The Beginning

It was friday, I was sitting in my classroom and someone taped a brochure on the wall of my class. I didn´t pay attention of it at all firstly. The next lesson is math, and I had semester test on the next week. My teacher, Mr. Mula Tambun Saribu (he is my favorite math teacher) came to me and asked

"have you read that brochure?“

I said "No, I´m not into it."

“Where do you like to study, kid?“

„I´m really dying to study in Unpad sir! I want to study medicine there. I want to be a doctor.“

he didn´t agree with me. He said that that´s a shame if I take medicine for college. He said that technic is the one thing that suit me very well, considering of my good score in math and several lesson that connected with counting. He was angry at me. Even he said, if I really want to study medicine, so I ought to study not in Indonesia but abroad! He asked me to read the brochure. The brochure told about a management called Jerman Manajemen, which help students to study in Germany. And there was a presentation on Sunday. Mr. Mula said that I have to see the presentation, it will be good for me. I said, that I have no passion to study in Germany. And he forced me just for seeing the presentation. I use the test on next week as my excuse for not going to the presentation.

„I will have test on monday! I have to study, so I can´t go there“

„The test is not important! This presentation is very useful for you. This is for the future!“

I didn´t have any word to say then -_-

I gave up. My teacher won. Finally I came to the presentation with my mom, Anita, and Irham. Then..my eyes were fully opened! I was so enthusiast. Suddenly it felt like an old memory wink at me. I am so happy, I can be like Ikal and Arai!

Irham and Anita are very enthusiast too. All of us were starting to wonder on how it will be like in Germany, how we will be together along the way there... Remembering this, I am so sad. At the end, they aren´t going here with me. Our destiny is to be separated, how hard we fight to get it, if God decide something different from our plan, we can do just nothing. But I still feel your presence, guys. You are all still close to me, no matter how far we are. Our friendship is too strong, even a thousand miles can´t break it.

I still remember what Irham has said to me, he asked me to take some pictures in Germany, and I have to write his name there. Sure, my brother, I´ll do it then!

To be studying abroad is not easy. Especially for me. My family is not that rich, and studying abroad is such a heavy thing to get. Actually, my parents have sparred the money for preparation of my medicine study. Everyone know that studying medicine needs much money, right? Because mama and papa knew that I want to be a doctor since my childhood, they prepare it earlier. With all the kindness of my parents, they did their job nicely and save some of the money for my study. The amount has reached 200 million rupiahs, that´s all for my future college. But the plan has changed, I´m not just going to study medicine, I also want to study abroad. The counting that Mr. Wünsche has done, the amount is nearly the same. Studying in Germany is actually not as expensive as in Indonesia. Even it´s cheaper. For medicine, that is known by Indonesian people as the most expensive faculty, we don´t have to pay as much as in Indonesia. The most expensive public University is not more than 700€.

We felt safe in our heart, realizing that our money is enough for my study in Germany. But there is a new rule, students who have interest for studying in Germany should be 600 hours Deutsch learning. It will not finish if I start the languange learning when I go to Germany. Mr. Wünsche made a decision to held a German Course in Indonesia, so the students will make it in the right time. Extra course in Indonesia, extra money we need. It freaks me out, do my parents have enough money for it?

Mom and dad said not to worry, it´s all their responsible. All I have to do is studying. As simple as that. Of course it´s not simple to me. I really don´t want to put heavy burdens on my parents´back. The itme went by, national examination came closer, and I don´t know from where will my parents get money. Can I finally go to Germany or not? This question was spinning in my head, while I prepared myself to face the examination. I studied really hard, just to make my parents proud of me. I don´t want to disappoint them again like I did in junior high school. I failed to get the highest score in final examination of JHS. I still remember that day, when the result´s announced, I am not even in the big 10. I went home that afternoon with an unbearable tears. it´s not about the rank anyway. I just wanted to get good score just for my parents. They have done million things to make me happy, and for me, my score will make them happy too.

Alhamdulillah, I reached my goal. In high school, I finally got the first rank for final examination in Papua region! On the graduation day, I had to come to school earlier because I had to make preparation for my performance. Yes, I performed a traditional dance from West Sumatera with my friends. Deep in my heart, I felt my heart beated so fast because I have waited for this moment a long time. I want to see my parents´ happy smile. I have done with my costume and my make-up, suddenly there was an announcement from headmaster for me. I was asked to come to teacher´s room. Then I´m exactly asked to be interviewed from a local TV station in Papua, Papua TV. I was a little confused, why do I have to? Why not somebody else? I was currently wearing an eye-catching outfit and I knew that it´s too weird to appear in TV with it. But Mr. Wayan (the headmaster) kept insisting.

And! The reporter whispered that to me! I heard it first from nobody but her! She said that I am interviewed because I got highest score in final examination for Papua region. What a surprise! Actually, I can´t believe that I heard it from someone I didn´t know. Why didn´t Mr. Wayan tell me himself? But still, thank you! Hahaha. I was so happy and I can´t help to not move from my place. I waited my parents calmly and made decision not to tell them early. I let them know by the announcement, not from me so it will be a big surprise! ^^

Well, I´m only the best score in Papua region, it´s not that great. But I´m very thankful for that, because I could see my parents´ happy tears, not their tears of sadness like I used to make them sad day by day. So it´s me, the girl who has graduated from high school. I am facing real world now!

Fly away

This is my first post! I mean,the post that I do in Germany. I love this town, but I love my hometown more, Papua!

On September 2nd 2013, I left Indonesia. I left my beloved family, I have gone out of my comfort zone. I didn´t cry that time. But after leaving here for 2 weeks, I started to feel weird. I felt that there´s something missed in my life. At first I really have no idea what I really feel. I was sitting alone in my room, accompanied by silence, I looked around and wondered “What am I doing here?”

stupid thoughts came into my mind, this is not where I belong! In a blick my head was twisted and I suddenly forgot my aim to be in Germany. I have forgotten, that those were all my decisions! I am the person, who asked her parents to take college abroad. I am the girl who dreamed of being like “Arai”. Do you know Arai? He is my favorite one. I know his name from a phenomenal book, Laskar Pelangi. That book really has inspired me. It tells about how life can be turned out to be so blue, how people could stand up when the other said that it,s impossible. Arai is not the main character of this novel, he is just a side character, the cousin of the main character, Ikal. Ikal and Arai were a dreamer. They came from a small city that nobody never care of them. They are very poor, but Arai never had a sad face on. He always find a good thing to make Ikal smiling again. In their high school, Arai ever said to his brother, they will go studying in Paris! Ikal said that it´s to much to be dreaming of, but Arai set a stone head and say surely they will go there someday. After their high school graduation, both of them went to Jakarta, unfortunately they are accepted in different university there, so they were separated for a while. Some years had passed, und Ikal already successed to have his bachelor. He didn´t hear anything from his brother in those years. But he never forget, what Arai has said to him. He sent applications to get scholarship in other country to accomplish his dream. He went to an office and was being interviewed for the study. He did the interview very well and got the scholarship to University of Sorbonne, France. He was very happy but he was thinking about Arai. “How is he now? I wish we could go there together!” he was still in the office, he heard his brothers voice. That guy came out of an interview room, and surprisingly, it was Arai! And he will go studying in Sorbonne too!

Laskar Pelangi is a book which was written based on the authors real story. Ikal and Arai really exist in reality. It gives me big hope, that I can be like them too. I love the quote that Arai said

“Have a dream, and God will hold it”

-Arai-

Since that time, I always dream to study abroad too. Thanks God! I got it too! My story is not as amazing as Arai's, but I´m feeling so lucky to be me. I have my own story,my own world, my own family, and it´s all wonderful!

By dreaming gives our brain suggestion, without our conciousness, it stays in our mind forever and work to reach it. I will keep my big dream, because Arai has taught me not to be scared to dream.