Prologue ASIAN GAMES 2018

Prologue
 
ASIAN GAMES 2018

Author : Syifaa Azzahra

Editor : Yunindya Astria

Proofreader : Rizki Nur Cholifah

            It was the end of March. I was about to give up on signing up for the Asian Games 2018 volunteer registration. But I guess I was just meant to be a volunteer because the registration was extended for a week more. And that’s when I thought I had to be a part of the event, I finished the entire form in one day. However in the form, there was a question of where I wanted to be assigned. There were three choices, and I chose the one that was the furthest distance which was Palembang. A distant city I had never set foot on. I chose that because I thought I’d only go on a single trip, and because I love adventure. But you’ll see how it would end.

            The day of the announcement came and my name was in the list. But when I looked for my name in the test place and date parts, it wasn’t there. I asked the mentioned contact person and they said my name was in the Palembang’s list. I was dumbfounded and thought, I was not even accepted, yet I had to go to this city which I had no the slightest idea what it’d be like. Not to mention the amount of money I’d spend and the number of classes I’d miss.

            I took that really big decision of going all the way to Palembang without thinking twice of what consequences I might find myself in. The first time I went there, I spent one and a half day. I was supposed to be there for less than a day, but I booked the flight ticket on the wrong day and ended up going home a day late. Silly, I know. Luckily I got accepted, so I went there for the second time with much more knowledge about Palembang, I spent about a week living mostly in a rented room with my friend from Yogya, Anggi, the first foreigner friend I met in Palembang. I spent the last day with my auntie and uncle at their house. They were really nice people, They were the ones who took me across the Ampera Bridge for the first time. The third time I went there, I spent two days for a job specific training that only lasted for 9 hours. On that day, I met really good people that I still keep in touch with untill this day. They are Alsya, Mila, Cindy, Riffie, Tri and Abyan. The night after we had the training, we had dinner together in the street food stall and they are one of the reasons that I was grateful for choosing Palembang.

            The consequesnces I spoke about in the beginning did come. Because of the lack of information and I guess some miscommunication from the committees of INASGOC (Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee), there were different informations on when we should have started working. I’m not trying to write bad things about them. It’s just that they said this event’s preparation took 10 years and yet the information system was just chaotic.

            That bad communication led us to wondering. In the training, they said we should have been ready at July 30. And because of that I almost postponed my student study service (KKN) till the following year. I almost did that, but good thing it didn’t start on that date so I could join my KKN and not only fastforward my graduation but also met good friends. And although I still joined my KKN, I had to leave earlier but was very lucky because our group had a really tolerant Lecturer and my teammates were so kind. 

To reach my goal of becoming one of the Volunteers in the Asian Games 2018, I faced so many problems. But because I was very determined to reach that goal, I always somehow find a way out to reach that ambition. And I am very thankful for that. some people doubted me to succeed, but I proved them wrong. I even took the risks of sacrificing my classes in Campus, almost postponing a very requirement for graduation and so on. The point is, if you want to do something that you know is right for you and as long as it don’t hurt anyone. Just do it, run and face those obstacles untill you reach that line. I have proved myself that I could do it. It has been a great learning process that I will use in my life from now on.