My first Day in Haluoleo University

My First Day in Haluoleo University

I came to Haluoleo University as a student in English department on August 1^st 2008. I could pass the entrance exam and included in one of the 84 freshmen. English department is my first choice to prove myself and my parents that I could pass the exam even though it is quite hard to face the exam.

That day really made me nervous of facing the new environment, new friends and even the strange situation. All of the sensation came and left in my mind, the sorrow of leaving my senior high school, my adolescence and my family, the curiosity of new studying condition, and the happiness of being adult. All of them made me try to pay attention to my new world and to try to adapt with everything.

The first thing that I paid attention is the teacher training and education buildings. There were eight big buildings which stand all around the faculty. The condition of some the buildings were good enough, but the others were just the opposite. In other hand, I started to aware that my faculty is the biggest faculty in Haluoleo University. There are many people did many activities there so that it felt noisy and hot. I guess that most of them are students and the rest are lecturers and administration staffs.

As a student in English department, I should come after to the lectures in the C buildings which located in the southeast part of the faculty. It was the new one I thought, in the reasoning that the paint of the building was bright and the wall had only a little bit scribal. There were six classes that were provided for us to use for. I had one favorite class when I observed the building. I like it at the first sight because it had special chairs and it took place in the upstairs.

Besides the C building, there was the other place that we could do for class. They called it English Language Center (ELC), but most of the students called it UPT Bahasa which took place in outside of teacher training and educational faculty. The building has two stories and has air conditioning. In addition, it also has Self Access Center (SAC), a place likes a small library, in the first story. I put it down as the comfortable place to study.

When I came to the campus, I did not have even a friend because I came from Bau-Bau and was the only one from my class in junior high school who followed the entrance test the for the teacher training and educational faculty in Halouleo University. Nevertheless, I started ito have one when I wrote the lectures agenda and got a problem with my pen. She lent me hers without considering whether she knew me or not. She has been my friend since then.

I did not know the name of my lecturers except my advisor and the head of English study program. However, in my mind they should have high intellectual and looked great because I have heard from some students who chat about them said that they graduated from foreign university.

In the list which hung on the wall of head of the English study program I could find that the numbers of lecturers were twenty eight. I tried to consider which one the smart lecturers were, based on their education background. In fact, my guess was not bad enough.

To be a student in English department, I grew the strong will in my soul that I should do my best in this university. I should get the knowledge and the experience as much as possible. English department is one of the prestigious study programs in Haluoleo University, so that I should make myself is reasonable to take the opportunity to grow in this place.

The only thing that disturbed me was orientation program. Based on I had watched in television and heard from my friend in dormitory, the orientation program in this university was very hard. It involved the physical harshness and mentality pressure. However, in my deep heart, I had the strong will that I could pass it anyhow the difficult.

My Father

My Father

My father is the special man for me. He has an ordinary appearance, he is short, he has puce skins, his hair has been grey and his face is very standard, but in his head he keeps the brilliant thought. He is used to think about the risk before making a decision and used to working hard every time. Sometimes we are, especially me, felt disappoint with his decision, however the time has proved that he took a right decision.
He is also a merciful father; he loves all of his family very much. Unluckily, I did not know that he loved me until I moved to Kendari city to continue my study. It happened because he is very difficult to say that he loved me or he was proud to have a clever daughter in front of me or my brothers. He only shows it by proving that he has worked hard and tried to do everything to support out needs. When my mother called me, she told that he is used to say that he proud of me. I do not need to ask him to say it directly to me anymore to prove the truth of her words.
Not only me, my brothers also do not aware of his merciful in the sense that he brought up us very strict. We should working hard and discipline. Every morning, we have to wake up at 4.30, and do the morning activities. In the holidays, we cannot spend our time with our friends; instead we should go to our garden that needs a half hour of walking to make the fence or to clean the plants from the grass. My father said that he hates the lazy children and we can do it if we have reached the success.
His education background only stops in senior high school, but his way of thinking is very brilliant. He asks us to reach the higher education to change his lost chance because of life’s difficulty. He puts his expectation in our shoulders, especially me, with the strong believes that we can realize his expectation. He has taken down the stupid view that school will spend all of his money. One day, he said to me that I could get his legacy if I serious to my education. He has a modern thought; the difficult thing to get in my village.
Slowly but sure, all of his wise words has been proved. I can survive even though I am far away from my parents. My mindset about life has been change; I consider that life’s difficulty is a challenge not a problem. I feel that I am more rational in facing my life. All of this achievement (I call it like that) as the result of his upbringing.
The most impressed moment which made me really felt his love is his response when I lost my money more than a million. My uncles and my aunts have been angry with me because of my careless, so I believe that he would be angrier than them. At the time, I did not know what I should do, I only cried and cried. However, the fact made me surprise, I was not only free from his anger but also I could get the extra money. He only gave me the advice to be careful for everything and forgot the bad moment because he was sure that it happened accidentally. He really trusts me.
The word which he used to say when he call me or I leave my village to go anywhere is be careful. It means everything to me. I consider it as my magic word and to be my reminder when I do mistake. I think that the word is the result of his reflection about life and its difficulties.
I really admire to him because he never impose his desire to our life choice. I am free to determine the school that I want to attend. He promises me to support whatever my choice. The only thing he wants is we are success in the field we are choosing.

About Southeast Sulawesi

Typical Southeast Sulawesi Food

Every region in Indonesia has different traditional food. Each traditional food which is served displays the personality and the culture of the owner. Likewise the other regions, Southeast Sulawesi has its own traditional food.

The types of the staple food in Southeast Sulawesi are divided into three types based on the region in this province. They are Kendari and the range around it, Muna Island and Buton Island, and Wakatobi.

The society in Kendari and the range around it, known as Tolakinese, have the smoothest texture of staple food than the other area in Southeast Sulawesi. Their staple food is made from the essence of the sago palm that is called sinonggi. To make this kind of food is very simple; we just pour the boiled water over the sago essence, while we stir it quickly. The output of this food looks like the white glue.

The staple food of the society in Muna and Buton islands is coarser than Kendari one. The source of their staple food comes from the corn because these two islands are producing corn. In general, they only cook it and then it is ready to consume, but sometimes they create it in some ways to get the delicious taste based on their taste. Some of them cook it by adding a little bit lime to get the peel off, and then they can add some kidney beans, while the other one take the other way to peel of it by adding lime into it that is put in the mortar, then it is pound. To make it tastier, we can also cook it with milk squeezed from coconut.

The more southeast the area, the coarser the staple food is. This proverb is really proved in the southeast Sulawesi. The most southeast region in this province is Wakatobi Islands and absolutely the coarsest staple food takes place here. Their staple food is called kasoami which is made from the dregs of cassava that is steam in the special pan and it is overlaid by plaited of coconut leaves. Its shape looks like the small mountain.

To consume this kind of food, we need more than a glass of water because we should eat it while we drink the water, especially for someone who does not familiar with this unique food. It will be more delicious if it is eaten with the hot scalloping vegetable and seafood in the hot day.

The position of the Southeast Sulawesi which is taken round by the sea, makes the people in this region, especially the people from Wakatobi really like fresh fish, and the other sea animals like squid, octopus, and shellfish. According to the people who leave the area to move to the other province or country which is difficult to find them, the thing that they are really miss is the taste of fresh fish.

The seafood can be cooks in many ways depend of the creation and the taste of the consumer. It can be cooked with scallop or dry, roasted, or fried in the ember of wood. Moreover, for some kinds of fish and shellfish, it can be eaten uncooked; it is known as perangi. This custom is used to do in Buton and Wakatobi Islands, particularly in the fishermen village. To serve it, we only need to clean it and then pour it into the lime essence and salt. It will be better if we eat it with colo-colo, the mixture of tomatoes, chili, onion, lime essence, and salt.

Even though they are creative in cooking the seafood, they are cannot realize it in cooking vegetable; they cook it in the simple way. Generally, it cooked without spicy and oil, or only poured with the milk squeezed. There is a special vegetable that only found in Buton Island. It comes from the young rattan which is cooked with spices and milk squeezed. It is called holombe which has delicious and unique taste.

There are also some kinds of traditional cake such as cucur, baruasa, kalo-kalo, obaku, and bagea. These cakes made from rice flavor, except bagea and obaku that made from sago flavor. In general, the cake’s taste is sweet because there is sugar (palm sugar or sugar cane) in it.