IBO (part 1)

Look who is posting again!!! It's been long and tiring ears, but I've finally resurfaced haha, Seems like I miss writing too much to fully stop. And here is me fulfilling a part of my promise. Enjoy!

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Eventhough it’s been years, IBO is still one of the best thing I have ever experienced. It was such an honor to be one of the delegates, and sometimes, it felt surreal for me. I always had bad scores at practical exam, so when the lecturers announced our names from the lowest rank and arrived at the 5th name, I thought to myself “It’s fine if you can not go now” and repeated it again and again. Then they scrolled down the screen, and well, it was not my name. I have forgotten what I felt at the moent, but it was somewhere between happy and relief. I could not believe I could represent Indonesia again after years since elementary school, and I could not believe that I got to go to Europe, for free! See, Europe is  like one of my obssession. I do not know why, but for some reason I always dreamed to go there. So, I’m not really sure which part I was happier with, the IBO part or the Europe part.

The things before we went to IBO were fun too. Studying felt different somehow. It was more serious of course, but somehow it was more fun too. I could redo the practicum that I kept messing. Changed this variable into other variable. Tried various ways to be faster. We would take a walk around and picked flowers to study them, while wondering what kind of flowers they had in Denmark. We would cut shrimps, squids, worms, grasshoppers (but why didn’t we cut fish?? *cry*). We tried to solve questions from past years while hoping that it would not be this hard.

I  and Hana could go to mosque for Tarawih prayer (it was Ramadhan) that was a bit far from our place because we did not have that many task as before. We threw a birthday party for Peti, complete with roses and all. We went to several midnight walks to buy ice cream, or even to a department store where they had some big sales. We prepared our visa and passport. We had an invitation from the ministry to Jakarta, and I had to borrow Hana’s veil because I didn’t bring any formal ones. We also went to buy dresses (and tux for Valdi).

Going to Denmark was not the first time I went abroad, but it certainly felt very different. Denmark is in another continent which was 14-16 hours flight away. We flew with Emirates, which was said to be one of the best airlines in the world, and I knew most people hate flights, but I don’t. Most of the time, I actually love it. Sure, flying for hours was tiring and people hate airlines food because of its small portion. But well, I have never eaten much anyway, it was exactly my portion of food, and I think they tasted good. We flew for several hours before the plane transit in Dubai, and I am the type of person who actually like airports. So even the transit felt like a nice experience to me. I tried to revise on the plane, but the lecturer sitting besides me said that it was past the time to revise, so I watched Lord of the Rings movies instead (and I finished the three of them eventhough each was almost 3 hours-long).

We arrived in Copenhagen. It was not the venue of the event, but our lecturers thought we should at least adapt to the time and temperature difference for several days before the competition. It was summer so the temperature should have not been that different, but still, the average temperature was around 13-15^oC (even lower sometimes), with chilly winds, too long day-time, and too-short night (the sun set around 11 PM, and rose around 2 AM, it messed up the prayer time too). We were picked up by some people from Indonesian Embassy, and they drove us to our hotel. The first thing that came to my mind while we were driving was that the city was so empty, especially when I was used to the crowd of Jakarta. There were few people on the streets (It was actually even fewer in Aarhus, I only saw 1 or 2 people from the bus). There was no traffic.

The City Centre (and the “right” Scandic)

Indonesian Embassy

Our hotel was in the centre of the city, so we could walk to places easily. There was a funny story during our first day. In our first walk through the city, our lecturers asked us to meet them in a kebab place near a building named Scandic. We thought it would be an easy stroll, I’m pretty good with directions too. But it wasn’t. Because it turned out that there were more than 5 buildings named Scandic, so we walked far from the correct place. I think we walked for around 45 minutesbefore we arrived there to eat. In Copenhagen, we also bought souvenirs (yes, we bought them even before the competition started), and went to Indonesian embassy. The embassy was not a big office-like building, it was more like a house actually. A lovely brick house with beautiful flowers in the garden.  We stayed for three days before we went to Aarhus by train.

In front of the hotel

I’m going to talk about IBO itself in the next part of the story, but now let me talk about Europe. As I have written above, Europe was like an obsession for me (read this to find my escape-to-europe dream), so I was really grateful to be able to go. And here is some of my impressions about it:

1.       I remembered Peti said the first time we stepped outside the airport “There are so many bule!”, and we just laughed. At the same time, I realized one thing. There, we were the odd ones out, especially as I wore hijab.

2.       The second thing I realized, was of course the cold. I wore 3 layers of clothes every time I went outside, and before you said that we felt it just because we were not used to it, the people there also wore jackets outside.

3.       Food is one thing we need to think about. IBO committees provided halal food for us, but in Copenhagen we needed to find it by ourselves. We mostly eat in kebab and curry place, or buy variety of breads. We can drink from tap water, which is kinda weird because you can actually fill your bottles in the bathroom. Probably out of the context, but the first time I went to 7-eleven, was not in Indonesia, it was in Denmark (to buy food for the train)

Kebab

Chicken Masala and Mango Juice

4.       Flowers are actually thriving there! I think it’s the combination of cold weather, and the sun of summer, the colors were vibrant and so so beautiful. Not only in Indonesian Embassy, we also found flowers on the pavement, and we could actually smell the scent. And since I DO love walking (but hate running), I tried to walk different paths from city center to the hotel, and I was delighted to find a secluded garden behind a museum with kinds of flowers I had never seen in Indonesia.

The park behind the museum

5.       Since Denmark is in Northern Europe, we could really feel the long summer day here. The sun rose around 3 in the moring, and set around 10 or 11 at night. Prayer time? Subuh was around 02.30, I forgot Zuhur and Asar time, but every time we came back after activities around 21.00, it was still Asar time. Maghrib was around 22.00, while Isya was around 00.00. The time difference with Indonesia was around 5 hours, but I didn’t have any trouble sleeping there. Though in the first week that I came home, I slept for almost the whole day on each day (no, I don’t think it was because of jet-lag)

6.       Bikes were everwhere here. Our LO said that even their minister bikes to work.

7.       One of my lecturer who had taken his PhD in Europe said that actually, almost all city in Europe is similar, at least in ambience and architecture. And if you need to find some food, go to the station. There were many stalls there.

8.       I noticed that there were not many shopping mall there. Most of the shops were at the street. We loved going to supermarkets there because there were, of course, many kinds of stuff we could not find in Indonesia. We loved the fruits and tea selections too!

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Don't ask when I'm going to post the second part, just trust me, I will ;)

#What Makes Me Happy: Finale

For this project, I originally planned to write ten things that make me happy, but now let me just write the last one, and maybe, the most important one. One thing that makes me happy is writing. I know it's hard to start sometimes, but the drive is still there, and as soon as I write, the words just flow from my mind. 

Writing can really help me sometimes. If I feel down, I write about how life sucks, sometimes in the form of poetry. I write until every negative things are out, then put a big cross in the paper, or delete it if I write it on sticky notes or tumblr. After that, I write my own solutions, my own plans for the problems, and wow, everything's solved. 

I've always dreamed of having my own book or novel published since I was a child, but it's really hard for me to keep up with it. Why? because I get bored so easily. For example, I have this one idea, and then I start to make the outline in my head. The endings, the highlight sentences, even the back cover of the book. But then I see other stuffs and get new ideas, and it is like those new ideas are more interesting than the old ones. So I do it all over again. I've read that if you want to write a novel, you should stick with an idea, and eventhough you think it's awful in the middle of the work, you need to stick with it until you write the ending. But I can't do that. And that's why I like writing poems and drabbles more nowadays. 

At last, I want to tell you the point of this project. I want to show you that in order to be happy, you don't have to get extravagant things. These small things that make up your life, are as important as them. I'm happy to go to Denmark and join IBO, but those things don't happen everyday. So if you keep waiting for the big things to be happy, you might never be happy for your whole life.Even the fact that you can breathe easily, that you can see the world in colors, that you can hear the music, those little things should make you happy. Because out there, there are people who can not afford to have them all but still put a smile on their face. It's the end of 2015, let's be happy.

12-10-2015

Tasks and studies might fill up the most of our times, but I believe we shouldn't let them take our time to do things we love and time for our family and friends (friends, not classmates not teammates not organization-mates, though they may overlap). Our hobbies, family, and friends have as much right as the tasks to fill our time. Never think of times spending with them as wastes.

There is even one more thing we shouldn't forget. God, above all, has the right for all our time. In our busy times, it might be hard to pray and remember God, but don't forget that those prayers could help make those hard times easier.

The most productive person, for me, is not the one who can do his/her tasks fast. Not the one who can handle the most number of classes. But the one who, with the same 24 hours he/she has a day, can do his/her study well while still living his/her passion and maintaning a good relationship with his/her family, friends, and the most important one, God.

01-10-2015

Blessing is not always about big things, like going to one university that you've been dreaming for forever, or getting medals, money, or Nobel Prize. For me, blessing is when you buy one wrong cereal pack because you don't like full-cream milk, but when you open the other one, there is two packages of chocolate milk that you like. For me, blessing is finding a book for reference after a countless nights of searching. For me, blessing is when God still let me stay strong and true to myself despite everything that is happening.

Blessings are literally everywhere, we get them everytime we breath, everytime our hearts beat, so why don't we be grateful from now on?

18-09-15

Everytime I feel tired and start to complain about my life, I think of my mother.

I usually go to campus from 8 to 3. Yes sometimes I need to stay until 6, but that's only like, one day in a week. Some days like today for example, I only have to stay until 12. But my mother, she works from 8 to 7 four days in a week, and 8 to 5 for Friday. I wear a tired expression when I meet her, while she wears her best smile.

Yes, I have tasks. I sleep late almost everyday. I am tired. But so is she. She said she had some problem with her memory as the effect of some therapy she had years ago, so she had to read and learn all the materials and laws about taxes in the night. But then she still wake up at 3 or 4 to pray. For her, for me, for our family. She still spends some time to help my sister with her study. She still had the time to come right away to my place when I got sick, while I don't even know if she is sick.

Sometimes I feel like asking God to switch places with people. Sometimes I feel like complaining again and again. But now as I think about this, I can only ask myself, "Do I really have the right to ask for it? Do I even have any right to say 'aduh, capek banget hari ini' ?"

#What Makes Me Happy (4)

To repay all of laziness in writing these months, let me write the fourth post for my personal project, today. This thing that I will write, might be the common answer for people if asked "What makes you happy?" It's simple, yet everyone knows it works. It's music.

Listening to music is a good way to spend the time, everyone knows that. It could be relaxing, it could be fun. Whatever your choice of music is, whether it's the classic opera or Taylor Swift's old country song or Beyonce's pop song or Muse or Oasis or Greenday, music could save you from boredom.

Music is the way people communicate and connect with each other, some even say that it is the way for human to synchronize. That is why, when you are feeling down, it's good to listen to music about 'feeling-down' as well. For us human, it is good to know that someone, some other people in this world feel the same way that you do and can understand what you feel. But don't let sappy music drag you down, listen to the upbeat ones and dance to it to help you up.

Sometimes when I feel tired, I listen to Cave In by Owl City (which is my favorite musician) until I feel better, than after that I will turn the more 'positive' and upbeat ones, like Beautiful Times. I like other songs from other musicians as well, but Owl City is still my all-time favorite. I can't even choose which song or album is my favorite, because I love all (ok not all, but almost all) of them. His music is so magical (I can't find a better way to put it into words) and the lirics are deep yet funny. Even if I got a bit pessimistic about his latest album before, The Mobile Orchestra, I still put Can't Live Without You on repeat and I still dance to Thunderstruck now haha.

So now, make your own playlist for both your sad and happy times. Remember, use music to lift you up, not to drag you down.

#What Makes Me Happy (3)

Oh God... finally I could write in this blog again. So, I'm not going to give excuse or anything about this-super-late post. I was busy, but most of all, I just don't feel like writing. But now I do. So this third installment will be about... drinks.

I don't know if it sounds weird, but sipping my favorite drinks always help to calm me down. The top three list of my favorite beverages are Delfi's hot chocolate, Pickweek's forestberry tea, and Max tea's lemon tea. I've always loved chocolate, especially Delfi's so there should be no question why I pick it as my first choice of beverage. I could talk about how beneficial chocolate is to our health, but I'm afraid it would be biased, so I'd rather not.

The Pickweek tea, I've known just recently. It's an English brand if I'm not mistaken, and I 'found' it during my visit in Denmark. We were in the Indonesian embassy and the ambassador served us tea of various choices. My friends chose to pick forest berry, and after that they told me that it was really good. So we searched through supermarkets in Denmark for the tea, and after I tried it, well, it was really good. I really like the smell, it's kind of sweet. It's a good way to relax in Sunday morning I think.

Talking about tea, I also like Indonesian tea, especially the traditional ones. I grew up with tea for breakfast, and though it's not a hard habit to break, it's always nice to be able to drink one in the morning. It feels like home somehow. And beside forestberry and traditional tea, the lemon tea is my favorite for both hot and cold beverage. It could be refreshing and relaxing all at once. I like Nestea as well as Max Tea, but Nestea is not really good to be served hot.

What about coffee? Well, sometimes I have some craving for caffeine, but grabing a can at minimarket is enough. I enjoy coffee, but I'm not addicted to it.

Well, whatever drink of your choice is, grab one when you're feeling down. Trust me, some hot beverages could help you relaxed and make you feel better. They might not help you with your problems, but relaxing can help to clear things out, and who knows what great ideas might come out of your relaxed head after that? So grab a cup now, see the world, and relax...

#What Makes Me Happy (2)

First things first. I know I should have posted this in February, and post another in March, but, I'd been calling my disciplinary to write but it just disappeared. Maybe some other business and priorities blocked its way to come back too. But anyway, I plan to repay them in this two-week holiday (I've just finished my national exam. Yeay!). So, the first thing that makes me happy is...

To sleep in my own room at home.

See? Happiness does not always come in extravagant package like winning lottery or achieving an award. It could be as simple as this. Or, is it really? As a student who stays in dormitory, to be able to sleep in my own room at home is a kind of luxury. I, eventhough go home more often than the others, still think it is. I'm comfortable with my room in dorm, yes. I like the position of the room, I like my bed in the top bunk, I like my roommates. Still, none can match my own room at home. My room is not big. The furnitures are rather simple too. Bed, wardrobe, bookshelf, and table. Just your common room. Though the air conditioner might add a thousand additional point to it. The decoration? Well, I lack sense of art, so I never really try to decorate it. The only decoration comes from a poster hung on the wall. Collections of post-its with birthday wishes from my friends in TOBI (thank you guys, I still read and read it again everyday ^-^) for my seventeenth birthday. There are some souvenirs from around the world and a night lamp decorated with shell too on my table, if you can count it as a decoration. And anyway, I always prefer purpose over beauty.

What make me happy to stay in my room, are maybe the sense of belonging and privacy. Everytime I get home, the first place I go to is my room. I open the door, turn on the light, and inhale the scent that somehow, never really change. I feel safe here. And I know, wherever I'm going, this is my room. My room in my home. This is where I will come back. It's always good to know you have a place to come back. A place you can lock yourself in, and be the real you. It sounds like a paradox, to have your own freedom inside a 3×5 meter square room, not in secluded forest or tranquil beach. But no judgement please, there are so many varieties of people out there.

So, right now, if you are still reading this post, think of one place that can make you happy. One place that makes you smile when you think of it. One place, not the one faraway, not the one hard to reach, that you can call your heaven. Whatever and wherever it is, I hope you will be able to be there for many times. And again, if you are still reading this nonsense, I would like to say thank you and whoever you are, I wish you happiness in the very place you are right now.

This is the first thing. Nine more things to come...

P.S. I might add pictures of my room someday. I might not.

#What Makes Me Happy: a Project

People all over the world are chasing for their happiness. Most chase after money, because they think that's what happiness is. Some chase for fame, some chase for adventure. Everyone is trying to interpret happiness in their own way, and pursuit it. So this year, I'm going to write a list of things that makes me happy. I plan to post it every month, the first one start in February. I want to do this 'project', not only because I want to train myself to be more discipline in writing, but also because I hope I could make anyone who read my post aware that happiness, don't always come in an extravagant package. I want people to realize that we can find happiness in the simplest things in our life. What I'm going to write might not be the same as yours, but it's not a problem. The most important thing is to realize that in our pursuit of bigger happiness (if there is any, because I personally think every thing that makes us happy is equally important, nothing is bigger nor smaller) we shouldn't forget of the smaller ones that we 'effortlessly' get everyday. Of the little things that shape us and make us who we are.

And I hope today, as you read this post, will also be a good and happy day for you :-)

2014

Well... it's the end of the year already, time sure flies so fast. I know this is not the New Year's Eve, and whatever I'm saying in this post might be more suitable if I write it there, but anyway, I just want to say that this year has been a very beautiful year for me. In 2014, I found new friends with an amazing bond of relationship. This year was somehow adventurous, with every ups and downs, but that's what makes life thrilling, right? I learned a lot about life, about fighting and not giving up, about believing in yourself and your will this year. I found a new solace, a new and much better way to pent up my frustations in writing poems, and it's actually exciting to discover new things aboutmy own self.

Next year, I'm sure, will be another even greater adventure. Lots of fights of blood and sweat. Things going to be hectic, but somehow, I can't wait for that.

So, to celebrate the end of the year and my discovery about myself, I've decided to make a new page consisting what-I-think-as my best ten poems I've written until now.  I was reluctant at first, but then I thought "why not?'. Why would I be ashamed of something I should've spoken out loud to the world? You can navigate there by clicking the  'Poems' tab, just right next to 'The Front Row' one. I'm planning to change the content once a year, but let see what will happen later.

Last, I wish you all a fun holiday and a great year ahead!

#20FactsAboutMe

Got tagged by one of my friends on Instagram, and after I posted it there, I thought why not here as well? So... here the list goes.... (btw I changed the number 8)

1. First things first. My full name is Nagita Gianty Annisa
2. My family calls me Gita, but my friends usually calls me Nagita, Nagit, or whatever nick names they have
3. I was born in Jakarta, 1st November 1997
4. I have Sundanese, Batak, and Melayu bloods running on my vessels
5. You may call me nerd, but I love science, esp biology.
6. I have joined science olympiads since when I was in primary school
7. My hobby is reading and writing drabbles and poems in my notebooks or post something on my blog
8. My favorite poetess is Lang Leav
9. I love Fantasy! My favorite author is Rick Riordan
10. And my favorite books are, of course, anything with Percy Jackson in it ;)
11. When it comes to music, I got to say that I'm a HUGE fan of Owl City! The music, the lyrics, are just so perfect (y)
12. I can tell you I was not born for arts, I'm suck at them
13. I join the graphic design class in my school, but it is just bcs it's the only art I might be able to do
14. I'm also suck at sports
15. But I love watching matches, esp soccer. And I don't care whatever people say but my fav club is Manchester City
16. I also like watching sports anime and reading the manga, like Haikyuu or Free, but my favorite is Kuroko no Basuke, and I'm so sad it has ended
17. Hmm... but honestly I do like playing sports, as long as it's only for fun, like playing soccer with my family. And as long as no one laugh at my skills -_-
18. Believe it or not, I learn how to swim by myself copying my father's moves, but I can only swim freestyle
19. My favorite place in the whole world is my own bedroom, yes, call me introvert
20. People might say I'm a cold person, but why don't you try talking to me by yourself if you want to know more?

'Almost'

Some people say that 'Almost' is the saddest word in the whole world. Today, I understand why. OSN was finally over, and so was the medalists announcement. Alhamdulillah, my school got 1 gold (earth science), 1 silver (biology), and 5 bronzes (geography, physics, IT, chemistry, and math <from a tenth grade student>) this year. Yup, there, the silver one, is mine. I got silver last year, and I got the same this year. Not bad, not at all. My rank moves upward too, from 11th to 6th. Yes, 6th, which means first silver. Just one step close to gold. I don't want people to think that I'm ungrateful. Because I'm grateful. I'm happy because it's really a good result. But I'm sad that I couldn't get something actually so close to reach. I feel like regretting something, but I do realize there's nothing to regret. So I'm really conflicted right now. I'm happy for all my friends who get the golds (I know all of them personally), but I'm sad because I wish I would be one of them.

But after all, it's fine. Not perfectly, but fine is still fine. I believe God knows best. And this, is the best for me. There are a lot awful of lessons I've learned today. How to accept that some things are not meant to be ours. How to understand that in the end, it is all depend on our faith. No matter how good or bad you were, today is a very different story. How to learn to be grateful, to look down when you feel bad, and look up when you feel proud. And after all, this is clearly NOT the end. I will join pelatnas (I guess and I hope), I will join the national examination and get to a new life. I still have a long way to go. I still have many chances ahead. I hope everyone, whoever he or she is, who is not satisfied with the result, will get over this, soon or later.

It's bad that I cried in my last year of national olympiad, but this has always been a fascinating experience for me. One of the few places I feel like belong to, and one where I could find cool friends (and even best friends) who have the same passion and dream with me.

At last, Thank you for the amazing ride for these last 6 years... :-)

ASC 2014

These weeks might be the busiest weeks I've ever had in my life. From 16th to 21st August, I joined a training camp for OSN in Bandung, then from 24th to 29th I went to Singapore for Asian Science Camp or ASC (which I'm going to write about here). And later, from 1st to 7th September, I'm going to Mataram for OSN (I really hope I'll do really well here, Amin...). I don't really feel tired, I guess. The trip and flight was OK. I'm just tired of packing my clothes and things. After all, I enjoyed those two activities I've joined. I got new friends from both and I'm sure I'll get more in OSN later.

So... Let's start the story!

What is ASC? ASC is an event where students from countries in Asia will get the chance to meet and hear lectures and classes from Nobel Laureates, Field Medalists, and eminent scientists from Asia. There are also some other activities related to science like, poster competition, lab visits, and excursions. This year is the 8th time the event is held, and the country that got an honour to hold it is Singapore, hosted by NTU. There were 29 participating countries with over 300 participants. I stayed in Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School, while most of other participants stayed in Nanyang Executive Centre (NEC).

Hwa Chong

What is so special about it? Well, that was my first time going abroad, so of course it is special. This was also the first international event where I got to work in team with students from other countries, so it was really fun.

How can I participate in this camp? Actually, I don't really know how. My counceling teacher just appointed me and that's it. I wrote an essay and submitted my data (including my achievements) before, but there was no selection or anything. I guess I was lucky.

What did I do there? Mostly I listen to the scientists giving lectures. There were some very interesting ones, and frankly speaking, some others are boring. I enjoyed lectures around medicine and biology. I also enjoyed lectures about nanotechnology which is new for me. After the lectures, we had master classes. The participants were divided into three classes according to our interests.The scientists will come to different classes and usually they will talk about their personal lifes and how they become who they are now. We could ask questions more frequently and easily than in the lecture (where all the participants packed in one hall together) if we wanted to. We also had a panel discussion with theme "Can Discovery and Innovation Solve Global Challenges?"

Took a picture with one of the Nobel Laureate, Ada Yonath

The Panel Discussion

There was also a poster competition, where we were grouped with people from other countries randomly who has the same interest as us (in my case, it's biology). The poster we needed to make was about things we learned from the camp, and if possible our own ideas of how to solve global challenges. There were five students in my group. We made a poster about personalized medicine (something we learned from the camp) and our idea to solve the problem of antibiotic resistance. Unfortunately, we didn't win. But none of us cared about that, it was really fun and nice to work with them all. We even made a WhatsApp group for us! I wish I could meet them again somewhere, sometime later. 

I remembered the first day where we needed to find our group, and I was like... "WHAT?!" I mean, I didn't even know their faces! How could I find them? So I just shouted my group's number, B8. I met Wei Shan first, she was really friendly and we were relieved when we finally met the others. Then the second day, after a short meeting for the poster, Shreya invited me and Wei Shan -who stayed in Hwa Chong- to her room in NEC. We didn't really do anything, just seeing the room and talking about random things. We talked about school and college, and how all our countries accidentally have their independence days in the same month, August. Shreya even showed us her video of traditional Indian dance while we were talking about our performance for the 'Open Stage' on the last day. The next day we discussed more about the poster, then the last day we made it. It was really fun, discussing, writing, painting, and all. Zhang do most of the 'labor' work, like drawing and writing things, and Ingon mostly do the researches. I helped in-between. I write some and helped with designing a bit, and I give some scientific journals for them to read. We received some critiques in the presentation, but I guess it's OK. I know more about the thing we talked about since then.

B8 (left-right, Zhang Bochao-China; Yoo Ingon-South Korea; Shreya Gupta-India; me; Teoh Wei Shan-Singapore)

We also visited science labs. I visited labs in School of Bological Sciences and Traditional Chinese Medicine in NTU. Honestly, it was more like a 'classroom visit' than 'lab visit' because we couldn't really enter the labs. After lunch on the same day, we had excursions. First we went to Marina Barrage, where we got information about how Singapore control their water level using the reservoir. We took some pictures from the rooftop and it was awesome. After that, we went to China Town. I bought some souvenirs there, and I got one super cute owl bag for me! Then, we went to Asian Civilization Museum, where we could see traditional stuffs from many tribes in Asia. We walked to Merlion Park soon after. And at the end of the day, we went to Satay by the Bay to have our dinner. I also went to Clark Quay (not recommended if you don't like nightlife, I just bought a cone of ice cream there -_-) and Marina Bay Sands (Just for sightseeing, I can't afford a single thing here).

Marina Barrage

Sinapore, taken from the rooftop of Marina Barrage

China Town

The city view

Merlion Statue

Sky Tree at Night

The last night we performed in the 'Open Stage'. Indonesian team gave presentation about our country, from size to places recommended to visit. After that, we invited people to the stage to dance with us. The music we used was dangdut. Honestly I don't like the music and the dance, so I just stayed in the back while talking with other participants who came to the stage and told them about the music and the dance (._.v). The other countries' performances were really good and amazing as well. I guess my favorite is Japan's. They danced to a Japanese song, and it was so cute and funny (sugoiii (y) ). 

I just went back to Indonesia this morning, and I was sad to leave. There are many reasons. First, I've made some good friends there, and second, back to Indonesia means I have to study again.When we parted with our LO, some of us even cried. It was such a great experience for me. I had so much fun there. But now let's face the reality, I still have some days left 'til OSN, so that means I need to study more (because it was hard to join the event while studying for OSN before). I received the results from the training camp in Bandung. It was good actually, but I don't think it was enough for me. I want to be better, as good as I can be before the D-day. I hope I could get a gold medal this time (Amin...) and joined IBO next year in Denmark (Amin...).

Good Bye Singapore! and should I say... 'Welcome Mataram"?

Indonesian Team for ASC 2014 + our LO

To Indonesian Team for IBO 2014 and those who left behind...

You know, sometimes we want to be the best, we want to be the one and only, we want people to look at us and say "She is THE girl" But I guess we can't always get what we want. At the end, we need to learn from our mistakes and congratulate others who get the chance. We just need to believe that one day, our time will come. Sometimes, we get sad and think that our life is miserable. We look at people and think how their lifes are better than us. But the fact is, we don't know their story. And we need to realize that somewhere there will be people who crave for the life of ours. We need to thank God everytime, every miliseconds of our life, even in the bad times. Because He always give the best for us, like, ALWAYS. Even if we haven't understood the good side of it. There is always a reason why.

So, to indonesian team for IBO 2014 (Hana, Kelvin, Sam, & Valen), congrats guys, go and fight, bring the golds, and make us proud!

p.s. I always wish to be one of you, but I guess I wouldn't be able to representate Indonesia as well as you all YET. I know I need to learn more and study harder. So... Denmark, maybe? ;)

Hope

So, last week I received the result of Pelatnas II, and as I had expected, I didn't pass to Pelatnas III. I understood that every competition has its winners and losers. I understood I wasn't good enough to pass. I understood that I might not study well enough and I had lack of experiences to help boosting my rank. I was sad, I admit. I imagined that I might not meet my friends there anymore, and I thought how 'fun' it would be to skip school and learn things that I really like there. But still I accepted the fact, the one thing that I can't stand about this is the hope. The hope from my parents, my families, my teachers, and my friends. That look when they said "yah..." when I told them I didn't pass felt hurt. I'm literally crying that day whenever I thought about telling the result to my teachers. "Should I say sorry? Will I be able to hold my tears when I tell them?" Those things came to my mind. Maybe I'm afraid, maybe I'm ashamed of myself. But if I get to choose one thing I wouldn't want to do in the world, it would be to disappoint people and destroy their hopes.

But then I realize I shouldn't blame myself all the time. I shouldn't regret this. I should 'move on' and forgive myself. I should learn from this failure. I ought to find my weaknesses and fix them, so I won't repeat them again. I need to study harder and pray better, because when you have done your best, you wouldn't be able to regret anything. I know this year the competition will be much tougher, but I believe with my work and Allah's will I would be able to do that. Nothing's impossible, right? My parents said it's like how Messi, one of the best soccer player in the world, coudn't score a goal in a penalty kick. Or like how Chelsea, which was in the top of clasement in Premier League, could be beaten by Crystal Palace from the low level of clasement. I need to believe that I will be able to make my parents, teachers, and friends proud of me. I will make them happy. My parents said I need to focus on my goal. I need to learn to say 'no' for 'unimportant' things. But I know the truth more, I just need to stop delaying my duties and spending my time wiser and better.

There are some songs I listened that could help me stand up again after I'm feeling down and made me feel much better. It also helped boosting our spirit, and here they are:

1. Embers - Owl City

2. Shooting Star - Owl City

3. Tidal Wave - Owl City

4. The Climb - Miley Cyrus

And I also recommend Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. It really helped boosting my mood.

Afterall, because I don't want to regret anything, I just want to say that I'm grateful. I'm grateful because I could join Pelatnas II and meet such great people, and I'm really grateful to have them as my friend and even as my 'third family'. I'm so lucky because not everyone could experience the same thing. I'm happy that I was there. So, I will share some photos taken there

And here are some photos I took by myself during our recreation time in Tangkuban Perahu

And here is our frog...

Smile. Good things only start to happen after a failure when you have forgiven yourself. :)

Who Am I...

*Found this (again) on tumblr. I've always loved good poems. I feel like there is something magical inside them. And this one that I found is beautiful yet heartbreaking. My favorite. This poem is written by "L.L." by the way, you can read more poems in lyvixo.co

An old painted wall
Covered in multicolor layers
The top coat outrageous and fun
The last one dull and broken, tattered and lost
Peel back each layer
One by one

An ugly doll
Painted in dirt and grime
Standing next to the flawless others
The unwanted one left behind
Leaving it in the background
Nothing to them in comparison

A butterfly without wings
Still beautiful,
Still trying,
But unfinished
A part of it missing
Never to be complete

A faceless person
Always chasing a moving train
So close to the goal
But yet so far away
Forever trying to keep up
But never reaching on

A shadow of someone better
Never being the top
Always over done
Seeking to overcome one's obstacles,
But never surpassing them
Always a shadow of another

A loner in a crowded room
Bodies surrounding
Laughter consuming
Chatter and happiness and excitement in the air
All around me
But I've never felt so alone

L.L.

A (Real) Holiday

Holiday. What will come to your mind when you hear that word? Is it gathering with your family and friends? Going to some mall and doing shopping, travelling, or playing some sports? Or is it just laying around lazily in your houses, being happy because you could sleep and wake up late and surfering the internet all day? Well, if you think that holiday is. To me, it is completely the opposite.

I'm not saying that I don't go anywhere at all and stay at my dorm. I'm not saying that I don't have fun. It's just... whole this time in my life, at least since I was a fifth grader, my holiday has never been that kind of holiday. Because of this olympiad things, I need to spend my holiday to study because I won't have time to study it at school. And now, as I become a high-schooler, I also spend my time in holiday for finishing organization tasks.

Once again, I never say I don't like it. In fact, I really do. It's good to feel... productive. It's good to me to know that I don't waste even a second in a day (Playing some game for awhile is not wasting time, ok!). Of course I go somewhere sometimes. Whether it is just somewhere near to buy some snacks, or eating-out, or even go visiting my families. But I rarely have a holiday-plan like... for a week or so. Even, I only go somewhere if I think I already surpass my target for the day. But Islam has taught us to spend our time wisely and to not do something useless, right?

I know it seems too ambitious (Maybe that's why I get slytherin in pottermore) and you would think it's really boring. I need to admit that I feel bored sometimes. But my mother always says that we need to make sacrifices. For everything. Moreover for our dreams. And I stick up to that. I believe all sacrifices that I have made will turn out into a good thing someday, And it actually isn't really that bad. I mean, when you do something you love to do (even if other people think it is not something to be loved to do) you wouldn't feel that bad. Actually, I will be more bored and feel worse if I just laying on my bed and twittering all day.

And the most important thing is, I learn to manage my time even when I was given freedom not to manage it. I learn to hold myself from doing the unproductive things, even if it is the one I really want to do at that moment. I learn to put my priority of one thing over another.

Believe it or not... holiday is the best time to learn things. So many things...

29-10-13

We often forget that there are people who truly care of us. Sometimes, like last week, I somehow felt alone and thought that I don't have any friends here (since last week, I've been joining pelatnas). I saw people laughing and talking together in dining room or the class, and I need to admit that I felt jealous. Of course I have friends from my school, but still... I felt like I didn't belong here

Until the Sunday came. And I realized I was wrong. My mother called me, my cousin visited me, my friends from school contacted me and told me stories about school. They might not know but those things that they've done meant a lot to me. I realize that I have families that love me and friends who care of me. It touched me when my friends called me. I felt like they didn't leave me behind and they won't. It made me realize that I'm still part of them no matter how far I'm from them.

It made me realize one more thing. I need to work my hardest and do my best here, in pelatnas. I want to make my families, my friends, and my teachers proud of me. I never know how strong the power of support is until now.

By the way, things have gone better here, I made new friends. I could talk, laugh, or at least smile at them. Everything takes time, right ?

So... Bismillah... I'm going to start a new day here with new spirit and a smile on my face :D

What I call as art..

What I've made in my graphic design class this year. Still don't know if I could ever call these as art...

Editing in photoshop

Final exam task : book marker with sport theme

book marker 2

Paper folder (inside)

Paper folder (outside)

Studying photoshop

combining picture in corel and photoshop

First time learning photoshop

The transformation of the mouse from 2D to 3D 

Dreams (and Disasters)

 People have their own dreams and passions, and so do I. There are so many things that I like to do and things that I wish I could be. I love sciences. Yes, you might think that I am a nerd. But see, I'm just trying to be true to myself. People (including me) might consider fashion designer, fashion stylist, or photographer is a cool job. But I think choosing your job later is not about whether you think it is cool or not, it is about whether you love it or not.

   

I love biology. People might think it is hard and boring, that we have to memorize everything.I agree. It is hard to get good scores in biology. But for me, biology is not about memorizing things or getting good scores. When I learn it, I learn about myself. About us, as human. I learn how the system in our body works in an amazing way. The coordination that balances everything, simply, biology should have made us believe in our God more. I've always wanted to be a doctor. At first, I thought it was just a childhood dream that would change as the time goes on. But I found out that it's still the same until now. I want to cure diseases and learn more about our own body. I want to help people who suffer from diseases and educate people about health. I also want to be an environmental scientist and find a way to make this environment better in the future. I'm also curious about biotechnology and bio engineering, learning about DNA and all tiny things even smaller than a cell.

But science is not my only love. Eventhough I hate P.E., it does not mean that I hate all kind of sports. I

love badminton, soccer, and swimming. I still dream about being a professional badminton player for Indonesia sometimes. I also love watching soccer games. Two clubs that I love beside our beloved Indonesian National Team are Manchester City and Chelsea. Never ask me why I love them, really, I don't know ! And about swimming, I just feel so comfortable and alive in water. I remember the first time I tried to learn to swim by myself. After two or three trials, then I just float, and it just felt so great. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to swim these days.

I'm also interested in fashion. I love to see beautiful gowns and dresses eventhough I know I would never ever wear them. I love to see models walking on the runway, and read their or the designer's story. Sometimes I try to draw clothes and imagine what it would be like to have a fashion brand under my name.

I also love photography and graphic design. I can't say that I'm good at them, but I just love it. I don't even have a camera on my own, but I love borrowing my uncle's SLR sometimes and take some pictures of flowers, plants, nature, cities, and people (especially my cousins, haha!). My love for graphic design grew when I join graphic design art class in my high school. It's really fun. And I always feel happy when I see people using things with my design.

What about music ? Well, I can't play any musical instruments. I don't understand musical notes. But I remember when I was in elementary school I loved mixing some melodies and sounds using my handphone to be some songs. I had made around twenty. And believe it or not, my family thought it was nice. My cousin even save some of them in her handphone for ringtones. And my favorite musician is Adam Young, the former of Owl City and Sky Sailing. I really adore him for his unique music and funny lyrics (which actually hide many messages inside). This post is also titled after one of his songs. Eventhough I never watch his concert or has one of his merchandise, I could proudly say, " I'm his BIG FAN!".

And last, but of course not least, I really really love writing. I'm not really good at speaking, and I think I could explain things and express my feelings much better by writing. I really wish I could have some time to write some short stories or even a novel of my own. And that's why I made this blog anyway.

Those are my dreams. What about the disasters ? Well, I think I'm going to post something about that later. See you soon!