Rini Ekayati Blog

New Season

2010-01-21T09:48:00.003+07:00

Wuihhh.....what a year!!!! It has been a long time for me not write, even a single word, on you. No time....what a reason!! Do i really don't have time? Who am i? But that's the fact. It seems that i "have no time" to do so. Anyway, here i am now. Try to give my time to you, to write something, and tell something about what had been passed through these few years.

This year already passed for 21 days. For me, this year is a new season. It is a season in the sense that now i live my life the way i want it be, at least for this time being.

After coming back from my study in India in 2007, i was in a little desperate situation. i tell you why. As you know, after graduating from school, everyone around you seem waiting something from you. They may hope you to get a good job or career. It may be in the first position. But in real, we can not always get what we want. As human, i also want to have a good job. But it needs time, right? During that time, every time i met people, they always asked me, "Where do you work?", "why until now you have not worked?", and so on and so forth. All of this kinds of questions made me 'sick'.

Now, that situation had passed. I work now as an educator, and i always try to be a good one. I enjoy my every time when i am in the class, teach my students, and help them to master the subject. And the good one is that there is no one ask me that all questions that make me 'sick'. This is what i say as a new season.

Hello!

2009-06-11T14:21:00.003+07:00

Hello, long time not meet you all guys. How is going? Fine, of course. First, thanks to everyone who keeps on visiting my blog (even i never up date it until now, hihih...). Actually, i want to up date my blog as usual as i can, but you know sometimes there's time when you want to do something, but the condition around does not support you. Ohhh..just forget it.

I just write a little for today, and i try to write more next time. I miss you all guys...See U

Links (Blog Roll)

2007-06-17T12:18:00.000+07:00

Since this blog experiencing blog error, particularly on its template that it can not update the template as well as the blogroll, for the time being i will put the new links in this pages. When the problem has been solved, i will put them in my blogger links. It seems that not only me facing this problems, my friends who are also blogger, face it, too.

But, for the new blogger version (BETA), there is no problem. One of my friend who uses it told me that there was no problem with his blogger template in blogger BETA. Maybe, i will convert my blog from the old blogger to the new one. i'm just think about it.

Okey, for now, i'll put the links here temporarily.

- every day is my lucky day
- SERUAN !!!!!!!!!
- Tips Internet Bisnes
- COMPUTER
- AKTA 4
- Mixer Beta Blogger
- Tanggung renteng
- Bhayu M.H.’s Blog 4 Communication
- Ivan Krisna World
- Education
- Inspirasi setiap hari
- HR Files
- Katalog Website

If your link is not in this list, just drove a message, then i'll add as soon as possible.

Thanks for the link.

Song 4 Today

2007-06-15T03:33:00.000+07:00

Falling Into You
By Celine Dion.

And in your eyes I see ribbons of color
I see us inside of each other
I feel my unconscious merge with yours
And I hear a voice say, "What's his is hers"

I'm falling into you
This dream could come true
And it feels so good falling into you

I was afraid to let you in here
Now I have learned love can't be made in fear
The walls begin to tumble down
And I can't even see the ground

I'm falling into you
This dream could come true
And it feels so good falling into you

Falling like a leaf, falling like a star
Finding a belief, falling where you are

Catch me, don't let me drop!
Love me, don't ever stop!

So close your eyes and let me kiss you
And while you sleep I will miss you

I'm falling into you
This dream could come true
And it feels so good falling into you

Falling like a leaf, falling like a star
Finding a belief, falling where you are

Falling into you
Falling into you
Falling into you

Peak Summer in Delhi

2007-06-07T16:26:00.000+07:00

Since last week, Delhi where i stay now is like an 'oven', and i'm the 'pan-cake'. Every where and every time i went outside, the sun burns my skin and the hot weather burns my throat and my head. I read from the newspaper that the degree was around 44 - 45 C. Whatttttt.........!!!!!

For a person like me who is come from a country which does not have this kind of weather, it is really a hard situation. Although, i have been here for almost two years, it does not mean that i already get use to it. In fact, this year is really a hard one for me. In the last winter, i felt the same thing also. It was very and very cool here. Not like the first year i came. And now, in summer time, it is also the 'worse', i thought, then last year.

The situation becomes worse and worse since everyday in my place, there is a light off period on a particular time. In morning time, around nine to ten o'clock, the light will be off for one hour until elevent o'clock. At nighgt, around elevent p.m., the light is off for another one hour until twelve p.m. When the light is off, i am really and really in a 'live oven'.

What do i do when the light is off? Nothing!!!! I just lay on my bed, take my lovely pillow and sleep, of course. I don't care whether my body is full of sweat, because what else can i do. Go outside? Noway!!!! The condition is the same, and in addition, the sun is shining brighly in morning or afternoon time. But sometimes, when the light is off at night time, i am going outside.

The good things are that all my examination papers had finished since last week, and my health day by day become better and better. These days, i am just waiting for my examination results that are going to be announced at the end of this month. I hope i can pass in all my papers, so that i can return home to my home country carrying something.

I already miss my family a lot. Even since the last day of my exam, i already dreamed about my journey going back home. I called my mother once to tell her that i had finished my exam, and also informed her my plan to go home as soon as the results come out. I also asked for her pray for my study here.

But, i still have to wait for that till i get my result. And during that waiting period, i still have to face this hot and hot weather. Hope this summer peak will end tomorrow, but i am not sure.

By the way, i also want to say hello to all, sorry for being absent these few weeks. Not only because of my exam, but also because of my bad health. But now i am fine and free, so i can get back again to blog and blogging.

There's Time to Forgive and to Forget

2007-04-26T16:12:00.000+07:00

In life, there's always time for everything. There's time for you to have your meal when you feel hungry; there's also time for you to take a rest when you feel tired. When you hurt somebody's feeling, then comes the time for you to ask for forgiveness. On the other time, there's an occasion when you fail from your exams, any kind of exams. So, that's the time for you to restart again and be revived for the next exams, and so on.

For the same reason, there's time to forgive and to forget. It's for sure that in life somebody may hurt you, physically or mentally. Whatever the form of the hurt you get, you may feel so sad about it, and more than that, you may hate the person who did it to you for the rest of your life.

Recently, i faced this kind of situation. I felt so sad because someone hurt my heart so deep that made me cry all day and in every single minute a had. My feeling was unstable. Once, i thought that it might be the end of my life (what a foolish), and in the next time, i thought i wanted to kill 'this someone' who did this to me (what a cruel thought). I already asked 'this someone' why 'this someone' did it to me. But i got no answer. Then, i decided to ask my heart what should i do. Because i didn't want to waste by life only for 'this someone'.

I found the answer finally. I had to forgive 'this someone' and forget 'this someone' also. Why i did this? Firstly, it was for my own good. I didn't want to live my life in the shadow of my anger towards 'this someone'. And i realized that all of the things that had happened were also my fault. I aready asked forgiveness from 'this someone', and i didn't care whether 'this someone' forgave me or not. To ask forgiveness and forgive 'this someone' are my duty; 'this someone' duty to forgive me.

Secondly, after i forgave 'this someone', i can more easily to forget, not to forget 'this someone' because 'this someone' is still my friend, but to forget all that sad things and feelings. And finally, i can continue my life in a more peace heart and mind, not with any kind of anger because of 'this someone'.

I then knew that i had passed so much time when finally decided the right thing according to me. There was time when i faced a bad situation. When this time passed, came the time for me to think about the way out of the situation. Apparently, i knew that my time to forgive had came, followed by the time to forget the bad things and feelimgs.

Now,when i had set my heart free from this anger, i feel like a new person, and i think that i am a better person now. There's no need to keep anger within your heart. In fact, it will make you always have the feeling that life is not fair towards you. This is a very very bad thought, right?

So, when the time comes for you to forgive, you just do it. When you can forgive, you can also forget it. The next step is to continue your life, because life must go on whether you want it or not. So, live you life. In fact, life is a miracle and blessing for everyone of us. Don't waste it.

For 'this someone', maybe someday when there's time and chance comes to us to meet again, i hope i can still be your friend like i used to be. And i want to renew our 'bad' relation into a better one, because it's better to have more friend than one enemy. Moreover, i miss you a lot.

Bloggirl Indonesia of the Week (3): Ria Angelia Wibisono

2007-04-22T18:50:00.000+07:00

Do you like writing? But do you sometimes find difficulties in finding a proper media for you to do it? Traditionally or before blogging phenomenon spread around the world, many people who like to write, whether it is a serious writing like articles or 'free-style' writing like diary, poems, or others, frequently wrote down their thought and expression on a piece of paper by hand-writing or by typing it with a type-writer. Now, since there is a new version available of doing that hobby, blogs, many of us choose this tool to be one of the media to express our idea, feeling, and thought, and finally get the feeling that blog is really suit us.

By blogging, not only professional writer can get the use of it, but also an amateur writer like me, can get the benefit also. Blogging sometimes force us to write something to update it, at least once in a week. Unconciously, when we write something in our blog, we already become a write and have our own readers. No matter how many your readers, i believe there is someone read what you write on your blog. Because every writers has their own readers.

Blog is also may be the one place you can shares about what you think to others and maybe get feedback from your readers. Then, you can create a discussion group through your blog with various topics that attract your readers. You can put every you want in order to let the outsiders know who you are, what is happening with you, or what is happening around you.

So, if you think that blog really suits you to accomodate your hobby in writing, you have decided a good decision to choose it to be your place of expression. Just like Ria Angelia Wibisono who has found that blog really fits her. She is an Indonesian youngster. She like writing and love telling others about her current life, but sometimes she doesn't have time to do so. By blogging, she finds that she can do all that sort of things. For her reasons why she loves blogging and why should she have blog, you can read it here.

From her blog, you can find out that she is a good writer since there are some of her essay had been published in local newspaper, and for me she really is. She sometimes gives advises to everyone who wants to follow her step to be a writer, and also support others who are until now their writing had never been published to keep writing and writing. She has a very high spirit in doing her writing and support others to write also.

There are still a lot of more other benefits ones can get from their own blog. It depends on how you create your blog or on how you give the image or character of your blog. For me, blog is really help me in growing my confidence, besides it helps me to practice my Englsih since i write my blog in English. Further, it also accomodate my eagerness to be a write someday, who knows.

If you want to feel the true feeling in 'blogging', then start do it.
next, figure it out whether blog fits you or you fits it?

Just A Picture

2007-04-06T21:12:00.000+07:00

Today, i didn't know why, i really wanted to 'clean' my room, coz it was almost three months i never did it. Everyday, i just swept the floor without doing any thing more than that. Ya, you know, sometimes while you were sweeping the floor, you also cleanned the furniture or the window, etc.

While i were cleanning my room, my book stool actually, a CD felt from the top of the stool. Corious about what was inside it, then i went to my fried's room, in front of my room, to check it. It was one of my 'missing' CDR that contained some pictures. These pictures were taken when i and my other Indonesian friends being visited by one of Indonesian artist, Peggy Melati Sukam. But i didn't remember when it was. So, i just put the picture here, and hoped that Peggy wouldn't mind.

Frankly, i wanted to write something today. But i had to go somewhere to do an important thing. So then, i decided to put this 'lovely' picture. Enjoy and see you next time. Have a nice weekend!!!!!

Bloggirl Indonesia of the Week (2): Jennie S.Bev

2007-04-01T17:12:00.001+07:00

Free Motivation e-Book for Indonesian

Once again, Jennie S.Bev spread her 'success virus' to all of us. This time, she intended to share her thoughts and ideas about "gaining successive life in 12 months only" via an e-book. Not only that, this e-book is free!!!! Do I like it? yesssss!!! And you?

Jennie S.Bev was firstly being introduced to Indonesian blogosphere through a column in one of an Indonesian influenced blog by A. Fatih Syuhud "Blogger Indonesia of the Week (31): Jennie S.Bev".

At that time it was her productivity and prolific figure that being discussed by the author. And from that time, every one of us can find it out and prove that she is really a stunning woman, inspiring the so call of gaining success by believing in your owns, motivating others by giving a clear way how to get the success in your life, and she really knows the way to do it because she is the "doer" of that success. And finally, last year she published her first motivation book in Bahasa Indonesia "Kunci Sukses Terbesar".

To do or to make something good for other people maybe one of our happinesses in life. Because by doing this, we feel that we have meanings in this world. In fact, that's the real meaning of life. As human, we should thank God for every thing that we have in life, even it is only a small tiny thing. This is what Jennie means when she plans to give a free e-book, especially for Indonesian. For her, this is one of her way to thank God for every thing that she got in her life. By giving information, motivation, and inspiration to others, she hoped that the things that make her success can also help other to get the same success of living in life, so there will be more and more people who can gain the success and feel the sensation to be a success man.

Moreover, she also wants to share every knowledges about success that she has, because when you share knowledge, it is an ever lasting feeding for your life. She wants to give us a view of seeing a success as a form of constructing our mindset. Because success is mindset, that is the meaning of success that she always say.

So, for all Indonesia and me, of course, come on. Help her to collect the 1.000 subscribers for her site here; it is the only condition that she needs to publish this motivation e-book for all of us.

And for my sister Jennie, keep inspiring, supporting, and motivating others and thanks that you have been being my inspiration, supporter, and motivator.

Best wishes for all,

Rini Ekayati
============

NoRooz: Persian New Year

2007-03-27T17:40:00.000+07:00

Yesterday, i got a card from one of my Iranian girlfriend. It was a very lovely card. She said that it was "Persian New Year" Card. What was that? That was the first thought came to my mind. Really, it was the first time i knew about this kind of new year, and i were so sorry about it, i told my friend. She said it was okey, then she continued that inside the card, there was a brief information about it she had write.

Here it is:

Persian New Year

"---> A few days prior to the New Year, a special cover is spread on to the Persian carpet or on a table in every Persian household. This ceremonial table is called 'cloth of of seven dishes', (each one beginning with the Persian letter Sinn /s/). The number 'seven' has been sacred in Iran since the ancient times, and the 'seven dishes' stand for the seven angelic heralds of life-rebirth, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, patience, and beauty.

The symbolic dishes consist of:

1. Sabzeh or sprouts, usually wheat or lentil representing rebirth.
2. Samanu is a pudding in which common wheat sprouts are trasnformed and given new life as a sweet, creamy pudding and represents thr ultimate sophistication of Persian cooking.
3. Siib means apple and represents health and beauty.
4. Senjed the sweet, dry fruit of the Lotus tree, represents love. It has been sadi that when lotus tree is in full bloom, its fragrance and its fruit make people fall in love and become oblivious to all else.
5. Seer which is garlic in Persian, represents medicine.
6. Somaq sumac berries, represents the color of sunrise; with the appearance of the sun Good conquers Evil.
7. Serkeh or vinegar, represents age and petience.

Other items in the table may include:

- dried nuts, berries, and raisins (Aajiil)
- lit candles (enlightenment and happiness)
- mirror
- decorated eggs, sometimes one for each member of the family (fertility)
- a bowl with goldfish (life, and the sign of Pisces which the sun is leaving)
- a bowl of water with an orange in it (the earth floating in space)
- rose water for its magical cleansing powers
- a holy book (e.g. the Koran, Avesta, Kitab-i-Aqdas, Bible, or Torah) and/or a poetry book (almost always either the Shahnama ot the Divan of Hafez)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

With best wishes

Hoda <---- My Iranian friend's name)

Bloggirl Indonesia of the Week (1): Hany Von Gillern

2007-03-23T18:32:00.000+07:00

When i was at my junior school level, i remembered that one of my teachers at school said that women or girl was more creative than man or boy. Was it true? I had no idea at that time. The moment i realised this was when the same teacher asked all of us in the class to make a handicraft from any material we liked as one of the assigment of a subject called "Keterampilan" in local term. When time of collecting the assigment had come, most of the boys in my class used the same material, and 'accidently' same kind of handicraft also.

Most of them used a soap and transformed it into an ashtray. But the girl did differently. Most of them, including me, made the use of different material to make different kind of handicrafts. Only some of them used the same material and formed same things. There was one who used tissues to be transformed into a flower, the other used a particular ribbon to form a fish, and i myself made more than one handicraft, flower and embroidered goods. In fact, i like making handicraft a lot, even until now i'm still doing it, and sometimes ago i used to get money from that.

Maybe the assumption that woman is more creative than man is not totally true, because there are a lot of men out there who also involve in women stuff, and sometimes more expert than women themselves.

Anyway, this [handicraft] is maybe one of the girl's stuffs in the sense that not all boys or men like it. Based on my experience (again) in these kinda stuffs, you can find the other side of happiness, enjoyment, etc. when you do this activity. At least this is what i feel until now when i'm doing it. When i'm working on my handicraft stuffs, sometimes i forget about so many things for some reasons, even to take my meal. Yeah, anybody who ever deals with this sort of activity will know it, and i'm sure, have that kind of feeling, too.

Hany Von Gillern may be one of them. Surfing along her blogs, you will find so many kind of handicrafts, complete with the procedures how to do it, the materials, and some information about it. And not only that, there are pictures of many beautiful handicrafts also. I was amazed at the first moment i found her blog. It shows that she is really belong to this 'handicraft world', and i'm sure that she is a professional handicraft-woman, too. In my view, she has found her life and happiness in handicraft stuffs, besides the other things. Quoted from her beloved husband saying for her, "Crafts not only make others feel good, but make Hany feel good".

Most of her readers are women who have the same interest, and it includes I myself. The last entry on her blog is about ribbon roses, and i already try it by myself. The result was not so bad. That you sister Hany. Just like she said "Ini mawar yang gak akan pernah layu,....." (These roses won't never be withered).

Moreover, handicraft is one of good ways to practice your creativity such as force your mind to think about new idea, and maybe can grow your coriousity in trasforming something to be a good and beautiful thing. And based on my experience, besides you can practice your creativity, of course, you also can earn money from this activity. Because when you can produce a good product with your skill, may be you can sell it. I remembered when i was at the third grade of my High Scholl (kelas 3 SMU - local term), i used to sell my handicrafts to my classmates and friends, and also to my neighbour. There were so many kind of handicrafts i made such as brooch which already been modified with some ornament, hand-bags from a certain kind of string which i knit by using a special needle also, or floral wreath in which the flower were being made from straws, etc. The money i earned at that time helped me to fulfil my needs during my school time, like the bus fees, buying textbooks, and others. On the other side, inderectly i helped my parents, even only a little one.

So, for everyone of you, especially bloggirl, who wants to try something in handicraft stuffs,and maybe can get some benefits from it, directly go to her blog and find what do you want to know.

Bloggirl Indonesia of The Week (0): Introduction

2007-03-15T18:46:00.000+07:00

It has passed a long time of thinking before i decided to give a new face to my site Blogirl Indonesia of the Week. Even it is not a very new theme - there is also Blogger Indonesia of the Week by A. Fatih Syuhud -, i just want to try something new for my own. One may say that i'm imitating the former one, please forgive me, but instead of imitating, i would prefer 'inspiring'. And being inspired by something which is good is not a fault, right? Still, this new face of my site will be different with that one. I will not focus only to those girls' blogs written in English, but in Bahasa Indonesia also.

The reason why i started this is so simple. I just want to share something unique in girls or women world, particularly in blogging. There was a traditional thought, even it still remain until now, that women only have their role in family matters. Taking care of children, cooking, washing, ironing, etc. are the very common activities for woman. But now, there is a new trend in women world, blogging. How women create their own community throught blogsphere may be a unique matter to be known. In fact, the Indonesia blogirl sometimes a house wife. How she manages her family and her blog side by side may be an interesting one.

Finally, starting from next week, i will begin my 'blogirl surfing', even now i already has a long list to write. Hope this can give a 'tiny value' for others. Enjoy and see you next week with my first blogirl Indonesia of the week.

Blogging As Profession?

2007-03-14T18:02:00.000+07:00

What was your reason when you started to create your own blog? Was it to improve your writing skill? Or to make more friends? Or to create a place to express your idea, thought, and feeling so you can share it to others? Or to collect your poems or stories? Or just to follow the trend around you when most people around have blog? And more or and or. For whatever the reason was, you and I already started to blog and made it as one of our daily or weekly or even monthly activity.

From the first time i started my blog, one reason why i sarted it was that i intended to practice my English. It was bacause i hardly used it since i was graduated from my undergraduate year. And even during that time, i never used it frequently. Since i started this blogging activity, at least once in a week i wrote something just to update my blog. Maybe it is one of the best ways for me to practice my English and to practice my writing skill also. I do realise that my English still not good until now, and that's why i'll keep blogging to become better and better. Another reason is that i want to have a place of my own expression and share it with others.

Through time, there was a new trend in blogging activity. Some bloggers nowdays create a chance to earn money from blogging. They [bloggers] saw that there was an opportunity to make this blogging as one way to make a living. It means that the blogging becomes a profession. This trend actually not really a brand new one. There were a lot of people out there who already started to make blogging as a profession. But as far as Indonesian bloggers is concerned, it is a new phenomenon.

Recently, there was one of Indonesian bloggers figure, Budi Putra, who was reported had resigned from his permanent job as an online managing editor at Tempo magazine and Koran Tempo (Tempo newspaper). And do you want to know why he did this? He did this because he decided to be a 'full time blogger'. (Article in bahasa Indonesia), and which also means that he left his good job position and salary as well, just to do another way of earning a living, blogging.

Generally, most people will shock with what he had did. It seems to be a risk choice to sacrifice a good job in order to try a new thing which seems to be unclear and uncertain. Maybe some of us is wondering what and how can he do mantain a good blog site to earning a living. But for me, i do believe that he did this not without a 'full time of thingking' also. In fact, according to him, "masa depan Internet ada di blog" dan "masa depan blog ada di content" ( the future of the intenet is blog, and the future of blog is the content), so he already knew well what and how he will mantain his blog site. He already knew the risk, and also know the way to solve it. That's why he take the risk.

I salute him for his strength and bravery. By taking the decision to quit from his job, it shows that he want to catch a more bigger 'fish'. Who knows? Maybe someday you or I will follow his path and start to blog as one way to make a living. Congratulation for you, and all the best.

Banker To The Poor: Muhammad Yunus with Alan Jolis

2007-02-23T21:06:00.000+07:00

This [Banker To The Poor] is a book of the autobiography of Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank, which tells you story about a struggling fight of poverty and hunger in Bangladesh. Muhammad Yunus as well as the Grameen Bank had won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for the system of newly banking activity concept of lending tiny sums of money to the poorest of the poor which is not like the ordinary banks. The concept of the Grameen Bank is far more known as the 'micro-credit' concept which had already been proved could enable the poorest of the poor to set their life up from the poverty. According to Muhammad Yunus, "It's not the people who aren't credit-worthy. It's the bank that aren't people-worthy."

One of my motivations to read the book was that a little question on what was the special thing that made Muhammad Yunus emphasized the Grammer Bank for women only in the sense that the micro-credit is only available for women borrowers. What were the reasons of this condition and why?

It was said in the book that traditional banks in Bangladesh were gender-biased, and because of that they do not want to lend money to women. If in case some a woman wanted to lend money the banker would ask whether her husband knew about it. And when the answer was yes, then the question would be whether her husband agreed with it, and soon on until the lists of questions ended by a request 'would you bring you husband to discuss about it?'. But the situation would be different when there was a man wanted to lend money. The banker would never ask whether his wife knew about his purpose to lend money from the bank or ask him to bring his wife to discuss about it.

Muhammad Yunus is an economic Phd. scholar and use to teach ecomony at the
Chittagong University. In classroom, he used to explain about economic theories which hoped could be the best solution for every economic problems to his students. When he walked out from the classroom, the reality began. Around him, there were so many people suffered, poverty and hunger were every where. He wondered where all the economist, including himself, which knew all theories of good economy. Why there was no one taught them all of that sort of things to solve their economy problem. Then, he decided to wondering and deed something. He left all theories behind his back, and came to reality. The very best way he used to start with was by being 'worm' in the mud. Because to know the problem of such situation, it was better to be a worm, so you could see the problem more closer and clear.

One day, when Muhammad Yunus walked around the Jobra village where he started the Grameen Bank, he met a woman whose name Sufia Begum, around early twenty and had three children. She was making something from bamboo. She had to buy the bamboo as the raw material of her work because she didn't have it, and to buy the bamboo she lended money from the middlement (only 22 US) in one condition that she should sold back the product resulted from it to the middlement with a very low price, and would get 5 paisa (2 US cent).

Realising the situation, Muhammad Yunus felt that something had to be done. There might be a lot of Bangladeshi women just like Sufia who had the power and skill, but financially limited. Data collected then been conducted in 42 families of Jorba village by the help of some of his university students. The result showed that the cause of a misery life within these 42 families only '27 US' for each family. The very immediate solution was simple that he could directly give 27 US for each family. But would it be ended the misery of their life? In a very short term, maybe yes, but what about the long term? No! What should be done?

The loan actually was given to the first 42 Grameen Bank's borrowers. And as the next step, Muhammad Yunus contacted the local bank to make a more broad scale of the loan, not only for 42 but more. Then, the system of 'micro-credit' arose, and the story continued until the Grameen Bank was established to help more Bangladeshi to get out from poverty and hunger.

I actually intended to tell the hole story, but it would be a very very long story since every things in the book, for me, was an important to know by all of us. So, in the future, there will be more 'Muhammad Yunus' around our own environment.

Reading the book, sometimes i felt that i would come to tear. Imagining the very bad situation of the Bangladeshi described in the book was a really nightmare for me. It was because i never in my life faced that sort of situation where people, especially the women had to fight their life with their own life just to sum a very little amount of money for their living.

I alredy read the book twice, and i find myself still want to read it again. While reading, i'm also wandering if someday i can do someting which can help people, at least around me. Just a dream to be a 'small Muhammad Yunus'.

Saman Dance: Indonesian Student Association in India

2007-02-22T13:59:00.000+07:00

Spring Carnival: Indonesian Embassy & World Health Organization - New Delhi

On 16 February 2006, the Indonesian Student Association - India was performing the Saman Dance from Aceh province on a Spring Carnival at the Indonesian Embassy, New Delhi. This event was organized by an Indian event organizer which brought the theme of humanity. The Indonesian Embassy in this opportunity presented various kind of Indonesian culture and art, as well as Indonesian cuisines.

On the next day, 17 February, again the Indonesian Student Association was being given the opportunity to perform the Saman Dance in the same event, but this time it was organized by the World Health Organization, New Delhi.

Here are some photos. Enjoy!!!

That's the Way Love Is

2007-02-15T14:25:00.000+07:00

Yesterday, during the day, i received so many Sms from my classmates. They greeted me Happy Valentine's Day. Frankly, i never celebrate this sort of day, because for me everyday is Valentine's Day, so there is no special moment on this particular date. But, for others who celebrate it, Happy valentine's Day.

Here, i don't want to talk about this sort of day and celebration. I want to share somethign about what love is in my point of view. Discussion about love had already passed a very long journey. From the ancient of time, the history of mankind is always followed by a romantic or tragic love story. Everybody knows the story of Taj Mahal in Agra,Uttar Pradesh, India. This story is one of so many love stories in this universe. The symbol of love in the form of Taj Mahal is a proof of the great Shah Jahan's love to his wife, Mumtaz.

Love by definition is a very strong feeling of affection. Everybody can give various definitions to it. In fact, there is no exact meaning of what love is. When i asked my father and mother once when we were talking about it, my father said that love is something that you felt inside your heart towards others which could keep you admiring, trusting, believing, etc. on someone. While my mother said that love was a feeling within her heart and my father's heart that kept them together until now. Then, for me, love is something that i still looking for what it is.

Falling in love is one of the most unforgattable moment in, maybe, every individuals' life. Once in our life time, this moment happens and usually makes us experience a pleasant moment. Having someone beside you who also love you is another great things of love. So, to love and being loved is a great gift from God to all mankind in this world. With love, we can control the chain of our daily life. I myself hope that at least once in my life time, there is someone who i fall in love with and who loves me as well.

In spite of wasting our time to determine what love is, it's better to share love among all of us. I do believe if there is love in every human's heart, there would be no war in this world. Everybody will live in a pleasant life together. How could you hurt someone you love, right? Love can create a peaceful situation among them who have it inside their mind and heart. Moreover, that's the way love is.

Btw, according to you, what is love? I just want to know. TQ

Finally!!!!!!!

2007-02-02T16:11:00.000+07:00

Recently, i were busy in finishing my dissertation for my final year in Delhi University. It was a very busy busy day in my life since i had to finish one disseratiton within 1 month. It was also my fault i thought, that made me in a deep stress in thinking about all of that. Even, i never came across my side during that time. I never read my book and study my lesson. What a very hard time. I thought that i lost my life because of that.

But now, my life is back. i had finished my dissertation and submitted 2 days ago. Finally, it is all over now. Actually, i intended to write many things today. Since i have to do something very urgent, i cancel it. Maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow i'll do it.

Okey then, see you again.

Robert T. Kiyosaki: Rich Dad Poor Dad

2007-01-20T21:02:00.000+07:00

I and my friend went to a bookshop near my house. There, he bought a book entitled "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Kiyosaki, an American-Japanese write. I asked him what was the content of the book, then he said it was about how you manage your financial income. At the first time, i didn't pay much attention on the book, but after arriving at home, i didn't know why, i asked my friend to lend me the book for 2 days.

After 2 days reading the book, i found it very interesting to read the book until the end. And i asked my friend again to give me more time to finish it. Then, i finished reading it in 2 and a half day.

This is a good book. For me, this book give a lot of information on how you manage your life by having a good system in controlling your financial matter which never been taugh at a regular school. Through the content, this book try to give a description and explanation on how you can manage your life much more easy by making a certain change on your ecomonic perspective on how to have a good quality of life and especially on how to become a rich man.

According to the writer, it is not so hard to be a rich man. All you need is the knowledge of a finest financial literacy. You have to change the common perspective which states that everyone of us is working for money. It said that the important thing to be a rich man is to know the way how you can have money work for you. Then, the other thing is the knowledge on how to make differentiation between assets and liability. Further, it said that most of the working people who are work for money have misperception between assets and liability. When they buy a house, they thing thay buy assets. But it si not. Because assets means that you will get income from puschasing it, while liability means you will spend more money on it, instead of getting money.

There are still a lot of more information you can find in the book. If you are interested in it, you can read it, and find more valuable things in it. I plan to read it once again, just to make my undestanding of the content of the book more clearly.

Osman: A Linguists from Turkey.

2007-01-11T13:53:00.000+07:00

Recently, i 'met' someone through the blogsphere who had a same interest with me in linguistics. He gave a comment on one of my posting about linguistics, and i give respond to that comment and went through his site. Then, i figured out that we had the same basic reason why we like to study linguistics. His name is Osman, a Turkey who is now studying at the Department of English Language Teaching (ELT) at a university in the south eastern region in Turkey.

Quoted from what he had said on his side, Linguistics and Language, why he likes to learn about language, i think we have arrive at the same reason why both of us choose linguistics as our field of study. Not only because because now we are taking linguistics course, but also because: "I love learning about languages, doing research on them and by means of languages, discovering new cultures of the world and communicating with other people on earth". This is what he said on his site.

Going through his site, it can be seen that he focusses his dedication on language and linguistics. Shares ideas about it to others, and sometimes gives a valuable advise to a 'beginner linguist', just like me. He is also Turkish Language Administrator and Turkish/Turkey/Turkish Language Lessons Forums Moderator on Phrasebase Language Site.

For him, every language is a new world which brightens our minds and unlock our imaginations. Why shouldn’t we enjoy them? So, he invite all of us to enjoy our world throught learning different language, out of our own language.

Top Ten Blogger Indonesian 2006 Award

2007-01-03T15:12:00.000+07:00

Maybe, and i'm really sure, i'm one of the new-comer in blogsphere who is influenced by the author of Blogger Indonesia A. Fatif Syuhud Weblog. It was also because of him i started blogging. I met him 2 years ago at the first time i joined the Indonesian Student Association in New Delhi where he is one of the member also. I hardly knew him.

Once time, when i were in a internet cafe near my place, i met him there. I just said hello, and kept silent. Because i didn't want to disturb him. From my friend, who was also there, i knew that he just came for a visit the day after. Then i continued my work on net.

He approached me after a few minutes by asking what i were doing, then i said, chatting with my friends in Indonesia. Then, our conversation began. After a friendly conversation, i tried to ask him about what he was doing also. He said, blogging. What was it? It was my first time to heard that word. I asked further about it. He explained it in a very simple way. Maybe, it was because he didn't want to make me confuse or something other. Then, after two hours i left the internet cafe to take a pray. I said good-bye.

At that time, i didn't realise that it was the starting moment for me to start my blogging activity. I just thought that i didn't clever enought to go further, it was so 'higt-tech' for me who only knew chatting. Really, i wasn't so familiar with net and others, even with the computer.

In the evening on the same day, he invited me and other Indonesian students who lived near by to have dinner at his friend's house for the shake of his coming. Because he wasn't a 'usual-comer' to our place. At that dinner time, our conversation continued about blogging, and this time, it was not only me who was being introduced about blogsphere, but also others. This time he gave a complete explaination, from how to start blogging, what it was for, what kind of positive values we could get, etc. For i myself, what he explained to us really attracted me, and because of that, i dared to ask him to teach me about it from the beginning. And he said he would teach all of us. There were five of us, not including him. Then, the next day we all started blogging in the same internet cafe.

In my point of view, he is one of the most inspiring figure for the Indonesian student here to start blogging. The Indonesian student and residence blogger list on his side proofs it. As far as i know, in every occasions, when he joined us, because he was not always be in New Delhi, he always tried to ask people to star blogging, particularly in English. He wanted every outsiders knew about Indonesia by Indonesian origin, and he also wanted every Indonesian to be the 'ambassador' for Indonesia, not others.

After we started blogging, in some accasion when we all met him, there was always a blogging discussion around us. We asked so many questions. Then, when he asked why some of us didn't start to blog in English, we began reasoning. There was always a same reason that some of us didn't want to write/blog in English, including me also. It was because we all 'sure' that our English was very bad, and it made us lost our confidence. But, he kept encouraged us to start it, because he said: "How you can be so sure that your English is bad, whereas you never start to write in English? So, write it first, then you can find it out!!"

Throught time, it can be seen that he continues to inspire other Indonesia blogger to blog in English. His special coloum "Blogger of The Week", is one of his efforts to encourage Indonesian bloggers to write in English. I always read this coloum, even i'm not one of them, but i'm sure someday i will.

At the end of 2006, again he gave an appreciation to Indonesian Blogger, Top Ten Blogger Indonesia 2006, whose candidates was being chosen from Blogger of the Week with some criteria that can be read here.

I read this article as well as comments given by other readers, and some of them were the Top Ten Blogger Indonesia. From some comments, there was a same statement that the author of the web itself to be at the top list, including Jennie S. Bev who is at the top ten. I also have the same opinion. It is because he already made a lot efforts to inspire, encourage, influence, etc. others with his noble purpose. I think he deserves it.

As my last word, congratulation to all the Top Ten Blogger Indonesia. And for the web owner, keep supporting us and guide us. Thank you very much for all you had done for us, particularly me. Maybe, it is the only thing that I can do, just say thank you very much.

Indonesian Night: Bali Extravaganza

2006-12-09T23:14:00.000+07:00

Two days back, there was an Indonesian Night event at Grand Hyatt, New Delhi which brought down the theme of Bali Extravaganza. I joined in this event as one of the dancer. I and three other women, two are the local staffs' wifes and the other one is an Indonesian student, like me, were going to performance one of Indonesian traditional dancing "The Umbrella Dance" (Tari Payung in local term). Besides this dance, the other dance was a Bali dance "Oleg" performed by two dancers.

Not only performing dances, there was also a fashion show session featuring an Indonesian designer Karmanita who is know by her Batik collection. There were also three models from Indonesia ,Karina Swandi, Shanti, and Moudy, and seven models from Indian model agency, who i didn;t know theri names, sorry. It was because, being worried about my performance, i didn't have time to ask and they were very busy, too. Still, i had time to just take a picture with some of them. Heee.....

Beside that two sessions, the important thing for me was the foods. It was Indonesian foods cooked by two Indonesia chefs from Grand Hyatt Hotel Jakarta. It was really nice, there were "rendang, urap, gado-gado, and jendol or es dawet". It was so cool. I thought i ate all of them, haa...

The ceremony began at 20.00 pm by an opening speech delivered by the MC. He gave an introduction about Indonesia country, its mulricultural life and society, its region and geography, etc. Then, the second speech was delivered by the Cheif of Indonesian Embassy at New Delhi, at that time was given by Mr. Rizali (i didn't know his complete name, sorry again).

Every agenda passed well, then came my turn. My heartbeat was running faster than usual. But, i had to smile in front of the audience. One minute, two and three, and then five minutes passed, i came back to the back stage. Taking a deep roan, let the air throught my mouth, then i smiled, a very big smiled. It was a success night for me. I think the audience like the dance by giving a very big hand after our peformance. Thanks to Allah.

After all the main agenda finish, then came the time that i had waited for a long time. Enjoying the dinner. Indonesia foods. Huray.......While chating with other guests and some of my friends that came that nihgt, i enjoyed my food. It was nice. Just like returning home. I felt like at my own home. Then i realised that i really missed my home and my family. Oh....

It was already 22.00 pm. One by one, the invited guest leaved the ceremony place which was took place in the out side area of the hotel,the swimming-pool. I and all the participants also went home. I felt very tired and reached home at 23.00 pm, then went to sleep after cleanning my body. Good Night.

How Are You Today, Ma?

2006-12-05T17:56:00.000+07:00

The wind of the winter made the cold weather became worse and worse. For me who can't stand on winter, it is really a big problem. And because of it, i like summer than winter. Hi Ma, how are you today? Fine....I really hope that. I want to call you actually, but i decided not doing so, just to make myself stronger and stronger, just like you.

You know, when i called you that day, when you had your birthday party, i felt so sad. Why did you celebrate it when i weren't near your side, and in fact you never celebrated it before. I called you to say happy birthday, but then i got a surprised. Why Ma?...But after sometimes, i understood maybe you celebrated it because you also missed me. When i were around her, you maybe did not feel lonely, but after i weren't there, you felt lonely and decide to gather some of your friends around you to cheer your day up. Anyway, happy birthday. I love you Ma, happy returs to you.

Today, it's i that feel so lonely. Actually, i have a lot of things to do, but i never starting to do, even only one of them. I feel bored, tired, and powerless. I have to finish my dessertation before 8th January 2007, it means only one month left. And i still have three more papers to be finished before 11th December only six days left. I need you Ma. I need you power and spirit. You never loose them because as long as i concern, you always have power and spirit to do every duties that come upon you, and finish them in time.

Pray for me, so i can get my power and spirit back.

Casino Royale: The New Image of James Bond

2006-11-30T12:32:00.000+07:00

Before released to the public (in Delhi on November 17th 2006), the new version of James Bond 007 had run up many controversies during the making process of this film, especially on the director's choice to select Daniel Craig as the new profile of this famous British super agent. Many pollings had been followed to get the opini from the public about the proper actor of the new James Bond image, and unfortunatelly, this guy Daniel Craig got the very lowest percentage.

Maybe it was because most of the respondent were women who wanted the image of this special agent as an elegant, attractive looking as his most predecessors had and which successfully drove many women fans around the world, but, frankly speaking, not there in Daniel's. So, it can be said that the new Bond's Casino Royale may lose his fanatic fans, women.

I had seen this moview a week ago with my friends. I see this moview not because of the new Bond, but because of my curiousity of the new image of James Bond which is said will be more 'down to earth'. For me, this film is really a brand new style of Bond. I hardly can tell you what is my opinion on this new Bond's, but the only thing that i can say here is that for me this new Bond film not more than an action film. Only that!

So, what about you, have you seen this film and what do you think?

Here I Am

2006-11-20T17:47:00.000+07:00

How are you all? Nice to meet you again after a long time vacation. Recently, i was very busy doing my desertation for my last year, so I didn't have much time to write some news. My desertation was not complete yet, but now i am not very busy, because it is aleady been done 60%.

A few month back, i celebrated my birthday. This birthday was one of the most special birthdays that i ever celebrated. It was because the party took place outside Delhi, it was in a place where i had a field research, and all of my classmates gave a surprised party for me.

Actually, i already knew that my friends planned to make a party for me, but i didn't know what kind of party it was. Finally, the party day came. It was elevent o'clock in the evening. I were preparing myself to go to bed because i felt unwell. One of my friend invited me to join them outside. They made a bon-fire. At the first time, i said i didn't want to, but he continued asking me and insisted me. Then i went out with him.

I joined the group while they were singing an Hindi song, and i joined them to sing also. While we were singing, from the door, came my other two friends carrying a birthday cake with candles over it, and they changed the Hindi song with a birthday song. "Happy birthday to you......happy birthday to you....happy birthday to Rini.....happy birthday to you....". At that very moment, i couldn't say a word. I only stood and kept silent during that time.

My teacher, then, asked me to blow the candles after making a wish. I made a wish and i blew the candles with a great joy in my heart. We continued the party until 1 o'clock.

Before going to bed, i prayed to God, not for me, but for my parents and my friends, all of my friends who were there or not there. I started crying when i remembered two years ago i still celebrated my birthday with my family, my father and mother, my brother, and my natives. Now here, when i celebrated it alone, without them, i felt something missing in my heart. But thanks to all of my friends who were very kind and would always be. May God gives goodness to all of us.

Happy Eid Mubarak - Selamat Idul Fitri

2006-10-26T12:47:00.000+07:00

Alhamdulillah, Allah still gives His blessing up on me and all of us to celebrate the Ied mubarak this year, 1427 H. But, i feel sad also because when ied comes, then Ramzan goes away. And i have to wait for another one year again. Two days ago, i again celebrated ied without my family around me. Still, it was a very unforgetable moment for me that i have a lots friends around. I celebrated my ied just like last year, at my embassy, together with others Indonesia people. When i was with them, i felt like at my own home, since they all are the family of mine here now when i am still in Delhi.

One night before the Ied, i was crying in my room remembering my family, especially my mother and father. I made phone calls more than five times to them, just to have the feeling that they were near me. Everything that used to happen in my house during Ied came to my mind. All of my family members would join together in my grandmother's house. They would gave forgiveness to each other and share the happiness of ied together, too without me.

I have to be strong since it is the second time to celebrate ied far from them. Moreover, the long distance betweem me and my family makes the string that unite us become more and more stronger than before. When they called me from home, i felt that my existence in this world means something to someone else, at least for my family. I more realise that they really really love and will wait for me till the time i come back home. No need to cry then.

HAPPY IED MUBARAK 1427 H TO ALL MUSLIMS
AND MAY ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY GIVES HIS BLESSING UPON ALL OF US.

PLEASE, OPEN YOUR HEART AND FORGIVE ALL OF MY FAULTS, WHETHER I DID IT ON PURPOSE OR NOT.

Campus Life (5): Returning Home

2006-10-17T11:23:00.000+07:00

Hi all, how are you? I'm not so good. I'm totally tired because of the field work that i had told you before. I returned back to Delhi on October 13th, and arrived on October 14th. The returning way took 19 hours travelling by bus. Oh God, i'm really exhausted after that. Arriving at home, i took a rest for two days and missed one class yesterday. Today, i am coming back to my campus life as usual.

Actually, i want to tell every things about my journey there, but i can't tell it today because i have there classes to attend. So, maybe tomorrow. But, at least i want to tell you i come back and will start blogging again which already almost 15 days i'm not doing it. Ok, see you again tomorrow. Have a nice day!

Campus Life (4): Field Method in Himachal Pradesh

2006-09-28T15:51:00.000+07:00

Picture of Himachal Pradesh region.

I am in my second year of my MA course in Departement of Linguistics, Delhi University now. It had been 3 months that the new course begun. Again, for my new season now, i have 8 papers, 5 are compulsory and 3 are optional. The compulsory papes are Field Method 1 and 2, Semantics, Intermediate Syntax, and Historical Linguistics. Meanwhile, the optinal papers thta i take are Developmental Psycholingusitics, Neurolinguistics, and Sociolinguistics. Don't ask me now about all of that stuffs because I don't know for now, i just learn to understand them.

What i'm going to tell you deals with one of my compulsory paper, Field Method 1. For this paper, all of us in my class are going to conduct a research on one variety of Hindi languages spoken in one part of India, Himachal Pardesh called Kinnauri land. And the language name is Kinnauri language as well. For first step, it had been conducted a brief note about the language by inviting one of the native speake of the language. He is a very nice young man, always smiles in every occations i meet him. He gives information as detail as he can.

This brief introduction is conducted in our class from last 2 months until now. What we were doing in the class were listing a group of words then as him to pronounce them one by one, then all of us wrote the phonetic transcription of what he had pronounced. I named this stage as word list stage. Then, we continued to next stage, simple sentences formation. This stage was beginning by figuring out the pronoun system of the language, for instance, what the pronoun of 'I, you, they, we' etc. in his language. After knowing the pronuoun system of the language, we tried to make sentences using every different pronuoun to see the system of grammar of the language. And the show is going on until now.

Now, we are going to conduct the research directly to the place where the language is being spoken, in Kinnauri. We are going to interact we other native speaker of the language to summit a more valid data and reference of it. Every one of us has to choose a particular topic of language analysis,in this case the Kinnauri language, such as the noun morphology, verb morphology, agreement of the verb, etc of the language. I myself choose a topic on complex predicate of the language.

The field method itself will be conducted on the 5th-15th October. We will travel by bus for 24 hours. You know, 24 hours. What i trip! I can't imagine what i'm going to do during the trip. I cant't tell you more about the trip now, maybe latter after i come back from that study trip, i'll tell you. Just pray for me for being able to finish this research. See you.

Happy TNI Anniversary: Play Bowling

2006-09-23T18:26:00.000+07:00

Today, there was a sport activity celebrating the Indonesian Army Anniversary that will be on 5th October, next month. Not only the indonesian embassy staffs, but also indonesia students, particularly they are who stay in New Delhi, were invited to join this activity. I also came and join this event, even i can't play bowling. This was the first time for me to play, and to touch the ball of this sport. There was a funny story happened with me, so, let me tell you this story.

I came at 09.30 am, and the game had already begun. Because i didn't know the place before, i spent my time on finding the place. I weren't alone actually, but one of my who had came to this place before, forgot the way. Arriving at the bowling centre, Essex Farm-Future Bowl, i met the man who was responsible for the game. I registered my name, with full of confidence even i never played it before. Then, my turn to play came.

I took one ball, put my fingers into the holes on the ball, swang it, then threw it. But, what had happened? The ball wasn't rolling in the line, but felt down from my hand and everybody saw this laught at me. And i laught, too. I tried again. This time the ball run in the line, but only just for a few length, then it run on the 'canel' side of the exact line. This didn't happen only one time, but several times. Maybe i were just nervous, so i couldn't consentrate on the ball and the line, this was what one of my friend said to me. He told and saw me some step to begin play bowling. I tried to follow his instruction, but still i couldn't do it correctly, failed again and again.

I tried again and again. Maybe the ball had already get bored of me because this time i hit the target. Not all of the pins felt, but i were happy. I was practise it, i thought. Why i should be nervous? Besides, this was not a 'real' game at all, only a friendship game. Then, i played on my own way. Even i couldn't play the game in a 'real sense', at least i had tried, and i enjoyed it very much. Maybe next time i will try again and do better than this time. This is only the beggining, isn't it?

Marhabha Ya Ramadhan

2006-09-19T14:09:00.000+07:00

Few days later, we all Muslim will meet again with the holy month Ramadhan. As a Muslim, i'm really happy, of course. But, i feel sad, too. Because, this is the second time for me to celebrate Ramadhan without my family around me. I'm so sad. My mother is not here, my father, my brother, and others. Still, i have some friends who face the same problem, so we can share our sadness together. But, what does it matter. Actually, it doesn't matter at all. Whether you with or without your family , you can still feel the sacret of the Ramadhan. So, why i shoud feel sorry?

Anyway, let's celebrate this holy month together. Share the happiness and the blessing of this days.

Happy Ramadhan to all Muslim. Please, forgive all my fault, whether i do it on my purpose or not. For my parents, give your blessing upon me, so i can get throught of these coming day during Ramadhan in a peacefulness. I love you all with all my heart. And forgive me also.

Living In Simple

2006-09-01T11:49:00.000+07:00

One day, a friend of mine called me. She was narrating to me her family's attempt at getting a good match for her. She also said that she was, at that time, in a complicated situation. Not only because of the pairing, but also because of the fact that there were some of 'suitors' to be chosen, so to speak - more than one choice - but she didn't find any good enough. It's not because of they were not right 'husband material' - in fact, her family had made a careful selection - it was just that she was being served by too many choices to decide. What irony!!!

In this situation, one would think it's easier to pick out one choice from many choices available.This was the first thought came to my mind after listening to her story. But in fact, it isn't actually so.

Then, i remembered. In one occation, when i went to a market to buy a pair of shoes, some notebooks, and drawing books, i was also in this kind of situation. Before going to the market, i had made a list of the kind of the shoes that i were going to buy, and what was the first thing to buy. Then, i chose to buy shoes first as my simple choice. Arriving at the market, i went into one shop to another shop to find what i were looking for. Every shops a walked into offered different scheme of discount and sale options that i couldn't pick what i thought i wanted. One thing came to my mind i might find a better deal price if i walked further and further more. Not realising the time, i had spent 2 hours only to walk into one shop to others to get the best price, but what did i end up with? NOTHING!!!! Then i went home without bringing what i had planned, even a pair of shoes.

I think to buy a pair of shoes firstly is a simple choice and decision. This simple thing made complecated by a multitude of choices available for me.

In our live, the same thing may happen. Our life gives so many choices for us. It's something to be happy about and thankful for! But, the problem is when we are being given alternatives, what do we do? On the other hand, liffe without choices could be mundane.

I think, when there are so many choices available for us, we sometimes feel totally miserable about having to decide?. The problem, maybe, we turn to be absolutely unable to excute even one of them. we just like to have and to choose all the alternatives. So, it is the choice factor or ourself that make things complicated?

I finally learnt that even it is simplest things, it could get complicated when there is so much thoughth being put into them. For me, then, life is simple, actually. It is i who turn life into chaotic complicated series of events. Because, sometimes i think so hard to what someone else may say or think about what i am going to do. Then, i just think it and unrealising, make the simplest things into complicated ones.

So, why don't we make our life as simple as possible? Besides, it's the nature of life itself, isn't it?

Life Is To Share

2006-08-31T14:24:00.000+07:00

The story of mankind has been created from the ancient of time, the time when God the Almighty blessing with an unlimited power created the universe in which all of us live together and interact each other now. Further, it's already been known that the life of human beings is being formed in a harmony. There are always ties among all of us that make the life itself runs in a controlled manner.

Realising it or not, basically, all of us are like a bundle of chains which is connected by a network called society or community. Then, this society interact with other society and then forms societies. When such kind of interaction has been done, there must be something being shared as well among those societies.

Have you ever imagine if there is only you or I live in this big world? What will you or I do? Even this universe had been created in a harmony beautifully, with al its fantasy that you or I can enjoy by yourself or myself, without any disturbences from outsiders, you or I may feel that there is something important missing when only you or I live in it. What is it? It is a companion with whom to share all the beauty of the universe. It means that you or I need the someone else to be as our companion to whom we share what is ours and his. Our fantasy about this universe and our life in it will be colourness when we realise there is noone can be asked to listen to, for example, what we are thinking about our life, thought, idea, desire, etc. in this big world.

For a thousand years, human beings are supposed to be social creatures. ( i don't want to use the phrase 'social animal' because it will make me feel that i am a 'real' animal, but i'm not, am i? Just joking...). As a socia creature, each of us needs others. We can't stand by ourself alone. There is one-to-one connection among all of us. Everyone of us needs others to fulfil our living demand, for example.

On the other hand, in this connected process, one shares what he has to other who does not have it. There is always something to be shared, and thus, one may also said that life is to share, at least that what i think. Whatever you or I give to other, even our fantasy about the world where we live now, is the meaning of our life.

Besides, for me, there is always special feeling within me when I have shared something that I own to other. It's just like the blowing of the fresh air upon my head and my heart. And moreover, it will be much and much more fresher when something that I have shared can help other who needs it to solve, maybe, his problem. And I also believe that oneday I may need this kind of sharing, too. Because I also can be in a situation when I need somebody else to share what he owns to help me. Maybe he can give or share his idea to solve my problem.

There are still many other thing outside that can be seen as the fact that life is to share. At least, this is what i still can see until now. So, from now on, let's share what we have, just to make our life more colourful, but sometimes there is still some private matters which hard to be shared. And everyone of us does own this. But still don't be afraid of sharing, because for me, when i can share my problem, by telling it to other like my friend and ask his help to find the solution, i can feel a little bit secure. See you!!!!

Impossible Is Nothing

2006-08-16T17:00:00.000+07:00

Different people, of course have different mind and point of view. Thus, different people may have different interpretation of the discourse "Impossible is nothing'. One may say that in life there's no impossible things that can't be done, because maybe they have every thing in their life to fulfill what they want. On the other hand, others may say that as human beings people have limitation in doing what they want, which means that there's something impossible to be done when people have reached this limitation.

In fact, this analogy may be represented as the symbol of enthusiasm which lead us to the fact that an ambitious man may say there's nothing impossible in our life if we want to do more to get what we want. It depends on time only when something is going to happen or not. Don't ever talk about impossibility, because it's already been known that above and beyond every thing on this earth, there's a super power nature that has the power to do such impossibility, and then it certainly becomes a reality which hard to believed.

When i were enjoying my holiday at my home town, i used to spend my time by watching TV. There were various kind of programs that could be seen, and one of the program was criminal news program. This program was not different with other criminal program. All reports only talked about criminal action and how the police solve certain cases. Sometime i couldn't understand why every day, in every part of my country, specially, there were crimes. Why prople did such things? Were they loss their mind or what? I couldn't umderstand why. But this was the reality, every things would not always run as what we wanted they did.

I forgot the date and the time when i heard a shocking criminal report on the TV. I was in the kitchen, washing and cleanning the dishes, when i heard it. I run quickly to the living-room where my family set the TV, then sit in front of it. The news reported that there was a woman about 32 year old who was dare to kill her children by using 2 different pillows in two different days. What.......???!!!! The worse thing was that the children were her own children, which meant that 'a mother had killed her own loving children'. Why.....how.....and again why.....?

This mother had three children, two sons and one daughter. The oldest was 6 year old, the second one was 4 year old, and the youngest(her daughther) was 2 year old. (If i'm not mistake). She killed the youngest first on Thursday afternoon, and put her daughther's death body on the bed as if she was sleeping, then she planned to kill the second. He was being killed after she had given lunch, then she asked him to take a nap beside his sister. Then, she entered the bed-room and killed him by using a pillow to make him out-off breath, just like what she had did to her daughter. The oldest was being killed in the next morning, Friday morning by the same way, but different pillow.

When she was being investigated by the police, after being examined by a psychiatrist to know her mental condition, she told her reason why she did that. It was because of her anxiety to face the future of her childs. She thought that she wouldn't be able to give a proper life for them all, and decided to end their life before everythings went worse and worse. What...........????!!!! After that i switched off my TV and went away. I didn't know the latest news about this case, whether she was being prisoned or not.

What a stupid thought, i think. As i said, above and beyond every thing in this world, there is other super power nature that has the power to change everyting.

Yah,...this is life. One may think that something is impossible, like a mother killed her own childs, or that impossible thing may happen in front of our eyes. So, for me, impossible is nothing. Everything maya happen, whether we belive it or not.

Change or Stay the Same

2006-08-05T21:14:00.000+07:00

"Don't you ever wish, you were someone else.....". It's a little couplet from Joey Mcintyre's song, Stay The Same. I like this song, and it's one of my favourite songs. For me, every single part of it can be one of my best teacher when i'm just in a bad mood of thinking of myself. You know, everyone of us may be in a situation when you are in a doubt about the existence of yourself in this 'little pretty' world. As human, once in a life time, i feel this situation. One time, if i divide myself into two part, one side of me wants to change into another one, but at the same time, other part of me just want to stay the same, the way i am.

When i met someone with a great achievement in his life, i felt jealous. It's not good at all. isn't it? But this is what i feel, at least one part of me feels this. I make so many reasons just to make myself deserves to feel that way. What a stupid thought!!! I may say that i'm just an ordinary man, so how can i get such kind of achievement. Or, i may use other words by saying that it's not my time to get it, or more and more reasons.

On the other hands, other parts of me was being forced to do something new in order to get a great achievement, too. It's good, isn't it? But the problem is that when you commit to do something, you have to, in some cases, change!! This situation sometimes makes me feel doubt whether i want to change or become different from the way i used to be, or i decide to stay the same, like what i am now.

For some reasons, we may think, when we saw a movie star on TV, for example, that we want to be on his side, be a movie star. In our thought, our life will be much and much more happier than what we already have now. We can do any thing we want. Live in glamour and get every thing, because we automatically have the ability in financial matter to do so. Seeing a movie star, the first view comes in our mind is that his life is full of happiness, because he has every thing and can do whatever he wants to. And it will be good for us, from our point of view, be on his side.

But, as a human being, movie stars may as well have so many problem in their life, just like other ordinary people. It's meant that movie stars are human also. They may be in a situation facing a complicated problem. Maybe this is what we do not see. We just see the good side of being a movie star, not the other side.

In time when i got a scholarship to continue my study abroad, i faced this situation, change myself or stay the same. I was in doubt whether to accept it or not. There were so many considerations struggled in my mind. One of the most considerations was my family. If i joined the scholarship, it meant i did a new thing, and hopefully i could get new achievement for my life. But i had to leave my family behind, which meant i had to live on my own, without family or friends that were already intimate with me. And i had to become accustomed with a new environment in where i would live. Not only that, i also had to be more and more autonomous to face every problems that might happen when i lived far from my family. But actually the case was that i were always being helped by my family when i were in trouble, but if i stayed far away from them, i should solve the problems by my own way. All of these were only a little bit of situation that might happen when i stayed far from my family. It could be more. And all of these were there in my mind which made me afraid to make a change, from a 'house-girl' into a 'autonomous-girl'. Were i ready with all of those things? I didn't think so.

But at the same time, other part of me forced. It forced me to accept the offer and fight back all of the situation that might happen. It said that i were a brave girl, not need to be worry about somethings that not yet happen, just faced them with full spirits and powers. Kept in mind that your family were always be on your side and helped you, althought you are not near them.

I choose to change myself into a brave girl, and decide to take the offer, then i am here now, in India. It's alreay one year passed from the time i arrived at the Indira Gandhi Airport on July 2005, and last month, when i went back home and met my family at my home town, they said that there were a great change in me. Now, i'm not a 'girl' anymore. "You are a real woman now", that's what my mother told me with tears on her face. But i said,"I'm still your little girl, I don't change. I still stay the same as you know me before".

People may in a situation when they want to make a change in their life, but at the same time, they also want just to stay the same. It's depend on our own whether we want to change or just stay the same.

Beautiful Sunday

2006-08-01T14:57:00.000+07:00

Once upon a time, there were two woman standing in front of a ticket counter at an international airport just to reconfirm about their trip back to certain part of Shah Rukh Khan's land, India. It was a beautiful Sunday. Actually, they had been there from Saturday night, and that morning they plannned to take a morning flight to Delhi.

Unfortunatelly, there was no flight to Delhi that morning. They should wait until Tuesday morning. What!!!!!Tuesday morning? The man at the counter might be kidding, they thought. It was just possible to wait until that time. it was too long; beside, they had to be in Delhi as soon as possible to take care of their study there. Yah, they are two foreign student at different university in Delhi, but they are friends.

Hopeless, they decided to wait until Teusday morning, and during the time they just stayed inside the airport. Without knowing what to do, they looked for a seat, a comfortable place to think about what had happened. None of them saying a single word about the condition at that time. Noone knew what was that inside their mind. Everyone just stayed calm until one of them said," What a beautiful Sunday!". Then, they laught together.

The first thing they did that Sunday morning was looked for breakfast, and before that, maybe a little bath could make them more fresh. Having breakfast and taking a little bath proved to be good ways because after that both of them seemed to be more cheerful and could accept the situation. Then, they decided to make phone calls to their family at home and friends. They were sure that all of them were waiting for any news from them.

After made phone calls, they went back to their seat, and started their lonely and long waiting time for two nights more at the airport. What a good experience! They did nothing besides sitting, talking, eating, and sometimes reading.

Time passed so long, but then the departur time arrived. On that Tuesday morning, both of them were standing in front of the check in counter for the flight to New Delhi which should be happened on the last Sunday. After checked in, they waited for the boarding pass time with a big smile on their lips. After a few moment, they were now inside the plane that would take them to Delhi.

Now, they are in Delhi, and one of them is writing her story for you. Yah, one of them is me. What a beautifel Sunday it was!!!!

Welcome Home

2006-06-21T16:51:00.000+07:00

Hi all, how are you? It has been a long time not see you. It's only because i'm in my home-town now. I had two months summer holiday, then i decided to went back home during this holiday, living together again with my family. And you know, at home i don't have internet connection, so i have to go to the internet rent, but the price here is so expansive. If everyday i go to the internet cafe, i must spend a lot of money for the rent and the bus fee. So, i go there once in a week, and because of that condition it's hard for me to up-date my blog everyday. Moreover, it has been elevent months my family and i did not meet, so i spent most of my time at home with my family, sharing so many stories together, about my life in India and their life without me.

Today, there's a great desire in me to share my story with you all. Like always, i'm a bad writer, so i do hope that you can understand my bad writing. Arriving at the airport, i felt very exciting, at least after a long waiting time, i arrived at my home-town. Welcome home!!!!!!That's all for today. See you soon!

Good or Bad, It Doesn't Matter!

2006-04-22T18:38:00.000+07:00

What i mean by good or bad here is good writing or bad writing. Basically, i like writing. But the problem is i always feel afraid of doing so. I used to dream that someday my writing about my own opinion will be published in a newspaper, at least my own city's newspaper. There're so many reasons why i'm afraid of doing so. The one basic reason is because i'm afraid of making a bad writing that can make every one who reads my writing won't understand what i'm writing about. I always feel afraid that someone will laugh at me because of my bad writing. But i really want to write something that consider a good writing. So what am i suppose to do?

I tried to read books about how to start write good articles, opinions, stories, etc. I read articles in various magazines or newspapers writen by well-known writers. But i still couldn't start my own writing. Getting tired with all the theories, i came to the practices. Then, i started to write simple topics. The topic was about my activities every day. After school time, i sat on my desk and started writing about what had happened today in my school, on my way to school, about my teachers, my friends, etc. I wrote what i wanted to write in a diary.

From that time until know, i still write on my diary about my daily activities. I sometimes send some poems to various newspaper, because i'm still afraid of writing articles, and for me it's the hardest one to be done. Although i never write articles, the good result from my long journey to learn writing a good writing is that now i don't care whether i write goodly or badly. I just write what i want to write and hope that others will understand it. For me, good or bad writing, it doesn't matter, instead of not writing at all. So, now i'm trying to write something about myself, and hope all of you can understand it. See you next time!

Horrible

2006-04-15T15:39:00.000+07:00

Today i have an exam on syntax subject. Just like an idiot, i sit on my desk and see the question paper without knowing what to do and what to write. I have no idea how to answer all the question. The first 15 minutes passed, and i still write nothing on my answer sheet. Oh...God please help me, i pray!

I try to consentrate on the questions and to find the way to start writing the answers. I take my pen and i start writing. One by one, i can give explanation to every question avaiable. There are 5 question that should be done in 3 hours.

Syntax, for me is the most difficult subject that i need more and more time to understand it. Even after i read again and again, i still can't understand it. What a fool! It's not because of the subject is diffiult, but it's because of me, the one who is stupid. It's really horrible. I'm not sure, really really not sure whether i can pass in this subject or not. I have done what i know, but the result i'm not sure. I just pray! The only one i can do.

I don't know what to write now. I don't have any idea. i just feel horibble. i get a terrible head-ache to think about my exam today. I hope i can pass.

Once Upon A Time

2006-03-28T16:19:00.000+07:00

Once upon a time, in a small rent house, with only one bed, one cupboard, one little kitchen, and also one small bath-room, without sofa or any other chair to sit on, in the darkness because the is no electricity in the house, only the light of the candlle, a mother was fighting between life and death, with all her power and the soft-gentle touch from her husband. That night, in the midlle of the night, this woman was going to bear a child, a child that had been waited for a long time, after two years of her marriage. Finally, the silent of the night was broke down by the baby's crying. And the woman smiled happilly while looking at her husband, and her little daughter.

For the woman, that night is unforgettable. She will remember it during her life time. And for the little baby, that was her first time she smelt the soul of the air in the world. For the father who had been waiting and watching the process from the first till the end, it was his great happiness in life. The baby was the great blessing from the Almighty Allah SWT up on him.

That mother is my mother, and that father is my father, thus that little baby is me.

Like all Indonesia people around my environment, when a family gets a new member, it's a very pleasant time. And i think the same thing also happens in other places. Every day, there are always some guestes come to my house just to say congratulation and see the little baby. They like to say how cute the baby, the baby looks like her mother, or she has her father nose style, etc. etc. I can imagine that at that very moment, my father and my mother were very happy, and i'm sure about that 100%. Besides, i'm the first child in my family. So, it's just like an exiting moment for both of my parents. How can i know all of these?

One day, when i were preparing all my bags to go to India, my mother told me these story. She said it was just yesterday that she had me in her stomach. Then, she added by saying:"i still can feel it until now, the exitement at that night when i start to feel you want to go out from my womb. But now, you're a big girl and wants to leave me.". Heard this, i stop packing and embrace her, my tears run like the river. Don't said it mother, i say to myself. I will not leave you. I'll be back soon. What i'm doing now is for you, for our family, and for my future.

My mother stop the tear in my eyes, then helps me packs my luggages. Then, here i am, in India. One day i'll be back, just to fullfil my promise to my mother and my family. I miss you mama....i miss you papa,i miss both of you a lot. See you soon. And i will always love you. This only a little once upon a time in my life.

Campus Life (3)

2006-03-17T13:42:00.000+07:00

It's almost nine months i have been here, in India, from the first time i step on my foot at Indira Gandhi Airport. Now, if i remember the first thing i had said at the airport, i begin to smile. You want to know why? Let me tell you. Arriving at the airport, when i were walking towards the exit door of the airport, i told myself i wanted to come back home. It was a mistake to be here. I didn't know anyone here, and there was no good thing i would get just to be here. Just went home, it was the only one rational thing should be done. Then i told about it to my friends, who seemed to be so happy, not like me. They seemed that they enjoyed every thigns here. They could smile and laugh. There was no single sadnees in their face. What an amazing! That was i thought about them at that time. After i told them what i felt about being in India now, they said to me that i were going to be mad. Because it was just impossible to do what i wanted to. Yeah...it was impossible.

During these nine months, every things run as usual. I go to my campus, follow the lessons given by my lecturers, attend language seminars-there are two seminar classes in a week, do each homeworks given to me, follow the internal examination for every subjects, and sometimes miss the class for being tired or sick, then finally, next month i will face my final examination in this first year.

When i rewinded what had happened to me, i wonder what power makes me being able to pass these situation, which supposed to be so dificult for me at the first time. One thing that can't be denayed is the power and the blessing from God The Almighty Allah SWT, and my parents prayer for me in their five times prayer, me myself, my friends, and others who had given a lot to support me.

It's just like a miracle to be here, in India, to get the power to stand on even stay away from my home, my family, and my friend. But i still need the power, and this time i really really need it. I have to pass in my final examination, so i have to study hard, i already know that, keep my condition well, etc. etc. That's all for today, see you soon!

Salam.

A Piece Story from My Heart

2006-03-12T20:20:00.000+07:00

All days i have during my life in this big and marvelous world will not be passed colourless. There's a great desire in me to draw the beauty of my heart-now it's hanging beautifully in the blue sky of my heart crowned by all love in the world and thousand dreams that i want achieve as the tip top of my long journey, alone but not really alone. It has been a long time after the shadow of my dreams left me behind and gone with no trace. They left my empty lonely heart waiting for the right moment in my life. The time when i can face the hard reality of this world, when i can arrange my own life properly which sometimes is easy to mention but really hard to do.

Now, i begin to understand that life is not always gives the view of sadness and sorrow. Sometimes, happiness comes to cheer my life up. And now, i fell that sadnesses and sorrows step by step leave my heart. They seem to be unwilling to stay little longer in it and become the thorn in my heart.

Thank to everyone who had helped me to pass the uncomfortable situation that already being my friend for a long time. I don't want to be a selfish man who remember others only when i'm in trouble, but forget them when i'm in happiness. It's unfair!! And i promise you all that i will carry out my future with more bravery and confidence. I will confince myself that i can pass all of this hard stuffs.

Oh...my dear friends, i still need your help to full the empty side of my heart. So, i won't feel lonely again. I would like to share what i have and what i feel, and give what can be given. May it happen! And i hope that you all still want to be my friends and understand me like you always be. Friends....i will not forget every single time that we have passed together, althought time pass will never come back, i know that. But i don't want it takes our happy time also. I will keep it in my mind and in my heart forever. Hope you will do the same thing. I hope you share also what you have with me.

Ya Allah SWT The Almighty, may bless up on me. It's only because of your blessings that i can be who i am today. Without that i'm nothing at all. I always need Your help and guidance, i can't stand on my own foot without those blessings. So, be in my side forever. Guide me and show me the true light of life. Because that's the only way i can walk on and continue my life. I hardly can't imagine how to draw my thanks to You, Allah SWT. All the words i have seem to be unable to help me to do so.

This piece strory of my heart,i'm sure, willcontinue. As long as my heart still can feel and feel. It will not stop. The rhythm of this story will change depends on the rhythm of life which is singing and searching the fix and proper couplet of poem. This little heart expects that the song created from this piece of heart will be remembered forever.

Synopsis: The Verses of Love

2006-03-07T22:36:00.000+07:00

Part Three

Fahri went to the metro station after promising Maria that he would give the disks she wanted as soon as he arrived at home. The metro station is about 100m from the mosque where Fahri took pray. Entering the metro platform, after buying the entering ticket, Fahri stands at the safety zone of the metro line, waiting for the metro.

Even it is hot day, the passangers full the metro. Thus, Fahri can't get a seat to sit on. In fact, he has to stand during his long way. In the metro, Fahri meets an Egyptian man who greets him first. He thinks firstly that Fahri is a Chinness man. Fahri then explain to him who he is and what he is doing in Egypt. Fahri also informs him that he wants to go to tallaqi Koran to Syeikh Utsman. The Egyptian man gets a surprise to hear that because to be the student of that famous Syeikh is not an easy task. Only the good and the luckiest one can be. The conversation flows between Fahri and this Egyptian man.

Metro stops.

The doors open. The passangers come in and out from metro.It's time for Fahri to take a rest because there two seat for him and the Egypt man. But, an Egypt woman wearing white veil enters and takes one of the seats available. Fahri decides to give the other one seat to the Egyptian man. But he doesn't want it and decides to stand together with Fahri.

Metro moves quickly.

My Little Pretty World

2006-03-03T23:01:00.001+07:00

When i were standing in front of the mirror this morning, i thanked Allah SWT, the Almighty, Who have blessed me with so many good things in my life. Then i began to wonder about myself, while seeing the reflection of me in the mirror, my mouth not stopping thanking God, remind my journey in this world from the day a was born until now.

When i was born, from the wonder land of my mother's body, without hope and view about the world that i will live in, i were only a small and brandly new creature on this big world. Being unable to do any thing for myself, i just cried...cried...and cried...My little hands tried hard to reach the warm of my mother's hands, the only stick that i could believe in that time. My life was colorless, without rythm and harmony. It was like an empty blank sheet. The color was still white (i thought it would be white, but i didn't know), and there was no single word that i could write on it.

Limited in seeing objects, i tried to know the face of this beautiful world created by The Almighty, Allah SWT, from my mother's lovely face. Her face was smooth and cold (i felt it in my hands), and by that i began to wonder the world that i would live in was the same as that. And from that moment, like a guiding star in my life, that face keep accompanying me, giving its bright light in my dark age, the age when i just couldn't do any thing for my own life, even to know which way should i choose to get throught my life with. My mother is my guiding star and my fairy until now and forever.

Her light shown by her love and patience in taking care of me, that always guiding me, not only be my guide, but also the supporter of my tiny body. In her embracement, i could feel her warmth and coolness. Her heart-breath was the first melody i knew. Her melodious voice brought me to sleep in tranguallity. And when for the first time i could stand on my own feet, you were, my beloved mother, the first person cried for me. Mother, your love and affection have helped me get the power and brave to face all problems that may be happened in my future life. I know you always be in my side, not far from me, to keep me and help me when i'm in troubles or worried situations.

Oh...my God, The Almighty Allah SWT, praise be upon You. You have blessed me with a lot of joyment until now. My life is a gift from you.

Father...you're another strength that i have. I can't remember how billion million pouring of sweat had went out from your old and weak body for me. Even your body is old and weak, but you still can put me on your shoulder and bring me to the place where i'm now. You do all the hard jobs and works only to be able to earn and bring me up. If i can't see the tip of ocean, i would be able to see the ocean picture of exhaustion reflected from your old face. But, i can't remember how many times i have caused that 'picture' darker and darker by your sweat.

Please.....forgive your this little daugther who can't realise about it sooner. And please....forgive me if until now i'm still not being able to make that exhausted ocean to be a big wonderful land for all of us, so we can live in it together, you, my mother, me, and my only one brother. And please forgive me again if until now i still again and again make that ocean become clouded and more clouded day by day.

Insya Allah, with the power and blessing from Him The Almighty Allah SWT, i will try my best to give the most best colors on that picture by giving the most best colors on my own picture. So, it can reflect to your ocean. This my little world that i get throught with now which is the gift from Allah is your world also. I hope each colors painted on it will give the reflection of Allah merciful blessing.

My beloved father and mother, it's your love that lead me to the long way i have passed until now in my little world. Your pray on me will always be the light to my way which sometimes lose the power to light by its own. Ya....Allah The Most Gracious, please bless upon me the opportunity to be able to do the best for my little world. I don't want 'my little world' make me as a 'little' person as well. I want to be a 'big' person in my little world that i can bring all my beloved family to live in it together.

Amin ya Robbal'alamin.

Friendship In Workplace

2006-03-01T22:34:00.000+07:00

In society, when we're being interacted with other members of the society who are our non-family members, the most closest persons from that society to us may be our friends. The same thing may happen in our workplace. Workplace is a social miliue where we interact with non-family members that covert the same work-field and workplace like us. Being interacting with them, we don't usually start a conversation with topic related to our workplace only, like business related topic. However, we have to be aware of choosing the topic. Bacause some issues or controversial topics and emotional subjects may affect other's personal perception. These kinds of topics are best avoided.

Religion may be regarded as one of them because this topic is very personal and sensitive for most people, and it is just not an ideal topic to be discussed with your co-workers. Any discussion of this topic seems to have a negative tendency and response from people; moreover, a casual conversation about it may bring you into an argument and foster serious animosity. Even some of your friend at your work place would detest your discussion on this topic.

Sometimes, we may suppose our co-worker as our trusted friend, and it causes a tendency within ourself to share anything to him, even it's our personal affair. But, the fact is that your personal affair is something that not always can be discussed. You can't talk about that in cubicle, lunchroom, elevator or anywhere else within the confines of the workplace. Because you have to remember that more than one pair of ears might be listening to your conversation. I'm so sure you don't want your personal affair to become fodder for the hole office area, do you?

I think this kind of situation not only happens in workplace friendship, but also in our environment relationship. We should have a deep realization in choosing the proper topic for our discussion. It may help us in growing a good relationship circle. Maintaining and keeping good relation is not an easy task, specially for me. Because we have to try to understand our friends, what kind of stuff that they don't like, what stuffs that give great interest in them, what attitudes they like and they don't like, etc. etc.

Self-awareness

2006-02-24T14:36:00.000+07:00

Have you ever think about mood you are now in? Can you identify it? In what way would you describe your present mental state? Then, think for a few minute about how your mind is working. Is it quick or slow? Can you feel the sense that you are torn in between doing good or bad thing? Next question, have you ever try to project your consciousness upward into a corner of an empty room and see yourself in a mirrow, in your mind's eye, reading? Can you look at yourself as though you were someone else? I myself can not give direct answer to all of these questions.

If you think that you can do it, and i'm sure you can, you are already able to perform an ability which is uniquely human. Animals do not possess it. It is called "self-awareness" or the ability to think about your very thought process. Then, it may be assumed as the reason why we as humans has dominion over all things in the world and why we can make significant advances from generation to generation.

Throught this ability, we can further evaluate and learn from others' experiences as well as our own. This is also why we can create and break our habits.

In term of habits, here a quotation from Aristotle: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.".

Habit can be defined as the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire. Knowledge plays its part as the theoritical framework, the 'what to do' and the 'why'. Skill is the principle which shows 'how to do', and desire is the motivation, the 'want to do'. So, we have to have all three (knowledge, skill, and desire) to make something as a habit in our life.

Back to self-awareness, it enables us to stand apart and examine how we 'see' ourselves. It will affect not only our attitudes and behaviours, but also the way how we see others. It than becomes the map of our basic nature of mankind.

I wish I Could........

2006-02-18T14:59:00.000+07:00

:: I wish i could be a nice daughter for my parent.

:: I wish i could be a good personality that can make everyone near me fell comfortable when they are with me.

:: I wish i could be a good friend for everyone to share anything with.

:: I wish i could be a very open-minded girl that i can face every problem in my life wisely.

:: I wish i could get so many best friends that usually have time to hear my problems, to share my sadness and my happiness as well.

:: I wish i could be a simple girl that will make everything in my life simply.

:: I wish i could do many good things for people around me.

:: I wish i could get good achievement in my study and career.

:: I wish i could be more and more sensible than today.

:: I wish i could have the brave to be in this competitive competition.

:: I wish i could win every games i play.

:: I wish i could say anything else.

:: I wish i could make you all understand about what i'm writing now.

:: I wish i could end this now.

Thank you very much.

Synopsis: The Verses of Love

2006-02-15T22:16:00.000+07:00

Part II

Getting ready to go to tallqi Koran to Syaikh Ustman, after gathering all his power and throwing his laziness far away, Fahri decides to go as soon as possible. But before, he will take a pray in the nearest mosque in which he always complains about his life during in Cairo. It is the time when he has a lot of problems, when the salary from translating books from Arabic into bahasa Indonesia comes late, when he fells so home-sick, and when there is no other place to go. In this mosque, he always spend his time.

Fahri walks foward the door and opens it. Wuzzz.....The hot wind slash his face in the time he opens the door. Fahri doesn't forget to wear a black spectacles to prevent his eyes from the sunshine, and he also wears a hat to prevent his head as well. Fahri steps his foots on the boiling land, and takes a deep breath.

Just a moement Fahri passed the flat main door, he heard someone from upstairs calling his name. Fahri really recognize the voice. It is Maria's voice, a beautiful girl lives upper his room in the same flat. Maria calls Fahri because she needs a help from Fahri. Maria asks Fahri to buy her two diskets. It's so hot outside. Maria doesn't want to go outside in that weather. Because Fahri wants to go outside, she asks him to do so for her. Fahri accepts this request and promise her to buy what she needs and will give them as soon as he reach home.

After that, Fahri walks to the mosque and then go to the train station.

Part I read here.

Future Education

2006-02-12T15:59:00.000+07:00

Yesterday, my mother from Indonesia called me. She told me many things about what had being happened in my hometown,Medan North Sumatra now. She also informed me that the situation nowdays became worse and worse. She faced a lot of problems, especially economy problems. A good arrangement of money was really needed now, she said. The goods price incrised sharply after the government of Indonesia increased the petrol price. But she said that it was better that she now did not need to pay extra money on education for her children. It was because me and my brother (there are only two of us in my family) didn't go to school any more. Event i'm continuing my study here in India, but i get scholarship for it. Thus, my parents do not need to send money.

One of my neighbour now is facing a serious problem on their children education. They have three children, two boys and one daugther. The older boy has entered a primary school and now he is in his third year. If i'm not mistaken, their only one daughter will follow her brother this year. And the younger son is still four years old.

Their problem is that they have to prepare a lot of money for their two children, particularlly for their education. And my mother said that the school fee in every private schools now is expensive. They want to send their children to the public school which is not so expensive, but the location is to far from their house and they need extra money for the bus fee. The father of this family is only a hard worker with a low salary /month. The mother is only a house wife. And besides their children education, they still have to think about how to survive their life.

After i heard about this from my mother, i begin to wonder the face of future education situation in my country. What should i do to efford all of this reality? I don't have children now, but i do hope i will someday. Can i send them to school or just let them stay at home without education? It will be a selfish thing, won't it? Now, the only thing i can do is not being knocked out by the situation. I must fight this condition, for my next family and for myself. And i hope that the beloved and mercyful president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Y., will soon realises that it and immediately finds out a good solution to overcome it.

Not being forgotten, I hope that my neighbour (i have mentioned above) will still have the strength and power to face their problem, and can find the solution as soon as possible. For their son and daughter, i do hope that they will still keep continuing their study event the shadow of this bad situation accompanies them.

A Penny of My Thought

2006-02-11T19:07:00.000+07:00

Denmark Cartoon Controversy

During this week, the most biggest news that i watch in CNN News is the cartoon controversy of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) in Denmark. As a Muslim,i fell really and really sad about this. I hardly can't understand why this should happen. One thing that i know is that every religious around the world teach so many good norms in the relationship among people with the same belief or not. Muslims must love another Muslims and non-Muslims who are Christians, Hindu, etc. as well; moreover, as Muslims we are required to respect all religions.

This cartoon controversy had surprised me a lot. I don't know exactly why the newspaper prints and publishes it. Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to all mankind. That is what a read in my holy Koran. For Muslims, Prophet Muhammad is their guiding father. When this cartoon published, it is directly hurt every Muslims' heart, including me. I get very angry to the author of the cartoon,as well as the newspaper.

Then, i watch in TV that ther are many reaction towards this cartoon controversy. Muslims around the world get in action againt not only to the author of the cartoon, but to Denish people in a large scale. As the effect, there are so many people get injured in many physical contacts.

My sadness becomes worse and worse. Why they should do this. Is it the proper way to do to overcome the situaion? Isn't there another wise and generous way that we can do besides fighting each other? Does it make the situation better or worse?

I really really don't know and understand.

Bazaar At Indonesian Embassy (KBRI)

2006-02-05T20:06:00.000+07:00

Yesterday, there was a bazaar at Indonesian Embassy (KBRI). It started from 10.00 am in the morning until 17.00 pm in the afternoon. i came to this event as one of the participants at the indonesian food stand. There were variuos Indonesian food available there. Besides food, there were also a lot of stands of handicrafs which were not only Indonesian's handicrafs, but also Indian's.
It was a trade affair, i think. You could buy or sell something. Every participant in this bazaar introduced the uniqueness and the good quality of their product. Visitors who were interested in buying something could directly bought what they wanted by using cash money, so it was like cash-and-carry.

There were also some fortune-teller stands available. You just paid about Rs.100.- to know about your life and personality. And you could also asked other things about you like your love, career, future, etc. besides; there wasn't limitation of time. You could use your tome as long as there wasn't somebody else waiting behind you. But if there was someone behind you, you only had time around 20 until 30 minutes.

Fortune-teller stands, i thought, was one of the most crowded one. I didn't know why. But it was maybe only because everyone who came there wanted to try their fortune or just did to know their good luck. And other interesting one was most of the customers were women, and they could spend more time than men.

There were many fashion stands available, too. Many kinds of dresses, in various style, were being shown to attract the visitors interst. Indonesia also introduced and sold the most popular clothes, Batik and Kebayak, in this bazaar.

This was a good opportunity for every participants to introduce their product to public. Not only that, i think this event is good to build a good relationship among participants and visitors that come from different countries, and of course defferent culture. I hope there will be other event like this.

I'm Tired

2006-02-02T22:22:00.000+07:00

Hallo. How are you all? i hope you're all right. Actually, today i want to write something on this side, but i'm fell so tired. You want to know why? It's because one of my friends had taken me around Delhi after finishing my campus time. She took me to one of the market here, and i thought that it was the most crowded market that i have ever shown before during my stay here. It was really really a crowded market. After walking about 2 hours, she asked me to go to the other market. This time it was not a crowded market.

We bought many things for the preparation of an activity at Indonesian Embassy the next coming Saturday. Taking two and a half hours, we finished our shopping session. If i calculate the time, it will take almost 5 hours i go around market, from one market to other ones. Then, we went back home. It was already 4.15 pm when i reached home. I fell very very tired. I want to go to sleep as soon as possible, but i have homeworks that must be finished tonight, because it must be submitted tomorrow. Maybe after i finish my homework, i will go to sleeep.

See you all and good night.

Synopsis: The Verses of Love

2006-01-26T19:47:00.000+07:00

Part I

In the middle of that day, the hot weather draws the Cairo city in the first of August. Land and sand seem to spear the smell from the hell. The wind blow makes the condition worse and worse from time to time. This condition makes most Egpty people choose to stay at home and turn on the coolers or air-conditiners. The call to prayer seems unable to make the Moeslem heart to go to mosque to take pray together, they better take a pray at their home. Only those who have heart as strong as the coral stones that never afraid of the hard waves of the ocean dispose to come to mosques that are there around the Cairo city.

Fahri gets ready to go to tallqi(learning Koran directly with a Moeslem religious teacher) whose name is Syaikh Utsman Abdul Fattah at Abu Bakar Ash-Shiddiq mosque which is located at the tip of north Cairo. With him, Fahri learn about qiraah sab'ah (reading Koran using the way of seven leader of communal prayer) and ushul tafsir (the major exegesis science). Honestly, Fahri doesn't want to be outside in this weather, but he has given his promise to come; moreover, promise is something that you have to fulfill. Realising it, Fahri finally decide to go. He must be there before 2 o'clock because Syaikh Utsman is a discipline and an on-time-man. He doesn't want to come late.

Novel: Ayat Ayat Cinta (The Verses of Love)

2006-01-21T21:53:00.000+07:00

Photo: Ayat Ayat Cinta Novel

Ayat Ayat Cinta - The Verses of Love is an Islamic novel written by a novelist from Indonesia, and as well as a scholar from Al Azhar University, Cairo, Habiburrahman El Shirazy, is an Islamic and romantic novel. This novel gives a detail description about many aspects of Islam including the relationship between Moeslems and non-Moeslems in their social interaction, between husband and wife, among friends, etc. It consist of 411 pages of colaboration issues in Islamic teaching, social - culture interaction, education, laws, politics, and of course, love story. And if you read it, maybe you'll find more. This novel was first published in December 2004, and the second print of it followed in January 2005.

As an Islamic novel, the norms in Islamic teaching are being represented in a nature way, so that when we read it, there is no assumption that the appearence of them are seem to be 'forced'. Thus, after reading the novel, we automatically get the knowledge of Islam deeply and even don't recognise it at all. This is one of the best parts of the novel.

Another unique way used by the writer is his ability to describe every setting taken place in the novel. The way how he creates the protagonist character makes us as the reader fell that it is him himself. He successes to make the character 'lives' in every part of the novel. Further, the way how he describe the Cairo city makes us fell that we ever come to that place before, and imagine the situation as if it happens in front of us.

Other important point of it is the romantic element involving the protagonist. That is why this novel can be supposed as a romantic novel, besides islamic or religious one. The expressions used by the write to describe the protagonist felling toward 4 different women that love him simply don't represent in a 'vulgarism'. But, this novel doesn't lose its romantic fantasy as well. In fact, this things make readers, particularlly women, have a desire to experience the same romantic story as happened in the novel.

Actually, there are still a lot more good points that can be find in this novel. I suggest everyone who has not read it to read it now. It is really a good novel, not only for Moeslems. This novel can also be one of the references for those who want to know Islam, because all religious, I think, teach us the same thing that we should love each other, etc. And after reading this novel, you can decide yourself whether this novel is religious, cultural, or romantic novel.

Related article in Bahasa Indonesia

Dying in A Cold Weather

2006-01-16T18:09:00.000+07:00

Arriving at the class-room, i meet some of my class-mates are sitting and reading books. I choose the front row to sit because i can see clearly in that position. Beside me, there is Richa one of my class-mate who is talking to one of my other class-mate, but i don't know her name. I greet them all by saying 'hai, how are you?'. Actually, our class has began a week ago, but the regular class is started today. Then, i join them.

While we are talking about our winter vacation, one of my friend, and i also don't know her name, but i know that she is a foreigner like i am, enters the class. Sitting on her desk in the second row, she begins her story. She asks a question to Richa about a news that she had read from a newspaper, but i don't ask her the name of the newspaper, which reported that there are hundred people were died on the street during this winter in India. She cann't imagines that condition. Because winter condition in India is not the same as in her country. In her country, there is snow also, but as far as she knows, something like this never happens. Richa gives her respone to this question by saying that those people have no clothes or blankets to wear in this cold weather. They are homeless. Event, they don't have a warm place to sleep on, that's why they sleep on the street.

Hearing this, my friend gets a surprise. It can be seen from her face expression. She asks why it could be like that? She seems doesn't agree with Richa's statement. She thinks that the clothes or jackets price here in India is not expensive if she compares it with her country; furthermore, she can buy them if they ask her. What a generous woman, i think myself. Then, she continues. In this 21 century, why there are so many people died on the street only because of cold? It is ridiculous. She repeats this word again and again.

After hearing their discussion, i realise that it is true that why many people have to die only because of cold. Thay don't go to a big war that demand them to sacrifice their life. This is 21 century. Why they have to die uselessly. Isn't there any pity inside us as human beings? In fact, human beings are social creatures that should growth a good relationship among others in the society. This thing happens in our society. Is it proper if we as the member of it just seeing it countinuesly happens in front of us without doing nothing?

When i reveal this thing to that 'generous' woman, she agrees with me. Then she adds that it is ridiculous if it happens in this century. Again and again. Richa, and event another Indian student in my class only smile hearing her statement without giving any respone to it.

Maybe it is not only happens in India. It can be happened any where and in any time. If it is someday happens around our society, can we make something to overcome this and to make this not spread widely? I hope we can do it.

Happy Eid-ul Adha to All Muslims

2006-01-10T16:55:00.000+07:00

Today in Indonesia and tomorrow in New Delhi, all Muslims will celebrate Id-ul Adha or Eid-ul Azha. Not only Indonesian and New Delhi Muslims, but also all Muslims around the world will celebrate it, too. In Indonesians, we call it Lebaran Idul Adha or Hari Raya Korban (qurbani, in Hindi or Urdu). Muslims celebrate Eid-ul Adha after the Hajj pilgrim has done their wukuf in Arafah in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Besides it, Muslims also have another important day, Eid-ul Fitri, which comes after one-month long Ramadan.

In this celebration, Muslims who can afford to buy animal are encouraged to make sacrifice (korban) by slaughtering it in the D day, and after that providing it to the poor. In my place, i like to see the moment when the animals are being sacrificed. It is a touching moment for me that can make my tears running like a river.

Further, it is a good lesson in sacrifice to All Muslims that they have to be prepared for self-sacrifice someday, because we can't get what we want without sacrificing something. When we want to get good marks in our examination, we should sacrifice our time for study, not for doing anything else, like playing. Without this, the responsibilities of life cannot be fulfilled.

Finally, to all Muslims around the world Happy Id-ul Adha. May Allah bless us forever.

No Light.......? Let's Go To sleep!

2006-01-04T19:29:00.000+07:00

The clock in my room shows the time of 10.00 p.m. I am reading a romantic novel "The Verses Of Love" (Ayat-Ayat Cinta) by Habibburrahman El-Shirazy. It's a good novel. Event it contains more than 300 pages, i simply don't fell tired when read it. The write has a great beautiful style in describing the plot of the novel, the characters, as well as the situation when every dialogues take place. I wil tell you completely about the novel if i have finished read it. Maybe it will takes two days only. Because it is a good novel, i don't want to finish it so quicly.

I take another book from my book collection. It's one of my science books. I intend to read it and make some notes on my note-book. Just a few moment i open my book, the light is suddently off. Oh, My God! Why should this happen when i'm in the mood. I close my book, and get ready to go to sleep. It's much more better, i think!

This is one of my best enemy which always comes when i'm in the mood to study. If this continues everyday, i will change my schdule of studying my lesson. I use to study from 10.00 or 10.30 p.m until 01.00 a.m. Maybe i can start to study my lesson from 07.00 p.m until 10.00 p.m and if the light is off, at least i have studied my lesson. So, if the light is off, just go to sleep!

Raining oh....Raining

2006-01-03T21:03:00.000+07:00

Tik....ti...tik....tik! What is that sound? It is raining? Really? I shout it in my heart! I'm in internate cafe now. Don't rain now! Wait until i go back home please. I have a lot of homework for my class on Monday, and i don't have a computer, that's why i have to be here until about nine o'clock p.m. So, please don't rain now. It's still seven; moreover, it's already too cool today, why this rain should add it and makes it become cooler and cooler. I continue talking with myself by heart.

But i can't do anything, the rain has fallen, so just wait here, typing my homework, then when the rain stops, going home quickly. It's already one hour, but the rain doesn't seem to be stop soon, what should i do? I take out my mobile, and phone my friend to deliver the umbrella, and bring my coat, too. What a stupid i am!In tis winter, i leave my coat at home. I'm freezing now, further the rain makes it worse. But i'm not sure that she will do it for me, because she is unwilling to go outside in this weather. Just pray!

Fifteen minutes has left after i call my friend, and she doesn't come yet. I'm hopeless. I will go home without umbrella and coat, but it's not her fault at all. Suddenly, she comes with an umbrella on her right hand and a coat on the other hand. What a good and nice friend, i think. I have excuse her wrongly. Forgive me dear!

It's time to go home now, and i have finished typing my homework. On the way home, i will buy her a cup of a hot coffee, because she like it very much. I pray in my heart that she and i will always be friend forever. Raining, thanks a lot. Because of you i know that my friend is really a good friend for me. Thanks! And i promise you to ask for her apologize on me.

Deppt. of Linguistics: My Campus Life (2)

2006-01-02T15:24:00.000+07:00

Fresher Party Day

This kind of party is simply a new one for me because in my country there is no party like this. My friends tell me that this party is done to welcome all new students as the member of the department. In this party, we are being asked to introduce ourself by telling from where we came from, the reason why we choose this department, what is our hobbies, etc. etc. Because it is new kind of party for me, i really wait for it, and prepare for my introduction of course.

One day before the party time, three girls from the final MA class came to my class informed us the exact date when the party is going to be held. We all are being invited to that party, but under one condition, we have to wear our traditional dress. Event my Indian friends, they also have to wear their own traditional dress because the come from different part of India. Some of them come from Punjab, Bangla, Manipuri, and Tamil. They also informed us that there would be a kind of competition in the party. They would chose one of us as the most talented student, the most cool student, and the most beatiful traditional dress. So, they asked us to prepare the best we could, but the important thing was that we had to come to the party; moreover, the party was for us as new students. Finally, the party time is coming.

I wear my traditional dress *kebayak* (the only one traditional dress that i bring from my country to india), and prepare my song because i want to make a singing performance, one thing that i can do much better than other. All of my friends also wear their traditional dresses. From all of them, i really like one girl whose name Mavani, she is a Manipuri girl, she looks so beautiful. Besides me, there still some other students who will make a performance, and some of them are Santosh, Pratibha, and Richa. Santosh will tell jokes, Pratibha will sing a song, and Richa will perform a dancing.

Entering the door of the party room, we all are welcomed by an india tradition ceremony, but i forget the name, sorry. In the party room, there are all students of Deppt. of Linguistics from previous year until final year. Not only the students, but also the lecturers that have time and the administration staffs attend the party. We join together in it.

Time has passed with pleasant moment in that party. I do my performance successfully and i am being crowned as the most of talented student by singing an Indian songs that i like very much which tittle *Dil Hai Tum Hara*. My friend, we call him Low, from Thai is being chosen as the most cool man of the party, and Mavani, the beautiful girl, win the dress contest. We all spent a good time together in that fresher party, and i think it was really a *fresher* party. I hope in my heart that this moment will never ends forever. I pass my time in the party happily and fell it as a great experience for my life that to share happiness is really a simple matter if we want do it. So, lets share it together. See you!

2006:To My Family, Friends, and You All

2006-01-01T18:27:00.000+07:00

Time has passed so quickly that now we all are in the first day of 2006. There are so many things happened in 2005, whether they were good or not, just accepted them. If they were good, let's make them better and better in this new year, and if they were bad, let's us change and make them be the good ones. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND ALL THE BEST!

For me, new year means to make new things as well. I should make an improvement in my life, because if i don't do that,it means that i remaind the same from year to year and passed 2005 without any valuable things. What a pity if it happens with me.This year, i plan to finish my study perfecly, getting good marks as well as new useful knowledges. Then, i will use it as the basic foundation to build a better life for me first; moreover, it's only me that can change my own life. Isn't it? And then, for others around me including my family,friends, and maybe my country. It's a simple plan, but i really realise that it is not an easy stuff to do. I should try my best to do all of this, and not forget praying to Allah, The Almighty God, for His bless on me. Working without praying is in complete, but praying without working is useless.

For my family, i wish you all had passed a very pleasant time during 2005. You all are my power to step foward. Without you guys, i don't know what to do for my life. Being supported by you all in every steps i do is the major point for me to have the confidence to do all; still, you're one of the reasons why i still can carry on until today. May God always be with us and gives His blessing upon us to pass this new year, 2006 together and happily ever after.

Last but not least, for all my friends that i can't mention you're name one by one, thanks a lot for being my best companion until now. For Asrul, my best college friend, who had given me his support during my college time and the one that always had time to listen to my complains everyday, where are you now? Are you already married with that 'beatiful girl'? It has been a long time a never receive news from you. What are you doing now? Please, send me your news. For everyone who know him, tell him i'm waiting for his call, and Happy New Year.

For others, nice to have a pleasure time with you all. Event i just know you for about one month, two or three or four month, it's not important. The important one is that you all now become the member in my small world. All the best to you all. Let's face our future more perspectively and make a better improvement in every aspects of our life. Together, i believe, we can do it!

Best regard for you all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2006.

Deppt. of Linguistics: My Campus Life (1)

2005-12-30T15:38:00.000+07:00

It has been four months since i step on my food in Deppt. of Linguistics, Delhi University. It is an imazing situation that i could pass this four months simply savely, because after arraving in India, only in a week, i decided to back home to my hometown. I couldn't resist myself on a very different situation, especially the cultures,habituals, peoples, etc. etc. Only on the support of all my friends here,i still can carry on until now. However,i don't want to talk about all of that today. I just want to tell you about my activities in my 'beloved' departement,Linguistics.

On 28th August, 2005 i started my new campus life for the first time. There was a little afraidness in my heart and my mind to meet different lectures and lecturers, friends, as well as different educational system, of course. That day, the subject to be discussed in the class were phonetics and intro. to linguistics (we call it 'L2'and 'L1'). Actually, i had learnt about these two subjects when i did my BA degree in Indonesia, but i thought at the first time, it would be different here and it made me afraid.

Entering the class, i felt like a stranger there. Everyone in the class looked at me as if they wanted to swallow me alive. I thought in my mind it was only because I were a new comer, and a foreign student also. In the class, i simply couldn't speak a single word, event when my lecturer, Mrs. Sobha who teaches us L2, asked my name, i answered it unfluently. What a shame on me!

One and a half hour passed, I took a deep breath, and prepared myself for the next class, L1. I had 30 minutes to take a rest. During that time, i read my blank paper in front of me, and then realised that it was the first time during my study i couldn't write anything on it. What had happened! I thought hard to find the proper answers to it. Maybe I did not used to hear the Indian style in using English as the media of instruction, or maybe i couldn't consentrate myself on the topic, or i were to much worry about my afraisness, or and or and or again. Too many 'or' came in my mind.

While wondering what had happen with me, one of my indian friend, whose name Ishani, intoduced herself to me. She said hello to me and asked where i came from. She thought firstly,i came from Malaysia because i were wearing jilbab. I said no, then i replied by saying that i were from Indonesia. We talked for a few minute and she said if i had problems, especially in understanding the topics, she would help me. She was the first friend i got in this new class. She was a nice and kind girl. Thanks God! (I said it in my language)

The second subject started on 11.30 am. it was L1. Mrs. Tista Baghi who taught us this subject came late that day. Ishani told me that she sometimes came late. Finally, my class began at 12.00 pm. and when 'Tista Mam' (my indian friends use this instead of Mrs. Tista) entered the class, my heart began to run fast. The first thing that she did was calling our name one by one,and after that she asked everyone whose name weren't there in her list. I introduced myself to her and spell my name to make her easy to write it down on the attandence list. She was smilling on me. What a friendly lecturer i thought! Because of that, i felt that my afraidness reduced step by step. There was nothing to be worried about.

I made an improvement this time. My paper wasn't blank anymore. There were some notes on it, and i felt great,of course, because of that. At least, i had something that i could read when i came back home, and added it with another related note from my references. It simply could be said that i had something to be studied for that night. Finishing all my subjects for that day, i prepared myself to went home.

Unexpectedly, all my classmates came towards me and greeded me. What a surprise! I thought they didn't care about me at all, only that lovely girl, Ishani, but i was wrong. They all were goods guys. They treated me not as a foreigner, but the same as them. Not only the indian students, another foreign students such as from Iran and Mongol also greeded me. I felt very and very happy. This was i really really needed for now and after. That time, i felt like 'a lucky woman to be in a lucky place' by entering this department. Anyone involved in this departement are nice people. i'm happy to be one of the member of this big family. Returning home,i still could fell that exciting moment and prayed in my heart that it would happen again tomorrow. I walke towards the main gate of my departement with a smilling face.

Next time, i will write more about my friends personally,one by one. For today, i think it's enough, and let me end it here. Hope i will meet you as soon as possible.

First Winter in My Life

2005-12-26T18:38:00.000+07:00

Long time not see you, how are you today Diary? I hope you are all right. Can you feel this cool weather nowdays? I'm freezing now, event I simply can't go out from my room. But it remainds the same whether I go outside or not, because the cold comes from every where. This winter is a new experience for me, because there is no winter in my country. Indonesia is a tropic country, you already know that, don't you? There are only two seasons, raining and dry reasons. My family from Indonesia inform me that today in my hometown, the rain comes everyday, so the temperature there is little bit cold also, but not like this winter.

Experiencing this new condition, I try to get use to it. I try to go to campus as usual event I should wear double and double dress. In the class, I find it is hard to write event a single word, because all my fingers is frozen. For the first time, I think I'm the only one that feel this way, but then I figure out that event my Indian friends feel the same thing as me. Luckly, until now I still carry on all of this, because I'm being forced to do so if I want to finish my study. I face this thing for 2 weeks after the winter started, and now I can breath more freely because I have a winter holiday for 2 weeks. It means that I don't need to weak up in the morning and go to campus in a frozen weather.

As I new comer in India, this winter gives me a new sensation of life that I have never feel before. You know Diary, I really don't like it for the first time. I don't like to go to bed by wearing double and double dress, it makes me hard to breath, and I don't like to sleep wearing blanket. But now I have to do all of that. Can you imagine that? Because if I don't do it, I can't sleep properly, and I will just become a frozen woman when weak up in the morning.

If you want to know, when the weather is still not so cool as today, I already wear double and double dress. My landlord, Saima, says to me, "Rini, it is not cool! In January, it is more cool than today! That's the really cool." I simply can't imagine what I will do if that condition happen. How poor am I?

Diary, just pray for me okey? I hope I can face all of this. Maybe, for some of you, it is funny, but I really really afraid that I can't stand on this any longer. Just pray for me Diary. Okey Diary, I just want to go home. The weather outside is unfriendly with me. We can meet again next time! See you soon.

One Year After

2005-12-25T18:17:00.000+07:00

Time has passed so quickly that it has been one year after the tragedic Tsunami in Aceh and in some part of other country like India. No one can't imagine why it happens? As one of Indonesian people, I feel it like a warning from Allah, the Almighty in the world, that as human beings we don't need to be so proud of ourselves. If He wants, He can change it in second.

In the newspaper, The Hindu, I have read that the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, will review the rehabilitation work done over one year after Tsunami. He will visit the tsunami-affecred region, and he announced his intention on the first anniversary of Tsunami on Saturday, at a meeting with his senior officials. In India, the tsinami-affected regions are Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, Andaman, Nicobar Island, and Andhra Pradesh.

I really really hope that my beloved President, SBY, will do the same thing to figure out how far he has rebuild all the tsunami-affected region, especially Aceh. Further, I am sure that in their heart, Aceh people still can feel the anxiety that this tsunami will come again. I also still have that feeling.

Here, I quote an article related to that.

The Ghost of Tsunami Haunts Them
By Ramya Kannnan

Coastal communities fear that it will strike again.

CHENNAI: This may sound irrational, but since December 26, 2004, rationality, science and logic have little to do with the turn of events.

All along the Tamil Nadu sea stretch, coastal communities are convinced that one year later, on the same day, the tsunami will strike again.

Squatting on the rough cement floor of the Akkaraipettai health sub centre in Nagapattinam, Selvi, a fisherwoman says, "All of us believe it will definitely come back. On the same day, the day after Christmas." If one tries to counter her argument with science, she is quick to ask, "Did science warn us last time? And they don't have a clue now. You wait and watch, the tsunami is coming back this December 26."

For a year now, they have believed that the tsunami will return to coincide with its first anniversary. The fact that their initial feeling that the tsunami would repeat itself on January 26, a month later, was unfounded has done nothing to assuage their fears. They rushed out of their temporary shelters abandoning their few possessions a few times in the past year when news or rumours about sea ingression came in.

This time some of them have their bags packed in anticipation of tsunami. "Those who can afford it have decided to stay in a lodge for two or three days. The rest of us have to move to higher ground," says Edwin Raj of Melamankudy in Kanyakumari. Further down, Amal Das of Kizhamankudy says, "The sea might look deceptively calm now. But it will rise again on December 26."

He and his family are ready to move to temporary shelters further inland. But the sea has been rough this month too and the beaches have been flattened.

On the other hand, there is a sense of fatalism among some who cannot or are unwilling to go elsewhere. When Jaishree of Seruthur, Nagapattinam asks, "Where do we go? This is our home, the sea is our benefactor, if she wants to hurt us again, what can we do?"

She is not alone.

News: The future of Online Search

2005-12-24T17:45:00.000+07:00

CNN Interview with John Batelle, who has spent most of his career as a technology journalist.

Here is an edited version of the full interview from his recent appearance on Spark.

CNN: Do you remember when you first realized how big Google could become?

JB: It was late 2001 and I was looking for a breakout. I wanted to know if there anything John Batelle: "Search is one of the hardest computer science problems in the world."happening that was interesting and that would have significant implications? I stumbled upon Google. Three years earlier, I'd put the company on the cover of my magazine, "The Industry Standard." We hadn't realized the implications back then. In 2001, I started researching and became convinced that the story of search would lead to a broader understanding of the impact of the Internet technology, on our culture, on our business and on our government.

It's interesting that the largest businesses on the Internet -- whether it's Amazon, Ebay, Google or Yahoo -- are all search driven. The two largest customers of Google, in term of buying the advertising that you see on the side of the page or the top, are Ebay and Amazon, because you go online looking to buy something, right? Twenty five percent of the time people are looking for a commercial transaction when they go online. And it's extremely important to those businesses that they are found. And the way you are found is to list well in the result to the search.

Search is becoming navigational interface. The way we use to navigate this vast knowledge, space that exists out there is much larger than anything we could jump up on the computer. This is the computer connected to the rest of the world. We need to find a way to understand how to make a sense of all that, and searches become our way.

CNN: Google isn't the only search business, but its name is synonymous with search. How has it done this?

JB: It's certainly not the only one. There were these companies, apart from Google, that were doing the same thing essentially. But the timing wasn't right, the technology wasn't right. The moment Google broke out, there were a number of things that happened. One of them was the bubble actually blew up -- pieces were all over the ground. But the public, the audience, us, we didn't stop using the Internet. People stopped making [it] on the Internet, lot of people lost a lot of money in the stock market, but the rest of us kept using the Internet. The portals, the Yahoos, were not worried about search, they were worried about holding you on their sites. They didn't want you to find something and go over to it. They want you to stay in one place and watch their ads. It turned out that their ads had very little to do with what you might be interested in.

Google's model, which is how they broke out, was that when you put your intention into that box, it would reorganize the page around your intention. If you put the word "minivan" in there, the page would reorganize the advertisements with regards to minivans. Whether there's cars or whatever would be right next to the results about minivans that Google served up. This was a very efficient and productive way of organizing and advertising in Google, who have made $6 million in revenue this year.

CNN: Is the Google success story based on good fortune or good technology?

JB: A mixture of both. They were definitely the best at their jobs at the time. It's arguable whether they are now. But the fact is that they've got a brand, which is an absolute world beater. People are so devoted to Google because they had that moment when someone would tell them about it, usually a friend, and they went there and they put in something they were looking for -- and they found it. Or they didn't know what they were looking for but they had a vague idea. And the idea that you can use natural language, conversational words to navigate your way around something was completely new in the late 1990s and early into the new century. It was a new way of discovering things and at that moment we had tens of millions of new people coming on to the Internet and saying, "What's out here?" They were using search to find something, and Google was the answer. They paid attention to the right thing at the right time, and they had great technology.

CNN: The founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were undoubtedly tech-savvy, but were they also business-minded or did they have to become business minded to make their idea work?

JB: I think they were business-minded, but I don't think that they are typical businessmen. We've got to remember these were two extremely bright graduate students in computer science and mathematics at Stanford University, one of the lead universities in the United States. So we are not talking about people who had dreams of being great businessmen. On the other hand, they chose Stanford for a reason. Stanford is the place that [produces] some of the greatest names in the technology business. And this is why in the mid-'90s when they came, they had every knowledge that Internet companies would literally be coming out of Stanford every six months, and being funded and going on to glory, so they knew this was happening.

But they are not business people. They made quite a few statements saying they are actually very anti-corporate. They pride themselves on doing things differently, and it turns out they were right and the way they did things and the things they paid attention to were extremely profitable and have made incredible business.

The big test for them really has not happened yet. Getting from where they started to where they are now, they are in front of a very big wave with just the right product, and just the right business model. Where they have to go now is a territory that would require extraordinary business acumen, because they are competing with Bill Gates now, they are competing with Yahoo, they are competing with News Corp. They are in a world where they are going to have to cooperate and partner with world governments.

This is not, "Let's build a better mousetrap and watch it take off." This is a case of, "We've got a $6 billion business -- we are trying to get it to be a $60 billion business. And we have to elbow a lot of other people without getting them so upset." This is a different test. And whether or not these two founders are up to it is an open question.

CNN: What would others have to do to be the next Google?

JB: First, you have to create an innovation that makes people say, "I've got to use this, this is better than that." That is extremely hard. Search is one of the hardest computer science problems in the world, because basically we are trying to create artificial intelligence so that we can speak with our computer, they can understand us and deliver what we are looking for. That is equivalent to turning your computer into a very intelligent research librarian, which of course is the holy grail of computer science, to create artificial intelligence. So it's not easy, you know. And to make a leap beyond Google and create a better mousetrap requires computer science that hasn't been invented yet.

Secondly, you have to do search well. It's pretty easy to do it on a limited scale based on the technology we currently have. But if you want to do that as well as Google, you have to have hundreds of thousands of machines, and you have to have thousands of engineers and keeping that up in running in real time is very expensive. You can't just start a search engine and all of a sudden everyone goes to it, because what would happen is the computers you are running off would blow up. You have to have a scale infrastructure, which is quite expensive so there is that as well that gets in the way. The third thing is funding the next big thing.

CNN: What is the next big thing on the Web?

JB: The idea to create a semantic Web where everything is described not by one researcher and his team but rather by all of us as we root about the Web. I might say, "This is a picture of a seaside with a sunset," but someone else comes and says, "No this is a picture of a beach in Thailand," and another person comes along and says, "This is a picture of a place I like to go diving." And over time, this one object, and every object in the world gets thusly tagged, gets enough intelligence around it that it can be found no matter how you might ask for it, the brittleness problem is solved.

The idea is that we might get to the point where everything in the world of value is in the index correctly, is on the Internet and some way represented, whether it's your car, your child or whether it's a media object like a page or an audio file or whatever, or in this case a picture. And then you create these vast semantic attachments to everything and that becomes the seedbed for the next generation of search to crawl and make sense of.

That's a long way off but we are starting to see any number of applications that are making this possible right now where people are starting to tag things and create engines based on those taggings and we are just seeing the beginnings of it. Whether it will be the next great breakthrough in search remains to be seen but it is a promising development.

CNN: People are getting nervous because, what you're looking for can be monitored. Do you think people are viewing it with a degree of suspicion?

JB: I think this is quite possibly the largest roadblock both to Google and anyone else involved in this space, which is that if it can be known, it more likely will be known. What we know now is everything that we do can be known, every footstep that we take on the Internet, using a search engine or once we've used a search engine and where we've gone -- wherever we've gone and whatever we do there -- can be recorded and it can be recorded by one central recorder. This is in the case of some of the tools now that Google and others give you, called the tool bar, which watches everywhere you go. And why they do that is that so they know everywhere you've been on the Internet so they can give you better search. "Oh, I see, he's been to this site before, so perhaps I should make that site higher in the results." That's called personalized search.

It seems like a service to you, right? But all the information about where you've been doesn't live with you, nor do you control it nor can you control who has access to it because of course the government or Google itself -- or it doesn't necessarily have to be Google, it could be Microsoft or Yahoo or anyone else -- could do whatever they like with it without telling you. In fact, it's part of their privacy policy that they will not sell this, they will not give it to third parties unless the laws of that country require them to.

Now we've seen the laws of various countries and the law of China is very different from the law of Britain and very different from the law of the United States. In fact, the law of the United States is a lot more like China. It turns out that after 9/11 we've passed a law called the Patriot Act which gives the government right to riffle through all of our stuff on line without our knowledge, which frankly as a journalist terrifies me. Not that I don't think we should have tools to combat terrorism -- I do. I just think we need a little sunlight.

We are creating these vast records of everything we do. It's very difficult to pull those records together and make sense of them but that's exactly what Google's job is. That's why they are in business. Are they doing the work of a potentially corrupt or abusive government? Yes, you can't deny that they are. The question is will they make a stand against it at some point and/or will they make it transparent to me so I can see what they know about me and I can edit it or decide that I wish to become anonymous.

CNN: Google has apparently set itself up as an anti-corporate company, but in a way, they are the biggest corporate company in the world. How does this tension work in reality?

JB: It's a huge tension when their goal is to provide you the best services, the most useful, efficient, productive, amazing, astonishing services. I believe they really want to do that. I've met so many people at Google and they really are well intentioned. But in order to do that they have to build the exact same kind of service that those with ill intentions might want to take advantage of. That's a tension that they are going to have to navigate.

CNN: Is there anything on the Web that you haven't been able to find?

JB: Absolutely. Microsoft did a study about a year and a half ago that claimed that only 50 percent of any search actually completes what people are looking for. That is quite a high percentage. There's lots of things I haven't found on the Web that I've been looking for, so when that that happens is I pick up the phone and call a person and then they just tell me one thing and I go back and do the search and there it is. Whether it's just you know the name of an obscure regulation, or whatever it is, or perhaps I just don't know how to ask the right question. I think the hardest thing in the world is how to ask the right question, it is not how to find the answer it is how to ask the right question

My Experience

2005-12-18T19:26:00.000+07:00

Life Is Only A Matter of Smile

Hello diary, how are you today? Hope you are in a good condition, so you can hear what I want to tell you about my story. Actually this story happened three days ago when I were on my way home from campus.
But I couldn’t tell you immediatley because I were so tired after a long day at campus with a lot of activity also; besides, I had to do something urgen at that day. Today is Satuday, and I have no class. So, I can tell you the story before I forget it.

Daily, I take along trip to reach my campus. Even it is along trip and seesms a tiredsome one, I feel very happy to run it everyday, because I can see many different things everytime.I use oto-rikhshaw to go to campus, and usually I hear my tape-recorder while sometimes singing the songs.

That day, I came from campus at 14.00 pm., after finished all of my subjects. Reached the Nizamuddin street, like usual I listened to my radio-tape and sang a long the way. It was a very crowded time that my oto should ran slowly. Along the road-side, there were so many workers working on repairing the road-side. Some of them were women and small kids. Maybe ther are the workers’ childrents. At the first time, there was nothing special to see them all, but suddently I saw an uncommon picture, I thought myself.

Among the workers, there was a little boy who was hitting the rock of the road-side with a big harmer, and it seemed that the harmer was too big to be hold by him because he needed full power to use it. Besides him, there was a woman sitting near him and did the same action, maybe she was his mother, and not far from him, there was a man with other little boy, more little than he was, still did the same action, and I thought they were his father and brother. They were laughing happily under the sun-shine that shone not so bright that day.

For you maybe this picture is not so speciall, because you can say that it is a common thing that happens nowday in our society. What point that makes it very speciall for me is that because of this, I remember one of my friends when I was at senior high school. Her name is Yati. She used to come to my house just to inform me about her ‘bad days’. Her days will become bad if:
- her boy-friend doesn’t call her
- her mother leaves her alone and go to the shopping-centre
- she cann’t find her ‘beloved’ shoes
- she doesn’t have money to buy her cosmetics
- etc. etc.
If these things happen, she cann’t even smile in a single second.

If I compare to that little boy, I can see the difference between them more clearly. The boy, just named him Son, still can smile even he has to do a hard work helping his parents. Actually, it is not his duty to do that in his age now. It is his time to go to scholl, playing with his friends, doing what he should do in his age, etc. but he is not so lucky to do that. The condition forces him to do something else that maybe not suitable for him. From his smile, I can see that he does not complain about his condition today. Even he does not realise that he has lost his childhood which should be full of joy and happiness, he still face his life with happiness in a different context with another child in common sense. He still can enjoy his life even he should help his parents just to earn more money to continue their life, maybe.

Then, a big question comes to my mind. Why my friend fells that her days turns bad only because of that if... and if....I realise now that my friend and me are still the luckier ones than Son. We still can fulfil all of our needed without doing anything so hard. Our parents still can afford all. On the other hand, Son should work hard only to get extra money to help his parents. Maybe in his mind there is only the thought that he has to get money today, so he and his family have something to eat, for tomorrow he has to find it again.

Now, I consider that as a human being, it’s not an unresponsible deed if I usually complain about my life. How lucky I am if I compare myself with Son. The only thing that I must do is make my life become useful for someone else, so my existenc on this world won’t be useless, and I think we all should do that. And for Son, hope you can find a better life in your feature, and become the ‘real’ man in this cruel world.

The Nature of the Linguistics Sign

2005-12-13T17:15:00.000+07:00

THE NATURE OF THE LINGUISTIC SIGN
Ferdinand De Saussure

Language is based on a NAMING process, by which things get associated
with a word or name. Saussure says this is a pretty naive or elementary
view of language, but a useful one, because it gets across the idea that the basic linguistic unit has two parts.

Those two parts Saussure names the "concept" and the "sound image". The
sound image is not the physical sound (what your mouth makes and your
ear hears) but rather the psychological imprint of the sound, the
impression it makes. An illustration of this is talking to
yourself--you don't make a sound, but you have an impression of what
you're saying.

The linguistic SIGN (a key word) is made of the union of a concept and
a sound image. The union is a close one, as one part will instantly
conjure the other; Saussure's example is the concept "tree" and the
various words for tree in different languages. When you are a speaker
of a certain language, the sound image for tree in that language will
automatically conjure up the concept "tree." The MEANING of any SIGN
is found in the association created between the sound image and the
concept: hence the sounds "tree" in English mean the thing "tree."
Meanings can (and do) vary widely, but only those meanings which are
agreed upon and sanctioned within a particular language will appear to
name reality.

A more common way to define a linguistic SIGN is that a SIGN is the
combination of a SIGNIFIER and a SIGNIFIED. Saussure says the sound
image is the SIGNIFIER and the concept the SIGNIFIED. You can also
think of a word as a signifier and the thing it represents as a
signified (though technically these are called sign and referent,
respectively).

The SIGN, as union of a SIGNIFIER and a SIGNIFIED, has two main
characteristics as below:

1.The bond between the SIGNIFIER (SFR) and SIGNIFIED (SFD) is
ARBITRARY. There is nothing in either the thing or the word that makes
the two go together, no natural, intrinsic, or logical relation between
a particular sound image and a concept. An example of this is the fact
that there are different words, in different languages, for the same
thing. Dog is "dog" in English, "perro" in Spanish, "chien" in French,
"Hund" in German.

This principle dominates all ideas about the STRUCTURE of language. It
makes it possible to separate the signifier and signified, or to change
the relation between them. (This makes possible the idea of a single
signifier which could be associated with more than one signified, or
vice-versa, which makes AMBIGUITY and MULTIPLICITY OF MEANING
possible.)

Language is only one type of semiological system (the word
"semiological," like the word "semiotic," comes from the Greek word for
"sign"). Any system of signs, made up of signifiers and signifieds, is
a semiotic or SIGNIFYING SYSTEM. Think, for example, of football
referee signals, baseball signs, astrological signs. Any time you make
up a secret code or set of signals you are making your own signifying
system.
There may be some kinds of signs that seem less arbitrary than others.
Pantomime, sign language, gestures (what are often called "natural
signs") seem to have a logical relation to what they represent. The
tomahawk chop used by Atlanta Braves fans, for example, seems to
imitate the action of chopping, and thus would be the most "natural"
way to designate the idea of chopping. But Saussure insists that ALL
SIGNS ARE ARBITRARY; the tomahawk chop only has meaning because a
community has agreed upon what the gesture signifies, not because it
has some intrinsic meaning.

Saussure discusses whether symbols, such as the use of scales for the
idea of justice, are innate or arbitrary, and decides that these too
are arbitrary, or based on community agreement. He also dismisses
onomatopoeia (words that sound like what they mean, like "pop" or
"buzz") as still conventional, agreed-upon approximations of certain
sounds. Think, for example, about the sounds attributed to animals.
While all roosters crow pretty much the same way, that sound is
transcribed in English as "cock-a-doodle-do" and in Spanish as
"cocorico." Interjections also differ. In English one says "ouch!" when
one bangs one's finger with a hammer; in French one says "Aie!" (Curse
words work the same way. Come up with your own examples).

Admittedly, Saussure is not very interested in how communities agree on
fixing or changing the relationships between signifiers and signifieds.
Like all structuralists, he focuses on a SYNCHRONIC analysis of
language as a system or structure, meaning that he examines it only in
the present moment, without regard to what its past history is, or what
its future may be. (Analyses which do take time into account, and look
at the history of changes within a structure, are called DIACHRONIC).

2.The second characteristic of the SIGN is that the signifier (here,
meaning the spoken word or auditory signifier) exists in TIME, and that
time can be measured as LINEAR. You can't say two words at one time;
you have to say one and then the next, in a linear fashion. (The same
is true for written language: you have to write one word at a time
(though you can write over an already written word) and you generally
write the words in a straight line).

This idea is important because it shows that language (spoken language,
anyway) operates as a linear sequence, and that all the elements of a
particular sequence form a chain. The easiest example of this is a
sentence, where the words come one at a time and in a line, one after
the other, and because of that they are all connected to each other.

Source: http://www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages/saussure.html

English Language Teaching (ELT)

2005-12-11T15:42:00.000+07:00

English Language Teaching

Through time, great issue concerning English Language Teacing(ELT) appears to be important and need a special intention from those involve in this field. Thus, considering such phenomenon, a brief touch upon the issue of why and how English is being taught in school seems to be proper to reveal first in this discussion.

If we look at the situation nowdays, in every part of country, when you ask an English teacher the reason why he is teaching English, you might possibly get one of the following answers:
1. to complete or cover the entiry prescribed course of the school
2. to make his students pass the exam
3. to let his students know 'a little' about English.

Furthermore, if you observe the procedure using by the him in teaching English, you would find a simultaneous concept as follow:
1. asking his students to open their text book
2. writing the difficult words they found along with the meaning in their mother tongue on their notebook or on the blackboard
3. askng the classto memorize the words by heart
4. taking up some passages from a lesson then reading them loudly to the class
5. giving the translation of each and every word, as well as the passages meaning in the mother tongue of the class
6. explaining particular grammatical items, and sometimes giving rules
7. asking the class to answer the questions, usually atvthe end of class
8. having a test of the previous course

Unfortunately, the procedure above seems to be uneffective for improving the competence ability of the English students to use English communicatively in the real world. Even a clever students who already mastered all aspects of English, sometimes finds difficulties when come to perform his English skills. Maybe in the writen form, he can do it well, but English is not as simple as writing. Because as a language, English is a kind of a skill; moreover, learning language is a matter of achiving skill of the language. Language itself is a complex skill involving four dimension of skill i.e. listening, speaking , reading, and writing. In teaching language, the teachers also must to understand the very conceptual of language teaching in right, as well as in new perspectives, then get down to the set of ELT.

But, have you ever realise what actually an English teachers do in the class when they teach English? They have, perhaps, not been able to understand the difference between the teaching of English as the first language and second language. They also have unknowingly taught English as a foreign language or as a suplementary language, or it might just say that they have taught it like their mother togue. As a matter of fact, we can not close our eye that when English teachers teach English to their students, they are teching English after students' mother tongue. This thing may cause a pedagogue to ask: "What does a teacher teach? Does he teach a content-subject or a skill-subject? Which language does he teach? Is it the mother tongue or second language or even a foreign language? Does he already have the knowledge that language teaching strategy differs from language to language? Is he capable to do the job successfully? What kind of a proper way should be used to teach the language? To whom he teachs it? What is the learning level of his learners? etc. etc.

These are some puzzling questions that so far will give us a thought 'What is wrong with the ELT itself?'. To know further, we might put them into two broad categories: (A) how is the education system of the country where English is being taught, and (B) how are the learners and the teachers of english.

It has been noticed and accepted by almost one and all that in teaching and learning English, there is no uniformity of certain standards. Every countries has their own policy and regulatio of their educational system, and use it as the basic concept of teaching and learning, especially for English. The primary problem that follows it is the fact that the system is not lack of ideas, but lack of action. Another consideration, if we can say, are the political and economical in characters. They blog progress in such a vital area as English, 'the most wanted language of the world'. Consequently, a large number of English course centres which earn a lot of money 'in the name of teaching English' have been opened in the market. Many student are tempted to buy cheap buzzer notes and guide books which claim to teach them English within 30 or 60 days. Then, another phenomenon appears is the situation where the English teachers teach only a little aenglish in the school and will give more at home, and of course, give tuition making teaching English a business. In addition, we will be shocked to know that these learners have learn 'nothing' but a few stereotype expressions.

We come to the second point, how are the learners and the teachers of English. Many of english teachers, even not only english teacher, fail to see the truth that learning and teaching a language are two different things. Language learning is a consuming process of the language, and one needs to have a lot of patience, and also do hard work, because each language is unique in nature and has its own peculiar structure, as well as system. Therefore, teaching of English is not the same as teaching of other languages such as France,German, Mandarin, etc. etc. because each of them not only has different structure, but also different system.

The trend that can be seen nowdays is the teachers tend to teach their students by giving many things at a time i.e lexis, structure, composition-translation, etc. They usually make a generalization rather then specification in the calssroom. They do not care to their learners' level, abilities, proficiency, altitude, and even their age. I wonder if you are really a good language teacher, make sure that you have acquired with the latest language teaching approach,because others still use the old method. Another tendency that can be found is that teachers tend to put more emphasis on the content than the teaching of language.

This small paper is not to accuse anyone but to put foward a better situation of teaching language situation, especially English as the language of the world. To reopen our consideration to look into wider perspectives and develope such a kind of a global sense, and see the exact reality around us.

To conclude, Teaching and learning English is going hand in hand, each of them should not be separated because they are integrated. anow is the time for us to make English Language Teaching more pragmatic and realistic. Let's get down to the real task before us, that is, the task to improve the English Language TEaching.

Poem: Destiny

2005-12-10T18:48:00.000+07:00

Destiny
Oleh: Rini Ekayati

Born as an innosence creature
Without creation and imagination
Crying and crying, the only good thing to do
Without caring his growing is coming

Come to consider life is not so simple
Problem and trouble come one by one
Should strengthen the heart to get throught
But sometimes falls under His feets.

Unfortunately,..........
Why should destiny be the excusser
It is not his fault if you fall under
Cause you make it your own dear

Face it and get throught of it
Don't waste time blaming destiny
Change it and make better of it
The only thing to be done honey.

Life Is A Struggle

2005-12-06T17:28:00.000+07:00

Never Say: "I Can't Do It!"

Have you ever heard this sentence? I am sure that all of you have heard it. From my experience, this sentence may be one of the factors that can make you fail to do something in your life. You know, I was not a very confident woman before. I used to be afraid of doing what I like because of frightening not be able to do that, even I wanted it very much. I had lost many good chances in my life only because of this 'fool' sentence.

One of my friend told me: "Rini, you are not such kind of woman, never thing that you have nothing inside you. You are able to do anything you like and want. Never say 'I can't do it! Never, never, and never, okey? Because you really can do it!"

Then, I realise that 'Life is a struggle'. Thus, we have to fight for it. If we want to survive in our life, we should have the strength to do anyting for our own life. Nobody can help us. Realising that life is a struggle, I never say that sentence again. I just try it first, after I have tried it, then it will be found out whether I can do it or not. So, never thing that you can't do something, and never say this 'stupid' sentence. Below, I write one of Celine Dion's songs that gives a detail describe, I think, about what I am saying. Hope you can enjoy it and take good things from it. See you.

THAT'S THE WAY IT IS

I can read your mind and I know your story
I see what you’re going through
It’s an uphill climb, and I’m feeling sorry
But I know it will come to you

Don’t surrender ’cause you can win
In this thing called love

When you want it the most, there’s no easy way out
When you’re ready to go, and your heart’s left in doubt
Don’t give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that’s the way it is

When you question me for a simple answer
I don’t know what to say, no
But it’s plain to see, if you stick together
You’re gonna find a way, yeah

So don’t surrender ’cause you can win
In this thing called love

When you want it the most there’s no easy way out
When you’re ready to go and your heart’s left in doubt
Don’t give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that’s the way it is

When life is empty with no tomorrow
And loneliness starts to call
Baby, don’t worry, forget your sorrow
’cause love’s gonna conquer it all, all

When you want it the most there’s no easy way out
When you’re ready to go and your heart’s left in doubt
Don’t give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that’s the way it is

When you want it the most there’s no easy way out
When you’re ready to go and your heart’s left in doubt
Don’t give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that’s the way it is

That’s the way it is
That’s the way it is, babe
Don’t give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that’s the way it is

When you want it the most there’s no easy way out
When you’re ready to go and your heart’s left in doubt
Don’t give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that’s the way it is

By Celine Dion

My Diary (3)

2005-12-05T15:26:00.000+07:00

December 5th, 2005 14.00 pm.

Achiving The Scholarship: Big 'Miracle' in My Life

As I promise you, I will continue my story now.
After receiving the scholarship form, I felt so happy. I went home and started filling the form. Afraid of making any mistake, I made the duplication of it, and filled the duplication one for the first time. I also completed all the document needed as the requirements of the scholarship. Before, I had to make my passort first as one of the important documents. My mother accompanied me during this process. Finishing all, I returned the form to the Indian Coucil again, and my waiting time began. I should wait for about half year or six months, from December to May for the result whether my application accepted or rejected.

On May 2005, I forgot the date, but it was maybe in the middle of May, I received an invitation letter from the council to have the second test, and it was a writen test. It surprised me a lot, because my teacher said that there would not be a writen test. The test would be held on June 7th, 2005. I only prepared what I could prepare, and I gave the rest part to my God, Allah SWT, The Almighty.

The test had passed, and I should wait again for two or three days for the announcement. And you know, waiting is tiredsome. Finally, my phone rang. Kring...kring...kring...!!!!! I picked up the phone. "Hello, good morning.". I said:"Good morning.". Then, "Can I speak to Ms.Rini?". "Yes,It's me." "I am Mr. Ndraha speaking." My heart started to run fast. "Yes?". "Can you come to the Indian Council today at 10.00 am?" My heart went faster and faster. "Yes, of course." "Okey. Don't be late. Good morning." I repleid: "Good morning.". I put down my phone and my brain stopped thinking for a while. Then I called my mother.

I went to the council as soon as possible. On the way to the council, I could not stop thinking why they asked me to come today. It was impossible if they already got the result, because it was just one day after the test, so what was going on? Arriving at the council, I saw one of my friend, Fitri who also applied this scolarship had been there first. She hold a paper, and when I came closer to her, she said that she got the scholarship. My heart suddenly ran faster. 'What about me?'. This was the first question that came to my mind. Then, Mr. Ndraha came out, and when he saw me, he handed me a paper.

I read the paper carefully, word by word, sentence by sentence, and then finally,"I got it". I got the scholarship, and they placed me in Department of Linguistics, University of Delhi, India. This is the starting point why I come to India.

Now, I have registered myself as one of the member of the Linguistic Department family of University of Delhi. I still feel it like a 'miracle' for me. Maybe out there, there are many other students like me who have desire to get this opportunity. Today, this miracle may come tome, but someday it will come to you. So, don't be afraid to hope, and do what you like to do without being afraid to make mistake, because making error is human. Don't stop dreaming, because by dreaming you can see what you really want, but don't always be a dreamer, because a dreamer never do anything to change his life.

After this story, I will tell you about my experience during my study here. Not only my study,but also my daily activity, my friends, etc. etc. But it is not today. Just wait, okey! I hope my story can encourage you all, especially for my friends in Medan, maybe to do like what I am doing now. See you soon!

Lake Toba, North Sumatra

2005-12-04T17:37:00.000+07:00

One Miracle of the World

As one of North Sumatra's people, it is impossible if I don't know "Lake Toba', because it is one of the most beautiful place that I ever visited. Actually, I never go to other places even it is in Indonesia. What a pitty I am!!!

For everyone who want to come to North Sumatra, I recomendate you to visit Lake Toba. It is a comfortable place to spend your vacation time. You never can imagine it before you feel it by yourself. The information below is a little overview of Lake Toba, hope it is useful for everyone.

Danau Toba is the largest lake in all of Southeast Asia. The giant lake sits at an altitude of 800 meters, and is 100 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide. The lake is situated in the caldera of the huge Toba volcano which erupted approximately 75,000 years ago. The eruption of Toba was one of the most massive eruptions ever on Earth. Many scientists believe that this eruption triggered the last ice age. The eruption probably lasted two weeks until finally the volcano collapsed and formed the caldera which is now Danau Toba. The bottom of the volcano rose and formed the island of Samosir which is beautifully situated in the middle of the blue waters of Toba.

Danau Toba, or Lake Toba, is a must see of Sumatra. We enjoyed our scenic bus ride from Bukit Lawang, but nothing prepared us for our first view of the beautiful Danau Toba. It was absolutely breathtaking. Our bus stopped in the town of Parapat and we had to take a ferry to Pulau Samosir, or Samosir Island.

Source: http://www.2goglobal.com

My Diary (2)

2005-12-04T15:39:00.000+07:00

December 4th, 2005 14.30 pm.

Why I Come to India?

Before continuing my adventure in India, I just want to let you all know that I come to India not on my own fee. But you know, I come to India because I get a kind of scholarship from ICCR(Indian Couincil for Cultural Reltations). (Detail information about ICCR also available in this blog)

Getting a scholarship for me is such kind of a big gift from God that I ever had. It is a great opportunity, concerning that I will never be here if I don't get it. It is only because that I will never be here if I use my own money.Do you want to know the reason??

The reason is that I only the daughter of a laborman that earn not 'too' much money for a month salary. The money is only enough for earning our daily needs, but not for continuing my study. But luckly, I still can finish my BA degree in English literature in Islamic University of North Sumatra, Medan, Indonesia even I should work very and very hard for it.

After finishing my BA, I asked one of my previous lecturer, Mr. Purwarno, about studying In India because he had finished his study there, and got MA in English Literature in Jamia Millia Islamia University. He told me that he could go to India because he got scholarship from ICCR. Hearing this, a new hope comes to my mind that I can continue my study to a higher level, getting MA.

Havin a great interest in it, I try to look for information about ICCR by visiting the Indian Council in my home town. For the first time, I am not sure to apply for this scholarship because I am not clever enough to pass the test that may be conducted as a fulfilment. But my lecturers, my friends, and also my parents, support me a lot and they said that I would pass it because I already got the knowledge and why I should be afraid of trying to do a good thing. Realising that, I stand on myself confidence, and start to do it.

I had been interviewed before getting the application of ICCR scholarship. And you know, it was the first time for me to be interviewed in English. You can imagine what happen with me. I was trumbling during the time, but luckly I still could control myself for not becoming a 'stupid idiot student' in front of the interviewer who's name is Mr. Ndraha. After a long conversation, I finally got the application form, and that was the main point.

Sorry friends, I have something to do right now. Tomorrow I will continue this 'miracle' story. Okey?!!

ICCR Scholarship

2005-12-04T14:55:00.000+07:00

INDIAN COUNCIL OF CULTURAL RELATIONS

About the ICCR

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, was established in 1950. The objectives of the Council, as defined in its Memorandum of Association, are :
to participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes relating to India’s external cultural relations
to promote cultural exchange with other countries and peoples
to promote and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries
to establish and develop relations with national and international organisations in the field of culture
The Council, with its Headquarters in Azad Bhavan, New Delhi, carries out this mandate of cultural diplomacy through a wide spectrum of activities which include:

A. Programmes Wing:
exchanges of visits by scholars, academicians, opinion-makers, artists & writers
facilitation of the organisation of and participation in seminars and symposia abroad
exchanges of visits by performing arts groups
exchanges of exhibitions
commissioning of busts and statues of Indian leaders for installation abroad
presentation abroad of informatics, audio-visual material, books on India & Indian musical instruments
active collaboration in the operations of some Foreign Cultural Centres in India ( e.g. nine of the thirteen British Libraries in India --- the ones outside the four metropolitan cities --- are run jointly by the ICCR and the British Council )

B. Administration & Education Wing
administering of scholarship schemes for foreign students for studies in India
assisting organisation of and participation in seminars and symposia in India
maintaining the Council’s Regional Offices in India and its Cultural Centres abroad
establishing & maintaining Chairs & Professorships for Indian Studies in Universities abroadaal Centres abroad
administering the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding
organising the Maulana Azad Memorial Lecture
conducting the Maulana Azad Essay Competition
publications

The Council

>The Council has regional offices in : Bangalore, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai & Thiruvananthapuram.

>The Council has Cultural Centres abroad in : Georgetown, Paramaribo, Port Louis, Jakarta, Moscow, Berlin, Cairo, London, Tashkent, Almaty, Johannesburg, Durban, Port of Spain & Colombo (in order of establishment)

>The Programmes Wing of the Council can be accessed at two WebSites :

http://iccr.tripod.com : since December 1997
http://education.vsnl.com/iccr : since January 1999

Source:http://education.vsnl.com/iccr/aboutus.htm

My Diary (1)

2005-12-03T23:51:00.000+07:00

December 3rd, 2005, 22.30 pm.

New Adventure Begins

I am a post-graduate student of Departement of LInguistics, Delhi University, India. I continue my study here under the ICCR scholarship for two years course study. There are another five Indonesian students who also been given this scholarship this year. I arrived in Indiragandhi Airport on July 17th, 2005 at 21.30 pm. When I arrived here do you know what was the first thing that came to my mind? It is a big question "What I am doing here?". After that I realised that a new adventure had come to my life. and from that moment my adventure begins.

If I make an acount, it is already 5 months I have lived far away from my beloved family and friends. I had left so many things behind, and kept them in my mind as my inner power to continue my life here. You know that to live far away from our family and friends is not as easy as someone can imagine. You have to be a brave and strong man to face the new situation and condition. Being able to adapt the tradition of the region where you stay, get use to the habit, culture, social interaction, etc. etc. And the tough one, you know, I have to be familiar with the educational situation that totally different from mine in my home town.

Because of this, I plan to write this diary just to share my own feeling during my study here. I also want to let you all know the situation that I face concerning my study in New Delhi, India. Hoping that it can help you because one of you, maybe, need it as one of your references whether you have desire to continue your study abroad, especially in New Delhi, India. And I also want to share this with all my friends, especially from my home town Medan, North Sumatra.

It is all that I can write for today. Tomorrow I will meet you againt. God-night, friends!

Morphology Part I

2005-12-02T15:08:00.000+07:00

By Francis Katamba

I.INTRODUCTION
-Morpgology is the study of the internal structure of word.
-Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning and grammatical function.
-According to Chomsky (1980,1981,1986), the central goal of linguistic theory is to determine what it is people know if they know a particulae language. He also observe that knowing the language is not simply a matter of being able to manipulate a long list of sentences that have been memoried.
-Creativity(also called productivity or open-endedness) is an aspect of linguistic knowledge that is of paramount importance.

-A generative grammar is a system of explicit rules which may apply recursively to generate an indefinite number of sentences which can be as long as one wants them to be.
-Recursiveness has the consequence that: in principle,there is no upper limit to the length of sentences.
-Grammar and Rule of Grammar
These terms are used by linguists in four distinct senses.
First: Generative linguistics use the term 'grammar' to refer to the implicit,totally unarticulated knowledge of results and principles of their knowledge that people have in their heads.
Second: In traditional approaches, 'grammar' only includes morphology and syntax.
But in generative linguistics, the term grammar covers not only morphpkpgy and syntax but also semantics, the lexicon and phonology. Hence, there are rules of grammar in every linguistic module. Phonological rules, mprphplogical rules, syntactic rules, and semantic rules are regarded as ruls of grammar.
Third: Grammar and rules of grammar may refer to a book containing a statement of the rules and principles infered by linguist to lie behind the lingistic behaviour of speaker of a particular language.
Fourth: Some grammar are books containing prescriptive statement. Such grammars contains rules that prescribe certain kindsd of usage.
-Chomsky characterises linguistic knowledge using the concept of competence and performance.
Competence is a person's implicit knowledge of the rules of a language that makes the production and understanding of an indefinitely large number of new utterances possible.
Performance is the actual use of language in real situation.
He also propose that competence, rather than performance, is the pimary object of linguistic inquiry. Put simply, knowledge of a language entails mastery of an elaborate system of rules that enables a person to encode and decode a limittles number of utterancces in that language.
-Chomsky contends that the linguistic capacity of human is innate. The general character of linguistic knowledge is determined by the nature of the mind which is endowed with a specialised language faculty. This faculty is determined in turn by the biology of the brain. The human child is born with a blue-print of language which is called Universal Grammar.
-According to Chomsky, Universal Grammar is the faculty of the mind which determines the nature of language acquisition in the infant and of linguistic competence.
-Knowledge of word-structure is a central aspect of linguistic competence.
-Morphology interacts with both phonology and syntax as well as semantics.
-The job of the syntactic component of the grammar was thought of as being to generate (i.e to specify or enumerate explicitly) all the well-formed sentences of a language, without generating any ill-formed ones.
-Readjustment rules operate on the final output of the syntactic component, making whatever modifications were necessary in order to enable phonological rules to apply to the representation obtained after all syntactic rules had applied.
-Words are central dimension of language.
-The relationship between a word and its meaning is arbitrary. There is no reason why a word has the particular meaning that it has.

Communicative Approach in Language Teaching

2005-11-30T14:22:00.000+07:00

ENGLISH IN COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

It has been acknowledged that language is potentially a tool for communication in every humans activities. English as one of the crucial languages around the world seems to be the most interesting language to study about. Considering this situation, it is needed to figure out the most comfortable way in learning it that can make everyone who wants to know and study it easy to understand it. Moreover, this is the task of linguists, especially to those that have great interest in English, to find it out.

Across time, considerable changes have occured in the field of English teaching both in English as a foreign language, like in Indonesia, or second language, like in Malaysia, and on the teaching of foreign language in general. It also needs to be considered that the major point needed by most learners of English is not only the theoritical or analytical knowledge of it, but also an ability to understand an be undestood in English within the contex and constrains of distinc language-using circumstances.

The appearance of the recent concept of the communicative approach in language teaching by the term communicative Language Teaching(CLT)has brought a new revolution of thoughts and ideas. It has, further, become a challenging task for linguists to understand it i a proper perspective and then convey it to the language learners.

In teaching English, some of English teachers have given a great efforts to prove that all our past efforts of teaching foreign languages, like English, have been failured only because of our inadequate understandig or rather misunderstanding the notion as well as the function of the languages themselves. They also have the same argument in the perspective that much emphasis on the structure and lexical items has not given desirable results.

Let's take the example from the condition of English teaching in Indonesia. At present and all levels, the teaching of English is either limited to structure or grammar or translation method. The structure and vocabulary are being taught by using a structural syllabus and grammar-translation method when the students are in the primary or secondary levels. Over the years, it is believed that this method would help the English learners arrange correct sentences throught the structures learnt. Reach the higher level, these structures are being revised, and a more exposure to it is created with the help of literary text.

Throught this 'existing teaching approaches, we can find out the fact that the lerners of English do not 'learn' english in any real sense, because they often stay in deficient in case of normal communication, whether in spoken or written form. Further, this method only teaches the ability to compose corect sentences.Unfortunately, this ability is not the only one needed by English learners to develope their English, and in fact, we do not communicate only by composing different kinds of sentences, but by using sentences to describe things, record, ask question, etc. etc. Although this method has made the English learners structurally 'competent' and enable them to produce grammatically correct sentences, the real fact is that they are unable to perform a simple communicative task. It means that they already knw the grammmar, but lack in the ability to be appropriate, as well as fluent.

English in communicative language teaching emphasizes on the communicative competence of learners. Learners are mostly forced to communicate what they really want to do through giving their ideas, thoughts, and feelings. They should been taught how and when these communicative tasks and acts are performed in order they are able to communicate whatever the subjects are. It is because that learning English by using CLT encourage everyone goes beyond the structures and take another account of aspects of communcation. now, the English learners concerns with how to use English, not english usages.

Celine Dion Love Song

2005-11-29T16:26:00.000+07:00

All By Myself - Celine Dion

When I was young
I never needed anyone
And making love was just for fun
Those days are gone

Livin' alone
I think of all the friends I've known
When I dial the telephone
Nobody's home

All by myself,don't wanna be
All by myself,anymore

Hard to be sure
Sometimes I feel so insecure
And loves so distant and obscure
Remains the cure

All by myself,don't wanna be
All by myself,anymore
All by myself,don't wanna live
All by myselfaAnymore

When I was young
I never needed anyone
Making love was just for fun
Those days are gone

All by myself,don't wanna be
All by myself,anymore
All by myself,don't wanna live
Oh,don't wanna live
By myself, by myself
Anymore
By myself,anymore
Oh,all by myself
Don't wanna live
I never, never, never
Needed anyone.

All By Myself by Celine Dion

Bee Gees Love Songs

2005-11-29T16:07:00.000+07:00

Woman In Love

Life is a moment in space
When the dream is gone
It's a lonelier place
I kiss the morning goodbye
But down inside you know we never know why

The road is narrow and long
When eyes meet eyes
And the feeling is strong
I turn away from the wall
I stumble and fall
But I give you it all

I am a woman in love
And I'd do anything
To get you into my world
And hold you within
It's a right I defend
Over and over again
What do I do ?

With you eternally mine
In love there is no measure of time
They planned it all at the start
That you and I live in each others heart

We may be oceans away
You feel my love
I hear what you say
No truth is ever a lie
I stumble and fall
But I give you it all

I am a woman in love
And I'd do anything
To get you into my world
And keep you within
It's a right I defend
Over and over again
What do I do ?

I am a woman in love
And I'm talkin' to you
I know how you feel
What a woman can do
It's a right I defend
Over and over again

I am a woman in love
And I'd do anything
To get you into my world
And hold you within
It's a right I defend
Over and over again
What do I do ?

Deptt. of Linguistics, University of Delhi

2005-11-29T15:22:00.000+07:00

DEPARTEMENT OF LINGUISTICS

Prof. Ramesh Chand Sharma,
Head,
Dept. of Linguistics,
Arts Faculty,
University of Delhi,
Delhi-110007.
Phone: off: 91-011-27666676, 91-011-27666390,
res: 91-129-5044102, Mobile: 9810422102,
Email: head@linguistics.du.ac.in (for General query)
rcsharma@linguistics.du.ac.in (for Specific query)
Fax: 91-011-27666390.
Department of Linguistics

History & Description of Department
The department of Linguistics offers various courses such as:
M.A. - 2 years
M.Phil. - Min 1 year
Ph.D. - Min. 2 years
Post MA Diploma in Linguistics - 1 year part time course
Advanced Diploma in Applied Linguistics. - 1 year

The Department of Linguistics was started in 1963 with Dr. Chandresekhar as its head. Only a diploma course in Linguistics was offered in the beginning. The Master?s and Doctoral programmes were later introduced in 1966 when the noted Indian linguist Professor P.B. Pandit joined the Department. Dr. R.N. Srivastava joined the Department as a Professor in 1976. An advanced diploma course in applied linguistics and the M.Phil. Programme, in place of the earlier M.Litt. Programme, were introduced in 1979. The department has been fortunate in attracting linguists trained in good academic institutions, today it is regarded one of the major centers for linguistics in India. The significant number of international scholars from prestigious academic institutions seeking academic affiliation with the Department and the number of students admitted to the Department from at least ten countries indicate the international academic recognition that the department enjoys. The fact that 20 students of the Department have been selected by American and British Universities in the last few years for pursuing doctoral research further speaks of the academic reputation of the Department. Eminent Indian linguists who have taught at the Department include Dr. A. Agesthialingom (ex-Vice Chancellor Tamil University), Dr. B.G. Mishra (ex-Director of the Central Institute of Hindi, Agra), Dr. C.J. Daswani, and Dr. C. Ramarao.

In addition, many linguists of international repute have over the years been associated with the Department in various capacities. These include: Professors Gordon Fairbanks, Robert B. Lees, Gerald Kelly, Jame D. McCawley, Jean Aitchison, Charles Kissebirth, Franklin C. Southworth, Richard Mckee, Yamuna Kachru, George Lakoff, Peter Trudgill, Alice Davison, Peter Hook, Hans Hock, Rajendra Singh, Kashi Wali, K.S. Yadurajan, J.P.S. Uberoi, Andre Beteille, Sisir Kumar Das, B. Jernudd and J. Neustupny. The Department had the privilege of welcoming and listening to such great linguists as Noam Chomsky, Andre Martinet, David Abercrombic, George Cardona, Eric Hamp, Peter Ladefoged, G. Nickel, R.M.W. Dixon, Anoop Mahajan, and R. Posner. It also had the honour of organizing the golden jubilee of the Linguistic Society of India and the Decennial celebration of the Dravidian Linguistics Association.

Achievements

Other Amenities and Facilities
Research Facilities:
The Department has been fortunate in attracting linguists trained in good academic institutions abroad and in India and is regarded as one of the major centres for linguistic studies and research in India. It has sophisticated equipment in its Phonetics Laboratory. It has a Computer Lab with a Xerox Machine to facilitate the research activities of the Department.

It has its own Library which has a collection of latest books and journals in Linguistics.

In recognition of the academic achievements of the Department, the University Grants Commission has selected it for its Special Assistance Programmes (SAP) to further strengthen the teaching and research activities of the Department.

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Mariah Carey

2005-11-26T17:03:00.000+07:00

"HERO" By Mariah Carey

There's a hero
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are

There's an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will met away

**And than a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears a side
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

It's a long road
When you face the world alone
No one reaches out a hand
For you to hold

You can find love
If you search within yourself
And the empetines you fell
Will disappear**

Lords knows, dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone, tear them away
Hold on, there will be tomorrow
In time, you'll find the way**

Celine Dion

2005-11-21T16:23:00.000+07:00

"My Heart Will Go On" By Celine Dion

Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you
That is how I know you
Go on

Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you
Go on

*Near far wherenever you are
I believe that the heart does
Go on.....
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart and
My heart will go on and on....

Love can touch us one time
And last for a life time
And never let go till were gone
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold you
In my life we'll alwys go on *

You're here, there's nothing I fear
And I know that my heart will
Go on......
We'll stay forever this way
You are save in my heart and
My heart will go no
And on.....