Savana Rinjani

My mind was planning a few things to celebrate my first year living in Germany. I was thinking of cooking special Indonesian dishes like Nasi Kuning and Es Cendol. But as it turned out, the universe had other plans. Right on the anniversary , I was joining a two-week field trip to Indonesia. TO INDONESIA. It felt a bit funny to me, like the universe is planning something. Looking back, here are the highlights of my first year in Germany: 1.   Independent Self-Learning Before studying abroad, I’ve heard a lot about European education systems which emphasise on self-learning and student independence. Here, students bear full responsibility for managing their own studies: checking courses and their requirements, selecting modules, analysing research data, and keeping up with assignments. Still, knowing the system beforehand and actually experiencing it are two different things. It was tough sometimes. I once forgot to do homework simply because life was so overwhelming back th...

This year, my new age is celebrated not in my homeland, but far far away. In a territory where everything is new and unfamiliar. But, at the same time, it creates some kind of space to contemplate and redefine perspectives. At this point, I'm truly grateful for everything I've been through. Cheers to 34! 1. Acknowledge your privilege. 2. A change in life is extremely uncomfortable. But that's the only way to move forward. 3. Never forget your roots, where you come from, and what principles remain relevant for you. 4. Be yourself. Even in the most unfamiliar circumstances. 5. Protect your energy. Spend it wisely. 6. Never too late to learn something. What stops us is mostly our own imaginary fear. 7. A little progress is progress. (context: me working on my term papers) 8. Be with people who are happy when you are happy, and support you when you are down. 9. In the context of human relationships, not knowing is a blessing for me. 10. There's one sentence my bf always sai...

Hari ini, lima belas tahun lalu, adalah hari pertama gua posting di blog ini. Ga terasa weyyy. Nah, kali ini gua mau sedikit mengenang awal mula gua nulis, yaitu tahun 2011 di mana gua lagi kuliah S1. Waktu itu, ada satu orang di kampus yang bisa dibilang menginspirasi gua. Orangnya terlihat kalem tapi tegas. Setelah ditelusuri, ternyata dia punya blog pribadi. Mampir lah gua buat baca-baca. Dan WOW… dibalik ketenangannya ternyata dia adalah pribadi yang hangat dan jenius. Terlihat dari keeleokan dan tata bahasa yang dipake. Dari situ, gua kepikiran buat bikin blog juga. Waktu itu belum tau mau nulis apa, jadi seringnya asbun. Semua-mua ditulis lalu di- post . Baru nulis “agak bener“ itu pas cerita tentang pengalaman naik gunung sama keluarga, bisa dibaca di sini: Mount Gede Part I . Pas baca postingan ini, aseli gua meringis, kaya, ih gua dulu cringe banget! Tapi itulah jaman. Gua berubah. Pun kita semua. Postingan pertama ini jadi pengingat sekaligus artefak langka buat gua pribad...

-- English version available below -- Moin! Ga terasa udah enam bulan tinggal di Jerman. Buanyak banget yang udah terjadi, termasuk range emosi yang belum pernah gua rasa. Tapi, dari semua itu, gua bersyukur bisa melewati semester pertama ini dengan baik. Yeay! Gua mau berbagi tentang apa aja yang udah terjadi enam bulan belakangan, yang sebagian besar tentang pendidikan/studi. Disclaimer dulu, poin-poin tentang pendidikan di bawah ini akan tidak apple-to-apple , karena S2 di LN dan S1 di DN tentu berbeda secara sistem. Ditambah, studi S1 dua belas tahun lalu kondisinya udah beda sama S1 sekarang. Jadi, di sini fokus gua adalah cerita tentang hal-hal baru di luar zona akrab. 1. Baca +100 halaman tiap minggu Di jurusan gua, tiap matkul biasanya ada PR baca 1-2 jurnal per minggunya. Semester ini, gua ambil 4 matkul. Jadi, tiap minggu wajib baca jurnal minimal 100 halaman. Awal-awal baca jurnal itu lamaaa banget. Ditambah beberapa penulis pake kosakata akademik yang ga umum, dan...

I rarely post something about my love life on social media, or even on this blog. Whenever I shared something here, my boyfriend would tease me that he never made an appearance in my stories. I would just smile, and we’d both laugh. It became a small inside joke between us. It’s not that I don’t want to share my happiness. On the contrary, I actually enjoy sharing little moments of my life. But there are two reasons. First, my last relationship didn’t work out. I used to post about us quite often, and when we broke up, those posts suddenly felt heavy. I felt embarrassed, almost as if I had shown too much of something that didn’t last. Since then, I’ve become much more careful about my love life and about whom I’m currently seeing. Second, I cannot control others’ reactions after seeing my posts: assumptions, jealousy, unnecessary comments. But that’s social media anyway. You post, you bear the risk. There were many times I wanted to share something about my relationship, but I en...

2025 has been a CRAZY year for me, both good and bad. Looking back, I realize that all of them became valuable lessons to absorb, process, and eventually grow from. 1. Traumatic events Yep, I started the year with traumatic events. It was mentally draining. What I felt was a heaviness in my chest, humiliation, and a deep sense of disrespect. Day after day, I found myself questioning my values. Do people really treat others like this? Do I still belong here? Is it just me, or is it the post-colonial mindset that happened very subtly? As I moved through each day, one thing became clear: some of my values no longer align here, the place where I grew up. 2. Going to therapy One of the best decisions I made this year was going to therapy. Nowadays, people in my country are more aware of mental health issues, especially among younger generations. They are more open to talking about it, and some no longer feel ashamed to seek professional help. But still, deciding to seek one on my own requir...

  –English version available below– Moin! Memasuki bulan ketiga di Jerman, mulai kerasa sibuk dan perlu adaptasi, terutama aspek pembelajaran. Pertama, otak dorman ini perlu dipanasin lagi karena udah lama ga sekolah. Terakhir sekolah itu 2014 :) Kedua, adaptasi sama sistem pendidikan di sini yang beda banget sama di Indo. Contohnya, di program gua, tiap minggu ada PR baca paper, yang nantinya didiskusiin di kelas. Nah, ada satu paper yang lumayan menarik–sekaligus mengusik. Papernya ngebahas tentang penggunaan istilah "Sustainability" dan "Socio-ecological Transformation" (SET). Intinya, di paper itu bilang bahwa akhir-akhir ini istilah Sustainability semakin marak dipake, gaungnya dimana-mana. Tapi di dunia akademik itu sendiri malah dirasa kurang cocok, karena katanya kurang mampu merefleksikan kompleksitas yang sesungguhnya terjadi di masyarakat. Bahkan, istilah ini seringkali dipake sama oknum yang justru action-nya ga sustainable. Lalu, istilah apa yang lebih ...