Hello guys, it's been a while. This time I am going to tell you a story about my experience while joining the International Conference on Biodiversity 2016. I did not attend it as the participant since conservation of nature isn't my field of study. I was there as the committee, one of the people who completed the mission of succeeding the ICB 2016. Precisely, I was invited to be a master of ceremony using a full english with Bang Lucas as my partner. Apparently I was good enough on my previous performance on Mulwarman International Students Festival 2015 (MUISF) so both lecturers and buddy program friends thought that I must try to do MC-ing again and take the opportunity. At first it was irritating for me because I had to think about the script all by myself even though it turned out fine at the end. What's the most enjoyable about this trip was I get to sleep on a nice 3-star hotel, eating lots of food, experienced new things, met people from outside of the country, also bring home a pretty descent certificate and money as the bonus.
On Thursday 13th of January 2016, we meant to go to Balikpapan from the Mulwarman University International office at 8 AM. However, we faced the Indonesian casual problems, so we delayed our departure to 9 AM. I was in the same car with Dinda, Mbak Sari, Rijal and Bang Rojo. They were pretty awesome, none of them were attempted to vomit and we had a pretty good laugh in the car. As we arrived in Hakaya Plaza Hotel around 12 PM, there was a little confusion on the check in system, we waited for a while and ended up having lunch in the lobby. I think we finally got our rooms around 2 PM. The unique part of this hotel was having a backyard of an airport as you can see the pictures on the upper left side. My roommates were Mbak Sari and Mbak Anis as you can see the pictures on the upper right side. As we enter the room, we all go straight to bed just to lay down and take a rest. We were pretty tired and exhausted since we only had like an hour and half nap before we continue to arrange things in the mini ballroom. I was busy with my script, and the other buddy program friends were busy preparing their performances like dancing and singing.
Me editing the script of master ceremony and dividing it to the parts which the red ones was Bang Lucas' and the blue ones was mine. The before and after pictures. Nailed it in just 2 hours. As the Indonesian would say, it's the power of kepepet.
I think I slept at 2 AM on that day and woke up at 5. I didn't have enough sleep but I wasn't really worried. The bags under my eyes can be covered with make up and it won't be a matter but the most important thing was I need to be prepared so I did. All I can think about was on how to give my best shot at the time being. Giving the best performance was really a big deal for me. Surprisingly, unlike the rehearsal, me and Bang Lucas went along pretty well on the opening ceremony. No major mistakes that being done by me so it kind of boost my confidence a little bit. All the hard work and the sleepless paid off. Like they say, no pain no gain.
Left to right: Kak Azizah, Bang Lucas, Me, and Mbak Nia
At night we had a gala dinner accompanied by entertainments and a little of message and impression from the special guests which some of the special guests were the keynote speakers. They all gave nice impressions, of course. It did not take much time. The gala dinner closed with the karaoke. Everyone (both participants and the committee) was having fun and I was surprised to me to see the other side of serious lecturers.
On the next day pretty much same thing happened. Except this time I took most part in the afternoon which was the closing ceremony. Things got better and more arranged. I had more sleep than before. The buddy program friends wore match clothes on this day. Not exactly the same motif but we all looked pretty commensurate together, I guess. The matching clothes were bought to indicate that we are a team. Though they are not just an ordinary team but they are more like a family to me. Every hard task seems so much easier when I work with them. At night we had dinner at Torani Restaurant using angkot (one of the official public transport in Indonesia) to get there with Bang Lucas acting as the kernet. Hahaha. Again, it was a wonderful night.
Last day: Excursion to Bukit Bangkirai (Bangkirai Hill). Here is a further explanation on Bangkirai Hill in general, in case if anyone interested to go there.
Bukit Bangkirai (Bangkirai Hill) is nature tourism located at Kecamatan Samboja, Kabupaten Kutai Kartanegara, Kalimantan Timur. This hill can be reached in 1,5 hours from Balikpapan city. If you are looking for nature, this place is really for you. You can enjoy the beauty of natural tropical forest. There are also facilities like restaurant, pool, cottage, jungle cabin, etc.
There is a 64 m canopy bridge which connect 5 Bangkirai trees in 30 m. This is the first canopy bridge in Indonesia (2nd in Asia – 8th in the world). It was inaugurated as a tourism area in 1998 and is currently managed by state-owned forestry company PT Inhutani I.
It takes around one-and-a-half hours to get to this area from Balikpapan if you are using a private car. The first hour is a smooth ride, but the next half hour before actually entering the forest area calls for extra patience as the road conditions are substandard; potholes and all. Try to distract yourself by enjoying the wild surroundings. The 1,500 hectares of tropical rainforest offer fresh air and the lively sounds of birds as well as other forest animals.
The Bangkirai tree, which can be as old as 150 years, as tall as 50 meters and as wide as 2.3 meters in diameter, dominates the forest. The tree is often used as material for bridges, wooden boats and for other construction needs. Here you can find 45 species of orchids, with one of them being the stunning black orchid, as well as a variety of forest animals including over 113 species of birds, long tailed monkey wild boars, miller’s bornean gibbons, pig-tailed macaques, flying squirrels and sambar deers.
Getting on the bridge requires another uphill effort climbing up the stairs to the tower and the whole affair is not suggested for those with an acute fear of heights. Those whose fear of heights merely involves a slight fluttering of the heart, however, can overcome the tingling feeling by taking it easy once they are at the top of the tower. Inhale the fresh air deeply, soak up the scenery and try to spot the forest’s inhabitants, who might be hanging around, literally.
Well, I think that was pretty much my story. To end this post, I would like to express my gratitude. All praises to Allah for giving me a chance to meet these awesome people. To meet people around the world. To meet the very genius and kind lecturers. And to meet the humble, easy going, and super talented students. It's so nice to get to know more about them. Surrounded with all the positivity. It's really sad in believing that some of the students have graduated already and soon gonna leave me as the youngest member of buddy 2015. This is my first time being a master of ceremony in an International Conference. Such an honour to be one of the people who completed the mission of succeeding the ICB 2016. Couldn't do this without the great teamwork and any support from them. Surely I've learned a lot. I'm gonna miss these people and the moments so much.
