Unforgettable Memories

“UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES” A COLLECTION OF STUDENTS’ PAST NARRATIVES 2008/2009

SIN WASSENAAR PRESS

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Copyrights Š 2009 by Gunaryadi Published in the Netherlands by SIN Wassenaar Press.

ISBN: 978-94-90301-01-9 All rights reserved.

No part of this paper may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For information, address: SIN Wassenaar Press, Rijksstraatweg 679, 2245 CB, Wassenaar – Nederland, Tel: +3170-5178875, Fax: +31-70-5142852, Email: info@sekolahindonesia.nl, Website: http://sekolahindonesia.nl.

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INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Gunaryadi “We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten,” wrote Cesare Pavese (1908-1950), an Italian poet, novelist, literary critic, and translator. Men’s life constitutes the chained memories and collection of experiences that some temporarily restored in the short-term memory and some engraved in the long-term memory, where some to be forgotten and some to be remembered.

Memory of life does not end up at about forgetting or remembering. It also a source of inspiration if not motivation to achieve a better future, as it is a history, like what an Lebanese American essayist, novelist and poet, Khalil Gibran (1883-1931) said, “Yesterday is but today’s memory, tomorrow is today’s dream.”

Each individual is unique, so one’s memorable experience is also distinctive. The lovely memory cannot be therefore measured with material value. Converting one’s past memory into written form and collected in a single manuscript is thus a way to save the invaluable past moments.

This collection of essays consists of the selected written works of 31 SMP and SMA students, for the second semester, 2008/2009 academic year. It has several objectives. As the first aim of this activity is to collect students’ personal experience then the theme is concentrated on “recounting” individual unforgettable moments.

The second aim is on English grammatical practices that is—in this case—in tenses usage with special emphasis on the simple past and past perfect. The third aim is to train, sharpen and refine students’ writing competence in English. The final aim is to assess students’ level of writing mastery, including the aspects of vocabulary, logic, coherence and cohesiveness, and style, since some of the works are parts of English practical tests.

The learning procedure in this activity was that the students were asked to write down their respective memorable experience. Their original pieces of work were then sent by email to the teacher who

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eventually checked and revised, and the first draft were then printed out and returned to the students by asking them to compare the revised version and their original works. From the learning activity it is expected that the students would gain relatively significant knowledge particularly in English composition.

This collection would not become a tangible work in a hectic schedule and could be completed in a brief period without assistance and involvement of many individuals. To the students who have participated in this activity and contributed their works to this collection, we appreciate you all very much. We hope you— in particular to our kids who will leave our school after the graduation this year—would be prospering with your future.

To Habib, Edwin and Icha of 2 SMA we would like to express our sincere thanks for typing some of the works so that it helped accelerating the completion and eventual publication. To Mr. Hatami Nugraha, who has helped in technical matters of publication, we thank you very greatly. And finally to Mr Saidan, our Director, your enduring guidance, positive motivation and support to all beneficial and useful activities for this school would never be in vain. We are indebted to you so much. We hope that you all would receive rewards from the Heavens.

Wassenaar, June 2009

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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................... iv Gunaryadi ................................................................................................................................... iv MY FIRST TIME AT SIN WASSENAAR ..................................................................................... 1 Bilal bin Ibrahim Masae .............................................................................................................. 1 (1 SMP, 14 May 2009) ............................................................................................................ 1 SOME UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS ...................................................................................... 2 L.M. Gavrillah Pallas ul Haq ....................................................................................................... 2 (1 SMP, 14 May 2009) ............................................................................................................ 2 AS A STORYTELLER AT SILN 2008 .......................................................................................... 3 Annisa Rahmayanti...................................................................................................................... 3 (2 SMP, 12 May 2009) ............................................................................................................ 3 SWIMMING PHOBIA .................................................................................................................... 6 Mufid Denico Dwisepta............................................................................................................... 6 (2 SMP, 12 May 2009) ............................................................................................................ 6 VISITING THE LYCÉE FRANÇAIS VINCENT VAN GOGH, LA HAYE (THE HAGUE)....... 7 Muhammad Basyir Birendra ....................................................................................................... 7 (2 SMP, 14 May 2009) ............................................................................................................ 7 DANCE AND FOOL AROUND IN WEST JAVA ........................................................................ 9 Raisa Alia Nurwana Putri ............................................................................................................ 9 (2 SMP, 13 May 2009) ............................................................................................................ 9 LOVELY MEMORIES IN GROENS CUP 2009.......................................................................... 10 Febriansyah Ramadhanu Hannan .............................................................................................. 10 (3 SMP, 13 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 10 MY LOVEABLE MEMORIES IN DORMITORY....................................................................... 11 Hanifah Azizah .......................................................................................................................... 11 (3 SMP, 13 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 11 SOME UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES FROM ITALY TO HOLLAND ............................... 12 Nadia Luthfiani .......................................................................................................................... 12 (3 SMP, 13 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 12 UNSATISFYING MOMENT ........................................................................................................ 13 Hasna Izdihar ............................................................................................................................. 13 (3 SMP, 12 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 13 MY LOVELY MOMENTS ........................................................................................................... 14 Nurina Azyyati .......................................................................................................................... 14 (3 SMP, 12 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 14 GREAT MOMENTS IN MY LIFE ............................................................................................... 15 Andrya Catur Putra .................................................................................................................... 15 (1 SMA, 14 May 2009) ......................................................................................................... 15 GLAD TO MEET NEW FRIENDS FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES .................................... 16 Arina Ulfah ................................................................................................................................ 16 (1 SMA, 18 May 2009) ......................................................................................................... 16 MEMORIES OF SILN 2007 IN MALAYSIA .............................................................................. 17 Bernadetta Andhikawati Handayani Subagyo ........................................................................... 17 (1 SMA, 15 May 2009) ......................................................................................................... 17 THE UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS AT MY SMP’S YEARS ............................................... 19 Euis Chodidjah Rafioeddin ........................................................................................................ 19 (1 SMA, 15 May 2009) ......................................................................................................... 19 MY UNFORGETTABLE MOMENT... ........................................................................................ 21 Elsa Rachmania ......................................................................................................................... 21 (1 SMA, 17 May 2009) ......................................................................................................... 21 MY UNFORGETTABLE MEMORY: .......................................................................................... 22 WUSHU/KUNG FU ...................................................................................................................... 22

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Hakam Adi Nugroho Chandra ................................................................................................... 22 (1 SMA, 15 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 22 WHEN A BAD DAY CAME......................................................................................................... 23 Nuraini Indah Rahmawati .......................................................................................................... 23 (1 SMA, 15 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 23 THE UNPRECEDENTED DREAM .............................................................................................. 25 Muhamad Fransera ..................................................................................................................... 25 (1 SMA, 17 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 25 THE BEST MOMENT IN MY LIFE ............................................................................................. 26 Viddy Muhammadi Naufal Ranawijaya..................................................................................... 26 (1 SMA, 18 May 2009) .......................................................................................................... 26 EXPLORING THE SOUTHERN FRANCE IN SUMMER HOLIDAY ....................................... 28 Maisa Denik Oktima .................................................................................................................. 28 (2 SMA IPA, 14 May 2009) .................................................................................................. 28 A PARTY FOR SIMULTANEOUS GRADUATIONS ................................................................ 30 Edwin Rahmadi .......................................................................................................................... 30 (2 SMA IPS, 14 May 2009) ................................................................................................... 30 MY FIRST AND, PERHAPS, MY LAST STAND AT THIMUN................................................ 32 Muhammad Habib Mahendra .................................................................................................... 32 (2 SMA IPS, 12 May 2009) ................................................................................................... 32 UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES ................................................................................................ 34 (IN YOGYAKARTA) .................................................................................................................... 34 Amrullah Rafioeddin.................................................................................................................. 34 (3 SMA IPA, 10 May 2009) .................................................................................................. 34 MY LAST DAY IN INDONESIA ................................................................................................. 36 Ayunda Dewi triana ................................................................................................................... 36 (3 SMA IPA, 08 May 2009) .................................................................................................. 36 MY MEMORIES IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS… ..................................................................... 37 Hanifa Khairunnissa ................................................................................................................... 37 (3 SMA IPS, 10 May 2009) ................................................................................................... 37 UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES ................................................................................................ 38 Harumi Aini ............................................................................................................................... 38 (3 SMA IPA, 10 May 2009) .................................................................................................. 38 BAD MEMORIES? TAKE A LESSON FROM THAT ................................................................ 41 Nadia Rizky................................................................................................................................ 41 (3 SMA IPA, 13 May 2009) .................................................................................................. 41 SAY NO TO DRUGS .................................................................................................................... 43 Brittantyo Wicaksono Hannan ................................................................................................... 43 (3 SMA IPS, 08 May 2009) ................................................................................................... 43 MEMORABLE SILN 2008 IN YOGJAKARTA........................................................................... 44 Jeffry Scott Rea .......................................................................................................................... 44 (3 SMA IPS, 08 May 2009) ................................................................................................... 44 SCARY MOMENT, HOME ALONE ............................................................................................ 46 Sanita Ruth Filinda Sinaga ......................................................................................................... 46 (3 SMA IPS, 08 May 2009) ................................................................................................... 46

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MY FIRST TIME AT SIN WASSENAAR Bilal bin Ibrahim Masae (1 SMP, 14 May 2009)

Coming for the first time at Sekolah Indonesia Nederland (SIN) Wassenaar I felt a little bit shy. Everybody talked to each other in Indonesian language, so I couldn’t understand their conversation except a little.

But now I can speak Indonesian language quite well but not yet as good as the real Indonesians do.

I have a good friend here at SIN. His name is Gavril. Like me, he is 13 years old. He can speak Dutch because he has been living in Holland for about 3 years. SIN is a good school, I will enjoy my time at this lovely school, and I will follow the lessons seriously.

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SOME UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS L.M. Gavrillah Pallas ul Haq (1 SMP, 14 May 2009)

Some of my unforgettable moments began when I lived in Australia because it was a very beautiful experience of course. I was just a little kid in that time but I still could remember much of that experience.

In Australia I used to have fun with my friends and parents. But I also had some bad experiences when living in the Down Under such as when my teacher ever got mad at me and other stuff.

After 1.5 years I went back to Indonesia with my parents. However it was a kind of hard to leave Australia behind because I had already got many friends whom I had to leave, but on the same time I was happy to see my family back in Indonesia.

In Indonesia I had passed through a lot of things that I couldn’t forget like having fun with my cousins and friends and many other people. But my father then moved to the Netherlands to continue his study so that’s how we came to the Netherlands.

Here I meet many people and I also made friends because the first 2 years in the Netherlands I attended a Dutch public school and after that I moved to SIN, and I am really happy.

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AS A STORYTELLER AT SILN 2008 Annisa Rahmayanti (2 SMP, 12 May 2009)

SILN stands for Sekolah Indonesia Luar Negeri, or in English it stands for Indonesian Schools in Foreign Countries. Every year there is a competition for the students and sometimes also included the teachers of all SILN which currently consists of 14 schools.

And I felt so lucky to participate in the SILN 2008. That year it was organised in Yogyakarta. I represented Sekolah Indonesia Nederland in Storytelling Competition for SMP category.

Although the whole activities were on 2-8 November 2008, but my school delegation left for Indonesia earlier in order to be prepared for everything.

We flew from Amsterdam on 30 October 2008, and the plane departed around 01.15 p.m. We stopped over in Hong Kong, and then about 01.15 p.m. we arrived in Jakarta. And finally we landed in Yogyakarta around 07.00 p.m.

After the long flight, we went directly to the Hotel Plaza Yogyakarta. My room was number 158 with my friends Iza and Nadia. We were all very happy when we arrived there, but there was a little problem in the Adi Sucipto Airport that was: our baggages weren’t there. Then we asked help to the staff and they said that they would bring our baggages to the hotel. And it’s a very good news that around 9 p.m. our baggages already arrived in the hotel.

Since there were lots of great things happened in Yogyakarta, I’ll just tell you one of the most memorable days when I was there.

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It was on 8 November 2008, the last day for the SILN 2008. On that day, the SILN organising staffs woke all the participants up to give the boarding passes and to check our passports. It was in the middle of the night, and since then we couldn’t sleep anymore.

All of my friends from SIN went to my room and to Kak Yumi’s room and that was 109. We took pictures, we watched TV. And suddenly it was already 2 a.m. Some of us were already tired, and we really-really had to take a rest. We all eventually went to our own room and took a rest, because we had to wake up 6 a.m. for the dance practice that we were going to present on the closing ceremony.

I was the one who woke up earlier around 4.30 a.m. And I woke up my friends. But I fell asleep myself! Ha...ha...even though Kak Amr already called me and woke me up at 5 a.m. Then Kak Yumi and I were so afraid because it’s already 7.30 a.m. We are already too late for the practice, since the practice is only until 8 a.m. so we decided to stay in our room. But then Basyir called me and said that we had to join the practice or else we wouldn’t know our places later on. So then I went with Kak Yumi with our pajamas still on, ha...ha.... And the pratice ended around 8.30 a.m. Then I took a bath, had breakfast, then we all took a city tour around Yogyakarta.

We all used our SILN uniform and hats. Then first we went to the Keraton Yogyakarta, then to Kota Gede to see the Ansor’s Silvers and the last we visited Candi Prambanan. We were all so tired for the day. Then after I packed my things up because tonight I was going to go back to my first room no. 158 with Iza and Nadia ^^, I got a call from the Principal, Mr. Saidan, that I had to prepare my costumes for the storytelling because I was going to perform in the closing ceremony.

Then I hurriedly change my clothes because it was already 10 minutes before the ceremony. I ate dinner, not long after that the ceremony began. I performed quite well.

Then my favourite time was when the MC called my name as the 1st winner in the storytelling SILN 2008 for SMP category. And I spent the night with all my SILN friends. We actually wanted to eat dinner again outside. But because it was already 9 p.m. and all Page | 4

the stores were closed so then we just talked and took pictures in the hotel. Some of us directly went to the airport. And I slept at about 00.30 a.m. in my first room ^^.

That was all for my essay, hope you guys had a great time just like mine. Thank you for reading.

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SWIMMING PHOBIA Mufid Denico Dwisepta (2 SMP, 12 May 2009)

When I was 4 or maybe 5 years old, I had a swimming phobia. It was strange, as I knew it, but it was real. I was playing at the beach with my family, it was really fun, I did enjoy getting buried with sand by my sister, it was really, really fun, and we were laughing together.

My cousins were going near the sea, yeah I was with them too. And my cousins were trying to swim through the waves. I was following them so I was swimming through the waves too, and I was really small and thin in that time. I was swimming and then came a really big wave that hit and pulled my body into the sea and I drowned and was also crying, screaming, begging for help.

My father came and saved me, I almost fainted and my mother was in real panic.

After I woke up clearly, I became scared of the sea and the pools. So my father asked me many times to go swimming in pool, but I would absolutely always refuse my father’s offer and persuasions.

After a few months passed by and I started practicing to get my courage of swimming back, but I was still scared of the pools and the sea.

The tragedy was an unforgettable memory to me. I would always keep trying and trying, again and again. My parents were also supporting me, so a few months later I got my courage back, and nowadays swimming has become my favourite sport.

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VISITING THE LYCÉE FRANÇAIS VINCENT VAN GOGH, LA HAYE (THE HAGUE) Muhammad Basyir Birendra (2 SMP, 14 May 2009)

Last month, 1 April 2009, our school visited the French School in Scheveningen, The Hague. The school is also known as the Lycée Français Vincent van Gogh.

We departed from Wassenaar to the French School at 03.00 PM. Some students were going by a car of our Embassy, and some by teachers’ cars.

When arriving at the school I was amazed because their school was big, clean, and the kids were kind.

At their school theatre we then gathered. First the French School’s Rector (their term for Principal) addressed the audience and welcomed us, and followed the speech from of Director. After that two SIN’s students performed a traditional dance called “Menyongsong Fajar”, and an Indonesian song that was sung by more students where I played the guitar.

And the last performance was a futsal (indoor football) friendly match. Before we went to the French school, our main team and the substitutes had been trained by personnel of Timwal (Ambassadorial Guards) from our Embassy.

That was my first time I played football in another school. The team from each school was divided into two groups. From our school I played in the first group. The first group scored 3 goals and without conceded any goal. And the second group scored 2 goals and conceded 1 goal. In aggregate our school’s team won with 5-1.

Before going home, we enjoyed some chats, drinks and snacks together with the French students.

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I think that was one of the most beautiful and unforgettable moments in my life.

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DANCE AND FOOL AROUND IN WEST JAVA Raisa Alia Nurwana Putri (2 SMP, 13 May 2009)

On Saturday, 9 February 2009, I had a chance to perform a traditional dance at ITB in Bandung. And I chose the “Panji Semirang�, a dance from Bali because I like Balinese dances. My mother flew back directly to Bandung from Makassar just to see my performance. At ITB there were so many vendors who sold ice cream, foods, drinks, and many other things.

After the performance, I went for a picnic with my family to Taman Lalu-lintas in Lembang, Sari-ater swimming pool in Subang, and a restaurant at Ciwalk (Cihampelas Walk). But the most enjoyable time for me was when we had a picnic to Sari-ater hot spring where we had lunch at a restaurant, and we played flying foks and rode horses together.

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LOVELY MEMORIES IN GROENS CUP 2009 Febriansyah Ramadhanu Hannan (3 SMP, 13 May 2009)

Our school received an invitation to participate in futsal (indoor football) competition of the Groens Cup, 9-10 May 2009 in Groningen. The Groens Cup is organised annually by the Groningen’s PPI (Association of Indonesia Students).

I was selected in our school team, which consisted of 8 players. Our team and I departed from Den Haag to Groningen, on 8 May 2009, at about 6 o’clock PM. We arrived in Groningen at 11 o’clock PM. Then we slept in a students’ hostel.

In the morning our team and I took a bath and other stuff and left the hostel. We went to the sport hall.

On the first day of the game, our futsal team won 2 times and lost once. It was fine because we still got a chance to participate in the quarter final.

In the quarter final we lost again. Our team was defeated by the team from The Hague with the score 5-0. However, we learned from them how to play futsal in a better way.

That was my happiest life. I hope next year I can join the Groens Cup again. Bye!

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MY LOVEABLE MEMORIES IN DORMITORY Hanifah Azizah (3 SMP, 13 May 2009)

I wanna tell about parts of my loveable memories. It is about my life in dormitory. I have been living in dormitory SIN for 1.5 years. I live there with my friends, my sister and of course the dorm’s landlady. She is not merely a landlady but more like the substitute for our parents in the dormitory.

We call her Ibu Soffner. She is very nice and caring. My roommate is my sister. My family lives in Belgium because my father works at our Embassy in Brussels.

Every morning, my friends and I always have breakfast together. And then we walk to school, also together. At SIN, our school, we also play together.

At 4 o’clock in the afternoon we return to the dormitory together.

We also have dinner together. Ibu Soffner prepares it for us.

Sometimes, we do homework together. On holidays, my friends and I go to the city square (centrum) or watch movies in dormitory, again, together.

I feel I am very lucky to have the opportunity to live in the dormitory. I have nice friends, nice landlady, and togetherness.

But sometimes, I miss my family. I will not forget my memories in dormitory. It’s very hard to leave dormitory because I love it, Ibu Soffner and my friends. That is my loveable memories.

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SOME UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES FROM ITALY TO HOLLAND Nadia Luthfiani (3 SMP, 13 May 2009)

In 2006, I moved to Italy with my family. My father had to work in the Indonesian Embassy in Rome. I felt so happy, but when I started going to school, the things changed. I felt so strange, without understanding of Italian language, Italian materials and culture. But step by step I learned about it, until finally I had a lot of friends and got some good scores in the rapport.

In 2008, when I’m in 9th grade of Junior High School, I had to move to the Netherlands.

There, I go to the Indonesian school. In the Netherlands, I live in the dormitory with my brother and my friends. It was so amazing because when I was in Rome, there were only four persons who lived in my house. I was so lonely.

Every morning we have our breakfast together in the dining room and then we walk to the school together. Almost in every kind of activities we do it together.

Five months ago, some of my friends and my brother had to leave us because they had to go back to Indonesia.

It’s why in the dormitory is quieter now. There’s no Pintan anymore who used to make us laugh with his jokes. There’s no Nia anymore who used to scream when she looked or watched or listened to Jonas Brothers on TV. But we can still live happily with or without them.

I have just passed my final exams two weeks ago. I was so busy and stressed out to prepare for the exams.

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UNSATISFYING MOMENT Hasna Izdihar (3 SMP, 12 May 2009)

One morning I got to do an exam at the Diknas of Bogor. My mother said, “After the exam, please go home.� I listened to mother.

But I also got a request to help my friend to buy some clothes.

After finishing the exam my friend and I went to the Yogya Department Store (Toserba). We went home at 15 PM. At home, my mom got angry with me. I asked apology from mother so that our relations back to normal.

On Saturday, my mom took the result of the exam from my school. At home my mom showed that result and it was not so satisfying. That moment was ugly to me.

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MY LOVELY MOMENTS Nurina Azyyati (3 SMP, 12 May 2009)

In my life … there are many experiences that unforgettable. But I want to re-tell about my experiences when I spent my days with my besties or best friend because it was different from others.

My besties and I were always together although we knew that each of us had many different characters. But the differences were to be a complement.

Once during a holiday we spent our days to Bandung. We went to Saung Mang Udjo to know about Sundanese culture, especially the angklung. We’d been taught how to play angklung. And then we went around ITB, just to look at the university closely.

And we also went to Jakarta. It is not far from Bogor. We went to Jakarta to see about the history of Indonesia before Indonesia’s independence from the Dutch.

We were not just together when we were happy, but also in sadness. Like when my friend’s mother passed away while she had planned to celebrate her birthday on the next so we celebrated it together. We didn’t want to see her overwhelmed by sadness. A problem to one of us would be a problem to both of us, so we try to help each other.

And those are my lovely moments. In fact, I have so many memories with my besties, but, maybe this paper is not enough if I tell all about those lovely moments.

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GREAT MOMENTS IN MY LIFE Andrya Catur Putra (1 SMA, 14 May 2009)

You must have some great moments in your life, maybe a great moment with your friends, your family, your BF/GF. Those great moments will be saved in your memories forever, and that’s why it is called ‘unforgettable memories’.

Now, I wanna tell you about one of my unforgettable memories. It’s about my farewell party on my Junior High School (JHS) when I was in Indonesia.

It was my last year on JHS. I had to study hard because there was a final test for 9th grade. I was very nervous because if I failed, I had to stay at the 9th grade again. Finally, huffs, I passed it and I was very happy. But there wasn’t announcement yet and I was still nervous a little bit.

In June my school held a farewell party in Lembang, Jawa Barat.

My friends and I went to Lembang by bus from our school. But there was a problem with our bus on the way. So, we had to stop and wait. Meanwhile the bus was being fixed; my friends and I went around the place. It was fun! We were joking around, singing and play a game. Finally, we could continue our journey and we arrived at Lembang.

The farewell party was organised at night. There was an opening ceremony led by our principal. After that, there were some performances by the bands from our school. I couldn’t sing or play any instruments, so I just watched it. But it was very fun too. We enjoyed the performances.

My friends and I were joking around and enjoying the party until midnight. I thought that maybe I would never do this again because I had to go to Italy and maybe I would never meet with my friends again. That was a great night, fun and full of tears.

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GLAD TO MEET NEW FRIENDS FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES Arina Ulfah (1 SMA, 18 May 2009)

My first day of studying at the International School of The Hague, it was in the beginning of September 2007. I was really nervous to go to school because I worried I would hardly get any friend as I didn’t speak English very much. However, I had to come on the first day. My parents were in Indonesia at that time, so my mom’s friend brought me to school.

We didn’t get to study in the first day. We only got announcement and got divided into a mentor class. Luckily, I met a Dutch/New Zealand girl who was very nice and helped me. She came along with me to go around the school. She was really understanding about my condition and helped me in English. She introduced me to her friends and told me about stuff in the school.

In the second day, I didn’t meet her. I got confused where to go that day. Then I met two other girls in front of the theatre who were also new students.

Fortunately, they were placed in the same mentor class as me. So, I talked to them and introduced ourselves to each other. One of them is a Spanish girl who also didn’t speak much English and another one was half-English and half-Dutch. I was so glad to meet them. They were very friendly.

Since that day, the three of us became closer and can be considered as best friends. We always hanged up together during that year. We helped each other out and had fun together. By the time, I also got some new friends from other countries in the world. It was really fun to be friends with them, and that was such a memorable memory for me that I will never forget.

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MEMORIES OF SILN 2007 IN MALAYSIA Bernadetta Andhikawati Handayani Subagyo (1 SMA, 15 May 2009)

On the 23rd of October 2007, I was crying so hard because on that day Didjah, Kak Dian, K. Indah and I were leaving for Malaysia to participate in the 2007 SILN competitions. We took off from the Schiphol Airport at about 12 pm. And finally after a very long flight, we arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 7 am the next day. But we had to wait for a couple of hours before we could go to our hotel.

And finally someone from SIKL (Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur) picked us up and drove us to our first hotel.

We thought that our hotel would be like a 5 star hotel. But when we saw the hotel, we were shocked by the fact that the hotel didn’t deserve a star and was located near the traditional market place. And a few hours later, a person from SIKL took us around Kuala Lumpur. We got to see Putra Jaya and other stuff. Because we were so tired that day, we were sleeping on the way. And finally lunch time came and we finally got to eat something. And after we all had our lunch, we went back to our hotel. And at 6 pm we went to Bukit Bintang.

The next day, all of the contestants were taken to the second hotel Genting View Highland, where the event would take place. First we thought again that this was the “5 star hotel”, but like before the hotel was like a creepy hunted old apartment. And the worst part was that, we could view the hotel of our dream from the balcony of our apartment. The 5 star hotel of our dream, the perfect hotel, stood about a stone’s throw away. At Genting, K Dian and K Indah occupied the same room, while Didjah and I slept with Mrs. Halimah.

The next afternoon was the dancing and singing contest. But it was raining so hard and our friend DIDJAH got an idea to run as fast as we could to the contest venue. So we tried it and we got

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very wet, and we decided to return to our room to change our clothes and the rain stopped. After that we went to the hall to see the contest. But we went home earlier to prepare our presentation for the next day.

The next day we woke up and had breakfast with the kids from other SILNs. And then we went to the hall to prepare our presentation. And after we finally did our presentation, we went back to our apartment and changed our clothes and went back to the hall to watch other schools’ presentations.

And the next day we got to go to the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur with the other kids. Subsequently we visited the Science Museum, and the CHOCOLATE FACTORY. And we had dinner at the Nelayan Restaurant.

The next day, we had to actually give our musical performance in front of all participants. We were so nervous and almost couldn’t wait till this over. Didjah played the violin and I sang a song.

When it’s finally over Didjah and I were so glad that we had made it.

The next evening there was a closing ceremony and the announcement of the results of the whole event. And finally Didjah and I got the third place for the Junior High School’s ‘Karya Ilmiah’ competition. We were shocked and couldn’t believe it. But we were happy that we got to win something.

The next day we had to leave our creepy apartment and go back to Kuala Lumpur where we stayed until the next day in an apartment. On the following day, we left Malaysia. But at the Malaysian International Airport, our flight was delayed for about 5 hours so that we had to stay in a hotel that the airliner (Malaysia Airlines) had arranged for us. And the next morning we returned to the airport and flew back to our homes in the Netherlands. This was one of the experiences that I would never forget for the rest of my life (I hope).

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THE UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS AT MY SMP’S YEARS Euis Chodidjah Rafioeddin (1 SMA, 15 May 2009)

I have experienced many unforgettable moments in my life. Since there are too many, I would like to tell one of the most unforgettable moments, and that was when I was still in SMP. In the first year of SMP, I had 5 other classmates. They were Bonar, Ifan, Qodri, Ucok and Ezra. It was very hard to communicate with them because at that time I barely could speak Indonesian, even though I could understand what they were saying.

But day by day, I learned how to speak Indonesian so it became easier to communicate with them.

It was really fun with them in the class as everyone had different characters. Bonar was the joker, Ifan was the smartest, Ucok was always serious but somehow fun, Ezra was always the sportive one, and I was the one that always laughed of their actions. So yeah, if you combine them all together, it equals huge chaos. Our class was like the loudest and noisiest class of the whole building. But yeah, you know lah, secara we were 1 SMP. Later in the second class of SMP, there came 3 new classmates in the class. They were Nia, Yani, and Seff. They had different characters too. Nia was the most PD one, Yani was and is still the penasihat and the joker, and last but not least, Seff was the quiet and smart guy from the class.

Before they all came, Ucok unfortunately already went back to Indonesia and Ezra moved to another school here in the Netherlands.

Even though, they were gone, the class was still noisy but so fun.

It was cool that everyone in the class could get along with each other. Nia, Yani and I became bosom friends and we still are, Page | 19

though. Bonar, Ifan, Qodri and Seff were good friends too with each other. But after a few months, the saddest part came. Bonar, Ifan, and Qodri, all went back to the place where they had lived before coming to the Netherlands. It was hard to let go, but yeah like they say, life goes on.

After that, in the last year of SMP, there were only Nia, Yani, Seff and I in the class left. But then we suddenly got a new student in the class, and that was Indah. In a few days, she already could get along with us so that was good. But we never expected that she was so talkative. So yeah, as you can see, she was the most talkative person in the class. Ha...ha....

And as we went along together, she became one of our best friends, too.

At the end of the year, when we already did the UAN, Seff unfortunately had to go back to Indonesia. And later, in the first semester of 1 SMA, Nia went back, too. It was so sad. And until now I miss those moments in SMP with all the classmates that went back to Indonesia. But someday, I hope that I can meet them all again, and catch up with them.

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MY UNFORGETTABLE MOMENT...

Elsa Rachmania (1 SMA, 17 May 2009)

Long time ago, when I was in Indonesia there happened something to me. That day I was searching for bakso. It took a long time to find the bakso. That time I was alone and lonely. I was ‘Miss Lonely and I had nobody for my own’ (at that time I was listening to a song called Lonely – by Akon ), so I took some lyrics from that song.

When I was still searching for the bakso, I passed in front of a lot of boys that a little bit weird (HAHAHAHA). Because I was scared I ran away as fast as I could! And I lost my way.

When I knew I lost the way, I asked people who lived nearby. But I forgot that the people there couldn’t speak Dutch. So, I tried my best to speak in Indonesian language although my Bahasa Indonesia was not so good.

When I wanted to ask the people to where I had to go, I forgot the name of the street where I lived. So I was hopeless and homeless.

But, then I felt that like my hand phone was ringing, but it was really that my hand phone was ringing. And that was my daddy who called me. I was so happy. He was worried about me. That’s why he called me. After we finished the call, 15 minutes later my father came and picked me up. That was my unforgettable moment when I was in Indonesia.

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MY UNFORGETTABLE MEMORY: WUSHU/KUNG FU Hakam Adi Nugroho Chandra (1 SMA, 15 May 2009)

Back when I was in Indonesia I used to do a lot of activities, but my most favourite activity by far was learning wushu or kung fu.

Kung fu is an ancient martial arts style that was developed in China. I started learning kung fu because it was fun and I wanted to be able to move around like in the kung fu movies.

At first it was quite difficult to get the hang of it. We had to do like punches, kicks, jumps and all kind of movements and if you got it wrong you would have to do twenty push ups that were really hard at first.

We usually train 4 times a week in our school field sometimes maybe even 5. My teacher or sensei’s name was Septiana Wahid or just Kak Septi for short. His house was located next to our school so we’d usually hang around there before and after training, playing video games and such.

Our kung fu school was called the Kung Fu Naga Emas (or Golden Dragon), when I first joined the kung fu school, there were only like 5-10 members because not everyone in my school was fond of kung fu. But then our kung fu school grew bigger and got more students to join.

I really miss my old kung fu friends there and my master as well. I hope one day I can go back and learn with them again.

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WHEN A BAD DAY CAME Nuraini Indah Rahmawati (1 SMA, 15 May 2009)

On 14th of May, my sister (Annisa) and I had a really bad day. And that happened right after we were on our way home from the city square (centrum) of The Hague.

At that time we were waiting for the tram at Spui that passing through to our home. When we were waiting for the tram about 5 minutes long, there came an announcement that the tram that headed to our home was not operating because there had been a problem on the rail. So my sister and I walked up toward nearby the bus shelter and waited for the bus that could bring us home.

And gladly the bus came 15 minutes later.

Then we stopped at the next bus shelter to wait for another bus that would directly bring us home. The bus shelter name was Banstraat, a bus shelter near the Indonesian Embassy.

But then came another problem, we had waited for the bus for about 20 minutes but still the bus didn’t came. So we decided to look at the bus schedule to make sure what time the next bus would arrive and stop at the shelter. On the schedule it would be next quarter which meant that it would be too late because it was already 9.15 pm and the sky was getting darker. So we decided to walk to the next bus shelter to see if there would be another bus that would headed to our home. And on our way to the next bus shelter, my sister and I shared a few jokes and stories that would help us not to get panicked.

After 20 minutes, there was still no sign for the bus that we had waited to call on at the shelter. We thought about waiting for the next bus, or walking our way home on foot. But we kept walking and finally we found the bus shelter. So, we looked at the bus schedule again to see how many minutes more would it take for the bus to come. The schedule showed that the bus would come for another 20 minutes. Still we had no hope for riding a bus and we

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continued our way home by foot. Suddenly, Annisa looked back and saw a bus that would bring us home. So we ran as fast as we could to catch it. And finally our bad day ended and we finally could get home, thanks to the bus driver and Annisa who looked back and saw the bus on proper time.

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THE UNPRECEDENTED DREAM Muhamad Fransera (1 SMA, 17 May 2009)

I had never dreamt about Eiffel Tower before.

I just knew the Eiffel was only a tower. But one day my father told me that he would move to Paris. That was a big surprise for me. The first thing that popped up in my mind was that I would leave my friends and my hometown. However, I couldn’t do anything to change the course of history.

Finally I arrived in Paris. My first impression when I was in the city was, “Wow, this is the greatest place that I have ever visited.” The next day, my father brought me to see the Eiffel Tower and I saw the greatest tower in the world. I was falling in love with the Eiffel Tower.

Six months in Paris, my activity was like being a tourist, going around the places that I’d never visited before. After all, I’m totally in love with Paris and the Eiffel Tower. It is my unprecedented dream that come true.

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THE BEST MOMENT IN MY LIFE Viddy Muhammadi Naufal Ranawijaya (1 SMA, 18 May 2009)

Maybe I don’t know what I will write here now because this is my first assignment at SIN. But I’ll try to do my best.

When I was in Bandung, Indonesia, I joined the traditional music club in my Senior High School. I didn’t know why, but I thought that was very interesting. I had found similar club when I was in the elementary school, but I think that’s very-very “Villager Club”, in my mind I said, “Ah, that’s not important for me, I’m serious, that is the club I could join.”

But when I was in Senior High School, oh my God, there were so many manifestations of Indonesian traditional art and culture that had been claimed by the Malaysian Ministry of Culture. Oh, I think that’s because Indonesian young generation doesn’t give the best appreciation to their culture. That’s the reason, why I had to join the traditional music club.

I love the traditional music instrument called ANGKLUNG. My angklung club (Keluarga Paduan Angklung SMA Negeri 3 Bandung [KPA3]) is a famous club not only in Bandung but also in Indonesia and Europe. My angklung club already had enjoyed a European tour called ‘Expand the Sound of Angklung (ESA)’.

The main idea of the tour was to participate in the International Folklore festivals in many countries in Europe. The first ESA was in 2002. They had tours in Germany and Belgium. The second time was in 2004 with tours in six countries: Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Poland, and UK. And the third one was in 2008 with a tour in Greece and Italy.

Up to now I’m very proud of the KPA3, and my planning is to invite KPA3 to Europe again, exactly to the Netherlands. KPA3

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also has the year program, and the best program (I think!) is the KOA or Konser Orkestrasi Angklung (The Orchestration Concert of Angklung). That’s the program for every 2 year, and has different theme in every concert.

Last few months, exactly on 14 February 2009, we had a big concert called KOA7 Philia Meretas Batas Merengkuh Waktu.

That moment was the best for me because that’s the last moment when I was in Bandung (before departing to Holland). The theme of concert was LOVE. My team played the international love music such as Moon River, Broken Vow, Disney Love medley, etc.

And also the Indonesian music such as Biru from Vina Panduwinata, Ayat-ayat Cinta by Rossa, Kemenangan Hati from Yovie Widianto, Ada Apa dengan Cinta by Melly Goeslaw.

We are so proud, honestly, that the traditional music instrument like angklung has been able to play international music festivals.

After the concert, I was so tired, I had to recheck and repacking all my things that I had to bring along to Netherlands. When I was busy I got sms, on Monday 16 February, I had to go to the school for a concert evaluation. Oh, my god, I was very tired but I had to.

But I couldn’t believe because my friends and all KPA3 prepared the Surprise Farewell Party for me. I was very proud of them and happy also. KPA3, the best club I’d ever joined, alive also, maybe.

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EXPLORING THE SOUTHERN FRANCE IN SUMMER HOLIDAY Maisa Denik Oktima (2 SMA IPA, 14 May 2009)

It was the 2008 summer holiday. When my parents weren’t busy, we planned to have a round trip by car to the southern France in four days. My brother and I were very glad for that. We prepared all of the things which we needed, like the clothes, the meals, etc.

We left from Paris at 7 o’clock in the morning.

My father drove the car and our housemaid was with us, too.

Our first destination was Marseilles. It took about 6 hours to go there. In the car, we did many things to kill our boringness like singing songs, talking, and taking panoramic pictures.

When we arrived in Marseilles, we had to take lunch because it was 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

Then, we visited many interesting places and in the evening we looked for the hotel.

The next day and destination was Cannes where the famous film festival annually takes place. There are many beaches and harbours there. After dinner, we continued our trip to Nice, and we checked in a hotel for repose.

On the third day, my brother and I really wanted to go to the beach. It was the most beautiful beach we’d ever visited! We like swimming, especially on the beach. We enjoyed it so much! But we didn’t really care with the sun, when we take a bath we were surprised that our skin became dark.

The last day, in the morning, we left Nice for Monaco. Monaco is a small country. It has the same flag as Indonesia does, white and red colours. There were many casinos, luxurious cars and rich people over there. Only adult people could go gambling to the casinos.

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In my impression, from all the places that we visited in the southern France, I liked Nice the most because we could see and explore its beautiful beach with its blue water!

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A PARTY FOR SIMULTANEOUS GRADUATIONS Edwin Rahmadi (2 SMA IPS, 14 May 2009)

It was about 4 years ago, when we lived in Sweden, my family and I had a party to celebrate our simultaneous graduations. My oldest brother completed his senior high school, my second elder brother finished his junior high school, and I graduated from the primary school.

For the celebration, my brothers and my mother invited our friends for a summer barbeque and we roasted sates, salads, grilled corn, and some other Indonesian delicacies.

While waiting for the food to be readied, my brothers and I asked our friends to play American football. Then we all walked to the football field nearby and started playing football. I was at the same team as my oldest brother and his friends against my second elder brother’s team. We played like for maybe 2 or 3 hours. Then my team lost and I got a call from my mother and she said that the food was already cooked and well-grilled. After taking a break we all went home and began to eat.

We had a small talk while we were enjoying our sate and grilled corn. I had a conversation with my friends about where, when, or how we’re all going to meet again. And some of my friends started to cry, specially the girls, so after we all relaxed and finished our foods we’re all going inside and listening to the piano’s melody played by my uncle, and some of my mom’s friends were singing.

When the day was getting dark some of the guests were going back home but my friends and some of my brothers friends were staying and thinking about sleeping over at my house. So after the party was over we all decided to clean up the mess. It took a while and we all got tired and started to relax, so we all took a shower

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and planned about watching a couple of movies and playing Play Station 2, until about 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. While watching the movies, we also ate some chips, drank colas.

We all thought about not to sleep and to stay awake, so we had a small funny talk and funny stories. We all shared our childhood experiences, and it was really fun, we had chats until some of us fell asleep, and I also fell asleep.

Then we woke up at 8 or 9 o’clock. After having some breakfast, then my friends took shower and then all of them went home. It was a lovely party to celebrate our simultaneous graduations at different Swedish schools.

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MY FIRST AND, PERHAPS, MY LAST STAND AT THIMUN Muhammad Habib Mahendra (2 SMA IPS, 12 May 2009)

One of the unforgettable moments in my life was my participation at THIMUN which was organised in The Hague, 25-30 January 2008. THIMUN that stands for The Hague International Model United Nations is a debate simulation about important issues which affect different countries. The simulated debates at THIMUN were off course rather smaller than the real debates at the United Nations. During the last year THIMUN my school represented Seychelles, an archipelagic state in the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar and Madagascar, and I was assigned as a diplomat for the General Assembly (GA), 4th Committee that focused on ‘Political and Decolonization’ issues.

At the beginning I was very nervous because this is my first time participating in THIMUN and I hadn’t even known about the venue of the conference. After my teacher gave explanations about what we should do in THIMUN, I got information and felt more comfortable and confident than before.

Before THIMUN started on Monday, 25 January 2009, we had to register our delegation on Sunday, during which each delegate obtained the conference kits consisting of the schedule, placard, badge, free-roaming ticket for public transportation, and, the most important thing, the lunch ticket. After the registration we checked the rooms where we would be on Monday and for the whole week. On Sunday we got a lot of additionally information from the administrative staffs and I felt readier before THIMUN commenced.

On Monday I entered my conference room around 9 AM and I was involved in the lobbying of the draft resolutions that had been Page | 32

prepared by the respective delegations of each country. And all delegations got recess at 12 PM for several minutes and went back to the room after that. All activities in THIMUN that day were finished at 5 PM and I went immediately home.

I participated in the same activity like before on Tuesday, such as debating of several issues. And I could learn certain accents of formal English from some delegates when they were speaking.

From Wednesday onwards, we often actively engaged in the debates until we achieved an agreement on the final resolution.

We did it until Friday. On Friday, all the delegates from the General Assembly joined the debate sessions in the main hall to accord on the final resolutions from each committee. The collection of all final resolutions after the conference was sent to the United Nations in New York.

On the Friday evening we received a party to close all THIMUN activities. It was from 9 PM to 11 PM. The party was very fun and I enjoyed it so much.

My fellows, it was an unforgettable moment in my life. I will never forget THIMUN and I miss it so much. And I would remember about every moment of the events, though. It was my first, and maybe, my last stand in that prestigious international gathering for young student diplomats in The Hague.

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UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES (IN YOGYAKARTA) Amrullah Rafioeddin (3 SMA IPA, 10 May 2009)

About 6 months ago, together with 10 other schoolmates I went to Yogyakarta to compete with other kids from other Indonesian schools outside Indonesia or SILNs. It has been held since 2005.

Every year SILN has different competitions for SD (primary School), SMP (Junior High School), and SMA (Senior High School).

In 2007, SILN had several competitions.

They were: English storytelling for SMP and SMA; Mathematics, poetry reading and singing for SD; traditional dance for SMP and SMA, badminton and Science contests for SMP and SMA. Chris and Helda were chosen for Mathematics and Poetry reading at SD level, Annisa and Yumi for the storytelling SMP and SMA, Jeffry for badminton, Basyir and Nadia for traditional dance for SMP, Nadia Rizky and Iza for Science contest for SMA and SMP, Nita and I for traditional dance for SMA. The kid that had been selected for SD singing competition, Michelle, couldn’t go along because she still needed to solve some issues of her passport. All of us represented SIN (Indonesian School in the Netherlands).

On 1 November 2009, we all arrived in Yogyakarta. I was so happy that I could go to Indonesia because I hadn’t been there for 8 years long. First when we arrived, the weather—off course—was very hot. Then a bus picked us up and brought us to a huge hotel named Plaza, where we were going to stay and the contest was going to be held. We were the first school delegation that arrived at the hotel. First our delegation members and I went to explore around the hotel and ate some delicious food in the little warungs.

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The next day, kids from other SILNs arrived at the hotel. We immediately went to make friendship with them. All of the kids were very nice, kind, and friendly. We met a lot of kids in Yogyakarta.

Then at last, the contest started. It was a hard contest because all of the other kids were very talented. When it was my and Nita’s turn to perform the traditional dance, I was very excited because my aunt was present to see our show. Even though we didn’t won a prize, I was very happy that I could perform (representing SIN) in front of all of the people there.

After the contest, 2 of our students, Yumi and Annisa both won the first prizes for storytelling for SMA and SMP. Off course our whole school was so happy and excited to hear that. We also sang a song for all of the SILNs’ delegations.

Suddenly it was all over. SILN 2008 ended. I was a kind of disappointed that it finished. Why? Because I felt it end up abruptly and I could make a lot of friends there. I learned about the culture of the countries where they were staying or living, while I explained to them about the Dutch culture.

SILN 2008 was an experience that I would always remember. It has become an unforgettable memory.

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MY LAST DAY IN INDONESIA Ayunda Dewi triana (3 SMA IPA, 08 May 2009)

23 August 2008 was my last day at my old school in Indonesia.

That was Friday and I studied like I usually did. At 12.00 pm my father and my mother came to the school. They brought a cake for my friends and teacher. After the boys prayed and bell rang, my classmates and I started to study again. But we didn’t study, but we took pictures and I gave them a slice of cake for each kid.

And after that, we went home because that was the last lesson. But my best friends and I decided to go to the “Steak Home” for something to eat. Over there, we took pictures again and talked about many things.

Then we went home.

On the next day, I decided to meet my Junior High School friends because that day was my last day in Indonesia. But I got problem, because my friends had a basketball practice on that day. So I decided to go to the place where they were practicing. Before that, I had met with my girl friends on my school because they wanted to go along with me.

In the place where my friends and I wanted to meet, I just watched them played basket ball with their schoolmates. When they finished, we decided to go to my house because it was already evening. At my house, we just talked and ate chicken menus from A&W. And at 12.00 AM my friends went home. Oya, when I was at the Gading Sport Club, another friend from my class came to give me a book from my classmates. It was a small book with words from my classmates and pictures of us. That was my last day in Indonesia before leaving Indonesia to join my parents moving to Italy.

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MY MEMORIES IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS… Hanifa Khairunnissa (3 SMA IPS, 10 May 2009)

Before I’m studying here, I studied at a Senior High School in Bandung and Belgium.

In Bandung, I went to SMAN 7 Bandung. This was a special school actually because the kids from this school always involved in fighting against the students from other schools. But not all students did that. When I studied there most of them are kind people. I got a lot of friends there so that I was very happy to be a student at the school. I had a lot of unforgettable memories at the school although I studied there only for one year and after that I moved to Belgium.

When I moved to Belgium, I thought it would be easy for me to attend a school there. I thought French was easy and if I could learn French it’s going to be easy for me to study at school. But it’s not like what I had imagined. It’s so hard for me to learn French with a lot of homework from the school. The fact that having studying in Belgium was a bad memory to me, but a little bit fun because in that school I got friends, one from Korea named Gunn Young and one from Morocco named Soumaya. We’re always together because we’re in the same class in the same period. Then I moved to SIN Wassenaar.

At SIN I got a lot of friends. They just like my family. We know each other and we always meet each other every time. At the school I don’t have to be really stressed about the homework; and that’s the best part of it. In this school I learn how to do something with myself, far from family and I won’t forget SIN.

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UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES Harumi Aini (3 SMA IPA, 10 May 2009)

Talking about memories, I think it’s hard to pick some specific moment, because my whole life that I’ve passed through are special for me. I got new unforgettable memories in every step I made. Here I want to share a short review of my life time experience.

I was born in Bogor 18 years ago. When I was about 3, my parents and I moved to Germany. I became a big sister when I was 4. I got another little sister at my 8th of age. I went into a Kindergarten near my house, and at 6 I went to a local school there. Learning a foreign language, making friends from all over the world, visiting interesting places were some of the unforgettable memories that I got from my life in Germany. So many sweet memories I got from living 5 years there.

In 1998, my family and I went home to Indonesia. We were living in my grandma’s house in Bandung for 1 year. After that we move to Bogor. I went to SDIT Ummul Quro (UQ). In this stage of age, I got much lesson about friendship, leadership, and valuable norms. One moment that I won’t forget is when I was in the 5th grade my teacher told me to join a competition, but he announced it to me one day before the competition so I had no preparation. But the result wasn’t too disappointing, I got the second place.

After 3 years in SDIT UQ, I graduated with pretty good marks, so I could continue my study to the favourite Junior High School in my town, SMPN 1 Bogor.

In Junior High, I began to (Scout Movement). I still preparing to organise a big sponsors, selling tickets, and organising and leadership.

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participate in OSIS and Pramuka remember about when we were event, making proposals, searching many other experiences about event

One thing that I always remember also is, when I was the coordinator for an event, and it went successfully. Many journalists come to report about this event. I was interviewed by them and the other day, it was on the newspapers. I also want to thank my English teacher a lot. Due to her, I got the opportunities to join several English competitions, especially speech contests. It improved my English ability also my self confidence. The competition that was the most unforgettable was the one in Bandung, where I competed with kids from all over the West Java Province.

Graduated from Junior High, I continued to SMAN 1 Bogor, located next to SMPN 1 Bogor. This school was the best school ever for me. I’m really thankful that I’d the chance studying there.

Too many memories attached to the school that I can’t write them in a single piece of paper. To me, High School was really the time to grow up, to become more matured personality, to learn lessons for life. I learned much by being active in organisations and extracurricular activities in my school.

At the end of 2007, one again my family moved to another country.

We moved to Belgium, but, my little sister and I studying at SIN in Wassenaar, the Netherlands. SIN is also an amazing school. I got much new experiences that I never thought before. Like participating in THIMUN, becoming a PASKIBRA, becoming delegate from SIN for story telling competition in SILN, Yogyakarta, meeting important and well known people from Indonesia, designing a year book, learning gamelan music, and so many others.

During my days at SIN, I live in a dormitory which also gives a new colour in my life. I learn to be far from my parents, I learn to share with others, not being selfish. I feel like having a new family here. Before, I thought it would be boring with just about 5 kids in a class, but I don’t think so anymore. I really enjoyed my time here, and I find it’s sad, remembering that I will go back to Indonesia in a few weeks. But I’m also exciting as well to entering a new stage of my life, the college life. I hope all of the 3rd graders can graduate well and continue their study to the dreamt university.

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I will praise a lot of thankfulness to God Almighty, for giving a wonderful life like this. I hope in the future, I will be always in the right path of life. I hope I can always be someone who is useful for others, achieving good things to make my parents, teachers and all the people I love happy. That’s it, thank you....

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BAD MEMORIES? TAKE A LESSON FROM THAT Nadia Rizky (3 SMA IPA, 13 May 2009)

I’m almost 18 years old, and I think I’m mature enough now.

Mmm, what I thought while I’m writing this? Of course I thought that I had a lot of experience that I’ve passed through. So many things that I wanted to tell. But in this case, I will tell two memories of my life when I was about 4 and 5 years old.

Okay, let I start when I was 4 years old. One day, there was a renovation in the backyard of my house in Surabaya. At that time (in the afternoon), my parents called me to take a nap when I was playing in the back of the house. But I ignored them. And my parents tried to call me again, again and again. But, yes you can guess that I still ignored them. After that what I got? I fell down to a hole that caused pain and bleeding on my foot. I cried so loud until my parents took me to the house, and they were angry at me. It was a bad memory, but I can get a lesson from it.

One day, when I was 5 years old the moment about 1 year earlier happened again. My parents called me to take a nap and I ignored them. So, what I got? I fell down from a tree. Oh my God ... I often ignored what my parents said.

The next day I saw my mother was crying. At that time I was 5, and I asked her, “Mom, why are cyring?” My mother answered, “You often ignored what I asked you, daughter. I don’t know. Am I wrong in teaching you?” I was silent. I went to my room. I sat, I thought. In my heart I said, “Are my parents feeling disappointed having a daughter like me?” I really wanted to ask that. Finally I asked it to them. And they said, “No, no honey. We don’t feel anything like that. You’re still a kid honey.”

Okay, those bad days had passed. Life must go on. I grew up. I’ve learnt so many things in my life. I learnt how to be patient, how to

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control my emotion, how to think wiser, how to decide, etc. I tried to be better than before. And I’m trying to be better, better and better.

The conclusion is that don’t ignore what our parents say to us because they have more experiences than us. They wanted the best things for their children. If our parents say something to us, but we feel it’s not good for us, let us and our parents discuss how to solve it, and inshaAllah we will get the best solution from that.

That was it. Thank you very much. Thanks to Allah (SWT) that He has given me the best parents and unique experience in my life.

Ah ya, one thing that I want to share. If I still ignored what my parents said to me that I had to go to the Netherlands and studying in the Netherlands, I wouldn’t get a lot of experience like THIMUN, SILN, ping pong tournament, playing gamelan in Queen’s Day, and many other experiences.

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SAY NO TO DRUGS Brittantyo Wicaksono Hannan (3 SMA IPS, 08 May 2009)

Drugs are everywhere these days. Now drugs are not used only by adults but little kids are being threatened too. Drugs can be put on anywhere. They might be in a piece of candy, etc. That’s why people now have to be extra careful about the things they eat and others.

Nowadays, drugs have been used by many teenagers. The reasons they use them are, perhaps, they want to get rid of the stress they have, so they think by taking drugs they could just let loose all of their problems and forget them.

Well, we as the next generation should prevent abusing drugs because those things are harmful for your brain and all other organs in your body system. Besides that they are also useless. Other than using drugs maybe doing things like studying, exercise, playing music, and reading are healthier ways to get out of all our stress inside.

So next time if someone offers you drugs, you should say no! You still have a long future ahead. Doing things that are more useful for your future is much better instead of destroying your future with drugs!

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MEMORABLE SILN 2008 IN YOGJAKARTA Jeffry Scott Rea (3 SMA IPS, 08 May 2009)

On 30 October 2008, earlier than usual, at 8 AM I left from the dormitory to my school. That day I would leave for Yogyakarta together with some other students to participate in the 2008 SILN competition. I would play in badminton competition.

At SIN, we got a briefing from of Director, Mr. Saidan, and a parent’s representative. We also practiced some yells.

At about 9 AM we departed to the Schiphol Airport. It is not far from Amsterdam. It took about one hour journey from Wassenaar.

Along the road I saw the beautiful view on both right and left sides. All the views were green because the agricultural sector in the Netherlands is clean and the Dutch are really caring about agriculture.

Arrived in Schiphol, we went inside and checked in. At 10 AM we went to the boarding lounge waiting for the airplane that flying through Hong Kong.

The next day we arrived in Yogyakarta and we went to the Plaza Hotel. It was a 5 star hotel. There we met with the kids from other SILNs, such as from SI Moscow, etc. They were so kind and fun.

We talked a lot and took pictures.

Although I conceded defeat at the initial round of the competition, I was very happy especially because I could meet all of my sisters and brother in Jakarta after that. They were also very happy to meet with me.

In Jakarta I also went to my old school where I met my old friends and teachers. They were shocked that I came to visit them in Jakarta. I felt so happy that I could meet them over there.

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I will never forget this memorable experience in my whole life. I will keep it in my mind and heart forever, and this was the best moment in my life and I could learn from it many things.

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SCARY MOMENT, HOME ALONE Sanita Ruth Filinda Sinaga (3 SMA IPS, 08 May 2009)

One night, my parents went out to visit my father’s friend. And 5 minutes later in fact, my two brothers also went out somewhere without telling me. They just left the house, and so I was home alone that night.

While no one was at home except me, I was a little bit happy because no one could disturb me from watching TV, from chatting, etc. And later on the telephone rang which somewhat shook me. And then I picked up the phone, and the call was for me. It was from my friend who asked how was about our Math’s homework.

It was quite a long conversation between me and my friend (her name was Julia). We didn’t only discuss about homework but also about what happened at the school on that day, about someone, about the fashion of the week, etc.

And we didn’t know that we had talk for 1 hour. And at that time I was looking out through the front door and I felt that someone was looking back at me. I was very afraid. And soon I told my friend to stop the conversation for that evening. I just told her the reason that I was so tired, so that I wanted to go to sleep. So we terminated the conversation and agreed to continue it the next day.

When I put the telephone, I looked back to the door and saw there was a man was looking back at me. I wanted to run, but didn’t know where. I wanted to lock the door where he was to be standing, but I was so afraid that he would run faster than me and grab me. So I just sat down and prayed with a hope that my parents or even my brothers would come home as soon as possible.

Because I was too afraid, so I didn’t looked at that door but I run as fast as I could to reach my room and locked myself inside. I wanted to call my parents telling them to come home but I couldn’t

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because my hand-phone was left in the living room, and no telephone in my room. So I just prayed, prayed and prayed so that the man wouldn’t anything harmful to me and I hoped my parents or brothers would come home immediately.

One hour later I heard my dad’s car, and when I looked through the window of my room, yeah ... it was them. So I run quickly out of my room and open the door and hugged my mom. First she asked what happened, but I didn’t tell her. And she also asked where my brothers were and I just answered they were going out.

After that I went to the door where I had seen the strange man, and when I was near the door ... I was just like a stupid girl. I thought it was stranger with shining eyes, but it was not. It was a caper. It was a brown caper near the door. After that I told the story and how my feeling had been to my parents and they laughed. That memory was so weird but funny.

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Collected and edited by: Gunaryadi Printing design and layout by: Mr. Hatami Nugraha

SIN WASSENAAR PRESS