Independence Living

I believe I am now, without doing any crime or breaking any law, valid to claim that I am an Indonesian, who almost finish his undergraduate studies at Singapore and have been to South Korea for exchange, undergoing a summer research attachment at Aarhus University, Denmark. It has been a week and I almost obtained my ‘operating’ licence for one of the mass spectrometers. Well, forget about that technical stuffs, after a week, there were several new and fresh experiences that I would like to share. I had been dying to write something out in my blog since last week, but I always produce a long, boring details about my travel. Well, to keep it short, I am highlighting my ‘emotional’ experience here.

First of all, of course, is the feeling of independence! I am separated as far as 9600 km from my hometown and I have to be independent as much as possible. I am now in the total control of my own life. In Denmark, different with the rest of Asia, the people does not eat out that often due to expensive prices in the restaurant. There is no such thing as hawker centres or food courts. It’s either expensive restaurants or more expensive fine dining. I was warned by my professor upon my arrival and decided to cook for myself to save up some costs (my accommodation here provided a small kitchen and cooking utensils) and VOILA! I saved up a lot! Restaurants could cost around 100 DKK per meal whereas small school canteens could cost 20-40 DKK per meal. However, if you cook, you could survive a week with just around 100-200 DKK. That’s pretty neat.

These circumstances made me concerned with food every single afternoon. I had been always wondering on what to cook for dinner or what to buy at the grocery on my way back. Well, it was quite a hassle sometimes, but I believe I learned a lot from this. Now, I could prepare any simple pasta or sandwich dishes with one eye closed, a milestone that I never imagined could come true. The best meal I have ever prepared before coming to Denmark was a simple Chinese stir-fried rice noodles (Char Koay Teow). Believe me, it was nothing as complex as preparing salmon pasta. HAHA. Gosh, I hope I won’t be addicted to cooking as time goes by.

Second experience was about my ‘job’ here. I am, in short, a SCIENTIST now. Yes, you got that right. I am a scientist now. I performed experiments, reported them to my prof and the group, helped the group to criticize or discuss experimental findings and attended various hardcore seminars. There is definitely no word that could portray my satisfaction here. I was exposed to a wealth of knowledge! I am so excited to learn and know more about them all! I really believe that this is the time of my life now. The first step towards my dream starts and I will keep stepping forward! Can’t wait for the days when I am finally an independent researcher! The imaginations of inter-country scientist collaborations, debate of an unsolved problem and tweaking the signal-to-noise ratio of an instrument just excite me as soon as they occupy my mind.

My experience was magnified with a remark from a retired professor in the University who happened to be visiting some of his old workplaces. He said visiting students are something very good to have in the University since there ARE some instruments not being used in the meantime. I guess European countries are not facing immediate threat of overpopulation that they demand more brains from external sources. That was really different with my University in Singapore where efficiency, instead of learning, was greatly emphasized. They wanted best results and maximum impact, in smallest constraints, smallest cost, creating an unnecessary pressure on student that mutated the whole education system from a curiosity-driven knowledge seeking to a pathetic, blind grade-seeking rat races. As the result, during my undergraduate research, most of the reaction apparatuses have their own respective ‘schedule’ to maximize the efficiency and usage. This, of course, put an overwhelming pressure on the student, brainwashing their mind and thus, they way they do science. Why they do science? Trust me, MAJORITY would say because they could not get into Medicine or Pharmacy courses or worse, because they just want to have an University degree for better job-finding chances, not for the joy of science being the centre of all technological advancement. And I could go on forever stating my views on corrupted Asian education system…

My third experience was a bit personal, but I think I would just as well write them now. It was about the feeling of overcoming the homesick feeling. Again and again, I did not feel any homesick feeling here in Denmark. Homesick, for me, was the most terrible thing that ever happened to me during my freshmen years in Singapore. Later, after I learned that homesick was a natural process of psychological adaptation into the new cultural context, I was bracing myself to experience it once again when I was on my exchange in South Korea. However, it did not occur and it still amazed me until today. Why? I have no idea, but I believe it was always about the attitude. The more I try to confine myself in my own culture and way of life, the more homesick feeling would come and made me lose my sanity for a while. Besides, I think constant companion in the foreign land also helped a lot! I am very grateful towards Prof. Nielsen, Mrs. Henderson and everybody else in Aarhus University that had made my summer research came true. Same case, I am equally grateful to SNU Buddy, who had made my exchange experience a life changing one.

I sure have loads to say for a week’s experience. However, there is 7 more weeks to go and I am certain without any doubt that I would have the time of my life here in Aarhus University. Looking forward to the happy days!