Joyeux Noël!

"Joyeux Noël!"

Chouette!

FAMILY

Family in Bali

Happy Idul Fitri

:)

Luv

HOST FAMILY

FRIENDS

I love you guys

International Education Week (IEW)

November 15-19,  2010

IEW was the one of my favorite week at school. I gave the American student presentations about Indonesia. The seemed like really interested in Indonesia. They asked me a lot of question and really listened to what I was saying. At the end of presentation, I gave them some questions about Indonesia, and everyone tried to answer. When they gave me a right answer, I gave them some unique souvenirs from Indonesia. I think they like it because I could see lots of smiles from them.:)

Identity

By Gianita Puspita Dewi

In the country of my life

There are many inhabitants

Some are good

Some are bad

I’m as a president

In the country of my life

I’ll change all of the day

I’ll make everyday as Idul Fitri

Where the peace, forgiveness, love, and joy

Are always present in that day

Where all inhabitants are good

And I will sail through the sea

In the country of my life

Like the dolphins

Through the beautiful reef

Greet all sea lords

 Around the Thousand Island

Looking for the rainbow in the sky

Bring my country peace, love, and joy

Girl Work

By Gianita Puspita Dewi

 I’ve got the special chance in my life

To peel the world as sharp as a knife

To hear the world with my ears

To heal the world without the fears

I got the bike to ride

The bag on my back side

Go down to the race

With smile in my face

I’ve got the shirt to wear

Cute shirt like Teddy Bear

The guitar with the string

The finger with a ring

I have a tent to sleep

The pond which is deep

The peace place without fight

And save me in the night

Walk slowly, caterpillar

Walk on the grass

Walk with your bright skin

And bright my life today

Blow on me, wind

Blow resplendently

Through the trees in the forest

Bring me peace and joy

Flow peacefully, water

Flow through the pond

Until sunset in the west

And let me free tonight

Bike, shirt, guitar

Tent, pond, grass

Wind, trees, sunset

You’re my entire world today

Rollercoaster Ride of Life

12/3/10

This last year has been a rollercoaster ride for me. So much has happened in my life. So many changes have occurred. I barely know where to begin.

I was born from a country that adheres to the collective culture. Prioritize togetherness, cooperation, and kinship. I opened my eyes to see something new. I do not feel satisfied if just living with the same thing. That's not because I do not love my family, my friends, and my country. But all I want is to bring them towards a better with the experiences I have. I have a family that really cares about education. My mother is a principal of an elementary school and my father works as a head of primary education units department in my district. So, they have a very great view about the education of their children. I have a very awesome older sister and she is also my best friend. My parents always teach me to be independent, able to stand upright without relying on others. They sent me to Girl Scout, so I'm used to far away from parents. Time after time, I was growing up. I found a student exchange program at my school. I thought for a moment. When I was little they were dreaming if I could follow the program, studying in another country, learn something new for my future. "This is my chance!" that there in my mind. I tried to follow each selection. Initially I was not sure I could, but now I'm very thankful I was able to beat thousands of other students in my country to be able to come here.

I think everyone is generally the same. No differences that could prevent us from one another. Like any other girl, I have things I like. I love sports, not only because it makes me healthy but it also very fun. I like basketball and volleyball. When I do sports, I can forget the problems that come from the complex maze of life. Learning habit is very good, but all that excess is not good. Life should be balanced. No doubt, we all need entertainment. I play guitar on the sidelines of my time. I'm glad because at least I can produce the sounds from the strings that stretched.

Independent is important. But we are social beings. I need friends and I try to make friends with everyone in the world. In Indonesia, I have friends who are very amazing. They are my classmates. We have a special name, namely Skubidu. We were always together during high school. It is too sad because I'm not with them this year. They are like family to me. We were always together over the course of the wheel of high school life. But I'm glad to be here because it has made them proud. Perhaps, we will not spend much time together next year. They go on to college, and I'm still sitting in high school. No problem for me, because we all have the same purpose of life, which is to achieve the ideals. I want to be a doctor, sharing and helping. I want to help people enjoy their life and health so that they will be grateful for what God gave. I want to see the beauty garden of life, seeing all the peoples smiling, holding hands, to feel peace.

My life changed. I have a new family, new habits, new friends, new school, and also a new and better mindset now. It made me understand more about the differences, similarities, and bitter sweetness of life. It really makes me feel like roller coaster ride. Worried, scared, screaming, but smiles and laughter accompany me until the end of the journey.

A Week Long Birthday

October  2010

Rollicking at the Keene Pumpkin Festival are Jiaxin Yu (China), Chomanut "Natasha" Arif (Thailand,
Gianita Puspita Dewi (Indonesia), Host Brother Ryan, and Yeon Wook Choi (South Korea)

On my exact birthday, I had a dinner with American foods, went to a movie and had a nice birthday cake with my family. On the next day, my French class had a celebration. One of my friends made a cake and they sang a birthday song in French. My friends on the school bus and at school said happy birthday to me not only on my exact birthday, but also for almost a week. On the weekend, I had a surprise from my PAX family. After a delicious pizza, they brought out a cake and sang. I got some cool presents. Afterward, we went to the pumpkin festival in Keene, New Hampshire. It was my first time at a pumpkin festival and I saw 22,949 cool pumpkins. We played hide and seek in the crowds while we watched the fireworks. It was so much fun. But the best surprise was everybody around me. Nobody knows how happy and proud I feel having all of them in my life. I found help, love and appreciation. Without them, I would not have had this wonderful and awesome experience in the USA as it actually is. Thanks to everybody.

I Remember

By Gianita Puspita Dewi
Tuesday, 11/16/2010

I remember,

When the morning came

He petted me softly, gave me some food

Walked with me in this peaceful village

Constable Painting

He didn't have anyone

Except me and the three horses

Who love him, always..

One night,

We spent the night together

We walked through the meadows,

Across the river,

He walked breathlessly

I know he wasn't young anymore

But he never lamented

Then, we came into the cathedral.

He sat on the chair,

Bowed his head,

Pray fervently to the God

I remember,

When the morning came

He petted me softly, gave me some food

But, I was still sleeping..

When I woke up, after the rain

I was barking, to catch his attention

But, no noise, no one.

I checked the horses

They were not there

I ran to looked for him

Ran with a glimmer of hope

Until I reached the edge of the river

All the birds have flown up and gone;

The overcast clouds floats leisurely.

The rainbow in the sky, above the cathedral

An old man who didn't show me his face

Was sitting on the wagon with three horses,

And I remember

He’ll never come back

He has gone to the rainbow

Which was bring him to the sky,

To the peaceful and joyful place

First Halloween

Hi guys! How are you guys doing? I hope you guys are doing well..

Well, I would tell you and share to you about my Halloween.

Halloween! What do you think if you heard about Halloween? Some people view Halloween as a time for fun, getting candy, trick or treating, putting costume, having theme parties etc. Yeah, those are part of Halloween. But, why do people celebrate Halloween? Well, Halloween began as a way to appease the gods when the earth died for 1/2 a year (winter); ancient beliefs were that the earth passed partially into the 'dark spirit world' during that time of the year. In fact the word "Halloween" means "summers end" in old Irish - English. These calibrations have evolved over the years from many different sources, and today is an amalgamation of these old practices and for most just general fun. Hmm.. That was I read!

What do you think?
Do I look ugly and evil?
 I don’t think so! J

I know, we don’t celebrate Halloween in Indonesia because of some reason. But, here in the place where I live now, we do celebrate Halloween. You know what? Halloween is one of the most popular holidays, second only to Christmas. Peoples really excited about Halloween. They don’t wanna miss it. In fact, my host brother, Ethan, counted down the day since September to Halloween, and told me about Halloween since the first month I was here. J  It made me really excited to get to know about Halloween.

The first thing I had thought was what am I gonna be for Halloween? I was thinking to be a ‘pocong’. But I couldn’t do it. Then, I decided to be a Pipiyot. Do you know what Pipiyot is? Pipiyot is a character in “Cerita dari negeri dongeng”. She is an ugly evil witch. The reason was because my sister in Indonesia always calls me a Pipiyot. Why? Because I was skinny.. L But, I think I am not really skinny anymore now.. J haha..

But then, 3 days before Halloween, I showed them about my Jaipong costume. They really like it. They said that it’s so cool. J So, then I decided to wear it for my PaX Halloween party.

Traditional costume!

But this picture is kinda     weird. Lol :D

We had a party on Friday, Oct 29 in my school. It was fun. they gave us a free donut and coffee. Some students were wearing the costume. But the funniest thing is every single boy in the boy varsity soccer club has a bald hair. And one of them, Eric, he looked really scary. He was like an alien because he cut his eye brow. Haha

Oh yeah, I had another party on October 30, that was PaX Halloween party. PaX is an exchange student organization. I did celebrate it with other exchange students. As I said, I wore an Indonesian costume. We had a party like dancing, pizza, costume show, and other stuff. I won the best traditional costume and I got candy necklace as a prize. Yay!! J Oh, I did celebrate it in Brattleboro. It’s about 30 minutes from my house. I stayed in my host family’s best friend house, Anissa. They have a son, his name is Ryan, and an exchange student from China, Jiaxin. They made a haunted house as a fundraiser for Ryan to go to China with his high school. It’s like Asian cultural program. The haunted house was so awesome. They worked hard to make it and it had freaked me out. :p The haunted house opened for 2 days. Oct 30 and 31.

My host dad at Haunted House

October 31!! Yeaaah! At 5 pm, all of people in that house (15 peoples) were ready to dress up. Every single person was very busy about dress. They dressed up as their character. My host mom became an Indian woman, my host dad worked in the haunted house became a dead person, I was a witch but I don’t think I was an ugly evil witch, I think I am too cute to became an ugly evil witch.. haha just kidding.. :p

Anissa and my mom helped me to dress up. My mom putted a make up on my face. Those were green and black make up to made me scary.

My host mom and I were ready for trick or treating

After all set, we were ready to go trick or treating. At 7 pm, we started walk around the neighborhood. We should go quickly to get more candy. We should see, if they keep the lights on it means they have a candy and we could knock the door and say “trick or treat!”. It was sooo cold and I was freezing. But, the sweet thing is I got my second snow in Halloween’s eve.. yay!! J That was my favorite part. Another favorite thing is we did fast trick or treating. We didn’t walk to visit the houses but we did ride a car. We did it at 8.30 pm which was means that trick or treating almost over. We had to go really fast and Anissa, drove us like a crazy person. Haha and it was really fun. And the result was I got a bag of candies and chocolates. It was a lot.

My host brother was a zombie. Isn’t he cute? J

J But the best thing is everybody around me. I wouldn’t get the most fun Halloween without them. I have no idea how much I would love them. J

But, still.. I miss Smansa, I miss my friends, I miss my teachers, I miss you all..

I love you all.. J

Life in USA

Vermont

Assalamualaikum

Halo! Apa kabar temen-temen, adik-adik, dan semuanya? Semoga sehat selalu.

Perkenalkan, nama saya Gianita Puspita Dewi, YES angkatan 2011. J Gia mau cerita soal pengalaman menjadi siswa pertukaran pelajar dari Indonesia. Gak kerasa udah 4 bulan lebih Gia disini, Udah ngelewatin summer, fall, dan winter segera datang karena salju udah mulai turun. Rasanya waktu cepet banget berlalu.

Gia tinggal di kota Jamaica, state of Vermont. Mungkin ga banyak orang tau dimana tepatnya Vermont. Vermont itu state di kawasan New England dibagian northeastern Amerika. Dikenal sebagai Green Mountain State karena daerahnya berupa pegunungan hijau yang indah. Banyak banget orang yang datang dari state lain kesini buat hunting foto, dan sekarang udah mulai banyak skiers datang kesini karena ski area disini keren abis, trus disini terbilang sepi soalnya populasinya kedua paling sedikit di Amerika. Banyak banget orang-orang yang ngebangun vacation home, jadi mereka datang kesini buat rekreasi karena daerahnya tenang banget dan Vermont adalah tempat teraman dengan tingkat kriminal yang paling sedikit. Gia bersyukur banget ditempatin disini.

Gia tinggal sama keluarga Abbott. Host dad Gia namanya Keith Abbott, beliau bekerja dalam bidang termal house. Host mom Gia namanya Abby Abbott, beliau physical therapist. Gia punya 2 adik. Adik perempuan namanya Addy umur 13 tahun, dan yang laki-laki namanya Ethan umur 10 tahun. Keluarga Gia tertarik banget sama Indonesia. Mereka seneng banget nanya-nanya soal Indonesia. Waktu pertama kali ketemu di bandara mereka ngucapin “selamat pagi!” dengan lancar. J Keluarga Gia bener-bener baik dan bikin Gia betah. Kita sering banget ngeluangin waktu bareng keluarga walaupun sekedar walk the dogs atau nonton movie tiap malem. Gia pernah diajak ke Boston, Massachusetts sama keluarga. Disana Gia diajakin keliling-keliling Boston, seru banget. Mereka juga nyempetin waktu mereka ngajak Gia keliling MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Boston University dan Harvard University. Mudah-mudahan Gia bisa sekolah disana. Amin J

Gia udah ngalamin gimana rasanya puasa disini yang ga gampang, dibangunin sama host dad dan dibikinin French toast. Ngerayain Idul Fitri sama komunitas Islam di Six Flags New England sama muslim dari berbagai Negara yang tinggal di kawasan New England, ngejelasin soal tahun baru Islam, Idul Adha, dll. Gia juga ngalamin gimana serunya trick or treating pas Halloween, kekenyangan pas Thanksgiving karena makanannya banyak dan enak-enak, ngerasain salju pertama J, Ngomong-ngomong soal salju, disini dingin banget. Suhu disini sekarang rata-rata -14ºC. Brrrr… makin hari makin dingin aja nih. Dan bentar lagi Christmas nih. Keluarga Gia agamanya Buddha, tapi mereka tetep ngerayain Christmas karena itu bagian dari budaya sini.

Gia sekolah di Leland and Gray Union High School, kelas 12. Sekolahnya kecil, siswanya ga begitu banyak, tapi tetep seru. Gia ambil 4 kelas, yaitu English, Chemistry, French, & U.S. History. Di English class, kita sering banget bikin puisi dan kadang dapet nilai 100, itu yang bikin Gia ga nyangka ternyata Gia bisa bikin puisi. Hahaha. Gurunya juga keren, beliau dari England. So, beliau punya British accent. Chemistry juga seru, disini banyaknya praktek lab, diskusi dan gurunya juga asik banget. Kebetulan guru chemistry Gia juga ngajar French. French class tuh kelas favorite Gia soalnya suasana kelasnya beda banget. Anak-anaknya seru-seru, gurunya selalu punya ide cemerlang yang bikin kita semangat buat belajar foreign language. Dan terakhir U.S History. Gia udah belajar soal WW1, Great Depression, WWII, Civil War, Cold War, Civil Rights, dll. Ngebantu banget buat ngertiin soal Amerika. Gia udah ngelewatin Quarter 1 di sekolah. Nilai-nilainya alhamdulillah bagus, rata-ratanya 96. Gia jadi salah 1 dari 5 siswa yang dapet High Honors dari sekolah. Alhamdulillah J.

Sekarang, Gia lagi seneng-senengnya maen basket. Basketball season udah dimulai dan Gia ikutan team di sekolah. Gia latihan hampir tiap hari dan sering pulang malem. Disini kita punya banyak basketball games. Musim ini Gia punya sekitar 20 games dan Gia udah main 2 games. Walaupun sering pulang malem, sibuk bagi waktu sama PR yang banyak, tapi tetep seru banget karena banyak temen, dan emang hobby Gia sih maen basket. Alhamdulillah, sekolah pun gak terganggu. J

Host family’s quote:

“You can take kids out of Vermont,

But you can’t take Vermont out of the kids”

Hmm.. Cukup sekian ya cerita dari Gia. Terimakasih buat Bina Antarbudaya yang udah memberikan kesempatan bagi Gia khususnya untuk mendapatkan pengalaman yang sangat berharga.Tetep semangat buat adik-adik. Mudah-mudahan cerita dari Gia bisa jadi motivasi buat semuanya untuk terus berusaha mengejar cita-citanya.

Terimakasih

Wassalamualaikum Wr.Wb