My Blog

One night I browsed YouTube to have companion for my late work and I was stunned to see the clip "Pour Que Tu M’aimes Encore", which was originally sung by Celine Dion.  Only, this time it was performed by four incredibly handsome sopranos, David Miller (USA), Urs Buhler (Sweden), Sebasitien Izambard (France), and Carlos Marin (Spain). I thank Simon Cowel who founded  this group, Il Divo, few years ago, so now we can enjoy their great voices mixed with beautifull performance!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WugTLAn7eYE

Today, my friend, Jelena, is leaving from the Netherlands to the US. I still remember the first day I met her in Dec 2004 where we had to share the same office room at IRAS. She’s a Serbian, and we spent not less than 1 hour to talk about Slobodan Milosevic and how the people of Serbia were suffering and wanted to live in peace as much as the people in Bosnia. We came with a conclusion that politics and power are the main threat to human lives!

Jelena got her PhD in last September and now she is moving to the US to pursue her future career. A few days ago she had a farewell at the office, where she brought some cakes and shared them with people in the office during the tea break; IRAS tradition. She wrote me that in the evening after she left the office for the last time she felt terrible.

I could imagine how she felt because I’ve been there many times… I remember when I Ieft Schiphol for Montreal. There are many people that I know close enough who are leaving early next year, so by the time I return in September things will never be the same… I definitely miss my roommate, Shuwen, with whom I shared my apt for 7 months. Next April she’ll return to Xin Jiang, China, for good. So, I couldn’t help my self but to cry at the gate at the airport, the last moment I saw her.

Jelena further wrote, “I think it has to do with the fact that everything has to be finished, that everything has its end, and that the world simply goes on, with or without us…And like a colleague told me - each time you leave, part of you dies. I think she was absolutely right…”

For Jelena, all the best for your future career and your wishes… I enjoyed every chats we had, live or by email, and hope we’ll keep in touch, always…

This year more than 10 of my friends got their PhD. Their names in order of the ceremony, Made (Indonesian), Frank (Dutch), Jolanda (Dutch), Jelena (Serbian), Reggie (Philipinos), Wouter (Dutch), Mojgan (Iranian), Luba (Columbian), Daniela (Romanian), Haris (Indonesia) and Mauricio (Columbian). Next year some more are going to have their turn, at least for Kiat (Thai) and Hamid (Iranian). Amazingly only 2 among the foreign students are returning their home country.

“What are you going to do after you finish your PhD?”
This question will be repeated hundred times during the last year of your study by people around you, and you will question yourself, do I really have an answer for that. I remember when I just started 2 years ago, I had a firm answer. “Yes, I’m returning to Indonesia!” It was time where I had my idealism of being a teacher and researcher backhome. I had a dream that had been the motor of my spirit. In my dream, our faculty will have a research center as big and as organized as the one at UMC Utrecht or HSC. In my dream the feodal tradition is vanished, replaced by professional relation between the students, the lecturers, the professors, and the board that run the faculty and hospital. Some people were impressed but some laughed at me in negativity, “Wow, you have a big dream, but are you sure it is visible? Who are you?You are young, you have no power, is there anybody who will listen? Well, just accept it that the faculty is running with or with out you…” As time flies and several bad experiences in networking I tried to build up with my own faculty, I am answering myself that maybe indeed I am a dreamer and I just have to let the dream as is…

Two weeks ago, I got a package of thesis booklet from Daniela. She wrote an interesting quote… “Writing a PhD thesis may be difficult, deciding your career after the PhD may be the challenge of your life…” This is exactly what I am facing now… I see many opportunities, but which one should I choose? Which one should I start to work on? Staying abroad is intriguing, but deep inside I feel like betraying myself, and my senior staffs backhome who have faith in me…

Well, I still have 12 months to think, let this be a little note to end this year. As my favorite message I send to any birthday persons I know, “May the coming year brings you all the joy, happiness, and success you’d like to have in your life, amiin…”

Today, 2 years ago I arrived at Schiphol airport for the second time. Alhamdulillah so far everything works fine, I got new friends, new families abroad, and a lot of new experience! Now, I am typing this message at Delta Hotel Quebec, just got myself in after fighting with the snow storm outside. My first snow experience in Canada, and for sure this is something I won’t forget for a long time!