snow problems

gw dari dulu emang pengen banget ngerasain salju. normal obsession lah ya dan pastinya dirasakan juga sama semua orang yang tinggal di negara tropis. abis kayaknya seru banget bisa lempar-lemparan bola salju, bikin snowman, trus suasananya kayak putih-putih romantis gitu. 

tahun ini, tepatnya di acara ISFiT 2013 Februari kemaren, my dream to finally feel snow come true. tapi jauh dari kenyataan! yaa mungkin karena gw mikirnya yang cakepnya doang kali. emang sih menyenangkan banget ngeliat salju pertama kali (but i managed not to dropped my jaw and roll around instantly if you're wondering). gw cuma lompat-lompat di dalem hati. tapi gatau kenapa, pas di pesawat dari Turki menuju Oslo, gw ga ngeliat apa-apa dibawah sana kecuali hamparan hutan dan rumah-rumah kecil yang ditutupin sama salju putih dan gw inget gw langsung berpikir "oh my god take me home noooow!" in fact, 70% gw merasa takut dan 30% merasa excited. aneh? betul.

dan setelah sampe Trondheim, gw merasakan -20 derajat! wooow! awalnya sih reaksi gw cuman "mm.. dingin. tapi ga sedingin yang gw bayangkan." haha emang dasar gw sombong, 2 hari setelah itu gw kesel banget sama dinginnya sampe-sampe gw pengen nendang salju. karena gw harus jalan dari rumah host ke halte bus, dan hari kedua workshop gw harus jalan mondar mandir nyari gedung, kaki dan jari tangan gw harus menanggung akibatnya. beku cooy! belum lagi ingus gw yang keluar terus-terusan bikin syal gw bau dan lengket-lengket najong. 

belum selesai kenegatifan gw tentang salju, kalo lo jalan, harus hati-hati banget sampe-sampe keliatan kayak pengantin solo, karena biasanya jalanan yang biasa dilewatin orang bukan ketutupan sama salju tapi sama es (just like an ice rink). gimana enggak? kalo lo buru-buru (dan sebenernya gw harus jalan cepet ngimbangin jalan temen-temen workshop gw yang punya kaki lebih jenjang daripada gw), yaa bisa-bisa kepeleset deh. walaupun emang pemandangan biasa banget sih orang kepeleset di Norway. tapi gw tidak mau mengambil resiko pantat gw biru dan malu, jadi gw berhati-hati setiap jalan.

ada satu lagi ya ngerepotin tentang winter. harus rajin-rajin pake pelembab, entah itu buat muka ataupun buat badan. baru 3 hari aja badan gw udah bersisik kayak uler. dan body butter gw pun hanya membantu sedikit. sayangnya waktu itu gw ga bawa pelembab muka (that was my biggest mistake!), alhasil muka gw carut marut. ya pastinya lah! muka kan ga ketutupan sama baju pas jalan. paling-paling cuma bisa nutupin sampe hidung (itu juga kalo ga bikin kacamata lo fogging). jadi lah gw beli pelembab di toko sana yang harganya bikin sakit hati. well seenggaknya muka gw terselamatkan (sampe sekarang lho!) so in my conclusion (and in my defense), terkadang gw merasa out of this world bisa ke negara bersalju, and the most exciting stuff about winter is the fashion! gw bisa pake layers of clothes tanpa harus keliatan kayak orang gila. tapi, seperti hal lainnya di dunia ini, salju dan winter has its pros and cons.

a little intermezzo

jauh2 di bandara Oslo, tapi mental tetep Indonesia. ngempeeeeerrr....

skipping time

Skype chill out! too bad it was only the four of us. but Skype-ing from Vietnam, Guyana and Russia to Indonesia still felt awesome! love you guys :D

must visit in Trondheim

 so it was -7 degrees outside, and our workshop decided it was going to be fun to do a scavenger hunt. what?! well i had a great time i won't lie. my group was amazing and we work pretty well as a group. despite the cold, we went to some amazing place in Trondheim. one of it was the Gamle Bybro or the Old Town Bridge. it got beautiful view and we were there when the sun was almost setting so it was the perfect time to take pictures ;p this bridge is near Bakklandet neighborhood. so let's just say my freezing feet and nose are defeated by the awesomeness of Trondheim.

the second place would be Kristiansten Fortress. the view was really breathtaking! you could see all of Trondheim and the infamous Nidaros Cathedral (well, the tip of the building though). if you dare and if you're lucky, maybe you could go here to see sunrise or sunset. i was there when the sun is almost set, but not setting yet, so i got a very clear view of all the city, mountains, and the sea. it was amazing. you could go here from Bakklandet as well. it's not too far, i think it was about 1 km. so if you're the chosen one for ISFiT 2015, come to these places and share your own thoughts. how bout it?

the girl on fire

let me introduce you to Kaja, the president of ISFiT 2013. she's only 22 and her future seems to be looking so bright. she's actually my new role model because she has the courage to actually apply to become a president of this international student festival despite the consequences and many 'labor' hour. but of course she was helped by many incredible volunteer, but i still couldn't think of how much work she had done to make ISFiT incredible. to meet her in person was amazing because she's actually really a humble person, likes to know a little bit of the participants, and she has this kind of charismatic aura. enough said.

snow on my toes

one of my most favorite event in ISFiT: Ski Day! although i'm not really looking forward to the day where i'm going to fall off my butt hundreds of time ;p but you know me. i love to try new things. so i won't miss this one. skiing in Norway! 

so there i was. using a borrowed ski with no proper shoes, sliding in a cross country field. i was doing great at first. no falling and feeling i'm actually will be good at skiing. that was my mistake. over estimating my capability. because when i tried  going up the hill and skiing down, i can't stop and my only way to stop was of course falling off my butt. so that's my not so tragic story. on the other hand, i really enjoyed sliding down the hill with only a plastic paper, drinking those delicious cup of hot chocolate and hot dog, the feeling of not feeling my toes anymore, dancing along the Gangnam Style music, and participating in a Guinness World Record attempt of the world's biggest hold hands with many different nationalities (or something like that). yep! you got that right. i actually participate in GWR attempt. and we made it!

workshop capture

30 people. 4 amazing workshop leaders. 10 amazing days. 1 workshop. 

i knew when i was accepted by ISFiT that i will get many new friends from every corner of the world and get amazing experiences, but i didn't expect to have this much fun with my workshop. i'll admit that i'm not an extrovert person, and i am a shy person. i have a huge insecurities about myself. but somehow, being in this group changes all that. they brings out the best in me shortly saying.

thank you for all the debates (that i'm sorry to say, sometimes slowly eating my brain cells ;p), all the documentaries that we watched, all the games that we played, and of course-my personal favorite-the last day of workshop. i will never forget all your embarrassing moments that you guys shared. and i am sure you won't forget mine -_-" and the epic "monkeying" the monkey business workshop!

i'm not going to say goodbye to you all, just a simple "see you later". because we will meet. sooner or later.

what to bring to the festival

kalo udah tau keterima ISFiT, pikiran gw langsung mengarah kepada: baju apa yang mau gw bawa kesana. haha! karena mumpung lagi winter, jadi gw bisa bereksperimen sama layering :) tapi yang gw tulis disini barang2 yang menurut gw bisa membuat lo terlihat fashionable tanpa membuat lo kedinginan (karena dinginnya bisa mencapai -18 derajat lho).
1st. pastinya bawa coat. mending bawa satu coat yang bubble (karena tahan angin dan ga basah kalo lagi snowing) dan satu lagi yang coat biasa
2nd. bawa kaos kaki wol yang tebel. kalo enggak bawa kaos kaki seenggaknya 3. soalnya kalo kaos kakinya ga terlalu tebel dan lo ga pake dobel, kaki lo bisa beku
3rd. buat sepatu ga usah masalah. pake sneakers juga menurut gw udah cukup yang penting kaos kakinya udah hangat. tapi menurut gw mending pake boots ato kalo buat cowok pake sepatu Timberland ato yang kayak buat naik gunung gitu. tapi just for heads up, sepatu apapun yang lo pake ga akan membantu lo untuk ga kepeleset di es2 yang ada di jalan
4th. bawa sarung tangan yang terbuat dari kulit. soalnya kalo sarung tangan yang biasa walaupun dari wol ga mempan menurut gw
5th. bawa baju tradisional (buat dipake pas Peace Prize Ceremony atau Opening Ceremony). pasti lo stand out soalnya kebanyakan orang pake baju formal biasa
6th. satu set baju dan sepatu formal. ini salah satu kesalahan gw soalnya gw cuman bawa satu sepatu dan itu sepatu boots. jadi pas lagi ceremony gw udah cakep2 pake kebaya sama rok batik, tapi sepatu gw boots. dar!
7th. bawa makanan atau barang2 dari Indonesia (authentic Indonesian of course). ini sih kalo emang lo mau mengenalkan budaya Indonesia ke temen2 workshop lo ya. soalnya kita ga dikasih waktu buat perform budaya kita, jadi sepinter2nya kita aja buat nunjukin ke mereka. disela2 workshop juga pasti bisa

i know it's a little bit long, tapi menurut gw barang2 ini crucial banget to bring. sooo.. good luck with your ISFiT 2015 application :)

pembuatan visa (again)

tahun lalu gw bagi2 cerita tentang pembuatan visa di embassy jerman yang ribetnya minta ampun dan heboh. sekarang, gw alhamdulillah (punya dua makna sebenernya hehe) mendapatkan kesempatan membuat schengen visa lagi, tapi kali ini di embassy norway. nah sekarang lebih heboh lagi karena gw cuman dikasih deadline 2 minggu!
abis pontang panting nanya sana sini, akhirnya hari ini gw udah ke embassy dan alhamdulillah lancar. orangnya baik2, mau ngebantu kalo kita ada pertanyaan, tidak memasang muka jutek layaknya orang yang belum dapet gaji, bisa diajak curhat (loh?), dan prosesnya ga ribet. proses pas di embassynya loh ya. tapi kalo proses ngumpulin dokumen2nya, sedap banget! oya, dibawah ini adalah dokumen2 yang bikin gw pusing selama 2 minggu:
- paspor asli (disananya sampulnya minta dibuka gatau kenapa)
- pas foto yang udah memenuhi kriteria (3.5 x 4.5)
- surat keterangan mahasiswa (yang udh diterjemahin ke dlm bhs inggris)
- travel + medical insurance at least 30.000 euro, +15 hari dari rencana travel kita (jangan lupa di fotokopi)
- bank reference (dalam bhs inggris)
- print an rekening bank orang tua (kurang lebihnya gw gatau soalnya ga terlalu dipermasalahin sama mereka)
- letter of guarantee dari ayah/ibu yang di kasih materai 6000
- undangan dan rekomendasi dari ISFiT (yang attorney ga usah, karena kata mbaknya kita apply sendiri, bukan diwakilin sama org lain)
- covering letter yang udah di ttd, receipt (biar uangnya bisa di refund), sama application form yang udh diisi online)
- bukti booking tiket round trip
- kalo yang mau extend, lampirin semua bookingan hostel, invitation letter (kalo mo visit temen/keluarga/nginep di KBRI)

banyak bukan? emang sih pas diliat orang2 pasti bilang oh segini doang? yaa.. standar lah ya kayak embassy yg lain. tapi kalo dikerjain selama 2 minggu doang, beuh! enak banget! gw sampe nyusahin nyokap gw (emang selalu sih hehe), jadi keliatan bawel banget di grup ISFiT Indonesia (sorry guys), dan dalem sehari gw bisa mantengin laptop buat bikin travel gw se ciamik mungkin. yaah.. inilah namanya perjuangan. kalo kata Uncle Ben, "from a great power, comes a great responsibility". jadi, inilah sisi perjuangan dari kebahagiaan mendapatkan sebuah student festival sebesar ISFiT dan bisa pergi ke Norway. kebanyakan orang pasti cuma liat betapa menyenangkannya pergi ke Norwaynya doang. tapi lihatlah kawan, di dalam kesenangan pasti ada perjuangan. dan perjuangan gw belom selesai sampai disini (caelah).

invitation!! :D

so proud of myself! see guys? dreams do come true if you didn't give up on them. so february next year i will experience my first ever snow and minus degree temperature in Scandinavian countries! :D