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Friday, December 31, 2010

What’s next???


 
        Seperti biasanya, aku bangun pagi dan bersiap-siap untuk berangkat ke kantor. Rasanya hati ini tidak rela bekerja di hari di mana kebanyakan orang memilih cuti atau berlibur ke luar kota. Mengapa aku masih harus bekerja di hari terakhir tahun 2010? Ah….. andai saja bukan karena tanggung jawab, aku pasti sudah akan bolos kerja. Tapi “tidak” kataku, aku harus masuk kerja karena selama ini aku mempunyai prinsip kalau aku bukan bekerja untuk manusia, tapi untuk Tuhan seperti yang Paulus katakan dalam Kolose 3:23 “Apapun juga yang kamu perbuat, perbuatlah dengan segenap hatimu seperti untuk Tuhan dan bukan untuk manusia”.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Chen Clan Academy 陈家祠– Guangzhou, China



        Not only functioning as a business and industrial center, Guangzhou also plays an important role in the development and preservation of Lingnan culture and folk handicrafts. One of the cultural sites in Guangzhou you must visit is Chen Clan Academy. My friends and I visited this ancient building because we wanted to find another recreation place besides shopping in Beijing Lu.
        Chen Clan Academy or Chen Jia Ci in Chinese is renowned for its typically beautiful Lingnan (Southern China) architecture and is located in Zhongshan Qi Lu that is accessible by taxi, bus or MRT. If you take MRT, stop at Chen Clan Academy (Chen Jia Ci) station and take C exit.
        Covering the area of 2.3 hectares, Chen Clan Academy is named after Chen family since it was built on donation by Chen descendants from 72 counties in Guangdong province during the Emperor Guangxu's reigning period of the Qing Dynasty (1894). Some important Chen offspring who supported the construction were Chen Xianglin, Chen Ruinan and Chen Yaonan, who at that time just returned from abroad. The original idea of the construction came from the pride of the Chen family when one of their family members successfully obtained the third rank in the highest imperial examination in the late of the Qing dynasty and acquired a distinguished title. For this reason, the Chen family decided to build an ancestral hall to encourage their children to study hard like their predecessors. In the ancient time, students who passed the imperial exam with a Jin Shi title  would be bestowed a flag  in front of their ancestral house by the emperor. In front of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, there used to be three flagpoles possibly symbolizing three Chen family members had satisfying academic achievements in three imperial examinations.

Chen Clan Academy (23)


Friday, December 24, 2010

Beijing Lu 北京路 – Guangzhou, China

 

        My first visit to China was in 2006 when it was a summer holiday. I chose the city of Guangzhou as my first destination to this Panda and Bamboo country for I have some far relatives living there. On my first day, they directly took me and my mom to one of the most famous and internationally known shopping centers, called Beijing Lu. The name Beijing Lu itself does not have anything to do with Beijing as the capital city of China. However, the reason why they named that busiest pedestrian shopping street after Beijing is unclear.

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Thursday, November 18, 2010

A Complete Diary of Egypt Trip



        Who is unfamiliar with Egypt, one of the countries with the oldest history in the world? When I was a high school student, my history teacher once taught about Egypt and its ancient civilization. However, I just knew the country from the textbook and then soon forgot about the great civilization. Thank God, my memory was then refreshed by a rewarded trip to Egypt in August 2010. The knowledge I once only knew from readings has now become a lifetime memory.
        Who ever thought that an ordinary girl like me would be able to go to Egypt for free? Nobody, but God did it. It all started from my joining a Modernisator writing competition. At first, I did not expect too much to win the contest as I was just an amateur writer who never won any national writing competition. However, I prayed to God that He would give me a chance to glorify Him through winning the prize. I could feel that God spoke to me to keep praying for that. On a short visit to Times bookstore, I saw Egypt Insight Guides book. Something inside me compelled me to buy that three-hundred-something book as if I would win the competition. As I waited for the announcement, Fika from Modernisator called and told I won the contest and would go to Egypt to attend an International Youth Forum there. My heart leaped that I could not express my happiness and surprise. I held off the call and thanked God for answering my prayer.

Day 1
 
        Despite all the obstacles, I finally set off for Egypt with three friends who were all friendly and interesting. Our flight was economic Garuda at 8 p.m. However, when we did the check in, the officer surprisingly asked us if we wanted to move to the business class. Wow..!!Amazing.. Without hesitation, we immediately said YES SIR!! That was a miracle. God was with us. Happily I boarded into the plane, enjoying my first time being in the business class. Heading to Dubai, I was sitting next to Zul, a new acquaintance and a humble man.

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

我爱旅行



        假如你突然变成一位很富有的人,在你的头脑里你第一个冒出要做的事情是什么?如果是我,肯定的答案是:“去全世界旅行”。我之所以爱旅行是因为通过它我不仅能了解不同的文化、历史、习俗、和语言,而且能欣赏各地的美丽风景。这样一来,我能具备丰富的经验和知识。旅行时,我也能体会上天给予人类宏伟的万物, 闭上眼睛去感受一下上帝的伟大,真的能放松自己。带着知识和充满喜悦的心情回家,我会告诉别人其实我们的生活是挺有意思的,不像有些人想的那么单调。

        只要有空,我就会自己或是跟着团去旅行。有一个地方给我很深的印象,那就是印尼的Lombok岛。去年十二月我叫上妈妈和弟弟一起去Lombok岛。Lombok 是一个离Bali岛很近的地方。在Lombok有一个很著名的沙滩,叫做Kuta 海滩。Lombok的 Kuta 比Bali的 Kuta 冷静得多因为游客还不多。因此,这个地方适合要给自己带来轻松气氛的人。那儿的自然风景非常漂亮,我一下车就被它吸引了,真是一个很有诱惑力的海滩。蓝色的天空,闪闪亮亮的蓝海水,圆圆白白的沙子让我感觉到在另一个天堂。我踩到它的沙,发现那儿的沙子和一般海滩的沙子不一样。那儿的沙子被称为“胡椒粉”沙子。 为什么呢?这是因为它的样子好像胡椒粉那样圆圆的。踩着它是很舒服的,而且对你的血液循环有好处。我抓紧时间拍很多照片。对我来说,最宝贵的东西是我的记忆,因为时间一飞过就不能再回来了。但是,我可以用照片来纪念关键时刻。

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        时间到了,我依依不舍地离开海滩到当地人的村子参观。原来他们的生活还是很简朴、保持传统。他们用干草来建房子的房顶,并且用牛的粪便来做房子的地板。村长很热情地对我说牛粪便有很多作用,热天能清除尘土,下雨天会避免蚊子飞到房子里,甚至能保持房间的温度。居民一年一度举行一个节庆,称为 “Bau nyale” 节日。每次到二月底的某个早晨,人们在Kuta海边集合,尽量寻找从海滩的珊瑚爬出来的小小蠕虫,然后把它们带回家去煮。居民相信这个蠕虫能给他们带来幸运。据说,蠕虫是一个公主的头发。传说,以前有一个王国,国王有一个很漂亮的女儿。很多王子爱上了她。有一天,三位王子来到她的王国,要娶她。然而,这个时候,公主很为难因为她没有看中那三位王子。一个王子威胁要消灭她的王国除非她嫁给他。面对这种危机,公主用一个晚上的时间想办法。第二天早上,她发布命令叫所有的国民在海边集合。在国王和国民的面前,她宣布她不能跟任何王子结婚因为她属于所有人。说到这儿,她突然冲下海跳下去。人们不能找到她的遗体。但是从珊瑚下面爬出来小小的蠕虫,居民相信这是公主的头发。从此,由于纪念公主的贡献,人们每年庆祝 Bau nyale 的节日。

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        听了我的故事,你有什么感觉?我写这篇文章时希望大家在自己繁忙的工作中能够抽出功夫去旅游放松一下。看到了美丽的风景,接触到了各种各样的文化,大家能更感谢自己的生活有多么宝贵,便改掉对生活消极的想法,恢复精力,然后精神百倍地重新投入到日常的活动中去。


Tulisan di atas adalah tulisan pertama yang aku buat untuk mengikuti lomba menulis mandarin di Jinan College di Guangzhou. Semoga aja bisa membantu menteri pariwisata untuk mempromosikan Bali dan Lombok di negeri Panda itu..hehe...

International Youth Forum in Egypt – Unforgettable moments exploring Egypt


       Initially I never realized I had a writing talent, but thanks to God Almighty who has opened my eyes to see the writing potential within me through the Modernisator essay writing competition. A close friend of mine informed me about the competition, and that was my first attempt joining a national writing competition. I submitted my article without much expectation to be the winner. One afternoon, a call brought a very surprising news informing that I won the competition and would go to attend the International Youth Forum in Egypt on August 5 to August 12 2010.
        Since I have a keen interest in traveling, winning the Modernisator competition has become one of the most unforgettable moments in my life. My sincere gratitude to my family and friends for their constant prayers, and to Modernisator and Indonesian government for giving me the special honor to represent Indonesia to attend the International Youth Forum in Egypt. Special thanks to Garuda, Ancora and Indonesian Minister of Youth and Sports for their supports, Egyptian government for their cordiality and kindness in showing their beautiful country, and my friends in the International Youth Forum for their friendliness, laughter and togetherness. On August 4, my friends and I stepped our feet in Cairo and here the journey started.

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Triple “C”s to compete in the 21st century



        Honestly, there are actually no exact formulas to be adaptive and responsive to the big challenges and vast changes of the 21st century. This is not something like the “one+one=two” principle. As time goes by, changes will soon take place and we must adapt and change. If we do not, we will be swept away just like Darwin's theory of evolution. Wealth solely is not a guarantee to survive in this era for it is temporary; rather we should cling to long-lasting and priceless qualities that can be applied by people of all ages and backgrounds, the principles of 3 C's (Curiosity, Creativity and Character).