Luci Ostheimer OC ‘21

Luci Ostheimer Headshot.JPG
 

Syiah Kuala University, Indonesia (2021-23)

Luci Ostheimer ‘21, will graduate from Oberlin College with a degree in Cinema Studies and minors in East Asian Studies and Religion.While at Oberlin, Luci has loved being a part of OSCA, where she served as a head cook at Tank for a semester. During the summer of 2019, Luci went to Tainan, Taiwan where she studied at National Chen Kung University as a part of Taiwan United States Alliance program. The following fall, she studied abroad in Yunnan, China where she had the opportunity to learn about Traditional Chinese Medicine and minority groups across the province. An avid supporter of education accessibility, Luci used her knowledge as a film editor in the summer of 2020 to help create videos for Discovery Crew, an Oberlin-student founded education organization focused on bringing scientific experiments and discovery to kids stuck in quarantine. In her free time, Luci loves spending time with her pets, keeping up to date with the latest in Chinese cinema, hiking, and making art.

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Pelajaran Bahasa Indonesia
Pelajaran Bahasa Indonesia

By Luci Ostheimer ‘21, Syiah Kuala University Fellow

Pelajaran Bahasa Indonesia

Something I hear constantly in Aceh is menikmati hidup saja, which means “just enjoy life” in Bahasa Indonesia. I’ve heard it from friends, Gojek drivers, students, teachers, fruit sellers, neighbors; I’ve heard it at weddings, beaches, meetings, classrooms, parties, coffeeshops, on social media, everywhere. People tell me to santai, or relax, and enjoy. Duduk duduk dan ngopi - sit and drink coffee with friends. Pelan-pelan, slowly slowly. Tidak apa apa, no problem. Ini hidupku, jadi harus menikmati. It’s my life, so I must enjoy. Just take your time. Jangen lupa bahagia. Don’t forget to be happy.

In Real Life : Reconnecting IRL in Aceh
In Real Life : Reconnecting IRL in Aceh

By Luci Ostheimer ‘21, Syiah Kuala University Fellow

June 15. Today marks the end of my first month here in Banda Aceh and the start of my “summer vacation”, having just finished teaching my final set of classes. After nearly two semesters of teaching online, wondering if I would ever meet my students in person, here I am writing this report, sipping sanger, a sugary espresso riff made with sweetened condensed milk, at my friend’s cousin’s coffeeshop called Blvckbox. It’s a small yet suave cafe that serves a variety of drinks with names like “Smooth Criminals”, “Gangsta”, and “Royal Syndicate”, stylish names that belie a certain edginess common in coffeeshops around here. This is my first time going to a cafe on my own actually, usually I go with friends.While outside is uncharacteristically gray and gloomy for the dry season, things feel relatively normal, though I know that me being here is really the beginning of a new chapter for Shansi and Universitas Syiah Kuala, or UnSyiah, after a two year on-site fellow hiatus.