Task 1: Some Basics About Aini

As a 19-year-old girl who's scared of heights, public speaking and adrenaline rushes (especially roller coasters), I consider myself very lucky to have found hobbies that do not include any of those things. But first, of course, I should introduce myself. My parents named me Nur Aini Annapurna, where "Nur" and "Aini" means "light" and "eye" in Arabic. The last part of my name is based on a mountain in the Himalayas, Annapurna, which is one of the most dangerous mountains to climb (Annapurna has a fatality rate of 40%) although the name itself in Sanskrit means "Goddess of Fertility".

I guess that naming me after a mountain made me interested in the great outdoors. Iwould rather spend my weekend camping than go shopping at the mall. Other than camping, Ialso enjoy whitewater rafting, canoeing or just sitting around a campfire while I enjoy the peace and freedom that's always felt when I'm away from the city. I love hiking, I love drinking water from rivers, I love bulding tents, I love collecting wood to make fire, I even love the sensation of waking up in a sleeping bag! Gosh, I love being outdoors!

But after high school, I have found another source of bliss, which is snorkelling. In ITB I joined the diving unit Nautica and so far I have really enjoyed spending my Saturday mornings practising diving skills at Sabuga and can't wait until I get my diving certificate!

Other than spending my time in the outdoors, I also love to read. I'm really passionate about reading so I have a lot of favourite books, but some of my all-time favourites are Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Into Thin Air, and anything by Agatha Christie. I'm not really into Indonesian teenlit, because theyr'e mainly about teen romances with a cliche storyline and a predictable ending.

I'm quite an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, which means I spend (or waste) a lot of time fussing over details and making myself too stressed from thinking about it too much. My biggest ambition at the moment is to get into geology and either become an expert vulcanologist, archeologist/paleontologist or work in the Arctic region, away from civilization. My main reason for choosing geology as my major is because I want to work outdoors and the prospect of volcano research and Indonesia's history is still quite big. I don't want to work in the oil or mining industry because then I'll be like the rest of the sheep in the herd...

Cheers!