This is the last day of 2012, the year that changed my life. Right after the 2012 new year party, I had to fly to Jakarta, to start my internship with KRA Group, a business consultant, headquartered in Malaysia. On January 6, 2012, I had to fly back to Yogyakarta, all in a day, because of my Master research proposal exam. Three days after, I flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and worked there for almost 3 months. I spent almost every weekend exploring the Peninsula.
One month after, I tried to go to Singapore for the first time, using the train. I visited several objects for free. When I went back to Kuala Lumpur, the immigration staff gave me the wrong stamp. I had a professional working visa, but the staff did not see it and gave me the tourist stamp mentioned that I was permitted to stay only for 30 days in Malaysia. I had to go out of Malaysia and back to get a new stamp. Then I chose Thailand. I went to Hat Yai, a small town in the Southern Thailand. I used the bus. I traveled only by myself. Hat Yai taught me several Thai words, such as "sawadee kha" and "khob khun kha" :) I had fun in Hat Yai, with some new friends from Sweden, Italy, and Taiwan.
I went back to Yogyakarta on March 9, 2012. Ten days after, I flew to Jakarta, and then to Macau and Hong Kong, with the two friends of mine. I had an unforgettable moment there. Back to Yogyakarta, then in the earlier of May 2012, I flew to Jakarta, Penang (Malaysia), and then Langkawi (Malaysia), with a friend. Langkawi has a great view, even though we did not go to the bridge, because it was closed that time. I had a surprise at the airport on my trip home, because when I checked my e-mail, I was noticed that my research paper had been accepted for a conference in Rome, Italy ^^ I spent one night in Kuala Lumpur, I was so sorry to my travel partner, because I put her in an uncomfortable condition :( However, I met a nice guy from San Francisco, who does not believe that most of Indonesians do not have family name, LOL.
Well, then, on June 4-10, I went to Rome, Italy (and also Vatican). It was my first time journey to Europe. I stayed in a mixed dormitory, one-room-for-ten people, so I met nice people from around the world. I experienced my first jet-lag, hahaha... I learned from my experience in Thailand, so I ordered wine + apple juice on the flight. It helped me to sleep. I was sick on my first night in Italy. Too much wine, maybe :p It was really bad. But then, the following nights were fun. I went to the conference at the daytime, and hung out with my new friends from the U.S., Brazil, Germany, etc. at night ^^ The hostel has Sangria Party every night. I love Sangria! Vatican, the smallest country in the world, is near the hostel. I used to walk to Vatican :p Oh ya, I met the Pope twice. One in the audience, every Wednesday, and the day after, the Pope celebrated a mass, and I was in the front row ^^ It was like a Hajj for me.
A couple of weeks after my trip to Italy, I went to Singapore (again!). I flew from Yogyakarta to Singapore, just to spend the weekend. I met my old friend from New Delhi, India in Singapore. We met for about 15 years ago, and finally I met him face-to-face :D
I had both good and bad news last June. The good news was I got the Best Paper Award for my presentation in Rome, and the bad news, my boyfriend was diagnosed with kidney failure.
August was supposed to be Raya (holiday) for Indonesians. But not for me. My boyfriend was ill and he was hospitalized. I helped him to look for blood donors. I was so down. My boyfriend had blood dialysis twice a week. He could not work anymore. I am very sad.
Early September, I went to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with the two friends of mine. I met new friends from Slovakia during flight. They ate "kacang" (ground peanuts) on the plane ;) It was a small world, they knew my Indonesian friend who is studying in Austria. Ho Chi Minh was like Yogyakarta, my hometown. Many motorcycles there, so be careful to cross the road. We had Mekhong River tour, and Cu Chi Tunnel tour. We explored the city. I had an extreme drink there: snake and scorpion beer. It was snake and scorpion, brewed, and we drink the water... eww.. We met a nice German lady during the Mekhong tour.
I was in Jakarta on my birthday, packing my boyfriend's things, because he moved to Yogyakarta. I went with his sister. It was a good chance to give his sister a flight experience, because she had never flown before. So, I flew home on my birthday. I met a smart German guy at the airport. He was the first person who said "happy birthday" to me ^^
Late September, I successfully defended my Master thesis. It was a birthday gift for me. Believe it or not, a couple of days before my thesis defense, my exam-partner donated his blood to my boyfriend ^^;; It was hard to think about my love life while working on my thesis, hahaha. The graduation ceremony was held on October 24, 2012, with the yellow penguin costume (it means Cum Laude). I am officially a Master of Science in Management!
Late October, I promised my boyfriend to go abroad with him. Then, we visited Kuala Lumpur and Penang (Malaysia). It was his first time using his passport. Penang is nice with the old buildings. I had to be careful all the time. I went with a kidney failure patient, so I had to choose the foods and reminded him not to drink too much. We enjoyed our weekend in Penang and Kuala Lumpur. We stayed at a mixed dorm, with some Singaporean and Hong Kong girls and a nice guy from Holland. We used the free CAT bus to explore the heritage area.
Ten days after, I went to London, U.K., to present my thesis summary in an academic conference. I was lucky, I got my second chance visiting Europe in one year. London was nice, I met smart people there, including the young PhD students from Malaysia, a smart Pakistani lady from China (eh?), and a nice organizer lady. I went to the University of London and the University of Reading. London makes me feel like I want to study there :D I stayed in a girls' dormitory. Actually, on the first day, I stayed in Russell Square, in a mixed dormitory, with 15 people in a room, and I moved on the next day to King's Cross. The girls' dorm was occupied by 10 girls in a room. It was funny when I tried to talk to a Chinese woman in English. She was shy to speak English, hahaha... However, I do not think that I have a good English, too. English is my third language :p There were girls from France, Austria, Lithuania, Iran, China, and Spain in the room. They were nice. It was a great experience to cook with a French nutritionist ^^ I am a bad cook! Oh ya, the hostels in London mostly serve breakfast for free :D I had a total 14-15 hours inflight from London to Jakarta. It was uncomfortable to transit in the Middle-East, because there would be many Indonesian blue-collar workers on the plane :S I hate to be judged as one of them. I am an academic, hello... I remember my flight from Italy, I pretended to be a Filipino who cannot speak Indonesian language during flight, because a man judged me as an Indonesian worker and talked to me rudely :( Anyway, I met the flight attendant. She looked so tired and I felt like hell because of the Indonesian workers around me. I tried to talk to the flight attendant, and she was nice. It was like 24 hours flight from London to Jakarta, and then to Yogyakarta.
A couple of weeks after, I went to Bangkok, Thailand, as a solo backpacker. Spent my weekend there. I was so stressful. I explored the city, I went to the Grand Palace and the Wats (temples) around. Thai people are kind ^^ I met some friends from Couchsurfing there: a girl from Taiwan, and a boy from Thailand. We had a nice dinner. I stayed in a girls' dormitory, in a hostel, and I met new friends from the Philippines, the U.S., Australia, Italy, and also from Bali, Indonesia, hahaha... I lost my Javanese accent :p The funny thing was, Thai people used to think that I am a Thai, unless I speak English to them. Sawadee kha! Bangkok got the cheaper fashion things ^^ I bought jeans for only 99 bahts.
I thank God because of my experiences in 2012. I have to focus to my PhD application and I plan to stay in Indonesia, then study abroad at the end of 2013. I wish I could be a better woman, a better friend. I did bad things in 2012. I got depressed. I want a new life. May God help me. Happy New Year!
-Maria Delarosa Dipta Dharmesti
(my full name is too long, and I think "Dipta" is too hard to spell for foreigners, so "Maria" is also OK for me :))
