 |
Irawati Chaniago, Ir. M.Rur.Sc., PhD |
The 9th week Progress (10 – 16 Nov 2012)
Saturday 10 Nov, No academic activities today. Doing my weekly
cleaning and groceries.
Tuesday 13 Nov, I started the day by joining a class of postgraduate
seminar on conservation. This is a class of Dr. Martha Groom of the
Ecology and Environmental Studies of the University of Washington,
Seattle. Today’s topic is “Climate Change in Small Islands”. The
seminar and discussion was very interesting as well as informative.
I learned many things about small island nations and how their
people have been trying to improve the quality of their land and
prevent the nature from degradation.
We had an on-campus tour today to visit Botany Greenhouse of the
University of Washington. The tour started at 11.15 am and we were
exposed to various plant exhibits at the glasshouse. The exhibits is
ranging from a collection of various species of cacti representing
dry, hot, and water shortage environment to other types of ecosystem
in temperate and tropical conditions. The greenhouse is also open
for educational tours for school students. I found this very
interesting though the greenhouse complex is not very big in size
but is very good site for introducing students to plants and their
various habitats. I believe that upon visiting the glasshouse, there
will be at least, one student would like to study plant science when
they go to the university in the future. I would like to express my
appreciation to Mr. Josh Nahum, a PhD candidate in Biology of the
University of Washington for taking us through the tour. You are
excellent, Josh and your enthusiasm is really something.
Then in the afternoon at 1.30 pm, we had a Fulbright Scholars
seminar series at Thomson 317. The presenters for today were Dr.
Bakri of Hasanuddin University in Makassar with a topic on “Rice
Husk Ash: environmentally friendly material to substitute the role
of Portland cement” and Dr. Andi A Adam presenting an interesting
topic on “Toward greener concrete: can we make it without cement?”.
These two topics are very relevant to the betterment of the
environment while keeping the development running.
Thursday 15 Nov, I attended a guest lecture on Sustainable
Agriculture and Natural Resource Management by Dr. Keith Moore of
the Virginia Tech, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University, Blacksburg, Virginia. The guest lecture took place at
the time for the postgraduate seminar of ENVIRO 500 subject, and Dr.
Martha Groom is kindly facilitating the guest lecture at her class
time and room. The discussion with Dr. Moore was very interesting
and fruitful. I learned and agreed that conservation in agriculture
should follow the following principles: minimum soil disturbance /no
tillage, permanent vegetative cover, and crop rotation. We also
discussed about how important to do collaborative and
interdisciplinary field of studies to resolve the problem in
agricultural environment. Agricultural production people have to
work together with the conservationists to achieve the goal of
sustainable agriculture though in practice is not always easy
because of communication barriers between various disciplines. I
raised the issue of involving people from Sociology and Anthropology
in the project of farmers’ education not only for the betterment of
agricultural practices but also in resolving the problem of
conservation and environmental management.
At 1.30 pm I attended a Weekly Recharging Seminar at Thomson 317.
Today’s topic is about Avian Health and Food Safety presented by Dr.
Rocio Crespo of the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and
Pathology, Washington State University, Puyallup, Washington. Dr.
Crespo explained how the lab she has been working in dealing with
the diagnostic for food safety as required by the Government of the
Washington State. This practice is very good in a way to protect
human from getting infected by diseases carried by animal and/or
animal products. This seminar has been the finale for our weekly
Recharging Seminar for the visiting scholars program here at the
University of Washington because next Thursday will be a
thanksgiving holiday, and the following Thursday, we are already in
Indonesia as the program will end next week.
Friday 16 Nov, Discussion with some Professors of the Climate Change
and Global Health Groups at Anderson 22. The discussion was led by
Dr. Susan Bolton, Professor of Forest Resources of the University of
Washington in Seattle. Other team members such as Dr. Celia Lowe and
Dr. Josh Lawler also came to the meeting. Prof. Randall Kyes, our
program coordinator, and his team members Linda Uyeda and Elle Kyes
also came to the meeting. We discussed matters related to the
projects of the group at different countries including Peru, Kenya,
and Indonesia. I gathered from the discussion how important it is to
protect the nature from degradation and this important task should
be done in an interdisciplinary framework. We also discussed the
possibility to build a collaborative research and project in line
with the global health and environment. One quotation that I like
from the meeting is: “protecting people as well as the environment
for a better health”.
Off-campus tour today pm. This not really off-campus as we went to
have a meeting with the Professors at University of Washington in
Bothell. I called this off-campus as it is outside of UW in Seattle.
I would like to personally acknowledge Dr. Martha Groom, a Professor
of Interdisciplinary Art & Sciences, University of Washington
Bothell for facilitating us and making the tour come true. After a
short tour in the campus and saw the Wetland Restoration area, we
had a discussion with Dr. Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Associate Vice
Chancellor for Undergraduate Learning, Dr. James Reinnoldt, Lecturer
of Global Business, and Natalia Ksiezyk Dyba, Manager of Merit
Scholarship, Fellowships, & Awards of UW Bothell. We discussed at
seeking the possibility to build up networking between UW Bothell
and home universities of the Fulbright scholars. We seem to find
some doors of entering the collaborative research as well as
students and academic mobility in the future. We would like to
further the discussion in the near future so that certain actions
can be done for the betterment of education between UW Bothell and
participating universities from Indonesia.
The 8th week
Progress (3 – 9 Nov 2012)
Saturday 3 Nov, Feeling tired today after returning form NY and DC
trip. So, I decided not to go anywhere but staying in my apartment
room. Coping with the jetlag, a little bit, and sleepless.
Monday 5 Nov, I was working with my students’ research proposal from
my home university. Doing some corrections on the proposal before
sending back to them via email. Catching with news on emails and
replying some as necessary.
Tuesday 6 Nov, I started the day by joining a class of postgraduate
seminar on conservation. This is class of Dr. Martha Groom of
Ecology and Environmental Studies of the University of Washington. I
am very grateful to Prof. Groom who allowing us to join the class
not only observing the seminar but actively involving in the
discussion and sharing our experiences to the class.
Then in the afternoon at 1.30 pm, we had a workshop on online
teaching and open source learning using Canvas at Mary Gates Hall
room 064. The workshop was led by Dr. Jake Kulstad of the University
Information Technology. Dr. Kulstad explained us how the system
works and we worked on how to build teaching material and be
interactive with the students. I found that the workshop is very
interesting as well as important in broadening my knowledge on
distance learning. Thanks Jake for being an amazing teacher.
Thursday 8 Nov, We had a teaching workshop at the Gerberding Hall
Conference Room from 1.30 – 5.00 pm. The seminar was held to meet
the demand by all scholars and has been facilitated by our program
coordinator, Prof. Randall Kyes, and his team, Linda Uyeda and Elle
Kyes. The workshop was led by Dr. Martha Groom, a Professor of
Ecology and Environmental Studies at the University of Washington in
Bothell and Seattle. In the workshop, we learned how the teaching
could be done in a way that the students would be very much actively
involved. We discussed a lot about the Collaborative Teaching
Techniques (CoLT) that I found very much useful. I was really
inspired by Prof. Groom and promised myself to improve my teaching
ability and method so that my students would get more in the class.
Thank you Prof Groom, you are fabulous……..
Friday 9 Nov, Off campus tour today. We visited Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation in Seattle. We were accompanied by Linda Uyeda and Elle
Kyes. The tour was led by Mr. Patrick McMahon, a staff at the
visitor center of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The exhibits are
amazing as well as inspiring. One of my favorite quotations from the
exhibits is “teach others what to learn” and “use your voice for
good”. I learned how those amazing people around the globe have been
working together to help other people in need. Even a simple thing
for someone can make a big different to others. Well,……I do agree.
The 7th week
Progress (27 Oct – 2 Nov 2012)
Different to my other weekly report, this week 7th report will start
on Thursday instead of Saturday.
Thursday 25 Oct, I started the day by leaving my apartment at 5.00
am heading to the Seattle Tacoma Airport. We had planned to go for a
trip to New York and Washington DC; of course with the permission
from Prof Randall Kyes, the Fulbright-DIKTI Program Coordinator. I,
together with my colleague scholars, Andi Arham Adam, Ardi, and
Gamal Rindarjono were ready for the trip. We left Seattle at 7.35 am
flight bound to JF Kennedy Airport in New York. In the evening we
managed to find an Indonesian restaurant in NY City, and we had a
wonderful dinner enjoying Indonesian cuisines.
Friday 26 Oct, It is an Eid al Adha day, one of the biggest holy day
in Islamic calendar. I celebrated the day by joining the Eid al Adha
prayer at the mosque with the Indonesian Muslim Community in Long
Island City, New York. I thank God and am very grateful to have this
rare opportunity to celebrate Eid al Adha with other Indonesian
Muslim here. It gives me a feeling of home away from home. After the
prayer, we met and had conversation with other Indonesians while
having light refreshment.
In the afternoon, we visited the Empire State Building, one of the
places I had been wanted to visit. This building is said to be a
symbol of shared hoped, dreams, and accomplishment. It was amazing
to learn the history of the making of the building. We also paid a
visit to the NBC studio at the Rockerfeller Center and were informed
how the TV station makes the program, lives or recorded.
Here is a little bit of history of the making of the Empire state
Building which I gathered from the following source,
(http://esbnyc.com/esb_story_historical_timeline.asp).
1930: On March 17, construction of the Empire State Building began.
Under the direction of architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates,
and with a peak labor force of 3,000 men, framework rose at a rate
of 4 ½ stories per week.
1930: The masonry work for the building, which began in June of the
same year, was completed on November 13.
1931: On May 1, President Hoover pressed a button in Washington, DC,
which turned on the Empire State Building's lights and officially
opened the building.
1931: William Lamb, the Empire State Building architect, was awarded
the Architectural League's Medal of Honor “for his masterful
treatment of an office building.”
2007: The Empire State Building was named "America's Favorite
Architecture" in a poll conducted by the American Institute of
Architects.
Saturday 27 Oct, we took a trip to the Statue of Liberty, an icon of
freedom and of the United States, and Ellis Island. So many visitors
made their trip to see the statue and I am grateful to be one of
them. I learned from the site that the current color (slightly
grayish green) of the statue is due to the weather condition. The
original was copper color and as the oxidation process with the air,
the color has turned into a color as it is now. We continue to learn
more about US by sightseeing while walking along the road towards
the ‘Ground Zero’. I stopped by at the Ground Zero, said my prayers
for the victims, remembering the tragedy, and hoping this kind of
thing will not happen again in the future. I believe that every
human being wants to live in harmony.
Sunday 28 Oct, I, together with my colleagues went to visit the
United Nations Headquarters. This place has played important roles
in keeping the world and nations in harmony. I consider myself very
lucky to have an opportunity to be in the UN Headquarters.
Though we were not quite sure to continue our trip to Washington DC,
in the afternoon, we got into a bus and managed to get to Washington
DC by 8.45 pm. Our doubt has got something to do with the news that
Hurricane Sandy was predicted to hit New York and other cities in
the East Coast at Sunday evening of 28 Oct.
Monday 29 Oct and Tuesday 30 Oct, we had to stay in a hotel room due
to the superstorm Sandy. We were very lucky that we managed to do
shopping at a nearby supermarket. We would like to thank Mr. Kemal
Massi, a very good friend of Andi A Adam for taking us to the
supermarket with his car. I couldn’t stop praying hoping that the
storm did not cause serious damage. However, mother nature is too
strong so I was devastated when on Tuesday we got the electricity
back into our hotel room and watching to the TV how serious the
damage is. This reminded me of the September 2009 earthquake I was
experiencing in my home town, Padang – West Sumatra. Though the
source natural disaster was different, it still caused similar
damage to human beings and their lives. I felt sorry for people in
the area for losing house, electricity, gas, clean water, etc.
Especially in the cold-coming weather, many people left devastated
by the storm. I heard from the news that until recently, there are
places that still in shortage of electricity and gas. I hope this
will over very soon.
We were supposed to return to Seattle by Tuesday 30 Oct. However, we
were informed by our travel agent that all flight from New York has
been cancelled for Monday and Tuesday. Therefore, with no other
choice we decided to prolong our stay in Washington DC and we were
glad that we managed to get our return flight on Friday Nov 2.
Wednesday 31 Oct, The first day we could get out after the hurricane
Sandy. We went to the Arlington National Cemetary where the late
President J. F. Kennedy was buried. I feel so lucky having the
opportunity to pay a visit and tribute to the gravesite of one of
the most important person in the history of USA.
We went to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Dulles. I
was amazed when seeing the space shuttle Discovery. I could not
believe myself touching the Discovery with my hands; I only saw it
on TV before. I learned many things in the museum and seeing
different types of aircraft either the history of the making or the
display of the aircraft themselves. I was saying to myself, how
lucky the Americans are, they can visit the museum and feel the
glory and the history of human effort to go to the space. I would
like to take this opportunity to, once again, thank the Fulbright
for granting me a scholarship to come to USA and thank Prof Randall
Kyes, of the University of Washington, for the permission granted to
us to go to New York and Washington DC. What an experience in a
lifetime. I promise myself when I return home upon completion my
program here at the USA, I would tell my students all my good
experiences hoping that they would be inspired to study harder to
achieve their dreams for the betterment of future generation.
Thursday 1 Nov, Today we went to visit some historical sites in
Washington DC. We started by visiting the Lincoln Memorial, then
Smithsonian Museum of American History, and Smithsonian Museum of
Natural History. We saw the White House and the Capitol Hill.
Today’s trip was really amazing. Again, I feel very grateful for the
opportunity to visit such important places and I learned many things
from my trip. We ended our trip in front of the Capitol Hill this
evening before returning back to hotel.
Friday 2 Nov, we returned back to Seattle. What an amazing and
memorable trip we had. Thank God for all you have given to me.
The 6th week
Progress (20 – 26 Oct 2012)
Saturday 20 Oct, Nothing special today, just doing routine domestic
jobs such as cleaning, laundry and shopping for groceries,
^-^
Monday 22 Oct, An exciting on-campus tour has been arranged for us
today. We were invited to join a tour to the Department of
Comparative Medicine at the University of Washington. This tour
brought us to see and listened to the explanation about the
facilities the university has to run experiments and research
dealing with animals. We saw rooms where the animals are kept. Every
single room is equipped with different setting and requirement for
different species of animals such as, rat, mouse, dog, rabbit, pig,
frog xenopus, and zebra fish. I was amazed when Ms. Pam Morris, LAT
Facilities Director of the Department of Comparative Medicine, told
us that they play classical music for the animals and this makes
animals very happy, wow………..this is interesting !!!.
We were told by Ms Laura Campbell, LVT Assistant Facilities Director
of the Department of Comparative Medicine, how the high standard
procedure and requirements have to be met before the research can be
commenced. Seeing one of the best high-standard facilities in the
world for research really amazed me and somehow makes me envy of
students and professors at the University of Washington. Anyway, I
am very grateful to Fulbright and the Indonesian Government for
granting me the Fulbright scholarship so I can expose myself to one
of the best universities in the world.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pam and Laura for
being our tour leaders today. They both are very patient and
enthusiastically answering our questions.
Tuesday 23 Oct, I started the day by joining on-campus tour to visit
Burke Museum at 10.45 am. This is another on-campus tour that has
been arranged for us. Burke Museum is located within the University
of Washington campus in Seattle. We were met by Prof. Peter Lape of
the Department of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology/Associate
Director for Research at the Burke Museum. Prof Lape explained us
the history of the museum, the collection, and other things can be
seen at the museum. We were told how Prof Lape has been engaged in
collaborative research with Indonesian universities in archaeology.
In the afternoon at 1.30 pm at Thomson 317 we had a discussion with
Prof. Indroyono Soesilo who is currently the Executive Secretary of
the Coordinating Ministry of Peoples’ Welfare of the Republic of
Indonesia. Prof Soesilo came to the University of Washington as a
Fulbright Distinguished Scholar. We shared information on the
history of capacity building of Indonesian scholars studied at
American universities dated back at 1950s. This had been the efforts
by the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, to speed up the
educational advancement of Indonesian people after the independence.
I found the discussion was really good and interesting and agreed
that Indonesia has potential as a big nation in technology and
engineering. In the discussion, I imagined if I could be like Prof
Soesilo someday…..then I told myself to wake up from that
daydream,…..sigh…….
Later in the afternoon at 3.30 pm I attended a lecture by Prof
Indroyono Soesilo on “Global Climate Change: Role of Indonesian
Archipelago and Global Challenges” at the Oceanography Building (OCE
425). The lecture was attended by the Indonesian Fulbright scholars
of UW, Indonesian students of UW, and other students and staff of
UW. Prof Soesilo talked about global warming issues and the role of
forest, ocean, and seagrass to absorb CO2 gas as well efforts made
to reduce CO2 emission. Through the lecture, I agreed that
international collaboration is needed among countries (developing
and developed ones) to improve the quality of our environment and to
reduce the effect of global warming. So,…..lets hand in hand to the
betterment of our planet for the future generation.
Wednesday 24 Oct, One of the most exciting days I have been waiting
for. We visited Vashon Island to experience the organic farming,
…..yay…….. I am very grateful to Prof Kyes, the Fulbright Program
Coordinator and Dr. Sara Van Fleet of the Southeast Asia Center and
The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and other team
members who have put their best efforts to make this trip come true.
I have been involved in helping farmers in organic farming for
vegetables as part of my duty in community services. Therefore, I
would consider this trip would be a special bonus for me…. :-).
Organic farming, which I believe, is not only providing good quality
of food products for humans but also improving the quality of our
nature and conserving nature for our future generation.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Joanne Jewell and Rob
Peterson of Plum Forest Farm for allowing us to visit their farm and
discussed with us various aspect of organic farming they do in their
property. My appreciation is also directed to Karen Biondo of Karen
Biondo Farm at Paradise Valley for taking the time to prepare a very
nice and tasteful lunch in her house. Upon finishing our nice lunch,
we are allowed to meet Karen’s plants and animals and discuss on how
she manages her organic farm. Wow……what an experience I had today at
a very beautiful and quiet island, Vashon Island.
The 5th week Progress (13 – 19 Oct 2012)
Saturday 13 Oct, Nothing special today, just doing domestic jobs
such as cleaning, laundry and shopping for groceries.
Monday 15 Oct, We were invited to join South East Asia Center Annual
Fall Reception at Petersen Room, 4th Floor Allen Library, the
University of Washington. The reception was from 2.30 – 4.30 pm and
held to celebrate the start of the academic year. This was a good
opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues in Southeast
Asian studies, meet incoming students as well as welcoming visiting
scholars from Indonesia and the U.S.
Tuesday 16 Oct, In the morning we had a on campus tour program on
Educational Outreach - Online Learning. We started the program by
having discussion with the Online Learning team at a building called
the university tower. The discussion was led by Mr. Joseph Dial and
we were exposed to the system and how the team works with the
professors in preparing their online material for students.
Then we visited the class room where the lecture session can be
recorded before being posted online to the students. At the ‘control
room’ we saw facilities for recording the course materials and
discussed various aspects of preparation of materials for online
learning and we are very grateful to Mr. Dave Coffey for his
explanation and patiently listened and answered to our questions. I
found this short tour was very amazing and informative. This tour
has broadened my knowledge and I found it good to see directly the
process and system that can improve access for students to study
distantly.
In the afternoon we had our fourth week of Fulbright Scholars
Seminar series took place at Thomson 317. Prof Asmudin Natsir of the
Hasanuddin University and I were the presenter of the seminar. Prof
Natsir talked about his university and research area of his interest
as well as the community services he and his team has been involved
with. At the second session, I gave my talk about three different
areas of interest. I started with brief information of Andalas
University, its history, its students, and its collaboration with
various universities from Europe, Australia, and Asian countries. I
also took this opportunity to present how our team has been working
on research and development of wheat growing. This is important that
my university has been engaging with to support the government
program in food security and food diversity. The last part of my
presentation was highlighting the community services that I and my
team have been conducting for the last four years in vegetables
organic farming. I was very excited to present this organic farming
and proudly told the audience how local farmers are aware that we
need to improve the quality of soil and the environment by using
local materials. I agree that we have to keep “local wisdom” to
develop local community.
Thursday 18 Oct, Thursday is another exciting day for me as we have
Fulbright Recharging Seminar Series scheduled every Thursday at 1.30
pm at Thomson 317. Today we had Jake Kulstad PhD of the University
of Washington Information Technology. Dr. Kulstad is an
Instructional Technologist who with his team helps and makes sure
the teaching and learning process at UW runs well with the support
of technology. Dr. Kulstad exposed us with various online facilities
at UW that can be used in the teaching and learning process. I
learned so many new things from Dr. Kulstad and we have agreed to
have a workshop on how to develop learning materials and online
discussion with students. We hope that this expertise will help us
to improve the teaching and learning process when we return back to
our universities in Indonesia. I do believe that this skill will
improve not only the teaching and learning process but also
students’ motivation and participation in their courses. What an
experience!!!......Thank you Dr. Kulstad for the talk and thank you
Prof Randall Kyes for facilitating us to the session.
In the afternoon from 4.30 to 6.20 pm, Prof Ardi and I joined a
graduate level seminar class of International Bioethics, Social
Justice and Health at William H Gates Hall 116. The seminar was led
by Prof Beth Rivin of the School of law and as the director of
Global Health and Justice Project. Prof Rivin is my mentor during my
visit at the University of Washington and I was very lucky to be
invited for the seminar. The topic today was about health worker
migration and brain drain, and their perspective on human rights and
justice. I found the seminar is very interesting and informative
though it is totally different to my field of study. Prof Ardi and I
took part in the seminar and told the class about the education
system for medical students in Indonesia and that they must serve at
the community health center for 1 – 2 years after graduation before
they entitle to apply for a job. I learned many things in the
seminar such as how enthusiastic the students were to the topic
discussed though the students come from different field of studies.
I am planning to apply this method of discussion for my students
when I return back to my university upon completion of this
Fulbright program.
The 4th week Progress (6 – 12 Oct 2012)
Saturday 6 Oct, We went to visit 2012 Salmon Days Festival at
Issaquah, an annual event. As advertised through the website that
this is “the Pacific Northwest's most-beloved, family-friendly,
award-winning and fishiest festival around!”, we were so excited to
pay a visit to the festival. Again, thanks to Pak Andi Arham for his
gadget that, as always, show us the way and which bus to catch to
get to the site. Thousands of people showed up enjoying the
atmosphere, though somehow I cracked a joke with Prof Ardi that this
festival look alike ‘Padang Fair’ in our hometown,…. :-)
What a great experience!!!...
Tuesday 9 Oct, third week of Fulbright Scholars Seminar series took
place at Thomson 317. Pak Andoyo Supriyantono and Bu Sintje Lumatauw
of the Papua State University presented a highlight of their
university and more specifically Bu Sintje spoke about the community
services the university has been engaging with the local people. We
were presented with infos and photos of beautiful places and people
of Papua with their uniqueness. I found that today’s presentation,
as for others, are always interesting as well as informative. These
make me becoming more proud of the richness of Indonesian society
and culture.
Thursday 11 Oct, Thursday is an exciting day for me as we have
Fulbright Recharging Seminar Series scheduled every Thursday at 1.30
pm at Thomson 317. Today we had two students, Morgan Wilbanks and
Anna Schier, of UW who joined a field study in Indonesia last
summer. Morgan and Anna presented us with their journey and
experienced doing field work in another country that very far away
from their home.
This is a very good opportunity for us to know directly from the
students themselves about their experiences, their expectation
before they bound to Indonesia, and their views and thought about
Indonesia and the people. I learned something from Morgan and Anna;
that is pre departure preparation is a MUST for students for their
first overseas visit. I appreciate the never ending effort and
support of Prof Randy Kyes for preparing his students before leaving
to Indonesia. Prof Kyes do make the students confident and know what
they do and what to expect from the filed study. Keep up the good
work, Prof Kyes and you have shown me the way……
In the afternoon from 4.30 to 6.20 pm, Prof Ardi, Pak Stephanus and
I were invited to join a graduate level seminar class of
International Bioethics, Social Justice and Health at William H
Gates Hall 116. The seminar was led by Prof Beth Rivin of the School
of law and as the director of Global Health and Justice Project.
Prof Rivin is my mentor during my visit at the University of
Washington and I was very lucky to be invited for the seminar. I
found the seminar is very interesting and informative though it is
totally different to my field of study. I learned many things in the
seminar such as how enthusiastic the students were to the topic
discussed though the students come from different field of
studie…Wow,…..what a great day I had !!!
The 3rd week Progress (29 Sept – 5 Oct 2012)
Saturday 29 Sept, we were invited to have lunch at NiLuh’s house. Ni
Luh is one of the board members of the Seattle Surabaya Sisters City
Association (SSSCA). Niluh is very kind to provide us with her very
warm welcome to her house with yummy Indonesian cuisines. Fulbright
Scholars got an opportunity to meet with the board and member of the
SSSCA. Many Indonesian families turned up and we took this as good
opportunity for us to link with more people to share our thought and
ideas. What a great gathering!!!...
Tuesday 2 Oct, second week of Fulbright Scholars Seminar series.
Prof Ardi of Andalas University and Prof Djoni Prawira Rahardja of
Hasanuddin University talked at the seminar. Prof Ardi presented the
audiences with Minangkabau and its uniqueness. Among them are
beautiful sceneries of Minangkabau natural landscapes and the
uniqueness of a monkey species “beruk, local dialect” that works for
human in picking up coconuts from the coconut trees.
Prof Djoni presented another interesting topic about the important
of animal protein and its source in South Sulawesi. We have also
been exposed to the importance of spotted buffalos in Toraja society
for the funeral ceremony. These two topics, as for others, are
always interesting as well as informative. I am becoming more proud
of the richness of Indonesian society and culture.
Thursday 4 Oct, Thursday is an exciting day for me as we had
Fulbright Recharging Seminar Series scheduled every Thursday at 1.30
pm at Thomson 317. Today we had one of the important persons at UW
for international collaboration. Dr. Peter Moran as a Director of
International Programs and Exchanges presented his talk to the
Fulbright-Dikti scholars.
Later in the afternoon, the Fulbright scholars were invited by the
Seattle Surabaya Sisters City Association (SSSCA) to visit the
Seattle Art Museum (SAM) located at Downtown Seattle, 1300 First
Avenue, Seattle. This visit is part of the joint program between
SSSCA and Fulbright-Dikti Scholar Program Coordinator. The
collection of the SAM is awesome and among the best collection I’ve
ever seen. I, surprisingly, found two pieces of “kain batik” from
Indonesia as part of the collection and this makes me even more
proud to my country and my culture. As Seattle and Surabaya have
become sister cities, I propose the SSSCA to encourage the SAM to
put more “Indonesian” items represent the richness of Indonesian
culture which I believe would eventually improve an understanding
and respect between people and nations.
So,… we need academic recharging as much as non academic
ones,……..:-)
The 2nd Week Progress (22 – 28 September 2012)
Sunday 23 Sept, our beloved friends of Seattle Surabaya Sisters City
Association (SSSCA) invited us to join the Boeing Family Day. Mas
Greg Dwidjaya, the President of SSSCA, who works at the Boeing
Company was very kind to escort us to the tour and explained us the
making of Boeing aircrafts. We visited the Boeing site at Renton and
spending hours to see the exhibit. I was amazed when Mas Gregg told
us that the company produces an average of 5 aircrafts every week.
Tuesday 25 Sept, I joined a class of ENVIRO 500 for graduate level
students at 8.30 – 10.00 am. Dr. Martha Groom, the lecturer, is
kindly allowing us to join in the class though we are not officially
registered as the students taking the subject. I like the way Dr.
Groom leads the class at the first meeting (inspiring me for what I
would like to do in the class when I return home later). I am
interested in joining the class for its topic on conservation that
could be related to my subject (agriculture). Having seen our
interest, Dr. Groom then decided to put our UW id into the online
system of the subject so we can follow online discussion with the
students. I take this as a compliment.
Wednesday 26 Sept, Woodland Park Zoo guided tour. Our Fulbright
scholar group was invited to the Woodland Park Zoo tour between 1.00
– 3.30 pm. We started the tour by having a presentation about the
zoo and the project in Kalimantan called Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI).
Darin Collins, DVM as a Director of Animal Health Program gave a
talk to us at the Education Center Auditorium followed by a
presentation on Project and exhibit design with environmental
considerations delivered by Ms. Monica Lake. This tour really
catches my attention specially on how the zoo people are trying to
create the exhibit as close as the real place for animals in their
natural habitat. They are trying to “make the animals feel like they
are home” as I think that’s the way it should be. Though some
animals come from a tropical area with temperature and humidity
differ to those in Seattle, but the exhibit is just amazing.
Thursday 27 Sept, Our first scheduled recharging seminar at 1.30 pm
held at Thomson 317. We are very fortunate to have Dr. David
Szatmary with his position as a Vice Provost of Educational Outreach
as the speaker. Dr. Szatmary talked about the UW online learning and
UW Educational Outreach (UWEO) Program. We discussed various aspects
of running distance education, the model, how students and lecturer
interact, marking system, etc. I found the UWEO interesting as it
gives access to so many students who cannot physically attend on
site classes.
Friday 28 Sept, I was invited to join a colloquium at the Department
of Geography at Friday 28 Sept at 3.30 pm. Though geography is not
my field of interest, I would like to acknowledge an effort of Prof.
Matthew Sparke who would introduce me to Prof. Lucy Jarosz of the
Department of Geography. Prof. Jarosz invited me to come to the
department and this makes me very fortunate to meet people from
different academic background but sharing similar interest in
organic farming with me. Prof. Jarosz would try to connect me with
some local small-scale organic farmers. This is getting even more
exciting.
The 1st week Progress (15 – 22 September 2012)
I don’t have enough words to thank Prof. Randall Kyes and his super
team of Center for Global Field Study of University of Washington,
Seattle for a very warm welcome to me and my colleagues of
Dikti-Fulbright Scholars from Indonesia. On my first meeting with
Prof. Kyes at Tacoma Seattle International Airport at Friday evening
15 September 2012, I got the impression that Prof. Kyes is a very
nice person to work with and very passionate about his job.
Prof Kyes and his team have made their very best effort to make our
arrival very easy. They prepared us with basic stuff we need and
took us to the nearby groceries so that we could shop for our
day-to-day necessity that would save us for a week. We had been
introduced to people at this university who may be in contact with
us during our prestigious stay here.
Monday, 17 September 2012, we were gathering at the meeting room of
the Gerberding Hall. Prof Kyes, at this first official meeting with
us, explained us our project and what need to be done to make the
best of our stay as visiting scholars. A little campus tour has been
led by Linda Uyeda, one of the best team member of Prof Kyes team,
gave us access to some parts of the UW. Not to mention the patient
of Elle Kyes in assisting us has been very much appreciated.
Wednesday, 19 September 2012, Prof Kyes took us to meet my mentor,
Prof Beth Rivin of the School of Law UW, at the William H. Gates
Hall. We discussed things that I would like to achieve during my
stay at UW. Although Prof Beth Rivin has a completely different
field of study to mine, she has been really wonderful. She
understands what I want and has promised to link me with people on
related subject.
Thursday, 20 September 2012, was our welcome reception as the member
of UW community. Surprisingly, the reception was very warm in a
friendly environment. Some Indonesian students studying at UW and
some people of Seattle Surabaya Sister City Association (SSSCA) have
also joined in the reception. I felt so grateful and almost
speechless for such a warm and friendly atmosphere. I met some
people that I could have a further discussion with. To mention some
is Prof Matthew Sparke of Geography and International Studies who
has been very kindly introducing himself to me and would like to
connect me with people dealing with organic farming. I thank Matt
very much for his kindness. Another important person I met at the
reception is Dr. Peter Moran, Director of International Programs and
Exchanges. My short discussion with Dr. Moran was very fruitful in
looking at the possibilities to establish collaboration between UW
and Andalas University. This is one of the achievements I would like
to accomplish during my stay at UW as I am coming here wearing
different hats. One of the hats is Head of International Office of
Andalas University.
