August 16th, 2020
Finally, I was so exited to hear that my school, Orlando Ballet School has announced the new 2020-2021 academic year. I know that this should be the only thing I have been waiting for in the past few months, but I also know that it is going to be even more difficult for my mom and dad to send back me to Orlando in this down time. My mom told me that we’re really struggling so much with finances and that we have lots and lots of things to consider. Knowing that I couldn’t ask for anything, I could only hope and pray that I can attend my second year at Orlando Ballet School.
With lots of struggling and considerations, my mom decided me to go for the second year. Can you imagine how happy and so grateful I am for that. I could never thank you enough for my family sacrifices for making this possible, my mom, my dad and even my little sister, they have to put their everything aside for me. There is only one thing in my mind, I don’t want to let them down. All I know that this time, I will have more responsibility, so that means I have to work far much harder than before, knowing that being able to continue my ballet training means my family sacrifices. It’s everything we have. I know in fact my mom had to sacrifice lots things that we don’t even have yet. That shows how huge is the trust they have in me to risk everything. I had mixed feeling, I felt like crying, I was over joyed, blessed, but also sad at the same time to see how the people I love in the whole world has to sacrifice a great deal for me. I just wish that I could be strong enough, tough enough and ready enough to face everything. I could only count on my God to give me strength and guidance to get trough of everything.
It wasn’t easy to get the airfare ticket with the current situation, realizing we have very limited budget and my mom had to go as well to help me settle, because I haven’t get any housing in Orlando yet and everything was still unconfirmed and uncertain, yes my mom planned for me to live in an apartment, because I cannot get the same housing arrangement as previously. And I could live in an apartment only if I can get roommates, so we can share the housing cost, and which I also didn’t have yet as well. My mom had pre-booked our ticket, but right on the next day, when she was about to pay the ticket, the price was already increased about IDR 4 million difference, and it wasn’t even exceed the time limit. How so unfair, only 1 day difference and I thought that is what booking means, to make sure that we have the price and the availability, but no, everything has changed know, the things work has changed, the world is not the same anymore. In the end, my mom has to find another ticket with much higher price. I still am so sorry for this fo my mom.
The next thing my mom and I had to do was the Covid-19 PCR test! My mom took very seriously in finding all the informations to make sure that we can fly from Indonesia to Orlando. Certainly we didn’t want what happened to me back then in Orlando when I was denied to fly to Indonesia. And it was confirmed that we had to have negative PCR test result to be able to fly for international flight. So we did. It cost us IDR 1 million for 1 person, so that was IDR 2 million for the two of us (me and my mom). And you know what, nobody even care about the PCR test result at the airport, nobody asked us to show it or to submit it, not the airlines check-in counter, not the security checkin, not the immigration counter, and certainly not at the gate counter. That has made the IDR 2 million a waste of money and trust me that was a lot, not only for me but for my whole family.
Same thing with when I flew back to Indonesia, I had to sleep at the Newark airport during the layover, with my mom off course.
Next, the car rental! Realizing that we would have to travel to lots of places to get all the necessary for groceries, the moving in, plus I will have to bring my own furniture if I live in an apartment, since the apartment was totally unfurnished, means at least I had to have my own bed with complete bedding. My mom booked a car for us online only for three days.
Lucky we had a beautiful graffiti wall view for the night right in front of us. Can you imagine finding this beautiful artwork at the Newark Airport? 
Our spot for the night and my amazing mom had to work on her Jakarta and Surabaya project.