Thursday, 25 May 2006 @ 12:15pm.
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind.” — William James
This quote came from an email service called “The All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide.” For ABD’s, I suggest visiting the website and reading some of the archived articles if you haven’t already done so.
This past Monday-Wednesday, I helped with the Fulbright-AMINEF pre-departure/orientation program for Indonesians who are going to study and work in the U.S. It was a fabulous program. The student grantees are an amazing group of people and I’m sure will not only learn a lot, but will also be great cultural ambassadors. Some are in non-degree programs, others will work towards their M.A.s, and another group will be in Ph.D. programs. There are also grantees who will teach languages (Indonesian or Javanese) or certain fields (Humanities or Social Sciences) at the university level. I was so happy to see that one returning grantee and one current grantee were former students of mine from when I taught at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta (2000-2002). I must admit that I felt a bit old, though! 
It was a great mini-reunion. I also met up with American Fulbright friends who were helping the program as well and that was wonderful. I know it must seem like I’m gushing right now, but it was just really nice to meet scholars and friends all under one roof.
Additional recent observations and experiences that made me smile:
* Children in school uniforms walking home and sharing a slice of papaya.
* Two older men at a government office holding hands in a gesture of friendship.
* A woman wearing a headscarf in a unique style: braided down her back.
* Tasting my first hot chocolate in four months at Cafe Oh La La.
* Meeting up with an American friend who also has curly hair.
* Getting a good exchange rate yesterday (it turns out that every bank has its own rate!).
