Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

If I was home, Easter is usually a thanksgiving lunch with the family, and a time to reflect and give thanks. As I am away from home (and kept messing up the time to call home), let me just do my part of reflecting. This is just a one week reflection, I haven't been into the weeks of meditation (Minggu Prapaskah).

Easter, to me is about: love, sacrifice, and taking the initiative (read more)

Last week I was in Denver, CO for the enrichment seminar. There was 148 participants from 72 countries. It was an amazing forum. But at the beginning it was uncomfortable, hesitant, and self aware. You walk for 5 minutes with someone, trying to make small talks, and once too many you give-up making conversation and go back to your safe spot and finding someone you already know.

Lunch after our Global-Classroom presentation. (left-right) Tara (Ireland), me, Abubakar (Pakistan), Ever (Equador), Nataliya (Ukraine. it's weird my roommate keeps calling her Natasha, and said that it was a nickname. But at the last day, Nataliya said she preferred to be called Nataliya. we laugh at my thinks-she-knows-all roommate ;-) ), Janine (Germany), Tahir (Pakistan), part of Mariam (Norwey).

But it is just amazing how for 5 minutes you tried and end-up not succeeding, but then you try again after 10 minutes and you end up making a 30 minute conversation :-) I am amazed at this, and can't help smiling thinking about it again. I made many new friends from all over the world, and even manage to make very good friends with several of them, including a family in Denver which I've grown to love.

My roommate, Valentyna (Ukraine), a Literature scholar at Penn State.

Easter, is a joyful event, but the Pope in his Easter message use the word "lament" much to many. There are differences in the world, differences that cause us to feel insecure and defensive.....and hate. I think this is where all the lament is coming from, or at least people are using this differences as the cause...

Senik (Iraq), Agnes (Yogya-Indonesia), Mona (Tanzania), me

I guess, often we are discourage to open-up to differences because we are sacred to be judged. But, this is just a small percentage of the cause, I think mostly it's because we are scared to leave our comfort zone and take chances (no one likes changes, right?) But my experience in making new friends, has taught me the benefit of it, when one door opens, we will keep on smiling for several days to come. So..., I'll count this 'opening-up to differences' and 'making initiatives' as one lesson-learned for this Easter.

I also like to share one other experience with you. I was assigned to Skyland High School to talk with high school student about our country (we were a group of 4 people). Skyland is a community school, for the underprivileged. One class consist of 15 students has an advisor (or the home room teacher) which is his (or her) advisor for the 3 or more years he is attending school. The curriculum are made between the advisor and the student himself, consisting of school work and internship. And they graduate if they have an acceptance letter from a college. These students are students which have not thought about attending college, and if they did attend they would probably be the first in their family. Most of the student's parents are involve with the local gangs. Drugs and violence are apparent to them.

At Skyland Community High School, I think the flag is part of somebody's presentation. We were divided to 5 groups for 5 schools, so this is just part of the 150 participants.

Though I had a story about Indonesia to share with them, but I actually don't have anything to say to them. Not that I don't want to, but because I don't know anything about their life. I have been brought up in a sterile environment. My parents understands the importance of education, and they were able to send me to good schools. What do I have to say to these students, I have no idea. I really wanted to say something motivating, ...but ...I didn't know what to say. I think that I learnt more from them than they did of me. I am again reminded the privileges in my life(and reminded of the responsibilities that comes with it,...something I usually don't like to be reminded of..hehehe).

I always like my travels, and the people I meet. I would like to say that a significant portion of what I learnt are not from school, but from outside the classrooms ...(this is a cliche, but so true.)

So, Happy Easter! and welcome Spring!

I love this picture. It was a lovely day, we were waiting for the museums to open. This is at downtown Denver, CO. The museums' collection wasn't much, I even preferred sitting down on the grass in this park while waiting for my friends to finish their visit to the museums (hey..i did go through the collections in the museum...really.., but don't blame me if I went at it fast, it wasn't much...hehehe)..