& a m p e r s a n d

Superblessed.

If you ask me what my dream destination is, the answer will be clear: NEW YORK CITY. Alicia Keys had said it eloquently; that city is a concrete jungle where dreams are made. There are countless pieces of art that was made inspired by this city. Famed musician such as Bono created a beautiful song “City of Blinding Lights” as a tribute for Times Square’s blinding neon sign. Romantic comedy movies, or even iconic movies such as King Kong have used this city as their main set. I’ve been exposed to the beauty of New York since very little, and the city has grown in me. I really want to visit it someday.

Having the chance to visit New York is one of the main reasons why months ago I still wanted to study in New York University Abu Dhabi or Wesleyan University. Both universities offered a small chance for me to visit or even to live in the city: Wesleyan is located just 3 hours from New York, while NYU Abu Dhabi has a January Term exchange program to New York. Maybe you’ll ask me, why don’t you just go straight to the Big Apple and study there? Well, my family can’t afford the real Washington-Square NYU and both universities offered a hefty amount of financial aid. These dreams were alive for at least a year, until I finally settled with a more realistic choices.

Back then I simply thought, “Why not?” As time gone by, I realized that living in America, or somewhere far from my country, is not going to be an easy thing. To be honest, I’m not prepared until now to start a fresh new life, alone, in a new country, with nobody to support me. The songs or the poems might advised me to start something anew and scrap my comfort zone. Hell, these things are extremely hard! I’ve experienced living in Scotland, thousand miles away from home, and what I constantly did was skyping my mom. *le long sigh*

Plans were changed, but my dream remains the same. I still want to visit the city very badly, with an unknown, irrational reason. My phone and notebook wallpapers are usually sight of landmarks in New York; one of my favorite is my current desktop wallpaper which is a view from the top of the Rockefeller Center.

Gorgeous, isn’t it?

So yeah, that’s my severe obsession in the city, or in general, the United States of America. I thought of joining exchange programs such as AFS or YES, but these programs would not send me directly to the places that I want to be. What if I got stuck up way down in Texas, or far-far-away in the West Coast? Will I be able to buy a plane ticket alone for myself? Oh, the other reason is that I don’t want a four year high school, I want to graduate on time. These are the reasons why I finally gave up my super-complicated registration forms and chose debating instead, in hope for miracles that one day, this activity will bring me closer to my dream.

It will, indeed.

Two days ago, God showed His miracles to me. It was a hot, sunny day, and I was just got back from a dull first day of exam. As I walked to enter my room, my cellphone rang. It was from an unknown phone number with Jakarta area code. I picked it up right away, and a lady (or a girl, I wasn’t certain) was speaking from the other end.

“Hello, is this Wisnu Aryo Setio, from the national team of World Schools Debating Championship?”

“That’s correct. I’m sorry, who’s speaking?”

“Oh, my name is Reta from the… Ministry of the Foreign Affairs.”

I took a deep, deep breath.

“Wisnu, you are offered a chance to join the Outstandings Students for the World program. This is a special program, limited for 16 students who has given a big contribution for the country. We will send you to….”

*drumrolls*

“…several States in the United States of America, including Washington D.C., Boston, Pittsburgh, and….”

You can guess the rest.

“New York.”

—-

I immediately said yes, a capital Y-E-S, and I suddenly burst into happy tears. I didn’t know if the program was legit or not, It might be a funny joke from Gen FM’s Salah Sambung. I wasn’t sure that it was for real, until the next day, when I finally got to see a legitimate proof that this is going to happen for sure. It was a piece of fax paper. The Ministry’s name and logo was written faintly on top, and few paragraphs later, my name is there in the participants list.

I’m very, very sure that all of you will be surprised when you know what will I do there. My first days will be spent in Washington D.C., home of the White House and the Capitol Hill. I will visit some extraordinarily important places, such as Mr. Dino Patti Djalal’s office: The Indonesian Embassy (It’s one of my dream office, actually), USA’s Ministry of Education to have a discussion about education, USA’s Secretary of States, and… The Capitol itself to meet Indonesian Caucus. Lastly, we will have an educational tour to the Smithsonian Museum! Yay for Night at the Museum 2!

The second part of the trip will be New York.

*stop typing for a while, filled with joy*

I WILL VISIT THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTER.

*dances gleefully*

AND ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL LANDMARKS. OH. MY. GOD.

*sobbing so hard*

Next part will be Boston and Pittsburgh, to visit several top ivy-leagues. Holy Allah! Imagine setting your feet in Harvard’s vast open space, or even better, having the chance to take a glimpse of the classes offered there. Good, good God.

The last seven days remain a secret, because all the itinerary is scheduled by their Secretary of States. One more thing… Will be a visit to 1 Infinite Loop. I hope this is not tentative, and if you have no idea on what 1 Infinite Loop is, try the Google bar in the top right of your browser.

You might be even more surprised to know that I will go there TWENTY DAYS FROM NOW. TWENTY. FRIGGIN. DAYS. No crappy visa process, plus equipped with a diplomatic passport.

—-

Having said all of these, I know very well that some things can possibly cancel my departure there. My health, my body situation, my family situation, and endless “black swans” that can just pop out of nowhere. I must be prepared for situations like these, but I do hope that all of you dear readers, can pray for me; in hope that things will work out as what they should be. I believe in this simple old proverb: When there is a will, there is a way. God has sent me this close to my dream and I hope that he will end my story in a sweet, happy ending. Amen for that.

One last thing I want to promise you, my dear readers, is that I am going to write the whole trip down. I may create a new blog, dedicated solely for my American trip, and as soon as I made it, I will share the link as soon as possible. I had regrets because I didn’t create a journal for my Scotland trip, so some of important or funny conversations were not recorded. Well, I don’t want to fall in the same hole all over again. I want to keep the memories, as intact as possible, so that everyone can learn from this important trip. Not just me, but all of you guys out there.

Few months ago, I posted a quote that sounded more or less like this: “Dare to dream, and God will hug yours.”

He hugged mine, and He will make it true. Alhamdulillah.

Catch you all later,

Iyo.