Sidenotes of Life

So it has been a while since I write something on this blog. I feel now the momentum is just right: it's holiday season, I am not traveling anywhere, I have time, and I am bored haha. I also got an excuse to write my Blah Blah again with #30haribercerita, an annual campaign to write 30 days straight every January. It's originally based on Instagram, but I find Instagram is not my place anymore to write long captions so I move to blog. And since I have limited time to post it, I can’t overdo and overthink it haha so let's see how this goes. I want to start my writing with a reflection about 2022: The Year it Finally Happens . Yes, 2022 for me is like a dream come true, finally. I got a scholarship to pursue my master's degree abroad. It still feels surreal up to this day that I am here, right now, in Germany. A developed country that has high GDP and good social security. When I am still in Indonesia, I always wonder what it looks like. A developed nation. Is it differen...

Why I Write is a poem by Lang Leav posted on her Instagram.  I read it because my friends repost it on her instastory, the words strike me. And why I write is the same question that motivates me to write more on my blog recently.  But first, I want to say something.  Have I told you that searching a scholarship is a tiring journey? I don't know about you, but honestly for me, constantly being checked about my past, my present and my future aspirations make me feels like I was on a brain scan procedure. I was under an assessment, whether I am the candidate they search, or not.  I don't know about you. But I don't think in a normal circumstance people will question that much about their life. The evaluation usually comes at the end of the year, trying to digest what you achieved and whatnot, to start planning for your next year's goals. But when applying to the scholarship, you might have come with some basic idea abou...

Hai! Kemarin, 4 Oktober 2019, gw akhirnya tes GRE di IIEF. Lokasinya ada di Lantai 28 Menara Imperium, Kuningan, Jakarta. Kayaknya tes GRE emang se-Indonesia cuman bisa disini aja. Tes dijadwalkan jam 08.00 tapi sejam sebelumnya gw udah nyampe dan pintunya masih di kunci, wkwk :'') tapi gapapalah daripada telat. Sekitar jam setengah 8, ruangannya akhirnya dibuka.                             Pertama, gw diminta isi kode institusi yang mau dikirimin nilai GREnya di form. Ohiya, kita dapet jatah gratis ngirim ke 4 kampus saat hari tes. Kalau dikirimnya sesudah tes, ETS akan ngecharge kita  US$27 atau sekitar 380 ribu per kampusnya. Yha jadi kumaksimalkan saja tujuan 4 kampus itu meskipun gak tau bakalan jadi daftar semuanya apa enggak hahaha.  Sesudah itu, panitia tes akan meminta kita menyerahkan kartu identitas (KTP/SIM/Paspor) untuk diverifikasi dan satu-satu akan dipanggil untuk security ch...

Hai! Kemarin gw baru saja mengikuti tes GRE. Jujur gak nyangka bakalan ngambil tes ini sebelumnya. GRE atau Graduate Record Examination itu semacam tes kemampuan dasar (numeric, verbal & analytical writing) yang jadi syarat  banyak jurusan S2 di Amerika. Mirip-mirip TPA lah kalau di Indo.  Dulu, kalau ditanya mau kuliah S2 dimana, pasti gw mencoret Amerika dari list. Alasannya? ribet, mesti pake GRE segala. Sementara dulu mikirin tes IELTS aja udah pusing. Belom minta surat rekomendasi dan segala per-esai-an. Fix GRE mah urutan terakhir. Tapi, pandangan itu berubah ketika gw akhirnya ikut kelas persiapan GRE di @america. Setiap tahunnya, sekitar bulan Juni, @america memang mengadakan kelas persiapan gratis GRE dan TOEFL IBT. Tujuannya, buat mempersiapkan anak-anak yang pengen nyoba S2 ke US. Kelas GRE @america terdiri dari 8 sesi. Gw mencatat ada 4 sesi kuantitatif dan 4 sesi verbal. Kelasnya tiap hari Sabtu jam 10.30-13.00 di @america, Pacific Place....