Part Time Student, Part Time Traveler

I still remember the message from one of  my favorite lecturers at Bogor Agricultural University before I left Indonesia for study abroad, she said "Don't spend your whole time there only for study, there are so many things to learn there apart from university life, go explore and earn something useful while you are there". As a good student I did obey her advice.

I had to be a full time student during the ongoing semesters when I spent my whole time for study, but when it came for semester breaks, I left my desk at university and heading to somewhere else to explore another part of the world, the one and only continent-country in the World, The Australia.

I studied and lived in the Far North Queensland Capital City, to the North of Brisbane and very close to The Great Barrier Reef where the Rainforest meets reefs as it always been advertised every now and then. It is Cairns City, a lovely and warm city where I spent 2 years of struggling yet surviving to finish my master degree.

Two years study there in four semesters, forty eight credit points of study, and more credit for life skills and mastering three kinds of things, Master of Science, Master of Cooking, and Master of Self-Photography. The last one is a bit odd though, but at least I got opportunities to have pictures of my self in famous places such as The Opera House of Sydney, The International well-known Grand Prix Circuit of Philip Island where the smallest penguin lives, The ghost (read: beautiful) city of Canberra, and the Tasmanian Devil's Island, The City of Wheel in Brisbane, even to the death gold city in Chillagoe, and many more.

One thing that I learned from big cities in Australia, the boring life during day time is changing into colorful one where the real life begins, and it started at Dusk. I am so grateful, as a country man to live in cities full of colorful lights, even-though it's men-made ones, it is just amazing. The places, the people, and even the animals like kangaroos and cockatoos, they are so friendly.

I am so grateful that I have chances to live and study here, but I have to come back home to fulfill my destiny. At least I got something to bring home as gifts or lessons learned that might be important someday. Apart from that I got some beautiful pictures, it's not for sale though, just to keep my memory safe and someday my children or grand children will take the same path as me and live a happy life.