"Lost and Found"

In some public places in US, there’s an area in the buildings where you can look for things that you lost or give things you found that aren’t yours.
I didn’t know this place existed until I lost my watch in the food stall at campus (@MemorialUnion). That watch was a gift from my sister-in-law and that was the only watch I had when I was in US. FYI, I really depend on that watch. In US, “Time is Money” is not just merely a quote. I learned this when I took a bus and light rail to go to campus. This was the most frustating thing I had. Everyday, waiting for the bus and if you came late even for one single minute, you’d miss it and you had to wait for another 15 minutes and come late to class and automatically miss the quiz and unfortunately lose your credits.. *sigh* But it’s a good thing. Teaching us to be ON TIME, right? :)
About this watch, I really didn’t know what to do until I told about my problem to one of my American friends, she was Rizma’s convos partner. She then told me about this place around campus.The place where you might find the things you lost.
I wasn’t sure I could find my watch, but when I came over I just saw it. Right on the table and the lady who kept that place was pleased to give me back what belonged to me. She said somebody found it in the restroom and brought it here. I couldn’t be happier than that.
So, I guess this place is really impressive. I wish I could have it in my country. Where you don’t have to worry in case you lose your stuff or if you find something that doesn’t belong to you. By that, you will know where to go. :)

Breaking the Stereotype

　　　　When first time got to America, some people thought they would need longer time to recover with something called as cultural shock. It was wondering how Americans would treat people due to the stereotype of their individualism. Americans never mind others’ business and will do whatever they want. In fact, what was told and heard in home country was just the prejudice of people that only see America from the outside, not from the inside. It was revealed in the story of Indonesia group of IELSP at Arizona State University, United States. It was very glad when the first day of the departure in America the Indonesian group got a huge welcome from all people that involved in IELSP program such as Chris Cassucio, the program officer of IIE, Jim Carter, the person who arranged the homestay, Mark Rentz, the director of AECP, Adam, the one who helped Mark for all things related to Indonesian group (although now he is already resigned from his job) and all the host parents with each of their host children name written in pieces of white papers. It was a very impressive welcome. AECP is an intensive English Program in Arizona State University that has carved the most unforgettable memory for myself and all grantees of IELSP Cohort 8 this spring in creating friendship, togetherness, cooperation and better personality.

America has brought me to a consciousness of how to respect and appreciate people truly, especially people with disabilities. For instance, in public transportation, they have a special door for people with wheelchair. The driver will give the most priority for them instead of common people. Besides that, in every single corner of the door, there is a special button to open the door for disabilities. It makes me realize how huge their respect for every single person no matter how they look. It drives me to come at the sense of equality in all aspects of life, creates understanding that all people have the same right to live their lives. Although we’re the minority in this country but Americans never underestimated or intimidated us. In contrast, they are really interested to know and learn about other cultures. The further we get to know each other, the more we are eager to learn. Everytime we make mistake, there is no such a thing as blaming, complaining and making fun of. Also, in here I learned that Americans really appreciate people’s decision. As a result, people in America usually feel free to express their opinion and talents because no one will judge them and give destructive critic. 

Living in the host country of the target language is very helpful to improve my language ability especially listening and speaking ability. While learning their language, naturally we also will learn their culture. I got involved in many activities both school activities and family events. For the school activities that I enjoyed the most in improving my language was the Conversation Club. In this activity, people talked while enjoying the cookies, tea, coffee in a beautiful evening at Arizona State University. In addition, we did not only talk with international students but also the real Americans which are ASU students. Besides that, there was an activity called Reading Theatre that enabled us to watch movie while learning the conversations of the actor and actress. Especially for family activities, I and my house mate had a blast living in a single lady’s house named Julie. She was a very nice and humorous woman that always involved us in her important events like celebrating Easter and Mother’s Day. Within our interaction, we learned some slanks in America like “slakers” which means “lazy person” and “chicks” (informal expression: the way she used to call us) which means “girls”. In addition, if we make mistakes in our spoken we may get the corrections right away by the native speakers.

This program has a lot of excitement and education which gives Indonesians the real experience of living in America. It is true that living in the host country to study language for two months is much more precious than just learn it theoritically in years. The pluses of this program are the management of the activity and the interaction between the grantees and the program officers which are really tight. The communication between both participants are applied really friendly. 

This program is already great by itself. I hope the alumnus after this program and those that involved still can keep in touch until no time. As a program in improving English, IELSP is very appropriate for students who want to learn American English and culture.

"Who are they?"

Who are they?
Technically, they are students from over 17 different universities in Indonesia (I’ve never been in any of their universities).
Basically, about more than a year ago, they were strangers (I’ve never met them before).
However, destiny brought us together in an unforgettable voyage with a gorgeous ship named “IELSP” to a wondrous desert island, Arizona, USA.
Then, who are they? Here is a brief explanation about them:
Widia (Cirebon) : My beloved house- mate which is a master of vocabularies. Ask her whatever words in English, and she’ll give you the answer correctly. A huge fan of Rachel Ray, she’s really kind somehow and quite fussy toward me. Yeah, cos I’m a slacker. (No, WE are slackers!) :P. I spent most of my time in AZ with her and the best parts of it, especially the ones with Julie and Carrie. :)
Rizma (Purwokerto) : An attractive humorous girl which is really smart and creative. She’s interested in design and she’s the one who designed our blazer :D. She’s open- minded, wise and a really good listener. I miss you! :* (Long last with Mas Anis mu yah!) wkwk
Mira (Jambi) : She’s kind and mother- alike. She laughes easily and it sounds really funny for whatever jokes it is! :D Her English is very good and she lives near my house in Mesa. Once we slept over at each other’s house and it was a blast! We also call her “Mami Elvi”.
Suci (Bogor) : Used to be my back-up buddy. But, I’ll always remember her as “the master of food.” Yeah, in line with her major which is Nutrition and Food Security, she’s really doing her job, especially in the airplane! She’s the one who is pleased with any kinds of food (except porks and such kind of things) when others just eat them on purpose of their stomach!
Yunia (Palembang) : An innocent young woman who has an interesting hobby; “disappear”. I don’t have any idea why she likes to do that, but she’s really good in getting us worried. But, her home-made empek2 was fantastic, when I really miss that food in US, she could heal it, although just for the sauce. -__- (your host Mom had eaten all of them right before I came).
Fiqih (Tegal) : Seriously, she has a really nice voice. I recorded her once when I slept over at her house and I still keep it up until now :P. She really concerns about us, if Sueb is like our father, she’s just like our mother. Wkwk (ampun mbak!)
Tika (Bangka) : If you ask me who got a date in US, I’ll definitely point it out at her! Her date was a faithful Korean man with glasses who always stayed with Tika wherever she went. (kidding, Tika’s boyfriend, please don’t get angry :)). Indeed, because she’s really kind. She’ll do whatever it takes to help her friends, as well as the Korean. :P
Uun (Banyuwangi) : “You are the dancing queen, young and sweet only seventeen..” -Abba, Dancing Queen- Yes, she is our dancing queen, an adorable and funny Javanese girl. She has a strong accent of her traditional language and it sounds hilarious. I and her are alike in some ways, especially weight and height. :D
Kiki (Pekalongan) : proudly present…. our “Bu NYAI…” Why we call her so? Because she’s really religious and likes to give us a good advice. Don’t know what’s gonna happen to us in US without her if we lose control.
Ria (Salatiga) : If you ask me who got the
Location Love—> “Cinlok” in AZ, she’s the best candidate for it. I don’t have to mention, everyone knows. Huaahaahaa. Ria is endearing, patient, and likes to give praise and spread smile. She’s like an angel :)
Abi (Balikpapan) : oh man. Who is he? He’s a French guy wanna be. But I admit it, he can speak French very good. And I think he has more passion in studying in Paris than in US! He can’t live without sunglasses, even when it creates two spots in his eyes because of the heat. But, he’s easy- going and fun.
Zake (Lombok) : I like to watch him dancing. He’s really good at it. (although he’s a male!). This young man who never puts off his hat and wears glasses is very responsible, smart and wise. As a woman, I feel like he’s always there to protect us, the women.
Sueb (Malang) : He’s the captain of the ship as well as our keeper. Hehe (Piss, Romo!) He takes the responsibility to take care all of the crews and make sure we are safe, especially in the airports. He’s an optimist, brilliant and broad- minded person as well as a great debater. Do not ever try to argue him, trust me.
Fandi (Jombang) : Yeah, I made his name right below Sueb because I know they can’t be separated. I still wonder about their relationship. Do they really have an affair? But Fandi is a smart guy either. His English is good and he liked to talk about himself, especially when he got homesick. It was really frustated for him. He, Sueb, Hadi, Feri, and Fiqih created a small army called “The Oyoh”. I don’t know what that means.
Hadi (Banjarmasin) : This is our Ahong. I don’t know deep down inside his heart he likes to be Chinese or Indonesian, because his face is really Chinese. He liked to talk about Max, his host parents’ dog. And I don’t know why everytime I looked at him, I remembered Max. (ampuun Hadi T.T) Otherwise, he is very very kind in helping out his friends, especially his soulmate; Feri.
Feri (Tulungagung) : Feri, (his name reminds me of my ex. T.T) as far as I know he’s a funny and a very kind man. As I mentioned before, he’s the soulmate of Hadi. They’re always together. Like Fandi and Sueb, they are like people in love. wkwk (Peace out, bro!) ;)
Andre (Samarinda) : Among all of us, I guess he’s the richest child which got the most luxurious facilities from his homestay parents in AZ. He’s always lucky. I heard soon he’s going to continue his study to Australia. Congrats man! :)
So, who are they? They are who they are.
They have created one of the most memorable experiences in my life. Thanks for all the cheers, laughters, and lessons. xoxoxo
Who am I? That’s one secret I’ll never tell. Huahaahaa
Hope to see you guys again someday! :D

"Dairy Queen and the Fake Butt"

Ini namanya “Peanut Buster Parfait”, lagi kangen banget makan ini. Es krim favorit Julie yang akhirnya jadi favorit saya juga. Hanya dijual di Dairy Queen.

 
Dairy Queen itu udah kayak istana impian saya waktu di AZ, sebuah rumah pondokan kecil yang gak terlalu mewah tapi yang dijual es krim semua. Aduh, ngangenin banget.
Tiap ke Dairy Queen saya dan Widia selalu barengan ama Julie and Carrie. Carrie itu temen akrabnya Julie. Beliau baik dan humoris banget. Jadi ingat satu kenangan memorable waktu perayaan ultah kami (Tia and Widia ultahnya deketan, jadi perayaannya dijadiin satu, waktu itu ngerayain ultah Mira yang kebetulan sleep over di rumah kami).
Di suatu sore kami lagi bakar marshmallow sama hotdog (bukan anjing panas ya, ini cuma sebutan buat makanan sejenis sosis yang dimakan sama roti), tiba- tiba kaget ngeliat Carrie turun dari rumah, celananya melorot n sorry, butt- nya keliatan.
Kontan aja saya panik, tapi mungkin karena masih naluri orang Indonesia, gak enak mau bilang langsung takut dia tersinggung. Terus saya noleh kanan kiri, Julie belum nyadar kayaknya, si Mira sama Widia lagi sibuk bakar hotdog. Duh, sumpah waktu itu bingung banget. Akhirnya setelah beberapa detik terpaku, saya bilang juga akhirnya,
"Eem, Carrie, sorry, but your pants didn’t fit well.."
"Oh, you mean this..?" (pointing at her butt, stared at Julie and together holding laugh)
"Carrie, your butt.."
Then Mira and Widia realized and started staring at Carrie either.
And then they laughed spontaneously!
"What happened? I don’t get it."
Julie answered, “Tia, this is a fake butt. She wanted to tease you. We bought it for fun. I also have one.”
And I couldn’t hold my laugh. We all laughed together until our stomach hurted.
Itu namanya fake- butt. Sumpah mirip banget sama butt beneran. Sore itu Carrie pake’ sengaja buat nunjukin ke kita (dalam hati mikir, gini- gini amat ya mainan orang Amerika).
Pada malam harinya Carrie ngasi kami kado ultah dan itu so sweet banget. Bukan sekedar so sweet tapi emang sweet karena kami dikasi cemilan2 yang sweet. Ada cokelat, permen, n yang paling sweet kartu Dairy Queen berharga $5 yang artinya bisa dipake buat ngembat es krim disana gratis. Itu. Sesuatu. :’)
Thanks Carrie and Julie! I’m missing you so bad right now.

USA.. I'm Coming.. (part 2)

There are a lot of preparations needed before leaving Indonesia. Passport, gifts, traditional clothes, school, permissions, and many things. Besides, I had to prepare myself physically and mentally. It was quite fantastic and I really enjoyed it yet this was the biggest dream of mine. I never exhausted to thankfully blessed my life. I knew Allah Swt was all behind this. I knew it : If we have DREAM, just BELIEVE that WE CAN ACHIEVE it, then our mind will BRINGS it TO REALITY. I always remembered I've said many times that someday I will go overseas. I always said it in front of my Mom and my brother the most. They are the ones who I wanna make proud of. And now, my dream comes true.

March 17th, 2011
I left Pontianak to approach Jakarta. At that day, all people that I love were there, in the airport. Cleptoners, that's how we named us (my best friends in university) gave me an early birthday present: a book that I can only open if I'm heading to United States in the airplane. I tried so hard to hold my tears. They were all crying over me, especially My Mom. It was the first time I separated from her for a quite long time, 2 months.

I met my other 17 Indonesian friends in Jakarta Airport Hotel; Rizma (Purwokerto), Widia (Cirebon), Abi (Balikpapan), Mira (Jambi), Fiqih (Tegal), Suci (Depok), Uun (Banyuwangi), Tika (Bangka), Zake (NTB), Fandi (Jombang), Sueb (Malang), Yunia (Palembang), Kiki (Pekalongan), Andre (Samarinda), Fery (Tulungagung), Ria (Salatiga), and Hadi (Banjarmasin). I was proud to be the representative from Pontianak, of course. ^^

We all have created the greatest memories in our lovely campus, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY. Besides, we are said to be the 18 first grantees of IELSP who studied there. They are like my brothers and sisters. I love you guys!

The routes of my departure --> Jakarta - Singapore - Hongkong - Chicago - Phoenix - Mesa (Arizona, USA)

It was a very looooooonnngg flight. We were accompanied by Bunda Wiati Rahayu from IIEF, she was really kind and mother- like. That's why we call her "Bunda" which means mother.

The first time I stepped on Singapore I felt like wanna screaming and yelling to the world, that "I'm in abroad!" (I know that sounds crazy and villagers- alike. Hahh! Whatever :p)

We spent 6 hours in Singapore, 2 hours in Hongkong, and 4 hours in Chicago before finally arrived in Phoenix, the capital city of Arizona. Since I was in Singapore until I reached United States, I was mesmerized by the TECHNOLOGY and the RESTROOMS.

TECHNOLOGY
They have a very sophisticated technology far different compared to Indonesia. In Singapore International Airport, there is an authomatic foot massager which allowed us to have a relaxation after our long trip. What we have to do is just sit on it and let the machine works. It was very comfortable. So as the water fountain which I found almost everywhere. Especially in Singapore, we only have to step on the certain part of the floor and the water will come by itself without pushing anything. It was really fresh. Then in every airport we found the flat escalator which named as "moving sidewalks or moving walkways" made us feel like walking on the rollerblade without worrying about "falling down".

RESTROOMS
First impression: CLEAN. Honestly, it was really awkward for me to use the dry toilet. For me, Indonesian, water is everything. Therefore, you have to give up on it if you're in abroad. You have to get used to with the dry toilet, translated ---> toilet paper. But later on, I realize that dry toilet is much healthier than the wet one. It keeps the restroom clean and comfortable. Besides, there is always a tap that we can adjust based on our need; hot, warm, or cold water. So after we use the toilet, we are obligated to wash our hands. And there's always the soap and the tissue. On the other hand, that's one of reasons why United States and other developed countries are responsible for the global warming. Imagine the trees for the toilet papers, tissue and napkins.

USA.. I'm Coming.. (part 1)

November 26th, 2010
It was the most beautiful day in my life. That day was the last day of my examination in university. I remembered exactly it was "Translation" examination. It was pretty easy and I with my friends (Rainy. Yuni, Nemi) went to the carboot sale soon afterwards. There's one thing called as "inkling" at that day. In the morning I decided to use my Dad's cellphone because I knew I had a problem with my cellphone, its speaker, so everytime I got a phone call, they couldn't hear my voice at all. But, something in my mind said that day I had to use my Dad's cellphone. It's kinda ridiculous because I was sure that I would get an important phone call from someone.

That day my biggest prayer was answered by Allah Swt.

When we were choosing some clothes, I checked my phone and there was one missed call. I saw the three first numbers were 021. My hands began shaking, I got a cold feet and my heart was beating faster than usual. I waited, waited, and a few minutes later, that number called again. I picked it up, I heard the voice of a woman,


"Is this Sistia Dinita?"

"Yes, it's me"

"I'm Vera from IIEF wants to say congratulations since you are chosen as one of IELSP grantees."

...............
"Really?"

"Yes! Congratulations, Sistia!"

........... "You're pulling my leg."

"I'm not kidding you. You're going to United States around February- March next year. Have you got your passport?"

Aa....
"No" (I must be dreaming, right? UNITED STATES????^%%#&%&%#^%#^&%)

"OK, tonight please check your email because we're gonna give you the instructions of what you should do next."

Aa.... (What the hell is happening here?)
"OK, Thank you so much.."

"Your passport must be ready before or on the day of December 6th. One thing you should remember, we will cover all the costs except for the passport. Are you sure you can afford this?"

"Yes, Miss. I know about that. I can afford this" (Passport????&^#&^#&^@&%&) ==> start being insane.

"OK, once again, congratulations Sistia. Don't forget to check your email. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, I don't know what to say, Thank you, Miss Vera."

"Assalamu'alaikum" "

"Wa'alaikumsalam"

My friends, who were standing next to me heard all those things. They suddenly hugged me crying, and screaming, as what I did. We didn't care about everything around us, just wanted to express How HAPPY I AM. I planned to tell my Mom soon after I reached home. The woman who sells the clothes and her husband gave me a present, a beautiful clothes which dazzled me since the first time I saw it, FOR FREE. They said, "Today is your day."

Thank you Allah Swt, Thank you my beloved Mom (who always prays for me), my brother (my handsome motivator), my sister in law (thank you for loving my handsome brother), my Dad (I love you so much), my boyfriend (thanks for loving me), and all my friends who support me a lot.

I LOVE YOU ALL