Mariani Soy Yo

Saturday, January 28, 2012

souvenirs?? what souvenirs???

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Alright!!! So this post, I'll dedicate it for anyone who's going abroad on:

1. Cultural Exchange Program
2. Volunteer Program
3. Or simply a short study exchange....
4. etc....s...

....and don't know what souvenirs you should bring for the people there - wherever you'll be placed, that is...

Do keep in mind, that I'm from Malaysia so naturally this will benefit the Malaysian student more...

So for Malaysian, if you don't have the budget to buy souvenirs - like me, I had to buy a one year stock of souvenirs.... Do you know how much that costs??? - I just had to write a letter requesting souvenirs from TDC or Tourism Malaysia. For other countries, I don't know but you should try asking your local tourist department do they provide free souvenirs that you can ask from them...

So, me, I had to write a letter to the tourist department asking them if they could give me some souvenirs that I can bring to Argentina. A friend from the pre-departure camp posted about this on our Facebook group. Basically, you just have to write a formal letter intended for the director of the tourism department.

Important: This is only for students departing from Malaysia...
Write the letter with your full name, IC number, full address, your phone numbers included in it... and fax number if you have one... You'll also have to state the purpose for the program your participating in, where are you going, when, and for how long. You will also be needed to provide a copy of your confirmation letter that you received from the organizer of the program you're going with... And send the letter to the address below:

Pengarah
Bahagian Sokongan Pemasaran
Tourism Malaysia
Aras 2, No. 2, Menara 1
Jalan P 5/6, Presint 5
62200 Putrajaya

Usually they'll call you after about a week or so. And then they'll give you a letter so that you can take the souvenirs. I already received the souvenirs I requested from them yesterday... Check these out!
Malaysia Lapel Pins... Got 50 of them.
Some really pretty fridge magnets... Left is the rafflesia flower and on the right is Kuala Lumpur city...
DVDs of Malaysia...
Malaysia Guide Books...

And lastly... 5 of these calenders...

Alright... so that's it I guess... I'll update later about the souvenirs that I'll be bringing...
I've prepared some other stuffs other than these guys...

Always Love and Peace XOXO mArIaNi

Thursday, January 26, 2012

I've got news!!!

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Alright! I am just so excited now!!! Why, you ask? I finally got the information
about the family that is going to host me in Argentina. They are the Avendaño family.
A really sweet looking family with two daughters^^ And the younger sister loves GLEE!
Like me... hoho I'm just... I can't even describe it with words!

So I've just sent an e-mail to them but since the time difference is really HUGE-
like if in Malaysia it's 12.00 pm, it's 1.00 am over there!- I might have to wait for
a while to receive a reply... Never mind that, as long as I know I already have a
family over there^^

Oh and also, some of you might know, or not, that for the past two weeks, my family
has been hosting two participants from Germany, Nikola and Marina and they are
leaving to Kuantan this Monday... So sad... They are really nice girls... Ate
anything we gave them. Of course la! Malaysian foods are so tasty, how could they
even complain??? We shared a lot about our cultures, they told me about Germany and I
told them about Malaysia. We stayed up late talking about the differences between the
two countries and Nikola and Marina also introduced me to this singer, Kluezo, which
I really like now and also a film called KeinOhrHasen.

KeinOhrHasen means Rabbit Without Ears in English, yeah the title's a bit weird but it's a rom-com... And I LOVE ROM-COMS!!! Anyway, the main actor is Til Schweiger. You
might recognize him from 'Inglorious Basterds'. He's a real badass in that movie.

Hugo Stiglitz, did that ring a bell? Oh yeah!


Lots of Love and Peace XOXO MaRiAnI
Hearties<3

Monday, January 16, 2012

orientation... orientation...

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In the orientation camp, we were basically
just briefed about the AFS 'GOLDEN
RULES', and we discussed the 'adjustment
cycle', all the culture shock we'll have to
expect and face. And based on each
country the group is departing for, the
group member had to write the things
they'll expect to experience in the country
they'll be sent off to on a piece of paper.

Then we had to present it in front of
everybody. Our group's was like this >>


Haha! The drawings are kinda childish...

Don't laugh... It's mine...

Anyway, on this three days camp, I guess
I learned things that I hadn't before.

For example, sometimes I let myself
be so prejudice of a group when I don't even
realize that maybe in this group, there
might be someone who's not as what I think he or she is. It's so typical of Malaysian
to do that, I guess, and all these times, I hadn't realize what harm it can do to us.

Well, after this camp I actually picked up something really important for us to
always remember. One bad example does not mean that everyone is the same. Don't get
what I'm typing? Oh it's alright, sometimes I don't even get it...

One thing for sure, I have a strong belief that once I come home from this journey, I
can assure that I'll be someone new, someone better, and someone more confident of
herself. I'll try to shed all the bad things I had now and try to gain all the good I
can. But it'll be hard. Hard it should be, and harder I'll fight. Right?

Love and peace XOXO mArIaNi

Saturday, January 14, 2012

interview

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So, in this post, I'll be talking about the AFS interview.


For those of you out there applying for AFS this year, yes, I know some of you are extremely nervous. And many will, I think, go online to search for every information about AFS interview they could get on the net. I know cause I did that too. And for those already preparing for the interview, I bet you googled like hundred or thousand times about the questions they'll be asking you in the interview...


Well, you wouldn't really get that, the questions they ask I mean. Because they don't really have specific questions they'll ask you about. AFS is all about 'expect the unexpected'. They'll randomly ask you questions about yourself, maybe, or your opinion on something... You just have to think carefully before answering. Do NOT blurt out stupid things! Think before you actually speak. This will show that you're matured enough to care about the information you're giving to others. And it'll also help you to give a rational answer to the question they ask. But the most important thing is to be yourself! And have FUN!


Alright, so back to the story of my interview day, my twin sister, Maria and me drove to this school where they were having the interview and I think we came quite early as they were not many people there yet. By the time all the students were there, they were already sitting in groups mainly friends from their own school. And Maria and I just sat silently in one corner looking at all the students because we were the only students from our school. Well, I could have just walk over to them and greet them or something, but I was a little bit shy, so yeah I've learned to overcome that a lil' bit, so let us not dwell in the past! But if you ever got into this situation, do not act the way I did. Just go and mingle with people. You'll feel much funner than sitting alone in one corner. Forever ALONE!


So, before the interview started, we had an ice breaking session, we played a few games, got to know each other. It was really exciting! I met this girl who is really in love with History subject (I was like, what? Are you kidding me???) and also Twilight. I called her Twilight Girl. Haha! I also met a few fellow Harry Potter fans and some kids from the school nearby mine. Some of them are really hyper and some were kind of the quiet type. But the group I was put in was really hyper. They kept on talking and I kept on listening, throwing in questions here and there sometime. And after that... Jeng Je Jeng! The interviewers were ready and one by one, the students were called in for their individual interviews. So while some students were being interviewed, the rest played this game called... Erm... Sorry, I just can't remember the name of it but it goes like this:
1. Audience, Player, A piece of paper.
2. The player will have a piece of paper with something written on it stuck on his or her forehead. The player must not know the written word(s) on the paper at the beginning of the game.
3. The player will sit in front of the audience. By now, the audience will know what's written on that paper.
4. The player will have to guess what the paper says. He can asks questions to the audience, but the audience can only reply with a YES or NO.
5. The player guesses the word(s) until he gets the right answer.


It was really fun. And I got Justin Bieber and it was just hilarious. Because the first thing I asked was if this 'thing' or 'person' is from Japan and the audience said NO. Then when I asked them if it's famous. They were like nodding their head and the Twilight Girl shouted 'And I love you so much!' Okay, so I thought of some celebrities. But then the most hilarious part came. I asked them if it's a girl or a guy and they were all saying 'Guy!' when suddenly this one male volunteer shouted from the far end of the room, 'No he's not a guy!!!' Haha I got it instantly. But hey, I don't hate JB. I like his songs too, you know... *singing* 'Under the mistletoe...ooo...' oh! Shut up, Mariani!


Anyway, finally my name was up and so I nervously walked to the interview area. I was clutching all my certificates tightly in my hand and when I entered the room, two interviewers called me and told me to sit down. And my nervousness immediately disappeared! You know why? Hehe turned out the female interviewer was someone I recognize from Facebook so I wasn't really nervous talking to her. Though the male interviewer made me a little bit nervous, overall I think I did quite okay...


And so the interview day ended quite well for me. I had fun, made a few new friends, learned some new games, yeah... It was a nice experience for me. So, if you're going for the interview, my advice for you would be:
1. Not to be extremely nervous. Being a lil' bit nervous is alright, but too nervous? Nah... Don't be that.
2. Make a lot of new friends! DON'T BE SHY!Just go and talk to as many people as you can. There's a fifty-fifty chance you might see them again if you got to go on the program, so why not befriend them now?
3. Have FUN! AFS is fun. Have fun, be fun, live fun!


Alright then, I'll update more soon. Chiao!


Peace No War XOXO MaRiAnI

Friday, January 13, 2012

the changing point of my life

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Hello everybody!!! I am Nurul Mariani Maswardi, 17 years old going on 18 this March
and I come from Malaysia. You know, the country with the Twin Tower and also the 20 billion dollar (estimated) worth of palm oil industry? Oh well, you should know
Singapore then? Malaysia is situated just north of Singapore. Oh BTW, if you would
ever address me when you post a comment, you can just call me by my short name,
Mariani.

So, why exactly am I writing this blog? Just to say that Malaysia is a country
situated above Singapore on the world map? Of course no! I've got so many other
important things to do than writing stuff like that! Well... the main reason why I've
decided to create this blog is because this year I'll be going on a very exciting
journey... Well, that's what I consider it anyway.

Alright, actually I am going on a cultural exchange program organized by AFS
(American Field Service! NOT! American Fisheries Society OR Andrew File System!).
Yes, it's CULTURAL and we are supposed to learn the culture of others while in the
same time teaching them about ours.

It took me months of waiting to finally get the result whether I'll be going or not.
And finally, at the end of last year they told me I'll be joining the exchange
program to Argentina! Okay, for me that IS awesome! And I just had to share this
awesomeness with you guys out there. So, I made this blog! Yeah... So I can make kind
of like a journal to record all the experiences I'll be gaining for the next few
months in the land of Tangos and Beef! oohh... I HEART Beef <3

So the next update I'll tell you about all the stuff we did on the day of our
interview and also the pre-departure orientation camp!!!


Love and Peace XOXO mArIaNi

Thursday, January 12, 2012

alright here we go...

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hehe just some post testing...

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