30 Years Old Olivia

10 years fast forward, I guess I am just the person I have always envisioned.

30 years old Olivia:

• Master degree (even double masters) from a reputable university abroad with a full scholarship
• Traveled around the world (40 + countries)
• In a stable relationship with a man of my dream
• My book on my travel journo just published by the biggest publisher in Indonesia
• I worked in a development sector with an International NGO, fulfilling job & traveling around Indonesia
• I live in one of the most beautiful islands in the world, Bali.
• Two tiny apartments and a house under my name (with no debt)

And then I realize to keep staying alive I have to keep going. I have to invent other dreams and I have to ensure I can be useful for other people. Be kind and compassionate.

It is too early to feel enough. There are so many beautiful things out there.

I am ready to explore and see

Me doing field trip

Love,

Olivia

July Update

In short, things that happened the past two months:

1. I graduated from Vice Chancellor Leadership Program on 2nd June 2016

With Vice Chancellor Brian Smith

2. I went to US to attend Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University, California (where Obama and Mark Zuckerberg gave a speech) (22-24 June 2016)

President Obama and Mark Zuckerberg at the same panel

Indonesian team

3. I attended Asia Pacific Week 2016 at ANU (26-30 June 2016)

Getting serious on 'War Game'

With Pak Nadjib Riphat Kesoema (Indonesian Ambassador to Australia)

With Indonesian team at University House lawn

4. Someone asked me to be his girlfriend (and I said yes)

First bunch of roses he gave

Love,

Olivia

Quarter of 2016, Laud and Dreams

Quarter of 2016 so far:

• Start my New Year in Medellin, Colombia
• Went to USA, reunited with my good friend in San Fransisco (and decided that I have to get a job there)
• Went to Hawaii for a conference and meet lovely people
• Do part time job which I enjoy (because I learn things)
• Moved from my comfort zone to a new place far from uni
• Bought a car and drove from Canberra-Sydney
• Got a book that I cowrote published in English by National University of Singapore (NUS)
• Public speech in front of more than 400 people
• Start going to gym again
• Bought a new apartment back home
• Start reading books from Kindle
• Implementing my probono social project for youth
• Befriended with my past
• Catch up with good friends 

In the last few days I have heard from people either directly or through text that I am admirable that I do things other people don't usually do. Well, I think we all only live once and I need to get the most of my time on earth. Challenge my self and do things I want to do without thinking too much of other people's opinion nor the risk. 

From A

From B

From  C

I am a firm believer of Walt Disney's famous quote 'If you can dream it, you can achieve it'.
I don't believe in limitation, I am from Indonesia (which passport has to pass a long bureaucratic immigration process to enter most countries in the world), a woman (in still highly patriarchy culture), from a middle class family (that none of my immediate family got a master degree) and I was born/raised in a small beautiful tourist town in the high land of Northern Sumatra with only 40.000 inhabitants. I have dreams that I want to turn into reality and I also like to be surrounded by people I love and love me back. And above all the most important thing is to be happy. I am happy of what I am doing now and that is enough reason to keep on going. Anyways, I feel flattered by all the compliments and I just want to thank you for that. It keeps my spirit high ;)

Happy Good Friday and Easter everyone. 

Love,

Olivia

My Recent Activities Captured by Media

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/indonesian/2014-09-22/%E2%80%98causindy%E2%80%99-jembatani-kaum-muda-indonesiaaustralia/1371003

http://www.woroni.com.au/news/anu-team-goes-to-china-for-regional-round-in-1m-bill-clinton-hult-prize/

https://crawford.anu.edu.au/news/5388/five-minutes-change-world

https://crawford.anu.edu.au/news/5476/weve-only-just-begun

https://crawford.anu.edu.au/events/5611/crawford-school-students-association-seminar-series-hult-prize

http://kabarkampus.com/2014/05/alumni-pertukaran-pelajar-amerika-gelar-pelatihan-ecopreneuship-di-cibodas/

http://www.kliksumbar.com/berita-6227-yep-camp-mendorong-wirausaha-ramah-lingkungan.html

http://indonesiamengglobal.com/2013/09/melanjutkan-studi-master-di-australia-lewat-australian-awards-scholarship/

http://www.gen-c.me/chapter/detail/blog/150/Scholarship-Hunt--Belajar-Lingkungan-Lewat-Australia-Award-Scholarship#

http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/archive/local-capacity-building-to-enforce-indonesias-climate-change-policy/

http://m.bt.com.bn/news-national/2014/12/07/lending-hand-hue-vietnam

How to Win a Sponsored Student/Youth Program Abroad (Highly Requested)

Most people who know me also know that one of biggest passions is traveling. But when I travel, I always want to make it about learning. I do not enjoy traveling for mere sightseeing as much as I enjoy edutraveling (traveling with the purpose of education). Luckily, I have been to many places around the world to learn, to share and to give back to the communities. The fact that most of my trips are sponsored makes me occasionally and constantly receives emails or Facebook messages from (typically) Indonesian fellows that I never met in real life. These are my trips so far:


1. Hult Prize Regional Competition Shanghai (13-14 March 2015)
Head of delegation for ANU team, competing 39 other teams from different universities worldwide.

Sponsored by College of Asia Pacific and Crawford School of Public Policy ANU.

2. Summer Research Intern - ForestAction Nepal in Kathmandu (December 2014 – January 2015)
Conducting several field studies to observe the implementation of Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) in different districts in Nepal, write publication by comparing theoretical learning in classroom with the real implementation on the ground.

Sponsored by Allison Sudradjat Prize: I am one out of four Indonesian recipients to receive a prestigious 2013 Allison Sudradjat Prize to be used for personal development to strengthen bilateral relationship of Australia and Indonesia.

3. ASEAN Young Professional Volunteer Corps, Hue, Vietnam (24 Nov-6 Dec 2014)
Selected as Indonesian representative for conducting an environmental project along with 23 other fellow volunteers from 10 different ASEAN, fully

Sponsored by the Brunei Government.

4. Conference of Australian Indonesia Youth (Causindy) (September 2014) in Jakarta
One among fifteen-selected Indonesian delegation.

Sponsored by the organizer.

5. Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) June 2014 - July 2016 in Canberra, Australia
Full scholarship to continue a master of Environmental Management study at the Australian National University from Government of Australia.

Sponsored by The Australian Government.

6. International Week Bulgaria (24 May – 1 June 2014) in Sofia, Bulgaria
Indonesian participant (representing Indonesian Student Association for International Studies), organized by Sofia University.

Sponsored by the organizer.

7. International Week Vienna (11-18 May 2014) in Vienna, Austria
Indonesian participant (representing Indonesian Student Association for International Studies), organized by Vienna School of Economics and Business (VU)

Sponsored by the organizer.

8. Asian Youth Forum 2013 (May-June 2013) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Indonesian Panelist, held by The Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC) & Asian Youth Council (AYC).

Sponsored by the organizer.

9. Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) Alumni Workshop (March 2013) in Singapore
Top three alumni project out of 40 presented by participants from 10 Southeast Asian countries.

Sponsored by US Department of State.

10. Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) (July-August 2010) in Montana, USA
One out of five selected Indonesian participants for Student Leaders on Global Environmental Issues in University of Montana, Missoula.

Sponsored by US Department of State.

11. My Summit G-20 Youth Summit (June 2010) in Toronto, Canada
Official participant along with G-20 Summit, held by Canada Government with Global Vision Canada.

Sponsored by Unggulan Scholarship Department of Higher Education Indonesia.

12. Asian International Model United Nations (AIMUN) (April 2010) in Beijing, China
Head of Indonesian Delegation in Peking University – Beijing, China.

Sponsored by Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Science and Rector of University of Indonesia.

13. Peace Scholarship Award (August – December 2009) in Melbourne, Australia
Full scholarship for one semester study abroad in Swinburne University Melbourne.

Sponsored by Peace Scholarship Consortium.

14. World Leadership Conference (WLC) (June 2009) in Singapore
Selected participant, organized by the Environment Challenge Organization (ECO) Singapore.

Sponsored by Departure Abroad Scholarship from Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs Indonesia.


It is inconvenient for me to reply the question one by one so I decided to make this post to answer the question. How to get it? Frankly I do not have a secret special recipe. All I can do is to provide what I did so far to be in the position where I am now. These are kinda common sense too, but if it could help people reaching their dreams, why not?


1. Engage

Since the first semester of my undergraduate degree, I have been actively involved in various voluntary activities mostly on education and environmental issues. This led me being sent to an exchange program in Australia in 2009. There I kept doing voluntary work for different organizations. The next year, I was awarded a summer study scholarship to study about Global environmental Issues in University of Montana through the US government scholarship (this was due to my active engagement on environmental related activities). Even after working full time, I keep trying to find a way to do contribution to the society. So in 2013 I established and run sustainability project, Youth Ecopreneruship (YEP), aims to reduce youth unemployment while growing environmental awareness (www.yepcamp.org). Now that I am a student again, I found ways to get engage with communities by joining ANU Postgraduate Association for Research and, Crawford School Student Association and ANU 180 degree Student Consultation.

Yes I love volunteering. I love spending my time doing something good for others. I love organization. I love networking and meeting people. I love the ideas that born from meeting those people and moreover implement the ideas into projects. And its not only me, sponsors also love people who contribute to the society. So I can say it’s a mutual love that brings me around the world. ;)


To give you some ideas, here is list of voluntary work I did so far (outside of my work with my organizations):

• Stage Coordinator, National Multicultural Festival Canberra (13-15 February 2015)
• SET4ANU, Orientation Leader, The Australian National University (February 2015-present)
• Translator for End WTO Campaign by La Via Campesina, Denpasar, Bali (1-7 Dec 2013)
• Organizer for Indonesia Readers Festival (IRF) workshops, Jakarta (9 Dec 2012)
• Organizer for Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, Ubud-Bali (3-7 October 2012)
• Teaching volunteer for International Humanitarian Foundation (IHF) Jakarta (July 2012)
• Organizer for Amazing Race Jakarta from Global Vision Junior Team Canada (August 2011)
• Indonesian language teaching staff in Point Cook Primary School -Australia from Indonesia Student Association in Australia (December 2009)
• Organizer for “Ride to Work 2009” held by Bicycle Victoria (September 2009)
• Organizer “The Breast Darn Show” and “Pink Ribbon Street Appeal” by National Breast Cancer Research Australia (Oct 2009)
• Teaching volunteer for Community Development Program by UI Students Executive Body (Aug 2008 – June 2009)
• Teaching volunteer for House of Study by IR Students Association FISIP UI (Jan - August 2008)

2. Persistence

I got rejections. Yes many times. But I never give up and I keep on trying. I am persistent by nature and I am not scared of rejection. For me it is just part of learning. But I am picky when it is about applying for a program. I would not apply something that is out of my league (seminars on ICT for example it is just not my stuff). In today’s modern society, there is millions of information available on the Internet about programs that might suit you. Just give a try. There is no harm on trying. If you failed then it is just not for you. Try again, never give up. There is always opportunities wait for you out there.

3. Knowledgeable

I have a big passion on environmental issues and I keep being on my track. I try my best to be knowledgeable on my field by pursuing master study on environmental issues, constantly updating news on environmental related stuff and keep myself surrounded by people with the same interest with mine so we can easily exchange information. The knowledge on an issue that you are passionate on will just reflected perfectly during the interview. People can easily judge when you really understand the issue and when you are really into it.

4. Networking

Yes you need recommendations from people that knows your ability and competence. Yes you need to keep good relations with anyone without exception. You never know when you will need their recommendation. And yes if you can prove to people that you are competent in your field, they would not hesitate to recommend you to join a program even when you do not ask for their recommendation.


I hope this post give you some courage to apply for your dream programs. Remember the most important thing is not about what you learn from the program you join but what you can give to others. The knowledge that you gain will not be useful unless you share it to your fellows and unless you implement the ideas comes out of the program for good causes.

As Christopher McCandless said “Happiness is only real when it is shared”. ;)

Me during Hult Prize Competition in Shanghai May 2015.

Good luck lovely peeps!


Love,


Olivia

A Piece on Hult Prize Regional Shanghai Competition 2015

It is just been my eight month studying in Crawford, and I am incredibly proud to represent my school to the Hult Prize Competition in Shanghai few weeks ago.

It was not an easy task juggling with assignments, extracurricular activities, and preparing business idea for the competition at the same time. In addition to an endless discussion to get contextual idea for the project ripped, I also needed to work the preparation of administration, financial, networking, publication and working with teammates who are really different in personality.

It was not that smooth, I have to admit. Yet it was worth it!

The initial reason why I wanted to join the competition is because I really enjoyed one of the courses I took last year convened by Paul D’Arcy. Passionate about the competition, Paul then delicately pursued me to join the competition which I though was worth trying. So after recruiting the team members, we submitted the application and successfully passed the regional competition phase, beating 20.000 applicants globally.

As I said earlier the preparation was not easy, especially since most of the team members was not in Canberra during December 2014- January 2015. Me myself was in Vietnam for 2 weeks and in Kathmandu for 6 weeks doing some jobs. Even until the last minutes prior to flying to Shanghai, we still needed to discuss from FB, WA, Skype and Email (thanks to modern technology).

Long short story, we did not come as the only one team who will go to New York to compete for winning $1M for project implementation with other regional competitor winners. However, the experience was worth the effort. We managed to networks with business personalities and amazing students from prestigious universities around the world, understand entrepreneurship project more contextually and of course taste a bit of Shanghai’s beautiful megalopolitan city atmosphere (as well as its well-recognized haze pollution).

The Team is featured in Crawford website

Anyway, it is not finished yet. I am still on my way expanding my wings to give the best for the rest of 1.4 months of my stay in Australia. And everyday I learn new things from classes, people who I met in different occasions and the lovely community in Toad (student accommodation where I live at the moment). 

Cheers,

Olivia

2015 is (Not Just) A New Year Resolution

It was 2007, I was still a sophomore student of my bachelor study back in Indonesia. While attempting to collect data for my paper on Central Asia regional issues, I stumbled upon a website of a young Indonesian man who travels from China to Afghanistan, across Central Asia countries. Although I was just looking for articles of oil issues in the region, I could not resist not to stare at his exotic snapshots of Central Asian countries which names you barely hear: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan as well as the beautiful pictures of vast land of Western part of China (such as Uighur Xinjiang, Tibet) which picturesque views are always drowned by media explosion of its separation from mainland China. All the pictures were displayed very idyllically, the most rare and striking pictures I have ever seen my entire life. After tinkering his website for some time, I came to know that he is not only good at photography, but also writing and languages (other than his native Indonesia tongue, he could speak more than 5 languages such as Chinese, Japan, Persian, and other languages of Central Asia). Since then I start following his blog, his stories and reading his books. Unconsciously, he just became my inspiration. I never said to anyone nor that I realized that he inspires me until just recently.

Five years later, in February 2013 during the launching of his recent book to be exact, I finally met this man, Agustinus Wibowo, the man who subconsciously has been my inspiration for traveling (if not for life). It was nothing really special because for me his writing is more special than his short-talk explanation of his journey. He might never realize this fact but his writings (aside from Paulo Coelho’s writing which has touched thousands of souls) have changed my life. I would never have a courage to go to the land of nowhere by myself before reading his stories. In many nights after strolling upon his blog, I would be dreaming on how incredibly beautiful those lands are, how exotic their culture are, how their face resembles me with people of my own yet they are so different in tradition, culture, language and other social aspects of a human being. He made me want to travel, to learn languages, to be good at writing and telling stories of fairy tale lands. He does not only help me inventing my dream to travel around the world but also fuelling my courage to follow through. And I came into conclusion that ‘You never know how powerful your writing until it changes people’s life. So never estimate the power of writing.’


Back to my present life, yesterday (precisely 1st day of 2015) while walking towards the temples with my roommate, an adorable Nepali girl, she suddenly came with a question ‘Olivia, what is the place that you miss a lot?’. I did not answer the question immediately because I did not have a specific answer. ‘Um… to be honest, I don’t really miss any place, I move to different places frequent, there is always something new and I always need to move on’. Then she said ‘Ah your life is so interesting. I think you should write your biography’. I nodded. It is something I always want to do and someone just hit me straight to remind me one of my purpose of life, to inspire others that traveling is about learning and that there are so many beautiful things that you can learn by stepping yourself outside your comfort zone when traveling.


While waiting for her doing her ritual in the temple, I was mesmerized by how different and authentic the blend of culture and religious ritual in Nepal. I saw statues of Gods (along with statues of animals who they believe are best friends of the Gods), the candles, the flowers for offerings, the campanes, the small doors, the artistic windows made from woods with high details of sculptures. In short everything that I could only read and imagine from Agustinus’s writings. Then I came to realize, I have just become like him! I travel around the world to the most exotic yet unpopular places by myself to explore the differences of the society. Early last year I was backpacking solo from Vienna (Austria), Budapest (Hungary), Bucharest (Romania), and ended up in Sofia (Bulgaria) by land (bus and train). Places whose names I firstly heard during my 1st year of my bachelor degree (because I did International Relations for my bachelor degree) .

My roomie and I 

See, she is so adorable!

Praying to God.

Candles for Godness. 

Agustinus was only 25 when he decided to start his journey, ignoring his prestigious degree from Tsinghua (one of the best universities in China) and rejected a scholarship offer to continue his further study. I might have a different path from him that I chose by my own decision. I just turned 26, graduated from one of the best universities in Indonesia, currently conducting my further study from a scholarship that I always wanted since my first acquainted to Australia, 6 years ago. I might not spend years of my life traveling and living in those exotic countries, learning the social-cultural-political issues of the society that I could hardly heard from mainstream media. Yet I think him and me still have one thing in common, the excitement of traveling to the odd part of the world. I travel to the land of nowhere whenever I have time (and money) not just for the sake of seeing beautiful tourist objects, but also to understand that the world is full of things undiscovered and that by discovering it you will realize how vast the world is and how amazing life is.


At night that same day (1st Jan 2015), I was having a dinner with two of my university friends in Australia who happen to be in Kathmandu for different purposes. One of my friends started a conversation by asking me ‘So what is your NY resolution?’. I did not answer immediately as I was trying to figure out the right quick answer. However, instead of saying that I want to write a book of my traveling journey I ended up answering her ‘I want to travel to South America’.

Ah, perhaps the universe just directed me to find my two main resolutions for 2015.

Having dinner with two of uni friends.

Happy New Year from Kathmandu (Nepal) everyone!




Love,



Olivia

Doing Internship in Nepal During ANU Semester Break

Its been a long time!

Long short story, I am in Kathmandu now. I am doing internship for ForestAction Nepal, an NGO focusing on policy research on forestry and related issues. I will be here for a month or so before returning back to my hometown in Sumatra and to Canberra to continue my 2^nd semester of graduate study.

Despite the fact that I have already been sick only after 3 days of my stay in Kathmandu, I enjoy my overall experience in here. On my flight from KL to Nepal I sat next to two ladies, one from Australia and another one from Malaysia who were going to Nepal for holiday and pilgrimage respectively. We talked a lot during the trip that we did not even realize that we almost arrive in Nepal. The two ladies taught me about meditation, which I would like to learn once my health condition gets better.

Upon my arrival in Kathmandu airport, a friend of mine (who I met from my last year trip through Couchsurfing) welcomed me with a yellowish shawl full of Buddhist words as the tradition to welcome people who visit Nepal. He put the shawl into my neck while saying ‘Welcome back to Nepal’. It was so sweet of him. He was there with his friend who also put another shawl to my neck and they immediately dropped me to my hostel. It was 10 PM already so we need to call the lady to open the door because I booked a place in a homestay nearby my office. My first night in Kathmandu was a bit spooky as the room in so cold (esp because it is winter here atm) and the alley to my room was so dark. I could also hear dogs barking non stop outside my room. It was too cold that I could barely sleep with only one blanket.

I went to office late the next morning and met my supervisor, a really helpful guy who just graduated from Delhi University few months back. The office is not too big but it is enough to accommodate researchers with brilliant minds who are passionate about their job. Just like the way NGO work, the working atmosphere is so relaxing and there is no clear hierarchy among the staff member.

I went back home early that day and asked my friend to help me move to the girl hostel he suggested. Later that day we went to Thamel (the main spot for tourist in Kathmandu) to chill at Shisha bar, one of the most popular bars in the area. I started staying in the girl hostel the following day and I really enjoy living with local people here. The hostel is full of young ladies who are still pursuing study at uni or just graduated. So most of them are below 22. I feel so young surrounded by them. Hence I don't think they create gap with me as they perceive me as young as them.  :P

They are so friendly and caring. They never try to exclude me for whatever they are doing like watching DVD in room, going out to visit temples or just shopping. I kinda look like Nepali too so when I go out with them it looks like I am part of a group of young colleague girl.  Knowing that I am sick, my roommates are so kind to not to create noise when I sleep early like 7 pm and lend me blanket when I feel so cold. The landlord could not speak English properly but always ask if I need tea or biscuit. I guess Nepali is so good in hospitality because I don't only receive good treatment from my housemates but also from my workmates who always try to make me feel comfortable.

Me and several colleagues at office today

Anyway, as I mentioned so far so good. I just need to get myself fit again so I can start my yoga class this weekend.

Cheers all.

Love,

Olivia