Indonesian Cultural Night 2010

I think I was mentioned from a stories before about I joined Indonesian Cultural Night at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Well, that was amazing. I was performed Saman dance. We weren't really good on it since we weren't really dancers and been practised just 5 weeks prior to the event (hey you know what? 5 weeks in which practices once a week on thursday). But anyway those 'bules' don't know what we were doing even there were couple mistakes we done.

Alright, that was 2 months ago when one of the Permias (Persatuan Mahasiswa Indonesia-Amerika Serikat) officer in University of Michigan called me and was asking me to taking part of this event. Sure can, I always available for represent my country within bunch of proud. So every Thursday we got to practice at 8-10 pm at University of Michigan (U of M). Meet tons of Indonesia study over there, mostly they're taking bachelor degree here.

Very short, D-day was coming up and we prepared for such a great performance (hopefully). Unexpectedly, my move were messed up during the performance, that was horrible, BUT I don't know why we got the biggest ovation amongst any performances was performed.

That was a golden chance that fortunately I got while I'm here, so I don't have to be bothered with thinking about present my country by myself, because I had bunch companies for present my country collectively.

The Aftershow

With General Consulate and The Whole Crew

Annapolis' Star Student

Siapa yang nggak suka dikasih penghargaan? Walaupun cuma sekedar ucapan 'terima kasih'. Well, beberapa hari yang lalu, secara nggak sengaja pas MP2, guru gue ngasih dua lembar kertas. Kertas pertama dikasih yang isinya, kalo gue ada Star Student di Chemistry Class-nya Mr. Cole. Okay, that was awesome. Terus, abis gue chit-chat sama temen-temen gue, Ms. Gratton-Clark (guru Mp2 gue), manggil lagi dan ngasih kertas, yang ukurannya lebih GEDE. I mean that was bigger than I got couple minutes prior, though that was just as big as A4 print paper and the remaining paper as big as half of it, then it called bigger, didn't it?

By the way, setelah gue dapet kertas itu, gue bawa dulu ke meja dan sengaja gak gue baca. Pas udah sampe meja, baru gue baca kertas itu bareng temen-temen gue. It said, "STAR STUDENT OF THE TRIMESTER ! The certificate is awarded to Arief Budiman for dedication beyond the classroom at Annapolis High School". I was cheered up, finally my hard-work and dedication was appreciated though just by a piece of paper. Sehari sbeleumnya, temen gue ada yang bialng kalo gue nominated as Star Student of The Tri, tapi gue cuma, "Oh ok, that would be cool!", because fyi, you just can believe certain mouths here. Eh taunya doi bener.

Jadi prosedur netapin siapa yang bakal jadi Annapolis Star Student, tiap guru dikasih satu kesempatan buat milih siapa yang menurut mereka star student di kelas masing-masing. Pas gue tanya ke guru chemistry gue, kenapa dia milih gue sebagai star student, dia bilang karena gue bisa cepet menyesuaikan pelajaran yang diajarin dan gak semua exchange student bisa ngelakuin itu. That's probably the thing I shouldn't ask. I'll hit you the picture of the certificate soon.

John Mayer's Concert

As I was briefly said on two previous post, I was attending John Mayer's Concert here in Michigan. That was a long story I would to tell you why I was ended up watching his concert and having another company to watch it with me. It begun two months ago, when I was searched something to watch here either in Detroit or another place nearby.

Then I found those creatures, "Lady Gaga?","Meh (though my friend told me her concert's ticket was sold out on two days sale)","Taylor Swift?","Umm, if I don't have any choices","Owl City?","Put on my list, please!","John Mayer?","Oh cool, put it him on as well!".

I was finished my research. After thousands considerations, I pick either John Mayer or Owl City, I think you can figure it out on the last paragraph though. But anyway, since Owl City will have their concert on April or May, I feel that will be too late and I bet I'll be real busy on that remaining months (grief). So, the big checklist scratches on John Mayer's name.

I talked to my host family about this decision. First response said, "Cool!", then continued by, "Whom are you going with?". I was stuck. "I don't know yet, but I can figure out soon, sooner."

I was asking around the school. I figured that just a few people know who is Mr. Mayer. Then some people that I knew he/she knows him, thought they couldn't come because the bad timing and relatively expensive ticket. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be my event.

Then I drove myself to anything else. Yea, something will coming up soon. Indonesian Cultural Night will be held on University of Michigan. I never let any opportunities just passing through on my eyes without taking it. I took a part as saman dancer with another student of U of M from Indonesia and my another exchange friend, Putu which hosted in Dexter, MI.

Mingled to new people, as a part of socialize. Knowing new people from any background was a pleasure. Then I know all of 'em. One of them willingly get me pick-ups and drop-offs on the next practices, his name is Alvin. The on another pick-up, I listening to his music, and dang! He listens to John Mayer's song. I asked him if he will watching his concert, and he said, "Oh, I just bought the ticket on-line last night." Yea I got company. Then our business getting smoothly until the concert came couple days ago.

Here's the video and couple pictures how great that Friday Night :

Despite of his stupid acts, he was a great performer. Salute


That night was flow really fast.


I heart this song

Arief Budiman

Letter from Abroad (for 2010's yearbook)

This is what I was wrote for exchange student's section on my yearbook on Gema Cinta Smandel 2010 :

"Hola 2010...

It hasn't been a short time for me to think about what I want to write. Experiences and thoughts just threw up so overwhelmed that I can't choose just one of them to share with you guys. Anyway, because this is a letter, I just wanna tell that I'm doing pretty good job here, so does my hostfamily here. At most, I got so much new experiences that sometimes make me think that we're living in very big diversity, even in my home right here in Taylor, Michigan, with mix American-Indonesian family with my Indonesian host mother, which you can figure is a lot easier for me to learn how to adjust with all stuffs that I have to deal with during my exchange year.

After giving a presentation about Indonesia
-Polk Elementary School-

Fun stuffs also come along as my time went by. From coolest homecoming game and dance, first trick and treating during halloween, first unbelievably-big-turkey dinner at Thanksgiving, first snow happened in my lifetime, first christmas eve, extravagant new years eve and so forth. And also I got trip to Washington DC by winning a video competition which held by AFS. Everything seems just happen to me as wind blow in chilly winter, steady addictive. One sheet of paper won't never enough to describe how's my life going on here. Learning differences and similarities are such a challenge which I love live in challenge.

Despite of all, I also thank to my all dear friend in 2010. Your supports and helps generate a big spirit within myself. Nothing much more I could say beside a little prayer that I sent to you guys for getting a best way for your own futures.

Keep breathing and stay bless. Hasta luego

Arief Budiman
Exchange Student to USA"

I compete them in video and I make it!

Heiya...

Alhamdulillah. That what I want to start. Feeling so great and grateful because Allah always makes anything seems smooth and pull out the corals which sometimes almost broke my steps. Anyway guys, I won the competition of video contest which held by AFS-USA.

At first, probably 3 months ago, I received an email told me that AFS-USA held a competition for host family to making a video about what they got after hosting an or more exchange students on their house. My host mother was got that email too. We all discussed about it and planned to made a video. Three weeks or a month after the conversation, nothing was happened in term of that video. I'm so lazy to make it, so do my host family.

Then on January, I was checked on youtube in host family contest's channel. Nobody was submitted their video yet, so I just thought they were not going to be a competition at all since nobody submitted , whereas the deadline was 2 weeks away. I hesitated as well to made it.

Waiting on couple days afterward, I was going there again and there were three or five (I didn't how many approximately the videos have submitted at the time) uploaded and officially being a competition. Dang it! I have to make it. In the last minute of the deadline, I rushed arrange the time for taking the video, found the pictures that I want to put on, determined the backsound, recorded my sound and any kind of materials I need to make a basic video.

I thought I couldn't make it because the time was up. Then an email pop on my inbox. They said they extended the deadline for the competition, so will be a week after the deadline was supposed to. I grinned. I had a time, not much though. My host family and I then worked, together. I took the video of them, taking pictures and edited it. It took like two-three days until everything completed.

Soon I submitted to AFS-USA then they put it on their youtube channel. We started promoting our video mouth to mouth and by facebook. It worked very well.

The improved deadline was up. I was surprised, 45 videos was already submitted including ours. A big competition, it really was. The video which already submitted before ours, was got couple more hits, which one part of the judging. I was thinking, no chance for me to win. A few hits and less innovative video rather than other competitors, made me feel hopeless. But I believed, we gave our efforts and let God does the rest.

A week later. My local coordinator, Valerie, texted me that somebody from ACES National office called my host father but he didn't answer it. That's true since my host father lost his phone couple days before. She said that people from National Office, further then I knew her name was Lindsey, had a good news for my father. I wasn't surprised yet, because I thought the "good" news will be a new exchange student profile sent to my host father because he is a local coordinator.

I received the text message at school. So, I was just going hoem and told him that Lindsey tried to call him and brought a good news. He was opened his email, and he found out that will be couple exchange students placed there. I exhaled dissapointly. But he told me that's one unread inbox that was received couple hours before. He opened it and said that we are win the competition.

"Congratulations! Your host family video has been chosen
by ACES and the YES consortium as the winning ACES submission.
Your video, with the theme 'How is hosting better than
you thought it would be?', is a heart-warming look into
the benefits of hosting a YES student
and the special bond you have created with each other."

An email in which made my day. And I'm counting for the trip that we won for, a 4 days trip to Washington DC on March 18-21, 2010. I hope it'll turn out so fun. Thank's for everybody who had watched it and reading this post. We can be great for what we want, do effort, let God does His will for us. Success is just complementary. Everybody deserves their success, on their own times.

Arief Budiman and The La Beaus

Ehm..

Setelah lama gak ngepost, gue jadi feeling awkward mau nulis apa disini. Too much things to be told right now, guys. But anyway, happy valentine's day for couple who celebrate it. For me, that's just another sunday. Tired sunday. Capek? Karena tiga hari ini berlangsung sangat hectic. Kayaknya tiap detik harus gerak dari satu tempat laen. Mulai dari hari Jum'at kemaren, half-day di sekolah dan pulang jam 11 siang (atau pagi? who cares?), terus malemnya nonton konsernya John Mayer di Palace of Auburn Hills. Well, that was awesome though, I wasn't regret it. Konsernya sampe jam 12 dan nyampe rumah jam setengah 2 malem.

Besok paginya gue harus ke Ohio, which is 45 menit dari rumah gue buat coaching kelas jump rope yang dibuat sama local coordinator gue. The class was pretty amazing, we did a very good job. Abis dari Ohio, akhirnya gue pulang dulu ke rumah buat istirahat dua jam dan abis itu langsung ke partynya temen hostmom gue sampe jam 11 malem. Walhasil, sekujur badan gue adalah pegel dan sakit. But that's worth with what I've got prior to right now.

Dan minggu depan nampaknya akan lebih padat lagi jadwalnya karna hari Sabtu gue ada perfrom di University of Michigan pas Indonesia Cultural night, we'll (gue sama mahasiswa Indonesia di U of M) do a saman dance. Hope we'll do pretty excellent dance there. Dan hari Minggunya gue bakal ikut acara appreciation dinner di Ohio buat guru dan kepala sekolah. gue bakalan masak masakan Indo, but at the moment when write this, my idea is equal zero or might be end up cooked by my hostdad since he's really great making any foods, literally any foods.

That's quick update what I was doing couple weeks ago and will do a week ahead. Hope you guys still breathing and stay awake when I fall asleep.

Michigan waving his hand and said "See you on the next post!".