Valley of my mind

Sutton Bonnington Campus - University of Nottingham Farmers Market

A couple of weeks ago, I went with a friend and caught up with some more at one of University of Nottingham’s campuses which is Sutton Bonnington Campus. We went there to attend the monthly Farmers Market! :D We had to ride the hopper bus (our university has a free hopper bus for students to take us between the campuses and even there’s one to the city every weekend) to get there. UoN has 4 campuses located in Nottingham. Well, Sutton Bonnington is located a little far, about 20minutes from University Park Campus by vehicle. It is in the outskirts of Nottingham and schools such as veterinary, agricultural studies, until food science studies are there. 

Basically the Farmers Market is held once a month on the first Wednesday of every month in school term times. The committee invites local farmers from the surrounding area to sell their products. It could be raw until cooked products. It isn’t a big market, but it’s nice and it gives opportunities for people to buy things fresh from the farmers and the farmers get to promote and sell their products! :)

On the day it was quite cloudy, but overall the atmosphere was still nice. The day before was nice and sunny + people picnic lounged on the grass, a friend said who lives in a dorm in the area. The day I went, not many people lounged about. Anyways.. It smelt so good wherever you went! Like a summer barbecue smell but without the summer sun haha. I bought a couple of things such as honey (with the honeycombs inside! Healthy!), organic potato chips (the best ever with no MSG, GM, and any unhealthy preservatives found in supermarkets), etc.

There were a number of stalls selling different things from fresh vegetables, fresh meat, cooking ingredients, fresh jam, fresh honey, fresh bread and patisserie (haha everything’s fresh), organic chocolates, Thai food, Carribean food, barbecue savouries, and many more. It was quite pleasing for the eyes to see… and for the stomach haha!

So, feel free to check out the photos above to get a picture of what it was like :)

PS: I just noticed on the 2nd pic, there’s a sign that says: “Pies - Beaver, Penguin, Deer” …. Like, seriously?? I didn’t know that was sold there! Who would eat a penguin, beaver, or a deer? Well maybe deer because I know there are people who hunt them, but I wouldn’t eat one. It’s like eating a horse. Who would eat a horse?? But this exists. Well, I’ve eaten a kangaroo in Australia, but I was in primary school and offered that in a school excursion, I ate it anyway. I still remember it tasted rich and thick, but wouldn’t eat another) And… for penguin? Penguins are cute little munchkins, who would have the heart to eat them -___- … and even more surprising, beaver?? Those big teethed puney smart mammals, I couldn’t even imagine -_____-

PPS: I just finished Indonesian Festival today!! It was awesome! Huge success overall. I’ll write it on the next post. On that day I multi-tasked haha. But managed to pull it all off. I’m also so proud of my friends who are committees! Really great working with them! XX 

Alicia Keys at Nottingham: Girl On Fire Concert Highlights

On the 28th of May I personally experienced one of the top things ever whilst living in England… Alicia Keys came to the town I lived in! Nottingham is just pure fab, so  glad there’s the Capital FM Arena where medium until big shot performers both local and international come to bust some moves and sing their hearts out. I don’t have to go far and can save on transport money hahaha #OtakStudent.

Overall it was beyond amazing, and in a sense priceless, as in it just bursts the thermometer/percentage mark you can’t put a finger on how awesome it was haha! Ok, you can tell that I am a big fan of Alicia Keys since forever. Well, who isn’t? Well most people are. She is also (so far) a 14 times Grammy Award winner out of 27 various nominations, so put your hands up for that :p

I’ve been listening to her beats and voice since her song “Fallin’” was released all those years ago. I love how she writes her songs passionately (you could tell from the lyrics) and sings them soulfully. Quality singers are those who really feel what they sing. They give life to what they sing. She nails this. So to all those people who’ve been saying that she is much more amazing live? True that! Many of her songs are also relatable to anyone’s life. She is also a great pianist, one of my motivations to watch her live was to see her play the piano! Haha.

Oh, the opening act was Jacob Banks, replacing the official opening act: Miguel. Jacob comes from Birmingham and he was also amazing for an opening act. His name might not sound familiar, but he’s growing big fast in the UK. He has a voice similar to Seal. “Kiss from a Rose,” Does that ring a bell? If he sang a cover to that, I may have fainted. Hahaha. #Lebay. I want to put  footages of him on the video but it’ll be overtime from the tumblr limit.

Anyhow, I want to share a bit what I saw, so you can see glimpses free of charge! Haha. A few weeks before I watched the Birmingham Royal Ballet perform some contemporary and classical ballet mix at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall. But no recordings and photography were allowed in the building. However, this one was allowed! Teehee. :)

So, here I have compiled and made a 5 minute video (wish it was longer but can only upload 5) of most of the songs she performed that night in a highlight form. I didn’t record everything, but this is a nice compilation to share for those who haven’t got the opportunity yet to see Alicia perform live. Pardon my squealing here and there, wobbly stability of the camera, and also some footages that are blurred or unclear. I was trying to balance between some recording, singing, dancing, haha oh well it’s better than nothing right?

So, enjoy!

xo

PS: I have to lower the video quality because of tumblr limits. And for some reason this makes the music and image not in synch a little xD

COMING SOON: INDONESIAN FESTIVAL (INDOFEST) 2013

I am soo excited, on the 15th of June, University of Nottingham’s Indonesian Society will be holding our yearly IndoFest event! Last year around 2000 people came, I heard it was awesome and saw awesome pictures as well, and for this year we have refined many things to make the experience even better and introduce Indonesian culture to the British society and also give another chance for Indonesians in the UK to gather. There will be a Food Festival, IndoFest BhinneCup (sports tournaments), IndoFest’s Got Talent, Quest of the Green Fox Treasure Hunt (a genious-structured game, it will make your mind turn and body fit haha), and many more! So if you live in the UK, please do drop by, you won’t regret it! ;)

The video above is an advert for our new segment “IndoFest’s Got Talent” plus it is a sneak-peak of our Saman Dance performance which will be performed on the day, a highlight from us too. Yes, I will be dancing it (guess which one I am in the video haha)! We’ve been practicing once a week for I guess the last month or so. We hope it’ll turn out awesome, though not with as many saman members than the last performance in London that I wrote about earlier in my blog.

I am also a part of the media and marketing team (specifically web developer).

Until then, check the video above (edited by Aldo), enjoy the sneak-peek of the dance, and… enjoy some of the beautiful scenery of my campus!

Adieu!

My 24th and London Reunion

Hello there all my followers on Tumblr and those not on Tumblr who may randomly bump into my blog :) I’ve been occupied with finishing 3 essays since some time ago, in which by now I’ve completed and the grades are already given haha. For the April events I have made a video-post again, which is a little more time consuming, but worth it :D Haha.

I wanted to make a vlog because… I just had my 24th birthday and my cousin, Teh Citra Putri, came by to London! 

On my birthday, I got a surprise from my Indonesian friends in Nottingham. It was sweet. We further had dinner at a friend’s place with yummy food. I didn’t expect to get a surprise, really. Not many people know my birthday here since I don’t really officially talk about it reminding that hey, this date is my bday! Haha. But apparently, those who do know, told to some others that I’ve grown close to as well and set up a surprise. So it was sweet and wonderful :) I also got 2 birthday cakes. Both were all out of chocolate, hence they know I love chocolate hahaha. I also got presents. Well, birthdays are special to me and it’s best to celebrate it with those who do care :) 

Furthermore, one of my cousins, Teh Citra Putri came to the UK! She was actually on a business trip to attend a conference and some meetings, but we managed to meet up in London, also where my other cousin, A Terry, lives. I’ve posted in the video some of the places we went to, and I especially inserted an in-video of the famous changing of guards in Buckingham Palace and of a street performance we saw which was absolutely wicked (British slang for: awesome haha)! 

So, there you go, my highlights of April 2013! I also have some awesome things to look forward to until June, by far! I’m so excited for these upcoming events!

Cheerio!

Song: “Master of the House” - Les Miserables

Open Society Mid-Year Conference at Oxford University

Hello peoples! I’m back after a 3 day trip to Oxford! This time, this trip is not mere travelling to fulfil these wanderlust senses of mine lol, but to primarily attend a conference and reunite with OSF friends! So, I will share a little about the main event and also a bit on the city itself.

When you go to England, it doesn’t feel complete if you have not visited Cambridge or Oxford. In my opinion anyway. Well, Cambridge was check listed, and now I got the opportunity to visit good ol’ Oxford in the central south of England!

This opportunity came because I had to attend a scholarly conference held by OSF for current OSF scholars at one of Oxford University’s colleges, which was St.Hugh’s college. My Open Society friends whom I spent all summer last year in Istanbul were there. They now are undertaking their Masters at Nottingham University, Cambridge University, Oxford University, Durham University, Essex University, St.Andrew’s University, Warwick University, London University, York  University, and Sabanci University (Istanbul). Our friends who attended universities in France and Egypt didn’t come since they had another event, however, we got to know some new people we haven’t met before from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and Aarhus University in Denmark.

Throughout the conference, we discussed issues about the right to education, global development goals, exclusion challenges to human rights, aesthetics in education, online education through information and technology, workshops on grant proposal writing and public speaking, alumni project designing and grants, exclusive internships information, and tours around Oxford with our friends who study there. Overall it was really nice and it was wonderful to see the rest of my friends there and also made some new ones! It kind of felt short though, maybe because I spent a month of summer with my friends before and now only 3 days. Hopefully we will all be useful people in the future and can contribute more to the society in each of our own ways.

Oh, I also have to mention the food that was served for us throughout our stay: it was very delicious!! You could never be underfed if you’re a part of OSF hahahaha. We had lavish three course dinners, fulfilling lunch meals, and nice breakfasts to choose from. We also stayed in traditional St.Hugh’s dorms where everyone each got a room all to themselves. 

Now, about the city of Oxford and Oxford University itself. As seen in the pictures above, Oxford is a traditional looking city found by the Saxons with narrow streets and many towers where it got its nickname “the city of dreaming spires”. This city with its many important religious houses was originally named Oxenaforda around 900 AD and was used by the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia in the 10th century as a military frontier town though in 1066 it was ruined by the Norman Invasion. After all the calamity, the construction of the Oxford Castle (which unfortunately I didn’t get to see because of the time) under Robert D’Oyly as governor confirmed the authority of the Normans.

There are two especially unique things about Oxford. In its early history, a famous charter addressing an access to justice for equal privileges and exemptions for its citizens put spotlight in Oxford where it was granted by King Henry II. It was the first written form of constitution in England instigated by barons under the lead of Simon de Montfort. Furthermore, the existence of Oxford University as the English-Speaking world’s first university is known worldwide.

There is a unique history about Oxford University. In the middle until late 1200, Europeans began in attempting to translate Greek Philosophy writings which challenged European ideology. Society developed views, arise many scientific and arts discoveries, and at the time the church wanted to reconcile Christian theology with Greek philosophy.

However, throughout its history, in 1355 there was the St.Scholastica Day Riot where a clash happened between the townsfolk (town) and the scholars (gown), killing 93 students and townspeople because a differing way of thoughts and loyalties. This lead to the move of some scholars to Cambridge and the building of a university there, a start to the history of Cambridge University.

Back to the university, Oxford University’s first college was established in 1249 named as University College. Until this day, it grew to 38 colleges forming the university itself as a federation of colleges. This differs to most universities around the world because it uses a collegiate system (which inspired Cambridge to do the same) to form a specific interdisciplinary academic community. 

The developing academic world of Oxford coexists with the development of the city. By the 20th century, there was a rapid population and industrial growth and the academic society contributed to the growth of printing and publishing industries especially in the 1920s, a major power for the city itself. There are also other notable industries such as its motor manufacturing, and businesses that are information technology and science-based.

Overall, it was a nice trip because not only did it stimulated my inner-self with its design, history and culture, it also stimulated my scholarly thoughts. Hahaha. 

Serene Whitby Seaside

I got the “travel bug” straight away when I knew what was in store for visitors who want to visit Whitby. Hahaha. I wanted to take a real escapade break as well. I had to get away on a journey for a little while from anything that smells like international political economy, justice, and philosophy of social research. Hahaha. Student life is also about *trying* to make most of your time, I believe. 

So, what’s so special about Whitby?

Whitby is a unique seaside small town around the upper East-Coast of England in the Yorkshire boroughs. There is a river running out into the ocean, an east-side cliff with a historical abbey on top, a west-side cliff and residential area surrounding the slopes of the mountains and beyond.

At first, I wanted to go there so much because there is a steam engine train ride with a trail passing through the mountains and the North York Moors National Park which is the location of where the train Hogwarts Express passed in the Harry Potter film. Hahaha. It also stops at Goathland Station where its village is used as the shooting place for Hogsmeade! The scenery through the train ride is absolutely gorgeous… from what I saw on the internet.   T________T

Yes, I didn’t go there because there wasn’t enough time to go on a steam engine ride. But anyway, I still had a great time with eight of my friends and found more specific things about Whitby which was also very interesting!

Who doesn’t know the world-famous fiction: Dracula? The author, Bram Stoker, was inspired to write a novel about it when he went to Whitby! It was on the graveyards of St.Mary’s church (after climbing 199 steps) that he got the “enlightenment”. Hahaha. Me and my friends actually posed in the graveyards hahaha. It was creepy with all the tall tombstones and the inside of the 900 year-old church smelt funny like old wood and specific ointment smells. But I get it how Bram got the inspiration..

Then, a couple of more hundred steps further, you will find the Whitby Abbey! Its in my picture. The abbey has a museum on the lower side of the cliff, but on top of the cliff is the abbey itself on a vast grassland overlooking the sea which flows to Europe. The abbey was established since the 657 AD by the Saxon King of Northumbria named Oswy (Oswiu). Back in the days it was called Streanshalh. However, the vikings attacked it on 867 AD, which left it in abandonment until 1078. Under the orders of his protector William de Percy, a soldier monk named Regenfrith revived it then. Now, it is part of the care of the English Heritage.

Furthermore, of course there was Captain James Cook. Christopher Columbus may have found America, but James Cook found Australia! The country where I long grew up in and a part of Cook’s teen years was spent in Whitby! A museum there was dedicated for him. He learnt about sailing around his middle-teen years in Whitby from a respected sailor.

What can I say, the views in Whitby were absolutely gorgeous, I had fun taking pictures and being taken pictures of of course hahaha (me and my friends thought up of various poses imaginable lol)! The presence of my friends made it even more fun, we laughed a lot and had a great time, forgetting about all the paperwork for a while haha. Its nice to have friends who want to go “touristy” with you. :P

Oh, I also had the best fish and chips ever at the famous Magpie Cafe! The batter was what made it taste different. It was light, flavoursome, and not very oily. Mbak Ratih and Nessa for example, couldn’t tell the difference between the taste of a Haddock and a Cod fish. It is similar, but beleive me, Haddock tastes better! Richer and juicier! Its also the cafe’s recommended meal, so there you have it. Nessa and I also bought some oysters. It was yumm, although when i wobbled it, it looked funny. Wibble-wobble hahaha.

Another thing about Whitby is I saw a lot of old couples. It was sweet. I like taking pictures of old couples haha. Besides that, there were lots of dogs, many breeds imaginable. The smaller ones were fashionable wearing all sorts of warm coats and even skirts or pants haha. I also so a man… yes, a grown man, carrying a cute little cihuahua in his bag worn around his chest. Super lol.

There are still many other parts that are yet to be seen, such as the areas where many fossils were found, and other picture-perfect sceneries that could just be like as if you were inside a postcard. But for now, let me share some of my photos.

So what about Whitby? T’was great! :)

Once upon a Cambridge.

The first time I heard the word (actually read) Cambridge was when I saw my Dad’s Cambridge dictionary on my dad’s bookshelf when I was very young. It was right beside his Oxford dictionary. Those two words seemed very unique to me back then and I felt that there’s something interesting about them, but I didn’t really understand why the dictionaries were named that. 

It was more than fifteen years ago.

Finally I had the chance to visit Cambridge! Not only that, I have friends whom are studying there to visit as well. It was a nice day with splendid weather, a nice break after the bleak last few days that I had. I really needed a breather and by walking in the streets of Cambridge with wonderful friends to explain about the city, was wonderful indeed!

The University of Cambridge is the second oldest university in the English speaking world. It all started with some Oxonians of Oxford University who decided to establish a new university after they had problems with the townsfolk of Oxford. Cambridge also has a unique system that differs to other universities, specifically compared to those in the UK. The grading system is also different. The university also comprises of 31 independent institution colleges where the students stay: live, eat up, socialise, and receive supervision. These colleges choose the students that they want in their college under Cambridge regulations, not the other way around (It’s a bit like in Harry Potter. You can’t choose whether you want to be in Slytherin or Gryffindor. The magic hat chooses for you. Haha).

Among the most famous colleges with their famous alumnus are Kings College, St.John’s College, and Trinity College. Some of Cambridge’s alumni were Sir Isaac Newton who found the laws of motion and calculus, Stephen Hawking who contributed to cosmology (he still lives here and my friends have seen him wandering in the streets a few times lol), John Maynard Keynes who was an elite economist and one of the mastermind of Bretton Woods, Amartya Sen who designed the Grameen Bank for development, until James D. Watson and Francis Circk who found the DNA double helix (they discussed about the concepts of DNA in a pub called Eagle’s. My friends took me there to eat lunch, but it was so packed with people, we went to Anchor’s instead). Even the Prince of Wales a.k.a Prince Charles went to Cambridge (my friends will be attending a Cambridge Ball in a couple of weeks where Prince Charles will also come to celebrate hahaha).

I went to Cambridge with Mbak Ratih, Mas Ali, and Mas Walid. But Mbak Ratih and I spent the rest of the day hanging out with our friends from Cambridge and Oxford after taking a punt tour on the River Cam and a visit to the (amazing) Fitzwilliam Museum. It was originally only me going to meet up with Jelena and Anna (also to give them both the 2 gorgeous contemporary-styled Indonesian batik dresses I gifted to them that I promised since the last time we met at Istanbul. They love it!). But then, more friends decided to join us and it was great! Monir, Jelena O., Vesna, and also a nice surprise which was Yllke (she studies in Oxford) came as well! They were so kind in explaining the histories of Cambridge, their social life, and studying life. We also have some other friends in the university but they weren’t in the city at the time. It was nice since we have student friends, we got to see the insides of the university that only the students of Cambridge could access. I really loved the library of Clare College! Check it out in my photos! So cozy. 

 I saw a few of the colleges of UniCam (there are 31 in total and that’s too many to visit), saw some famous bridges such as the Bridge of Sigh (it was named that to illustrate the distress sighing of the students after the exams haha) and the Cam bridge itself, and also many other prominent sights in the city. I wanted to visit some of its famous parks and gardens but didn’t have time to do so. Maybe next time. The most interesting thing was definitely the Cam River tour on the punts. A punt is like a small boat. The guide that we had gave us informative facts about Cambridge University, it was very interesting and some hilarious. Such as, the fact that the rivalry between the colleges have been high through time, especially between Trinity College (where most of the wealthiest students live, so they say) and St.John’s. There was a dispute between the two, back in the days. The winning college had the privilege to display a clock on its main tower and the losing team were not allowed. The winning team? Trinity College. If you look at St.John’s tower, there is a round carved of nothingness where the clock was supposed to be, if they had won. This historical event is preserved until now by not adding a clock on the tower of St.John’s to remind people of the rivalry. Haha. There was also a story about HRH Prince Charles who was a member of Trinity College. When he was a student, he decided that he will stay as normal as possible just like other students in order to blend in and have a normal college life. Later on though, he decided to have one floor all to himself in Trinity and came to the university by a very public transport…. a helicopter. Hahaha. Another story was about some Cambridge students doing insane antics by dragging a small car onto four punts along the River Cam and then hoisted it up a bridge. They didn’t get into trouble in the end because they proved a certain physics theory/formula to their lecturer in implementation of their actions. Empiricist.   -_____-

Overall it was a nice time hanging out, meeting friends, knowing about new things, and realising how very traditional the University of Cambridge is. What’s also clear is if you want to study here, you either have to be extra smart with extra perseverance and have loads of money, or you are extra smart with extra perseverance and get a full scholarship. Hahaha.