Wenzao Summer Program 2017 Experience!

I’ve been wanting to write about this for sooooo long. But since I procrastinate a lot, hence I just made this post.

            So, from 2 July 2017 till 22 July 2017,  I lived in Taiwan to join Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages Summer Program 2017! YAAAY! *claps insanely*

            What the hell is that program? It’s a program where you can learn Chinese language, Chinese culture, and go to a loooot of beautiful places in Taiwan. Last but not least, this is an international program (so you can meet new friends from all over the world)! Widya Mandala Catholic University picked 3 students from different majors to join this program (IMPORTANT NOTES: they paid for most of the fees!), and I am one of the lucky ones to get picked and joined this program.

            So, to sum it up, this was easily one of my most unforgettable experience in my life. I went to a lot of amazing places. I learnt a lot of new things. And also, I met a loooooot of incredible friends from UK, Korea, France, and of course, Taiwan. Let me break them down one by one.

1.      Korea (SangEun and JoonHo)

They were the most affectionate of the bunch. They are so kind to everyone, literally everyone. I easily got close to them. There was this one time that I really want to have my Korean name, so I told JoonHo to make me one. Lol.

At the end, my Korean name was Hwang Ji Hyun (just bcs Hwang is my Chinese surname, and I just like the name JiHyun lol).

Just seconds before I had to leave to go back to Indonesia, JoonHo suddenly yelled, “Wait! I promised you to write your Korean name. I want to write it to you before you go!”

And look what JoonHo and SangEun gave to me. I even put the paper inside my phone case and bring it everywhere.

2.      France (Eiden and Eva)

The two French gals who are younger than me, but much taller than me. I even called Eiden Mommy because she took care of me (Eiden if you’re reading this, you’ll know what I mean;)). At first, I didn’t think that I was that close to them, but we got way closer at the end of the Summer Program. I think our turning point when we ate sushi together at HanShin.

For Eva, please bear with me. I’ve been so hectic these days, but I will download Snapchat soon so I can keep in touch with you guys!

And also, what I remembered most from them is before I went back to Indonesia, Eiden hugged me and said, “Just remember this Jennifer, that you have a house in France.” (Btw Eiden, I still have the shaving tool that you gave me. It reminded me of you everytime I used it lololol)

I immediately had a mental breakdown and cried so much (yeah, I am a crybaby). Eva added, “Yeah! You can definitely stay in my house if you go to France!”

  

3.      England (Han and Abdullah)

Han was one of my roomates at the dorm! At first, I thought that we were not that close eventhough we were roommates. But then, just like the French gals, I felt like we got way much closer at the end. Why is it when we got closer, we have to part ways?:(

What I love most about Han is her pointy pointy pointy noseeee! She is soooo frikin pretty, she can marry Prince Charles! And also, looooove your natural curly hairL If I love it, you should love it too;)

And Abdullah, like I complimented you on the last seconds before I parted, you’re the friendliest of the bunch. You are good with new people. Even Chenny wondered how come you can be close with the teacher’s son whilst he cannot even speak English xD

4.      Taiwan (Chenny, Stephanie, Julie, Rainny, Sammy, and Liu)

Taiwanese people are soooo kind. They are so kind that I cannot even describe how kind they are.

Let me start with Liu. So, I stayed at Chia Rong Hostel when I was at Taipei, and Liu worked at the front desk. What’s crazy for me, is that the second day we met, he already wanted to bring us to the train station, helped us bought our train tickets. And when we wanted to give him the tips, he didn’t want to accept it (but of course we forced him to accept it lol).

A little time passed by, he messaged my friend Tyan on FB and told her that he gave the money to charity because he felt guilty receiving it. And I was like….. SO KINDDDDDDDDDDD! How come!?

I also ended up chatted with him on FB for a while. He was so nice, he drew a picture of me eventhough I didn’t reply his chat for almost a month (I’m busy, guys:”). He’s soooo talented at drawing.

And then Chenny, Stephanie, Julie, and Rainny were the volunteers who helped us and guided us for this Summer Program. Chenny is such a fun person. She is so bubbly and sensitive at the same time. I colored my hair at a Taiwan Salon. Chenny accompanied me eventhough it took HOUUURS to get my hair done. This showed how nice she is.

Stephanie, she looked like a shy and quiet girl. But secretly, she is the most responsible of them all. She took care of all the schedules, she prepared all the small details. She didn’t talk much as first, but she’s funny once you got to know her.

Julie, the person who picked us from the train station, and also the last person to accompany us before going back to Indonesia. I think that she looked like she didn’t care (sorry Julie lol), but actually she cares a lot. She even brought us breakfast the last time we saw her. I was weirdly touched by that:”

Rainny, I know that I didn’t talk to her that much, that we also didn’t bond that much, but we talked quite a lot before I left. Like, literally hours before I left. And I felt like you’re also a kind person, I just didn’t get the time to know you well.

Last but not least, Sammy. You looked like a strong independent women in my point of view:p You cared about all of us. Yet you are tough and discipline and do not want us to get in trouble. And I adore that about youJ

5.       My classmates (Than Long, Tae Huan, Long Wei, I forget the others’ names:”)

I love going to class with them. They were friendly and soooooo funny. Eventhough their English is not that good and we can only converse in Chinese (whilst my Chinese is not that good), but I clicked with you guys.

I seriously missed going to class with you guys. Thankyou Than Long for reminding me to work hard eventhough I’m tired. Here’s one quote that I can never forget from him, “If you use 1 second to be angry, you just lost 1 second to be happy.”J

Tae Huannnnn.. thankyou for the ice cream treat at the farewell lunch!

6.      Peeps at Wenzao (Suryadi, Reon, Steven)

Hey, Suryadi, thankyou so so so much for accompanying us and guided us around Kaoshiung. That night when you’re tired because of lack of sleep and had a test for tomorrow, but you still accompanied us because you knew that it was the last time that we could hang out together. I really appreciated it.

Thankyou Reon for accompanying us whilst haven’t studied for the test:” Also thankyou Steven, eventhough I didn’t know you that well eheheheheh

7.      My Indonesian friendddsssssss<3

Tyan and July, I truly miss you guysssssss. We are in Surabaya, we should hang out sometimes. It’s weird to have you all day long for 3 weeks by my side, and then suddenly do not talk again.

We’ve been through a lot of experiences, and I love you guys to core.

Bottom line, I miss you guys a lot. Seriously, a lot. I’m not even exaggerating. I miss Taiwan a lot. If you’re reading this, thankyou for all the memories. And if you go to Indonesia, especially Surabaya, my house is open for all of youJ

And for Widya Mandala Catholic University’s students who are reading this, go join the selection for this Summer Program next year. I swear to you, you will regret it if you’re not. This will be one of your most unforgettable memory in your life. Go joinnnnn!

New Year's Resolution Is (Not) Bullshit

New year's resolution is not bullshit if you dream of doing something realistic.

So, instead of “I wanna make change to the world” or “I want to be a millionaire”, just make a realistic new year's resolution for 2017.

For example, me. After having a long time to think, I finally decided my new year's resolution for 2017. It’s something simple yet realistic enough to achieve.

“To be more independent.”

Sounds cheesy and not important? Not at all for me.

Because I’m a hella dependent person. I feel so so so insecure to be all by myself. It’s as if I will always need a friend to accompany me. For example, I always feel the need to call at least one of my friend every single night. This takes to another level when I even feel the need to watch a movie together with my friends through skype. (Yeah, skype can do that. It’s called the sharing screen fiture. Skype is daboom, guys.)

And when my friends don't reply my text for a day, I get so worried by the fact that I might do something wrong to them. Or when my friend update their instagram instead of replying to my message, I always overthink. But really, they might just be busy or doesn't feel like chatting. Yes, I am this dependent to others. And yes, I know exactly that I need to change this attitude of mine.

To make my resolution a realistic one, I need to have plans to fulfill it.

1.    I have to take myself out on a date.

It’s not at all shameful to go to the mall by yourself. It’s not at all shameful to eat inside a café by yourself. It’s called ‘me time’.

I have to learn that being alone is not a bad thing, and that it’s sometimes even necessary to just be all by yourself.

2.    Distract myself from trying to call my friends.

I have to find distraction that stop myself from calling others. Such as, watching dramas, engulf myself with a lot of works, talking to my family, etc.

And so far, it’s working well.

3.    Slowly change my mindset.

To love myself and not to feel insecure by being alone.

Those are all concrete steps that I can think of to be more independent in 2017. I realized that I can’t forever be dependent to others. The only person that I can count on by the end of the day is just myself.

How about you? What is your new year's resolution for 2017?

Go make a realistic one and create concrete steps to achieve it!

And also do not forget to execute it, because that’s what matters most. Wishing you a life-changing year ahead, peeps!

-JElim

Pengalaman Acara Live In

Okay, this post is another excuse for me to slack off instead of doing my tasks.

                Kali ini, aku ingin curcol tentang pengalaman Live In-ku selama seminggu di desa Pait Lor, Malang. Yang awalnya kukira bakal jadi pengalaman terburukku sepanjang masa since hanya boleh bawa 4 baju dan 4 celana untuk seminggu, (itupun celanaku disita 1 biji karena melanggar peraturan, njir), lalu di sana tidak ada signal sekali. Like literally, signalnya zonk total. Jangankan untuk internetan, untuk kirim sms pun susah!

                Aku ingat sempat muter-muter di jalan, naik kursi, naik ranjang, hanya demi mencari segaris signal untuk telepon orang tua. Padahal awalnya, kupikir kegiatan cari signal yang seperti itu sangat berlebihan dan hanya bisa ditemui di sinetron.

                Tujuan utamaku ikut Live In pun tidak terpenuhi. Awalnya, aku ingin ikut Live In supaya menjauh dari drama kehidupan. Ternyata, kehidupan desa lebih peeeeeeenuh drama! Kalo Ibu Mawar dan Ibu Melati ketemu, mereka ngomongin Ibu Kamboja. Kalo Ibu Melati dan Ibu Kamboja ketemu, mereka ngomongin Ibu Mawar. Begitu terus sampai mampus. Kalau kata orang muka dua, Ibu-ibu di desa ini mukanya ada 5. Aku pun sempat jadi obrolan orang sekampung karena mukaku yang sinis dan selalu keliatan nantang ini. Like, plis, dari lahir juga mukaku begini???

                Kenyataannya, Live In jadi pengalaman yang I’m sure that I will remember at least for a long long time ahead, karena:

1.    Aku hoki. Buanget. Serumah dihuni oleh 2 mahasiswa. Kebetulan, teman sekamarku itu cuocok to the max denganku (sama-sama hobi tidur siang, sama-sama jarang mandi, sama-sama tidur subuh, sama-sama sering makan), pokoknya cucok lah! (hai, Diah! Kalo kamu baca ini, I miss you so much really!)

2.    Pemilik dari rumah yang aku tinggali adalah Ibunya Pak Lurah. Istilahnya, lebih berada dari kebanyakan warga desa lainnya. Jadi aku tetap makan enak dan tidur enak walau di desa. Asek woy. Tapi tetep bantu-bantu Ibunya untuk metik tomat di sawah dan jemur padi, kok.

3.    Karena nggak ada signal at all di desa, hiburanku satu-satunya hanyalah main bersama teman-teman.

Literally, the best time saat Live In adalah saat malam hari ini. Dimana kita diam-diam berkumpul di satu rumah untuk curcol bahas soal politik, gosip, horror, sampe main werewolf, capsa, apapun hingga jam 12 subuh.

Sampai hari terakhir acara Live In pun, hal yang paling susah untuk dilakukan adalah berpisah dengan teman-teman senasib ini.

Kangen kalian semua loh. Kangen our endless nights diam-diam main kartu sampai mampus. Kangen obrolan geje dan guyonan receh.

Kangen Wuwu yang kalo main ceblek nyamuk selalu kalah.

Titus yang koleksi cincin akiknya sampai 400 biji dan hobinya sepik-in SEMUA cewek.

Mbak Della yang selalu diintipin Titus waktu mandi.

Diah yang jerawatnya dikira orang-orang mirip tindikan.

Steven yang diem banget sampe dikira warga desa penyakitan.

Nella yang kalo makan dari matahari terbit sampai terbenam juga belom selesai-selesai.

Vania yang harmonis sekali dengan Ibu angkatnya.

Nggak kangen Ghea sama Stef sih, soalnya tiap hari tetep ketemu di kampus juga(?)

But anyway, let’s keep in touch, okay?

I know that we can’t always meet up, but a mere group chat will suffice, right?

So, please, please, tetep rame-rame selalu di group. Titus jangan pernah berhenti sepikin semua cewe. Cewe-cewenya juga ayo sepikin Titus balik. Steven tolong hiduplah di group. Bersyukur banget ikut Live In karena somehow and by chance bisa ketemu makhluk-makhluk ajaib kayak kalian semua. Pokoknya love you guys!

Heck, I even dedicated a post in my blog just for you.

Does family really matter?

sumber:http://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s480x480/e35/11899444_164987020508166_956900359_n.jpg?ig_cache_key=MTA4MjA3ODQ5MzI5ODMxODI0NQ%3D%3D.2

I’m supposed to edit 2 articles, pack for ‘live in’ program that I will attend for a week from tomorrow, and do my internship’s tasks. Instead, I’m writing this damn article.

You can call it a way of proscatinating; I call this my way to survive from Life, who is now trying to fuck me.

Let me get to my point.

Yesterday, I went to my friend’s house to celebrate the first day of 2017 together. At his house, there are him, his mom, his dad, his lil bro, and 2 cousins.

What amazed me was how warm it was to be in his house. I’m not living there and the warmness strucked me hard. There was this one scene that I remembered exactly in my mind.

For the sake of this story, let’s call his mom Shizuka and his dad Pikachu. (hence the photo)

Shizuka was cooking something in the kitchen when Pikachu came in to watch his wife cooked.

Then Shizuka joked, “Wah, mau pesen apa nih, Pak?”

What surprised me, is that Pikachu laughed hard because of the joke. And I swear, with the name of deities or watever it actually is, that I saw Pikachu looked LOVINGLY at Sizhuka.

Do you know the look that Prince Charming give to Cinderella while dancing? Or in the Sinetron while the main male lead watch the girl from afar?

I literally saw ‘that look’ LIVE.

And then I asked my friend and I found out that Pikachu and Shizuka have been married for over 20 years.

Here is the thing, I have a friend that has been together with me for 9 years. And if she joked to me while cooking, “Wah, mau pesen apa nih, Jenn?”

I will definitely give her a poker face and sarcastic reply. Such as, “Seriously? Do I even need to laugh at that?”

And that’s my 9 years of friendship. And this is 20 years of marriage!

This is only an example, whilst I saw a lot of other warm scenes in front of my eyes. I even asked my friend to just adopt me into his family………………. Not that my family is bad or such, but just the warmness overwhelmed me way too much than it should.

I used to think that life is all just about working hard, getting a nice job (that I like), and getting lots and lots and lots of money. Then everything will be fine. Relationship problems come later and it’s not even that important.

But after yesterday, it literally changed my mindset. I do want a warm and nice family in the future. To think about it, I want that warmness even more than I’ve ever wanted a stable yet nice job.

To find my significant other who will laugh at my stupid jokes. To receive ‘that look’ from a special someone. And to make a warm yet nice family together. I want them all. I know that it’s hard to find him, I know. But it’s not impossible, and I’m holding onto that.

So am I family-oriented or work-oriented? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll know in the near future, or even I will never get to figure it out.

What I know, is just family is also important. Family matters. And that you guys should also figure that out before it’s too late:)

JElim.

APAKAH CARA UNTUK MENJADI SUKSES?

sumber: http://www.harmonas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sukses-Milik-Kita-Semua_2015-03-15-17-07-20_Sukses-Milik-Kita-Semua.png

Melalui artikel ini, saya akan merangkum isi buku dari Outliers karya Malcolm Gladwell (thankyou abel for recommending me this amazing book), yang menceritakan tentang rahasia kesuksesan manusia: Bill Gates, Mozart, you name it.

Pertama-tama, mari kita bahas definisi dari sukses terlebih dahulu.

Menurut KBBI online,

sukses/suk·ses/ /suksés/ a berhasil; beruntung

KBBI sendiri mengatakan bahwa sukses itu bersinonim dengan kata beruntung. Sekarang, mari kita jawab pertanyaan utama yang kalian tunggu-tunggu. Apakah sukses itu murni didasarkan oleh kerja keras, ataukah hanya keberuntungan semata?

The harsh truth is, sukses tidak bisa didapatkan hanya dengan kerja keras semata; manusia juga memerlukan keberuntungan yang dapat membawanya menuju kesuksesan. Dan keberuntungan tersebut belum tentu bisa didapatkan oleh semua orang.

Mari kita bahas sebuah contoh kasus, agar kalian lebih paham.

Bill Gates, siapa yang tidak tahu dia? Drop out dari kuliah, buat perusahaan, dan boom! Jadi kaya! Apakah se-simple itu?

Pada zaman Bill Gates, sangat susah untuk mengakses sebuah komputer. Namun secara kebetulan, Bill Gates dipindahkan oleh ibunya ke Lakeside, dimana sekolah ini secara ajaib memiliki komputer. Sekali lagi, mengingatkan bahwa pada saat itu, sangat sediki(iiiiii)t sekali sekolah yang memiliki akses komputer. Secara kebetulan lagi, saat dana sekolah sudah habis dan sekolah sudah tidak bisa membayar biaya komputer, salah satu orang tua dari teman sekolah Bill Gates bekerja di C-Cubed. Dimana C-Cubed merupakan perusahaan komputer yang membutuhkan seseorang untuk mengecek kode-kode komputer mereka. Kebetulan lagi, Gates mengetahui soal ISI, yang secara kebetulan lagi membutuhkan seseorang untuk mengerjakan software mereka. Dan entah ini kebetulan yang ke berapa, rumah Gates terletak sangat dekat dengan University of Michigan dimana universitas tersebut memperbolehkan orang dari luar untuk mengakses fasilitas komputer mereka. Sebenarnya, masih banyak kesempatan-kesempatan lain yang didapatkan oleh Bill Gates, namun saya males nulis aja, sih.

Intinya, ada penelitian yang membuktikan bahwa kita memerlukan setidaknya 10,000 jam berlatih, sebelum akhirnya bisa menguasai atau sukses dalam sesuatu. Contoh, seorang violinist harus berlatih paling tidak 10,000 jam sebelum bisa sukses menjadi seorang professional. Teori 10,000 jam ini bukan teori abal-abal biasa. Contoh nyatanya adalah band The Beatles. Beatles yang sebelum terkenal, terkena kontrak untuk tampil di sebuah acara selama berminggu-minggu nonstop, dengan durasi 8 jam per hari. Fakta bahwa Beatles terpaksa menjalani kontrak tersebut, menyebabkan mereka dengan mudah mencapai teori latihan 10,000 jam tersebut. Setelah selesai kontrak acara itu, banyak orang yang memuji Beatles telah tampil jauh lebih baik dari sebelumnya; bahkan ada orang yang bilang bahwa masa-masa kontrak tersebut adalah masa terbentuknya Beatles yang professional.

Sekarang kembali ke Bill Gates. Coba terapkan teori 10,000 jam ini ke Bill Gates. Mengingat susahnya seseorang untuk mengakses sebuah komputer pada zaman itu, hampir mustahil bagi Bill Gates untuk bisa invest waktunya sebanyak 10,000 jam dalam belajar komputer. Namun, situasi keberuntungan dan kesmpatan untuk dapat mengakses sebuah komputer terus-menerus datang pada Bill Gates, dan Bill Gates tidak menyia-nyiakan kesempatan tersebut. 

Sekarang begini, meskipun Bill Gates adalah seorang pekerja keras yang ingin rajin belajar komputer, namun situasi tidak mendukung Bill Gates untuk menyediakan fasilitas komputer tersebut. Maka apakah teori 10,000 jam latihan itu dapat diterapkan?

Jawabannya tidak. 

Meskipun ada keinginan untuk bekerja keras, namun juga harus disertai dengan adanya situasi yang mendukung. Kalau saya simpulkan, urutannya begini. Bill Gates diberi kesempatan untuk mengakses komputer nonstop, baru akhirnya dia bisa berlatih keras selama 10,000 jam sebelum akhirnya dia bisa sukses. Ini hanyalah contoh kasus dari Bill Gates saja. Saya sarankan kamu untuk membaca buku Outliers ini, karena banyak sekali kasus nyata yang akan membantumu mengerti.

Intinya, dalam kata lain, situasi keberuntungan harus terlebih dahulu berprofit terhadapmu, baru akhirnya kamu dapat menggunakan situasi tersebut untuk bekerja keras.

Nah, sudah terjawab kan, pertanyaan utama artikel ini.

Apa rahasia sukses? Situasi yang mendukung + kerja keras.

“Lalu bagaimana cara menciptakan situasi yang mendukung itu?”                                                                             

Coba tanya ke Tuhan, ya.

Karena kamu tidak bisa mengontrol dan menciptakan situasi keberuntungan tersebut, maka apa yang tersisa dan sudah pasti bisa kamu lakukan? Bekerja keras. 

“Lalu bagaimana dengan faktor situasi yang mendukung tersebut?”

Sekali lagi, coba serahkan ke Tuhan, ya.

Intinya, lakukan apa yang sudah jelas-jelas bisa kamu lakukan. Bekerja keraslah, karena yang lainnya sudah di luar kontrol tanganmu. Bekerja keraslah!

- JElim