Author Diterima!! -- I Got Accepted!!

A few months ago I received an email from my mama, and it said this:


My reaction towards it:

So I got accepted in a school in the UK, in Devon to be exact, a county in the Southwest of England. It is one of the many programs held by EF (Education First), perhaps some of you may heard about this "EF" company who specializes in language training and other educational programs for children, teenagers, and adults, especially when it comes to facing international environments and providing us chances to be able to experience life in other countries.

I did some research about the city, other than being located in Devon, it also received another nickname as the "English Riviera."

Any guess?

In Devon

Started with "T"

English Riviera

T-t-t-


Ok. Enough. It's Torbay.

Torbay is actually the borough, the city I will go to is Torquay.

To make it easy for me to emphasis the difference between "Torquay" and "Torbay" is:

Torquay + bay = Torbay #slapped

Okay, back to the main topic now. In Indonesia, EF has a pretty great reputation being a company who is famous for its great English course and home stay program (my visit to Oxford last year was also managed by EF). My mama was invited in one of their many seminars, she suddenly spotted an EF International Academy stall and decided to take a look. That's the beginning of how I started to be keened on EF International Academy.

At first I was going to apply for Oxford, but then the admission people said that the age requirement for Oxford is rather high (If I'm not mistaken, the Oxford campus would only accept students age 16+ and I guess they don't have any program for International GCSE) and the only possible campus I can attend to in the UK is the one in Torbay, in Devon.

EF actually has three campuses, two in the UK (Oxford & Torbay) and another one is in New York, but I heard that they are going to open another campus in Vancouver, so I think that makes two campuses in North America.

I'm going to attend International GCSE program, I think it's some kind of a preparatory program before I attend the 'actual' high school (I don't know though, this is just based on my own interpretation about IGCSE since the program itself is very different from a regular Indonesian school program). Then after I finished my IGCSE program, I'm going to chose between two programs, which are IB (abbreviation for "International Baccalaureate") and A-level.

I'm aiming for A-level though, (again this is based on my very own interpretation) A-level is a program for schools in the UK that is only focusing on what you're aiming for college (as in 'what major you are going to take'). So the subjects you're going to take tend to be just a little than what you used to take (I heard that you could even just get about 4 subjects) but then you have to 'decrease' it as you reached another grade, then when you reach your final year you're going to face some dilemmatic problem for choosing between two subjects that you're going to take in college.

In Indonesia, 9th grade is still counted as middle school, until you managed to pass the national exam in the 9th grade (usually national exams occur in March, April, or May), then you will continue to high school. Same goes for high school, if you managed to pass the national exam in the 12th grade, then you're going to go to college. So in Indonesia we have three years each for middle school and high school.

But in the UK, I think they said something about 9th grade being equivalent to 10th grade.

Well... I guess I'll be taking that as 'accelerating' then.

I'll be leaving for the UK this year in early September. That's another thing about the schools in the UK and Indonesia. Here in Indonesia, we started another new academic year in July, while the UK is somewhere in the early September. Yes. We Indonesians get a rather...... little ration for the holidays. Apparently our government still believes "the more you come to school and have less holidays, the more you will get good marks on your report." Instead of "understanding the process is the fundamental principle, off with the grades. Who cares? It's not all about academics anyway."

I'm planning to take A-level program.

And I'm aiming for biology for my major in college.

I hate math though.

But then again, anthropology seems to be an interesting subject.

Oh the dilemma.


-Dadah

Nibras Sakkir


Note: And if some of you--who are also going to attend EF International Academy in Torbay--are reading this. I would say "Hello (this is a bit awkward somehow)" Hopefully we could meet and possibly become classmates in our school. Cheers :)




Pictures and gif don't belong to me.

Privjet Anastasia~

I was merely curious about the Romanov mystery, I did do some research but I thought it would be even more fun if I watched a movie that actually referred to the story itself.

da da da da dam~ #faildrumsounds

Anastasia~

Although it's a bit... inaccurate. But meh.

So I downloaded Anastasia (1997), I did find several inaccurate points in the movie but I can really understand it since, after all, the real event was quiet bloody and brutal. Plus this movie supposedly meant for kids and... brutality does not belong to children movies at all.

I bought a matryoshka doll once from some souvenir shop in the airport (no I haven't been to Russia), then my mama suddenly referred that matryoshka doll to the story of the 'missing' Princess Anastasia. 

My mama suddenly told me stories like: "That matryoshka doll is the only thing that kept Anastasia's memories of the royal family." I have no idea why mum kept telling about this matryoshka doll story  and its connection with Anastasia (I guess she believes with the rumor about Anastasia surviving, I don't really know though) but what I know is that Anastasia along with the rest of her family died about 90 years ago, all of them were shot to death and buried deep in Yekaterinburg. But I heard that the Romanovs' skeletons were later found and they are now buried in St. Petersburg. 

It's a movie that brings back my childhood but at the same time trying its best to keep my love for history, and it's just amazing. How my childhood was mainly filled with movies about the good vs the bad, and I think Anastasia seems to have done a pretty good job in bringing my childhood days back to me again, plus I shivered throughout the whole movie.

I don't know, I guess recalling for the fact that in reality, I must say the story of the bloody murder of the Romanovs is pretty... mysterious in some way. Since after the news about the murder there are rumors spreading too, especially about how their youngest daughter, Anastasia, managed to survive

Somehow with Anastasia, it's no longer about the story of bloody murder of an imperial family anymore. It's already about something else, in a whole new level of storytelling. I felt that the movie is so magical, I even forget about the whole murder thing.

The songs are incredibly amazing too, my most favourites are of course, Once Upon a December and Journey to the Past. 

Then I discovered that some people actually have Anastasia's music box and when you open it, it started to play Once Upon a December. Ugh how I want it oh so badly now.

I also knew Rasputin from this movie, at first I didn't really get who his name was and I even thought the protagonists were calling him "Lenin" since he's the principle figure in the Russian Revolution and all. So I think it's pretty much normal if he's the villain in the movie, but then I did  some browsing in the internet about it and I was wrong ahaha..

 I think his character here in the movie isn't so scary (of course it's because it's a cartoon) as his counterpart... physically (I literally shivered just by seeing the real Rasputin image, somehow) Rasputin was said to be one of the many people that caused the fall of the imperial family, but his relationship with the imperial family in reality was entirely the opposite from his character in this movie. In fact, I heard that he was actually rather close with the children, especially Alexei. When it comes to his death, Rasputin was said to be quiet hard to be killed, and I guess that's why they pictured Rasputin as some living corpse whose anatomies constantly got separated everywhere. Eh.

But I still don't get how Lenin doesn't make any appearance in the movie.

As usual, gifs and pictures belong to their rightful owners.

до свидания (Do Svidaniya) ~

Dadah

-Nibras Sakkir

17 År, and a Swede With an Italian Descent

I've been listening to this particular song by a Swedish singer named "Veronica Maggio."

Det var 17 år
17 år i staden där jag växte upp och så
märker du hur fort det går?
och jag var 17 år ville inte va den
som blev kvar

Now I was thinking, maybe I could share a bit about 'my music' to you, by posting one of my favourite songs and just about what I've been really into lately. 

You see, I'm interested in anything that relates to multiculturalism and... I don't know, being different? Maybe because Swedish songs aren't quiet popular too here in Indonesia. I felt it's just something that's worth to be listened too.

I got affected by Hetalia too (if you don't know what Hetalia is, then go ask Uncle Google #slapped).

*It's sad that blogspot isn't like tumblr at all. So I can't put the song here.

Luckily, there's still youtube. 

The picture and video aren't belong to me, they belong to their rightful owner.

-Dadah

Nibras Sakkir 

The Toughest Place To Be A Binman

It all started when my English teacher had my class to watch this particular documentary film by BBC about a binman from London who visited Jakarta to experience his job in another country and with a 'whole new level' of being a binman (or maybe "trash picker" would be the right term here in Indonesia). As an Indonesian, I know that people are actually aware of the fact that Jakarta has now becoming a trash dumpster. Not only that, about 10 million people are also depending on the capital to be able to fulfill their needs.

Though we are all aware of it, I sense no action is coming from all of us--ahemgovernemntahem. I'm not only referring to the people of Jakarta here since we are all the ones who are going to decide the future by the decisions that we're making. I'm not going to have my country deserve a title as 'one of the top 5 dumpsters in ASEAN.' I mean that's just silly for a country who seems to be the largest among the 10 (you see, we Indonesians are always so proud of our country, geographically).

What caught my attention is a particular scene that involved an 'unknown' trash truck (is it the right term for trash-carrying trucks?) came to this rural place where the British bin man was staying, in a complex where all of the people there are mostly fulfilling their life needs as trash-pickers, thus the place it self is also filled with filthy trashes. What saddens me is that the fact that those trashes came from other places too, big companies who just want to get rid of their trash for instance. 

Then some people said that the truck was sent by the government.

We all assumed that maybe because BBC was doing a documentary about the whole rural place and trashes, the government wanted to have this sort of 'good impression,' and so they sent a truck to kept away the trashes. The local people there were all started to say things like "there has never been a single truck from the government being sent here."

One important thing that these Indonesian trash pickers are lacking of, is equipment. Since they aren't being recognized by the government as official "binmen," they must provide all of the equipment by their own.

Let's compare this one

With this one

---

But then again, ranting and yelling at the projector won't solve the problem, and so we decided to list several possible solutions.

I came up with these (the ones that I could still remember):

• Make a community
• Write a letter to the government

Yes...... only two so far.

The first solution was actually one of the questions being asked by the British bin man to the Indonesian bin men. I think their conversation sounded sort of like this:

"How about making a community for trash pickers then?"

"We've tried, but no one listens."

I'm still wondering though, what if they really made a community consisting of binmen? That way I suppose they could at least try to have the government attention being diverted to them. For real.

---

Anyway, I suppose this documentary was made when our mayor wasn't the current mayor (Mr. Fauzi Bowo was Jakarta's mayor from 2007 until 2012. If I'm not mistaken, this documentary was made in early 2012). Jakarta now has Mr. Joko Widodo as its new mayor, was once a mayor in a city called Surakarta and he's quiet famous for his achievements and how the city of Surakarta changed rapidly (in a good way of course) under his leadership. I think one of his power is because he's always making communication to the local people as his top priority, because a mayor who makes his people as his top priority is always kool.

Well then, Jakarta is now the biggest water park ever since it's already raining season here in Indonesia and floods are everywhere. So bring your swimsuits if you're going to visit Jakarta and prepare to ride a kayak among the skyscraper buildings.

---

Somehow I'm beginning to think that democracy is just a thing that is currently among those trashes in the dumpsters, here in Jakarta--or maybe the whole Indonesia.

The pictures are rightfully belong to their owners by the way.


Dadah

-Nibras Sakkir

One could call this a working desk.

Anak Sopir Angkot ke The Big Apple

Halo Halo Halo, liburan gimana? Author harap semuanya nggak menderita pas liburan. Author sendiri sih liburannya oke oke aja <---- (nggak bisa ngomong apa-apa lagi, habis pergi liburan ke kampung dan jauh dari tangan internet yang maha ajaib)

Jadi author mau rekomendasi buku yang inspiratif buanget dan awalnya juga sempat baca karena tugas sekolah, ya apa lagi kalau bukan Bahasa Indonesia.

Jadi buku ini penulisnya Mas Iwan Setyawan, sudah pernah merambah karier di New York City selama 10 tahun dan posisi terakhirnya disana adalah sebagai Director Internal Client Management, wuidih hebat teuing eta mah...

Kalimat pertama dari sinopsis buku ini yang paling author suka itu adalah "Bapakku, sopir angkot yang tak bisa mengingat tanggal lahirnya" (Author niru baris ini nih untuk cerpen yang author buat untuk tugas Bahasa Indonesia... #heh) secara bapak author juga sebenarnya senasib sama bapaknya Mas Iwan, satu-satunya pengingat tanggal lahir cuma kejadian kehancurannya Darul Islam di Indonesia.

Author suka ceritanya Mas Iwan yang ada sangkutannya dengan perjuangan hidup di negara lain, jadi itu juga yang sebenarnya membuat author tambah penasaran dan penasaran lagi pada saat membaca buku "9 Summers 10 Autumns" ini.

Author pikir buku ini cukup kreatif juga, terutama bagaimana Mas Iwan membuat 'ilusi' merupai seorang anak kecil yang menemani hidupnya selama ia berada di New York dan dari situ juga ia dapat bercerita tentang pengalaman hidupnya dan perjuangannya untuk bisa sampai di New York. Intinya cara penyampaiannya keren juga.

Lalu juga dari sini kita tahu kalau pendidikan itu bisa, dan memang BISA merubah hidup seseorang. Pendidikan itu kan beda dengan harta, kalau harta kita yang menjaga, tapi kalau pendidikan, ya pendidikan yang dapat menjaga kita. Nah, cerita Mas Iwan ini juga mebuktikan kalau pendidikan itu efeknya hebat banget buat kita semua.

Mau kamu anak sopir angkot, anak petani, anak saudagar, cuma pendidikan yang sebenarnya bisa nentuin nasib kita semua di masa depan. Jadi, kalau anak sopir angkot bisa merubah dunianya dengan kekuatan pendidikan, gimana kita yang memang sudah terlahir mampu tapi masih malas-malas sekolah?

Hayo hayo~ Gimana hayo~

Udah lah, pokoknya gitu aja dari author. Habisnya author terkesan banget sama buku "9 Summers 10 Autumns." Pas author lihat di cover belakang bukunya, di situ ada tulisan "SEGERA DIFILMKAN."

Amin, kalo bisa usahain tahun ini ya Mas Sutradara.

-Dadah

Nibras Sakkir