Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Star Spangled Banner


Believe me, I'm in love with this patriotic song since i was very little. on the age of 10 years, my sister whom her English assignment was to sing American anthem taught me this "very strange song", i could not even speak english at that time, but the solacing rhythm deviously amazed me..2 days later i could sing star spangled banner very well till now (try me..hehehe)
14 years later..i was very fortunate for attending 4th july celebration in Kaskaskia Island, Il. my very first time hearing this magnificent anthem lively. though i've seen the better version of star spangled banner sang by mariah carey in youtube, but this experience dragged me to the real battleship that American thrived for independence.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Noteworthy Passage


EXORDIUM

Call me a super lucky guy for my victory chasing my biggest dream ever so called "Chasing American Dream", and here I am..in the land of "Star Spangled Banner"..

When Dreams Met Reality
An elongate 24 hours flight from home to the first point entry of US, Chicago, did not fade my enthusiasm about USA because O'hare International Airport impressed me with its excessively large building. the visitor immigration gate was being squeezed by mostly Asian and Middle Eastern faces. it took almost an hour for me arrived at the immigration counter and i had anticipated some advices from the officer of U.S embassy in Jakarta that probably there would be a random secondary inspection due to the strict regulation of immigration, and yea .. i was being inspected by the immigration officer for secondary inspection. being anxious of what happened to me, i calmed my self by observing my"random inspection mate" whose faces obviously middle eastern, things that triggered my bias question of "random inspection" system. (then i figured out a fairly satisfed answer from an American woman who had frequently being inspected for her domestic flight due to her one ticket flight). my prejudice is terminated.

Early Observation

though i could not recall in detail, but one thing that fairly impressed me is impeccable infrastructure. the highway just perfect and smooth and the buildings are located neatly, yea no wonder coz this is America, but this really proved that U.S with his federal system made out something on track. that is why a small city like carbondale is well developed. comparing U.S with a developing country like Indonesia is pretty unfair, but the moral lesson that possibly derived from this situation is if everything runs in the right track, then the outcome would be a flawless smooth way.

Cultural Shocks
I found my self easily encountered the biggest anxiety when being abroad, that is cultural shock. frankly speaking, i have no problem with the food, the custom and the people, but once i experienced unfriendly moment when i dubbed as a dumb by an ill mannered bowling counter man for my misunderstanding to apprehend bowling game instruction. i lost my idea when he explained something in a hurry and yes, here in the U.S some people speak with their own dialect ( i accustomed to the articulate and clear english speaking) but its pretty easy too to find people who speak clearly and nicely.

UNIVERSe-cITY

Carbondale, Illinois considered as a small city compared to other cities within the state. but a vast population of international students who study in SIUC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Illinois_University_Carbondale) tangibly shows that this city is an international village within a university. i could easily find midle eastern, asian and hispanic looks in campus. once i met a Phd candidate in engineering called "mas Tudi" in student centre, and he told me that there a lot of Indonesian study in SIUC, well, it might be a cure for homesick by gathering with them. i hope so.

Campus Life

Summer in SIUC offers a difference ambiance with less students around (break for summer holiday). on my first week been in SIUC, i joked to my peer that this campus almost like a dead city, a zombie zone (exaggerated! hahaha) but i truly fascinated by the modern and vintage buildings. enlarged by huge extensive halls, parks, student center, student recreation center, library, auditorium and stadiums mark this University as one of the largest university in U.S.
Boomer Hall II the place where i live, located in the heart of the campus, so i can easily access fanner hall the place that i study most of the time.






















Thursday, July 1, 2010

no longer doubt for equal rights

There would always be major inquiry that ignited pros and cons or even majority did an amen choir but still doubting on this issue. The issue of equal rights is one of the issue who stays on top while it is discussing. A recent survey found that people in many countries buttress the state of equal rights but still questioning on the practice of equal rights in reality. In more than 22 countries surveyed by Pew Research Centre (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/world/01iht-poll.html) said that generally the people have no objection of equal rights for women but they realized it’s not that effortless because the aptitude of equal rights for women eroded by many factors such as education, demography and religious affiliation.
In the country like Pakistan and Indonesia which possess a staunchly moslem population, religious affiliation seems defeated by the existence of women president or prime minister recorded in history but yet ensuring the real practice of equal right is really perceivable in those countries. This assertion tangibly shows the society that in some ways women are get their rights but the problem is somehow they are defeated by external factors such as the population of educated and skilled man are higher and the condition where women should be stay at home even they are earned their educational background.
Another reason that probably visible is because the characteristic of the country which seemingly put the highest value on the physical condition of men which favorably durable and flexible to any kind of jobs and They see woman vulnerable for certain jobs.
When I quote my own opinion about equal rights, I always said that I love equality. I never been irritated when women lead certain organizations or be number one in class since I believe that if everyone pushes everything to the limit then they will surely harvest the best things. I even admiring a previous Indonesian financial minister Ms Sri Mulyani who terrifically maintained Indonesian economic performance amid recent global crisis and I proud of her. Back to the condition in my country, where I strongly believe that the people in my country put the highest appreciation on woman, I see that women in Indonesia are blazing their trail to be equal in every realm. I have a sister who got a prestigious position in her office as an auditor of a big company, I have a relative who drive a bus transportation system which is the only one mass rapid transportation in Indonesia and really enjoy her profession as a bus driver and politically the proposition of women in house of representative in Indonesia is increasing (30%) compared to the last session.
Overall, the equal rights for women in every county is in the right track since it shows increasing trend of respected value for woman and for every human kind which eventually reminds us that we are all the same.