lovely picture

Monday, May 19, 2014

Separuh Mei, Sekilas Program Pertukaran Pelajar AFS YES, dan Milad SEF

Hari-hari terus berlalu. Mei telah separuh bulan terlampaui. Mei benar-benar bulan yang sangat bermakna. Bukan hanya bulan pendidikan, labor day, milad SEF, isra mi'raj, dan hari bertambahnya usia. Mei adalah bulan pergantian antara the joy of spring and the promise of summer.

Menyaksikan prosesi wawancara seleksi AFS seperti mengenang enam tahun lalu ketika saya menjadi anak sma lugu dengan sebuah kesungguhan yang bertahun-tahun ditanamnya sejak pertama kali menyambut tamu Wollongong dalam charity concert tribute to tsunami Aceh tahun 2005 di Gedung parasamya Bantul dan menemukan seorang siswa SMP Wollongong seusianya yang kata guru bahasa Inggrisnya mirip dengan dirinya (mungkin karena sama2 bergigi kelinci haha saayangnya Rachel Chin sulit sekali dihubungi). Ketika gempa di Bantul 2006,  ia sok-sokan bernegosiasi dengan realawan Iran yang datang ke kampung. Maka, enam tahun lalu dia pun merealisasikan impiannya untuk mengenal dunia dan melihatnya lebih dekat melalui AFS tepatnya program Youth Exchange and Study. Alhamdulillah pengalaman yang luar biasa.

Mengenai YES sendiri, YES adalah program beasiswa fulbright dari pemerintah Amerika Serikat yang diinisiasi semenjak tragedi 9/11 untuk membangun mutual understanding terutama antara dunia muslim dengan penduduk Amerika. Namun, program ini tidak hanya utk siswa muslim karena siswa nonmuslim pun dapat share bagaimana kehidupan di negara masing-masing entah sebagai minoritas maupun mayoritas. Di Indonesia, Yayasan Bina Antarbudaya salah satu penyedia beasiswa ini.Yayasan ini didirikan oleh Taufik Ismail, bapak sastrawan favorit itu. Beasiswa ini diperuntukkan bagi siswa SMA Kelas X. So, its like a-once in a life time-chance.

Proses seleksi YES sangaaat panjang. It takes almost a year before you really get to go. You cant say you're going until you're already on the plane. Itulah prinsip yang selalu ditekankan agar kita tetap tawakal akan segala kemungkinan. Proses seleksi yang panjaang ini mengajarkan banyak hal secara personal terutama untuk lebih mengenal dan memahami diri sendiri dan jalan hidup yang dilalui. It's worth it to try. Nothing to loose even if you fail, at least you learn something.

Tahun ini pun saya mendapat beberapa sms dan pertanyaan-pertanyaan mengenai program ini dan bagaimana seleksinya. Seleksi YES meliputi aplikasi pendaftaran. Kemudian, seleksi tahap 1 tertulis berupa pengetahuan umum, bahasa inggris, dan esai impromptu (artinya tema diberikan saat tes). Well, saya sejujurnya tidak tahu mengapa saya bisa menjadi kandidat saat itu dan hal itu memang tidak untuk diberitahukan. Banyak yang bertanya apakah yang harus dipelajari. Sejujurnya saya tidak tahu harus bilang belajar dari mana karena pengalaman saat mengerjakan tes itu saya merasa seperti jadi aktor dalam Slumdog Millionaire yang bisa menjawab soal-soal itu bukan karena kecerdasan saya tapi pengalaman masa lalu yang alhamdulillah membuatnya agak nyambung sama soalnya. Soalnya sangat unpredictable jadi tidak seperti soal UN yang jelas kisi-kisinya. Saya kira hanya perlu niat yang lurus, doa, dan do the best. Jadi mungkin belajarlah dari kehidupan :)

Tahap kedua adalah seleksi wawancara meliputi bahasa inggris (simple aja kok hanya untuk mengetahui skill berkomunikasi) dan wawancara kepribadian dalam bahasa indonesia. Tahap ketiga adalah dinamika kelompok yah yang ini ga seru kalo diceritakan karena dinamika sangatlah dinamis tergantung personality dan kondisi kelompoknya jadi silakan merasakannya sendiri.

Untuk YES, setalah tahapan ini masih ada tahap seleksi berkas nasional. Lalu, kita akan dipanggil ke nasional namanya apa lupa. Ketika di nasional kita akan bertemu dengan perwakilan berbagai chapter dan sekali lagi pembelajaran yang luar biasa. Kemudian di akhir tahun kelas dua, akan ada surat keputusan apakah kita lolos/tidak. Jika kita lolos, selanjutnya kita mepersiapkan banyak berkas-berkas terutama imunisasi yang harus dipenuhi lalu orientasi di nasional sebagai bekal kita selama pertukaran, pengurusan visa waktu itu bersama-sama, dan tes standar bahasa Inggris bagi SMA di Amerika namanya SLEP (Secondary Level of English Proficiency) Test mungkin karena tesnya bener2 bikin ngantuk hehe.

Fiuuuh ya itulah sedikit tetang program YES. Setelah menyaksikan seleksi tahun ini, saya iseng2 buka file lama dan menemukan my life' s treasure, salah satu life treasure itu adalah kumpulan surat-surat :) Polos dan oh speechless.. pake nyebutin makanan favorit hehe dasar anak sma :")

Surat untuk Host Family:

Dear Host family,
Hello, my name is Nur Isnaini Masyithoh. Please call me Isna. I am 16 years old. My family consists of my father, my mother, my sister, and me. My father’s name is Kusnaedi. He is 48 years old. He works as a teacher at SMP Muhammadiyah Imogiri Junior High School. My mother’s name is Ani Surami. She is 41 years old. She is a teacher too. She works at SMP 1 Bantul Junior High School. My sister’s name is Nur Fitria Kuswardiani. She is 18 years old. She is a student of Poli Teknik Kesehatan Yogyakarta (a Health Technical College) majoring in Midwifery.
My family lives in a medium house located in the south of Yogyakarta about 5 km from Parangtritis beach. My house has a living room, a dining room, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a storage. I sleep in one room with my sister.
We often have leisure time together in livingroom, such as watching TV, playing games, reading, and having chitchat. Sunday is our time for cooking and preparing the house together. My favorite food is fish with spicy chili and chocolates. On holidays, we visit our grandparents and hang out for shopping or traveling. I think we are a close family because we always share our problems each other.
I am in my second year at SMA N 3 Yogyakarta Senior High School majoring in Science. My school’s another name is Padmanaba-the red lotus. My school is about 20 km from my house. Therefore, I live in a boarding house near my school. I usually go to school on foot or by bike.
I learn Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Indonesian Language, English, Religion, Art, Physical education (sport), History, Citizenship, Japanese, and Javanese. My favorite subjects are English and Physics because they are enjoyable and full of challenge. In my spare time, I like listening to music, reading book, and writing. I leave my bad mood by doing my leisure activities.
            In society, I am involved in a Youth Club. I also join some clubs in my school. My parents let me choose my extra activities as long as it doesn’t contradict to my study. However, I often share my experience and problems with them because I want to know their points of view for better solution.
I join English Debate Society, Science Club, and Student Organization. I learn about critical thinking in debate. My team (me, Reza, and Thoriq) won for the High School Debating Championship last year. I often compete in such English competitions. In Science Club, I am involved in the Division of Info where I can express my sense of journalistic. In Student Organization, I become one of the coordinators of Moslem Society.
My Science Club held Padz Science Tech Week and the Student Organization held Padz Islamic Festival to celebrate the school anniversary last year. I became one of the committee for both school events. Those events were great and successful.
            According to my family and my friends, I am quite a kind, hard worker, and a worry-able person. However, they appreciate to my great motivation and effort. I like to be a where to go person for my close friends. Ratna, Anggit, Tiwi, Mega, and Devi are my close friends in Senior High. We spend our time together.
            One of the inspiring people is my best friend, Lina. I first met her in my junior year. We still keep in touch to give support to each other even if we are far apart now. Well, I like making friends as well as I want to do something precious for them. The worst thing for me is when people do not give respect to my effort.
            In the future, I want to work in the education field. I will be a lecturer. After that, I want to build a Study Center and Cultural Learning where we can learn both domestic and foreign languages and cultures.
            As I participate in this Youth Exchange and Study Program, I want to broaden my knowledge, skill, and experience. I want to see another side of the world so that I will understand difference, build a good relationship, and make a precious change to my self. I hope I can contribute to the good name of Indonesia.
            Finally, I am thankful for your kindness in accepting me to be a new member in your family. I realize that I have to learn more. I hope you would be glad to guide me for the next eleven months. Well, we would share our happy moments together! Hope to see you soon.


Best Regards,


Nur Isnaini Masyithoh




Surat dari Bapak untuk Host Fam (ditranslasikan sdr waktu secara amatir) tiba-tiba terharu sama tulisan bapak :"")

Dear Host Family,
            My name is Kusnaedi. I am 48 years old. My family consists of a wife and 2 daughters. My wife’s name is Ani Surami. She is 41 years old. My wife and I work as Junior High School teachers.
Isna is my second daughter. She has had great spirit of learning and high independency since she was a child. Since she was in Kindergarten, she had not need to be waited like others. Moreover, as parents, we are all workers with no housemaid. We had given both children the house keys since they were in Kindergarten because we went home at different time. They always report their marks after school and do the housework together.
Isna has good relationship with the members of the family and her friends. She still keeps in touch with her old good friends even with her closed teachers. In holidays, they often visit each other.
Each time our children face problems, we let them try solving the problems by themselves. When they cannot solve, they ask help to parents, teachers, or other relatives. As parents, we have to motivate, guide, monitor, and provide their needs. We always pray to God for the best to my children.
            In her junior high school year, she studied at SMP 1 Bantul and she was involved in a Bilingual class. She started to be interested to cultural difference when she was in the first year. It happened after she became the school candidate for the welcoming party of the Australian choirs and government who visited our town to hold a charity concert.
Isna has good achievements. She was chosen as the high achieving student for Yogyakarta Province in 2007. She can maintain her achievements from Elementary up to now that she always be the top three students in her class.
My wife and I give enough space for my children to choose various activities at school and in the society, as long as those activities can lead them to the future. However, we advise them to be careful in order they will not be damaged of bad social impacts. We keep monitoring them. The problems of each family member will be discussed together to find the best solution because we only want to give the best for our children.
After participating in this program, we hope that our daughter can improve her experience and knowledge. We also hope for the better relationship of both countries that give benefits for both sides.
Finally, we hope that our daughter, Isna, can be accepted as a new member in your family. We are pleased for your guidance to our daughter. As parents, we are thankful to you for accepting our daughter and we do apologize for our mistakes. I hope that we can keep this good relationship forever.

Best Regards,


Kusnaedi



Selepas seleksi wawancara, ada sarasehan milad SEF JMME. SEF kini 14 tahun dan JMME 18 tahun. Selamat ya, SEF semakin dewasa :") Dan, bagian paling romantis saat sarasehan tiap milad SEF yang dinantikan adalah makan tumpeng satu tampah berombongan. Rasa-rasanya belum lama kami membacakan puisi diiringi musik akustik dan gerimis (lebay nih tapi beneran lepas ujan waktu itu) di selasar itu ternyata sudah satu tahun berlalu ya. Kami (Nurul, Novi, dan aku) mulai membicarakan pembicaraan ala sesepuh. Anak-anak 2012/13 yang makan satu tampah dengan kami pun geleng-geleng mendengarkan para seseipuh ini. Apalagi kalo bukan tentang masa depan.... terutama bagaimna mengaplikasikn nilai-niali yg diperoleh selama di SEF pada saat kita di dunia kerja nanti.

Nurul mau jadi dosen katanya :) Nurul mah jadi menkeu pun oke :)) Novi yang sejak awal ingin jadi auditor masih bimbang dengan ke mana akan memilih melangkah masih mengumpulkan alasannya memilih auditor. Itu keren bangeet lho jad auditor :) However, saya dari awal sepertinya belum menemukan passion auditor eksternal yang prestige nya luar biasa bagi seorang akuntan, semoga bapak ibu paham akan hal ini. Alhamdulillah semester ini pelajaran audit menyenangkan banyak dramanya hehe lumayan lah mulai dari presentasi pertama Kisah Cinta di Kelas Audit hehe kali ini tidak jadi anak kecil jadi ibu guru gaul (astaga teman2 pada heran ketika aku jadi beda banget hehe) sampai Ayat-Ayat Audit ini yang paling fenomenal menutku (keren deh penulis skenarionya terutama bu Intiyas yang udah bikin kelas audit selalu heboh). bahkan aku sangat terharu, tidak percaya bisa dapet kebagian coklat dari bu Intiyas pas hasil uts kmarin huhu pasalnya merasa tidak paham audit.

Dan, aku.. where will I go, what will I do? Jika  maish punya kesempatan masih ingin belajar dan mencari pengalaman lagi dalam waktu dekat tentang apa belum diputuskan hehe, antara tertarik syariah, sustainability reporting, sastra eh... Bagaimana nilai SEF diimplementasikan ya dengan tetap belajar ekonomi islam terutama ini masih mengejar research proposal tentang syariah (semangat menggebu setelah sharing sama masternya mbak Ratna makasih mbak aku masih pengen belajar lagi nih ^^). In the long run, masih seperti saat pertama kali daftar AFS/YES terinspirasi dari Totto Chan, masih ingin bercita-cita mendirikan sebuah yayasan pendidikan (semacam sekolah tapi ga ingin menyebutnya sekolah sih ehehe).

Sayangnya tidak bisa sarasehan sampai selesai maaf adek2 sef jmme karena sudah berangkat dari pagi2 tadi jadi sudah saatnya pulang. mengantar Novi ke halte TJ dan benar-benar tepar.

Ini saat reorientasi nasional, lima tahun lalu... abaikan saja ya, coretan ini mah imajinasi ala ala anak SMA.









No comments:

Post a Comment