It may have been an ordinary picnic but it was an extraordinary experience for me.

On a beautiful Saturday morning I went to Watsons Bay with my housemates for a picnic.

As I awoke, I heard the sounds of people chattering outside my room. It was in Chinese as my friends - Tommy, Sarah, Francis, Daniel, Sharon, Yudy, and Samuel are all from China.

Seeing them busy preparing for the picnic, I joined them and I felt that language wasn’t a barrier to get along with them.

And personally, I feel I can learn a lot from people from different countries.

Despite our cultural differences, (I was the only person from Indonesia), I always felt like I was a part of the group. They are really nice people and I always felt comfortable with them.


Khrisnaresa at the Macquarie Lighthouse

Indonesian Peace Scholar Khrisnaresa Adytia (far right in the black shirt) having a picnic with his Chinese friends

We arrived at Watsons Bay around 11am. The weather was great, the sun shone brightly and although it is winter, it wasn’t cold. We ate the food and took a walk around the bay, including the beach.

We also went to the Macquarie Lighthouse, which is the symbol for Macquarie University.

During the day, I completely forgot that they were people from different country, and although I have not known them for a long time, I felt like I was with my own family members.

The beautiful scenery and great friends made my day!

Khrisnaresa Adytia is from Indonesia and is one of Macquarie University’s Peace Scholars.

To find out more about the Peace Scholarship program, visit the website.