps-to-apply-yseali-academic-fellowship

Apa rasanya sekolah di dua negara yang berbeda?

Saya akan menggambarkan dua pengalaman berbeda tersebut melalui artikel ini. Pertama kalinya adalah di saat saya menempuh pendidikan Diploma of Visual Communication di Raffles Design Institute, Singapura. Sekolah ini merupakan sebuah college, yaitu sekolah yang jumlah murid dan luas gedungnya lebih kecil dibandingkan universitas. Di Singapura sangat banyak perguruan tinggi yang memakai sistem college ini, di mana banyak yang berkerja sama dengan universitas lain di luar negeri (double degree) ataupun cukup dengan degree dari college tersebut saja. Murid yang terdapat di dalam satu kelas tidak terlalu banyak, hanya sekitar 15 – 25 orang. Kebanyakan murid berasal dari negara-negara di Asia seperti Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cina, Jepang, Korea dan Singapura sendiri. Kapasitas kelas ini membuat dosen menjadi lebih fokus pada perkembangan setiap muridnya.

Kuliah di Singapura

Raffles Design Institute merupakan sekolah desain yang cukup terkenal di Singapura dan juga Australia, karena mereka juga memiliki cabang di Australia dan beberapa negara lainnya. Metode pembelajaran di Raffles sendiri lebih terpaku kepada practical project dan group work. Karena saya mengambil jurusan Visual Communication, maka projeknya lebih banyak seperti membuat konsep dan desain iklan, membuat desain publikasi seperti majalah atau buku dan juga meliputi tugas research yang kebanyakkan di lakukan secara group work. Karena Singapura merupakan negara jajahan Inggris, nuansa akademis yang terpengaruh dari cara belajar di Inggris cukup tertanam di sini, yaitu pada tugas research yang cukup mendetail walau saya ada di jurusan Visual Communication yang cukup jarang harus berada di library. Modul pelajaran ini cukup membuat teman-teman saya ‘kaget’ karena tidak biasanya anak design diharuskan membuat makalah. Di Singapura pembelajarannya lebih fokus di sisi practical-nya, dan pengalaman ini membuat teknik dan pehaman saya mengenai segala aspek dari jurusan yang saya pelajari menjadi lebih mendalam (ilmu yang diajarkan meliputi advertising, publication design, photography, portfolio making).

Kendala yang saya lalui di Singapura lebih banyak terdapat di saat saya harus mengerjakan group project, karena banyak dari murid di Singapura yang kurang menguasai Bahasa Inggris. Saya cukup salut dengan murid-murid yang berani mengambil resiko kuliah di negara berbahasa Inggris walaupun kemampuan berbahasa mereka yang terbatas. Terkadang mereka keluar dari instruksi yang diberikan dosen karena tidak paham mengenai tugas yang diberikan, saya pun harus turut membantu mereka dalam mengerjakan tugas yang benar. Pernah saya menjadi orang Indonesia sendiri di antara teman-teman grup yang berasal dari Vietnam. Hanya satu dari mereka yang lancar berbahasa Inggris! Namun hal ini membuat pertemanan kami lebih solid karena kami banyak menghabiskan waktu bersama.

Transfer ke Inggris

Lain halnya di Singapura, lain pula di Inggris. Kebanyakkan perguruan tinggi di Inggris berbentuk university yang standard akademisnya sudah diatur sedemikian rupa oleh pemerintah Inggris. Karena merasa membutuhkan lebih banyak theory and business side dari perkuliahan, saya memutuskan untuk mentransfer kuliah saya dari Singapura ke Inggris pada tahun terakhir. Banyak yang bertanya bagaimana saya bisa pindah kuliah dan hanya menghabiskan waktu setahun untuk kuliah di Inggris untuk lulus S1. Kemudahan ini saya dapatkan karena saya pernah kuliah di Singapura dan juga pernah mengambil diploma di Lasalle College, Indonesia (dengan license dari Kanada) yang keduanya berbahasa Inggris. Kredit pelajaran yang saya miliki ternyata mampu menembus universitas di Inggris yang terkenal cukup selektif dalam menerima mahasiswa, terlebih mahasiswa transfer seperti saya. Saya akui saya cukup beruntung, karena sudah lebih dari lima sekolah yang saya coba dan hanya Leeds Beckett University yang memberikan penawaran paling baik, yaitu di Level 6 yang merupakan tahun terakhir dari masa perkuliahan di Inggris. Kebanyakkan memberikan saya tempat di Level 5, dimana saya membutuhkan dua tahun lagi untuk lulus.

Pada awalnya saya tidak mempunyai rencana pasti akan memilih negara yang mana. Namun setelah melihat dari segi pertimbangan biaya dan waktu lulus saya memutuskan untuk mengambil penawaran dari Leeds Beckett University, mengambil jurusan Creative Media Technology. Awalnya saya cukup nervous karena ketakutan saya bahwa saya akan tertinggal dengan teman-teman di final year yang sudah dari awal kuliah di Inggris. Apalagi saya mendengar dari seorang teman bahwa aksen Inggris di Leeds cukup susah. Tapi ketakutan saya itu tidak terbukti.

Proses transfer kredit mata kuliah saya dari Singapura ke Inggris cukup mudah. Kita hanya harus memberikan transkrip terakhir kita yang akan dinilai oleh pihak universitas di sana. Proses aplikasinya pun sama dengan mahasiswa/mahasiswi baru, yaitu melalui online system yang bernama UCAS. Namun karena saya menemui pihak universitas Leeds Beckett University melalui sebuah pameran pendidikan, prosesnya tergolong mudah dan praktis karena saya dibantu oleh agen pendidikan yang sangat mengerti akan kebutuhan saya yang sangat penting ini (di karenakan perkuliahan akan mulai di bulan September, sedangkan saya baru apply di bulan Maret – April). Sistem penilaian antara kampus saya di Singapura dan Inggris cukup berbeda, namun untuk apply ke jurusan kreatif saya diharuskan memberikan design portfolio untuk mendukung transkrip nilai yang telah saya berikan. Saya juga harus menyertakan lembaran yang berisikan deskripsi mengenai tiap mata kuliah yang saya ambil, di mana pihak di kampus Singapura sudah menyediakan lembaran ini dari awal saya masuk kuliah. Jika teman-teman belum memiliki lembaran ini, teman-teman bisa memintanya pada pihak administration di kampus teman-teman untuk memprosesnya. Bermodalkan transkrip nilai, penjelasan mata kuliah dan design portfolio, akhirnya saya mendapatkan offer letter dari Leeds Beckett University untuk masuk ke L6 (final year).

Kuliah di Leeds, Inggris

Final year di Leeds melatih saya untuk mengerti setiap tahapan mengerjakan project baik dari eksekusi konsep hingga berkomunikasi dengan client. Kelas saya di Leeds Beckett University terdiri dari kelas practical, seminar dan lecture. Pada kelas seminar dan lecture muridnya bisa mencapai 60 orang, namun di kelas practical muridnya di batasi hanya 15-20 orang per kelas yang menurut saya sangat bagus. Di kelas practical kita akan membutuhkan komunikasi yang lebih intens dengan dosen, saya sangat merasakan manfaat dari pembatasan jumlah murid ini. Apalagi wajah Asia saya cukup membuat para dosen lebih perhatian karena takut saya tidak mengerti (don’t you worry Sir!), dosen-dosen di Inggris ternyata sangat peduli dengan perkembangan individu tiap muridnya. Terlebih lagi di kampus saya orang Asianya sangat sedikit, kebanyakan muridnya berkewarganegaraan Inggris dan dari negara-negara Eropa lainnya.

Di semester pertama saya sudah harus mengumpulkan thesis yang merupakan syarat untuk lulus dengan gelar Bachelor of Science with Honours. Bagusnya, di semester kedua project-nya lebih terdiri dari aspek practical yang sudah saya pelajari sebelumnya. Tantangannya pun tidak lantas mudah, di semester kedua saya harus membuat motion graphic video, professional photography project serta website project yang paling sulit karena kita diwajibkan untuk mengembangkan ilmu coding sendiri untuk membuat struktur dari website yang kita tersebut. Karena pernah berkuliah di dua tempat sebelumnya, variasi ilmu yang saya miliki cukup beragam dan sangat membantu saya dalam mengerjakan tugas-tugas di final year itu. Di Inggris mahasiswa dituntut untuk menjadi lebih mandiri lagi dan mampu memecahkan persoalan dengan caranya masing-masing. Kita diharapkan untuk dapat menjadi seorang ‘innovator’ daripada mengikuti cara dosen mengerjakan sesuatu. Kemandirian saya sangat terasah saat berkuliah di Inggris, dari mulai menginap di perpustakaan kampus saya yang memang buka 24 jam dan membaca puluhan buku serta jurnal, mengerjakan coding yang seharusnya lebih dipahami anak IT, mencari model untuk tugas photography saya serta memaksa diri untuk terus bersemangat mengikuti kelas pagi di kala udara di Leeds sangatlah dingin. Kunci saya di dalam menempuh pendidikan yang sukses di Inggris adalah menguasai bahasanya dengan baik (bekali diri dengan penguasaan grammar dan conversation skill yang baik), tepat waktu (tidak menunda-nunda mengerjakan tugas), dan memiliki kemampuan presentasi yang baik. Tiga hal tersebut mampu membawa saya meraih gelar Bachelor of Science (Hons) hanya dengan setahun beradaptasi dengan kurikulum Inggris!

Singapura dan Inggris, keduanya memberikan tantangan dan pengalaman yang berbeda. Hal ini memberikan banyak manfaat di perkembangan saya sebagai seorang individu untuk beradaptasi dan meraih mimpi di era globalisasi sekarang ini. Jadi, mana yang tertarik untuk kamu coba?

Di antara para pelajar Indonesia yang berkuliah ke luar negeri, tentunya ada beberapa orang yang memiliki motivasi agar dapat melanjutkan dengan bekerja di luar negeri. Saya pribadi adalah salah satunya, dan Alhamdulillah, setelah saya menyelesaikan studi S2 pada tahun 2013 dari Ecole des Mines de Nantes (Prancis), saya berhasil meneruskan perjalanan saya di Eropa dengan bekerja di sebuah perusahaan di bidang engineering di Norwegia. Berbagai pengalaman dan wawasan menarik saya dapatkan di sini karena tentunya tantangan yang dihadapi di dunia kerja berbeda dari dunia pelajar. Selain itu, Norwegia sebagai salah satu negara Skandinavia memiliki budaya yang juga sangat berbeda dengan Prancis tempat saya studi S2 dulu. Nah, mungkin ada teman-teman yang penasaran bagaimana sih, rasanya bekerja di Norwegia? Mari simak cerita saya berikut ini.

Rutinitas Harian

Saya tinggal di kota Oslo yang merupakan ibu kota dari Norwegia, namun lokasi kantor saya berada di kota Asker yang berjarak 25 km di sebelah barat dari Oslo. Setiap pagi saya naik bus dan kereta untuk pergi ke kantor dengan total waktu perjalanan 1 jam.  Jam kantor di sini biasanya dimulai pada pukul 8 pagi sampai dengan pukul 4 sore, tetapi ada kebebasan (flexi time) untuk datang lebih siang atau lebih pagi dengan syarat jam kerja minimal 8 jam terpenuhi. Jadwal makan beberapa jam lebih awal, contohnya istirahat makan siang dimulai pada pukul 11 (dengan durasi 30 menit),dan bahkan makan malam pun biasanya dilakukan pada pukul 5 sore.

Berbeda dengan pengalaman saya bekerja di Jakarta dulu yang biasanya orang baru keluar kantor di atas jam 7 malam, kalau di Norwegia sangatlah lumrah untuk ‘teng-go!’ alias langsung pulang pada pukul 4 sore. Salah satu alasannya terkait jadwal makan malam yang dimulai pada pukul 5 sore, danhampir tidak ada rumah tangga yang memiliki ART dan kebanyakan kedua orang tua bekerja, jadi mereka harus segera pulang ke rumah untuk menyiapkan makanan untuk anak-anaknya.

Peran saya di kantor adalah sebagai seorang Business Development Engineer atau istilah lainnya Sales Engineer. Perusahaan tempat saya bekerja membuat rancangan dan desain untuk berbagai peralatan gas untuk aplikasi di kapal (gas carrier) maupun untuk kilang pencairan gas di darat (LNG plant). Bersama tim di kantor, kami menyiapkan rancangan teknis untuk sebuah proyek dan juga membuat penawaran harga dan kontrak kerja. Saya sangat bersyukur karena bisa terlibat langsung di ‘dapur’ perusahaan berbasis teknologi, karena saya jadi bisa mengamati langsung bagaimana proses inovasi teknologi secara riil itu berjalan. Dulu, hal tersebut pertama kali saya peroleh sebagai materi kuliah di jurusan Teknik Industri ITB. Jadi saya senang karena kini saya dapat memanfaatkan ilmu yang saya peroleh dari S2 saya di Perancis maupun dari S1 saya di Indonesia.

Penjualan perusahaan kami 90% bersifat ekspor. Ya, karena tidak banyak di dunia yang menguasai teknologi cryogenic gas handling maka saya pun berkesempatan untuk berinteraksi dengan client mancanegara. Selain pemahaman teknis akan produk yang dijual, kemampuan berkomunikasi menjadi salah satu kunci dalam menjalankan pekerjaan ini. Oleh karena itu, secara sengaja perusahaan menugaskan saya untuk mengurus prospek-prospek yang terkait dengan Asia Tenggara dan Indonesia. Tetapi, bukan berarti saya cuma dimanfaatkan karena latar belakang negara kewarganegaraan saya lho. Malahan, 80% dari waktu saya dipakai untuk bekerja dengan client yang berasal dari Eropa seperti Belanda, Jerman, Swedia, Finlandia, Prancis, dan negara-negara lainnya. Mayoritas interaksi dilakukan melalui telepon dan e-mail, tetapi cukup banyak juga perjalanan bisnis untuk bertemu langsung dengan mereka. Perjalanan lain yang saya lakukan juga terkadang untuk mengikuti konferensi atau expo. Meskipun melelahkan, menariknya saya jadi dapat mengunjungi banyak negara dan kota berbeda secara gratis!

Suasana dalam kereta di pagi hari, cukup berdesakan karena banyak orang pergi menuju tempat kerja masing-masing

Norwegia adalah negara yang cukup terbuka untuk pekerja asing. Terutama di bidang engineering, tidak ada kewajiban untuk menguasai bahasa Norwegia karena komunikasi di kantor selalu menggunakan bahasa Inggris. Saya pun meski sudah 2 tahun tinggal di sini masih belum lancar berbahasa Norwegia (Norsk) walaupun pernah mengikuti les bahasa yang diberikan di kantor. Penyebabnya lebih karena kurangnya waktu untuk praktek ketimbang karena tingkat kesulitan bahasanya. Di kehidupan sehari-hari pun orang Norwegia sudah biasa bercakap dengan bahasa Inggris dengan orang asing. Ini adalah hal yang bertolakbelakang dengan kondisi di Prancis dulu. Perbedaan lain dengan Prancis yang didominasi oleh pelajarnya, justru di Norwegia lebih banyak orang Indonesia yang datang untuk bekerja ketimbang menjadi mahasiswa.Lain halnya di kantor saya, saat ini saya adalah satu-satunya orang Indonesia dan banyak teman kerja yang berasal dari Iran, Portugal, Prancis, Polandia, India, Jerman, dan lainnya. Suasana di kantor sangat bervariasi karena saat ini di kantor saya terdapat sekitar 30 warga negara yang berbeda. Hal ini memberikan saya kesempatan untuk bergaul dan mengetahui kebudayaan dari berbagai bangsa selain Norwegia Ketika makan siang, topik-topik global pun meliputi percakapan kami, misalnya seperti krisis ekonomi di Yunani, saya pun jadi dapat mendengar penjelasan langsung dari teman yang orang Yunani.

Yang Unik dan Asik di Norwegia

Salah satu hal yang terbersit ketika mendengar nama Norwegia biasanya adalah ikan salmon. Di sini memang ikan salmon sangat banyak sampai-sampai harganya pun lebih murah dari daging ayam! Saya tinggal membeli di supermarket; apakah ingin salmon asap, filet salmon, atau salmon segar yang biasa dijadikan bahan membuat sashimi (disebut “salma” di sini). Ketika ada kesempatan pulang ke Indonesia, salmon menjadi salah satu oleh-oleh andalan karena harganya yang tidak mahal dan cukup diminati keluarga di tanah air.

Selain itu, olahraga ski juga identik dengan Norwegia yang berada dekat dengan kutub utara sehingga udaranya dingin dan banyak memiliki salju. Meskipun saya berasal dari negara tropis, saya menikmati olahraga ski ini dan tidak ingin menyia-nyiakan kesempatan yang saya miliki saat ini. Yang betul-betul berkesan, akses ke arena ski sangat banyak dan mudah dicapai dengan kendaraan umum dengat cepat. Sehingga meskipun saya tinggal di perkotaan, cukup dengan naik bus atau kereta saya bisa mencapai trek yang ada di bukit, gunung, ataupun danau yang membeku. Saya pun tidak perlu membayar tarif tambahan untuk perjalanan ini karena sudah termasuk dalam tiket angkutan umum bulanan saya (arena ski masih dalam wilayah kota Oslo). Arena untuk ski juga tersedia sangat banyak di Norwegia bahkan dengan jalan kaki dari kantor pun ada. Ski di malam hari tidak menjadi masalah karena disediakan lampu seperti lampu jalan raya di beberapa arena ski.

Suasana di trek cross country ski di dalam hutan pinus

Terkait pekerjaan, kondisi pegawai sangatlah diperhatikan di sini. Misalnya, meja kerja kami dilengkapi dengan 2 monitor besar agar leher dan mata tidak pegal. Setiap hari selasa, kamis dan jumat ada ahli pijat yang datang ke kantor untuk memberikan perawatan. Biaya pijat disubsidi kantor dan bahkan ada ruang pijat khusus selain gym dengan peralatan secukupnya. Bagi pegawai perempuan, terdapat hak cuti melahirkan yang panjangnya sampai 1 tahun. Bayangkan selama cuti yang lama tersebut, gaji akan tetap dibayarkan! Betapa kondisi yang diidamkan. Perlu diketahui segala fasilitas ini ada karena arahan dari pemerintah negaranya,dantentunya tidak semerta-merta gratis karena sebetulnya pajak di Norwegia sangat besar;minimal mencapai 35% dari pendapatan seseorang.Pajak yang ditarik, dikelola untuk dimanfaatkan bagi kesejahtereaan warganya kembali.

Proses Mendapatkan Kerja

Di program saya berkuliah di Ecole des Mines de Nantes, di semester terakhir para mahasiwa diwajibkan untuk magang di perusahaan sambil mengerjakan tesis. Nah, di antara beberapa tempat yang saya incar untuk magang, akhirnya yang memberikan saya kesempatan adalah perusahaan tempat saya bekerja sekarang ini. Momen ketika magang inilah yang dulu saya manfaatkan sebaik mungkin untuk mendapatkan tawaran kerja. Meski berstatus pelajar dan magang tanpa bayaran, tetapi saya tunjukkan kerja keras dan berikan karya terbaik. Alhasil, ketika itu saya berhasil meyakinkan manajer dan direktur di perusahaan untuk memberikan saya tawaran bekerja.

Tidak semuanya berjalan mulus sih, salah satu kendala yang saya alami adalah terkait visa. Untuk dapat bekerja di luar negeri, kita memerlukan visa khusus, danpada kasus saya, proses pembuatan visa kerja ini memakan waktu 6 bulan. Karena menunggu kabar visa yang sangat lama saya pun sempat cemas apakah saya akhirnya dapat bekerja di Norwegia atau tidak. Ketika itu, saya menunggu sambil mencari kerja juga di Indonesia. Hal ini pun bukanlah perkara mudah walaupun saya berbekal ijazah S2 dari Perancis. Setelah lebih dari empat bulan menganggur, yang kembali memberikan saya semangat saat itu adalah seorang kenalan yang menawarkan saya untuk membantu-bantu di perusahannya. Tidak lama kemudian saya terima kabar baik bahwa visa saya telah disetujui dan saya pun langsung cepat-cepat mempersiapkan keberangkatan ke Norwegia.

Kini hari-hari saya bekerja di luar negeri tentunya penuh dengan berbagai tantangan dan pelajaran hidup yang tidak mudah. Saya berharap dengan menulis, bisa membantu membangkitkan semangat teman-teman yang sedang mempersiapkan diri atau bertanya-tanya mengenai apa sajakah manfaat dari kuliah ke luar negeri atau bagaimana sih kira-kira juntrungannya setelah lulus nanti. Tulisan ini juga saya buat sebagai wujud rasa syukur saya kepada Allah SWT yang telah memberikan pengalaman yang sangat berharga untuk hidup saya. Mudah-mudahan cerita singkat ini bisa menghibur dan menambah wawasan teman-teman pembaca. Terimakasih!

Pawai masyarakat di depan istana raja Norwegia pada perayaan hari konstitusi 18 Mei untuk memperingati lepasnya Norwegia dari kekuasaan Swedia

Images courtesy of Syawalianto Rahmaputro

John Dewey, an American philosopher and education reformer I absolutely admire, famously said, “We do not learn from experience …. we learn from reflecting on experience.” Within the next 10 reading minutes or so, I will reflect on my experience in acting as the President of Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia-Australia (PPIA) at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Hoping that it will help future Indonesian students as they continue their study overseas, I will explore the underlying motivation behind my involvement in this organisation in the past two years and, more importantly, what I have gained from this experience.

Regarding PPIA itself, while each university branch may have their own unique vision, it is a student organisation unique for its minimal language and cultural barriers for Indonesians to converse and work with other Indonesian students in a semi-professional environment. Having spent most of my primary and secondary school in a bilingual national school, being actively involved in the PPIA committee is naturally easier as I am able to disregard the language and cultural differences in communicating my thoughts and aspiration in project management, event planning, and strategic management to grow this organisation.

Author among the PPIA University of Melbourne’s members

Having been living for almost two years in a city famously known for its coffee culture (Melbourne!), I have developed a decent appreciation towards the meticulous process dedicated in producing a great cup of coffee. It turns out that an important aspect which distinguishes “great” coffee from “good” coffee is the precise range of brewing temperature within 91-96 degree Celsius. If the temperature is lower than 91 degree Celsius, the coffee will not be extracted properly. Otherwise, if it is higher than 96 degree Celsius, the coffee will be overheated and burned.

Similarly, my experience tells me that the way PPIA produces leaders is similar to how a good café produces a great cup of coffee. This organisation provides a favorable growth environment that is neither too cold nor too hot. For example, managing a couple of projects and events with other people had inevitably brought conflicts and differing opinions throughout the process. These dynamics are the ‘brewing process’ which required me to grow and transcend my limit.  In addition, and perhaps more importantly, the workloads, pressure and risks were not ‘too hot’ in the sense that it does not expose me to unjustifiable risk and consequences. PPIA remains a safe and effective learning platform to hone and sharpen my leadership skills and gain invaluable organisational experience.

Author with Achmad Zaky, the founder of Bukalapak

One of the best parts of my experience being actively involved in PPIA is the connections and networks built over the past two years. As a student studying development economics, I am rarely, if ever, exposed to people from engineering, geology, agricultural and biomedical science backgrounds at campus. PPIA provides an encompassing platform which connects me with all these folks from vastly different backgrounds which brings a mind-opening and unique way of thinking to the table. Subsequently, this highlights the limitations of my way of thinking, which in turn enriches my thinking structure as I work and get to know them more.

Finally, in a lot of ways, being involved PPIA is like hitting a few birds with one stone in a sense that the same people with whom I have been working through several projects end up being not only great co-workers but also my long-lasting friends. It is also a common case that the friends I met in PPIA events or committee happen to be in the same course, which allow us to study together.

Within the next few months, my PPIA journey will conclude. Can I eradicate poverty with PPIA? Certainly not. It is an organisation with its own flaws and limitations just like any other organisations. However, being involved in PPIA in the past two years has given me the opportunity to discover myself, better my work ethic, to meet like-minded people, and to form long-lasting relationships through a semi-professional working environment. I believe these growth dynamics and opportunities are the key values that PPIA has to offer to accelerate my personal growth and prepare myself for the final year of my university journey, and more importantly, the next chapters in my life.

Photos provided by the author

Edited by Hadrian Pranjoto

This week, we are featuring a casual chat with Libra Akila, a TV host and a dual degree student majoring in French Studies and Intercultural Communication at Universitas Indonesia and INALCO (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales).

1.    Tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Libra Akila and I am 22 years old. At the moment, I am studying Intercultural Communication at INALCO (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales) in Paris, France.

2.    What did you do before you moved to Paris?

Before I moved to Paris and became a student here, I was a TV host and at the same time a student at Universitas Indonesia majoring in French Studies. When I was accepted into Universitas Indonesia, I promised myself to pursue my studies in France, because I was not only studying French literature, but also its politics, culture and other aspects of the country and I found out about this dual degrees programme between Universitas Indonesia and INALCO.

3.    How did you find out about this programme?

I found out about this programme from my lecturer. He explained that this programme would give us the opportunity to study in France for one year and also earn a bachelor’s degree from France. However I was still not interested at that time. Then I asked my friend who already applied to the programme, and from then on I was motivated to also take part and take the opportunity I’ve always dreamt of.

 4.    Can you tell us a little bit about this programme?

Basically this programme offers three courses and each course only has one available slot.  There were IT, Teaching and CVI (Communication et formation interculturelle) courses and every year. Thankfully, my friends and I were both accepted into the CVI, the course that we both wanted.  Additionally, the French Government normally offers scholarship to Indonesian students who join this programme – each year the Government gives different kind of scholarship.

 5.    Tell me about your activities in Paris?

Well, I study, travel, and dance. Occasionally, I got a job offer to host some events held by KBRI (Embassy of Indonesia in France) or PPI (Indonesian Students Association in Paris). That one time, I was a presenter at Pavilon Indonesia COP 21, a conference on climate change held by United Nations. During that event, I met so many important people, such as, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Julie Bishop, John Key and Alec Baldwin. It was an amazing experience for me!

6.    What do you like the most from your current activities in Paris?

Of course dancing! Here in Paris, I dance at least twice a week. I’ve always been passionate about performing art such as acting, theatre, singing and especially dancing. I realised that performing is what I am good at and simply my passion since I was very young, I have participated in a number of competitions, festivals and a talent show. In terms of dancing, I participated in a couple of dance festivals in Canada and France by performing Indonesia traditional dances. Not only traditional dances, I love modern and hip-hop dances as well. I danced hip-hop with my dance group back in high school; we participated in a number of dance competitions and were asked to perform at some events. I can say that I love performing in front of a crowd.

Right now, I am a part of INALCO’s dance club. This dance club means a lot to me, as I can’t be away from dancing. I gained a lot of experiences – I could attend so many dance workshops by great dancers from all around the world. One of my favourite moments was when I attended Brian Puspos’s workshop. He is one of my favourite dancers and he is really influential to me.

Anyways, speaking of performing, I recently performed at our university’s dance event called Spectacle des Danses du Monde or Performance of Dances of the World. It was a great experience and definitely a night to remember. To be honest, I miss performing. I miss being under the spotlight – I was constantly working when I was in Indonesia, being a TV host or playing a role in TV series.

7.    So did your dance club help you during your adjustment period?

Definitely! Aside from dancing, this dance club helped me developing myself. This dance club is a platform for me to socialise and practice my French. The moment I first arrived in Paris to study, my French was extremely limited. I started to communicate and socialise with native speakers to improve my French.  This is also one of the ways to expand my network in a new place.

Not only that, it helped me a lot during the first few months when I was adapting to new surroundings. When you moved to a new place, you would feel like a total stranger because you don’t know anyone. Thankfully, this dance club has made me feel welcome, because I am a part of something in a new environment.

Photo credit: Author’s collection

2016 is a big year for the U.S. politics. The post-Obama administration is just around the corner.  Apart from the massive media coverage over candidate’s bigot antics and comical quarrels, what fascinates me the most is witnessing directly the democratic participation in the U.S..

My fellow classmates would drive up to various cities, support candidates rally, volunteer their time to advocate for their candidate, and actually go door to door or make phone calls to convince people to vote. These highly educated young professionals opt to volunteer their time to help their candidate mobilizes masses.

Let me emphasize. They volunteered – unpaid for the success of the politician. They are not even necessarily active members of the political party. Yet, they are a backbone of the candidate to mobilize other voters. This is not an anomaly in the U.S. politics as the current visible grassroots mobilization is very similar to those seen in Obama’s 2008 campaign.

In the U.S., voters’ mobilization is a positive participation, since it is driven by the candidate’s constituents, such as my own friends, who volunteered their time to go to communities, knock on doors, make calls, and ask people to vote. Furthermore, constituents also contributed to finance their candidate’s campaign. Voters, not super PACs or rich donors, have a stake in their campaign and can influence the candidate. For example, both Democratic Party presidential candidates, Sanders and Hilton, raise the average donations of 27$ and 45$ respectively from public.

It made me reflect on my own experience of elections in Indonesia. In Indonesia, mobilizing voters has a negative undertone. Mobilizing voters is often translated into bribing or giving money in exchange for their vote. Mobilizing voters is not seen as a democratic participation because in reality it is not a well-informed participation. Bribing constituents is and should be considered a voter fraud, not mobilization.

Don’t get me wrong. The U.S. has not always been free from voter fraud. One of the most famous voter fraud cases happened in New York during 1860s was coined as the Tammany Hall fraud. Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party’s political machine in New York, mobilized the votes of immigrants and the poor to vote through violence, intimidation, and bribe.

Nowadays, we can’t claim that the U.S. is totally free from voter fraud. Yet, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, it does exist but barely happens.  Voter bribe is considered a voter fraud and a strongly punishable crime in the U.S.

Voter bribe is also a crime in Indonesia. Despite not specifically stated in the Local Election Law as a criminal act, it could be prosecuted under the Criminal Code. The keys are each citizen needs to be vigilant about voter bribes and law enforcements need to investigate and prosecute them.

Indonesia’s democracy is young and will continue to evolve as our law strengthens. As citizens, we also need to go learn to mobilize beyond ‘clicktivism’ and voter bribery.

The idea that people vote because they do want to and because they are fully aware about the consequence of their vote is notable.

I believe Indonesia can and will achieve this level of democratic participation just as the U.S. learned to stop ‘corrupt political machines’ like Tammany Hall. It will take time but by taking the better public awareness of the importance of a meaningful participation in democracy into account, we can accelerate this process.

Grassroots mobilization – where constituents, instead of money or intimidation, that mobilize votes – should be our target. We should encourage people to mobilize mass for candidates they support. One of the ways is by volunteering to knock door to door. Creating the real connection between citizens and not merely clicking ‘like’ for movements on social media are the beauties of democracy.

Photo Courtesy: New York Times, Boston Globe

Before holiday: “Capek gua, kapan liburan?”

During holiday: “Ini libur kok lama amat? Udah bosen banget.”

After holiday: “Liburan ngapain aja? Kok udah selesai?”

As students, it’s normal to be fed up with studying at times, especially during revision and exam periods. After rushing for the coveted seats at the library and revising from our text-filled lecture notes, tutorial questions, and past papers for many days, there’s nothing more like a dark humour than the thought of holiday during the saddening fact that there are still a lot of exams to go.

Does holiday mean turning yourself into a couch potato accompanied with potato chips? I find it interesting that quite a lot of people do the so-called movie marathon (especially with help of Netflix, though I’m not sure if it’s still blocked by Telkom by now after the concern on its lack of business permit in Indonesia), though I’m actually not into it. How about declaring yourself as a foodie and start traveling around in search for the café with least overpriced English breakfast? Little do people know that I love fried oyster despite being quite oily and calorie-laden (thanks to the starch), so I find it somehow acceptable to wander around for the better dishes in your area.

Doing those things for weekends can be great ways to refresh ourselves, but let’s throw in the extreme cases: how about spending a 1-week, or even 12-weeks holiday? Continuously playing a loop of music at Spotify to the point you got sick of your previously favourite songs? Having your manual weighing scale looping back to 0 again due to you gorging on those burgers and truffle oil fries, further paired with coffee with full cream milk, whipped cream, and copious shots of corn syrup? I don’t think that’s ever going to help when we get back to school/college again, so there must be better ways to spend the break time.

Bonus: My music compendium is available on Spotify, with a hint of European style. Give it a try here.

Also not helping us will be the much shorter leaves available after we enter the workforce, so there are few more chances (if ever any) to have long holidays. Here are my few steps on finding the best things to do for your break:

• Find what you want to get.

We all have different wants, so to want different things will be normal. As examples, Surya feels that he want to fill his almost empty resume with volunteer experience since he doesn’t feel he have enough skills to do internship, while Angelina prefers to bond with fellow Indonesians in her batch since she didn’t join the Indonesian student associations available and missed out a bit.

The main point here is to realize that a break isn’t to be used simply for yet another lame thing, but instead for some meaningful activities. From doing some community service, tinkering around your personal project, all the way to having your first mountain climbing experience, make sure it’s something memorable, and possibly something great to discuss for your upcoming date.

• Find your interests (and constraints).

This should come naturally with the first one, but it’s worth reiterating. There have been quite a lot of cases on the so-called herd mentality, which therefore may leave you unsatisfied when you simply want something simply because the rest has done it. Let me elaborate one of my cases on food and spots for traveling:

When I travel, I love exploring tastes and spots more focused towards locals, so on my trip to Hong Kong I had myself and my parents enjoying dim sum at one of the better spots in Hong Kong as well as explored one of the outlying islands mostly filled with local tourists, which was quite nice. Had I travel on a group tour setting, chances are I would find myself eating the pre-defined, boring foods (Chinese food in Europe?) and spending day jostling at the overpriced souvenir shops.

Following the majority can be a great way to stay tuned to what people think or do at this moment (think of pop music or blockbuster movie), though I can say that being popular, in the end, doesn’t seem as glorified as it was perceived and can be tough. A break is about recharging and finding yourself, so feel free to follow your interests (assuming constraints not put into consideration). Constraints, such as fears, can be put into equation as well, though how will it affect you is something I can’t determine.

• Search for suitable options

Now that you’ve got what you want by yourself, looking for options should be a piece of cake. Think of it as compiling all your thoughts into actual plan, which is actually half fun and half menial work due to the possibly sheer research required. Take this scenario as a good example:

I have quite some things I want to pour out into writings written to fill my short breaks. Upon searching for opportunities available, I have several choices: personal blog, citizen journalism sites (ex.: Kompasiana), and topic-specific sites (ex.: Indonesia Mengglobal). As I am studying overseas, my thoughts tend to relate well with my overseas study experiences, so I find that my thoughts can be better read and utilized at this site (feeling the same thing as me? Contribute here).

There are several issues you can think of when finding suitable options, such as the difficulty of the admin matters, cost, and even your friends’ objections (very important if you’re doing things together, even though break is about yourself). Some of the issues you can think of are already in your constraints list (if you have any), but the rest is about maximizing benefits from your choice, as well as minimizing quarrels.

• Preparing for the break: save yourself from the hiccups

It’s often said that preparing early ahead pays, and it’s also the case for having breaks. Thinking of traveling to US next week without visa in hand? How about moving out from your dorm/hall for your holiday with half of your belongings still in the bedroom waiting for removal? Applying for US visa only 1 week before travel and have it issued is a remarkable feat in its own, while even though moving out “only” calls for returning keys and leaving the room just like during check-in, the short time made the process of choosing on whether to dispose or carry the belongings need to be done at breakneck pace.

This is a sometimes overlooked aspect of having a break, which I know is extremely normal as we start thinking of the possible enjoyment lying ahead, but sometimes it can be also the thing that makes or breaks the break. Something as simple as forget to prepare a cushy seat for having the writing marathon at IM or to have your Kumamon plush toy brought to make your sister happy for the family trip can either make writing painful or your sister so restless you can’t enjoy that once in a lifetime spa treatment, so it’s important to have everything set before departure.

• Do it: what’s the point of planning without execution?

Except you’re solely providing consultancy service, you better walk the talk and do what you propose. The point of planning a break is for you to do the break, so stay safe and enjoy!

One more tips: regardless of whether your break turns out to be enjoyable, there’s already the so-called sunk cost, which means that no matter how hard you try, it won’t go back again (time machine, anyone?)

All in all, it’s always great to understand that YOLO also means YODO, so have a break, soak into the experience, and (for the sweet toothed) have a …. Planning is indeed necessary, yet it’s a way to prepare a break, so plan wisely, and let the rest flow. What kinds of break are you going to have for the upcoming holiday? Feel free to share on the comments.

See you on the next column!

Featured photo of participants of the volunteering activity in Cambodia (me included) courtesy of Natasha Angela Lee.

If you have ever been curious to know “what is the world’s most costly city to live in?” you will be aware that London is on the top ten list. When I first arrived here, I could not stop converting every purchase in Poundsterlings to rupiahs. At first, I reluctantly bought a 5-Pound Katsu Rice at Wasabi, which is equivalent to approximately 100.000 rupiahs. Not to mention housing prices in the British capital have gone through the roof and take at least half of my monthly allowances. Transport costs if you commute with Oyster card are also skyward. I told myself that there was no way I could have fun in this city if the basic expenses made me broke already.

I bet some of you, who are preparing to start an academic year this September, have been wary of this financial management issue. In fact, I have received several questions from my friends whether their monthly stipend will suffice to make a normal living here or they should bootstrap themselves.

Indeed, living in one of the so-called world’s most expensive cities can sometimes limit your choices for seeking splendid refreshments. But, fret not! There are ubiquitous life hacks to survive in this town.

FOODS

Hare Krishnas

Hare Krishnas or the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a Hindu-based religious movement. Without being too elaborative in its central tenets and history (you can read here), the devotees of the movement have been distributing FREE vegetarian food every day. One volunteer with a small cart comes to my university, LSE, every day at noon to distribute rice, cakes and fruits. Those nutritious intakes are more than enough as an appetizer, main course, and dessert. As a form of gratitude, you can come early to help the volunteer prepare the cart and also distribute the foods to the students. Also, as simple as getting to know about the beauty of its philosophy.

Meal Deal at Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Co-operative

Every day you can get the 3-Pound Meal Deal –consisting of one sandwich, one snack and one beverage- at the closest convenience stores. This meal comes in handy, especially if you are in a rush or between classes marathon. Just take the Meal Deal and sit under the blazing sun in a public park. I promise you that it will be the best lunch place, especially during spring and summer.

Wasabi

If you miss eating rice, you can go to Wasabi, a Japanese-food chain that is pretty much everywhere in London. It costs around 5 Pounds per rice meal, but if your body cannot digest too much food(like me) you can divide its enormous portion for lunch and dinner, and it costs you only 2.5 Pounds for each meal. Another life hack is when you buy their meals, you can ask them to place separate karee soup in another location, and you can have an additional meal for another day. Also, in London you will be charged more if you dine-in, so you better take away the foods and find refreshing outdoor spaces to enjoy your meal.

Self-made meals

Trust me, cooking by yourself makes a huge difference, especially if you are in the mood to have something fancy. If you eat beef steak in a restaurant, that will cost you a minimum of 10 PoundsPounds. But, if you buy 1 KG beef at the local store and cook it by yourself, it can only cost you 4-5 Pounds per steak. If you live with your friends, ask them to split the bills of kitchen utilities, such as rice cookers and pans as well as food can also save you lots of money.

Drink

Bring your tumbler or bottles everywhere you go because tap water in London is drinkable and at school you can find water fountain in every corner. If you eat in a restaurant, you can also ask to have water. It’s free of charge.

What if do I want to taste more fancy food?

Well, if it is once or twice in a month, why not? It can be a treat for yourself after long tiring days studying at the library. Another alternative is you go to the place with your friends and split the bill. For example, I used to want to try afternoon tea in one of the legendary tea rooms, but I am not a dessert person. So I, along with my other three friends, order one massive package of afternoon tea, filled with delicious scones, and we split the bill. That way you can still taste the signature dish of London without ripping yourself off.

ENTERTAINMENT

4-Pounds Orchestra ticket

If you are into classic music, you better use your magic card, a.k.a student’s card, to buy a 65-Pound Orchestra ticket with just for 4 Pounds! Don’t imagine that you will sit far behind the auditorium. You can still get the pleasant seat and enjoy the show.

10-Pounds ticket for watching theater

You can watch various plays, such as Hamlet, with the cost as low as 10 Pounds. However, you must make the sacrifice by coming to Barbican theater as early as 6 am to queue for only 30 tickets. If you are extremely lucky, you can also get the signature from the main actors and actresses, such as Benedict Cumberbatch!

Sky Garden

As its name suggests, Sky Garden is an indoor garden at 155-metres height. It offers beautiful eagle views across the Shard, River Thames, St. Paul’s Church, Tower Bridge, and London Eye. This fancy-look sightseeing can be accessed for free! You just need to reserve the place two-three weeks before. My suggestion is to book the entry in between the day and the dusk so that you can get both views, including the sunset.

Other free places to go

London also has many free places to visit. You can go to Westminster Abbey, Leadenhall Market, various museums such as Imperial War Museum, V&A Museum and British Museum.

BOOKS AND CLOTHES

Books

Keep an eye on book sales events. For example, Amnesty International often conducts fundraising by selling the 1-Pound books at its office. If you are an avid reader of fiction books, that will be your little heaven.

Clothes

If you are keen to find the trendy stores with affordable prices, Primark is the place-to-go. Alternatively, you can try to go to vintage stores, such as in Mile End, re-love fair at your university, or any NGO’s charity shops, such as OXFAM’s. I used to get the best deal of buying the pre-loved winter coat just for 1 Pound.

TRAVELLING

While you are on the European continent, you will have a myriad of chances to explore other countries or simply a weekend getaway to other cities in the UK. Try to check Megabus. If you are lucky, you can get a 1-Pound bus ticket to Oxford or Cambridge. Megabus also serves trips to some other European cities, such as Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Brussels. If you have an NUS card for a student, you can also get a further price reduction.

If adventurous is your middle name, you can also try Blablacar. Essentially, it is a carpooling for those who want to go to the same city and still have spaces in their car. Blabla is associated with the sound of people talking. So, during the trip, you can also share your stories and experiences with the driver. As an estimate, traveling from London to Paris can cost you around 20 to 30 Pounds depending on dates.

If you are a spontaneous traveler,  you can try to go to Skyscanner and click on “Flexible? Discover Destinations”. You can set the maximum prices that you are willing to pay, and the site will evince destinations with the lowest prices. For example, last December, my friend and I got flight tickets from Paris to Milan only for 7 Pounds and Milan to Berlin only for 9 Pounds! What a perk, huh?

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So, those are all my life hacks to survive and make the most out of my time in London. Besides all the trips that I have taken, I still can save quite a substantial amount of stipends in the case of emergency. Of course, financial management will depend on your lifestyle. Some might not have time at all to cook; some others might not be able to resist purchasing the latest collections at H&M. Whichever lifestyle you are, hopefully these life hacks will be helpful for you.

Setelah sukses dengan program mentorship tahun lalu, Indonesia Mengglobal kembali menghadirkan Program Mentorship di tahun 2016. Dalam program ini kami akan memasangkan calon mahasiswa (mentee) dengan mahasiswa atau alumni  (mentor) yang memiliki latar belakang kepentingan studi yang sesuai dan telah berkomitmen memberikan waktu, tenaga, dan saran untuk aplikasi sekolah dan beasiswa di berbagai sekolah impian di luar negeri. Dalam waktu beberapa bulan ke depan, para mentee akan mengerjakan tugas secara online serta memperoleh bimbingan dari para mentor dalam persiapan melamar ke universitas dan program studi impian mereka.

Program Mentorship merupakan inisiatif Indonesia Mengglobal yang bertujuan untuk mengatasi hambatan terbesar yang dihadapi oleh calon mahasiswa Indonesia ketika melamar sekolah atau beasiswa ke universitas di luar negeri, yaitu kurangnya informasi dan inspirasi. Saat diharuskan mengambil tes-tes seperti TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT, atau GRE, menulis esai, atau menyertakan surat rekomendasi, banyak yang masih bertanya-tanya dan memerlukan bimbingan dari orang Indonesia lain yang telah berhasil melalui proses aplikasi tersebut dengan sukses. Sistem pendidikan formal di Indonesia memang tidak diarahkan untuk mempersiapkan lulusannya berkuliah ke luar negeri. Ada juga banyak institusi lain yang bisa memberikan bimbingan tapi ada biaya yang dikenakan dan jumlahnya tidak sedikit, sampai ribuan dolar.

Tahun ini, Program Mentorship Indonesia Mengglobal akan memfasilitasi kebutuhan calon mahasiswa agar mereka yang memiliki keinginan dan tekad untuk bekerja keras dapat memperoleh bimbingan langsung dari mahasiswa atau alumni secara cuma-cuma (gratis). Di saat yang bersamaan, Indonesia Mengglobal juga akan mengupayakan bantuan berupa dana dari berbagai mitra kami yang dapat digunakan oleh mentees untuk membayar biaya aplikasi sekolah dan biaya-biaya tes seperti TOEFL/IELTS, SAT, atau GRE. Beasiswa ini diharapkan dapat meringankan beban calon mahasiswa, sehingga mereka dapat fokus untuk mendaftar ke universitas yang terbaik bagi mereka.

Indonesia Mengglobal juga ingin menyampaikan terima kasih yang mendalam bagi semua donor yang akan menyumbang untuk program ini. Anda semua telah memberikan kontribusi nyata bagi kemajuan pendidikan tunas bangsa Indonesia. Anda merupakan wujud nyata dari pernyataan “Pendidikan berkualitas adalah tanggung jawab kita semua.”

Kami sangat bangga dengan kesuksesan para mentee tahun lalu yang telah berhasil diterima di berbagai universitas terkemuka dunia dan memperoleh beasiswa yang dimimpikan. Berikut adalah sekolah-sekolah di mana mentee tahun lalu telah diterima atau diberi conditional offer.

Dari daftar mentee di atas, 12 diantaranya telah menerima beasiswa LPDP untuk studi mereka di luar negeri. Tiga mentee lain masing-masing mendapatkan beasiswa berikut: Finance Education and Training Agency (FETA) scholarship, Asian Peacebuilders Scholarship, dan school-based financial aid.

Berikut adalah pernyataan beberapa mentee sebelumnya tentang pengalaman mereka mengikuti program Mentorship tahun 2015:

“You will leave with full confidence whatever the result of your application!!! I personally enjoyed thoroughly this inspiring experience to not only reflect about school strategy, but also to discover one’s hidden potential and future possibility, and then transform it gradually into one SOLID preparation. I’m so thankful for the excellent mentor, material and facilitation during IM Mentorship, which help me to receive an offer from world’s-number-one design school!”

– Larasati (Mentee Indonesia Mengglobal, 2015)

“Joining IM’s Mentorship Program has been a powerful experience in my career. This program is designed very well to guide its mentees on preparing their overseas study, both for the application and the scholarship. In my opinion, The way the program succeed is through a synergy of three important factors: well-crafted curriculum, experienced mentors, and great collaborative environment among mentees. Systematically and effectively, as mentees we will be driven and enriched with guiding materials, assignments, and also inspiring talks that will open our mind and train us on how to prepare for our future study. The mentors are experienced and greatly supportive, providing the mentees with significant discussion and supervision as well as providing the control for execution of all tasks. Lastly, our learning experience as a mentee will be embellished by diverse ideas and motivation of our partners in this program. It is such a very nice experience to collaborate with accomplished people who have similar visions. I strongly encourage all Indonesian Scholars who plan to continue their study this year to participate in IM’s Mentorship Program 2016 Campaign and I truly hope all of you will be the next person who will get enormous benefits from this great event.”

– Fenryco Pratama (Mentee Indonesia Mengglobal, 2015)

“Meaningful, fun, and unforgettable”

– Janu Muhammad (Mentee Indonesia Mengglobal, 2015)

“Encouraging, enhancing, and inspiring”

– Marcella S. (Mentee Indonesia Mengglobal, 2015)

Untuk testimoni selengkapnya dari semua mentee yang berpartisipasi, silakan kunjungi tautan forum berikut ini.

Kami yakin bahwa para mentee tahun ini akan mencapai kesuksesan yang serupa. Untuk itu, ayo daftar!

Informasi Pendaftaran

Pendaftaran dibuka secara online dari 16 Mei hingga 17 Juni 2016 pukul 20.00 WIB. Kami mengundang calon mahasiswa untuk segera mendaftar sebagai mentee dengan mengisi formulir ini.

Kami juga mengundang para mahasiswa dan alumni universitas luar negeri untuk mendaftar sebagai mentor dengan mengisi formulir ini.

Informasi mengenai program mentorship tahun 2014 dan 2015 dapat dilihat di Forum Indonesia Mengglobal.

It was a day in August 2014 when I waved goodbye to Melbourne, the most livable city in the world where I had lived for the previous four years. It was the day I left Melbourne for good to continue my postgraduate studies in the UK.

Today, Melbourne remains as one of, if not the best, chapters in my life. However, it didn’t just happen as soon as I landed in Melbourne for the first time in 2010. It was because of the experience, the people I met, the lives I made, and the legacy I created. Yes, legacy, and I’m not exaggerating. We’ll get to that soon.

Looking back at my Melbourne days, some of the most remarkable achievements and memories I made could be traced beyond my academic duties. I owe a huge part of them to the existence of Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia Australia (PPIA) and their support. Hence, the objective of this writing is to encourage every Indonesian who is going to or is currently studying in Melbourne, to join and get involved in PPIA.

I have always wanted to do something along the line of writing and storytelling. That was one of the the reasons why I took media and communications for my undergraduate studies. I believe everyone who loves writing or anything that involves the production of stories across mediums would, at one point, want to create something new. I do have blogs, but I’ve always wanted to do something more, something that can be collectively built and shared. I have always wanted to create a magazine.

Simply put, PPIA made that dream come true.

In August 2013, PPIA Melbourne University offered two of my friends, Rama and Fauziyah, along with myself to create a magazine that is written by young Indonesians in Melbourne for every other youth from any nationalities in the city. The idea came after we felt that there had to be a medium linking the huge presence of Indonesians in Melbourne with local Melbournians in general. PPIA Melbourne University was fully in support of the idea, and as the result, we gave birth to a Melbourne-based English-language print magazine called Perspektif.

(Courtesy of Perspektif Magazine)

Long story short, there have been five volumes of Perspektif published and spread throughout Jakarta, Melbourne, and several other Australian cities. The magazine has received numerous pieces of writing by contributing writers across Australia, Indonesia, and even some far-flung countries such as the US and France.

Rama, Fauziyah, and I are no longer heavily involved in the production of the magazine, as we have long left Melbourne to continue our endeavor elsewhere. However, the legacy remains.

A few months ago, after I came back from the UK to settle back in Jakarta, I met an old friend who reminded me of the so-called legacy.

“My sister just got into Melbourne University and she’s now one of the editorial members of Perspektif,” he said, “She told me, it really is the legacy of the founders, and she mentioned your name.”

I couldn’t help but to turn red. Who am I to leave a “legacy” at this point in my life?

All points taken, it wasn’t me working on my own. Without the support from PPIA Melbourne University, I wouldn’t have been able to lead the production of a print magazine, nor be interviewed twice by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

If you are a current or future Indonesian student overseas, you should pitch any ideas you have. Especially if you believe that it would give birth to a change, a new movement, a breath of fresh air for youth, or bring values to our home country, Indonesia. I am convinced that so many of students these days have the minds of entrepreneurs, thinkers, or artists, who are eager to explore their skills and knowledge beyond the parameter of lecture halls and tutorial rooms.

There is a plethora of stories from other students who were given the chance to experience and practice activism and volunteerism through PPIA across different universities in Melbourne or Australia in general. Those activities range from creating a theatre adaptation of Soe Hok Gie’s life story, holding the first Indonesian career exhibition in Melbourne, hosting forums whose speakers were significant figures in certain industries, to hosting gigs for some of Indonesia’s most popular bands, and many others.

Remember my friends, make your days count. Make your own legacy.

It’s obvious that Indonesia is a tropical country situated in Southeast Asia and Denmark is Scandinavian country in Europe. Thus, we can only expect different people, different countries, different systems, different languages, different cultures, and other different things. Denmark is considered the happiest nation in the world, but before you decide to visit or to study in Denmark, there are several things that you may need to know on ‘What you can do in Indonesia, but you cannot do in Denmark’. Today’s topic might prevent you from getting “shocked” after your move  to Denmark.

What you can do in Indonesia, but you cannot in Denmark

1. Dine in a warung/restaurant everyday

In Indonesia, whether to dine outside or buy some takeouts is considerably very easy. We are offered with so many options of street foods, Padang restaurants, or Tegal “restaurant” that are relatively affordable – you can even have them on daily basis. On the contrary, this is what will happen when you dine outside everyday in Denmark: you would become bankrupt within a week especially if you are a student! Meals in most restaurants here are super pricey. To have Rp 100.000,- or DKK 50 meal for dinner is considered very cheap and it is usually just a “Thai box” or simple menu from Burger King. The ramen in the photo above costs me more than Rp 200.000 (DKK 100).

Solution: cook at home

After living in Denmark, I cook on daily basis and this has turned me into a much better cook (for myself and for the people I love). I could not believe that I could make my own siomay as the picture below.

2. Find an “Abang Bakso” vendor and late night/24 hour KFC delivery

This was my hobby when I was in Indonesia. Hungry? Wait until “Abang Nasi Goreng” passes in front of my house or call KFC delivery when I have to stay late at the office. Wait… so there is no fast food delivery in Denmark? Well, there are many food delivery services in Denmark, but what I know is that there is no 24 hour food delivery, at least in the city where I live, Aarhus. Work-life balance for employees is super important, so don’t expect so much in terms of “service”.

Solution: still, cook at home

3. Ask 7Eleven to warm up your food

You think it is quite normal to warm up food at 7Eleven? Well, not in Denmark, they don’t have that kind of service. Besides, many people here could enjoy eating cold sandwich/salad every day.

Solution: still, cook at home or have lunch together at your friend’s house, who cooks well.

4. Get a cab to take you to the place you want

Have you ever imagined a taxi ride that could cost up to or even more than Rp 1.000.000 (DKK 500) for 45 minutes ride? You better believe that this-very-expensive taxi fare does exist in Denmark. I took a taxi once and it cost me more than Rp 1.000.000 per trip twice. You know, when you live in Jakarta, so many people use taxi on daily basis (now Gojek is more hip, I know). That is why so many people in Denmark ride a bicycle, not to mention public transportation here is quite convenient compared to Jakarta (although public transportation is also expensive – single bus ride could cost approximately Rp 40.000/DKK 20).

5. Wash your clothes in a cheap “kilogram-based laundry”

In Denmark, most apartments are equipped with a communal laundry that you would need to pay around Rp 30.000 / DKK 15 per wash (or a bit cheaper). The sad thing is when you live in an apartment that doesn’t provide that. Maybe you could just go find a public laundry where they will wash and iron your clothes? No, no. It doesn’t work like that. When you go to the public laundry, you need to wait for your clothes while they are washed. Do you know how much it will cost you? Since it is charged per half an hour or per an hour, you could expect to pay more than Rp 200.000/ DKK 100 per wash/session.

6. Swimming pool in your apartment

As far as I know, there is no swimming pool facility in most apartments in Denmark. While you know, in Jakarta most apartments are equipped with swimming pool. So why don’t they have it in Denmark? It is because the water is so cold. Even in the summer, the water temperature for outdoor swimming pool is almost never “decent” unless it is in the public swimming pool where the water is heated. But you know what, some Danes swim in the sea in the winter time!

7. Go to the cinema every weekend

I know that many young Indonesians who live in the big cities of Indonesia like to go to the cinema almost every weekend, but it doesn’t happen here. In Denmark a cinema ticket per person costs more than Rp 150.000 (DKK 75)!

8. Go to hair salon for a cream bath every month

I think it is quite common that middle/upper class women in Indonesia pamper themselves by going to the hair salon every month for a hair treatment, e.g. hair spa, cream bath, even body spa every month. In Denmark, I don’t know anyone who goes to the spa every month, even I have never heard anyone within my circle who ever goes to hair salon to have a cream bath. The reason is that if this kind of service does exist, it would be super expensive (like Rp 600.000 or DKK 300) per treatment, or maybe Danish women don’t care so much about their appearance unlike some women in Indonesia who always go outside with smooth, sleek, curled hair and full make up! I don’t want to give comment which one is good or bad, though, but just so you know even to have a haircut in a modest hair salon will cost you around Rp 400.000 (DKK 200) per service.

9. Honk your car/motorcycle every single minute

I lived in Jakarta for the last 7 years of my stay in Indonesia, and everybody knows how bad the traffic congestion is in Jakarta, and everybody also knows how mad all these drivers when they are stuck in traffic jam – yup, they honk every single minute. This won’t happen in Denmark. Well, in Denmark the total population is only 5.5 million, around 1 million in Copenhagen and around 300.000 in Aarhus, the city where I live. Traffic jam is quite rare, and even if there is a traffic jam, nobody would honk their car. People honk only if it’s “very urgent” or having a parade after high school graduation. Other than that, it is considered be very annoying and rude.

What you can do in Denmark, but you cannot in Indonesia

For this, the list could go on and on, as Denmark has their “different” social benefit system. Nevertheless, I am not going to talk about that. I have selected a few things that might surprise you.

1. Putting your baby in the baby stroller alone in your garden

Maybe you will think this is crazy, but parents in Denmark do this. They put their baby in the stroller and leave him/her alone in the garden for sunbathing or as an “exercise” to get stronger for the upcoming winter time (and they even do this in the cold winter time). If you do this in Indonesia, could you imagine what will happen?

2. Visiting your friend’s place every week just to hang out

In Denmark many people like to hang out at home, cooking together, having dinner, drinking coffee or wine at their friend’s place that could be quite often like once in a week or more if they are close friends. They are enjoying this cozy time at home even though it is quite modest and to be honest, I really like this way. In Indonesia, many young people prefer to go outside, to the restaurant, café, etc to hang out, in which I think could cost more money and  not a nice habit after all.

3. To expect customers at the fast food restaurant and canteens to clean their own tray

In Denmark (and some other countries in Europe), when you’ve finished eating at fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC, as well as at the university canteen, you will need to clean your own tray, put your leftovers in the garbage bin, and put the tray in the pile of trays provided. If it is in Indonesia, people will expect the waiters to clean their plates and trays.

4. Having a holiday every year

If you hear about this, this might sound very fancy, maybe. But wait, many people in Danish love to travel to the southern countries, besides to get more sun in the winter time, the prices in the south (for food, hotel, etc) are cheaper than in Denmark. And holiday is considered as a need here, almost like a basic need. Even there are some organisations that help lower class family to get a family holiday for super super cheap! I hope there will be organisations like that, of course.

5. Ride a bike safely in a bicycle lane everywhere

As I mentioned briefly in the previous point that many people in Denmark ride a bicycle on daily basis – to go to school, work, or even to a party. Bike is considered to be the fastest, friendliest, and most convenient form of transportation, especially in big cities like Copenhagen and Aarhus. Even when it is snowing, there will be someone who is in charge to clean the bicycle lane from the snow very quickly every day. Plus, all of the car drivers really respect cyclists and always give way. With so many people riding bicycles, of course there are less traffic jams and cleaner air. In Jakarta, this only happens on a car-free day.

Hampir setiap sekolah arsitektur memiliki tradisi pameran karya mahasiswa. Pameran semacam demikian selain menjadi ajang mahasiswa unjuk kemampuan, juga merupakan kesempatan bagi orang luar untuk menyelami kualitas akademik suatu sekolah. Di Departemen Arsitektur Universitas Indonesia, tempat saya studi sarjana dulu, misalnya, ikatan mahasiswa arsitektur kami hampir setiap tahun mengadakan pameran karya mahasiswa dengan nama AFAIR UI (http://afairui.id/) di berbagai tempat di Jakarta–yang terkini diadakan di Galeri Nasional pada awal tahun 2016.

Di Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), Columbia University, tempat saya belajar sekarang, acara sejenis juga rutin diadakan dengan nama End of Year Show (EOYS). Tradisi tersebut sudah berumur hampir tiga puluh tahun, dimulai pertama kali di masa Bernard Tschumi, salah seorang arsitek tenar dunia, menjadi ketua departemen GSAPP. Pamerannya selalu diadakan di Avery Hall, gedung kuliah GSAPP, di akhir tahun akademik.

Display pameran Advanced VI Arch Studio

Display Library As… unit Mimi Hoang, Core II Arch Studio. Kelas Core II Arch Studio tahun ini mengolah tipologi perpustakaan.

_Library For the Illiterate, Core II Arch Studio unit Christph Kumpusch.

Long Span, Short Span, Core II Arch Studio unit Erica Goetz.

Library Serendipity Study, kelas Core II Arch Studio unit Douglas Gauthier.

Kelas Architecture Drawing and Representation.

Advanced VI Arch Studio, Formless Ecologies.

The New University, Advanced VI Arch Studio.

Form Follows Photon: Library of Light and Shadow, Core II Arch Studio unit Stella Betts.

EOYS tahun ini diadakan pada 14-23 Mei 2016. Pameran ini menampilkan semua hasil karya mahasiswa dari semua program studi di GSAPP: Master of Architecture, Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design, Master of Science in Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices, Master of Science in Historic Preservation, Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design, Master of Science in Urban Planning, dan Master of Science in Real Estate Development.

Selama seminggu penuh setelah masa perkuliahan tuntas, ruang-ruang kuliah, koridor, tangga, hingga toilet (!) di gedung tempat kami belajar lantas disulap menjadi ruang pamer temporer. Dari dinding, lantai, hingga langit-langit menjadi ruang yang berharga untuk diolah sebagai tempat mahasiswa menyajikan gambar, maket, hingga instalasi arsitektural. EOYS juga menjadi momen ketika studio kami yang biasanya berantakan dengan barang di sana-sini terlihat sedikit lebih rapi.

Lantai ruang kelas ikut diolah menjadi bidang tempel karya.

Program studi Urban Planning menguasai tangga yang biasa kami lewati menuju kantin.

Langit-langit dimanfaatkan untuk menggantungkan panel yang dapat digunakan untuk meletakkan maket.

Water Urbanism, Urban Design Studio.

Hal yang paling saya sukai dari mendatangi pameran arsitektur mahasiswa adalah menikmati beragamnya kreativitas mereka dalam mengulik berbagai media pamer. Di EOYS, salah satu instalasi yang tak saya sangka adalah pameran Urban Planning Studio yang memakai gantungan baju serta membuat permainan “ular tangga” untuk mempromosikan moda transportasi air sebagai jalan pintas. Selain itu, jagoan saya adalah What if…? Then… Urban-scaled Architectural Speculation in Tokyo yang dibuat salah satu unit di Advanced VI Arch Studio dengan memakai tirai sebagai bidang cetak. Ada juga QSAPP (Queer Student of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation) yang mengkritisi fasilitas toilet di Avery Hall dengan intervensi gambar.

Gantungan baju dipakai untuk menggantung panel karya.

Instalasi QSAPP di toilet kantin.

Permainan ular tangga untuk mempromosikan transportasi air.

Tirai dimanfaatkan jadi bidang tempel. Karena ruang yang terbatas, tirai memungkinkan bidang display yang lebih luas karena bisa dibentang dan dirapatkan.

Ketimbang memakai meja yang sudah ada, mahasiswa arsitektur senang mengolah bidang dengan berbagai cara untuk meletakkan objek pamer.

Bagian pameran ini bisa dinikmati dengan menggunakan kamera handphone.

Dengan banyaknya materi pamer, sistem indeks jadi salah satu strategi menyiasati alur informasi karya.

Karena bertepatan dengan kelulusan, EOYS juga menjadi kesempatan buat orang tua mahasiswa untuk dapat melihat apa yang anak-anak mereka kerjakan di GSAPP. Selain itu, banyak calon mahasiswa yang datang untuk mengetahui seperti apa karya-karya studio di GSAPP dan mahasiswa dari universitas lain yang berkunjung untuk membandingkan produk akademik antara GSAPP dan universitas tempat ia belajar. Singkat kata, selepas dua semester yang menguras pikiran, EOYS menjadi puncak bagi mahasiswa untuk dapat menikmati karya sendiri dan menunjukkannya pada orang lain.

Studio Advanced Architectural Design.

Olah material di kelas Surface, Screen and Structure, Visual Studies Seminar.

Architecture Drawing Representation. Pintu pun tak luput jadi bidang pamer.

Salah satu maket di kelas Core II Studio.

Salah satu maket di kelas Core II Studio.

Salah satu maket di kelas Advanced IV Arch Studio.

Booklet pameran EOYS 2016.

Photo Courtesy: Author’s Collection