A memory of India 2013

 

https://www.kompasiana.com/faizalrisdianto/5528fae2f17e6117278b4578/lots-of-fun-learning-in-india

 What a busy yet joyful day it has been, reflecting on my memorable experience joining a summer short course in IT, Networking, and Communication Skills in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Since June 10th, I have been learning and exploring IT, networking, and English, and up to now, I feel there are several important things I would love to share with you:

1. India as a Great Place to Learn IT
India is one of the most advanced places to study IT. Many global technology companies such as Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have established offices there and employ thousands of talented Indian IT professionals. This shows how strong India’s IT industry has become. I even wrote about this in my Indonesian article titled Kenapa Ahli IT India Lebih Suka Kerja di Luar India?

An interesting fact is that although Microsoft has released its operating systems and software in many languages, it has never released Microsoft Windows in Hindi. Perhaps this reflects how globally oriented the Indian IT market is.

2. Indian People: Hardworking and Full of Confidence
Indian people are hardworking and have remarkable self-confidence, no matter what challenges they face. From my apartment, I often see workers walking long distances from their neighborhoods to their workplaces every day. Their determination is truly inspiring.

I have also spoken with Indian students and teenagers, and I could feel their confidence in the way they speak and express themselves. On the streets, you can often see Tata Nano cars passing by or parked proudly as a symbol of national pride. It reminds me of Indonesia’s dream of having a national car, Esemka. As someone from Solo, I even wrote an article comparing Tata and Esemka titled Kisah Mobil Tata versus Esemka.

3. Learning English in a Global Context
Regarding the use of English as a medium of teaching and learning in India, this has been a wonderful reminder that English is spoken differently and uniquely around the world. The world is not only filled with British or American English speakers, but also Indian English, Singaporean English, and many other vibrant varieties of English.

In my class, my IT and networking instructor, Praphat Singh, teaches in English and always encourages me to keep learning. Whenever I feel tired or bored with computers, he says, “You’re not making enough effort, Faizal.” That simple sentence motivates me greatly. His encouragement and personal attention to every participant’s progress are qualities that teachers and lecturers everywhere can learn from.

4. One Last Thought: Incredible India
Despite the extremely hot weather, visible poverty in some places, and occasional dishonest traders in traditional markets, I can honestly say that I have experienced the spirit of Incredible India. It is a country full of energy, opportunity, resilience, and unforgettable lessons.

My time here has been full of learning, fun, and inspiration—and I will always treasure this experience.

Mockingbird atau Ajuk-Ajuk in Indonesian language

Ajuk-Ajuk (bahasa Inggris: Mockingbird) adalah sekelompok burung pengicau Dunia Baru dari keluarga Mimidae.Mereka terkenal karena kebiasaan beberapa spesies meniru nyanyian burung lain serta suara serangga dan amfibi. ^[1].  Ada sekitar 17 spesies dalam dua genus, meskipun tiga spesies dari Kepulauan Galápagos sebelumnya dipisahkan menjadi genus ketiga, Nesomomus. Burung Ajuk-Ajuk tampaknya tidak membentuk garis keturunan monofili, karena Mimus dan Melanotis bukan kerabat terdekat satu sama lain. Sebaliknya, Melanotis lebih dekat dengan burung-kucing tutul, sedangkan kerabat terdekat Mimus yang masih hidup adalah Ajuk-Ajuk penebah, seperti Ajuk-Ajuk penebah berparuh batu . ^{[2] [3]}

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Ajuk-Ajuk Utara

Mimus polyglottos

[CNA 24/7 LIVE] Breaking news on Asia and award-winning documentaries and shows

 

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Draft of Developed Research Topic on Politeness and Impoliteness Strategies

 Draft of Developed Research Topic on Politeness and Impoliteness Strategies

Politeness and Impoliteness Strategies in Lecturer–Student Communication Within Cyberpragmatic Chats: A Relational and Rapport-Based Perspective

This proposed research develops the earlier cyberpragmatic study by repositioning politeness and impoliteness not merely as rule-governed linguistic behavior, but as dynamic relational practices negotiated between lecturers and students in digitally mediated academic interaction. In the last five years, scholarship on politeness and impoliteness has increasingly moved beyond the traditional Brown and Levinson face-saving paradigm toward interactional, relational, multimodal, and context-sensitive approaches. Therefore, lecturer–student communication in WhatsApp, Telegram, email, Google Classroom, and other online platforms should be analyzed as sites where power, identity, solidarity, institutional hierarchy, and interpersonal meanings are constantly co-constructed.

Arundale’s Relational Theory of Face views face not as an individual possession but as participants’ emergent sense of connectedness and separateness during interaction. This perspective is highly relevant to cyberpragmatic chats because students and lecturers continually negotiate distance and closeness through greetings, response timing, address terms, emoji use, apologies, directives, and silence. A delayed lecturer response, for example, may be interpreted either as institutional busyness or relational distancing, depending on contextual expectations. Likewise, overly brief student messages such as “Sir, task?” may threaten relational connectedness because they minimize respect rituals expected in Indonesian academic culture. Thus, the study can examine how digital utterances index inclusion, exclusion, authority, and mutual recognition.

Spencer-Oatey’s Rapport Management Theory also provides a strong analytical lens because it explains how interactants manage three domains: face sensitivities, sociality rights, and interactional goals. In lecturer–student cyber communication, students often seek academic goals (extensions, clarification, recommendations), while lecturers balance pedagogical authority with approachability. Recent developments in rapport studies emphasize the role of expectation management, appropriateness norms, and emotion in online interaction. For instance, students may perceive a lecturer’s one-word reply as impolite because it violates expectations of warmth, even if the message is informationally sufficient. Conversely, lecturers may evaluate repeated reminders from students as intrusive violations of their autonomy rights.

Recent impoliteness theory (2019–2025) has also highlighted unintentional impoliteness, perceived impoliteness, algorithmic pressure, and digital aggression. In asynchronous chat environments, impoliteness often arises not from deliberate offense but from absent paralinguistic cues, message brevity, typing style, punctuation, or timing. A lecturer’s use of capitals (SUBMIT TODAY) may be read as urgency or anger. A student’s failure to greet may stem from efficiency rather than disrespect. Therefore, the study should distinguish speaker intention, hearer perception, and community norms, especially in bilingual Indonesian-English contexts where pragmatic transfer frequently occurs.

The Indonesian Islamic university context adds further novelty because politeness is frequently enhanced through religious expressions such as Assalamu’alaikum, Jazakumullah khairan, mohon izin, insyaAllah, or barakallah. These expressions function not only as lexical politeness markers but also as identity resources that strengthen moral alignment, humility, and relational warmth. However, recent discourse studies suggest such expressions may also become routinized or strategically instrumental. Hence, this research can investigate whether religious language genuinely builds rapport or merely performs expected etiquette within institutional communication.

FLOW (2024) Oscar-winning & Best animation movie ever!

 

 

 Flow (2024) Film Subtitle Indonesia: https://www.bilibili.tv/id/video/4795144170771968 Oscar-winning & Best animation movie ever. An epic story of friendship, honesty and courage of facing life obstacles!

Flow memenangkan Academy Award (Oscar) untuk Best Animated Feature pada ajang Academy Awards ke-97 yang digelar tahun 2025. Film ini mengalahkan nominasi besar seperti Inside Out 2, The Wild Robot, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, dan Memoir of a Snail.

Kemenangan ini dianggap bersejarah karena Flow adalah film independen dari Latvia dan menjadi film Latvia pertama yang memenangkan Oscar. Film ini dipuji karena berhasil menyampaikan emosi mendalam tanpa dialog, hanya melalui visual, musik, dan ekspresi karakter hewan-hewan di dalamnya.

Keberhasilan Flow menunjukkan bahwa kreativitas, cerita yang kuat, dan nilai kemanusiaan dapat mengalahkan produksi besar beranggaran tinggi. Pesan film ini tentang kerja sama, keberanian, dan hubungan dengan alam menjadi salah satu alasan mengapa film ini sangat menyentuh penonton dunia.

Flow (2024) adalah film animasi tanpa banyak dialog yang menyajikan kisah seekor kucing yang harus bertahan hidup setelah dunia dilanda banjir besar. Dalam perjalanannya, sang kucing bertemu berbagai hewan lain di sebuah perahu kecil, seperti anjing, kapibara, dan burung. Meski memiliki sifat dan kebiasaan berbeda, mereka dipaksa bekerja sama untuk menghadapi arus deras, ketakutan, serta ketidakpastian. Film ini mengandalkan visual yang indah dan suasana emosional untuk menunjukkan perjuangan makhluk hidup dalam mencari keselamatan dan harapan.

Secara filosofis, film ini mengajarkan pentingnya mencintai alam. Banjir besar dalam cerita menjadi simbol bahwa alam memiliki kekuatan yang jauh lebih besar daripada manusia maupun makhluk lain. Ketika keseimbangan alam rusak, semua makhluk akan merasakan dampaknya. Karena itu, manusia diajak untuk hidup selaras dengan lingkungan, menjaga hutan, air, dan ekosistem agar kehidupan tetap harmonis.

Film ini juga menonjolkan nilai persahabatan. Para hewan yang awalnya asing bahkan saling curiga akhirnya belajar saling membantu. Mereka menunjukkan bahwa perbedaan karakter bukan penghalang untuk bersatu. Persahabatan sejati lahir bukan karena kesamaan, tetapi karena kesediaan untuk peduli dan bertahan bersama dalam masa sulit.