(some) facts about china

been about 2 weeks in china, and i see some interesting facts about china, here are some of them that caught my attention

english words are often misspelled
it happens everywhere, from the printing on shirts, building's signs to warning in airports, they misspelled a lot of words, haha..

many chinese starts to work at an early age
there are many youngsters working at restaurants, hotels, gas stations, higher education is still limited.

china temperature varies widely between season
as high as 39 degree and as low as -4 degree in the same place! maybe it's because china has 4 seasons.

chinese drivers sits in the left of the car
and their taxi have iron bars..

in china, houses are mostly apartment
unlike Indonesia, most chinese live in apartment, maybe china governor want to conserve housing land... since they have to provide housing for 1 billion people

chinese use toilet papers >.<
...

chinese eat their rice last in a meal
quite strange, chinese usually eat other food first, and rice is last

chinese prefer to drink hot water than normal or cold water
hmm.. maybe it's good for health??

fork and spoons are rare
they're only available at big restaurants, mostly they use chopsticks >.<

there is no such thing as capcay, puyunghai, sapo tahu, lomie in china
it's quite shocking that even in a restaurant, these foods which we know as chinese foods (in Indonesia) are not available. Maybe Indonesia can claim it as Indonesian food ^^.

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graduate study in US, why and how

This time, I will describe about graduate study in US. Different from my older posts which talk only about myself, this post is meant for others, so that everyone can have a sketch of having graduate study in US. (I just realize that blog articles are not only about yourself, but also meant for others to get information :p). So what do we have here? First, I will describe a few reasons why to have your graduate study in US, next is the steps you will need to do to enroll in US university.. Happy reading and hope this article is useful..


Before you think about having your graduate study in US, you might first ask yourself "do i want to do my graduate study? or am i satisfied with my bachelor degree and are ready to hit the road?" If you opt to have your graduate study, then the next question is "why US? there are hundreds other countries in the globe?" Here, I will describe why (according to my point of view of course ^^) :

- Good education acknowledged throughout the globe
I am not saying that US is the only country with good education, I do believe that other country like Indonesia also have a good education (we won many science olympics right?). But my focus here is about acknowledgement. By having a degree in US, you will be recognized throughout the globe (which means that you can opt to work in any country), simply said, it opens many chances for you.

- Better chance to gain good working experience
Well, happy or not, it is a fact that US is the home of many big companies (Apple, Adobe, Intel, Microsoft, etc2), and by studying in US, you get a better chance to see the big company from the inside (and to get the big paycheck of course ^^).

- "Cheaper" things
Sounded contrary to fact?? Here's what I mean. It is true that US item price (in dollar) when converted into Rp will seem expensive, but your income (after or WHILE you do your study) will also come in dollar. Let's have some example. A starter Dell Inspiron 1420 Notebook in Indonesia will cost 889$ (about 8 million in Rp), while in US, you can get it for the SAME price. Get my point now? Many electronics come from US (Notebooks, Ipods, Cars, TVs, and many other), and when they arrive in Indonesia, do their prices lower?? NO! In Indonesia we are forced to buy US goods with Rps. This is not absolutely true for every items though, items like food, housing and service are more expensive in US. But overall, it is said that living expense in US is 3 times in that of Indonesia, while US workers get paid about 8-9 times more than Indonesian workers. This makes the things relatively cheaper.

- Better chance to meet different kinds of people
Some said that US is a melting pot - a country consists of many kinds of people. By having your education there, chances are you get to meet many new people which you may never see outside the television ^^.

Well that's the major reasons to have your education in US, there's still other minor reasons like going to disneyland, trying all kinds of food, watching live american idol. But it will be too long to list them all. Next, I will list a few things to prepare your education in US :

- Good english
Well obvious isn't it? How can you have your education if you can't understand what they're saying ^^. English proficiency is usually measured by TOEFL test. a 550 in paper based TOEFL is usually enough, though some graduate school asks for 600.

- GRE/GMAT test
these are the tests required if you plan to have your graduate study in US. GMAT is required for business schools, while GRE is for science and engineering study. I don't know much about GMAT, but in GRE, the topics are english verbal(again), analytical writing (duhh), and quantitative mathematics. Go to ETS website for more info on GMAT and GRE.

- State choice
US has 50 states, each with its own characteristics. Do you prefer big crowded cities with high income and high living cost? or maybe a quiet suburb with less traffic and low living cost? can you withstand snow? Find a place that suits you.

- University choice
After you choose the state you live in, you have to choose the university for your graduate study. want a private university (more expensive)? or maybe just a state university (cheaper). Here's a link which may help you make your university choice

- Last but not least.. expense planning
Education and living in US costs(of course) more than in Indonesia. You have to plan your budget carefully so as not to hinder your graduate study. Many financial aid is available, but they usually put you under certain conditions though

I think that is the major things you'll need to prepare to have your graduate study in US, although you cannot overlook small things such as Passport, visa, buying winter clothes, etc2.

Well I guess that's it for now, I hope that you find this article useful, and if you have further questions regarding this topic, I would be glad to help you find the answer ^^.

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A day with many heavy blows to the mind

whew, just got home after this tiring day, 07 April 2008, Today, others may see me as usual as i can be, but actually i am experiencing "heavy blows" on my inner self.


Start the morning with a negative comment on my goal, it feels like all my big effort is worthless, i am usually used to this kind of comment, but this one hits me hard because i guess that he is right, and i can't change a thing about it >.<... Is it really worthless? Will my effort change nothing? Should i accept the condition i am in right now?

In the afternoon, i simply fail to hold my horses, i spit out all my negative opinion in front of the corresponding person.. with rage. This really made me feel guilty, well the person is quite precious to me, although not perfect, but then why should he be perfect anyway? Isn't it normal for a person to have defects? after all we're only human...

That's the major two, the other one is a question in my idealism which i cannot prove. I can't hold my idealism in this case, tempting me to just throw away my own law and go with the flow... And i still don't know how to solve this with my current point of view..

The last is about achievement, today, i am shown the fact that other kind of person have their success, while i -which i always considered different from them- am stuck in the place, waiting for miracles and having only hopes and dreams as lifeline. what should i do? should i follow their path? should i feed entirely from hopes and dreams? when will i get my actual share of success with the path i believe in?

That's the heavy blows i sustained today, i may look the same on the outside, but inside i am truly in pain, i feel like been thrown away further from my dreams... But here's what i believe

I do BELIEVE that every person has got his ups and downs, and it is when you face your "DOWNS" that you will take the real test to be a winner, it is the experience you need to become a champion, because a true winner is not the one who always win, but the one who always gets up from his downs, so that he can survive to see his sunrise once again!

~Keep even your smallest Candle Lit up! For it will guide you from the darkness to the light~

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