Unity in diversity literally means that you can unite with everyone no matter what religion , what color, what nationality, what race, and so on and so on about differences.
Have you ever thought about being friends with people from other side of world?
To be honest i was used to think that being friends with people from other countries sucks, because they have different language, different humours (so sometimes i can't get what they mean), different culture (sometimes there're cultures that don't make sense to you), and last but not least.. different way in communicating.
But then, as i grow up, i suddenly have this curiosity to know how life is outside my country. Like, Do Americans have bolster pillow? Do Europeans know what Gado-Gado and Ketoprak are?
Do foreigners know about Indonesia? etc.
I started to find friends through Google. Nope, Google doesn't have social networking website. I mean googling.
1st case: Penpal.
I typed the keyword "international penpal" and after days of research, yes i found a proper website. Its name is penpalsnow.com. Maybe some of you would say "lame website~" because it doesn't really have good layout and it only provides you database of people who want to have penpals. As i can remember, the first time i joined penpalsnow was when i was in Middle School. Filling all the blanks to introduce myself, i was hoping that i could meet some new friends. I was excited.
Emails were coming to my Mailbox and i was glad and happily replied them , still with that excitement that grows in myself more and more.
I found facts about sharing email address in the penpal site, this could be your consideration before doing it.
Firstly, by sharing your email address, it means thateveryone can send you an email (or emails) >>obviously.
So back then i was getting both real penpal email and unnecessary emails such as advertisings, spams, asking-for-money email, and stuffs.
Secondly, you will be overwhelmed by many emails delivered to you. I remember when there were many emails asking for intros, and so because of so many penpals that i replied to, i didn't even remember who was who. In this case, the purpose of having penpal itself (get-to-know-more) meets failure.
*Illustration:
1st person: Hi! I'm ****,** years old nice to meet you! i'm from bla bla and i love to bla bla bla how about you? do you like bla bla ? i recommend you to bla bla bla cuz of bla bla. anyways i have 100 sisters and 9 dogs. i live in 6 houses that means i have different house for each day! tell me about yourself!
Sincerely,
****
Me: wow, that's a huge family! i wish i had 6 houses too for each day, i live in Indonesia and i'm actually new to the penpal site. bla bla bla bla bla >> excited and keep telling about myself
15th person: Hi! bla bla bla bla....
Me: ugh,, I'm 14. I live in Indonesia. I love to browse the internet. haha.
(tired and bored already)
and when some of they hadn't replied me for a long time, i wouldn't even remember who they were when they finally replied me again. That's wasting time.
Thirdly,you will find some creepy guys like 40 year old guy or above who send you email and wish (yes, wish) to get-to-know you more. o-o not a chance. You should be able to tell who's really your age and who's faking their age.
Lastly, There are so many racist people on the internet. I think that's clear enough.
But that's not all, ladies and gentlemen. I also found out that penpal is interesting IFyou know how to make it interesting (and safe)
I decided to reply only a few persons that i'm really interested in (to become friends, not other kind) and voila! i made some good penpals.
I learned many things about other countries and i let them know about my country's culture (and FOOOOOOOOOOOD :3) we share each other's opinions, and so on and so on.
True fact: searching penpal in a site without photo sharing is better than searching friends in facebook-like sites. Because yes, with or without realizing it, all of us want a good-looking friend. It's not fair to real kind people who don't really have a good looking face (like me xDD)
2nd case: Chatting
Sending email to each other isn't always fun. You can reply to one person excitedly then the next day you know that he/she won't reply to you anymore cuz they just send the same email to thousands of people.
I also started to chat in sites, then i discovered that i have to be more careful while chatting. It reminds me back then when i was added by some random people on my YM and when i saw his display pic, it's somewhat scary >> hint: pervy pic
That's one lesson: don't approve random people.
But again, chatting has advantages as well.
I found very close friends through chatting.
The very first close friend (i consider her now as my best friend) was my penpal.
She asked for my msn (i didn't have msn cuz i was using yahoo and was sick of it because of the virus issue) so i made one.
Through chatting everyday we have become really close friends (it was holiday so yeah, i was online like 8 hours a day. or MORE. hahaha.)
I honestly never thought that online friends can be something important in my life.
I thought international friends are just people i talk to when i feel bored, and stuff. People who i shouldn't trust.
"But it's all wrong."
They're also human beings, the difference is just that you don't see them and talk to them in person.
There are also many emotions, thoughts, stupidity, and craziness going on in a chat.
In conference chat , it's crazier, and so much fun :3
Once again, don't take Unity in Diversity so seriously. It's as simple as that.
We learn how to appreciate each other and build relationship in many ways. And we don't even need to move from our seat to meet millions of interesting and nice people. Just make sure that you don't forget to eat , take a shower,and also socialize with others in real life. Life isn't just inside a computer.
I'll take any comments and opinions of what i have said above c:
whew, such a long post today..
See you in next post.
Janet
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