TESSERIS.

( photo credits : http://www.annisanurs.blogspot.com )

See their smile ?

See their compassion ?

See their spirit ?

They are the best people i have ever met. The best to make myself realized how much i love those people.

All of the sadness, happiness, struggles, we have been through together,

as a classmates. No. More than classmates.
Definitely so hard when i left them. Nothing came out but tears. Nothing came out but " See you next year ". But i realized, next year, they will be at their own place that they dream on.

To the universities or college for pursuing their dreams.

They are my future engineer, doctor-partner, fashion designer, and bestfriends of mine always.

Aku sayang kalian, Tesseris :)

Contemplation

It has been 3 months ago when i doubt to spend the rest of 2011 till the mid of 2012 in this country. I abruptly cried when knowing that this is going to be my first independent experience. I ended up in my sajadah and said hamdallah, in the name of Allah SWT.

Till these days, i realize, i start to forget the payback.
Yes, the payback which is to Sholat and Read Qur'an. I started to like this country so much, but i forgot who is the creator of human's mercy and happiness.

Who gives me blessings and Joy till these days.

Who gives me a daring parents and friends till these days.

Who gives me breath and heartbeat, so that I can still be enjoying this short life.

Allah, is the reason that I can be here. It has its power to make something impossible becoming possible. Who realizes that a small town living girl just caught her dreams ? That was nothing except, KUN' FAYA KUN !

I started to read my qur'an yesterday, i found nothing but peace. I felt my heart beat wonderfully. I started to hear Adzan online this morning before doing my Subuh prayer.

and

I found what is a quality " Ibadah "

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, lapangkanlah untukku dadaku, dan mudahkanlah untukku urusanku, lepaskanlah kekakuan lidahku, supaya mereka mengerti perkataanku.

Amin.

Enlighten

" Tir, aku udah capek belajar literature disini, rasanya mau nyerah banget deh. I really want to get rid from that class for sure "

I had that conversation with my fellow AFS student who is hosted in Lake Stevens, Washington. Some of the time, people might just hid in their comfort zone, to abide the fearness of unsustain life.

" Mitha, kita cuman punya 3 bulan untuk adaptasi, kita harus manfaatin 3 bulan pertama kita semaksimal mungkin, termasuk getting used to Literature. Aku tau itu sulit, tapi kita harus berusaha, Mith. Masih mending kita pake Bahasa Inggris as our Primary Language, kalo yang di non-speaking english country gimana, Mith ?

Thank you Tiara Rachmaniar for Enlighten me, still, shallow and selfish I am. I'm starting to learn something wholeheartedly, no matter it's difficult or not :)

Civil Disobedience

I want to show what i have been achieved for these two months of studying literature. I know it is hard and almost impossible if i could make a piece of good writing. On how i could occult the counter arguments and integrate them into a good essays. So today, Monday November 14th 2011, i devote myself of being successfully making a significant progress. This is my Essays upon Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience :)

Woodfield Mall : IKEA

So, finally after two months living in a small town without wallmart, commences ( even mall ), tempat cetak foto, dll, hari rabu kemaren aku ke Mall !

Nama Mallnya " Woodfield Mall " yang letaknya di Schaumburg, IL atau northwest chicago suburb. Yah sesuburb-suburbnya mah kataku udah bener bener metropolitan banget !

Rasanya kangen banget sama mall mall di Indonesia yang di satu jalan ada lebih dari 3 mall berjejer. ha ha ha ha -____- Tapi emang disini ekspansi mall bener bener dicegah banget ! Aku aja kalo mau ke mall yang setara sama karawaci harus driving sekitaran 35 menit dari Marengo ! Tapi gapapa sih, menghemat duit :p

So, Woodfield Mall adalah Mall dengan retail terbesar se-Amerika Serikat, tapi kl dibandingin sama Mall of America, terbesar ke-2 se-Amerika. Mall of Amerika tuh gede banget karna didalemnya juga ada wahana permainan kayak di Trans Studio gitu. kalo Woodfield Mall murni isinya toko toko yang keren keren abis. Woodfield mall tuh juga kayak komplek, bahkan didalemnya ada 4 Universitas swasta ! Kebayang banget gak sih kompleksnya kayak apa. Tapi didalemnya ada satu gedung yang gede banget yang isinya toko toko dan yang bikin aku terharu, diseberang gedung utama, ada IKEA ! Itu looh toko furniture asal SWEDIA ! di Indonesia belum ada tapi aku udah pernah kesana pas waktu aku kecil di Belanda.

Kebetulan Mom kan pengen pindah rumah next summer, jadi beliau ngajakin aku, Dasha&Bradly ke IKEA dulu buat survey.

Nyesel banget gak bawa kamera ! Akhirnya cuman bermodalkan iPod. Huhu, maap yak :p

di IKEA banyak banget barang barang yang lucu, desain kamar, desain lemari, desain dapur, desain lampu kamar, semua desainnya oke banget ! Rasanya pengen aku bawa pulang satu-satu terus ditaroh di kamar di Indonesia !

Lampu bohlam ! Aku pengen banget yang warna pink !

Lampu kamar, bagus banget, kayak snow drops

Aku seneng sama warna ijo lampunya, kayaknya bikin rileks batin

Lemari ! harganya $895 tapi ada 4 bagian. Keren banget ! bahkan ada tempat buat naroh sepatu tuh.

Diliat dari gambarnya aja keliatan banget kasurnya empuk ! Di IKEA kita bebas mau duduk nyobain sofa, kasur, bantal, dll, tapi jangan ampe loncat-loncat pake sepatu ya.

Chrismast aisle, can't wait for Xmas eve !

Petromak natal ! Lucu bangeeeeet, somehow teringat sama gadis penjual korek api (?) #Fail #Itupakekorekapimith

Salah satu IKEA quotes

Sofa bed yang aku pengenin banget, sesuai sama cat kamar di Indo yang sama sama Ungu

Blackboard for writing to-do-list, being an organized person gituuuuu :p

Proud to be an Exchange Student

So today i had a chance to copy and paste one of my friend's facebook status about Exchange Student which was soooooo touchy ! So, this is it ! :)

I am an exchange student. How do you know what is a dream if you never accomplished one. How do you know what is an adventure if you never took part in one. How do you know what is anguish if you never said goodbye to your family and friends with your eyes full of tears. How do you know what is being desperate, if you never arrived in a place alone and could not understand a word of what everyone ......else was saying. How do you know what is diversity if you never lived under the same roof with people from all over the world? How do you know what is tolerance, if you never had to get used to something different even if you didn’t like it. How do you know what is autonomy, if you never had the chance to decide something by yourself? How do you know what it means to grow up, if you never stopped being a child to start a new course? How do you know what is to be helpless, if you never wanted to hug someone and had a computer screen to prevent you from doing it. How do you know what is distance, if you never, looking at a map, said “ I am so far away”. How do you know what is a language, if you never had to learn one to make friends. How do you know what is patriotism, if you never shouted “ I love my country” holding a flag in your hands. How do you know what is the true reality, if you never had the chance to see a lot of them to make one. How do you know what is an opportunity, if you never caught one. How do you know what is pride, if you never experienced it for yourself at realizing how much you have accomplished. How do you know what is to seize the day, if you never saw the time running so fast. How do you know what is a friend, if the circumstances never showed you the true ones. How do you know what is a family, if you never had one that supported you unconditionally . How do you know what are borders, if you never crossed yours , to see what there was on the other side. How do you know what is imagination, if you never thought about the moment when you would go back home. How do you know the world, if you have never been an exchange student? i am an exchange student. Tanah Air ku, Indonesia ♥

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

The beauty and the great scenery makes me never feel bored to come to this place. It's been 3 times i visited this place with Larson Family :)

Summer in Lake Geneva

Autumn in Lake Geneva

Uncle steven's boat

Ini muka capek, letih, lesu, terus maksa buat tetep sadar kamera, hahahaha.

Dek kapal kapal private. Harganya paling murah 100.000 US$ meeeeen

Inget banget Mom Jennifer langsung ngajak ke Lake Geneva once i got to their house, and it was such a great impression for introducing United States. Ngerasa guilty juga belum pernah ke danau toba sedangkan aku udah pernah ke Great Michigan Lake yg merupakan salah satu danau terbesar di Amerika. Gak pernah ngerasa bosen deh boating di Lake Geneva, udaranya, pemandangannya, klop banget deh. Untung aja adiknya Mom, Uncle Steven punya kapal, jadi kita gak perlu bayar buat boating di Lake Geneva.

National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine

Buenas Noches Amigos ! Btw, disini udah malem nih dan saya masih ngejos karna efek kafein yang cukup tinggi.

Anyway, alhamdulillah banget saya dinominasiin ikutan National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine sama Guru Health Occupation saya, dan alhamdulillah saya qualified dan bisa ikut forumnya next summer on june 2012 ! Alhamdulillahirobbilalamin :)

NLYF ini bener bener bergengsi, bakalan worthed banget kita bisa belajar tentang medical dari beberapa health practitioner terkenal dan ini tentu aja once in a life time experience. Kita juga diajak ngeliat operasi operasi secara LIVE di beberapa rumah sakit terkenal, such as John Hopkins Hospital.

Nah, NYLF ini bakalan diadain di beberapa kota besar di USA, like in Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, San Fransisco dan Raleigh-Durham. Saya milih di Boston karena beberapa alasan :

1. Waktunya gak mepet sama End Of Stay Orientation
2. Di schedule acara, ada kunjungan ke Harvard Medical School which is my dream for stepping on this university !
3. Harga tiket pesawatnya murah.

NYLF ini berlangsung selama 9 hari. Kalo di Boston, Massachussets dari tanggal 10 Juni sampe 19 Juni. Jadi agak agak mepet sama waktu pulang ke Indonesia, tapi gpp lah kapan lagi bisa ngedalamin ilmu ini, apalagi di pusatnya, di Harvard Medical School.

To be honest, ini masih tentative, takutnya ada urusan yang berhubungan sama AFS, tapi aku berharap bisa ikutan acara ini ! Amiiiiiiiiiiiin :) Next 15 years, i'm your future leading Obsetrician-Gynecologist in Indonesia.

( Boston Downtown )

Quality Time

I just had a great conversation with my boyfriend last night, and i felt really happy yesterday. I'd like to say that yesterday was the most quality time ever with him, yes, we promised to ourselves to keep in touch, but we knew our own bussiness, which means we could not always chat everyday. But by having quality time like in once a week it would last in our mind. For sure, it really helps me to deprive of being grumpy for waiting him to text/send me message on facebook.

Words of The Day : Trust.

What it would be if relationship does not have commitments ?

What it would be If someone breaks your trust ?

It's hard to collect the pieces of them

D+

As an exchange student, it requires to take English and US History. Last week, I just got my Mid-Term Transcript Grade for my English III. Gak usah ditanya ya nilainya berapa -__- Nilainya adalah judul daripada post ini. Yak, D+

Emang karena literature itu buat aku itu susah banget, butuh kerja keras buat menelaah dan menafsirkan maksud dari cerita itu. Di kelas English III, aku satu satunya Senior, karena kelas itu diperuntukkan untuk Junior. Guruku Mrs. Hoffmeister, dan kalo ngajar menggebu gebu banget, dan kadang buat aku gak enak aja buat nanya ampe sedetail-detailnya, despite the fact that I'm the only senior.

Tapi, senior/junior is not the problem. Bukan waktunya lagi buat gengsi gengsi-an sama status. Tapi karena emang bahasa ibu kita bukan bahasa Inggris. Banyak dari kita hidup di lingkungan yang berbahasa Indonesia. Walaupun aku emang suka komunikasi dalam bahasa Inggris, tapi jujur, buat ngertiin Literature dalam waktu 15 menit itu susah banget. Otak kerja keras dua kali. Nerjemahin dan Nafsirin. Pernah aku udah gak ngerti sama Literaturenya John Adams, udah pasrah, otak udah ngebul, aku give up. Aku konsultasi sama Counselorku buat get rid from that class, but still, he convinces me that i able to deal with literature, no matter what, it helps me to comprehend my English.

Dan aku kembali teringat, masa masa orientasi YBA kemaren, dimana 3 bulan kita di negara destinasi AFS adalah masa masa Adaptasi, kita harus semaksimal mungkin adapt ourselves supaya kita bisa bertahan dan bisa cepet terbiasa sama rutinitas disini. Gimana pun jug aku udah mau 2 bulan disini, aku gak mau nyia-nyiain kesempatan itu, dan cuman bisa nangis&ngeluh.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, kuatkan niat hamba ya Allah, berikan petunjuk di setiap langkah yang hamba tempuh. Amiiiiiiiiin

******

Ditulis di Marengo High School. During American Government class.

Tension.

I'm supposed to be doing my US History assignments. But, since it's due on Friday to turn in so I prefer to write something in my blog. Temen-temen pada sibuk ngetikin tugas, ada kali kecepatannya 40 ketikan per sekon --"

PR US History kali ini tentang North and South Tension, briefly, kita disuruh baca suatu artikel yang panjangnya ngaudzubillah, kalo penasaran bisa dibaca disini. Sebenernya sih gak rebet rebet banget, cuman lagi ngerasa males banget buat ngerjain ini semua.

I'm looking forward to be busy. Untung aja besok ada AFS Game di sekolah.

*********

Self Reflection

In fact, aku sering ngelamun di kelas in case of kalo udah bete sama perbedaan bahasa yang signifikan banget. Kadang-kadang, jiwaku tuh berasa lagi makan ayam kremes sambil minum es teh, tapi badanku disini, di Marengo, Amerika Serikat.

Sering banget kebayang sama rumah, kangen sama semua orang di rumah, kangen temen temen, kangen pacar, kangen mamang sate padang, kangen semua hal yang berbau Indonesia. Kangen main engklek, main kasti, kangen sama weathernya yang panas panas gitu.

I won't say if I were homesick now, but i just feel that i'm kinda sick with everything that burdening my thoughts.

Kayak harus bikin essay, paper, baca buku literature, yang aku rasa keseharian-ku tuh gitu gitu aja. Kayak hidupku disini cuman sekitar sekolah dan peer. Ngerasa sedih banget, presentasi baru 2x, ngerasa banget kemampuan bahasa Inggrisku belum cas cis cus yang bisa dibuktiin kalo lagi diskusi pas pelajaran American Government, sering mumble terus suaraku yang baggy gitu. I always put a big effort to make myself better than yesterday, but still there are so many obstacles which confine me for not showing the real me.

I still figuring out to get out from my cage and see the new world.

reflection in American Goverment class

All About Mathematics.

Since i have AP Calculus class, which is hierarki tertinggi dalam sistem Kasta pelajaran Matematik di Amerika, Aku ngerasa becrot banget deh di kelas ini.

Kenapa ?

Semua gara gara Calculator

dan

Semua gara gara sistem pendidikan Indonesia yang acak acakan

Waktu itu kita belajar limit pas beberapa minggu yang lalu, aku sih ngiranya toh gak ada yang beda dari yg udah kita pelajarin di Indonesia. Eh gak taunya....................

Hampir semuanya diselesaiin pake kalkulator. Semua metode, subsitusi, pemfaktoran, semuanya pake kalkulator !

Puncaknya adalah, ketika waktu itu si Mr. Mansfield ngasih soal limit yg masih dasar yg diselesain di faktorin dan cuman aku yang ngejawab bener.

dan setelah itu beliau ngomong gini,

" Good Job Mitha ! Now, can you show to the class how to solve it with calculator ?"

APA ??!! Calculator ??!!! ini sih pake manual juga bisa !

" Anu......frankly, I can show you manually without calculator, sir....."

dan guru itu langsung ngomong dan I feel so humiliated yet proud

" CLASS ! This is why Asian kids are so Smart ! Although they are so dumb of using calculator ! "

Iya gue bego banget make kalkulator deh mister. Anyway, gue jadi inget kelabakan bikin square root dan panik abis dan sekelas cuman bisa ngetawain semua kekatroan gue dan si kalkulator koneng itu.

Terus, anak anak disini bener bener gak ngerti caranya ngaliin angka manually ! SERIOUSLY ! usut punya usut, temen saya sih bilangnya, kalo ada yang praktis, kenapa gak dimanfaatin ?

Dan kemaren, ada Anak Junior class, namanya Brittany yang dia itu Peer Tutor buat Algebra, dan doski ceritanya kesusahan sama peernya. Kebetulan dia Pre-Calculus ngambilnya, jadi setingkat dibawah aku.

Dia yang langsung nyamperin aku, dan bilang,

" Hi Mitha ! Can you help me with my asses ? ( re : Asses = Assignments )

dan gue termehek mehek sambil bilang,

" Errr, what kind of chapter you would like to ask ?"

" MATRIX !!!! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT MITHA ! "

At that moment, gue merasa dongo banget, kenapa......mereka udah belajar Matriks ??!!! KENAPA ???!!! Di saat itu gue merasakan gak sistematisnya pendidikan di Indonesia. Dimana pelajarannya tuh gak runtut gitu, dan lebih nitik beratin hitung hitungan dibanding konsep.

Akhirnya, gue berpura pura pengen "Throw Big Water" dan kabur menghindari dia.

Poor you, Brittany :(

Balada Another Fat Students pun dimulai...........

Hi All ! Como Estas ?

Jadi di Amerika&Eropa udah memasuki musim Gugur nih, dan tentunya suhunya semakin "sesuatu banget".

Sebenernya ya autumn awal awal tuh suhunya masih bersahabat banget, gak terlalu dingin, gak terlalu panas. Udah gitu warna daunnya itu yang aku suka banget.

Paling oke deh, ngegowes sepeda diantara daun daun yang berguguran #eaa #sokmelankolislumith. Kerasa banget feel Autumn-nya !

Tapi itu semua bakalan tinggal kenangan selama 4-5 bulan ke depan..........

Sejak 2 hari yang lalu, suhu di Marengo semakin merosot hingga 30 fahrenheit ( ato sekitaran nyaris NOL DERAJAT CELCIUS ) setiap pagi dan malem. Siang paling 50-an fahrenheit tapi anginnya super nusuk&beku banget.

Jadi udah gak bisa lagi keliling kota, numpang duduk di McD, ke countryside sama sepeda. Huhuhu :'(

And it even getting worse deh suhunya, dan bye bye sama Sepeda, karena semakin dingin, dan pasti gak gak gak kuat ngegowes deh.

Dan, entah kenapa akhir akhir ini aku banyak makan glucose, biar ngejaga badan tetep anget, kayak minum hot chocolate gitu. Dan ini merek hot choco yg aku suka banget !

Dan, entah kenapa karena gak banyak gerak akhir akhir ini, kayanya waktu makan tuh cepet banget. Baru aja lunch, tiba2 udah mau dinner, padahal perut masih kenyang banget. Setelah Dinner ngerasa guilty banget ngeliat timbangan T____T

Mau exercising juga gak kuat, mau sit up hbs makan takut muntah. Jadi serba salah bangeet.

Yaudah yang penting nikmatin masa masa disini yg cuman sekali seumurhidup. Selamat musim gugur AFS/YES-ers !

Di Amerika Itu..........................

• Hampir semua bule "ngaco" banget kalo ngejawab dimanakah letak indonesia ! kayak temen saya ini, yang dengan pedenya bilang, " WOW YOU GUYS USE AN ! INDONESIA MUST BE A RICH COUNTRY IN AFRICA ! " dan saya meresponnya sambil istigfar dan ngelus dada...............makanya jangan kebanyakan makan doritos dong !
• STRAIGHTFORWARD. BLAK BLAKAN. Orang-orangnya gak terlalu stick sama tata krama sih, kayak di Indonesia. Contohnya, kalo ada tamu dateng dan pas banget kita mau makan malem ( ini sih tamunya pengen numpang makan --" ), pasti sebagai tuan rumah kita yang rempong nawarin makanan, lalu si tamu yang mesem mesem nolak padahal mah mau tuh dikasih makanan. Kalo disini, mah ada yang dateng ke rumah orang pas lagi dinner dibiarin aja gitu, sampe selesai dinnernya baru deh tuh tamu diajak ngobrol di living room. Budaya mereka emang kayak gitu, bukan juga sombong sih, tapi mereka bertindak sesuai isi hati mereka, dan gak suka mendem gitu, kalo emang gak suka ya gak suka, gak mau ya gak mau.
• KALKULATOR = PENYELAMAT. Hampir semua kelas matematika disini anak anak depends on calculator, apalagi disini dapetnya scientific calculator. Pasti bagi mereka, " OH LORD THIS IS MY SAVIOR " tapi bagi anak exchange student, " YA ALLAH INI BEGIMANE CARANYEEEEEEEE T_______T GAK NGERTI HARUS MENCET TOMBOL YANG MANA ! " Disini mereka ngitung perkalian aja masih harus pake kalkulator ! Di Indonesia mah inget banget pas saya masih kecil, di tembok ditempelin karton Perkalian, Pembagian.

I Love Calculator !!!! -bule

sumber olok olok bule ketika mereka kaget betapa katroknya gue make kalkulator sambil berkata, " DO YOU HAVE ANY CALCULATOR IN INDONESIA ? "

• SERBA JUMBO. Yah kalo ini sih pasti pada tau, dari makanan sampe ukuran baju pun jumbo jumbo. Saya kalo di Indonesia nyari baju ampe setengah mati deh, tapi disini ukurannya jadi M ! Itu juga masih longgar banget loooh. Kalo bicara masalah makanan sih, semua juga udah pada tau kalo disini porsinya jumbo banget. Btw, ini makanan Amerika pertama yang aku makan.

Ini namanya baked Whitefish with garlic sauce and hainam rice !

Aku mesennya ini doang dan ternyata.......aku dikasih clam chowder soup ala New England juga !

Aku udah panik banget ini pasti bakalan nambah beberapa dollar, eeeh gak taunya Gratis ! Gara-gara aku gak kuat makan lagi, itu ikan sama nasinya aku makan lagi pas sahur.

• IS HOT, DUDE !

Apanya yang Hot cobaaaa ! jujur aku pertama kali dijejelin Jalapeno rasanya kayak paprika loh,hahahaha. Tapi bagi orang Amerika, Jalapeno membara banget di lidah mereka. Belum tau yah mereka cabe rawit yang biasa kita makan pake bakwan sepedes apa :p

• NURSE PRACTITIONER&FIREFIGHTER SANGAT DIHARGAIN. Salut banget deh disini, nurse sama firefighter bener bener dihargain. Dedikasi mereka diancungin jempol deh sama pemerintah Amerika. Nurse di Amerika itu bukan buat cewek doang loh, but include cowok cowok juga. Salut deh sama temenku, cowok, anak Football, badannya keker, pas aku tanya dia pas college nanti majornya apa, dan dia jawab dia pengen jadi nurse practitioner. Firefighter disini juga dihargain banget, mereka dianggap ngorbanin nyawa mereka demi memprioritaskan orang lain kl ada kebakaran dan mereka trapped in the buildings. Apalagi sejak tragedi 9/11, banyak firefighter yang meninggal ketimpa WTC yang collapse di ground zero, NYC. Mereka ngorbanin diri mereka sendiri, demi nyelamatin civilians. Mengharukan banget. Aku juga terharu denger anak kecil ngomong, " Daddy ! I want to be a firefighter !"

to be continued........

School's Cool

Hola Amigooooooos ! Como estas ? MUY BIEN !!!

Wahahaha, that's a piece of spanish, despite the fact that i'm not taking that class :( Huhu, that's too bad though. Anyway, this is the first post in English, and feeling kinda harsh when just had blogwalking to my AFS-YES'ers that already wrote everything in English !

So, i'm trying to comprehend my writing skills by posting to this bloggie (but still there's some in Indonesian thou )

I'm attending Marengo Community . It's the only one public school in Marengo ! So, lots of Marengo teens attend to this school, and Guess what ? There are 1000 students here !

GOTCHA ! This is my school anyway........

It was August 29th the first time I attended the school ! And it was excited yet nervous. I knew we would have moving class and locker, also WE HAVE THE RIGHTS TO CHOOSE OUR OWN CLASS ! Underline it people, CHOOSE OUR CLASS !

So, my Counselor is Mr. Rode, He is super hot-kind-always smile man ever ! He was totally kind counselor, and i'm lucky to have him for the rest of the months here in Marengo.

He said that i would be in Senior Year ! Yeaaaay, i would be having PROM ! and those gorgeous dresses

He also offered me the opportunity to take AP classes.

Let me explain you what's .

---------

So, stands for Advance Placement. So, students in AP classes are having advance studies, which is very different with the usual class. It needs deeper analysis and logical thinking to solve most AP subject's quizzes. I personally, take AP Advance Biology and AP Calculus. We use college text book for AP classes, So, it's actually beneficial for us, because afer we were entering University/College, it wasn't that difficult for the materials, because we've already learned that at school.

---------

Frankly, Mr. Rode was really impressed with my school's transcript, especially in English ! and he put me in English III class, which i really had no idea what it would be in America. Because in Indonesia, we learn English just like we learn other language, not deeply we learn with the grammatical analysis, reading American Literature, etc.

So, i just saying "ok" for all the way he put English III in my Subject List, which actually this is the beginning of my N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E

Yah lo sama aja deh belajar bahasa Indonesia di indonesia, jujur gue sangat teramat bego sama tuh pelajaran, hahahaha. Jadi jujur aja disini gue belajar literature tuh sangat struggling

And this is my Subject Lists !

Study Hall

American Government Class

US History

English III

AP Advance Biology

Health Occupation 1

AP Calculus

So, i'm gonna explain of each subjects,

STUDY HALL

So basically, for students who havent up to par to the school's passing grade for certain subject are strongly recommended to take study hall in a big classroom. Misalkan kita stuck di Algebra atau Calculus, di study hall ini bakalan ada peer tutor yang bakalan ngajarin kita di ruangan kelas yang lain. Tapi kalo kita gak ada kesulitan apa -apa ya stay aja di study hall, do whatever you want ! Finish your undone asses, listen to iPod, chewing gums, even sleep ! For me, this is my savior period ! Cs i always put off my asses ( assignment ) thou --"

American Government ( Mr. Fecarotta )

This is the most attractive class ever ! Haha. Why do i say so ? Because it is more like a debating class. Our teacher, Mr. Fecarotta gives us a motion of USA's current issues, and we are splitted into two group, which in this case, into two parties, democrat and republican. I'm in Democrat thou. We are taught of being logic of issues and also I'm learning a lot about american's cabinet, senate, house of representative and constitution ! Alhamdulillah banget, gaya ngajar Mr. Fecarotta asik abis ! Jadinya kemaren pas Quiz aku dapet A !

US History ( Mr. Meyer )

Definitely we learn about US History class, but the teacher is UBER FUNNY ! i got his picture anw from his twitter account ( stalker banget sih mith ! )

Btw his name is Mr. Meyer, dan kata aku sih dia ganteng dan masih SINGLE ! Underline it people ! S-I-N-G-L-E !

The way he teaches us is soooo much fun ! Kita belajar history lebih banyak entertainmentnya sih. Kayak kemaren kita main games yang ceritanya kita jadi president, terus banyak job disana sini, pokoknya simulasi how to be a good president lah. dari games ini, akhirnya aku ngerti gimana susahnya jadi president, apalagi di negara segede gaban kayak Amerika ini.

English III ( Mrs. Hoffmeister )

And here it isssssssssssss, my creepy subjects after all ! Kalo di indonesia mah kayak kita belajar " Bahasa Indonesia ". Di Indonesia, aku sih bener bener bego sama ini pelajaran. So, we read a plenty ancient American literature WHICH THIS IS SCREW ME UP ! A tons of conotations, multiple definitions and literal words. I also forgot to bring my oxford dictionary thou :(

AP Advance Biology ( Mr. Amendt )

This is my favorite class but not for the assignments ! Logical thinking is the main difference with studying Biology in Indonesia which just memorize those terms and scientific name. In this class, Mr. Amendt gives us the basic concept each chapter, until we really understand about that, he gives us a tricky questions which has to be done in a two pages of paper ! Parah banget, pertama aku dateng ke kelas ini udah kelabakan sama paper ! Berasa anak kuliahan banget udah bikin paper segala. But, it's just a matter of time, since i really love Biology sooo much, so i really get along with the class. Bahkan di chapter-chapter berikutnya banyak bab yang udah pernah diajarin di Indonesia ! Terus di kelas ini, banyak kimianya juga, jadi somehow bisa nginget-nginget pelajaran kelas 10,11,12 di Indonesia !

Health Occupation I ( Mrs. Shanks )

INI BARU THE BEST CLASS EVER ! cs I definitely want to be a doctor and Gynecologist for the specialist, this is the recommended class ever ! Here, we get the basic knowledge to be a medical practitioner, kayak how to measure our temperature, blood pressure, pulse sama respiration, dan bahkan kita dikasih stetoskop ! Seneeeng banget ! Sekilas sepele banget kan ngitung temperature, dan ternyata ada langkah-langkah yg sering medical practitioner lupa ! jadi worthed banget lah ikutan kelas ini :D

AP Calculus ( Mr. Mansfield )

Ini salah satu kelas paling hot ! Yeah ! We got the hottest teacher ever ! Bayangin aja umur 25 tahun udah nikah, pelajaran yang diajarin setingkat dosen tingkat 3 kuliah di Indonesia. Ah gak gak gak kuat banget deh kl diajarin beliau. He smells good also thou :p Btw, this is the book that i use for the entire year

and we also got "bloody" scientific calculator ! For me, sumpah gue katrok banget gak bisa makenya !

( look ! this calculator has a USB port ! REALLY KEWLLLL ! *katrok* )

( that's mine ! Ada namanya tuh, Mitha Mulyowahyudi ! )

So, that's all for this post. Catchup later !

FOODSICK

Dulu....................................

Waktu setiap kali ke dapur buat nanya sarapan ke mama, Mama selalu bilang, " Hari ini kita makan sama tempe, mbak "

Tapi aku langsung cemberut, bete banget lah makan tempe tiap hari, apa kek gitu yang agak bagusan dikit.

Kalo siangnya lagi, aku nanya makan siang ke mama, Mama selalu bilang, " Hari ini mama masak ayam goreng ungkep, sambel&sayur labu siam "

Tapi aku langsung cemberut, aku pengen Ayam KFC dibandingin ayam goreng ungkep

Sorenya, aku nanya makan malem ke mama, Mama selalu bilang, " Makanan tadi pas makan siang kan masih ada, kamu makan itu aja lagi "

Aku bete selangit, bosen banget makan masakan yang sama kayak tadi siang.

Sekarang...........................

Sejak aku di Amerika, aku selalu dikasih makanan tipikal "Amerika" banget lah, mayonaise, keju, aneka pasta, aneka grills, yang bener bener pengen aku cicipin banget di indonesia. Tapi, aku kehilangan banget salah satu makanan yang selalu aku makan sejak aku kecil, yaitu........

TET TERET TERET !!! Yak, jawabannya adalah Nasi Putih !!!

Dari kecil aku makannya nasi putih, nasi pake telor lah, nasi pake ayam, nasi pake rendang, tapi enggak yah nasi pake steak -______-

Kalo dulu di Indonesia, pengennya makanannya western-western gitu, sekarang, rasanya makan lemper aja udah bersyukur banget.

Kalo dulu dikasih kotak " Selamat Menikmati " yang isinya bangsanya lemper, bolu, lapis surabaya, rasanya bete, sekarang..............( disini gak ada kotak selamat menikmati ya btw ) rasanya pengen banget deh dikasih nagasari.

Aku nyesel banget, setelah sampai disini, aku cuman bisa masak masakan Indo dari bumbu jadi yang rasanya gak terlalu enak, cuman ini yang bisa ngobatin foodsick aku yang bisa dateng kapan aja.

Aku disini gak terlalu suka rasa ayam KFC-nya, habis ayam segede lenganku cuman dikasih garem terus digoreng doang, jadi rasanya gak ada rempah-rempahnya.

Tiap hari aku selalu dibawain sandwhich. Awalnya excited, lama-lama rasanya pengen muntah karena kebanyakan mayonaise&keju. Akhirnya aku pulang-pulang dari sekolah, ngemilnya Abon instead of chips.

Rendang, Nasi, Mendoan, Ayam goreng,dll, Tunggu aku ya 10 bulan lagi :)

The Journey begins......

Assalamu'alaikum ! Gimana kabarnya semua ?

Alhamdulillah yah ( ya ampun demam syahrini --" ) saya udah sampe di Amerika sejak seminggu lalu ! Saya dihost di kota kecil yang hijau namanya Marengo, Illinois. Cuman 45 minutes driving dari Chicago. Sejauh mata memandang ada rumah-rumah penduduk dan halaman yang hijau banget deeeeh.

Jadi, sekarang aku mau cerita pengalaman menakjubkan jadi Single Flyer ke Negeri Paman Sam !

Hari kamis siang, aku udah siap siap sama semua koper, semua barang-barang berharga udah aku masukkin ke koper. Rasanya berat buat ninggalin semuanya, apalagi my lovely room.....

[ room sweet room, walopun kecil tapi banyak kenangannya :') ]

( Ini sama bu Ratimah dan Mbak Siti, kangen banget deh, apalagi pijetannya bu Ratimah, hehe )

Lalu, sekitaran jam 1, kita udah siap semua, setelah dadah dadah yang sangat mengharukan dan pertama kali ngeliat mbak siti nangis, kita ciao ke bandara, ninggalin cilegon, ninggalin komplek KS. No problem, ini hanya setahun, nanti kita bertemu lagi tahun depan ya cilegon :')

Perjalanan di Mobil, Papa banyak banget ngasih intruksi selama nanti setelah check in, transit, dan kalo udah sampe di Amerika. Sedangkan Mama cuman diem, meluk aku, ngasih aku sapu tangan, Mama beneran gloomy banget deh selama perjalanan. Iya aku jg lebih deket sama Mama menjelang kepergian aku ke Amerika, Mama kepikiran, apa aku bisa ke Amerika sendirian. Kalo boleh jujur, Mama tuh cerewet banget, perfeksionis, pokoknya gitu deh, tapi udah menjelang keberangkatan, ternyata Mama suka nangis menjelang keberangkatanku. Mungkin rumah bakalan sepi ya, biasanya pasti mama ngomel-ngomel kalo aku udah males banget ngeberesin kamar, hehe.

Setelah sampe di Bandara, kita langsung nunggu Kak Chika dkk buat ngasihin Tiket. Dan......ada kejutan dari temen-temen AFS ! Nofal, Marsya, Ausi nganterin ke Bandara jugaaaaaaaaaa ! Aaawww, dan mereka ngasih aku foto gitu, ah seneng banget deh pokoknya, mereka emang yang terbaik :) Lalu, dateng Rifa, Chandrika, Nilta juga ! Ah terharu banget...............

( Ik hou van je, AFS&Jenesys-ers ! )

Lalu............beberapa saat kemudian, datanglah Adhitya Nurcahyo dan Ramdan !!! Aaaah seneng banget mereka bisa nganterin ! Ah, bakalan kangen banget sama mereka, especially Adhit :3

Cukup sedih juga, temen-temen D'cobra gak ikut nganterin, Dimas dkk, dan Uli dkk jg gak bisa karena university reason, tapi gpp, kita udah ketemuan hari-hari sebelumnya :)

Setelah dadah-dadahan untuk yang terakhir kalinya, akhirnya aku check in bareng kak Chika, aku udah pengen nangis pas pengen ngangkat suitcase seberat 25 kg aku pas peng-Xray-an barang, bukan karena berat, tapi karena bakalan kangen sama mereka-mereka :(

See you Next year people ! I'm gonna miss y'all soooo much

Viva La Amerika !

semuaaaaaa ! So, here I Am ! Finally reached United States of America !

Gimana rasanya setelah sampai di Amerika ?

- Worthed banget for 24 hours flight ditambah turbulence-turbulence di laut Utara dan Greenland yang bikin aku sport jantung dan akhirnya aku ngaji 4 lembar di pesawat. But it's all a part of the journey, and it was paid ! Akhirnya aku disini, di Amerika. Seneng banget sama Bandara O'Hare Int'l Airport Chicago ! Futuristik dan nyeni banget, sayang aku gak sempet ngambil gambar, cs waktu itu buru buru banget takut antrinya panjang banget di bagian customs.

Deg-degan gak pas lagi di Immigration ?

- BA-NGET ! aku dikasih tau returnee bahwa jarang banget anak AFS yg langsung lolos pas ngelewatin imigrasi, tapi alhamdulillah semua lancar-lancar aja, dan salah satu lyric lagu Mighty AFS yang " Everywhere we go, people want to know " bener-bener kerasa banget ! Semua orang yg aku temuin pasti nanya, " Kamu pasti AFSers ya ? " Haha, soalnya keliatan banget bawaannya rempong banget.

Pas di gate kedatangan, aku langsung ngacungin name tag, dan ada beberapa orang dari AFS langsung senyum dan ngehampirin aku ! Mereka nanya, " Wah, gimana perjalanan dari Indonesia ke Amerika ? " Nah, setelah check in, aku kenalan sama beberapa anak yang bakalan di host di Northern Illinois Area Team ( same like me ! ). Lalu, satu persatu dari mereka mulai di anter ke rumah kakak kakak pengurus AFS buat welcoming party&Arrival Orientation.

Disini seneng banget ! Kita ada welcoming orientation gitu, jadi nginep sehari di rumah Local Coordinator Northern Illinois Area Team, namanya Becky Deignan. errrr, sebenernya beliau lebih pantes dipanggil Ibu sih, ketimbang Becky doang, maklum lah culture disini kan beda.

Setelah sampai di rumah Becky, aku ketemu sama anak anak AFS yang bakalan di host di sekitar McHenry County ! Ada Sue ( China ) yg di host di Crystal lake bareng Mick ( Thailand ), lalu ada yang double placement ! Si Tori ( Austria ) bareng sama Kenji ( Japan ), lalu ada Natalie ( Germany ) yang super duper cantik dihost di McHenry& 2 Italiano Lezatos ( apabangetdeh ) Francesco&Guilio yang sama sama di host di Crystal lake. Seru banget ! Setelah aku dateng di rumah Becky kita semua makan brokoli beef ala chinese food gitu sama nasi ! yassalaaaam, itu rasanya beneran bikin homsik seketika deh. Aku selama di pesawat gak makan banyak sih soalnya berminyak gitu -_____-

setelah itu kita ngobrol ngobrol gitu, kenalan satu sama lain ! Ah seru banget deh pokoknya, dan makanan disini enaaaak banget apalagi untuk desert ! I <3 this Ice cream soooo much

( Rocky Road Ice Cream : one of the best in America )

Lalu kita ke common room dan cerita cerita tentang our country, culture, jetlag, dan what we brought from our country deh. Yang bikin aku shock dari Guilio dan Francesco adalah MEREKA AFS-NYA GAK ADA TES ! TINGGAL BAYAR&PILIH NEGARA DOANG. So, that's why America got a bunch of Italiano coming to USA ! Kalo diinget inget flashbacknya ya seleksi di Indonesia udah kayak apa aja deh, membara (?) banget deg deg-annya. Kalo sistemnya kayak gitu sih sama aja kayak sosialisme, anak anak pejabat aja dong yang bisa ke luar negeri selama setahun.

Oke, back to the topic.

Ini common room Becky's house

( ada kursi malesnya loooh, sumpah jadi keinget kursi males di rumah Eyang )

Setelah puas ngobrol-ngobrol, Becky ternyata udah tau kalo aku lagi ngejalanin ibadah puasa, dan beliau bilang, " Eat everything that you want, especially Proteins ! " Ah yakali aku bakalan ngehabisin semua makanan makanan di fridge dia, hehehe. Beliau tau aku gak boleh makan babi jadi beliau beneran make sure that i wouldnt eat any kind of Pork. So sweeeet :')

Setelah aku mandi, aku ke kamar, dan Love my Room soooo much !

Aku terharu banget becky ngasih aku print out Islamic Finder lengkap sampe akhir August ! Setelah aku beres2in suitcase, aku langsung mandi, sholat lalu tiduuuur.

----------------------------

Keesokan harinya, aku sama Sue jalan jalan ke Park deket rumah ! pemandangannya baguuuus banget kita foto foto deh.

Dan setelah itu, kita bener bener having arrival orientation bareng sama Tammy dan..............aduh lupa siapa itu namanya, hehehe. Yasudah, saya sajikan lewat foto-foto aja yaaaa

( Kenji Kuroda - Japan )

( " Sinful " Hamburgers ! Hahahaha <3 sangat menahan hasrat ketika melihat ini dan lagi puasa)

( Mickey Navanugraha from Thailand )

( Gulio From Italy and Becky )

[ The first night ! Sebelum Para italiano dateng :) clockwise : Kenji, Tori ( Austria ), Sue ( China ) and me ( Indonesia ) ]