My Blog

Blog ini ditujukan untuk teman-teman new comer di Belanda. Berisi info petunjuk sholat, makanan halal, dan komunitas muslim Indonesia. You’ll never be alone!

Ibadah
Tentang info jadwal sholat teman-teman bisa buka www.islamicfinder.org dan download program adzan 5 kali sehari yang waktunya disesuaikan dg local time. Tentang arah kiblat, teman-teman cukup berbekal kompas karena dari islamic finder ini juga ada petunjuk arah kiblat. Yang susah memang tempat untuk sholat karena di kampus dan kantor biasanya tidak ada ruang khusus.

Untungnya utk
privasi dan kebebasan beribadah di sini tidak ada masalah, baik dg housemate atau officemate, atau classmate, asalkan kita menjelaskan dengan baik ritual yang harus kita lakukan. Di rumah kita juga harus jelaskan pada housemate bahwa dini hari ada
ritual sholat Subuh sehingga mereka paham kalau kita sudah beraktivitas
sejak dini hari. Kadang kita harus meninggalkan kantor atau kelas utk sholat karena waktunya memang tidak pas dengan jam kerja atau kuliah. Sejauh ini juga tidak ada larangan penggunaan jilbab baik di kampus atau kantor.
   

Makanan
Di Belanda cukup mudah mendapatkan makanan halal karena banyak pusat komunitas Turki Maroko yang menjual daging dan roti yang halal, juga sayur mayur dan buah dg harga murah. Di Utrecht pusatnya di daerah Kanaalstraat (belakang centraal station). Di Rotterdam bahkan bisa ditemukan di setiap sudut kota.  Yang perlu diketahui nanti daftar Emulsifier (E-codes) yang banyak dipakai sebagai food additive. Dianjurkan teman-teman memeriksa terlebih dahulu bahan-bahan produk yang akan kita konsumsi dan mencocokannya dengan daftar kode E-CODES berikut ini. Jika ditemukan kode-kode berikut ini dalam kemasan produk yang akan kita beli, maka hendaknya dapat dihindari karena produk dengan kode-kode tersebut di bawah ini mengandung derivat hewan (biasanya lemak babi). Juga hindari makanan yang mengandung gelatin.

E100  E101,a  E106 E110  E120  E140-141  E153  E160a  E161a,b,g
E210  E213   E214    E216    E234   E252    E270    E280
E304  E322   E325-327  E334-337    E339-341
E422  E430-436  E441 445   E451-452  E470a,b  E471   E472a-f
E473-478  E481-483    E491-492 E494-495  E542  E570 E572    
E620-625  E631  E634-635 E640  E904  E920-921  E1105  E1518

Komunitas muslim
1. Persatuan Pemuda Muslim Eropa (PPME)Rotterdam
Ketua: Bpk Ruud Pourchez <r.pourchez1@chello.nl>
Tempat: Gedung Stichting Santoso, Van Eversdijckstraat 31, Rotterdam
Kegiatan: Pengajian Minggu siang, dilakukan setiap 2 minggu sekali
Metode: ceramah dan diskusi, dilanjutkan sholat berjama’ah, dan makan malam bersama).

2. Persatuan Pelajar Muslim Rotterdam (PPMR)
Ketua: Kemas Antonius <kyantonius@gmail.com>
Tempat: dari rumah ke rumah
Kegiatan: Pengajian bulanan
Metode: ceramah dan diskusi, sholat berjama’ah, dan makan bersama.
<ppmr-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>

3. Persatuan Pemuda Muslim Eropa (PPME) Den Haag
Ketua: Aaman Sulchan <aaman.sulchan@gmail.com>
Tempat: Masjid Al Hikmah, Heeswijplein 170-171, Den Haag
Kegiatan: Pengajian Sabtu sore, dilakukan setiap minggu
Metode: Sholat berjama’ah, makan sore bersama, ceramah dan diskusi

4. Pengajian muslimah Utrecht
Koordinator: Mbak Endra Yusnita <eyusnita@yahoo.co.uk>
Tempat: dari rumah ke rumah
Kegiatan: Pengajian Jumat sore, dilakukan setiap 2 minggu sekali
Metode: makan malam bersama dilanjutkan pembacaan ayat Qur’an, kultum, ceramah dan diskusi.

5. Pengajian muslimah Delft
Koordinator: Mbak Jiah Iskandarsyah <jiah_iskandarsyah@yahoo.com>
Tempat: dari rumah ke rumah
Kegiatan: Pengajian 2 mingguan
Metode: pembacaan ayat Qur’an, kultum, ceramah dan diskusi, makan siang.
<rehat_sejenak-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>

Blog ini
saya buat khusus untuk teman-teman yang berminat belajar di negeri kincir angin
melalui jalur beasiswa. Isinya saya yakin tidak detail, tapi at least bisa
memberi gambaran apa yang harus dilakukan utk mendapat grant (ini berdasarkan
FAQ yang sering mampir di mailbox saya hehehe).

Persiapan
Langkah pertama adalah menentukan fakultas dan program
yang diminati. Teman-teman bisa mengirimkan aplikasi dengan menyertakan hasil TOEFL
dan motivation letter.

Contohnya, bila teman-teman berminat mengikuti
Program Master in Englishdi
Universitas Groningen (RUG), maka silakan klik link berikut http://www.rug.nl/let/onderwijs/talenenculturen/engelsetaalcultuur/englishstudies/index. Lalu klik option "Admission". Di window
ini dijelaskan persyaratan aplikan (TOEFL 620) dan pendaftaran tutup per 1
Maret. Selanjutnya klik "Application" utk buat online application.

TOEFL
Pada umumnya aplikan diharapkan memiliki nilai TOEFL minimal 550.
Institusi pendidikan di Belanda menerima institutional TOEFL yang dikeluarkan
oleh NEC di Jakarta. Teman-teman bisa mengkontak NEC (alamat kontak ada di bawah)
untuk mengetahui informasi jadwal dan biaya test, serta cara pembayaran.

Beasiswa
Setelah diterima dan mendapatkan
acceptance letter dari coordinator program yang diminati, aplikan bisa maju ke
langkah berikutnya, yaitu mendaftarkan diri untuk program beasiswa. Teman-teman
bisa browse website Netherlands Education Center di (http://www.nec.or.id) lalu klik
scholarship. Nanti rekan-rekan bisa lihat bahwa ada banyak pilihan program
beasiswa. Sekarang NEC sudah menyediakan search engine khusus utk mencari grant
di Belanda (http://www.grantfinder.nl/content/index.asp).
Teman-teman tinggal spesifikasi
1. tujuannya mencari beasiswa utk riset atau pendidikan
2. latar belakang pendidikan (educational background)
3. jurusan (field of study)
4. negara asal

Kans diterima
Biasanya program beasiswa diprioritaskan untuk aplikan dari negara berkembang
(termasuk Indonesia),
wanita, bekerja di NGO atau lembaga pemerintah, atau institusi pendidikan.
Aplikan yang sudah memiliki pengalaman bekerja di bidang yang berkaitan dg
program study yang diminati (minimal 1 tahun) pada umumnya memiliki kans yang lebih besar
dibandingkan fresh graduates.

Asuransi

Asuransi biasanya ditanggung oleh pemberi beasiswa. Seandainya tidak ditanggung, maka asuransi yang paling mudah didapat dg harga yang relatif murah adalah IPS. Untuk kategori IPS primer, asuransi mencakup kesehatan dan barang dengan sistem reimbursment. Aplikasi bisa dilakukan online di website IPS yaitu http://www.ace-ips-nl.com/en. Besar premi bergantung pada lamanya program pendidikan dan usia aplikan.

Netherlands Education Centre

Menara Jamsostek 20th floor
Jl. Gatot Subroto no.38, Jakarta, 12710, Indonesia

phone: (+62 21) 5290 2172   09:30 a.m. - 05:00 p.m. WIB fax: (+62 21) 5290 2173
email: finance@nec.or.id

Veel success! (Goodluck!)

Just a few days ago I got short message from Fenida (Fen), who is now working in Dubai. Her boyfriend, who is an US expatriat in Indonesia is coming to Dubai! He got a job there, so finally they could get together after long distance realtionship for quite sometime… I’m really happy for her.

Fen is one of my best senior high school friends. In July 1992, I met Fen and Ratna for the first time at TRISMA (SMA 3) in Denpasar. We had the same interest and joined the school magazine. Ratna was the chair, Fen was the secretary, and I was the reporter. We spent a lot of time in publishing not less than 4 editions during our time. It was the best period in our school magazine history, we won the first prize of the national school magazine competition held by ANEKA Magazine, with score far beyond other hundreds participants, even some top rank schools in Jakarta! Something that made us wanna become a professional journalists!

Still remember how we spent those nights cycling together to do some interviews, write some articles, or finalize the lay out. I think I learnt a lot about how to communicate and interact with different kind of people. The adventure of being an amatir reporter is something that I won’t forget. Once in 1994, during a school holiday in Jakarta, I and my sister (Santhy) did an interview with Adi MS and made a coverage story of Twilite orchestra. Knowing how famous they are now, it was ashame that we forgot to take picture with Adi, Memes, and their boy Kevin!

Now, after almost 14 years three of us are still in good contact. Ratna is the only consistent one and become a professional
journalist. She is now working for a news paper in Denpasar as a senior
journalist and directory board. She’s married and has a beautifull daughter, Salma, who is very much like her mother: brave and creative! Fen did her bachelor in mathematics at
Brawijaya University, and later made her way to work in finance in
Dubai. I ended up in medical faculty and now studying in the
Netherlands…

For Fen and Ratna, all the best wishes for both of you  and hope we’ll have a reunion, three of us again, somewhere in  on this globe soon!

In year 2006 my agenda was filled of invitation for celebrations: wedding, baby birth, promotion, and thesis defences!The interesting part of these baby births are the stories behind them: different values that brought them to this world.

 In the
beginning of July a cute baby girl was born from unmarried colleagues,
which in the Netherlands called "living together" couple. They do not
see marriage as a ritual that should be done, as long as they could
complete and stand beside each other, paper work does not really
matter. They confessed that their parents did not like the idea at the
beginning. Old generation in the Netherlands still hold the same value
as the eastern people: get married first, then have children.
Nevertheless, once the baby is born, everyone is happy, and later could
accept the idea that maybe marriage is indeed not a compulsory ritual
anymore…

In mid July, a cute baby boy was born from Indonesian mosleem
couple. So, nothing really special to talk about, besides how the member of this family lived in 3 different countries before the baby
was born. The father is pursuing PhD in Germany, the the mother is
studying for her master in the Netherlands, and the first child was
rised up by the grand parent in Indonesia. What a family! Luckily, the birth of this second baby brought them back together and now they live happily in Germany.

In late July, another baby was born, which I believe as of the
most extraordinary one: he was born from a gay couple! Once you are in
the Netherlands, everything is possible! Being a homosexual is
acceptable and won’t prevent you from becoming a professional person in
your career. I know the parents well, and I can say that they are
normal and nice people except when  it comes to this value. I was
amazed on how they did it: a success story of simple insemination from
a close friend donor. I was spleechless and couldn’t imagine what kind
of value this baby would have been rised up…

I spoke with my officemate about this.
"I still couldn’t accept this: what will happen to these children from gay parents? Would they gave cunfusion in gender perception?"

But she answered with interesting reply.
"You should see it differently, Eva! These babies are lucky enough to have parents who want them so much! If a gay couple decide to have baby, they should have taken various considerations, and they plan it well because it’s not easy for them to get donor, etc etc… So, I won’t worry about them. You should feel more sorry for the babies whose parents don’t love them."

Her words really surprised me. Abortion has always been an ethical and legal conflicting issue. Countless unborn children come from heterosexual couples, from parents who both believe in the presence of God…

***
Late in the afternoon I was in a rush biking to the central station. At the traffic light I had to stop, together with several others. Next to me there was a little blonde baby girl sitting on a baby chair on the front part her mother’s bike (typical Dutch family). She starred at me for almot half minute before all of a sudden  she said.
"Hello… Daag"
Her mother was surprised and turned around and found me smiling back at her baby.
I could say she really made my day! Her soft voice and sincere smile is really something that could bring happiness to anyone, no matter how strange the story that brought them come to this world. They are gift from heaven…

Early morning I got an email from a friend, she suffers from hemorrhoid, something no body want to have, especially if your job mainly  sit behind computer for the whole day.  She forgot to bring her medication from her home country, and since we are in the Netherlands, we could not easily come to a GP clinic and ask for an appointment at the same time. Usually, if we’re lucky enough, we can get the appointment with this GP within 3-5 days. But if you suffer from pain around your anal region that you don’t feel comfortable in sitting position, then you don’t want to wait that long…

So, I googled the ointment she used to find out the active substance. It’s a corticosteroid, which is used to reduced the inflamation reaction. Next step, I googled any drug store located in Utrecht and I chose one located not so far away from our place. In the next five minutes I was talking with the apotheeker…

E: "Good morning, do you have products for hemorrhoid?"
A: "Good morning, yes, we have some local anesthetic, corticosteroids, or a mixture with antibacterial in oitments."
E: "Do you have X product?"
A: "Well, we don’t have that in our list. Do you know the active substance?"
E: "It’s corticosteroid X generation"
A: "Wait a minute, I’m cheking the list of drugs with this substance… Yes, I found 2 products with this substance. But unfortunately we have to order that. Where is it produced?"
E: "Belgium"
A: "Well, I’m sorry, but for that product, first we have to make an order. Actually we also have some local corticosteroids from different generation. But you have to buy corticosteroids products with doctor prescription."
E: "I see, do you have product that I can buy without prescription?"
A: "Yes, if you want to have the local anesthetic in ointment, than you can just buy in any drug store. It’s also good because it will releave the pain. We also have some herbal treatment, and for those you can also have them without prescription."
E: "I see, so could you give me the name of this anesthetic ointment?"

So, after a 5-minutes call, I could give my friend complete information about what and where to buy. Alhamdulillah yesterday evening she said the pain has gone and she decided not to go the GP for this complain.

What impress me is the professionalism of this apotheeker. He strictly follows the prescription policy,  and I’m 100% sure that if I came directly to any apotheek in the whole Netherlands and ask for this ‘must prescribed medication’ then I won’t get any.  I wonder if they are very strict even for corticostroids, then they must put more effort in controlling drug resistency for antibacteria etc etc. This is something we completely missed in Indonesia. I can easily buy any drug I want to have in mostly any apotheek in Jakarta. Nowdays, you can even buy amoxcicillin in street shops. I couldn’t imagine how this will influence the antibiotic efficacy in our country in the very near future. Again, challenging homework for our health care system…