#844 - First Week of September

ENGLISH

This week things have become more serious. Last Monday, I joined an obligatory orientation program from my campus for all new master students called Masters Kick Off (MKO). I was excited to go on this trip but there were several stuffs which haunted my mind. First, we weren't told at all about the destination before we registered ourselves just one hour before departure. Well, that was somehow exciting. But the other problem was that we were also not told about what we were going to do there, whether there would be games, lectures, assignments, or stuffs as our full activities were revealed during that registration too. This caused a problem as we hadn't really prepared ourselves for those activities, which some of them were lectures of three mandatory courses.

Anyway, so, the mystery place was apaprently Bunnik, a very small municipality near Utrecht. We were provided two buses to get there and the bus I was on during our departure was so cool!! There was a kitchen on the bus with a coffeemaker, microwaves, etc. Even the chairs were set in a comfortable formation, just like in a room. We stayed at Stayokay hostel which was in a very beautiful place with two antique Rennaissance buildings as its main buildings.

Well, I had so much fun during my four days three nights stay there as I met so many people and befriended with them. There were also three classes, as mentioned above, and a group project. Aside from that, I learnt how to play "Ultimate Frisbee" which apparently was so fun!! Speaking of sports, ignoring the fact that I haven't been working out for some time now, somehow I become a bit easier to be out of breath here, hmm. Is it because of the chilly air?? hahaha.

However, there was one thing. The place was located in such a place surrounded by jungles and fields. In short, we were relatively isolated from the outside world (though internet access was still available but we had to pay 3 euro for 1 acumulative hour usage of it). Sure the scenery and air were super great and fresh, but I needed civilization! hahaha... :-) Well, it was overall still fun and refreshing.

That is it, the story of MKO.

By the way, yesterday I got a bad news. My new laptop got attacked by a (?) damn virus and I needed to reinstall it. Lucky I had my friend who knew how to do that :-D.

::: A building from the 1300s as Stayokay's main building.

::: Another building at Stayokay where all the rooms are located. It is from the 1400s.

::: Crazy jenga.

::: Sheeps passing.

::: A very beautiful and serene morning in Bunnik.

::: A green road to the hostel.

::: A very beautiful and serene morning in Bunnik.

::: A balloon!! This thing is rare in Indonesia.

::: Donkeys

BAHASA INDONESIA

Minggu ini beberapa hal sudah menjadi semakin serius. Senin lalu, aku mengikuti acara orientasi wajib dari kampusku yang disebut dengan nama Masters Kick Off (MKO) untuk mahasiswa master baru. Aku sangat bersemangat untuk mengikutinya tetapi ada beberapa hal yang menghantui pikiranku. Pertama, kami tidak diberi-taahu sama sekali mengenai tujuannya sebelum daftar ulang yang berlangsung satu jam sebelum keberangkatan. Namun, masalah lainnya adalah kami juga tidak diberi tahu mengenai apa yang akan kami lakukan disana, apakah itu games, kuliah, tugas, atau hal-hal lain karena aktivitas baru diberi-tahukan waktu daftar ulang itu juga. Ini menjadi agak masalah karena kami jadi tidak terlalu mempersiapkan diri untuk aktivitas-aktivitas itu, yang sebagian di antaranya ternyata adalah kuliah tiga kelas wajib.

Ngomong2, tempat misteri tersebut ternyata adalah Bunnik, sebuah daerah kecil sekali di dekat Utrecht. Kami disediakan dua buah bus untuk pergi kesana dan bus yang aku naiki dalam perjalanan ke Bunnik keren banget loh!! Di dalam busnya ada dapur lengkap dengan pembuat kopi, microwave, dll. Bahkan kursi-kursinya disusun dengan asyik juga, seperti di dalam ruangan. Kami tinggal di hostel Stayokay yang berada di tempat yang sangat indah dan dua bangunan kuno ala Rennaissance sebagai bangunan utamanya.

Yah, aku sih melewatkan waktuku dengan asyik selama tinggal empat hari tiga malam disana karena aku bertemu banyak orang dan berteman dengan mereka. Disana ada juga tiga kelas, seperti yang kusebutkan di atas, dan sebuah tugas kelompok. Di samping itu semua, aku juga belajar bagaimana memainkan permainan "Ultimate Frisbee" yang ternyata asyik juga!! Ngomong2 tentang olahraga nih, dengan mengabaikan fakta bahwa memang aku sudah nggak olahraga rutin selama beberapa waktu sekarang, koq kayanya aku agak lebih mudah kehabisan nafas ya disini, hmm. Apa karena udara yang dingin?? hahaha.

Ngomong2, ada satu hal deh. Tempatnya itu berada di suatu lokasi yang dikelilingi hutan dan lapangan. Singkatnya, kami bisa dibilang terisolasi dari dunia luar (walau akses internet masih ada sih tapi kami harus membayar 3 euro untuk akses akumulatif selama 1 jam). Memang pemandangan dan udaranya bagus dan bersih banget, tapi aku butuh peradaban juga! hahaha... :-) Yah, secara keseluruhan sih masih sangat asyik dan menyegarkan.

Itulah, cerita tentang MKO.

Ngomong2, kemarin aku mendapat kabar buruk neh. Laptop baruku diserang satu (?) virus dan harus di-instal ulang. Untungnya aku punya teman yang tahu bagaimana cara melakukannya :-D