LPDP Scholarship Journey #5

[Picture Source: qa.com]

Here, the fifth post of my LPDP scholarship journey, I would like to tell about what I was doing and how was my feeling after the announcement and also some materials that the awardee has to know.

I was accepted as the LPDP awardee on December, 9th 2016. It was announced through each applicant account on the website. I only told about the announcement result to my little circle: my beloved family, best friends, and research supervisors. I still kept the result to others because I still didn't believe it. I was still hesitant since the result was only able to be seen by each applicant account.

It's not like the announcement were published in a website page or stuck on the announcement board so every people were able to see the result. Hence, the result was really confidential, I only could see my own result whether I was accepted or not, but I was not able to see other applicant's result whether they were accepted or not. So, the things what made me still hesitant was the result was only me who knew it, I didn't have another person who could confirm my acceptance. My mind kept questioning whether it's true or not that I was accepted, no one could confirm it.

Besides knowing through my own account, an official email was also sent to my email, stated that I was accepted. Yet, I kept feeling hesitant. The email also informed me that there will be "Persiapan Keberangkatan" (PK) or in  English literally "Departure Preparation" for the awardee. PK is the 5-full days of training provided by the LPDP for the awardee to grow the sense of nationalism and good personality. However, about when and where it will be held, there was still no further information. That's why I was still in doubt whether I was accepted or not since there was no further information. If you were me, you may feel the same.

Without certainty after the announcement, I filled my activity by continuing helping my research supervisor in his project, developing a hair tonic product. I worked in his laboratory, still in my faculty where I was graduated from. After two months without further information, then there was an email informing about what PK batch number I was in.

If I weren't wrong, there were around 500 awardees, so the awardees were divided into some batch of PK which comprises of around 100s awardees. I was informed through email that I was the part of PK-106. I felt sooo happy receiving the information. It erased my doubt whether I was accepted or not. Being the part of one of the PK batch means that you are truly the awardee because only the awardee of LPDP that will be invited to come to PK. But still, about when and where PK-106 will be held had not been informed yet.

Besides that, I was also informed about 3 obligations for every awardee to obey before attending PK which are deciding 5 persons as the batch representative, reciting the pledge of LPDP awarde and the LPDP Song Mars, and having PK-106 year book. 

The method to decide who would be the representative of batch PK-106 was through a forum. The members of PK-106 are awardees coming from the various field of study background and various districts in Indonesia. Hence, it's impossible to have a forum face to face, so the forum was conducted through the mailing list. The overview of the representative is a team that will be the communication bridge between the PIC PK (an officer from LPDP who arranges the PK event) and the members of PK-106. So, there would be some meetings face to face between the representative and PIC PK for several times. Therefore, from my point of view, the representative should be a person who is located in Jakarta where the LPDP office and PK take place. However, PIC PK always says that the representative should be pointed more because of his/her leadership skill not because where he/she came from.

There were 3 persons who had proposed their own self as the representative. At that time, the forum still needed 2 more candidates. For some times I kept silent, but then, I couldn't stand it anymore. As the awardee who comes from Jakarta, I felt ashamed if I didn't take a role since most of the candidates who proposed their own self is not from Jakarta, but they had a really kind heart, for the sake of the batch of PK-106, they sincerely sacrificed their times. So, I decided to appear and propose my own self as one of the representatives. Since, I was remembered by the saying of PIC PK, not to point the representative based on his/her domicile, I told to the forum, that I was not interested in being the chief of the representative, but I was happy if I could help support the elected chief. One more person was needed, and finally, one person decided to join the team.

Five persons who would represent the PK-106 batch was invited to come to the place decided. After having a meeting to discuss more what the representative should do, we concluded that the representative member should be a person who is really free all day so we decided to rearrange the team. Three persons decided to step back as the representative since they had another activity to do so they couldn't leave their activity only to stand by all day as the representative of the batch PK-106. While me, as a freelancer having so much free times kept being the representative. So, three of them who planned to step back contacted other members of PK-106 who was available to replace them as the representative. Even though finally, they stepped back from being the representative, I appreciated their kindness really much, they were the first three persons who were willing to take role while others kept silent like me at first.

Then, somehow, I was pointed as the chief of the representative. A really big responsibility, but other members of the representative kept supporting me. Therefore, the first obligation before PK was done by having 5 persons as the representative of the PK-106 batch.

The second obligation is to recite the pledge of LPDP awardee which in Bahasa is shown below:


Ikrar Penerima Beasiswa Pendidikan Indonesia LPDP

Kami Putra-Putri Indonesia berjanji:
1) Bertakwa kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa
2) Menjunjung tinggi dan mengamalkan Pancasila dan UUD 1945
3) Siap berbakti dan mengabdi kepada nusa dan bangsa
4) Menjadi pemimpin masa depan Indonesia yang berintegritas dan profesional
5) Bersinergi dalam memberikan pelayanan demi kemajuan Indonesia


Meanwhile, the Song Mars of LPDP lyric in Bahasa is shown below:


Mars LPDP

Di bawah kepakan sayap sang garuda
Yang berlandaskan kepada Pancasila
Integritas mengabdi profesional melayani
Bersama LPDP membangun negeri

Langkahkan kaki dengan pasti tanpa ragu
Harumkan nama tanah air Indonesia
Merah semangatmu, putih hatimu
Pemimpin yang dinanti Bumi Pertiwi

Hai Bumi, dengarkan cita kami
Ksatria cendekia siap berkarya
Beragam peran satu tujuan
Bersinergi membangun Indonesia

Berkeadilan berdemokrasi
Menjadi bangsa yang trus berinovasi
Melahirkan pemimpin masa depan
Raih Indonesia gemilang

Majulah...
Smangatlah...
Jaya...


If you would like to know how to sing it, you can check this video below, I obtained it from youtube, I hope it's still available there.

If it's not available anymore, try to search "Mars LPDP" on youtube, there should be another channel which own the video.

While, for the third obligation, having PK-106 year book would be done after PK.

That's all what I would like to write about one of the journeys as the LPDP awardee. Next post, I will peel more about my journey when I was involved more in conducting PK-106.

How To Make Tempe Orek

Tempe Orek is Indonesian's favorite side dish. Tempe is Indonesian processed food from soybeans and it can be called as fermented soybean. To know more about how to process tempe from the soy bean, you can read this article. But for this post, I prefer to use the term from its original Indonesian name which is "tempe". The ingredients you have to prepare to make Tempe Orek are (the amount is as much as the picture below):

1) Tempe

2) Red chilies

3) Shallots

4) Soy sauce

5) Tomato

The procedure:

1) Chop the tempe.

2) Fry the tempe in the hot oil until cooked.

3) Slice the shallots, red chilies, and tomato.

4) Fry the sliced shallots and red chilies in the hot oil until cooked.

5) Put the fried tempe, then add the soy sauce sufficiently according to your taste. Mix it well.

6) Finally, you can enjoy your Tempe Orek.

How To Make Sayur Bayam

When you get sick and you don't have any appetite, you can consider Sayur Bayam as your menu since the taste is really simple and not containing so many seasonings. However, it's okay too to have Sayur Bayam at any time. 

Ingredient (the amount is as much as the picture below):

1) Spinach and corn

2) Carrot

3) Shallots

4) Tomato

5) Red chilies

6) Salt

Procedure:

1) First of all, you have to prepare all the ingredient. For the spinach, I suggest you, separate the fresh leaves with the withered one and also its trunk. We only use the fresh leaves.

Use only the fresh leaves 

Do not use its trunk and withered leaves

2) For the corn, use only the corn kernels. But it's okay if you would like to use the whole part of the corn.

3) Chop the carrot.

4) Then, prepare the seasoning by slicing the shallots, red chilies, and tomato.

5) Heat the water until boiling, then, you can add the seasoning.

6) Pour the corn kernels and chopped carrot into the pot.

7) Cover the pot with its cover, wait until the carrot and corn kernels become soften.

8) You can add the spinach.

9) Cover the pot with its cover, wait until cooked.

10) Finally, you can enjoy your Sayur Bayam :D

Those Yellowing Leaves

[Picture Source: reference.com]

One by one, those yellowing leaves fell, swung to the ground. There is no one who knows which one will fall first. One fell faster because it was eaten by the worm. One fell to the ground secondly because it was bumped by the wind. Another one fell hereafter to the ground because it was picked by a snot-nosed kid. 

Two beloved fresh green leaves, located on the same twig with the other leaves which have been yellowing and have fallen earlier, at this time both are becoming yellow as the time goes by. There is a feeling of worry that those two beloved leaves will fall. Certainly. 

The greenest, smallest, and youngest leaf is located really near to those two beloved leaves. Both have taught numerous things to the youngest leaf. How to catch the air, how to befriend with the butterfly, how to hold tightly to the twig, and so on. 

There is a wish to get yellowed together. There is a wish to always be in side by side. There is a wish to listen to the eminent chant of the wind blowing together. There is a wish to stare the glare of the blazing sun together. There is a wish to dance together with the twig wobble. Nevertheless, the youngest leave and those two beloved leaves are in different time zone. Will they always be side by side together and do every kind of things together until the end?

Those two beloved leaves which have been yellowing, at first were really close to other leaves that have been fallen earlier. Those falling leaves which have been fallen one by one, made them lose their strength to survive. Will they still be able to hold on the twig tightly? In the end, they will only be able to wait. Waiting for the answer to come by itself.

The youngest leaf insists on keeping doing everything together. The youngest leaf does not want to fall. The youngest leaf still wants to stare the wonder of the moon in the night together. The youngest leaf does not want to be left behind. The youngest leaf still wants to be in side by side together.

What can the youngest leaf do for the two beloved leaves?

Other four bigger leaves that are also located near to the two beloved yellowing leaves are busy playing with the butterfly. The fall of the yellowing leaves one by one, were not made them interested. Those colorful butterflies were more interesting than listening to the cricket song in the night together with those two beloved leaves.

Different with the youngest leaf. The youngest leaf keeps on insisting on enjoying every moment together with those two beloved leaves. Even though, it has to share its carbon dioxide (since those two beloved leaves are not as strong as when they were green to catch the carbon dioxide), although it has to put on weight his leaf directly to the blazing sun (since those two beloved leaves are easy to frail by the sunlight), although it has to share its water brought by its  xylem (since those two leaves' xylem is not as strong as before which can bring the water from deep inside the ground and move it up to the twig more than 3 meters above the ground surface). These things are done by the youngest leaf just only to be always together with the two beloved leaves, to convince both that they are still able to grip strongly to the twig, to give hope that both are still be able to survive.

What else that the youngest leaf can do?

Time is time, no one can blame the time. Everything has been arranged by the Almighty One that is having the time. 

How To Make Lidah Kucing Cookies

Eid Mubarak has come in the end of June 2017. Some cookies must be provided on the table by every Indonesian Moslem family who celebrates it, Lidah Kucing cookies are one of the popular cookies served for the guests who come to visit. Literally, Lidah Kucing in English is "the cat tongue", why is it called by the cat tongue? Because the cookies which are really thin, flat, and oval are resembling the form of the cat tongue. 

To make Lidah Kucing cookies according to my reference, you have to prepare:

1) 200 gr of butter

2) 4 eggs

3) 200 gr of wheat flour

4) 200 gr of refined sugar

5) 1 teaspoon of vanilla

6) coconut oil

7) chocolate bar (if necessary)

Besides the ingredient, you have to make sure that you own the cooking equipment which are: 

1) Oven

2) Mixer

3) Lidah Kucing mold (if you don't have this specific mold, you can use another alternative mold that can create the same form or any kind of form, it's up to you, importantly, it can be eaten hehe.

The procedure:

1) While preparing the dough, you can prepare by heating the oven up to 140 degrees Celcius.

2) Mix the butter and refined sugar well. For the first time, as a beginner, you may feel worried because when you see the dough, you may think it's impossible to be mixed. However, don't be worried because as the times go by and you keep stirring it, finally the dough can be mixed well. You can end the mixing when you see the dough color becomes white. If its color is still yellow, keep stirring it. The white of the dough color is the sign that the dough has been well mixed. 

butter and refined sugar

It's not mixed enough, continue stirring it

Well mixed

3) Add the eggs one by one, after that, add the vanilla. Mix it well. When you mix it with the eggs, you may find the dough becomes coarse. It's not the indication that you fail, it's just one of the process. Until you add the wheat flour (step no. 4), it will become well mixed again.

the coarse mixture after being added by the eggs

4) Add the wheat flour gradually and mix it well. 

The dough becomes well mixed again after being added by the wheat flour

5) Prepare the mold by smearing it with coconut oil. You can use another ingredient like butter since the use of this coconut oil is just to lubricate so the cookies can be taken out easily. I avoid using butter because I don't like the taste of excessive butter in my cookies so it's okay to use butter according to your taste. 

6) Pour the dough, into the mold. Consider filling it not fully, since the dough will swell during the heating inside the oven. If you pour it fully, I'm worried that the dough will spill over. 

When you pour it fully, the dough will swell and spill over during the baking process

if you do not pour it fully, it will swell and fill the mold appropriately in the end of the baking process

7) Now, the Lidah Kucing cookies are ready to be served. Generally, you can finish the cooking until this step and put them inside the jar. If you still want to add another appropriate flavor to your cookies, I recommend you to add some chocolates to your cookies. 

Cookies after being taken out from the mold

8) You have to heat the chocolate bar until melted. Then, pour the melted chocolate over the cookies or put the cookies in the melted chocolate. 

Dyeing the cookies into the melted chocolate

9) Finally, the Lidah Kucing cookies with chocolate are ready to be served. Put it in the jar and serve it to the guest who comes to visit your family. Have a nice holiday of Eid Mubarak :D

Believe

[Picture Source: entrepreneur.com]

A heavy rain

With a huge tornado

Strong wind

Followed by boisterous thunder

And super luminous lightning

Will that big tree be able to stay upright?

Dark sky

Great storm

Sturdy wave 

Deep sea

And gloomy night

Will that yellow ship be able to stay on the sea surface?

Blazing sun

Numerous not moving vehicles

Fussy horn

Hot and dehydrated

Will that old lady be able to stay awake?

Hundreds of shots

Tens of bomb blasts

Red fire

and full of smoke

Will that innocent child be able to stay alive?

...

Every living thing has their own road

Patience is required

Hurry is prohibited

Put your arm up

Open your fist

Loose your hairband

See your eyes

Put your ear

and show your smile

Believe in One

It will come....

When the rain stops

the wave becomes tame

The traffic police comes

and the world peace is highly respected

Like a flower grows from the seed

A bird dances in the sky from an egg

A walking baby learns to walk from crawling

Walk with the watch

Sleep on the couch

Listen to the soul song

avoid King Kong

Improve

Upgrade

Upgrade

Improve

Just believe in One,

.

.

.

then, you will see...

Home

[Picture Source: milkthepigeon.com]

The white chairs...

And the big face

The black bag...

And the opened hand

Handphone and lost

Calming and pausing

Laptop and paper

Obeying and finishing

Climbing the hill 

Looking for the lambs

Under the sky

With the fresh cherry

Feeling

Watching the clouds

Counting the birds

Singing the song of the wind

Lovely

Ringing the bell

Not asking for a route

Clear... 

Out of the circle

Branching

Then, plan to set a back

Inside the small cave

Isolated

Neglecting

Resting...

Accepting

Understanding

To recover

On the way

Seeing

Joking

Smiling

Relieved

Greeting

Beverage

Embarrassed

Network or home? 

Feel like a home

Want it to be home

The neighbor ask to pick the mangoes

Peel the skin

Cut the fruit into pieces

Whether sweet or sour

The neighbor ask to sharpen the knife

And prepare the plate

While searching for the mangoes

Obey

Consider

Be patient