Minus 2 Degree of Celcius, Oh My Goodness..

12 June 2009

Winter comes… winter down under in Australia runs from June 1 through August 31. For me, it is something new and frightened me for particular awful story. For this reason, I have prepared well supporting stuff during winter season. I have bought some warm long john, i.e. thermal underwear, some sweaters, jackets, electronic blanket, wool quilt, and heater. Hopefully, all of those stuff will reduce my paranoid..

For the first week, the weather was still mostly fine but arrives at the second week it becomes dreadful. From the weather forecast, the range of weather is from negative 2 to around 8⁰c. Oh my goodness, how can I go to my work place in this sort of situation? Whilst, I have to walk away around 15 minutes in the morning at 5.40 am. Fortunately, I have bought some stuff, so I just wore 4 pieces of clothes, seasonal underwear, long john, t shirt, and double jacket. To protect my head, I wore double winter hats. I also wear gloves and socks. Is it too much?? Maybe, because I saw some Australian only wore jacket, short and thongs…but I don’t really care. In my point of view, each person needs particular treatment. I don’t want to take risk..only me who knows my body..

Based on the forecast, today the minimum weather is negative 2⁰c and I expected it would increase to be 0 when I went out from my accommodation. When I opened the door, the cold wind blew over my face but it was considerable fine, maybe because of thick clothes I wore. Intently, I walked in hurry in order to make my body warmer. In the mid of my way, I felt rainy nose even though I didn’t have flu. I wished it didn’t worsen to be nosebleed (the suffer that usually comes as an effect of unresistance toward cold weather). If it happens to me, I can’t imagine working in pain. Luckily, my anxiety didn’t come true. Praise for Allah ta’ala, I could be able through this extreme weather. Hopefully, I will be always healthy…I hope so..

Australian Students: Always Keep on Speaking Up

4 March 2009

Today I enforced myself to attend the Organizational Behaviour class even though I didn’t little bit feel up to going to. I felt the subject boring; actually I have finished that subject in my bachelor degree. On the other hand, I needed to attend the class due to in this subject, many Australian students enrolled. I ‘d like to learn the way they gave response and feedback during the class.

The name of the lecturer is mr. Doug, he is very attractive and always encourage all international student to participate actively. He also seems to be appreciate to all of student’ opinions. As Australia’s style, the knowledge is delivered in direct two way communication. In this unit, I was able to see Australian students such enjoyed in absorbing the knowledge. Always and always they rose their hand while the lecturer was talking. Sometimes, it was just silly thing, shared, for instance, their job environment, the personality of their bosses, etc. Mostly more than 3 or 5 minutes they talked. They looked like so interested in this sort of unit. While Asian students, including me, seem to just highlight the textbook or just listen what the lecturer said.

After the class finished, some curiosity came in my mind regarding the different style of Australian and Indonesian students. Why the Australian tends to be more active and criticize anything. I think because since in elementary school they were encouraged to speak up their mind and stimulate the way they responded to something. It may be different to that of Indonesian in which from beginning we were encouraged to memorize anything. Secondly, it may be the culture; here it is absolutely forbidden to make others as object of ridicule. They always appreciate other people’s opinion. It is different to Indonesian, at least based on my experience that students often laugh at another when he or she makes ‘a mistake statement’. I also notice the Australian education system be created to not burden the students. Therefore, they don’t look stressed or under pressured. In the childhood age, most of the time is for playing whereas in Indonesia, in the kindergarten, the children are encouraged to write and calculate. I don’t know whether there is a correlation between the curriculum and the level of criticize or not.

However, I also saw that from several Australian I met, they weak in math while some Indonesian are strong in math even though sometimes they don’t know the philosophy of those numeric or just to explain in some sentences the use of the result of calculation. It may back again to the problem of criticizing something. So that, which one is more important? It might become the Indonesian National Education Ministry’ task to overcome this problem. Is it good to adopt or mix up the Australian or western system??

Rabbit-Proof Fence: A Black History of Australia

03 February 2009

Rabbit Proof Fence is a movie that I had watched at IAP. At least, from this movie, I have learnt much about honesty, fairness, and sincerity. I can see that Australia has learnt from its history and come along to the bright future together. The teacher emphatically admitted that it became a black history of Australia. The movie is about the stolen generation in Australia toward indigenous people, aborigine people.

It is a true story adapted from ‘Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence” by Doris Polkington Garimara. The story was happened during the 1930s which set in Jigalong where three children Molly, Gracie and Daisy lived. The children are referred to by Neville as “half-castes”, having one white and one black parent. The children are forcibly captured from Jigalong taken to the camp at Moore, around several thousand miles away. The purpose of kidnapping those children is to breed out of the black colour on aborigines by introducing the policy to forcibly be married with white people so that the next generation will birth in white colour. It was an ambition to create Australia as a white nation, a western culture.

The movie showed the struggle of three children to escape from the camp by walking back home following the rabbit proof fence. After several more weeks Molly and Daisy were successful to arrive at heir home, while Daisy was recaptured.

In the last movie, Molly explained that she had her own daughters who were taken from her and how she was able to rescue one, but not the other. Her successful rescue was done in the same way when she run away in her childhood; she walked the length of the fence back home.

As I wrote before, it became a black history of Australia where there was an era of attempting to vanish aborigine identity. fortunately, Australia has learnt from that. Officially, the Prime Minister apologized for unaccepted action in the past. I think every country has a problem with regard to face the diversity, the gap between one to other regions or ethnic group. Australia now is trying to develop some policies to help the welfare of Aborigines without vanishing their culture even though like the teacher said it’s very difficult; but at least sincerily the government is attempting to live together harmonically with the same right in this country. It is absolutely true a slogan that a develop country is a country in which learnt from its history…How about Indonesia??

3 Days Without Rice

16 January 2009

It’s my third day arriving in Canberra and it still became shocked for me facing a different situation here compared to that in Indonesia. No mini shop, no refectory that open during all day and night… Here, don’t ever imagine to hear a range of vary the sound of instant food sellers in the night that customarily we heard…don’t imagine to buy tiny stuff in the shop close to our home like in Indonesia..no ..no.. Here, there is a restricted regulation to where area permitted as trading area and living area. Therefore, if you want something to buy, you need to walk along way or ride your car.

I admit really unprepared well for food. There are no stuff for cooking, no materials..ouwghh..so then how can I survive living here? Oh my god..please help me… Actually there is a refectory on campus area but it is quickly gone in the midday. So in the first and second day I just ate large chips and some breads..for me it is extremely not enough. For me, the definition of ‘eat’ is eating rice. Chips and breads are only snacks. Should I need to change this paradigm? I’m not sure…

Therefore, in the third day I enforced myself to buy rice cooker in K-Mart in the Westfield Belconnen mall. At least with rice cooker I was able to easily cook rice. I also bought some vegetables and noodles. Then I went to the kitchen, I was looking after the kitchen stuff in my accommodation, oh my god it’s new experience for me I don’t know exactly how to operate it, it is embarrassing. There are so many knobs and stoves but I don’t know which one particular knob for particular stove. I was really desperate. I wanted to try but I was worried about something bad happened. It is not funny, in the headline news ‘an international student from Indonesia was interrogated by police for derailing a fire in UC accomodation’.

While I was mixed up, my neighbour came. He is from Australia. He is only one of my neighbour in my block. I don’t know exactly what his name. In the first time I met him, he just said ‘welcome’ after that he just smile at me when we mate. I have ever tried to break the ice by saying hello and asking some questions (of course I still remember what Barbara said to not asking taboo questions)and he replied with Australian accent, I don’t really hear what his name, Jim, John, because he spoke quickly and unopened mouth.. He stared at me realizing I was looked confused with the stuff ‘May I use stuff here for cooking? I asked to him..’sure, as long as you clean up the stuff after using it’ he replied quickly. I just caught up some words. ‘how to operate this stove?’ then he demonstrated to use the stove, microwave and oven. I didn’t concern to what he said, I just looked the way his hand operated the stuff. ‘oh..thank you’..finally, I can survive here…thank god but I promise to buy my own cooking stuff on Sunday in the Sunday Market…it’s very cheap…

Notes Before Departure

11 January 2009

Often people pray for something that it doesn’t come to be true, and react to this in different way..
As it just happened to me when I had already prepared for anything, including made a deal for temporary accommodation in Brisbane but in the last minute, all changed…

How to react? Of course, commonly for the first time, shocked and worried, all negative view came in my mind. Honestly, not the change of university preference or the cancellation of my program, no, but the most scary came to me is cut of my remuneration whereas I haven’t received my stipend yet…I calculated all my expenditure, and deficit, my son’s face came….oh…god…

Fortunately all run well, thank you Mr riza..even though you had made me under pressured and at the time I blamed you for your silly mistake (so sorry for that..) but finally there was a certainty after University of Canberra accepted my application. However, one problem came again..it’s about Visa. Actually, my visa has been ready but since there was a change in my uni preference, it led the change in my visa too.

My estimated departure is on Sunday 11 January 09, until Friday morning, however, I phoned to ADS officer and she said that there had not been available yet. Worried?? Yup, little bit worried but the most feeling in my mind was ashamed if it would be postponed since I had permitted to all staff in my office and of course all my family as well in my village…

Finally, in the afternoon, mba Lia said that all had been already, visa and my ticket, but there was a change in my departure date, it postponed one day, so I departed on 12 January 2009, with whom??