HKU: Study Abroad, Why Not?

Hi again everyone!! It's kinda unusual because I diligently write posts these days, isn't it? Well, yeah, I just feel like writing since my mood is up nowadays, which is obviously good! And... today's topic is about universities! Seriously, if someone ask me to talk about my dream universities, or going abroad, or anything related to future studies life... then I'm gonna tell it enthusiastically!! It's because I'm highly interested in going abroad since I was in junior high, and I just can't stop dreaming and keep searching for more information about it until today hehe. OK, no need to make this any longer, I will get started now!

So, what I'm going to tell on this occasion is about one of  my dream universities which includes its profile and how to apply to the university. Mm, can you guess what university it is?

Yes, It' Hong Kong University! It is one of Asia's best universities, or even in the world as well. I actually was considering about bringing up Oxford University since I really really wanna go there, but I choose HKU as the one I'm going to discuss here instead because I am now applying to there! So I feel like I will be able to do this better if it is about HKU 😁

OK, so, The University of Hong Kong (often abbreviated as HKU, informally known as Hong Kong University) is a public research university located in Pokfulam, Hong Kong, founded in 1911 during the British Colonial era. It is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong, originally established to compete with other Great Powers that had opened higher learning institutions in China at the beginning of the twentieth century. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Hong_Kong)

Based on the latest university ranks by www.topuniversities.com, Hong Kong University is #30 in the World University Rankings, second in Asian University Rankings, #14 for its Social Sciences and Management, and also second best in the world for its Dentistry. Very cool, huh?? Those rankings clearly depict the high quality of HKU, and that is why I am interested in applying to it! Plus, Hong Kong is still located in Asia whcih means its mother tongue isn't English, so it's pretty suitable with my average English skill ✌🏻

OK, let's we talk about the admission thingy. I will obviously tell about its international admission only since we're non-local students. Well, the International Admission Scheme, or is usually called as Non-JUPAS Admission Scheme, is welcomed for the students who are applying on the strength of qualifications other than Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) or mainland China's National Joint College Entrance Examination (NJCEE), regardless of whether the students are studying in Hong Kong or overseas. The admission period are divided into 3 parts; Fast Track, Main Round, and Late Application. As for the Fast Track application, it has now been closed. However, if the students are not selected during the Fast Track period, they will be considered further in the Main Round so they won't be disadvantaged.

Next one is the Main Round, and this is the admission period I take for my application. It has opened since early October, 2015 and will be closed on December 30, 2015 at 12.00 a.m. (Hong Kong time).

The last one is Late Application. Only small numbers of the university's study programs might accept late applications after the Main Round deadline. According to their official website, the details will be finalized and announced on the website after the Main Round application deadline.

Before starting to do the application, it's way better and important to know what the entrance requirements are, so that your application will be considered for admission. To make it short, I will just insert the link so that you can see the details yourself: http://www.aal.hku.hk/admissions/international/admissions-information?page=en/university-entrance-requirements

Let's now talk about the application procedure. First of all, you should register and create an application account. After you already have one, then you can log in for completing the online application form. When you have finished filling in the online application form, you should pay the application fee of HK$450 by credit card, and you won't be permitted to make any changes in your form, so it is better to use the Preview Final Report function to ensure you have filled in all sections with correct information. After successful online payment, you will be given a final report and you have to save or print it out for your own records. For further detailed information of the application procedure, you can check it out here: http://www.aal.hku.hk/admissions/international/admissions-information?page=application-procedures

You may be called for an interview or test at any time after submission of the application. This means hat not all applicants are required to attend an interview or test and not all programmes conduct these assessments; being invited to an interview or test is not an indicator of the chance of admission. You will be notified by the Faculty / Programme Office individually of the arrangements for any interview or test, if applicable.

You will be informed by e-mail if you are offered admission to the University and you are required to pay a deposit of HK$10,000 upon your acceptance of the offer by the date specified in the offer letter or the offer will be withdrawn automatically. You can also view your application status using your registered application account. Candidates should consider their application as unsuccessful if they do not hear from the University by the end of August 2016. What you have to note is that all documents will not be returned once submitted, and will be destroyed if the application is unsuccessful.

I myself have almost done my online application form until today. I just have to upload some supporting documents and write and essay about my interest of studying in Hong Kong University. Here is my current Final Report:

https://extranet.hku.hk/admission/servlet/ReportServlet/previewFinalReport

Sighs, this is real hard to do :( but I like it anyway and I am very enthusiastic for this!! Well, just wish me luck, buddies! :)

Source:

http://www.aal.hku.hk/admissions/international/admissions-information

http://www.aal.hku.hk/admissions/documents/General%20Information%20and%20Instructions_IAS_NJ.pdf

Dream Job of Mine

HIII!!! Wow, I am excited for this post because the topic is what I have waited since long long ago... yes, it's about my dream job!! Okay, let's just start it now.

Hmm, talking about dream job, I have always dreamed about being a doctor since I was a kid. I used to had no idea what kind of doctor I would like to be, but by time I finally have decided that I want to be a dentist. To tell you the truth, many people asked me, "Why a dentist?" "Why should dentistry?" "Why not medical school and planning to be a doctor instead of dentist?" OK, to those who was ever asked me one of (or maybe all) the questions above, I will answer all of it now.

My reasons are actually simple. First of all, in my opinion, to be a doctor, someone will take a long period of time for the study only. And in this era, I don't think becoming a doctor with a bachelor's degree is a good idea because nowadays specialist doctors seem to be more needed by the patients. I didn't say that the general doctors isn't needed, but if you also assume being a doctor as your livelihood, then I think being a specialist doctor is better and it definitely will take longer time for you to finish your medical study. Meanwhile, if you want to be a dentist, then you just have to go to dentistry and it may take shorter period of time to finish the study, or may be vise versa if you're too lazy. The point is, no matter how long it would take, if you only finish the bachelor degree, you can be a dentist and make it as your livelihood without taking any specialist study, because unlike medical school, basically dental school has aimed or specialized its major since the beginning. However, if you want to continue your dental study, then it would be beneficial because you might earn more... hehe

Second, as a soon-to-be woman, I obviously think about my future life. If I already have my own family, I want to have a job without disregarding my responsibility of taking care of my family. So, I think being a dentist is one of the most suitable job for women because you can manage your time between the practice schedule and taking care of family well.

I'm pretty sure that some of you who read this might disagree with my opinions above. Well, I don't mind it, of course... but I just want you to know that this writing isn't purely my opinions. On the contrary, I have asked some dentist I knew; my mother's friend, my aunt's friend, my dentist who takes care of my teeth, my neighbor who is also a dentist, and other dentists I have met. So, I can say that those opinions are pretty legit ;)

Oh, and just to emphasize... if some of you also think that I assume being a dentist as a livelihood only, nah, then you're totally wrong, because my main reason for dreaming to be a doctor or dentist is because I want to help people to have better health levels. And if it is possible, I even want to help unwealthy people with health problems (especially mouth and dental problems) by giving them free treatment in the future... However, someone must think about his/her livelihood and consider about the earnings too, am I right? ✌

So, yeah, that's my dream job and the supporting reasons as well! What about yours? :)

In God We Trust - Ranti Aryani: Merentang Hijab dari Indonesia sampai Amerika

You might find this book quite boring just by taking a look at the cover because it's sort of too formal and stiff; well, it is, for me. I like to read an autobiography novels, but this one is the most rigid. However, it is a good autobiography written by Ranti Aryani, who was a former military officer in USA. It was first published in 2013 and told us about her ups and downs during the struggle to maintain her hijab back then.

Ranti Aryani, an Indonesian muslim, who was born and raised in Bogor, lived happily and well as the only daughter out of the other 3 brothers, which made her was so close with her dad and mom. Her childhood was sadly introduced with legal issues due to the company's problem faced by her mother. By time, more problems had come to her childhood life and slowly disrupted it. That's what started her to try to find out the meaning of life. Then she met someone who inspired her to learn more about her religion, and made her to attend a pesantren in between her busyness of studying at school. Her first struggle was when she decided to wear hijab when she'd started her study at SMPN IV Bogor. But, wearing hijab wasn't as easy as she thought before; instead, she had to undergo her early teenage life hard because at that time (in Soeharto's era) hijab was strongly prohibited to wear by the government. She and some of her friends kept their hijab at school, and finally they were permitted to wear it freely.

The struggle hadn't ended yet; after she got her bachelor degree in Indonesia and married to an American muslim, she had to move to the USA with his husband due to Indonesia's monetary crisis on 1998. Her struggle was much harder since the incident of WTC attack on September 11, 2001 was happened when she had moved to America--which caused the discrimination for Muslims was worse. In there, she also continued her study and enrolled for military officer (as a dentist). Still, it didn't get easier for her to get in there just because the matter of her hijab, though at the end she finally got accepted as a military dentist. Moreover, she got the Dental Corp Captain military rank there. Unfortunately, her 14 months of devotion in USAF should be passed by terrible discrimination because of the same reason.

All the storms that kept coming to her life made her realize that she should understand every lessons given by Allah swt. through those rain and storms. She then found a great man who led her to know herself better, and her understanding made her to feel and see that all of the problems in her life was the form of God's affection for her to make herself be a better human being and to teach her to have stronger soul for facing the future life.

Truthfully, sorry to say this again, I find this book quite boring, but once again it's a very good writing especially for those who are interested in religious or spiritual stories because this book is dominated by Mrs. Ranti's spiritual adventure. I'm actually not that kind of person, but I'm interested in this book because I like her adventure in America while struggling with her hijab through the hard discrimination there. It has inspired me to be brave to keep my hijab no matter how hard the storms try to ruin it.

So, are you as much interested in this story as mine? :)

A Few Words about Peace

Well, hi, everyone. It's been a while since my last writing, and uhm... yeah, I have postponed this assignment for a month (or more, perhaps), so for the sake of having my grades increased... I'm gonna finish this right now. ((I really apologize Mrs. Wiwin for this case))

OK, so, today's topic is PEACE. Hm... I bet each of you must have different opinions about that word. Some of you may think about Palestinians whose rights is taken away by the Israels, or maybe you'd imagine the situation where there is no any fights nor bullied kids in a school, and so on.

Peace, to me, is the condition or situation when there is no violence, no war, no hypocrites around, happiness is spread everywhere, and where everybody just feel... peaceful, and have calm minds. However, I think it is kind of hard to have such peaceful lives like what we have imagined in today's life, isn't it? Well, let's take a look at this quotes first:

Yes, it is absolutely true what the quotes above said; we can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. Let's back to our previous talks. It is hard to find a peace in today's life. The war between Palestine and Israel and bullied kids at schools (as I said before), social, economic, and political problems in a country, and many more have made peace seem vague. Even us, as students, hardly feel the peace because of several reasons that comes from school, such as overload tasks, daily test, high standard of minimum grades for each subjects, etc. Moreover, we might think that this life is full of problems that we hardly be peaceful. Now, let's go back to the quotes above. The fact is, we make ourselves as the keys. It is our minds, it is what we do that determine whether we'd be peaceful or vise versa. If we think that school is stressful, then it would be stressful; and it would bring less peace to our lives. If we think a lot about something that might be a big problem for us, without even try to solve it, then it would also bring much burden in life. Instead, we should face our problems not only with such deep thoughts about it--which just make us be more stressful and frustrated-- but also with an act to solve it as well. Or, the simple thing to do is actually to suggest our own minds, our own selves, to not make so many things as a burden or is stressing for us. Truthfully, I myself ain't those kind of individual I said above, but let's we try together to be so. Perhaps, after that, we will be more peaceful and by that we can obtain peace in our circumstances, like what is said in the quotes by Dalai Lama.

Great Leader, Great Characteristics

As social human beings, we definitely do not live alone but in groups. And every group of people, or let's say, every community or organization must need a person to lead the others in their surroundings, which is normally called as leader. A leader is not only responsible of leading and guiding the members and taking care of them, but also a "role model" the members would look up to. This means one should has good characteristics to be a good leader in order to lead the organization well, some of them are commitment, good communication skill, honesty, trusty, and wisdom.

First of all, commitment. Without good commitment, a leader won't be able to lead well. A strong commitment is needed to make the leader being loyal to the organization. If a leader's commitment is just too weak, means that he/she isn't that loyal, how can he/she lead and guide the members to have good commitment and be loyal to the organization as well?

Second, it is certainly necessary for a good leader to be good at communicating with others, especially with the members. It will make the relationship between leader and members become closer and friendlier, and it is very helpful to build stronger kinship in the organization that will make the people in it feel more comfortable.

Honesty is super important characteristic ones should have, especially for someone who wants to be a good leader. When a leader is responsible to a group of people, he/she obviously has that one goal to change the group or organization to be better than before. And in the progress, you reflect your members and the organization as well. So, if you make honest one of the "key" for it, then the members will follow suit.

Trusty doesn't only mean that a leader must be able to be trusted, but it does also mean that a leader must trust his/her team. If a leader divide the group into small groups where each small group has its own function, then a leader should be able to delegate the organization's tasks to the appropriate "small part" of the group. It will be very organized and efficient, but if the leader doesn't learn to trust others, it might obstruct the progress of the tasks to be done, or even worse; the leader might be stressed by this condition and cause the organization to start having problems.

And the last one is about wisdom. Of course, a good leader is the wise one. In every group of people, there must be problems. A leader's responsibility, in this case, is to decide the best solution to solve it. Imagine if someone, as a leader, doesn't that wise to decide things, how would they be able to solve their problems? Wisdom is also needed to build justice between the people in it. And if a leader is wise, the members will respect him/her, won't they?

In brief, to be a good leader, someone should have at least those characteristics that are explained above because the characteristics reflect the whole organization someone leads. If you behave good then the group you lead will also be good, and vice versa. It obviously means other people can see what kind of human being you are. So, having good characteristics since today is absolutely necessary because even though you have no chance to lead a group of people, at least you become the leader of your own self.

References:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2012/12/19/top-10-qualities-that-make-a-great-leader/

https://www.google.co.id/search?q=leadership+quotes&rlz=1C1UXZO_enID490ID490&espv=2&biw=1024&bih=537&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3b6b_vvnxwIVxSmUCh0m6AD0#imgrc=LdxjlL9tsB9AOM%3A

Medina Savira: Keep Writing while Making School as No. 1 Priority

Young, smart, talented, and humble; those words are the right ones to describe her, I think. I have actually been admiring her since the first time I knew that she's a writer, which brought my interest to interview her for this blogging task.

This interview was begun by my greeting for her through LINE on Sunday evening. Firstly, I told her that I got this task to interview someone I found inspiring, so I asked her whether I could interview her or not; if she didn't mind it, of course. And... fortunately she said yes!

Since she said so, then I started the short virtual interview with her.

First of all, I asked about when and how she started to write. Then, she answered, "I have started to write books since I was 10. When I was a 5th grader, my teacher took me to a journalistic training where I met Sri Izzati, a famous, senior children novels (KKPK) writer. There, she told me about how fun it was to be a writer, how to write, and also she introduced me to KKPK (Kecil-Kecil Punya Karya) books. Since then, I started to write short stories. After collecting all of them in a month, I sent them to DAR! Mizan Publisher. Alhamdulillaah, they gave me positive response. That's why I have addicted to write until now, hehe."

This 17-year-old girl has produced 18 books until today. Well, it means she's been very productive during her 7-year career as a writer. I wonder how does she manage her time so well, because she's also an acceleration class' student like me and I thought it'd be hard for her to spend her time for writing during her accelerated study in high school. But, she just simply said that she kept school as her first priority. "I started to write if I've done my school things; finishing my assignments and study. So, I wrote whenever I had free time, like during weekends or school's holiday, for example."

After that, I asked her if she had any plans ahead, whether it'd be writing again or something else. This new student of SAPPK ITB then answered, "I actually have a plan to continue my novel script which was delayed due to the exams preparation. Just wish me luck :)"

Sure, I immediately wished her luck. And for the closing, I would like to quote the words from this 2014 West Java's Students Language Ambassador for her juniors in SMAN 3 Bandung, especially for me and my fellow friends as acceleration class' students. Here it is:

"Although you undergo Kurtilas (Kurikulum 2013), don't make it as a burden. Do not waste your 2 years needlessly (for the accelerated students). Look for new experiences as much as you can, because life lessons will not come from your study at classes, but if you are willing to try new things :)"

So, that's how my short interview with Teh Dina ended. Thanks for being so much inspiring, Teh!

Here is the photo of me and Teh Dina! :)

One Day at Braga Street

I often pass this iconic street, especially when I'm on my way to school. Many people also walk on its sidewalks or just sit on the benches which are placed along the sidewalks; were many of them who like to take some pictures there, too, just to capture every single moment they spent at the beautiful street.

Yes, Braga Street. It is a small street in the center of Bandung, Indonesia, which was famous in the 1920s as a promenade street. Chic cafes, boutiques and restaurants with European ambiance along the street had made the city to attain the Paris of Java nickname. The street starts from a T-junction with the Asia-Afrika Street (or De Groote Postweg during the colonial times) to the north until the city council (Balai Kota), which was formerly a coffee warehouse. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braga_Street)

It is still famous until today, anyway. It has not only some historical buildings, but also its part of street called Braga Andesit since it has andesites used for the road instead of bitumen (asphalt). Unfortunately, this Braga Andesit often gets roadwork because the andesites are not so firm that it's easily broken. This roadwork always cause traffic jam along the street, too.

However, yes, Braga Street has this unique views for me, especially at Braga Andesit. It also has many food stalls and painting outlets. There is also a mall called Braga City Walk (BCW) located at Braga Andesit. Despite not having so much things in it, BCW still quite worth it to visit. Besides foods, you can also watch movies at the cinema with low price! :p There are usually some events held in this street, like Braga Culinary Night and Car Free Night that was held just few weeks ago.

Even though I often pass this road as I said in the beginning... but actually I haven't spent so much time on its sidewalks with its beautiful views, which I'm really waiting for! But, since I hardly have someone to accompany me... would you like to visit Braga Street together with me if you are free? *winks*

PAMAN GOBER 2015

Paman Gober is one of annual events held right after Dewa Athena--SMAN 3 Bandung's sport event--tournament's over. It's an event where all of the school's students and teachers ride bicycles together and plant some trees in certain places at the end of the ride.

This year's Paman Gober was held on May 9th. Most of the students brought their own bicycles; like I did, and some others had to come earlier so that they could borrow the bicycles provided by the committees. That day, I woke up late so I had to get myself prepared in a hurry. I'd decided to ride my bicycle from home to school since the day before anyway, but since I was late so I had to rush to school--well, it's Lapangan Bali to be precise. Lucky me, I arrived there on time. I just needed to wait for few minutes and finally all of us started the bicycle convoy.

We left Lapangan Bali to head to Tegallega. We passed through Belitung St., then we down the Sumatera St. and passed Tamblong and Lengkong Street. The police car which guarded us during the convoy suddenly stopped us before Pungkur-Lengkong intersection. I personally didn't have any idea about it, neither nor my friends. After waiting for quite a while, the polices started to drive their car again, but it turned out that they're heading back to Lapangan Bali since they said that Tegallega was too crowded for us to stop by and take a rest there at that time. So, yeah, we just followed the police car. When we arrived at Sunda Street, our group split in two; some of us were heading back to Lapangan Bali, and some others were going to watch the symbolic trees handover from our committees to the representation of the residents at Buton Street; including me and some of my friends. After that, we finally went back to Lapangan Bali.

There, at Lapangan Bali, the committees gave each of us a box of nasi timbel since it's time for lunch already. My classmates and I sat together and ate our lunch, before we started the final round of Dewa Athena tournament. Our class went to three finals; tug of war, dodgeball for girls, and table tennis. And... guess what??? We finally won all of those finals which brought us to be the 2nd Grand Champion! Yeay, congratulation to us!!

Well, for me, these annual events have given new experiences and it was very exciting as well, though me and my fellow friends who are also acceleration class' students would probably not experience next year's Dewa Athena and Paman Gober... but anyway, thanks to everyone involved in these events this year!! :)

Photo of me and my friends during the bicycle convoy~

Story behind Kelly Clarkson's '"Because of You"

I will not make

The same mistakes that you did

I will not let myself

Cause my heart so much misery

I will not break

The way you did, you fell so hard

I've learned the hard way

To never let it get that far

Because of you

I never stray too far from the sidewalk

Because of you

I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt

Because of you

I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me

Because of you

I am afraid

I lose my way

And it's not too long before you point it out

I cannot cry

Because I know that's weakness in your eyes

I'm forced to fake

A smile, a laugh everyday of my life

My heart can't possibly break

When it wasn't even whole to start with

Because of you

I never stray too far from the sidewalk

Because of you

I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt

Because of you

I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me

Because of you

I am afraid

I watched you die

I heard you cry every night in your sleep

I was so young

You should have known

Better than to lean on me

You never thought of anyone else

You just saw your pain

And now I cry in the middle of the night

For the same damn thing

Because of you

I never stray too far from the sidewalk

Because of you

I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt

Because of you

I try my hardest just to forget everything

Because of you

I don't know how to let anyone else in

Because of you

I'm ashamed of my life

Because it's empty

Because of you

I am afraid

Because of you

Because of you

"Because of You" is a song recorded by American pop singer Kelly Clarksonfor her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). It was written by Clarkson along with its producers David Hodges and Ben Moody. It was released on August 16, 2005 by RCA Records, as the third single from Breakaway. Clarkson originally wrote "Because of You" when she was 16 years old to cope with the emotional distress caused by her parents' divorce. She wanted the song to be included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), but her record label thought that it was not suitable to be included in the album. She then polished the song with Hodges and Moody before successfully convincing her label to include it on Breakaway.

To know about the song's background further, here are some comments from Kelly Clarkson about what inspired her to write "Because Of You" :

“’Because Of You’ isn’t about breakups, it’s about my family. It is about growing up in a broken home. My parents were together for 17 years or so, and then all of the sudden, something went wrong. But I’ve talked to lots of friends who have seen domestic violence in their homes; I didn’t. But if you see those things as a child, you see a family member cheating or people not trusting each other or people not communicating with each other, that effects you. You end up afraid to trust people, because you think you’re going to get screwed over. Me and a friend of mine were up late one night talking about our lives, and it led to this song. I wrote it when I was 16, my friend was having a really hard time with her family. It was a different situation than mine, but I could relate to what she was going through. My parents were together for a long time, and suddenly one thing happens, and it’s over. That could happen to me. It made me feel like, why would I want to open up and trust someone? I know that it’s a childish way to look at it; life is a risk, and anything worth having is worth taking a risk for, but I wrote it when I was 16. I have learned a lot since then. At the same time, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still relate. I was 6 when my parents got divorced. I used to be the most closed off person. I didn’t want to get hurt. I had been messed over by friends, and I had been through a lot with my family. I didn’t pity myself, but I did put a wall up. I’m smarter now, but I have a good relationship with God, and that’s gotten better over the years. That’s why I’ve gotten smarter about situations. I’m a very trusting person now. I’m not going to let people screw me over left and right, but at the same time I’m not going to close myself off. That’s a big step for me.”

So, in conclusion, in the song, Kelly sings about trying not to make the same mistakes her parents did, and how because of the divorce, she is scared to fall in love, in fear of going through the same pain her parents did.

Hmm, such a really sad love story happened in the family that is implied in the song, isn't  it?

Sources:
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070624182126AAaSP9Z
http://www.metrolyrics.com/because-of-you-lyrics-kelly-clarkson.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Because_of_You_(Kelly_Clarkson_song)
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=5176

The "Door to Hell" are Existed in This World?

"Sometimes, despite our best efforts, scientific pursuits don't always go according to plan. And sometimes, a pit to hell may open up right beneath your feet."

Every man in this world obviously knows where will we go after our death, don't they? Of course, since we were still kids our parents told us stories about the hereafter life; especially about heaven and hell. We have been taught to do good deeds in our lives so that we can go to heaven later and to avoid bad deeds so that we won't go to hell. I am 100% sure none of us want to go to hell because... well, you know how terrifying it is.

However, in this real world, there is a place which can depict how hell actually looks like. That is The Door to Hell and is located in Derweze village, Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. It is in the middle of The Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometres north of Ashgabat. The gas reserve found here is one of the largest in the world. The name "Door to Hell" was given to the field by the locals, referring to the fire, boiling mud, and orange flames in the large crater, which has a diameter of 70 metres. The hot spots range over an area with a width of 60 metres and to a depth of about 20 metres.

Let's read the history about this natural phenomenon. The site was identified by Soviet engineers in 1971. It was thought to be a substantial oil field site. The engineers set up a drilling rig and camp nearby, and started drilling operations to assess the quantity of gas reserve available at the site. As the Soviets were pleased with the success of finding the gas resources, they started storing the gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig and camp collapsed into a wide crater and disappeared. No lives were lost in the incident. Fearing further release of poisonous gases from the cavern, the engineers decided to burn the gas off. They believed that it would be safer to burn it than to extract it from underground through expensive methods. At that time, expectations were that the gas would burn out within a few weeks, but has continued to burn more than four decades after it was set on fire.

The site is still burning, attracting hundreds of tourists every year, even though Turkmen President, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov issued orders for local officials to find a way to put out the fire, after his 2010 visit to the crater. The president expressed fears that the fire would draw off gas from other nearby drilling sites, damaging Turkmenistan's vital energy exports. The country exports natural gas to Europe, Russia, China, India, and Pakistan. Turkmenistan produced 1.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2010; its Ministry of Oil, Gas, and Mineral Resources published a goal of reaching 8.1 trillion cubic feet by 2030. Impressive though it looks, the Gates of Hell at Derweze seems unlikely to make much of a dent in those sorts of numbers.

So, are you interested in seeing this sort of hell existed in our world?

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door_to_Hell

http://asianhistory.about.com/od/asianenvironmentalhistory/ss/Gates-of-Hell-Derweze-Turkmenistan.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/20/door-of-hell_n_4311694.html

Let "SpongeCLOCK SPLASHpants" Wake You Up!

Waking up in the morning has been our daily problem before going to school. Yeah, especially for me. It is so hard to set the "biological clock". Perhaps some of us don't suffer this problem, but what about some others who do? Should they let their mothers to yell everyday to wake them up? Well, that is actually what I have every morning. Tiring, isn't it? That is why I imagined about a new cute yet (maybe) quite annoying thing for those who have a difficulty in waking up in the morning. Check it out!

I bet you are familiar with this character. Yes, it is Spongebob Squarepants, one of our favorite character during our childhood, am I right? Haha. But, I won't use its original name for my new thing. I will rename it as "Spongeclock Splashpants" ! OK, don't get confused with it. I will explain it to you.

So, "Spongeclock Splashpants" is an alarm clock, not the ordinary one, of course. Why? Because I have designed it as an alarm clock that has an ability to make the owner wet! Oh, how come?

Here is how it works. This "Spongeclock Splashpants" is made of a kind of sponge (the harder one, to be precise) that is covered by plastic and it will look like a Spongebob Squarepants doll. By its small part of sponge that appears on its surface, it is able to absorb water. The absorbed water are later collected on the inside of its sponge body. In the other hand, we can set the alarm time the same way we do for a normal alarm. Let's say it will be ringing at 5 a.m.. At that time, it will really ring like the other ordinary alarm. People must tend to turn it off since they think its ringing is annoying, so this is the time when this Mr. "Spongeclock Splashpants" works. So, after we turn the alarm off, it will immediately splash the water collected and make us wet. Though only our hand got splashed, but at least we will be shocked and automatically getting up. 

See? This unusual alarm clock is effective enough to wake sleeping beauties up. It costs Rp50,000,- to change your days. Grab this product fast and you will get 50% off! For the first 5 buyers only!

 So, what are you waiting for? Wake up, or get wet?

New Year Holiday

Hi, fellas! How are you guys doing? OK, so, now I am back with a new post about my holiday. Yeay! I bet everyone's excited with the word "holiday". Unfortunately, holiday has already ended. Oh... how sad it is. BUT, this time, I'm going to do a little flashback to how was my holiday going. So, here it is.

NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATION
The holiday had started since December 24th, 2014. My first week of holiday went quite boring. I didn't go anywhere; you know, just hung out with family on weekend and spending most of the time at home accompanied by my phone, computer, books (even though I didn't really read books during the holiday), and TV. I also ate so much foods and slept a lot (OK, I bet my friends also did the same). However, it's getting quite more exciting on the new year's eve since my neighbors invited me to come to a kind of barbecue party in order to welcome the new year. So, at the last night of 2014, me and my neighbors gathered on a gazebo in our neighborhood. We grilled satay and ate it while accompanied by tasty mashed potatoes that the girls had made in the afternoon. It was fun but unfortunately I couldn't wait until 00:00 and had to go home earlier since my mom didn't allow me to. But, that's okay anyway. At least, I was having fun with the kids!


SOLO
My second part of holiday was started right a day after the new year. Yes, it was on January 2nd, 2015. Everything was begun with my words. In the morning of the second day of 2015, I woke up after a late sleep because of the noise of people welcoming the new year. I went downstairs to have my breakfast while watching TV with my family. After that, I went upstairs again to go back to my room. I seriously had nothing to do so I looked downstairs from the void. I was suddenly thinking of how boring my holiday was and I wished I could visit some places with my family. Then, all of a sudden, 3 words came out from my mouth, "Ke Solo, yuk!". Really, I didn't think my parents would give any responses to this since they kept in silence after I said that. But, surprisingly, my dad answered, "Hayu,". I was freaking happy because of his answer but once again I didn't think he would seriously granted my wish. So, I left them and started to find something to do.

Few hours later, I went downstairs again and heard my parents were talking about train tickets. I immediately had a feeling that we would really go to Solo. However, I still had to reassure it, so I asked them whether we would actually go or not, and they said... yes!!! Oh My God, it was the real happiness during the holiday. My parents then said that we would go that night by train. So, we prepared and we went to the train station at around 7 p.m. The train went at 8.30 p.m, and we would be arrived in Solo after around 8 hours which meant we spent a night on the train which was fun.

At 6 a.m, we arrived in Stasiun Solo Balapan. There was my dad's colleague who picked us up. Then, he drove us to have our breakfast first at "Soto Seger Mbok Giyem". After that, he dropped us at the hotel. When we entered the rooms (my parents and the children had different rooms), I immediately laid down onto the bed since I was sooo tired.

In the afternoon, we decided to travel around the city by becak. We used two becak; one for carrying me and my mom, while the other one for carrying my dad and brother. It was very exciting; we visited some places that were nearby our hotel. When the Jum'at prayer time came, me and my mom went to Solo Paragon mall to buy some needs for us during our visit to Solo while waiting for my dad and brother. Then, we went back to the hotel.

Late in the afternoon, we had a trip to a place near Madiun, where my dad's father (my grandfather for short) lives. It took around 3 hours to reach his home. We finally arrived before the sunset, and went back to Solo few hours after that.

The next day, we visited some places; a famous water springs where we could swam there and Keraton Solo and its museum. At night, we had a dinner with my dad's friend's family at Angkring Solo, then we also went to "Opor Ceker" stall which was opened at 10 p.m., if I'm not mistaken. We really had fun that day.

Finally, it's our last day of our trip to Solo. My dad's friend, who was having a dinner together with us, drove us to the airport. It was sad to say goodbye to Solo, honestly. We were having a great time there. See you later, Solo :)



Well, that was how my last holiday spent. Pretty fun, wasn't it? I am waiting for the next holiday sooo badly. Hm, what am I going to have next?