North Star Journey #1 : WELCOME
I've been in Minnesota for three weeks now since I first arrived on August 25th. How has it been? Well, it's been quite a roller-coaster of emotions. I'm still in the process of adapting to my new surroundings. Before I moved here, I had a lot of concerns swirling around in my head - thoughts about the weather, the people, academic life, food, racism, Islamophobia, and more. Fortunately, I have some wonderful friends here who have helped me tremendously during this transition. I vividly remember my arrival at the airport when Mas Jason, an Indonesian student from Makassar, picked me up and arranged my stay at the Marquette Hotel, a subsidiary of Hilton. It was so fancy that you can probably guess the price! Haha, but Mas Jason managed to get me a great deal through the Agoda app with a significant discount. Long story short, I spent two days there with another LPDP awardee from Maluku before moving to Budhe Tri's house in St. Paul. At Budhe Tri's house, I met Luna a