My Lifeline

There are some moments in my life that I will always remember. Firstly, when I was in kindergarten, I was able to read for the first time. It really made my parents proud of me. It also helped me to build my self confidence.
Secondly, when I was in high school, I was selected as one of PASKIBRAKA members. It was an unforgettable memory in my life.
Thirdly, when i graduated from high school, i was directly admitted at Government Office as officer. I was still 19 years old at that time and i could pay my study in University by myself, because i had already my own salary.
And lastly, i went to Japan for the first time in 2001. I represented my country to be young ambassador for youth exchange program called The Ship South East Asian Youth Program. It was the greatest moment of my life.

I wish there would be more great moments comming in my life !

Simplifying English Spelling

Simplifying English spelling brings advantages for the first learners of English such as children and foreign learners. Reforming the spelling of the English language can help them to read and write more easily, and improve their literacy. Furthermore, foreign learners can be sure how to pronounce an English word without hearing it first, because the alphabetic of English spelling would be more reliable. Moreover, for those who have a poor memory, their chances of becoming a good speller would be improved.
Simplification of English spelling also give some disadvantages for English users, espessially for native speakers. Changing spelling will make them confused. It could be a very huge, expensive and complicated revolution that people will be difficult to adjust to. On the other hand, the spelling of most of the words in English tell us about their history and origins and that would be lost if we make it simple.

Know Thyself

I am from South Sumatra and Bengkulu.
From a town protected by a stretch of mountains on the east and the ocean on the west.
I am from a silent place and the huge earthquake in 2000 and 2007.
I am from nasi goreng eaters, ketupat eaters, tempoyak eaters, sambal terasi eaters and coffee drinkers.
I am from 3 brothers and no sister family
I am from Idhul Fitri and Idhul Adha celebration
I am from red uniform, blue uniform and grey uniform
I am from craziness, unpredictable, humor and cariing and careless.
I am from "Praying 5 times a day is a must", "Fasting 30 days in Ramadhan" and " Don'y against your parents".
I am from Soeharto, Habibie, Gus Dur, Megawati and SBY
I am from muddy foot to fancy shoes
I am from a small town to a metropolitan Tokyo
I am from swimming on the river and the beach.
I am from Wiro Sableng and Harry Potter.
My own sweet music is a lullaby carrying me to a sweet dream

Do You Believe in Horoscope?

Sometime i do read my horoscope for entertainment. Do i believe in what it says?
Well, I dont believe exactly what the horoscopes say for a sign, i only consider it as the advices for me because sometime it tells me what should i do, and what shouldn't i do. Sometime it's related to my life at that time, but sometime it's not.
I do not base my whole day on what a passage said my day would be like. That is ridicilous
But I do believe that a person with a particular sign is going to common with those traits..

Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it.
Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held.
Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books.
Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin.
Believe nothing just because someone else believes it.
Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true

My Niece

It's been almost one month i left my hometown. But what i miss the most is not my room, nor the food... i don't miss my parents (i don't mean to be rude mom, dad! :)), nor my brothers (haha)... but the one whom i miss a lot is my beautiful niece.
Her name is Keizha Farrsa Zaqi, we call her Faras. She is 14 months old now. She is the only grandchild of my parents. I don't have any sisters so when we knew that my sister was pregnant with a little girl, we couldn't wait to see her in this world :)

I miss her so much now..

Today's Line

And again i end up the course today as usual.. but i think today is the worst..
I was so hungry in a class so i couldn't concentrate with what teacher said.
Well, it was my fault, i din't have my dinner yesterday, i slept earlier than usual yesterday. After came back from hanging-out with my friends, i took shower then just slept.
Actually in this morning, i ate breakfast just like usual, but i think because i din't have my dinner, i got hungry very soon.. :D

Well, i dont want this happen again to me. Not only because i can't concentrate on the lesson. But also i dont want to get sick like my friends. Three of my classmates are sick today. And i don't want to be the next.

One of My Favorite Poem

This is one of my favorite poem, written by an African kid, was nominated by UN as one of the best poem of 2006.

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in sun, I black
When I scared, I black
When I sick, I black
and when I die, I still black

And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow up, you white
When you go in sun, you red
When you scared, you yellow
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you gray

And you calling me colored?

Ganbatte Ikimashoi

I do have some excellent social and career connections, but i cannot rely on them too much right now. It's much wiser to pursue my current goals by myself. Not only because it will help me strengthen my own skills, but it will help show these folks that i don't always need them for everything and also that it will improve my stature in their eyes. It's time for me to flesh out my reputation as a mover and a shaker. Looking like a follower is not going to be good for me right now.

Ganbatte !

My Assignment

Barack Obama's multi-cultural background is an advantage for him as President of The United States. As the son of a black father from Kenya and white mother from Kansas, he was born in multiracial Hawaii, grew up with Indonesian half-sibling and has chinese nephews, he can't be loyal to only one race. Multi-cultural background has also made huge power for him in his political life until he has became The President of United States. He got strong support from Hispanic voters because they are impressed with his background. He also led in national polls due to his strong advantages among latinos. Living in Indonesia during his childhood gave him a wider view of the world, moreover, it has made him the most popular US politician in Southeast Asia.

This is my first writting on this course, I've learnt a lot from this my first writting. It aint easy to put an idea from your mind into a writting. Its not a simple.. Its so hard, indeed ! Im so weak about writting, i should learn more about it !

My Hometown

Finally i finished my essay for wrtting competion.. Wow... i can't belive it, i can do it hehe..



My Hometown

My hometown is really a hometown for me. Its not as big as jakarta, its not as amazing as Bali, and even its not as beautiful as Yogyakarta. But i always miss my hometown, Bengkulu. Wherever and how far i go, i always want to come back home. I love my hometown so much. I'm eager to be part in developing my hometown. That's why im working in Regional Development Planning Board of Bengkulu Province now. I am really proud of my province. Actually, nothing much you can find in hometown, only an unexplored rainforest and a beautiful and exotic long beach. In the rainforest, you can discover the largest flower of the world, Rafflesia Arnoldi and at the long beach you can find white sand and pine trees along the coast. The sky is so clear and blue. You also can experience a beautiful sunset at the dusk.

Bengkulu is the smallest and lowest populated province of Sumatra. Its only about 1,5 Million people. Bengkulu province is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. The province protected by a stretch of mountains on the east and the ocean on the west. If you ask people where Bengkulu is, i bet nobody can show it on the map, even people in Indonesia. Yes, its true, i had been asked by my Indonesian friend which part of Kalimantan Bengkulu is. Hey, it's in Sumatra, not Kalimantan :) It's ashamed, but i can't blame them. Someday, i will proof them, Bengkulu will become famous. Many things i can explore from Bengkulu, and people in the world will know Bengkulu, not only because of a huge earthquake jolted my hometown many times, no... I don't want Bengkulu become famous because of dissaster. But much more than it. Someday... I Will.

Well, i'm going to tell about a litlle story of Bengkulu. Is it boring ? Well, i hope not. The British founded Bengkulu in 1685. It is the last territory in Indonesia to be held by the British. Sir Stamford Raffles, who later found Singapore, was lieutenant - government of Bengkulu from 1818 to 1823. Thomas Stamford Raffles was an important figure in Bengkulu history, which in 1817 was appointed as a Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen. In the year of his arrival, he and a botanist named Joseph Arnold discovered the world's largest flower, in South Bengkulu. The flower is now known as Rafflesia Arnoldi.

Many people in Bengkulu said, if British still stayed in Bengkulu, and didn't exchange it with Singapore to Dutch, Bengkulu could be as great as Singapore right now. I totally don't agree with that. Wow, what a shallow aggravation! Why should we be proud of it. We should build our town with all our potentials. Not because of somebody's help. Maybe Bengkulu is not as rich as other Provinces in Indonesia, we have less natural resources than other provinces in Indonesia. But it's not the reasons to fall behind.

Well, we are back to The Rafflesia Flower, because i only can tell about it now. It's a pride of Bengkulu people. And now its an offcial symbol of Bengkulu Province. Yes, i know, you can find Rafflesia Arnlodi in many places in the world. But this flower wouldn't have name Rafflesia Arnoldi, if Raffless and his botanist didn't find it at the fisrt time at the rainforest in Bengkulu.

Rafflesia Arnoldi lives as an parasite. It doesn't have leafs, stems or even roots. The diametres is nearly one metre and the weight up to 11 kilograms. It takes up 8 months to bud up, and it stays in bloom only 1-15 days. The rafflesia alrnoldi usually can be seen during rainy season, the months of November – February. Tabah Penanjung, an hour drive into the hills above Bengkulu is a nature reserve where rafflesias are often found. Unfortunattely we can not see it everywhere in rainforest, the places and the growth times are unpredictable. But if you come at this time, you probably find it since it is rainy season now in my hometown.

Welcome to Rafflesia City.

Men Don't Cry

Who said that a man has no right to cry? Who are you to tell what a man can or cannot do? Who said that crying is only for women?

Both men and women are human, made of the same materials (if I may say so), and have - of course - emotions. Both can feel happy, sad, annoyed etc. What makes them different is physical appearance (resulted in different role) and social treatment. The later is not originated from God's rule. It's a cultural product.

Women are always considered weaker than men. On the other hand, men have to be always stronger, tougher than woman, physically and emotionally. That's not fair. Crying is one of emergency way to get better when we feel sad. If the sadness is too much to handle, then what else can we do? Cry! This is much better than pretending that we are strong (because of we are men) while we have no way to make our burden lighter. It has no relation at all with strength or weakness. This is only a way to avoid from being deppressed by our sadness.

But what we will find in this real world is there is a kind of convention that men don't cry. That's why most of men look very tough in public, but they cry out loud in their own hidden-private-room. This is still better than trying to pretend as a tough people anytime and not to cry when it is time to cry.

The question is why should we do a very hard efford not to cry, while we can easily laugh anywhere (in public or private sphere)? This is what I called unfair. Some experts say that both laugh or cry stimulate our brain to create a chemical reaction so that we feel better, even when we are very depressed. Referring to this, I suggest you not to feel ashamed when you want to cry. Just let your tears drop down your cheeks when you think that could make you feel better. Just be natural, even if you're a man!

My 1st blog

In order to achieve my goal to study in Holland, I still have a few steps to be passed. I got already the scholarship from NESO (Netherlands Education Support Office), and now I should apply by myeself to the university in Holland which is suitable with my study and work background. It is not a simple thing to do. I have to submit several requirements.
Actually i have already the admission letter from one of the university in Holland, it is ISS (Institute of Social Studies). But its Conditional Admission, it means i have to complete one of the conditionals that i din't complete it yet, IELTS with minimun score of 6.5 or TOEFL with minimum score of 580.

I never had IELTS test before, so i dont know what the test is like. Luckily, NESO give me a chance to improve my english skills by taking an english course for 4,5 months here, at AIM.
Its been 2 weeks, yeahhh... it s still a long way to go, and i hope i can achieve it before the dead line.

Wish me all the best..