TF LEaRN Journal Report "We Are Many, but One. TF LEaRN 8th Journey"

THE BEGINNING OF MY GLOBAL JOURNEY

TF LEaRN Batch 8- INFINITY

Infinite Friendship

Infinite Learning Journey

Infinite Dream

I. WELCOME TO SINGAPORE

“A Journey of thousand miles always begins with single step”

Singapore is the first country that I visit and the first step that I take in order to become a Global citizen. I will always remember this experience. Before I came to Singapore, I had already known that Singapore is a very beautiful and well developed country. As I came here and experience many things, I realized that Singapore is even much more amazing than what I had imagined before. Everything seems so perfect, well organized and beautiful in Singapore. It is not only about the places, but also the cultures. I find myself completely immersed within the different culture in Singapore, such as the cuisines, races, architectures, and languages.

The thing that I am very interested in Singapore is about the people. I can see that there are 3 main racial types in here which are Malay, Indian and Chinese. I feel amazed because almost all of them can speak English well, beside their own race-language (Chinese = Mandarin, Malay = Malay language, Indian = Tamil). Besides, they also have race-religion (Chinese = Buddhist, Malay = Islam, Indian = Hindu) so that there are many kinds of public holidays in Singapore. Even during my 4 months staying in Singapore, I got to celebrate Idul Adha, Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and Diwali.

IDUL ADHA – CHINESE MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL – DIWALI

There are many small things that I learn from Singapore. I really love the transportation system in Singapore, especially Bus and MRT. Bus and MRT work very effectively, efficiently and punctually. We also can go to anywhere easily without being confused because of many information related to places, tourism, transportation, etc are provided well. One other small thing is that I also see Singaporeans really appreciate time and they love to walk in high speed and seem so in rush anywhere. Other small thing is that the almost all toilet in Singapore doesn’t have water shower which is very different from Indonesia.

FIRST MEMORY & FIRST FRIENDSHIP IN SINGAPORE

The small things that I learn while living in Singapore are the reasons why I really love to stay in other country. It's different from travelling for several days with staying for several months because I got to adapt and feel like a real citizen of that country.

II. WELCOME TO NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

TF LEARN SCHOLARS FROM INDONESIA AT NTU

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is ranked 13^th and one of the best universities in the world. So, everything in NTU will never stop fascinating me and there are constructions everywhere. Everything from its environment, facilities, teaching style to the educational system is really great. I think the most fascinating thing in NTU is the use of technology in order to support students’ study. The example of applied technology in NTU is NTU Learn, a portal website where every information related to lecture, such as lecture notes, assignments, announcements, recording, etc can be accessed. I took 5 courses in NTU that not only from Mechanical Engineering, but also from Material Science Engineering and Nanyang Business School. The courses are Quality Control, Operation Research, Environmental Sustainability, Engineering Communication and Marketing with total 14 AU (Academic Unit or credits).

There are several differences between my home university, Universitas Gadjah Mada and NTU. The first difference is the attendance. In UGM, every students has to attend all lectures with minimal 75% of attendance, but in NTU, we don’t have to attend all lectures since there is recording of the lectures and attendance is not counted. The second difference is the study environment. In UGM, every students has to wear decent or smart casual attire and shoes, but in NTU, we don’t have to, even many girls wear hot pants and many students wear sandals.

During my study in NTU, I have faced some problems, such as I haven’t got used with lecture conducted in English, lack of knowledge about the study environment in Singapore and lack of friend to do discussion about the lecture. But, I adore it so much here and study hard in order to catch up with the lectures.

III.  ORIENTATION DAY – TF LEARN WELCOMING

FIRST PHOTO TOGETHER IN ORIENTATION DAY

Orientation Day was the fist time I met all TF LEaRN scholars. I was very excited to meet new people from different countries. In this orientation day, we got much more informations about our scholarship, TF LEaRN. TF LEaRN @ NTU is not a common exchange program because it gave me many opportunities to try and learn new things, such as Singapore Tour, Community Service, Mentorship and Buddy, TF LEaRN journey, TF LEaRN Leadership Forum, Mid-Autumn Festival, Projects, Deepavali Festival and Farewell Event. I am very grateful for being the part of TF LEaRN Scholars Batch 8.

IV. SINGAPORE TOUR

TF LEARN SCHOLARS IN MERLION PARK

Singapore tour is the most memorable experience that I had with all TF LEaRN scholars. We spent times together and visited many wonderful place. We visited Singapore Gallery where we were explained about the history of Singapore by Tony (our tour guide) and saw a beautiful mock-up of Singapore. We also had a chance to learn about one of Chinese culture which is Calligraphy. We tried to write calligraphy by ourselves and even got a calligraphy of our name with its meaning behind. It is a very beautiful beautiful calligraphy.

After that, we visited the most famous place in Singapore, Marina Bay. You haven’t come to Singapore if you haven’t visited Marina Bay. Departing from Clarke Quay, we explored the area around marina bay by River Cruise. We got to see impressive scenery and many beautiful buildings, such as Esplanade Theaters, Skyscraper Banks, Merlion, Singapore Flyer, and many others. I and other TF LEaRN scholars enjoyed it very much.

Singapore is multicultural country, so the tour wouldn’t be perfect if we didn’t visit cultural sites. So, we did and visited China Town, Kampoeng Gelam and Little India. We tried many cultural activities, such as ate Chinese food, explored wet market, went to Masjid Sultan and Temple, and wore flower garlands. I got deeper understanding about the multicultural in Singapore through this tour. But, the most important thing is that I got to know about other TF LEaRN scholars better and the friendships were made between us.

V.  CELEBRATION OF SG50

SG50 AT LITTLE INDIA

It was a great fortunate for me because Singapore was celebrating its golden age, 50^th when I was in Singapore. There were so many festivals, events and other things in Singapore. The atmosphere of celebration was very nice. I hanged out a lot with other TF LEaRN scholars in that moment. The most memorable time was when many TF LEaRN scholars went together to Little India. The Indian friends guided us and told us about Indian culture well and introduced the Indian foods to us. We explored Little India for several hours and then went to China Town. Then, it was time for Chinese friends to guide us and tell us about Chinese cultures. We also ate together and talked very much. After that, we went to Marina Bay sands where we saw really beautiful fireworks for celebrating SG50. It was the most beautiful time I spent with fellow TF LEaRN scholars.

TF LEaRN scholars are the ones that have helped me broaden my way of thought and they are all really kind and nice. I had so much fun and beautiful memories with them. We had shared many moments together through this TF LEaRN programme. We struggled together to adapt with our new life here and try to overcome all the problems together. One thing that makes me really sad in the end of this programme is separating with them. I will definitely miss all the scholars after going back to Indonesia. I will always try not to lose contact with them and always be connected.

VI. COMMUNITY SERVICE AT NATIONAL KIDNEY FOUNDATION, SINGAPORE

ENRICHMENT & BEFRIENDING ACTIVITY AT NKF JURONG WEST

I had stayed in Singapore for several months and all I had seen were well managed, modern and busy lifestyle around campus and tourism place. But, doing community service for National Kidney Foundation (NKF) gave me a new perspective of Singapore. The first community service that I did was Pawfect Goodie Bag Packing where I had to go all the way to NKF at Kim Keat Road that took me more than two hours long. I saw a different side of Singapore along the way to NKF.

The second community service that I did was art toolkit enrichment and befriending at NKF Jurong West Dialysis Centre. We did drawing some pictures together, talking and having fun with patients. In my opinion, Art is the best way to express ourselves and got to know about other peple, too. After drawing, I and other TF LEaRN scholars delivered food for patients that were doing dyalisis. In order to delivering food effectively and effeciently, I and other TF LEaRN scholars had to work well together. The last activity is befriending session where I was engaged in activies around patients to do talking, sharing and accompanying patients. I met a very kind Makcik and a very wise Pakcik through this activity. I learned so many things from them, about life, job, healthiness, struggle and many other things. I wish that they will always be happy. Befriending is my favorite activity and I am really grateful for having the opportunity to do the activities.

VII. MENTORSHIP & BUDDY

WITH PROF. RAJASH AND BELA AT FAREWELL EVENT

TF LEaRN programme provided mentorship and buddy to help the scholars adapt and feel comfortable in both academic and non-academic lives in NTU and Singapore. I and Bela are very grateful to have Professor Rajash as our mentor. He is really kind, always come in all events and very understanding. I discussed about academic life and about my future plans with him and he had helped me a lot.

Not only got a great mentor, I, together with Kak Rahma also got a great Buddy. Our buddy’s name is Sharmaine, the TF LEaRN outbond scholar. She is a very kind and nice person. Although we only had two times together, but we felt close to each other. Sharmaine told us a lot about the lifestyle in Singapore and how to adapt well in here.

WITH KAK RAHMA, SHARMAINE AT FAREWELL EVENT

VIII. VIDEO PROJECT

In Orientation day, TF LEaRN scholars had to choose one of 3 big projects where I chose Video Project. I also became the assistant director along with Kathryn, our director for video team. I remember the time when I made the storyline until midnight with Kathryn, Kak Rexy, Kak Ying Hui and Lingming. There were times that I accompany our videographer, Nga, in taking some scenes. I was very grateful for being part of Video team because I met and had so much fun with other TF LEaRN scholars during the project. I hoped that the video could reminisce all the beautiful memories that we had spent together as TF LEaRN batch 8.

IX. INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP FORUM

DANCING IN INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP FORUM

International Leadership Forum is a forum where I can meet other TF LEaRN scholars from NUS, SMU and SUTD. For this forum, I performed Saman dance with NTU scholars which were Kak Rexy, Kak Nabila, kak Rahma, Prisca, Bela, Zia, Gracia and NUS scholars which were Kak Lodang, Kak Luci and Kak Cicil. There were times when I and other NTU scholars went to NUS for rehearsal and there were also times when NUS scholars came to NTU to do rehearsals. We did many rehearsals together in order to give the best performance and our friendships were tightened through these. All of the performances were very outstanding and went very well.

I also got many leadership’s knowledge from the speakers and panel discussion. There is one moment, one moment that made my eyes spark brightly in TF LEaRN Leadership Forum, It is a Word from Mr. Benedict Cheong, the CEO of Temasek Foundation. I still remember the words that Mr. Benedict Chong said that time.

“Growing from youth to adult is you start by having idealist, you have a lot of idealist, clear vision. But along with growth, you have to pick up. You pick up fear, you pick up shame, you pick these need to work in institutions. But, remember these. Don't lose your youthfulness, Don't lose your vision, Don't lose your quest to learning, your quest to try something new, Not to be afraid to do mistakes. If you can do that, also can build trust with person around you, it meas TF LEaRN program is really success.”

I learned many things from International Leadership Forum and I will apply the knowledge well. It was a very good opportunity for me to learn about leadership and International issues from this forum.

X. FAREWELL EVENT

THE GIRLS OF TF LEARN SCHOLARS

Time flew so fast that it already came to the end of semester and also the end of TF LEaRN programme. TF LEaRN scholars held farewell event to reminisce all the time that we had spent together. For this event, I perfomed Laos and Indian dance with Nga, Kak Nabila, Arun, Prisca, Abbie, kak Farah, Bela and Kak Rahma. I enjoyed and had so much fun while practicing with them. I was very happy because my friends said that I danced well. I cried and very touched when I listen to the song  sang by Jac with lyrics about our TF LEaRN batch 8 journey. I also got messages from othe TF LEaRN scholars that were very nice. I will never forget this farewell event because it is a very memorable and meaningful event for me.

XI. FUTURE PLAN AND FINAL WORDS

TF LEaRN is a wonderful and meaningful experience for me and I will not keep this experience for myself. I will definitely share all the good memories that I have to my schoolmates to trigger them to participate in exchange program, especially TF LEaRN. I will share my experience directly by telling the story and also indirectly through social media, like blogger, facebook, etc.

After this program, I will come back to my home university and catch up with everything that I had left behind. I will do social entrepreneurship because I want to implement the knowledge that I got from school and realize my dream in the same time, a dream to help many people. Besides, I will also try to engage in international activies because it is very fascinating to learn about other countries and meet new people. I love challenging, so I will join some competitions and work hard in order to be a winner.

I am very grateful to be a part of TF LEaRN Batch 8 because by joining TF LEaRN, I had taken a big step closer to realize my dream. This opportunity had helped me to learn and try new things, gain deeper understanding of different cultures especially Asian cultures, and broader my way of thought. It also gave me much more courage, motivation and strength to study and work even harder. The most important thing is through TF LEaRN, I met many wonderful friends and has built strong friendships and connections with many people from all over Asia.

Thank You Temasek Foundation and OGEM.

"We Are Many, but One. TF LEaRN 8th Journey"