 |
| Had a chance to visit Amsterdam from Germany. |
Pekanbaru The first place to call home is Pekanbaru, because I have to spend my senior high school time here. The city is quiet, and it has a nice-peaceful environment. One particular thing I remember about Pekanbaru, is always the place where I socialize and stay with my extended family. I consider Pekanbaru has the best collection of food with authentic taste.
Yogyakarta Then I moved to Yogyakarta, specifically in a small village near Mount Merapi to continue my Undergraduate study. Here I learned about living in a culturally dense and traditional society. It really shaped my personality in such a way, until many people thought I'm a Javanese and not, a Minangnese. I've found the Jogjanese's attitude was completely similar to British. It is understandable, because they are using the same type of government: monarch. The people respect their Sultan and family, and think of them as their role models. Yogya is really memorable in many ways, for example because I came to term of 'hard work and resourcefulness' during the undergrad study. I've learned to be calm and thoughtful due to mindfulness approach in many aspects of life. We allow to be creative and independent, but at the same time to be respectful and compassionate to other people.
Denpasar If I could include Denpasar, Bali as my next cultural and climate experience during learning English for few months, I would say Bali is totally a different atmosphere for me who came from Riau. It is culturally exotic and impressive with so many rules, ornaments and traditions related to Hinduism lifestyle. Balinese is blessed with many beauty mountains, beaches, lakes, cities tradition, culture, and international touches in one island. However, they were trying to hardly cope with the external influences, since it is totally different from their original lifestyle. They use a quarter of a year just to worship and do things related to religion. I remember Balinese as unique, creative, independent and open minded to a new change around them.
Manchester Hopped on to Europe, then I picked Manchester as my first option to continue MSc. Life in a big city such as Manchester was always interesting with lots to see and experience. However, since I had a very hectic schedule, I didn't get much chances to enjoy the city. I took few important learning and adapting moments like to appreciate museums and art galleries, to experience a beauty of nature in four seasons, to enjoy the vintage and heritage architecture, to learn about the royal family and British monarch, to appreciate pedestrian bridges, and to learn about cultural differences with several friends from various countries. My best friends come from South America and nearby, and Germany. They told me a lot about their cultures, so I know what to expect when I live in a multicultural setting. The good thing I learned was to be more industrious, self-motivated, assertive, and mind my manners/attitude.
Jakarta I also had experience to live in Jakarta for several weeks to study English before hopped on to Australia. I didn't think it was a memorable one, except my visit to Museum Gadjah and Monas with friends. The big city is too big and unmanageable. The traffic jam is unbearable. I do like the shopping center and mall, but commuting from one place to another is a real challenge. I just could pick how we must be adaptable to the crowded environment and learn to enjoy whatever it takes during the traffic jam. As one OZ fellow said, we must be very organized with time and transportation, or otherwise it completely disaster to use 'macet' as an excuse in Jakarta!
Perth Took a while to return to Europe again, so I went to Australia for few years for my PhD. It was a different dream, since Perth, Western Australia, offers a nice-quiet-peaceful environment with a challenging Mediterranian climate. It is too hot in summer and very mild in winter. All shrubs, flowers, trees have distinctive scents and shapes. Animals are exotic, too, most of them are marsupial. I enjoyed the half-half culture or multicultural lifestyle in Australia, where I could say easily like this: I was eating fish and chips for lunch, while my fellow OZ next to me was opting the nasi-rendang. We, the international students, keep exchanging interesting views about how we observed and blend our existing personality with Australian lifestyle and daily routine. I start to enjoy beach, river and a picnic in public holiday, including our regular visit to a botanical garden every spring to enjoy tulip and other native plants from Australian regions. I learned how to appreciate family time and me-time rather than being very discipline, strict, and determined like Brits do. Australia is definitely one of my favorite place to be in the world.
Oldenburg Like a dream come true, I went to Europe again (Germany) for a six months blended training. It is definitely experiencing a different culture again. I learned my hard and easy ways to accept German's lifestyles. They are rigid and strict to the time, so we must follow their rules. Everywhere, all I could see the legacy of my previous Germans friends: systematic, hard work, detail, analytical, clean, neat, calm, uncertainty avoidance, and confident. I enjoyed German cities and histories, although there is a real sadness in their history. They have tried to compensate it to the world by giving more chances for other nations in term of financial aid, technology, knowledge and internationalization of Higher Education aspect. As one of the wealthy country in the world with vast innovations in many areas, we'll be able to indulge our experience of the latest technology like smart building and automatic-sensor devices in some big cities in Germany. The weather? It feels so much healthier than at home (now: Pekanbaru).
I'm looking forward to enjoy more countries for a particular time, and can't wait for different experiences in culture and climate again!
Pekanbaru,
No comments:
Post a Comment