One of unique aspects of the Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP) MA International Disaster Psychology (MAIDP) program is the opportunity for students to travel, work and live internationally while completing their field experiences students live and work in uncomfortable and unfamiliar culture conditions. Describe your interest and expectations about working under these conditions and the strength and weakness you would bring to the experience.
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Urip iku urup, an indigenous Javanese maxim means life is enlightening, is having deep meaning to me. While you help others, you will get broad mindedness and God will going to help you back in unexpected occasion. In accordance to the maxim's spirit, I believe the way of share and give means the barter system of accepting more pleased. I am always exhilarating when I have an opportunity to help people who are living in vulnerability.
I am always exhilarating when I have an opportunity to help people who are living in vulnerability. Even you just putting your hand around someone's arm or listening about what they need, it seems like you want to say, don't panic, you're not alone because I'm here to help you. If you can see the victim succeed reducing their panic, breathing normally and giving you sincere smiles, it is such rewarding and humbling experience that I would like to do as my obsession to become professional humanitarian worker. One of the blissful occasion I did is when I held hands of children in 2010 Merapi's eruption. At the time I do voluntary work in refugee camp in Keji village, Muntilan district, Yogyakarta particularly in the area of children trauma healing, the children's smiling would always bear in my mind as the adorable moment.
Living at the situation of Merapi eruption covering with full of eruptions' ash, limited access of water and food, no electricity and the uncertain nature condition realizes me that I love to aid people in emergency. These situations obviously are not as comfortable as your leisure spending in Conrad resort Bali, but it will all be paid off with a sincere smile of those who succeed you help. The work in disaster can be compelling and rewarding as we stand as helper and also survivor. To deal with unpredictable occasions, disaster aid workers are inextricably intertwined to adjusting skill. I have trained to adjust for living in different places for the last 7 years. This started when I decided to pursue my bachelor degree in Diponegoro University (UNDIP), Semarang, a 1000 km city away from my hometown, Palembang South Sumatra. I have to adjust with certain condition surrounding in my college environment which obviously different, the interaction, vernacular language, daily dietary, were 180 degree different with my prior live. This then has formed me to be more honor with the cultural and individual differences. In 2013 to date, I conduct rural community service program called PSP3 under the compulsory of Indonesian state ministry of youth and sport. In this work area I have to adjust with the situation amongst mothers to empower them in making village trash bank and children that I have to attach in order to raise their motivation to come and study in village library that I formed.
Moreover, doing volunteering in the area of disastrous psychology sometimes is challenging what is more whenever there is a disaster of any magnitude, it offers crucial emotional. In certain culture, however, people are not encourage to express their emotion. Thus, you suppose to pull off the shock and be able to deal with it. In dealing with psychological state, the workers have to aid survivors with wide range of response, sometimes normal response on abnormal situation may exaggerate. In catharsis session of my Merapi's volunteering, for instance, I tended to build rapport among Keji's refugee with simple questions such as: what about the camp condition, is it quite safe for you to sleep? or how about the taste of daily food given? These questions succeed to raise their rapport then they can more open emotionally. "I keep thinking about what's happening up there, with my cows, my property," said one of treated refugee. Furthermore, I have been proved that the most effective weapon to respect them is with sincere smile.
Struggling to speak the language is one of the common problems aid workers experience on international assistance. Based on my recent experience, as the national language, Bahasa Indonesia stands as the lingua franca in all of the Indonesia regions but this is not work as we go to some rural areas. Local inhabitants are comfortably to use their vernacular language. Even though they knew how to speak Bahasa, less of them can appropriately use in face to face communication. They may respond to me appropriately if I use Panjenengan, polite Javenese greeting to say you, rather than Anda, formal Bahasa to say you. Indeed, in certain times, I should learn what they want to say and use some materials close to me to explain what I want to say. I would say that using movement as body language or paper and pencil sometimes are a must.
I am about 22 pounds overweight right now, this may weaken my performance while do rush work in the disaster assistance. But, this is not always proven as my body is strength enough for hiking Bromo 29's peak at 9514 feet high (2900 m) above sea level. Even though some outdoor activities as I was the chief of Psikologi Hijau, a care environmental organization in faculty of psychology UNDIP, are not closely engaged, I still intensively do mild physical exercise to maintain my health. My posture, obviously, cannot prevent my passion to help others.
Hello SHanafi,
There a number of verb tense and word choice errors in this essay; I'd recommend reading though it and correcting whatever you find first, then re-posting for the community to proofread.
One thought on the overall message of the essay is that while I think you address the benefits and challenges in working in "uncomfortable and unfamiliar culture conditions" ("it will all be paid off with a sincere smile of those who succeed you help" and "I am about 22 pounds overweight right now, this may weaken my performance while do rush work in the disaster assistance"), but I think you might be able to touch a little more on the cultural challenges you might face in the disaster areas. All cultures have their enigmas and challenges, including language and customs barriers. Maybe you could include a section about how you'd deal with those?
Hope this helps!
That's a good addition to the essay! Now, what'd I'd suggest you do is perform some editing and consolidate some of these paragraphs together. I'm not sure what your word limit is here, but right now, your essay is close to 900 words long, which can be too long for many readers. Usually, 500 words is a good length to answer a question prompt like this. (of course, if the prompt states elsewhere that they expect something longer that 500 words, follow the prompt)
Also, with the addition of your new paragraph, I think your paragraph that begins with "I am about 22 pounds overweight right now,..." is a little out of place. Consider moving this paragraph to a more logical place in the essay, or use an introductory clause like, "One of the other challenges that I face is that..."
