Unity in Diversity: Collected Stories began as a small grant project between ten Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) living in Indonesia in 2014-2015. The project took its inspiration from Indonesia’s national motto, “Bhinneka tunggal ika,” which translates to “Unity in diversity,” and from the “Humans of New York” art project, which uses interviews and photographs to highlight the diversity of individuals living in New York City.   As the ETAs became better acquainted with their communities and students, they began seeking a way to amplify their students’ voices and to share their students’ stories across Indonesia and around the world. The idea for Unity in Diversity: Collected Stories began with the hope that the project would give students a platform to share their stories and to learn from each other, while simultaneously using and practicing English. We also hoped that the project would help our students build confidence and self-esteem, help our students see and celebrate their diversity on a daily basis, and help people across Indonesia and around the world acknowledge and combat stereotypes related to faith, socioeconomic status, skin color, ethnicity, and culture. Unity in Diversity: Collected Stories started with high schools in Bandung, Yogyakarta, Semarang, and Atambua. ETAs at each school interviewed and photographed students and teachers in their schools and communities, and then posted the photographs and interview excerpts to our Facebook page. The project began posting daily updates in March 2015 and since then its following has grown slowly but steadily, as has its reach. Although we started with 200 students across 10 schools, we are now expanding this project to include students from other communities and other schools, and we now hope that Unity in Diversity: Collected Stories can become a permanent project connecting American teachers and Indonesian students all across the archipelago. !!!!!

Prologue

This project would not be possible without help from programs and individuals in Indonesia and beyond. First and foremost, we would like to thank the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF), and Fulbright’s U.S. Student Programs, for giving us an opportunity to work with and learn from these wonderful Indonesian students and for funding and supporting this project. We would also like to thank our headmasters, counterparts, and co-teachers, for their encouragement and assistance in executing this project at our schools. Finally, we would like to thank our students, for inspiring this project with their stories and smiles, and for presenting us with new perspectives on the ideas of diversity and acceptance. This book celebrates some of our favorite stories, and is presented as a gift of thanks to our students, colleagues, friends, and family, who have supported the existence and success of this project.   This special, April 2015 print edition of Unity in Diversity: Collected Stories features some of our favorite stories from 100 students, but there are so many stories left to tell. We hope that you will follow our Facebook page to see stories from hundreds of other students and individuals across Indonesia. Thank you for your support and continued interest in Unity in Diversity: Collected Stories. We are so proud of our students and we are eager to share their narratives and celebrate their successes in this book. We hope you will also enjoy their stories, and that this book will bring you as much joy, learning, and love as it has brought us.   With gratitude from the Unity in Diversity: Collected Stories team: Sam Bishop, Abigail Jameson, Benjamin Levine, Jilisa Milton, Raul Quintana, Dylan Renca, Katy Rennenkampf, Elizabeth Silverman, Clare Volz, and Annabelle Wilmott.    

“Indonesia has a population that has a high tolerance of mutual respect for each other.” Rifa, Semarang

“I love listening to music. Especially, I love metal. I love hardcore songs.

Whenever I listen to it, I feel I alive. It’s like my anger is a confession.”

Amira Lutfia, Yogyakarta

“I think the most important parts of my

life is my family and my friends. Because,

actually, they are my truly happiness. And

they can give me spirit every day. And they make my life more colorful. […] I am

closer with my mom because she is a

woman and she is built like me. So I tell

everything to my mom. She is like my alive

diary.”

Nenden, Bandung

“Something make me so proud with myself it’s I

could go to Malang for join in English debate. It’s

national debate, so I’m so proud with myself because I could join. Although I can’t win for my province, I must think for do the best, maybe

in next time.”

Maria Yunita Yeni Siri, Atambua

“It’s important to work out. If you don’t go to the gym, how are you supposed to be healthy? Also, you have to eat healthy food every day. Like this catfish. It’s delicious

and it will help you grow to be strong.”

Ayyep, Yogyakarta

“Sometimes, I feel like with all my other responsibilities, I am

becoming a worse teacher, day-by-day.”

Tri Hari Nurdi, Yogyakarta

“Music is my everything. I would give anything

for music.”

!

Gevin, Bandung !

“I am a curious person, so when I find something interest, I try to learn it.

I’m very shy when I meet a new person, but I always give my smile to

them.”

Farda, Semarang

“I accept myself as good enough always, and I appreciate

myself in any situation.”

Alexander Luka, Atambua

“Once I thought it was good to have many ideas. Now I realize it is not only about ideas. It is also about how to make them

happen. I now know the value of stepping outside of myself into the community. I want people to know me for who I am, not just for the ideas I have. I want them

to know me for the actions I do.”

! Agnes Galuh, Yogyakarta

“I have a big dream. My dream is to be accepted as a university lecturer in Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung as a doctor, or as a

psychologist at a university in Australia. I hope I can do it. Besides that, I really want to leave my mom and go to Mecca as the result of my own endeavors. I think, ‘If I can dream it, I can

do it.’” ! ! ! ! !! Nur Andini Khoirunnisa, Bandung

“My best day I ever had is when I make my parents smile and happy.” Safira, Semarang

“I want to be a pilot because every time I go to work, I can sit in the cockpit, look through the big windows- see the big clouds, the beautiful sunshine, and the stars in the night. It will never make me bored.” ! Audrey, Bandung !

“It’s important to work out. If you don’t go to the gym, how are you supposed to be healthy? Also, you have to eat healthy food every day. Like this catfish. It’s delicious

and it will help you grow to be strong.”

Ayyep, Yogyakarta

“After I graduate, I want to start a business making pies. In America, I

know they have apple pie, and blackcurrant. When I make them,

they are delicious! What about avocado? I think that might be

delicious too.”

Yogyakarta

“I like to talk to anybody about anything, like a reporter. I’m talkative. I’m cheerful. I have a pair of dimples. That’s me. ”

Emma Oshaviani Annisya, Yogyakarta

“My family can build my character [and] can increase me strong woman. Family is place for falling my heart contents. My family is my everything.” Naura, Semarang

“I have a high self confidence. I think it is very special for me because not every people have big or high confidence in theirself because I do believe that every people have their ability, their special ability, and I believe I have a special ability. Like I am easy to adapt to new environment, like make friends, I can make friends easily. I believe that is what

makes me special.”

Falih Naufal, Bandung

“When I was in Junior High School I loved to practice Tae Kwon Do. I participated in an international competition and

made it to the semi-finals. While competing I was kicked

in the head and I don’t remember what happened right after that because I

became unconscious, but I did win a bronze medal. I don’t do martial arts anymore because I have to focus on school and it takes a lot of time to train in order to compete on that

level. I still think martial arts is great, but focusing on

school is very important.” !

Finandya Fatihasari, Yogyakarta

“My father’s name is Cornelis Koli, he is a farmer and my mother’s name is Dominika Lawa [...] I have three

sisters and just one brother, both of my sisters are twin. My mother gone when they was born. I am as the first child in my family, I have a dream for me and for my

family’s life, that is ‘I want, I can be a success child and make my father proud.’ And one hobby that make me so strong with that is English. I hope I can speak English

with good. I have to continue my study, and I hope I can continue it in America or Australia..... it’s my big

dream.... and I will make it come true!”

Maria Densiana Soi, Atambua

"Model is a smart woman. So, model isn't just beautiful, but must have an attitude. The thing that makes me beautiful is myself. I think I have a high

confidence. So, everyone too must have self-

confidence. If you want to catch your dream,

don't worry about what people say about you.

Just do it!”

Indry, Bandung !

“It’s important to work out. If you don’t go to the gym, how are you supposed to be healthy? Also, you have to eat healthy food every day. Like this catfish. It’s delicious

and it will help you grow to be strong.”

Arif, Yogyakarta

“If we don’t try to meet new people, we will never learn

about other cultures. I try not to be shy, I try not to be shy to

bule. I am scared of being ignorant.”

Yogyakarta

“I love myself because I have a unique hobby. My hobby is gaming. So, I’m a girl – that why I love myself. Only a few women love gaming, because most girls love shopping, make up or going to the salon for body care. Haha. I don’t like it. I choose to play games at home.” !

Fairuz Nur Indah Putri, Bandung

“It’s important to work out. If you don’t go to the gym, how are you supposed to be healthy? Also, you have to eat healthy food every day. Like this catfish. It’s delicious

and it will help you grow to be strong.”

Arif, Yogyakarta

“They call me the Cristiano Ronaldo of my school. Because of my foot skills, and because I

like to wear jerseys. And because my hair, even though it

is not like his I still think it looks good.”

Yogyakarta

“I proud to be a Muslim in this country. I can learn the main purpose in my life, and I teach a lot about how to live in a community.”

Zaki, Semarang

“I have a healthy body.” Fitriyah, Semarang

“I love reading and writing. I never publish my writing yet

because I am afraid that people will not like my writings or

something like that. But I will try this year. I will publish it.”

Emira Rahmasari Arif,

Yogyakarta

“I’m proud of my parents. My parents taught me everything I didn’t know. He teach me how to talk, he teach me how to walk, and to communicate with other, so I can grow up like

this now. Someday I will pay them back.”

Reyhan, Bandung !

“Moment special in sweet seventeen with best friend in the my home with my family and I can surprise from best friend and also my family.” Umi, Semarang

“My mother sells Mie Ongklok. She inspires me. I want to go to

Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara (STAN) or

Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) to study

Economics and Business and one day work for an

Indonesian bank.” !

Caroline Disya, Yogyakarta

“...my mother told me that she didn’t like math and my brother too. I thought, “If everyone does not like math, who will teach it?” Finally, I decided to study it until I understood it and from then on I loved math. I was elected as a representative of my school to join the Islamic Elementary Mathematics Olympiad on the city level and I won second place. Then in junior high school I joined a math quiz competition and entered the final round, although I was not satisifed with the result. But, these are experiences that I’ve had.”

Diba Lailia Adha, Bandung

“Our state have so much religion and every religion have different pray style. I think this good because they all have purpose for pray to God. Religion is not important, the most

important is believe in God.”

Dawinder Leki, Atambua

“It was a Wednesday, it was the first day of school. My old headmaster in Jakarta called me to his office to talk about my major. My mom was already there, sitting, holding my book report from junior high school. We began talking about what’s happening with my book report. My headmaster was honest with me. He said that I’m not good enough to be placed in a science class. My mother became upset and begged the headmaster to put me in a science class because she wants me to be a medical doctor. She begged and cried, but the headmaster refused. In the end, he wanted me to join a literature class. This did not make my mom happy, so I moved to Bandung and transferred to SMA-BPI in 2 days. Now I live with my grandparents and am in a science class. But, now I realize that I am not good at science and my home life is boring. But, I am happy being a student in SMA-BPI.” Hestia, Bandung !

“I’m just a typical typical student with a very huge interest in public relations and social service. My wish, my hope, is that I could go outside and be an ambassador or something to connect Indonesia with other countries. I don’t like when people command me to do

something. I always want to be the one who asks them

to do something.”

Rafika Purnama Asri, Yogyakarta!

“I’m proud of my skill. I can program, I can dance, I can do some martial arts. My favorite hobby is probably to dance. Its modern dance. Whenever I get bored so I just feel like to express something.

So just by listening to music I can make a new move, you know, so it’s the way I express myself.”

Fadhil, Bandung

! “I love Padmanaba

(SMAN 3 Yogyakarta) because of my many

friends, helpful teachers, and fun

events. After I graduate I want to be a doctor

because I love to make people smile. If they are sick, they are sad. I want to see their smiles, so I want to be a doctor.”

! Cindy Elicia Cipta,

Yogyakarta

If you could give the world advice, what would you

say? !

“Stay alive- be happy, enjoy your life. Choose work that will make you

happy.” !

What work will make you happy?

! “I will be an actor. It’s

entertaining. It makes me happy and it makes other

people happy, too.” !

Habibi, Bandung !

“Optimism and creative side of me have always been guiding force in my life. I develop new ideas and glad to unite my creativity in the projects. I

see life with fun.”

Firman, Semarang

“My dream is to go around the world because I want to search for a unique place in every part of the world, and I want to learn in the process. I want to meet with good people.” Muhammad Harun, Atambua

“And then, I like to read poetry. I don’t know why. But, when I read poetry, this draws my heart. I really love it, because it is a step to show what I feel.” !

Laeli Lutfiani, Bandung

“It’s important to work out. If you don’t go to the gym, how are you supposed to be healthy? Also, you have to eat healthy food every day. Like this catfish. It’s delicious

and it will help you grow to be strong.”

Ayyep, Yogyakarta

“I like Instagram a lot because I can learn about different

people. I can see what someone on the other side of

the world life like!”

Azra Haidar, Yogyakarta

“If I think my culture is special because I have one of food from West Sumatera. The

name food is Rendang. Rendang is food made from cow meat, it’s tasteful of hot because had much chili. And cook it took more than 3 hours, because of the spices

should enter into meat.”

Siti Al-Qomah, Atambua

“In my house, I have a cat and a rabbit. Usually,

predators kill the prey, just like the cat kills the rabbit. But sometimes, the rabbit grows bigger

and stronger than the cat. So the cat cannot beat the rabbit. So it’s like our life. We can suffer in our life or we can wake up and

realize we can do something. We are not just growing bigger but smarter, and we do what we have to do to survive. I am the rabbit because I

am a prey. I am a human in this big world.”

Imududdih Yusufa,

Yogyakarta

“What I love about my family is they always give me a lot of love and they always spoil me. What I love about my friends is they are always there

when I need them. What I love about school…

actually, I don’t really like school but school is

the place where I can meet my friends and

study with them.”

Nira Bessie, Atambua

“The most important part of my life is my family. I think that my mom is the most important. My

mom is always there when I’m in trouble. My mom is really

beautiful.”

Irsyad Dhiya, Bandung

“I want to go to University for journalism. I don’t

want to be a journalist for a newspaper but for a

magazine. I am passionate about writing and

observing the things around me and I would like to write about the

things I see in culture and politics. It is my ultimate

goal to own my own magazine one day.”

! Azellia Alma Shafira,

Yogyakarta

“I was diagnosed with autism when I was 2 years old. I began

therapy when I was 3 years old. God bless it! I have gotten normal

slowly. Other people with

disabilities have been successful, so I can do it too. I want the world to understand people

with flaws, so they can become friends.”

! Naufal, Bandung

!

“One thing I really love about myself is the spirit that I have to learn Islam and my high motivation to be a Hafidzoh Qur’an (a person who memorizes the Qur’an). The thing that makes me love my life is the gift of God, who has given me my Islamic faith and who has brought both of my parents who have always guided me.”

Novita Dwi Safitri, Bandung

“Now, I don’t have girlfriend, because I just want to make God happy with my life

in this world.”

Noldy Elia Boys, Atambua

“My hobby is dancing, modern dance. I like dancing because I like when somebody use their bodies. I like how their bodies move. I don't have a teacher; I don’t have friends to learn about the dancing. I only use my laptop. I open Youtube and download that and I learn from there.” M. Arief Darmawan, Yogyakarta

“I think I am confident, even though I am not perfect. I

has flaws. And I always try try try even though I can’t. And I always ask questions when teacher explain. And I have hobbies different like girl.

Not like girl. Like, trekking, hiking, camping. I like

because the view is beautiful. My friends say to me I’m

inspire them. I don’t know why but it makes me feel

special.”

Putri Afifah, Bandung

“It’s important to work out. If you don’t go to the gym, how are you supposed to be healthy? Also, you have to eat healthy food every day. Like this catfish. It’s delicious

and it will help you grow to be strong.”

Arif, Yogyakarta

“This is my school. Moehi. My friend made this sticker – I

wish I could do art so people want come to Moehi. But, I

hope that I can do something else that makes people want come to Moehi. I am proud of

my school.”

Yogyakarta

“I just traveled with my school to Thailand for a music competition. I play the angklung. Thailand is great- it has a place in my heart. We played in different provinces and the last day we played in a university. That was a big performance! We loved it because we became closer with people from another country and made new friends.” Deliana, Bandung !

“I have never been to America before, and I am excited to

meet other people and learn about their culture and

compare it with ours. I love Indonesia because the people

are nice, and kind. The culture is very diverse and to

learn about it is very fun. Each region and culture in Indonesia has its own deep

meaning, and I am reminded of that when I see batik. Each type of batik has a different

meaning from others.” !

Welsen Evan Efendi, Yogyakarta (On being

accepted to a summer youth exchange program in the

United States)

! ! “I love myself because I do what I love – and that’s to read and draw and, sometimes, to play music. I love myself because I have friends who care for me. And I love myself because I’m Sundanese. What makes me unique? I have wonderful eyelashes. Everybody likes my eyelashes.”

Faisal Khuzaimi, Bandung

“I have many friends, I have so much knowledge, and I have family who loves me, so I love myself. I always smile and calm.” Rizky, Semarang

“What I love about myself is my hair, because hair is a

crown of women and it make me feel beautiful. [...] I’m

very grateful that my identity as a Muslim, because with the veil or hijab can make easier for me to maintain

and protect my hair. There is no problem between my love of [my] hair and my identity

as a Muslim.”

Pariyani Sri Gama, Atambua

!“In the future I have to be a doctor, and a doctor has to

speak English well, so yeah, I have to learn English.”

Aisyah Rahadi Safitri,

Yogyakarta

“English opens my mind about the world and science

and especially biology, because a lot of text books are written in English, not written in Indonesian, so I

have to learn English to know about biology or science or

the world.”

Hana Nurhidayati Utami, Yogyakarta

“As you know there are so many provinces in Indonesia, and there are a lot of cultures, and a lot of natural resources. There’s a lot of view in Indonesia, like

beaches and mountain. But what I really like is Indonesian people. They are like kind, lovely, and sweet. Especially my classmates. They really appreciate who I am. Like I

am Christian, and I am Bataknese, and they really appreciate who I am.”

Shindy Christianti, Bandung

“When I was a kid, my dad always said you should continue to pursue your dream as high as heaven and you have got to succeed beyond your parents. And my mom always said, ‘Don’t forget to pray and strive to make your dream come true.’ And I realized that life is just once and I will not waste my time.” ! Thareq Ishlah El-Kaffah, Bandung

“I love myself. Because if we can’t love myself, how do we love others?”

Ashfa, Semarang

“I want to be the Indonesian ambassador to Korea. I want the people of Korea to know more about Indonesia. I will introduce Indonesian culture, which Korean people may not know.” Yendri Falo, Atambua

“I promise I can do it.” Zein, Semarang

“I am studying far away from my home, Klaten. I do this because I wanted to go to

a school that offered a better quality of education, and has better connections. At SMAN 3, there are many alumni that help

you, and who care about the younger generation. I am very thankful for this

opportunity even though I must sacrifice being close to my home.”

! Aldhy Putra Hima, Yogyakarta

“My perfect day is when I could

make everyone smile and when they could make me smile too.”

Luis Soro, Atambua

“[I am proud of myself because] myself different from the others.”

Shobirin, Semarang

“It’s important to work out. If you don’t go to the gym, how are you supposed to be healthy? Also, you have to eat healthy food every day. Like this catfish. It’s delicious

and it will help you grow to be strong.”

Arif, Yogyakarta

“Even though I study Islam, I love science. I want to be a

doctor. The Koran teaches us to help sick people, so maybe I

can do both.”

Dimash Multazam, Yogyakarta

“My heritage is Indonesian, but I was born in Saudi Arabia. I lived there for 14 years. My family moved here because my father was very sick. He had a heart attack and was in a coma 3 times. My mother did not think the hospital in Saudi Arabia was enough because they use chemical treatments. She wanted to move to Lombok, Indonesia so my father could receive herbal medicine. It has helped! He is not cured, but healthier than before. ! But, I did not like Lombok because I was not comfortable with my distant relatives and there was a lot of gossip. My aunts and uncles did not like me and said rude things about my parents. So, I moved to Bandung with my older sisters. But the problem has not gone away, my family still gossips.” ! Anonymous !

“I am interested in a kind of junior Red Cross. Here in

SMAN I, I joined the TJRC. It stands for Teladan Junior Red Crescent. We use Red Crescent instead of Red Cross because it’s based on Islamic laws so

we have to perform our duties under the Islamic law. I think it's a bit fun to help people and prove to myself that I can be

useful to everyone.”

Taufiek Dida Pallevi, Yogyakarta

!

“I have a cousin, she is originally from Australia. She used to live in Jakarta when she was six she moved to Australia because her father was originally from Australia. And then when I was about 11 or 12 she came to Indonesia for holiday with our big family to Ayer Beach in Thousand Island in Jakarta. And the day before she asked, ‘Are you excited about tomorrow?’ and I can’t answer that question. That is a simple question right? I was afraid talking to native speaker. Really afraid. At the time I was shy, so shy, nervous, and hesitant. I could talk to her but I feel so stupid I can’t answer that question, like ‘Why? Why? That’s a simple questions! You can say: yeah, I’m happy, I’m excited!’ but I can’t answer. From that I thought, ‘No. I have to learn. I have to learn to speak, come on. When she go here again I will know to talk to her.’ She

hasn’t come yet, but, you see? I can talk to you!”

Hasna, Bandung

“The cultures [of] Indonesia are so different of one and another. It’s hard to find a country that have lots of different cultures. So hard. But, I’m glad that I was born as Indonesian!” Amelia, Semarang

“I will go to America because over there is a free country. I choose

America because I wanna learn about life there and see the difference

between life there and life in Indonesia.”

Yudi, Atambua

“Actually, there is some hidden passion that always stays in the back of my mind - a passion to change the country. I really pity my own country because the government doesn’t really care about it and I really want to change that. I love this country and I want this country to become a developed country.” ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !Risyda Fuadah, Bandung

“We have a good friendship. We are different in some ways. Two of us are in the social class (track), the other one in the science class (track). We have different hobbies:

singing, writing, and drawing. We live in different parts of the city, but we love to hang out together in school because our personalities connect. We love to talk about things

and solve our problems together. We feel comfortable with each other.” !

Galuh Purbosari, Dea Erninda, and Erni Irdewanti Yogyakarta

“My biggest goals are to make my parents and the

people who support me happy and proud of me

because they bring me the spirit to

reach my dream.”

Chrystin Chandra, Atambua

“At first, I insisted to join a science class because I wanted to be an astronaut. But, my strengths are in social classes. So I switched to social class. People often asked me, ‘Why did you switch to social class? It’s associated with lazy students.’ I say, ‘Because, I knew I have potential in the social track. I wanted to prove to people that their perception of social students is wrong.’ ! Actually, I have been the champion of 3 English competitions. I’ve joined more than 8 English competitions. When I joined my first competition, it was an English debate. At that time, I was really nervous- clumsy, trembling. I was nervous because that was my first time performing in front of many people. It was in a mall! I was eliminated in the first round. It did put my spirit down. Because then I was used to performing in front of many people. I then joined many other competitions through SMA-BPI. During my second competition, the judges were Australians. I attempted to use a British accent and one of the judges told me I am ‘an English man.’ ! Now I aspire to study in a foreign country. I want to learn about foreign cultures- America, Russia, every culture is interesting and I love to learn languages. My family inspires because my father is a civil servant- we are not rich, not poor, it’s sufficient. I want to be somebody prominent. I want to be somebody who will change the world.” ! Bintang, Bandung !

“I have many friends from other place [..] NTT very different from what the

others think. They are think NTT is very primitive place, but actually NTT is

beautiful place. [...] Every they come to this place then they will love this place.

I believe it.”

Yuni Dwilestari Siregar, Atambua

“I love surfing. The last holiday I went to Bali and I saw a lot of people

surfing. I became interested with that, so I just tried to surf and I loved it.”

Amadea Kana, Yogyakarta

“In my view, I think Muslims are beautiful religion as Muslim originated of the simplicity.” Yusuf, Semarang

“My hobby is soccer. And I want to be best player and can join to play with

TIMNAS Indonesia. I will more practice to get my ideal and make my parents

proud of me.”

Robertus Besin, Atambua

“Well, its weird because I think English is one of the most interesting things I’ve learned all my life and I like it very much. I like English literature. My grandfather was a professor in literature of English. Ever since I started learning English its always been a pleasure of me to do that. So I

don’t have any complaint of learning English. I like it very much. Somehow for me seeing a beautiful poetry or a novel or words that are complicated it doesn’t bother me. It makes we want

to learn it a lot more. And I think its beautiful to see something like that. It’s very very very interesting for me. Somebody else might find it weird. Some people might not fancy that. Ever

since I saw something like a complicated words that nobody understands, I actually like it. I think it’s a beautiful thing that human kind has made.”

Daniel, Bandung

“I’m a friendly woman and that’s so important to me!!!! Indonesian people

are friendly like me !.”

Nabila Afrok, Semarang

“I have four exams tomorrow. But there is a soccer game I want to

watch too. It is a difficult decision. I think I will

watch the game.”

Tsalis Faudi, Yogyakarta

“I always appreciate myself and I am always satisfied with myself.” Desry Medah, Atambua

“I believe someday I can prove with all people that me can be success. Someday I want to be famous translator, and I can have many money so I can [travel around] the world. I can meet my friends in Thailand, Philippines, and Nepal because I have friends in there.” Nur, Semarang

“I really like martial arts. One thing that I like from martial arts is that the exercise can make me forget my problems for a few hours. But after that I will find out the solutions to the problems. Although the exercise makes my body so tired, I enjoy that because it is a part of

my world.” Dianita, Atambua

“The only thing that I love from myself is my life. I can laugh; I can cry; I can be angry; I can feel shame; I can sing; I can fall in love; I can learn and I can take every little possibility and move forward.” !!

Muhammad Farhan Mulyadi, Bandung

What is your favorite thing about being Indonesia?

! “All of the cultures- all of them.”

! Corie, Bandung !

“[The best day of my life was] when I went to the zoo with my family. My family and I visited the zoo in Bogor. We walking together around the zoo and take a picture with animal over there. We take a picture with crocodile, elephant, cockatoo, peacock, deer, snake, monkey, and other. We ate ice cream together in store over there…I felt very happy.” Fifin, Semarang

“I want to show the world that studying the Koran is cool. I

think many people in the world do not know what is in the

Koran, and don’t follow because they are distracted by cool things. But I like it. See, look at me! This looks cool.”

Yogyakarta

"I love to sing because singing is a blessing from God to me. If I have a problem, I just sing to feel better. I feel calm.” Zachya Francis, Atambua

“I am dressed as Srikandi, one of the characters in

Wayang Kulit. His story is very interesting to me because he is a great

warrior. He was born as a girl, but changed his

gender in order to fight and to survive.”

! Salsa, Yogyakarta

“I’m proud of myself is me as a good student and achievement. I was also not very good in English and my ability to talk too limited. [But now] I want to [become] a teacher

English. I think English very easy if we want to practice and always keep trying.” Santi Veneria Keno, Atambua

“I have a dream that more Indonesian people make some

changes so that Indonesian products can be seen around the world. Not just its culture, like

gamelan or batik, or buildings like Borobodur, Prambanan, but that

its products can be seen all around the world.”

Windy Deftia M., Yogyakarta

“For me, in my opinion, Bhinekka Tunggal Ika is something like, you are respect each other without differenting background of people. If they are Sundanese tribe or Javanese tribe or Batak tribe, something like that, but we are still united, we still become one, we are Indonesia. I know that

Indonesia is separate from the sea, and we are very big, a big country, but we are still united when something like another tribe, like in 2004 Aceh has a tsunami, we come together, become one to

help Aceh. For me that is the Bhinekka Tunggal Ika. When you respect each other, and you doesn’t very racist, and you respect other life and they respect our life, and we are helping each other when we need help, like brotherhood. The size is the country, not just the community, we are a country.

We must help our brother. This is Bhinneka Tunggal Ika for me.”

Muhammad Dhafin Fauzan, Bandung

“I have a bag. Its color is chocolate. I always bring it whenever I go to school. It is made of strong fabric. My bag isn’t expensive, but it is very useful to me.” Nisa, Semarang

“We love to challenge our bodies with physical activity. Every year in

December we have Pengembaraan Desember Tradisional (Traditional

December Adventure). It is our favorite event. First we create teams. Then we walk for 100 km with 20kg weights

and participate in a competition where we use survival techniques to reach a base camp. The entire event lasts for four days, and we love meeting the other students from other schools because we create friendships and

cheer each other on.” !

Nurjannah Lorensa Oktaviani and Annisa Dianing Ratri, Yogyakarta

“I can make laugh other people. Because I am

absurd people ! And my friend ever said to me,

‘Nurul, tomorrow is holiday, maybe I can’t laugh without

you. I will sad at home alone.’ She say that. So, my friends love me so much. Sometimes, there’s other

people not love me. But, is no problem for me. I still

have many people who love me.”

Nurul, Semarang

“Music is life; guitar is love.” !

Helsa Feby Kurnia, Bandung

“My best friend is Rifqi. We always together. Anywhere, anytime. We always solve the problem together. All we do is

always together.”

Ikhsan, Semarang

“I want to be a good manager because I think people can learn something good from me, especially my leadership.” Echa Pandu, Atambua

“It’s important to work out. If you don’t go to the gym, how are you supposed to be healthy? Also, you have to eat healthy food every day. Like this catfish. It’s delicious

and it will help you grow to be strong.”

Ayyep, Yogyakarta

Schools Featured:

MAN I Semarang MAN 2 Semarang

Muhammadiyah I Yogyakarta SMAN I Yogyakarta SMAN 3 Yogyakarta

SMAN I Atambua SMKN I Atambua

MAN I Kota Bandung SMAN 8 Bandung

SMA Yayasan Badan Perguruan Indonesia, Bandung

!

Unity in Diversity : !Collected Stories !