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How Can I Study Abroad?

Studying abroad is an eye-opening experience. People, culture and even the weather differ from what you are accustomed to. Researching your host country can prevent you from having a culture shock. However, there are other important details to consider when you prepare to study abroad:

1. Documentation

A passport and student visa are critical documents that you need to legally remain in a foreign country. Apply for a passport several months ahead of your application to study abroad. Your passport may later be used to prepare your student visa if the host country requires you to have one.

Photocopy these documents and give them to your family and student counselor in your home country. Keep a copy for yourself by packing it separately from your original documents. This way, it will be simpler to generate new documents if your original ones are lost or stolen while you study abroad.

2. Health

Before leaving, consult your doctor for a full physical examination to ensure that you are in good health. Bring along a copy of your medical records in case of an emergency overseas. Know the host country’s immunization requirements and become immunized before your departure.

3. Insurance

Get a reliable health insurance policy that includes medical evacuation and repatriation if a medical emergency occurs. Consider taking a comprehensive travel insurance policy if you intend to travel a lot while you are overseas.

4. Money matters

Develop a realistic budget for your study abroad and stick closely to it. Learn about the cost of living and account for fixed expenses such as rent and utilities. Put money aside for entertainment and the occasional shopping spree. Add your one-time expenses as well, such as the purchase of a car and your rent deposit.

Have at least three months of savings before you leave to study abroad. When you arrive overseas, set up your account in a reliable bank with branch offices near your campus and where you live. Have some money transferred from your account at home. For safety, avoid carrying too much cash. Rather, have student checks and debit or credit cards on hand.

5. Communication

Regular communication with your family and friends is essential when you study abroad. The Internet connects the world with just a click of a mouse. Your campus library allows free Internet access during office hours, so you can send emails to your family and friends. However, you may be restricted from using more advanced Internet features, like chat programs and Internet telephone calls. You can buy an international calling card instead to make affordable calls to home.

6. Accommodation

To economize, request on-campus accommodation when you apply for your study abroad program. Universities give priority to foreign students, although on-campus accommodation may only be offered for a limited period, such as the first semester or year. Survey the rental market early to avoid paying expensive rent due to lack of more affordable options.

Share a place with your campus friends. This helps save on gas expenses when you carpool to classes. Staying with a host family by exchanging domestic services like cleaning and babysitting is another economic alternative. However, check with your student counselor beforehand to avoid violating any laws.

7. Packing

Pack only what you need to get settled in the host country. Avoid bringing clothes for a whole year. Chances are, you may not even use most of them, especially if the weather is completely different.

Know the weather when you arrive so that you can wear appropriate clothing. Remember to bring adaptors if you are bringing your own electrical appliances. Place important documents pertaining to your study abroad in a hand-carry luggage and keep it with you at all times.

Leaving to study abroad opens your mind to another world. Your experience should not be fraught with lack of preparation and last minute planning, so bear these tips in mind to have a hassle-free departure to your host country.

Source: Radiant-Cristy 7 May 2011

Why study abroad?

10 reasons why you should study in a foreign country

Have you considered studying abroad, but are not sure whether it's worth your time? If you ask anybody who has studied abroad, he or she will most certainly tell you that it is a life-changing experience and one of the most rewarding things he or she has ever done. Perhaps you're not certain what benefits you can reap from an extended stay in a foreign country. Here are 10 very excellent reasons why you should take the plunge: 

1. Study abroad is the optimal way to learn a language. 

There is no better and more effective way to learn a language than to be immersed in a culture that speaks the language you are learning. You're surrounded by the language on a daily basis and are seeing and hearing it in the proper cultural context. Language learning happens most quickly under these circumstances.

2. Study abroad provides the opportunity to travel. 

Weekends and academic breaks allow you to venture out and explore your surroundings - both your immediate and more distant surroundings. Since studying abroad often puts you on a completely different continent, you are much closer to places you might otherwise not have had the opportunity to visit. Some more structured study abroad programs even have field trips planned in or around the curriculum.

3. Study abroad allows you get to know another culture first-hand. 

Cultural differences are more than just differences in language, food, appearances, and personal habits. A person's culture reflects very deep perceptions, beliefs, and values that influence his or her way of life and the way that s/he views the world. Students who experience cultural differences personally can come to truly understand where other cultures are coming from.

4. Study abroad will help you develop skills and give you experiences a classroom setting will never provide. 

Being immersed in an entirely new cultural setting is scary at first, but it's also exciting. It's an opportunity to discover new strengths and abilities, conquer new challenges, and solve new problems. You will encounter situations that are wholly unfamiliar to you and will learn to adapt and respond in effective ways.

5. Study abroad affords you the opportunity to make friends around the world. 

While abroad, you will meet not only natives to the culture in which you are studying, but also other international students who are as far from home as yourself.

6. Study abroad helps you to learn about yourself. 

Students who study abroad return home with new ideas and perspectives about themselves and their own culture. The experience abroad often challenges them to reconsider their own beliefs and values. The experience may perhaps strengthen those values or it may cause students to alter or abandon them and embrace new concepts and perceptions. The encounter with other cultures enables students to see their own culture through new eyes.

7. Study abroad expands your worldview.

In comparison with citizens of most other countries, Americans tend to be uninformed about the world beyond the nation's boundaries. Students who study abroad return home with an informed and much less biased perspective toward other cultures and peoples.

8. Study abroad gives you the opportunity to break out of your academic routine. 

Study abroad is likely to be much unlike what you are used to doing as a student. You may become familiar with an entirely new academic system and you will have the chance to take courses not offered on your home campus. It's also a great opportunity to break out the monotony of the routine you follow semester after semester.

9. Study abroad enhances employment opportunities. 

Did you know that only 4% of U.S. undergraduates ever study abroad? Yet, the world continues to become more globalized, American countries are increasingly investing dollars abroad, and companies from countries around the world continue to invest in the international market. Through an employer's seyes, a student who has studied abroad is self-motivated, independent, willing to embrace challenges, and able to cope with diverse problems and situations. Your experience living and studying in a foreign country, negotiating another culture, and acquiring another language will all set you apart from the majority of other job applicants.

10. Study abroad can enhance the value of your degree. 

While abroad, you can take courses you would never have had the opportunity to take on your home campus. In addition, study abroad gives your language skills such a boost that it is normally quite easy to add a minor in a language or even a second major without having to take many more additional courses after the return to your home campus.

Source: Radiant-Cristy. This lesson for next Saturday, 14 May 2011

Will to be forgiving

A. I will be quick to forgive.
Forgiveness is vital. If anger or resentment is allowed to linger, bitterness will likely to develop. Bitterness can quickly destroy a person, both emotionally and physically. Forgiveness should not be delayed, but must be genuine, quick, and thorough. Sincerity and humilty are also essential to truly forgiving one's offenders.

B. I will not cover up my own wrongs but will be quick to ask for forgiveness.
When a wrong is committed, it must be acknowledged immediately, and the offender must ask forgiveness of those who have been offended. A child's natural inclination is to hide or cover up faults, but the usual outcome is guilt. Over time, guilt hardens people so that they no longer consider others feelings. Teachers can encourage children to see the consequences of covering their wrongs and benefits of correcting them. Those who acknowledge their guilt and who seek to ask for forgiveness develop a rich understanding of humility. A child must also recognize that his or her responsibilty is to ask for forgiveness for an offense he or she has commited. It is the other person's responsibility to forgive the child. All the offender can do is check his or her attitudes and be sincere in requesting forgiveness. The outcome is dependent on the offended person's response.

C. I will not seek revenge.
Responding to someone with revenge damages both parties. Even if a person wants to forgive, it can be very difficult. The pain of an offense is often so deep, it seems impossible to forgive. Those who give up their right to avenge themselves for the sake of correcting the wrong, rather than becoming part of it, will experience real joy. When students respond their offenders with forgiveness and do not seek revenge, they demonstrate a strength of character and strong self-control.

D. I will respond kindly to those who hurt me.
Forgiveness is not ignoring what has happened; it is overcoming an offense with kindness toward the offender. The decision to forgive must overrule feelings. It is a choice to respond kindly to people and to invest time, energy, or resources in the offender's life. Investing in an offender and returning good for wrong is an important part of true forgiveness.
It is also important for children to inform their authorities if someone has hurt or offended them. Forgiveness does not negate a child's responsibilty to be openly truthful with parents or teachers.

E. I will not take up offenses for others.
When someone hurts a person that a child cares about, the child will often take up an offense for the friend or loved one. The hard, bur wise, thing to do is to forgive the offender. It would also be right to encourage the friend or loved one to forgive and help him or her to see the importance of responding correctly.

Source: Character Training Institute.

Jadilah pribadi yang lebih baik

Seorang mahasiswa mendekati seorang ilmuwan dan filosof Perancis yang kenamaan yang bernama Blaise Pascal. Ia menyatakan: "Ah seandainya saya memiliki seperti otak Anda, tentu saya menjadi pribadi yang lebih baik!".

Setelah memikirkan apa yang dikatakan mahasiswa itu, Blaise Pascal pun langsung menjawab: "Jadilah dulu pribadi yang lebih baik, dan Anda akan memiliki otak saya

Who is Pascal?

Pascal adalah bahasa pemrograman yang pertama kali dibuat oleh Profesor Niklaus Wirth, seorang anggota International Federation of Information Processing(IFIP) pada tahun 1971. Dengan mengambil nama dari matematikawan Perancis, Blaise Pascal, yang pertama kali menciptakan mesin penghitung.

Profesor Niklaus Wirth membuat Pascal ini sebagai alat bantu untuk mengajarkan konsep pemrograman komputer kepada mahasiswanya.

Selain itu, Profesor Niklaus Wirth membuat Pascal juga untuk melengkapi bahasa pemrograman yang ada pada saat itu.

Sumber:-Satu Perjamuan Satu Jemaat Edisi April 2011 dan Wikipedia

Finding your life purpose

Everyone wants to have a fulfilling life. Unfortunately, many people miss a key ingredient to have it: finding their life purpose. They may spend years of their life only to find at the end that they have done the wrong things. Many other achieve fame and financial success but feel empty inside.
Don't make the same mistake. Your time is too precious to waste.
Why you should find your life purpose.

Finding life purpose here are three reasons why you should find your life purpose:
1. It gives meaning to everything you do.
Your life purpose makes everything you do meaningful. You could be successful outside, but if you don't find meaning you will feel empty inside.
2. It directs and guides you
Not only can your life purpose give you meaning, but also it can give you clear directions of where to go in life. It helps you make big decisions in life. People who don't find their life purpose don't have a strong foundation upon which to make their decisions. They most likely will just follow popular opinions.
Besides helping you make big decisions, your life purpose can also guide you in making small decisions. When you have two options in front of you, it will be easier for you ti decide if you know what your life purpose is.
3. It motivates you
In life there are always difficult times to go through. You may experience failures or rejections. In such situasions, your life purpose can give you the motivation you need to keep going.
How can your life purpose do that? By helping you see beyond the horizon. What you face in front of you may seem difficult but your life purpose helps you see beyond it.

Finding life purpose is not easy.
It's never easy to find life purpose. In fact, it's one of the most difficult things to do. Here are two reasons why finding life purpose is difficult:
1. It doesn't have a universal formula
Life purpose is a personal thing. Everyone has different purpose and different way to find it. What apply to me might not apply to you and vice versa.
2. It takes time
This is perhaps the main reason why many people never find their life purpose. They want result instantly. Unfortunately, finding life purpose doesn't work that way. It's more like a journey than a one-time stop.

Tips to find your life purpose
While finding life purpose is a personal experience, there are a few tips that can help you find it. Here they are:
1. Don't expect instant result
I've written above that finding life purpose takes time so don't expect to find it soon. It's a journey and rather than complaining about your journey you'd better enjoy it.
2. Identify your strengths
Your life purpose is related to your personal strengths. If you are strong in learning, for instance, it's likely that your life purpose is related to learning. One way to find personal strengths is through Strengths Finder test which can be found in the book Strenghts Finder.
3. Identify your passions
I've written about passion multiple times here. Your passion are things you do because of love and not because of external reward such as money or recognition. Find and develop your multiple passions.
4. Identify your causes
Identify the causes that matter you. Is there a condition in the world that makes you feel discontent? Is there condition that makes you feel the urge to do something about it?
5. Find the intersection between your strengths, passions, and causes
Now that you have identified your strengths, passions, and causes, you can find the intersection between them:
 * Pick a cause from your list of causes.
 * From your list of strengths, pick those that can help you improve the situation in the cause.
 * From the strengths you pick, find the ones you can work on with enthusiasm.
You can repeat this exercise until you find a cause which has strong intersection with your strengths and passions. At the end of the exercise, you will find a cause you deeply care about for which you can effectively do something with enthusiasm. This is a clear sign of your life purpose.
6. Write a personal mission statement
Based on what you find in the previous step, write a personal mission statement. It's your one-liner that concisely communicates what your life purpose is. Don't worry about getting it right on the first try. Just write down what you've got and build upon it.
7. Do something about the intersection
Your one-liner is your guide to find your life purpose. It may still be broad, so you should keep refining it. The way to refine it is by working on it. Make serious effort to act upon what you've found. Increase your competence and find ways to contribute to the cause you choose. Your effort will give you feedback that will either reinforce ir diminish your interest on the subject.
8. Act based on the feedback to refine your personal mission statement
If the feedback from the previous step reinforces the purpose you've found, over time you will your life purpose.

Source: Radiant-Cristy

Yes or No?

I confuse to choose yes or no, but I will try to say yes or no?

Say yes to God.

Say no to Devil.

Say yes to Heaven.

Say no to Hell.

Say yes to Love.

Say no to Hate.

Say yes to Peace.

Say no to War.

Say yes to Happy.

Say no to Angry.

Say yes to Positive Thinking.

Say no to Negative Thinking.

And more....

Conclusion: Decision yes or no is yours, but remember God. Say yes above yes, say no above no. Life is never flat. Destiny at God hand. Take care everyone you can. Have a faith, hope, and love. Choose the best for God. God bless you.

Sikap adalah segalanya

Semakin lama saya hidup, semakin saya sadar.
Akan pengaruh sikap dalam kehidupan.

Sikap lebih penting daripada penampilan, talenta, atau keterampilan.
Lebih penting daripada masa lalu, masa depan, uang, keadaan, kegagalan, atau keberhasilan.
Bahkan lebih penting daripada apa yang dipikirkan orang lain tentang Anda, atau lakukan kepada Anda.

Kita tidak dapat mengubah masa lalu.
Kita tidak dapat mengubah tingkah laku orang.
Kita tidak dapat mengubah apa yang pasti terjadi.

Satu hal yang dapat kita ubah
Adalah satu hal yang dapat kita kontrol.
Dan itu adalah sikap kita.

Saya semakin yakin bahwa hidup adalah
10 persen dari apa yang sebenarnya terjadi pada hidup kita,
Dan 90 persen adalah bagaimana sikap kita menghadapinya.

Hal mengagumkan dari sikap adalah Anda selalu menguasainya.
Sikap kita menentukan segalanya.
Setiap hari keputusan ada di tangan Anda untuk menentukan sikap macam apa yang akan Anda miliki.


Seluruh pilihan terletak di tangan kita, tidak ada Jika atau Tetapi.
Kita semua mempunyai peranan masing-masing.
Tapi semuanya adalah sama.
Yang membedakan adalah sikap positif atau negatif.
Andalah yang menentukan Jalan hidup Anda, bukan orang lain.

Sumber: Remaja Hebat, Kata-Kata Mutiara

Soft Skill

Apa itu soft skill? Soft skill adalah karakter yang berada dalam diri seseorang. Orang yang mempunyai soft skill bisa disebut juga orang extrovert. Tipe orang ini mampu beradaptasi dan diterima di lingkungannya sendiri. Jangan menganggap remeh soft skill yang ada dalam diri seseorang. Karena soft skill itu menentukan sukses sebanyak 65%. Sedangkan sisanya adalah kemampuan akademik dan lain-lain. Orang yang mempunyai soft skill yang baik mudah diterima bekerja. Banyak orang berpendapat bahwa untuk mendapatkan orang pintar bekerja itu sangat mudah, tapi untuk mendapatkan orang baik itu sangat sulit.

Soft skill seseorang bisa dilihat dari  beberapa sudut pandang. Soft skill bisa dinilai dari cara orang itu berpakaian. Apakah pakaiannya rapi atau acak-acakan. Bisa dilihat dari cara berbicara. Apakah dia sering berbicara kasar atau tidak. Bisa dilihat dari caranya berjalan. Apakah dia jalan santai atau jalan terburu-buru kayak dikejar setan. hahaha. Bisa dilihat dari expresi wajahnya. Apakah dia sering tersenyum atau tidak kalau bertemu orang. Pokoknya banyak macam deh soft skill seseorang bisa dibilang baik atau tidak.

Bagaimana melatih soft skill? Untuk melatih soft skill sebenarnya mudah saja. Itu dikembalikan masing-masing ke diri anda masing-masing. Mulai dari sekarang anda bisa melatih soft skill tersebut. Bergaullah dengan banyak orang adalah salah satu cara melatih soft skill. Bersikap sopan dengan orang tua. Rajin menolong teman jika kita dibutuhkan. Mau terlibat dengan salah satu organisasi apa saja. Belajar untuk tidak membenci orang lain. Mampu mengontrol emosi dan mengendalikan diri sendiri. Latihlah soft skill tersebut sesering mungkin agar kelak anda menjadi orang yang sukses di masyarakat.

Kesimpulan: Semua orang membutuhkan soft skill untuk kebutuhan hidup bersama. Dengan mempunyai soft skill kita bisa hidup tentram dengan orang lain. Tidak ada rasa permusuhan antara yang satu dengan yang lain. Soft skill sangat berperan di dalam kehidupan. Utamakanlah soft skill anda!!!!

Anda akan pergi ke arah mana?

Pernahkan Anda memperhatikan betapa sulitnya kadang-kadang memutuskan antara apa yang ingin Anda lakukan dan apa yang harus Anda lakukan? Tidak seorang pun, betapapun rohaninya, apakah dia muda atau tua, bisa menghindar membuat keputusan antara benar dan salah. Integritas menentukan siapa kita dan bagaimana kita akan menanggapi sebelum konflik terjadi.

Bayangkan betapa Columbine High School akan berbeda bila peristiwa 20 April 1999 tidak terjadi. Bagaimana jika penembak muda itu memikirkan tentang benar dan salah sebelum mereka menembak? atau bahkan sebelum mereka membawa senjata ke sekolah?

Rachel Scott adalah seorang siswa di Columbine saat itu. Dia berada di luar kantin ketika penembak itu mendekatinya. Rachel seorang Kristen yang berkomitmen, dan laporan berita kemudian mengindikasi bahwa anak-anak muda memilih beberapa siswa Kristen sebelum dibunuh. Mereka mengejek siswa-siswa Kristen, dan mereka tidak menyukainya. Sebelum dia menembak Rachel, salah seorang penembak menanyakan apakah dia benar-benar percaya pada Allah. Rachel menjawab "Ya". Sedetik kemudian, dia berada di surga bersama Tuhan.

Rachel menghadapi konflik tersulit di dalam hidupnya. Arah mana yang akan dia ambil? Haruskah dia menyangkal iman Kristennya, berharap dia tidak akan dibunuh? Atau haruskah dia mempertahankan keyakinan Kristennya dan menghadapi kemungkinan kematian? Rachel melakukan apa yang dia yakini benar. Di bagian dalam dirinya sama seperti yang dia akui di bagian luar -- seorang Kristen.

Rachel adalah seorang pemimpin, bukan hanya karena dia memiliki integritas, tetapi juga karena dia mempengaruhi orang-orang muda lainnya. Siapa yang tahu berapa banyak anak muda menjadi Kristen atau bertumbuh dalam iman mereka kita mereka mendengar tentang apa yang Rachel lakukan? Ketika pendeta Bruce Porter berkhotbah di pemakaman Rachel Scott, dia mengatakan bahwa "obor kasih Allah dalam Kristus" telah jatuh di tangan Rachel. "Siapa yang akan mengambil obor ini?" tanyanya. Ratusan anak muda berdiri dan mengangkat tangan mereka.

Bagaimana dengan Anda? Apa yang akan Anda lakukan jika Anda Rachel Scott?

Jika memiliki kejujuran, Anda akan konsisten, dan kepercayaan Anda akan dicerminkan dengan cara Anda bertindak. Tidak akan ada perbedaan antara penampilan dan siapa diri Anda sebenarnya -- betapapun sulit keadaan.

Sumber: Remaja Hebat

Apapun yang terjadi pada diri kita masing-masing ambillah arah ke jalan Tuhan karena itulah yang terbaik, jangan mengambil jalan pintas yang menuju kehancuran dan kegelapan. “Carilah dahulu Kerajaan Allah serta kebenarannya, maka semuanya itu akan ditambahkan kepadamu.”(Matius 6:33)