Previous posts: Part 1 and Part 2 Skiing was indeed fun; although — to be honest — I couldn’t master most of the tricks that the instructor told me. I didn’t know how to turn left or right; so sometimes I screamed to random people to get out of my way 😛 or… if they’re too slow to move, in the end, I got bumped into them! 😀 I had to say SORRRRY all the time hehe. I looked atRead more
Read the previous post here. After cruising on Milford Sound and watching dolphins and seals, we headed back to Te Anau, passing the mountainous road once again. On our way to that small town, we made a stop at The Chasm — a 15-minute return walk where you can see a spectacular view of Cleddau River and waterfalls. In Te Anau, I ate one of the biggest burgers I’ve had in my life! 😀 (is it really important??) We thenRead more
Travelling to New Zealand had always been my dream ever since I arrived in Brisbane 3.5 years ago. I made myself promise that I would visit this country before I left Australia for good. I planned to travel with my housemates at the end of this year, but then I realised that it’s just not possible — graduation, packing, etc. I decided to change the time to July, during my winter break. However, the decision came rather late and allRead more
Hey! Finally, I have an access to internet again! Wohooo… 😛 For those of you who have no clue… I’m currently in New Zealand; travelling and having fun! I decided not to bring my laptop with me — yes, I’m trying to live without a computer for a while. Apologies for not writing any new posting! 😀 I was gonna write the continuation of my previous post before I left Australia for New Zealand, but then something really really badRead more
Read the first part of this posting. I remember one day at a hotel in Jeddah, there was a group of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims chatting and sitting in a lounge. I was walking towards the lounge, when suddenly Haifa Wehbe‘s video clip Ya Hayat Alby was shown on TV (watch it! so you know what I’m talking about 😛 ). I saw everyone watching the clip with a SURPRISE look. One of the men commented, “Oh my God! Do ArabsRead more
People in Indonesia have a common misconception about Arabic music. They think that Arabic music is always composed for religious use. This is not true. Like Indonesian and Western music, Arabic music is composed of various themes, including love (mostly!!). Speaking of Arabic music… well, my childhood life was basically surrounded by Arabic music. Both of my parents — having to live in Egypt for 11 years — are fans of classical Arabic music. And honestly, that’s the only musicRead more
In Indonesia, we must respect people who are older than us, especially the elderly. We are expected to kiss their hands whenever we meet them, bend our body whenever we pass in front of them and talk politely to them. We cannot call them only with their names. We have to attach Mr, Mrs, uncle, auntie, et cetera in front of their names. These unwritten rules are applied to most Asians as well, e.g. Koreans, Malaysians, and Japanese people. SimilarRead more
There are not many things you can do in Jeddah. If you are obsessed with shopping, Balad and Tahlia are your destinations. If you love the beach, you can walk along the Corniche Road or rent a private villa in Obhur. If you are a food lover, you can try a different kind of Arabic foods and smoke shisha in the middle of the City or beside the Red Sea. Or if you like being in a desert, you canRead more
The $25 million National Tobacco Campaign with a slogan ‘Every cigarette is doing you damage’ is one of my favourite advertisement campaigns ever publicised. The campaign’s tv commercials provide the audience with many “real” pictures, from damaged organs (lung, brain, artery) to an infected foot caused by gangrene. One of the ads appeared on TV even shows a woman who suffers from mouth cancer. Her mouth is swollen and her teeth is dirty and unorganised. She speaks a bit aboutRead more
When I first arrived in Australia, I was quite surprised of how friendly people (read: strangers) could be. They would greet me on the street and said, “Hi, how are you?” even though we never met before. They would also engage in conversation when waiting at the bus stop, train station, etc. They would ask me about my country, religion, and my purpose living here as if we know each other! They would tell me about their experiences, views onRead more
Many people asked me, why do I choose Australia to study in the first place? The truth is, I didn’t. I knew that I would study abroad once I finished high school, but my mind was focused more on Singapore or Malaysia; because the costs are affordable for my parents. I had never thought that I would step into this country! I did dream about coming to the States, Australia, or Europe whenever I saw the EF exchange brochures, butRead more
An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah – A Memoir is a personal account of the life of Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi, wife of the last emperor of Iran. Born in 1938 to a middle class Iranian family, queen-to-be Farah met Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Shah of Iran for the first time in Iranian Embassy in 1959 on his official visit to France. At that time, she was a student at Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Paris. The king, 40, wasRead more
Sheikha Lubna Al-Qasimi In November 2004, Sheikha Lubna Khalid Sultan al Qasimi became the first woman in the history of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to be appointed in a cabinet position as Minister of Economy and Planning. Sheikha Lubna graduated from the California State University with a BS degree in Computer Science and received an Executive MBA from the American University of Sharjah. I admire her not only because of her successful careers but also because she is one ofRead more
The world was stunned when King Hussein of Jordan, who was suffered from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, named his eldest son Abdullah his successor, replacing Abdullah’s half-brother Hamzah as crown prince. On 7 February 1999, Abdullah, who became a crown prince on 24 January, ascended the Jordanian throne shortly after the death of his father. His wife, then Princess Rania became the world’s youngest living queen at the age of 29. Just like her step-mother in law Queen Noor, she is knownRead more