Suzanna Lamria Siregar

 ***

Note from me:

on the note:

This is also one of my  FB-notes…

I cannot avoid using FB notes as my notepad.  It’s so tempting, the notes on FB - I mean…

And I want to share it with my non-FB friends

On the title:

I always love “Beautiful Mind”, a movie (and a book) about and by John Nash…

***

On my way home,
one of my horrible naughtiness as student flashed on the screen of my mind…

Hey, I am not always a nice student…!

I remember Professor Dr. Soedijono Reksoprajitno, MBA, a truly beautiful mind spoken softly and gracefully…

He invented quadrants explaining everything on Macroeconomics…
Quadrants that (as I recalled) genuinely compile everything from money supply and demand to employment and unemployment…

And on this great persona, I did pranks…
I am wicked…

He gave a quiz-like-exam on Macroeconomics…
First question, “What factors drive inflation?”
I opened the book - written of course by Prof. SR himself - read the answer… and ended it with question tag (oh this is also my trademark) which I address to Wardoyo who sit across me… “isn’t it like that,War?”

Professor SR note something on the paper… “Hmmm.. you are considered cheating! You read it from the book and asked your friend?”
Hmmmm…

Next question “Draw the quadrants completely… the north, the northwest, the south, the east, the southeast… the west…!”
Ha…

A bit out of topic, the professor is also a good navigator, familiar with all the the windward… I on the other side am a totally disoriented person… Which one is east? Where the sun rises? Oh… is it west?

I grasped the marker, went to the board and delineated the quadrants…

The professor marked my work.. “Hmmm, you label the axes wrongly…!” he commented on one of the quadrant…
I had decided…
I again grasped the marked, backed to the board and changed the label….

“See, Professor… It’s now corrected. My answer is right now, isn’t it!”
The great professor said calmly, “Hmmm, but I have already noted your mark.. it is in ink… I cannot change it!”
Touché!!!

As naughty as that I was, yet he forgave…

At the end of his two-hour written exam of Strategic Management, suddenly he decided to give preliminary passing grade based on the length of our writing…
Student would pass only if s/he writes two pages of answers.
Ha…? That was not fair… He did not set it as rule in the beginning…

I submitted my answer sheet… Only a page and a half…
But he grouped me as passed

“But, mine is not two pages, Professor?”
“Your hand-writing is small and dense!”

By that, I passed…

On my may home…
I smile..

Addendum:
So softly he speaks, many students sleep in his class…
So gently he speaks, in many occasions his younger colleague - used to be his student … and becomes also my brilliant Professor - interrupts him…. He calmly overcomes all…softly and gently speaks his beautiful mind out…

Dear Professor Dagnino and Professor Garraffo,

Professors, due to my going home soon, I’m extending the request of my
home university to have your reports on me. People in my home university
expect official reports from both of you on what I have done and got
during my time here in university of Catania.

I have already asked both of you, and both of you asked me to write
something based on which you can write the reports.

I do not know what and how to do it
So I just write these…

I’m Suzanna Lamria Siregar, a doctoral student in Economics from
Gunadarma University, Jakarta – Indonesia.

In June 2008, The Indonesia Ministry of National. Education offered a
fund to Indonesian doctoral students to do a 4-month-“sandwich program”
(the ministry called the scholarship as “Sandwich Program”) or
apprenticeship in any place in the world.

I seized the opportunity and immediately emailed Prof. Giovanni Battista
Dagnino, whose paper I was reading at the moment, asked him whether I
could be in University of Catania and learn Coopetition from him… Yes, I
had an intention to put Coopetition as the theme of my thesis.

Prof. Dagnino welcomed the idea and I flew to Catania…

It was October 14, 2008, the first time I went into the University of
Catania, in Corso Italia – Catania. I was accompanied by Dr. Cristina
Cinici. Prof. Dagnino was still in U.S. Cristina Cinici introduced me
to Prof. Francesco Garraffo – also an expert in the field. It was also
the first day, I went in the Room 19 at Dipartimento Impresa, Culture e
Società, Università di Catania, soon I found it is among the coziest place
to be…

Prof. Garraffo directed me to work on the coopetition literature, identify
the research questions and theoretical perspectives scholar used in
scrutinizing coopetition… Yet, I am indeed a slower learner, a
non-creative student… I have not got anything… I do not get it… A
condition, that later Prof. Garraffo referred as “being at the top of the
world”.

“Nothing?” Professor Dagnino last week objected…
“You conducted content analysis… social network analysis?”

They were purely the professors’ ideas, not mine…

In January 2009, the content analysis on Coopetition literature assignment came with
an offer to extend my staying for 4 month more funded by University of
Catania. I gladly took the offer.

I was doubtful when starting the content analysis assignment.
Even more doubtful, when Prof. Dagnino directed me to apply Social Network
Analysis within the task. But soon, I learned he was right…

The assignment enriched me…
I learned to use the ATLAS, ti.5.0 (the Content Analysis software) and to
like Pajek (the social network Analysis software)
I’m thinking on putting Content Analysis and Social Network Analysis in
my thesis…

These days, I might not submit anything on my thesis to my two
distinguished mentors, but I really wish to continuously receive
direction, comment and suggestion from them…

because soon, I will go home…

The airline company has confirmed my leaving… May 26, 2009… morning
flight, Catania – Rome – Kuala Lumpur – Jakarta.

A great 228-day experience will soon be ended…
I felt blessed… I am blessed….

Thank you, Professors…
I’m looking forward to the reports.

Sincerely,
Suzanna

Note: This is my  email to Prof. FG and Prof. GBD (uncut)

(May 12, 2009)

An international new friend, born in Singapore, lives in Germany, has a Dutch citizenship, speaks (at least) English and Italian (yet I guess speaks other as well) perfectly, works around in half part of the globe - told me that when he was in Indonesia some time ago, really enjoyed the Catfish…

Catfish?

At this moment, I had not have any idea what kind of food he talked about…
Later… I learned it was Catfish Salad… (my feckless translation of Pecel Lele)

“Where did you have it?”
“by the sidewalk…”

I overwhelmed . . . Sidewalk?

“With only two pails of water to wash everything, Suzan!” He continued…

He confirmed the fact…
As if I did not know about the hygiene standard of street- food vendors in my own country?

It’s alright for my stomach… it has experienced a lot of uncleanness, sometimes complaints a bit, but overall… still works quite well… it has gained its high tolerance towards all the squalid microscopic and not-microscopic, biological - and not biological creatures and not creatures

But the clean stomachs of westerners?

“Did you get stomach-ache?”
“Not me, a girl in the group indeed…!”

See…

He asked again…

“What is the Indonesian word for catfish?”

It took two days to remember the word…

In the night he said goodbye…
I answered his question…

“It’s Lele… Catfish in Indonesian…!”
“Yes, Lele… Oh! It’s very good! Fried and with the hot red-chili sauce…!”

He beamed…
Oh No…
I did not have a heart to tell him…

How I am still haunted by the myth that in its natural-traditional-organic cultivation, Indonesian catfish eats unpleasant stuffs…?

Because of this reason also, I prefer chicken salad (of course by these words - I mean Pecel Ayam)

I really do not have a heart to tell him…
It will be too much for him…
Let it be our secret…?

 ***

Note:

I posted this note earlier as my FB Notes…

My sweet niece likes it … My striking golden son also …

My professor’s assistant gives good comment

***

Anna and I have just finished discussing the report on Content Analysis with Prof. G.B. Dagnino, an expert in Coopetition and a great editor…

He agreed and gave encouragement in some aspects of the report…
He read, corrected, wrote, gave comment on word choices and grammatical matter… … …all are world class suggestions….

Already, I’ve imagined how it would be very hard to write my thesis in Jakarta and in Depok without his guidance…

Since I think to write my thesis in English, a simple dedication to my two faithful professors and all my wonderful friends here in Catania….

At the end of the discussion, he asked, “How many words are in your article?”
“I do not know…!”
”You did not count?”
I shook my head, he laughed…. “You counted words in a hundred of papers and did not count those in yours?”

Hmmmm…. good remark…

Anna and I went back to our room…

And minutes later, in front of my office, I met Prof. F. Garraffo…
“Professor…!”
“Yes, I know… you’ve just talked with Giambattista…! I heard that you are about to finish the article… Next week, you have to be ready also … with your thesis…!”
“Yes. But I cannot … (at this point I lost word and bumbled a sound likes….)… parallel…?”
“You are not a parallel thinker?” (great teacher deciphers all)
I nodded
“Take it as a challenge, OK?”
I agreed….

As Ibu Marga noted, I did realize… in these days prior to my coming home.. back to Jakarta… I have already set my heart in and to Jakarta and Depok… to my mom and sister… to my friends, my students, my teachers …

but definitely a half of it will everlastingly be left in Catania… preserved in memory of inspiring guidance and references from the experts… in memory of warm attention and affection from friends…