Mandalika

I'm not a dead fans of MotoGP but the first event of the year that held in Indonesia catches my attention. Today is a day away from the main race. Many other Indonesia folks are just as excited as I am. The last motogp race hold in the country was about 15 years ago. At that time, as far as I can remember, Valentino Rossi was still in his prime and he was still in his 20's I guess. What makes this particular event feels special is the circumstance that is the pandemic is still going on.  In this difficult situation the government of Indonesia and all related partners manage to organize a world class event.

For your information, a motogp race is a series of four race. The first three race are practice riding. Racers are learning the circuit and get use with every curve. On the fourth they will struggle to die for being the champion. Overall, motogp series is a competition where racers collect points from every race they completed. In other words, the world champion motogp 2022 is the one who has the highest accumulated points of all.

Picture source: @motogp instagram

The circuit is located in Mandalika, Lombok. Lombok is a small island next to Bali. It is so close to Bali. That's why traveling to Lombok from Bali takes much less time than travelling to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Like Bali, Lombok has rich culture and many exotic beaches. In fact, the circuit is just about 20 minutes walking to the nearby beach.   

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Indonesian Student in Birmingham: Places I've Visited

My first impression in England was quite boring. Arriving in the United Kingdom during pandemic, I had to spend 10 days in quarantine hotel. I was not allowed to leave the hotel except for small walk for about 15 minutes in the hotel car park. It was not a wonderful situation but it was not awful either. In spite of this, at least I was with my wife. That way I had someone to talk to. Another thing that made the quarantine less miserable was food. We brought many Indonesian food. So, to kill the time and wierd-tasted food which served by the hotel, we ate the food earlier. I mean, the food was supposed to consume once we arrived at our home. But "emergency" situation made us to change the plan.

After 10 days, we managed to leave the hotel and the first interesting place we visited was Birmingham City Centre and Bullring Market. The later is familiar since I watched several video about this market on youtube. What makes this market outstanding is the way people sell the goods which is mostly veggies and fruits. They, the sellers, offer the goods in such a way people from Asia selling their products. The market is crowded and loud. The sellers who are mainly immigrant in my view, yell and shout to catch visitors attention. Exactly they share the same passion and enthusiasm as the sellers in Indonesia. Regarding the prices, they are affordable and when it is approaching 5 PM, it is the time when the market closed, the prices go down. In the morning you can get a bowl of apple for 1 pound but late in the afternoon you can get three bowls of them for 2 pound. Next, the city centre. In the surrounding you can find big malls and many big stores, banks, restaurants, hotels and tourist destinations such as museum (Baskerville house), Gas Street Canal, Victoria Square and city library. In short, the city centre is a one stop destination where you can visit places in one day walking.

Gas Street Basin, The Canal Side, Birmingham

I want to talk about Birmingham Arena separately. Why? Because the Birmingham Arena has close connection with Indonesia. As the venue of one of major badminton event, many Indonesian athletes have won the championships for numerous times. The last event, the all England 2021, that's how the championship officially named, our male-double athletes was undefeated and became the champion. The arena is right on the side of the canal. It's the opposite of sea world. If you take a bus from the city centre using bus number 23 or 24, you will see it on your left after 7/8 stops. On the other side of the arena, the one closer to the canal, Lego Land is waiting for you and your family to be explored. I had a chance to take a photograph on the site (see picture). The building is very active. Every now and then, music concerts, exhibitions or conferences are held.

Lego Land. Right behind the Birmingham Arena
where the All England is annually held.

I think that's it. In conclusion, there are many places to enjoy in this West Midland region. And the city centre is the best place to start as many interesting places are scattered around and accessible by foot in less than one day. Highly recommended. See you later.    

Does anyone know Ozzy Ozbourne of Black Sabbath
is from Birmingham? You can find the Black Sabbath Bridge built
to honor the singer right on the Gas Street Canal. 

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Snow

Being foreigner in a four-season country has made me striving for first-hand experience of touching snow.

This would be wonderful experience for me. I imagined I would running around like a little child, playing with snow chunk or building snow man. But thinking that I'm a grown-up man, I would be more behave. staying calm and take picture. 

Coming from Indonesia, a popular tropical country, I was struggling keeping myself warm during winter. I used to warm, damp and hot air. Spending time in a cold England makes me unbelievably fortunate being born in a tropical country. I was playing with mud and earthy-smell soil. You can say that those are equal to white cold snow.   

As a tropical man, I know inside and out the process of rain manufactured. So, I'd love to learn how snow come into being. I have never seen a simple picture portraying the mechanic behind the creation of snow. I thought I have read about that long time ago, but I'm not sure.

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Having a Baby While Doing Post-Grad Study (part 1)

I'm not a woman. If you assume I myself is pregnant and have the baby born then you're wrong. What I mean by the title is that my wife is pregnant when she is coming with me in the UK.

As a PhD candidate, taking care my family and manage PhD project properly is a challenge. I know, some doesn't see family involvement during studying abroad is a good option. Yet, I challenge the idea. I perceive family as a motivator factor. Having more tasks is absolutely demanding and may be tiring physically and mentally. On the other side, when you face problems and have no idea to solve it, you have somebody to talk to. They may not respond you straight away with brilliant solution but you'll be relieved provided you have taken an action to deal with your burden. On the best scenario, your family is an alien to your area of study that let them giving you honest and direct comments or criticisms. This may not help you immediately unless after some reflection and contemplation. In the end, unsurprisingly you thank them for their unexpected help conveyed in a very subtle way.

Black Sabbath Bridge, an iconic spot in Birmingham. I lived 5 minutes from the bridge in the first 3 months after my arrival in the UK.

I arrived in the country in July 27th.

[read the second part]

 

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Indonesian in Birmingham

Being a foreigner in Birmingham is a new think for me. I learn how Englishman talks. They casually speak faster than what I learned at English classes. I didn’t know that elderlies are more than the youths or at least the same. Also, I didn’t expect so many immigrants have come to the UK and that being a PR (permanent resident) has become a life time dream. I haven’t seen all but I believe I’ll get used to all of these alien culture.

I’ve just stayed in this city for less than 2 months. There many Indonesians who have been living here for 2 or 3 years. A few of them are already PR’s. Based on my study program which is PhD study-by-project, I’ll have to stay for at least three years. Papers and documents have been approved which means I don’t have worries about legal requirements. As we all know, any illegal actions against immigration law are subject to fines or even deportation. 

Being a student in Birmingham is like a dream for most Indonesian. A friend of mine said that she had a friend who are happy to die for being able to study in the city. Of course, I’m exaggerating. Birmingham, the second biggest city in the UK after London and located in West Midland, has many old shaped buildings which is so iconic and unique for a person like who comes from Indonesia. In Indonesia, we can hardly find houses which retain its original and traditional architecture.  The more modern-shaped your house is the more people look up at you. Being seen as “the haves” is like a unwritten rule. In Jakarta, you can have a look at Dutch-style houses near Stasiun Kota. But, that’s it. Keeping colonial buildings in their original shape is costly and the city council rarely has both financial sources and managerial-capacity to support them. 

Old Joe, a tallest clock tower in campus, is my favorite. During graduations parents and graduates take a selfie or family photograph showing Old Joe as the background. The city library is also beautiful. It’s the first library of that kind of shape in Europe. I haven’t visited it yet but I plan to do so soon. Another fascinating spot is the Black Sabbath bridge near city center. It’s an honor for the lead vocalist of hard-rock metal band Black Sabbat, Ozzy Osbourne. Before I visited the bridge, I didn’t know he is from Birmingham. About 10 minutes walking from the bridge, the Victoria Museum stands gracefully. This magnificent tourist destination and photographic scene is located near city train station providing easy access for non-Birmingham visitors.

 

10 September 2021

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