Monday, September 26, 2016

Unforgettable Moment

Hi! Today I'm going to tell you about my unforgettable moment.

    I have many amazing moments, experiences in life. They're all awesome but today I'm going to tell you only one moment.
 
    When i was in 9th grade, i joined a choir at my old school, Ursula Junior Choir Bandung (UJCB). UJCB wasn't that active and didn't have many achievements back then, but when a new coach, Ms. Grace, came in and teach us, we became a great choir. We were aiming to win the international choir competition in Bali that was held last July. We trained really hard for it but before our main goal, we performed in several competition and gigs, too.
    Because of some trouble with the school, Ms. Grace decided to resign from the school at December. I was really sad because i thought our choir would became inactive again without her. So, the one last competition was a choir competition in Jakarta.
    We trained really--really--hard for the competition. We wanted to prove that Ms. Grace is a truly capable coach.
     One day before the competition, we were so tired so we weren't paying attention and played around when pr. Ms. Grace went angry and she decided to go home because she thought we weren't serious about the competition. It was h-1! We panicked and asked Ms. Grace to come back via phone but she refused to. She just told us that she'll wait for us in the next morning if we really wanted to compete. We decided to train ourselves but it was hard without Ms. Grace so we just decided to go home. (but me and my friends just went to Pizza Hut that day to celebrate my friend's birthday, hehe)
     The next morning, i came to school early in the morning. We trained again for the last time at school. We also made the choreography that we should've made the day before. We were so hopeless because we weren't exactly ready for the competition.
     And so, we went to Jakarta riding a minibus. We had fun at the bus but because we had to keep our throats in shape, we weren't that -brutal- that day(lol). We arrived at the venue, Central Park Mall, in the afternoon. We had a lunch and prepared for the competition. We wore our costumes and did our make-ups. The costume was pretty, a nice black dress with a red or gold ribbon as belt and flat shoes. The boys wore black pants and shirt with a red or gold vest. We did the base make-up ourselves, because there were a make-up class before and we got some information from that.
     The competition was at night. The stage was at the center of the mall so, many people can watch us. We were so nervous and we prayed to God so we could win. We did some warm-up before the stage and prayed once again.
     Then, we watched the other competitors. I didn't remember which schools were there that night but i just remembered that they were all great. We became more nervous because of that but we convinced ourselves that we trained hard for this, and we have to win this!
     Then, it was our turn to perform. The stage was unexpectedly small. We smiled at each other, giving strength and started singing. We sang two songs that night, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and Jingle Bells if I'm not wrong. Those were beautiful songs that i wanted to cry remembering this moment. Just when we started singing, suddenly it was raining. The crowd in front of us ran to protect themselves from rain, only a few parents of our choir member stayed. They turned of the light of a Christmas tree behind us and turned of the sound system. We were worried but Ms. Grace convinced us to keep singing. Then, we decided to keep singing. It was funny because i thought our voices wouldn't be heard but i just keep singing loudly, happily, with a Christmas spirit inside me. And that, was the best performance of my life. I remembered Ms. Grace used to say that we have to give our 110% in practicing then we can be 100% in our competition. But that day, Ms. Grace said that performance was 200%. Our voices were amazingly can be heard throughout the main park and it was beautiful, according to everyone(heheh). We ended the song with "oh yeaah~" in high notes and then, everyone started clapping for us. Even people from inside the mall watched us and clapped, too. The clap was louder than any performances that day.
     "Thank you, God." i prayed and smiled to myself. We started running down from the stage, laughing at each other. People are still clapping and smiled at us. We smiled back and ran to our spot on the second floor. We hugged each other tightly. Then, we saw Ms. Grace. She was crying happily. We cried too, remembering that this might be the last chance we could be with Ms. Grace. I cried hard that day, and now i feel I'm going to cry, too. Who put the onion here?!
    We changed our costumes and went back to our spot. We took some pics with Ms. Grace and ate dinner, H*kben (hehe). A judge came to our spot and told us it was a great performance, then asked us if we want to repeat the performance because the sound system was turned off. We agreed to perform again but when the judges discussed again, they didn't let us to and they said they already made a decision about us. We were kind of disappointed because we thought we could've delivered a better performance but now it think it was the best decision to not let us perform again. Then the judge just said, "See you guys again in Bali next year." because they were the same committee for the international competition in Bali.
     Then, me and my friends went around the mall. I ate some donuts from J. CO and looked around. The prices were really expensive because, yeah, it's Jakarta. Even a bracelet was priced 100000 rupiah when we could buy those kind of bracelets in Bandung with only 10.000 rupiah.
    We didn't buy anything else aside from the donuts and decided to go back to the spot. We played around, chatted, and took some photos there. Then, we went back to Bandung at 10 pm if I'm not wrong.
    We were really tired so we just slept in the bus. When i woke up, i was already arrived at school. I called my father and he picked me up at 2 am. When i got home, i just cried again before sleeping because I'm really sad about Ms. Grace and i was reminiscing the choir days. The next day i woke up, i checked my phone and found out that we got the silver medal! I was really happy that day.
     After that, i quit the choir to focus on my studies for national exam. I kinda regret this decision, and regret it more when i heard that they won silver too in Bali. But then, i thought if i still joined the choir back then, maybe i wouldn't get this high national exam score. Maybe, i wouldn't get into SMAN 3 Bandung. So, i just thank God because it was His plan, after all.

And that's it about my unforgettable experience! It was a sweet moment. Thanks for reading!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Iceland

Iceland

    Iceland is one of the places i want to go. One of the reason of why i want to go there is because of a travel show i watched back then. I barely knew anything about Iceland until i watched that show. Then i realised that Iceland is such a beautiful country and i hope i can visit it someday.
    The Republic of Iceland is a Nordic Island Country in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 332,529 and an area of 103,000 km2, making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population.
    Maybe Iceland isn't that well known in Indonesia. But i really want to visit it someday. By looking at the pictures and videos, i could tell that it is a beautiful place.I especially want to do the popular “Golden Circle Tour.” Golden Circle is a popular day tourist route for visitors in Iceland. The 300km route covers many beautiful landmarks in a short period of time because they're all located in southwest of Iceland. Golden Circle Tour covers three popular main tourist attraction in Iceland, Gullfoss, Geysir, and Þingvellir.

1. Gullfoss
    Gullfoss is a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá (White) river in Southwest of Iceland which is fed by Iceland´s second biggest glacier, the Langjökull. The water plummets down 32 meters in two stages into a rugged canyon which walls reach up to 70 meters in height. On a sunny day shimmering rainbow can be seen over the falls. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland.
     Gullfoss is more than just a pretty waterfall, it has a story to tell. In the early 20th century foreign investors wanted to harness the power of Gullfoss to produce electricity. In 1907 Howells, an Englishman wanted to buy Gullfoss from Tómas Tómasson, a farmer who owned Gullfoss at this time. Tómas declined Howells´ offer to buy the waterfall but later he leased it to him. The farmer´s daughter, Sigriður Tómasdóttir who grew up on his father´s sheep farm sought to have the rental contract voided. Sigriður using her own saving hired a lawyer in Reykjavik to defend her case. The trial lasted years and Sigriður went several times barefoot on traitorous terrain to Reykjavik to follow up on her case. She even threatened to throw herself into the waterfall if the construction would begin. Her attempts failed in court but before any damage was done to the waterfall the contract was disposed due to the lack of payments of the rent fee. The struggles of Sigriður to preserve the waterfall brought to people´s attention the importance of preserving nature and therefore she is often called Iceland´s first environmentalist.
     In 1940 the adopted son of Sigriður acquired the waterfall from Sigriður´s father and later sold it to the Icelandic government. Gullfoss and its environs was designated as nature reserve in 1979 to permanently protect the waterfall and allow the public to enjoy this unique area.
2. Geysir
    Geysir is a geyser in the southwestern Iceland. The English word "geyser" is derived from the Icelandic word "geysir" which means gusher. It has been dormant since 1916 when it suddenly ceased to spout. It came to life only once in 1935, when a manmade channel was dug through the silica rim around the edge of the geyser vent. This ditch caused a lowering of the water table and a revival in activity. Gradually this channel became too clogged with silica and eruptions again became rare. In 1981 the ditch was cleared again and eruptions could be stimulated, on special occasions, by the addition of soap. Following environmental concerns the practice of adding soap was seldom employed during the 1990s. Initially eruptions were taking place on average eight times a day. By July 2003 this activity had again decreased to around three times per day.
     One reason for cessation is believed to be the accumulated rocks and foreign objects thrown into it by thousands of tourists throughout the years, but this however couldn't be the only reason for its dormancy. Though the Great Geysir itself is now more or less inactive, the area surrounding it is geothermically very active with many smaller hot springs.
     The attraction of the area id now Strokkur, another geyser 100 meters south of the Great Geysir, which erupts at regular intervals every 10 minutes or so and its white column of boiling water can reach as high as 30 meters.

3. Þingvellir
Visitor Center
 Þingvellir or Thingvelir is a national park in the municipality of Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, about 40 km northeast of ReykjavíkÞingvellir has always been popular, for obvious reasons. The history and striking landscape make the place an almost mandatory stopping point for tourists.
     There are many things we can do at Thingvellir, such as visiting the visitor centrecamping, scuba diving, hiking, and horseback riding.
1. Visitor Center
    The Visitor Center is in a building close to the viewspot at Hakið, where a footpath leads down into the great Almannagjá fault. The exhibition in the Visitor Centre is almost exclusively based on  interactive multimedia.
2. Information Center
Information Center
    The Information Centre in Þingvellir National Park is at Leirar, close to the camping grounds. At the Information Center visitors can get general information about the National Park, its nature and history. Also available are maps of the park with marked trails. Information about other places of interest in the area and the condition of roads is also available.



Thingvellir Church
3. Thingvellir Church
     Þingvallakirkja, the church at Þingvellir is the first church Iceland. It’s a beautiful historic church in Iceland.
4. Camping
   The camp grounds are open 1. June to 30. September. Camping is permitted in two areas in the National Park. At Leirar, which is within a 5 minutes walking  distance from the Information Center, and in Vatnskot, by lake Þingvallavatn. The Leirar campground is divided into four camping grounds: Fagrabrekka, Syðri-Leirar,  Hvannabrekka and Nyrðri-Leirar.
    There is no reservation needed for camping in any campsite at Thingvellir national park.
5. Hiking
    Numerous hiking trails extend all over the National Park. Outside the ancient assembly site most of the hiking paths are associated with the abandoned farms of Hrauntún, Skógarkot and Vatnskot, remains of which can still be seen.
Horse riding
6. Horseback riding
    Two designated horse trails run through the National Park. Starting at Gjábakki, a path takes you across the Hrafnagjáfault to the Skógarkot farm site, along the Skógarkotsgata trail. From Skógarkot you can then choose two paths to Skógarhólar.
    One leads on along the Skógarkotsgata trail into the Stekkjargjá fault and up by way of Langistígur. The other path takes you north to the Hrauntún farm site and across the Sandskeið flat to mount Ármannsfell, and from there to the west along the National Park fence to Skógarhólar.
    Both routes are particularly scenic and a highly recommended choice for people on horseback
Diving in Silfra
7. Diving
    Diving is permitted in two submerged rifts in the National Park, Silfra and Davíðsgjá. Silfra is one of the best spots for diving in Iceland and many people find the rift unique on an international scale.










    And that's it about Iceland! I hope i can visit it someday :)

cr. wikipedia
http://www.thingvellir.is/
http://www.gullfoss.is/
http://www.visiticeland.com/plan-your-trip/travel-search/details/the-great-geysir?type=place

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Megantara

MEGANTARA
    Hi everyone It's me again heheh. I'm back with a story about Megantara! :)

    This year's SMAN 3 Bandung's culture festival is named Megantara. Unlike the last 2 culture festivals, Matswapati and Gamarvani, Megantara covers Indonesia's culture. There are stands for each island's representative culture.
     I was one of the committee in decoration division. Me and my team in the subdivision built the entry aisle. The concept of the aisle is an ancient cave. We built the cave just a day before Megantara so we really worked hard.
     The day of Megantara, i arrived in Lapangan Bali at 6am, only to find the cave is broken. The papers that covered the cave was scattered on the ground. The last night was raining so the glue was washed away by the water. Our subdivision was frustrated but we immediately fixed the cave and it became even better.
     Before the open gate, me and my friend explored the venue. It was nice and well-decorated. There were many food stands so i promised to myself that i have to buy many snacks that day and get fat. After exploring, we walked back to the cave to check on the cave and ask the coordinator if there were any job that we could do. The coordinator said we could look for leaves so it would give more accent.
     So, me and my friend looked for leaves at Lapangan Bali. We collected the leaves and gave those to our coordinator. The coordinator then suggested that we should spread more leaves so me and my friend went to The Centrum and collected leaves there. After we collected many leaves, we spread the leaves throughout the cave. The result was quite nice.
     After that, we had to make sure that the cave was finished because there would be some guests. Fortunately it was finished and had no problem. Then, me and my friends went outside the Lapangan Bali to look at the parade. The performance of Reog was great and the kindergarten kids are adorable. I met my friends and talked with them too. After that we went back to the cave and our team said the reaction of the cave was quite nice.
     Then the cave was broken by some mischievous kids. Of course we can't really blame them because they're just kindergarten kids but we're quite mad. We immediately fixed the papers and told the kids nicely to not touch the papers. Their parents that were taking photos of them said sorry and i said it's not a big problem.
     Then me and my friends played around the venue until open gate. When the open gate people outside started entering the venue. Their reaction was nice, too. Some people said it feels like you're really inside a cave. Some people even said they thought it was a haunted house so we just laughed dryly.
      After that we went around again and just played. Sometimes we came back to the cave to check it. There were some problems that day. First, the cloth near the ward was off so we have to fix them but it was hard, so we held on it so it wouldn't hit the visitors. We also greeted the visitors while on it. Then we became bored and just hooked the cloth. The visitors looked like they had no problem with that, anyway.
     Second problem is the bamboo that supported the cave was accidentally kicked a few times by the committees so it was off. We reported it to the seniors so they came to help and fixed it. A senior then have an idea to hook the cave with a wire so the cave won't collapse. Then we helped him and after that, the cave didn't have much problem anymore.
     The time went by so fast. I just played around because i had no job but suddenly a senior asked if there are any of the committees who didn't have any job that time and want to do something, and those committees should go to him and he'll give them a job. I came to him and he assigned me to keep an eye on the Sulawesi stand, because there were some problems on the stands. After a few minutes another committees came and changed shift. I played around again and then the coordinator of decoration division asked every decoration committees to get together at the tower. The coordinator assigned every of us to guard on our decoration. Me and my friend guarded the cave for 15 minutes before changing shift. That was the end of the committee job because after that i'm totally free until evaluation at the end of the event.
     I watched the performances that night with my friends. T'sT's performance was great and funny. After that was OSD's performance, it was cool, too. And then Changcuters' performance was very energetic and they're awesome. We had some fun with them. Then it was a Jaipongan dance performance. It was graceful and pretty, i really like traditional dances. After that, it was the stage that me and my friends' had been waiting for, RAN. They were great and talented. We sang along with them and had some fun. Their song lyrics was relatable so i was feeling nice that time. Overall, they're so amazing. Yep, they're professional performers after all.
     Then the show ended. It was really late and wehn i checked on my phone, my mom called me a few times. I felt really bad because i turned off my phone when watching the performances. I called my mom back and my mom was angry. She told me to come home right away. I told her i can't because i have to attend the evaluation. But then, i just decided to obey my mom's order. I went back home just before the evaluation started. When i'm home, my mom is asleep and my dad's still awake, talking with the neighbors. Then i took a shower and quickly go to sleep because i was so tired. The next day i woke up at 12 o'clock in the afternoon:)
     That's all i guess, here are some pics from that day! (unfortunately i didn't took many pics ugh)





and here's the cave that i'm talking about
(credit to sanggarsenirupa3 instagram)

Aaand that's it! Thanks for reading :)

Saturday, September 3, 2016

World Tournament and Techno Fest

World Tournament and Techno Fest (WT TF)
    World Tournament and Techno Fest is an event made by OSIS for 32018 and 32019. The event was held on August 20, 2016.
    Because i have to study religion every Saturday, i didn't attend the first half of the event. I went to school at 10 am and i saw my friends doing activities at Taman Foto and Taman Tongkeng. I didn't join them and i studied religion at SMAN 3. After studying, me and my friends hung out at the school canteen. We really had some fun there.
     At 12 pm, everyone else came to the canteen because it was the resting time. I met my classmates and asked about the activities they did. They said it was fun and tiring.
     At 12.45 pm i went to Lapangan Bali with my friends to continue the event activities. Some of my classmates had gone to prepare makrab so our class wasn't complete. I just learned that we have to talk in English in the event. Because my English isn't so good i talked with mixing some Indonesian words.
     The next game was a game competition. The game was PES. One of my friend represented our class and the rest of the class just waited at the ward. Unfortunately, we lose, but it's okay we still had some game left.
     After that we went to the field. The next game was Flappy Bird. I joined in the game and played Flappy Bird but my score wasn't that good. But at last, our class won.
     The next game was kind of like Running Man. We have to steal other's handkerchief to win the game. Maybe because i look small, from the start the seniors targeted me so i was the first one to be eliminated. Fortunately, our class won the game.
     The last game was chasing the committees for points. I didn't really understand the game so i just chased aimlessly. The committees could throw water balloons to us if we tried to get the puzzle pieces. It was fun.
     After that, we have to arrange a puzzle from the puzzle pieces that we collected. Some students gathered around and started arranging the puzzle pieces and the others just waited, not wanting to bother the working students. We have to compete with 32018.
     At last, it was the winner announcement. 32019 won the game so we were really happy. My class, X MIPA 8, was the chosen as the best class that day. I was surprised because none of us thought that we could win because the remaining students at the field was only half of the class. We accepted the prize happily. The prize was pizza. We ate them quickly because we were so hungry and it was delicious.
     The event was actually so fun. I regretted that i didn't join the first half but it's okay. The event was great to build the student's solidarity and english conversation skill.