Pare-dise (?)

Assalamu'alaikum

alhamdulillah wasyukurillah it's been a long time since i can reach enough connection to travel the world by fingers :)) and it's like a brand new world because this is my first post in 2013, a year with negative belief of 13. however, i don't think so. on the other hand, i'm very grateful welcoming the addition time given by Allah. in good health with family and friends. it means that Allah still gives chance to be a better man consistently

all this time passed through, i am able to say that it's one of my joyous phase of life. my precious time is not only spending time both with my family and friends but also enhancing knowledge at once. you can analogize it by the song of Lenka "Everything at Once" haha :) now i will tell you about my experience when i was in Pare, The well known English Village in Kediri Regency, East Java. that's why i try to make a good composition in english. this is becoming a tribute to my effort during a month with great tutors :D

you can say that it's just a temporary resolution of me when i say i want to go Pare right after graduation. why? because i don't want to be called meaningless unemployed. if we compare to friends who take an internship in office, i can't be the worst one. haha *forever excuse* :) at first i'm just saying seeing there's no chance for it. i have to ask permition to parents, moreover finding a mate to stay with there is quite difficult. most of Pati fellas deliberately stay at home as long as they can before placement news issued. it's like family's quality time saving while the possibility of flying around Indonesia to fulfill our duty as civil servant. this is fix fact we can't endure. consuming that words, i understand and respect it as well.

then fresh air came to me when i made an offering to one of Pati mate that always be considerable of mine. haha. she is Hany. she is simple minded person that i love hers. she didn't agree automatically because that's just two of us. it was relief that there's 2 more friends voluntarily join. finally, we four go to Pare with different way of transportation, me and hany were delivered by my parents, meanwhile the other two took a public transportation

at a glance, Pare was like another village but in bigger scale. because Pare is one of sub district in Kediri. there'a a lot of inhabitant around Pare. i was so surprised because people who have been there talk about a lot foreigners who were crawling everywhere. beside that, english is common language to all of most activities. when i asked location of course that i was heading forto a stall owner, she still use a super dense East Java dialect. haha :) maybe i was just over expected of the condition. yet i realize that this was still different village since i saw many courses outspread along the main way of Pare, Brawijaya street.

no need to waste time, we left for the course that we intend to join. the name was Elfast. thanks to our two friends, they had registered us on the list of E-fast Packet 2. i was anxious knowing that it would be highly frequent requested. alhamdulillah there's still space for 4 persons. based on my experience, i will tell you many tips to you in order not to lost in Pare. because i've ever felt it too :l

1. know what skill you want to encourage, you can demans all in one packet because there's no such exist. though there were some course that provided, like a combination between grammar and speaking. i think it doesn't work. it seems that there is agreement among courses to hold specialized. or if you wanna get all of skills (grammar, speaking, vocabulary) encouraged, you have to make priority scale among them.

2. know your budget. even if you're vivacious to grab everythings, you have to adjust it with your money. high tuition fee isn't always along with the quality of the teaching system. the most important thing is being thorough

3. know your period of course. you have to estimate how long you will stay in Pare. many people told me that firstly they just wanted to stop by there. however, time by time they feel the passion of learning english heightened. in my suggestion, please mind your needed and your urgency of mastering English. for your information, course usually starts at 10 and 25 every month. 

4. know the detail. before landed on Pare, it's better to find information beforehand as much as you can. information you need is about the strength and weakness of each course.  there's no course that's perfect, they have mostly only one kind of specialization (like i said in point 1). here it is some course with their mastery based on my and my friend's suggestion
 a. Speaking: Daffodil --> almost everyone who has been in Pare will give you high recommendation to this place. note: because of so high demand, you have to reserve at least a month before starting date, however if you wanna find English as an interesting and fun matters, Mr. Bob --> is a willy nilly choice. you can experience the friendly surrounding with funky, slang, yet warm tutors. you don't feel as learning a knowledge

b. Grammar: Elfast --> recommended enough to enhance the scary, creepy and annoying grammar :p here, you can start afresh from the very first step till advance one. there is basic program for newbie and Pre-Toefl for complicated level. beside Elfast, there's Oxford and Kresna that we can't close eye of their reputation. for limited budget, Kresna will be a wise choice :)

c. Toefl: TEST--> this is a place just provided for serious and full of ambition person. because you'll drilled with tons of typical TOEFL question, there's no time for leisure. cause beside you study in class, there's camp that will recite what you have gotten in class. even they promise to make our TOEFL reaching up till 600! there's a price for quality. about 3 million you have to spend for 3 months to get this things. but don't worry, they guarantee your money back if the target slipped. next, if you wanna still breath alittle, join Mahesa. they have good system and updated TOEFL question bank. it has been known as one of reliable course for TOEFL preparation. last is still Elfast. i don't know why i love it very much. despite its serious learning system, it still has amusement by the tutors and friends. imho, it also have good management and cooperative staff. nevertheless, this is just my subjective statement


5. know your physical condition, cause you have to bike everytime! when people thought as if nothing, but i was pretty sure to considerate it as threat for my convenient zone. i never ever been riden bike for serious purpose before. haha. it was a disaster for my first days in Pare. i almost complained to my housemate, Sicci and Hany. but it didn't redeem my pain. yet i'm not that mean to ask them for hitchhiking me. then time flies, i'm used to it. and you know, it's happy ending

for a drawing to you, i'll tell you the chronology of my journey, what programs i had taken and how much it costed

1. Course: Elfast 
Packet e-fast 2 (Mon-Sat) include Pre-IELTS 05.30--07.00
                                     Pre-TOEFL 07.00--10.00
                                     Grammar Speaking 10.00--11.30
a month, starting date at 10
cost: 375k

2. Course: Mr. Bob
Speak Up 1 (Mon-Fri) 14.00--15.30
Two weeks, you can choose the schedule
cost: 85k

3. Course: Elfast
Confidence Speaking (Mon-Fri) 11.30--13.00
two weeks, you can choose the schedule
cost: 100k

i've been falled in love with Pare, with its folks hospitality, various kind of people, the tutors. but i still dont found the reason why i have to stay longer here. it's not just biking all the time problem. i still think that attending more global english course outside is more trustworthy, for example LIA, EF, etc. Pare just sell for their environment, not the neat system of learning English. meanwhile, Pare still totally require your awareness of self learning. or maybe i just make a wrong choice in deciding course. or it's just my sceptic side conquering myself. or i'm not serious in learning. so, don't believe me XP

so, it's your turn to experience the atmosphere of English, feel it flows in your blood vessel. make friends, make improvements :)

with calm, simple minded, and easy going of Hany :D

at the Gumul Square with Hany, Sicci, and Ima (friend of friend)

on the last days of course in Elfast. from left: Mba Ari, Angga, Devi, Susi, Aisyah

pose with background of Kelud's ex cauldron (unfortunately it's covered by vulcanic dust)

Batu-Malang Days Out with Pare fellas (Basit, me, Rani, Rizal, Sofian, Hany, Sicci)

in the middle of Hany's birthday celebration. Barakallah Honey Bunny Sweety :') congratz! 

stay overnight in Dzulfikar's house (left side)