All moments that I write about are moments with big impact and memories; good or bad.
Moments that got me thinking and reminiscing hard.
Hello again, after been a while. This field school is just like geography field trip I've had before, but this one was with the Aussie gang. When the first announcement came, I was sceptic to apply. Just because the last time I took the toefl test, my score got no higher than 460 or so, while the condition said to fulfill the minimum score of 480. In short, I cancelled the application. But, it's either God wanted me to join for good or for any other reasons, there were no students of my batch applied for this. They soften the condition; any other english certicate or english score transcript during 1st semester. I'm in! When the list of participants were out, there were only 10 girls (all girls!), with 6 of us have to be interviewed first. Like hell, I still remember the time Mas Hafid asked me the question in english. I was like "shit what I should answer", till I was being honest that I was no good in speaking things. When the list of final participants were out, 7 stays. I guess it's because the other 3 didn't take the interview, so yeah.
The next step was the preparation class, in fasting month. It was quite an effort, though. While your friend were all staying at home, you went all the way to campus, taking class. Well, it's nice to gain more knowledge, isn't it? It took about a week, at 10-13, the time when sun is right above your head. Hmmm, sounds good :')
The real field school started on July 11 until July 23, took 4 location in Subang, Sumedang, Bandung, and Jakarta, with 4 different themes; food sovereignity, poverty alleviation, (coffee) land access, and urban housing. The USYD students (next I'll call them Bule gang) arrived on July 10. This was my first time meeting the bule and talking in person. Like, God please have a mercy on me, I don't have any idea what they're talking about. First day and I was late. Too much bule to see, it's 19 of them! Having an introduction game; it's quite difficult remembering their names, since I don't have any bule acquaintance lol, then grouping in 4-5 for the trivia quiz. Okay, skip. I had my eyes for one guy, lol this was ridiculous I know, but it's cute to have long blond hair and be pony-tailed. Later I know his name was Tim, when it turned out that we had 3 Tims in the team. Good Lord.
The rest 12 days were full of laugh and chit chat and tutorial. This one is not to be missed; tutorial. It's kind of discussion we have for each theme. We're discussing the question Jeff (USYD lecturer) given based on the journal we have read and the fact we found in the field. It's quite frustrating in the first tutorial. I mean they were all talking non-stop, arguing this and that while me still have to accustom my ears to hear Australian English accent which is (I think) similar to British. Not counting the time when we all had meals. Jeff is a kind of lecturer that doesn't let his students eat in peace (Sorry Jeff, but you really are), because he kept asking about Indonesia's import banning policy in order to achieve food self-sufficiency (the theme is food sovereignity) while we were having breakfast (it happened when you're on the same table with him). The Bule gang said, the tutorial is always there for every lecture. 2 hours lecture, 1 hour tutorial. Thanks God, now I know how bule studied. At least when I went off abroad later, I wouldn't be too surprised.
We spent 3 nights home-staying in people's home. It was like hahahahahaah I want to laugh, the Bule gang were like celebrities everytime they walked out. People asked for taking photos with them. They also fascinated the number of kids playing around the neighborhood. But for everything, it was all fun. For so many questions they asked; reasons why I wear hijab, 5 times shalat, whether it's weird to hold hands between boys here, how a girl fell in love should express her feeling, until how do we do squats. The last question is obviously making me laugh. Mostly the toilet here used the S line toilet with squat model, not the seated one. That's why the question arised.
I already missed them. It's nice to make friends with people from another country with another culture, so I can know a lil bit more. It's such a blessing to meet, learn, and chat with them all. Thank you for amazing 13 days I'd always remember in my lifetime. See you very soon, guys!
 |
| Field School Squad |
 |
| Campfire (UI) Squad! |
0 comments:
Post a Comment