Wow, it's been 2012 already! Hope it's not too late to wish you a very happy new year!
I used to count my blessings at the end of the year, but this time I was busy with some moving and studying again preparation. Anyway, one of many things I'm so thankful of in 2011 was the trip to Boston, Massachusetts, one of the oldest city in the U.S. From Boston, I took the train to Cambridge, a neighbor
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In Santa Monica, in the wintertime,
The lazy streets so undemanding
I walk into the crowd
In Santa Monica, you get your coffee from
The coolest places on the promenade
Where people dress just so
Beauty so unavoidable, everywhere you turn
It's there.
I sit and wonder what am I doing here?
...



The song always reminisces my high schools days, I couldn't be more excited to sing it again when I
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Soon after we left Nevada and entered Arizona, I was doubtful whether we'd make it to the Grand Canyon. It started to snow heavily. From the bus window I saw those white things falling like cats and dogs rain. In Seattle, if it's snowing like this, the buses will certainly be canceled or rerouted.

We'd passed probably half of our journey. We're already far from Vegas, but not close enough to
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A road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas probably is the simplest drive ever! Most of the time, you just go straight and straight on the only road in the middle of vast desert. Sometimes there are few cars pass by from the other side but the main scenery is the large, almost plain area.


At the end of the dry and sandy place there is a big casino building. If you see it then you're just about
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Today my mind is in New York so I want to tell you about my trip to NYC. It began on last winter (well, it's been a while) when my friends and I were tempted by the cheap flight to the East Coast. So, when everyone tried to escape to warmer places, we planned our vacation in NYC. We happened to stay in a horrible hotel but we had a wonderful tour around the city from the morning until late at
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View from my apartment complex, before leaving it



Packing, packing and packing, that is mostly what my last days in USA about. I spent a day trying to move the whole year stuff into two suitcases and making sure that the apartment is as clean as when I moved in. In the afternoon, I moved to a hotel near SeaTac airport, in which I would stay for the rest of my time in the States. As soon as I
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The crazy me and my friend were sooo curious when we heard people talking about Bruce Lee cemetery in Seattle. "Really?" "In Seattle?" We're curious so although we had to take several buses on a long journey to the north of Seattle, we did the trip.

"Doesn't look like cemetery!" I told my friend as we hopped off from the bus that brought us to a beautiful park. It was a nice day and people
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I first planned to go to San Francisco only to attend a conference. But when my friends told me about their willingness to spend one or two days there, we ended up booking tickets together and the trip became more than just an ordinary conference trip!


We arrived early in the morning in SF, dropped our bags at the hotel, and went to explore the city. There are sooooo many places to see
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On an evening, after a very long day, a friend asked me:

"What are you gonna do after completing this program?"

Me : "I don't know yet ... I'm still struggling with these assignments. I'll move on as soon as I can ..."


Another friend said: "Winnie is a dreamer, she'll always reach her goals!" 



...

A dreamer? I always believe that everyone is a dreamer. It's just a matter of whether one
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Yes, another weekend in Seattle! I didn't plan to spend my weekend hanging out in the city. However, when I woke up that day I found no one at the apartment. My house-mates had left for a cruise from Port of Seattle to Vancouver. I couldn't go because of my visa status and also because I didn't take the cruise class. I had my own vacation then. I called my best friend and we made our
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We are ordinary students with different schedules, personalities, and backgrounds. However, whenever it comes to presentation or culture event, we gather and support one another. I'm glad to see and experience how everyone contributes to the team. I am so proud of my fellow Indonesian! You're the best!



Red & White Team


Our Performance @ GlobalFest


We Are Family :)


Presentation for
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Do not go to school in the United States with the idea simply of passing courses. Go with the attitude that you are going to learn as much as possible during your time there. This means learning as much as possible about your subject discipline, but it also means learning about America. If you work it right, you will learn even more outside the classroom than in it.



Let's face it; not many
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I love traveling, especially in this country where I can see and experience various kinds of places. Recently, I just realized that the place where I stay has wonderful views and attractions too. Now, I feel so grateful that I'm here. 


Seattle Center



Pacific Science Center at Night



Seattle Skyline



Beautiful Flowers at Pike Place Market



Creatures at Seattle Aquarium



Cherry
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Howdy! I have always wanted to update this blog, but I have lots of things going on: paper, projects, coding, internship, volunteering, student clubs, and so on. However, this week J asked me to write an advice for the new incoming student in the program. So, here are my thoughts:
1. What has been the most rewarding thing for you, being here in the CCI Program?
Becoming a member of CCI Family is
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Travel.. travel? Who doesn't like it? But J really made me think for a while when she asked me to write about what I learned from my travel. I love traveling so much that I don't realize what I learn from it. LOL  
But then I sent her this reflection ... 




A Day in DC







Have confidence



During my first week of winter break, I went outside early in the morning and went back to the
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Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Florida, Hawaii, Niagara, etc... a long list came as soon as I wrote down my spring break travel plan. There are soooooo many places I am willing to visit. However, the break will be only about one week and I will probably be able to travel for several days only due to a training in Microsoft which will occur before the spring
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I caught myself smiling alone remembering my first month in the college. I always carried the campus map with me every day because I always got lost. My new campus is totally different from the campus in my home country. It's very beautiful but very big. I couldn't recognize all the buildings and lanes there.

During orientation days, I was always afraid to walk around, even when I went to
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Time passed by quickly and I went back to campus. Have gotten all my books today, I feel relieved.. but wait, this is my first book:






With more than 950 pages, the book just amazes me ...
Then, these are my second and my third books:






I first felt glad when I saw my fourth book:






It's better than the previous one, isn't it? But... oh, this subject requires two books in one
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December 31: I was in Denver together with my two friends for a flight from New York to Seattle.
We were supposed to arrive in Seattle by 11 p.m. but the plane was delayed and we would miss the New Year Eve celebration in the town.Yeah, we would count down the time in the air.






The plane then took off around 10 Denver time, the time where the clock stroked 12 in New York. No fireworks,
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I have always wanted to go to New York and my dream came true when I arrived at La Guardia, took the subway, and walked to St. Patrick. It was Christmas Eve.

. Then, I walked along Fifth Avenue. People walked and chattered with families and friends,sharing the happiness of Christmas. Perhaps it's only me who was wondering there alone in the crowd. I kept walking, holiday spirit amazed me
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