Thousands of miles apart, An hour of time difference away,  
A 6-hour flight too far

A rant from an International Student

Finally, the caffeine kicked in and so is my artistic vibe. There were nights when I waited, after downing cup after cup of coffee, for my writer’s block to lift its way up. So here I am on what was meant to be a thesis-night, letting my fingers dance with the keyboard and let the motion sway my stress away.  These days what I’m prouder of are my hard-earned eyebags, my  five times a day coffee habit and my Bahasa Indonesia Conversational skills that’s  making me more and more confused in every conversation. But here’s the thing, It’s not as difficult as I hoped.

There are long nights, I won’t deny that. And I might have shed a tear or two. But in every passing day, even how confusing and frustrating everything is, I learned to be more and more determined to finish my studies here. There were so many times that I doubted my choice of taking this scholarship and flying out of the Philippines. I could have easily done this in my homeland. I can take my master’s degree and be in the comfort of my family and friends, instead of eating a tasteless siomay and being constantly asked, “Daremana?” (Where are you from?).

However, what is so special with something so easily done by anyone. I read a great book written by the famous, Bo Sanchez. He said that what drives a person to be successful it to not just to go out of her comfort zone but to find her courage zone. And here I am uncertain maybe of the true reason why I am here, but am full of courage to extinguish every thought of sadness and hopelessness every waking morning. What can be so big of a challenge when you have a big faith and an even bigger God? 

“We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

Romans 8:37