Treasures

What makes me love Bandung so much is the ability of this city to give me endless surprises. This city has many hidden treasures, ready to be discovered in any time.

You'll be surprised that at the back of St Aloysius school building, in a crowded-small place with only a tent covered it from rain or shine, there's a very delicious Batakuah (means: Baso Tahu Kuah). Very original taste, in a very cheap price.

And in Jalan Bungsu, in a small alley across Atoy Salon, you could try a great mie ceker. Yummy.

Or, how bout this store at the second floor of a small building in Dipatiukur, where you could find choices of old records, including the first album of NKOTB and Pink Floyd?

Or, for me, who love books more than anything...There is this little attic shop in front of Unpar, called Omunium, that sells lots and lots of second hand books, books that are very hard to be found in other stores, with a magnificently reasonable price. I've just found this Newbery Winner book, that is quite rare around here, in only Rp 24.000,00. I always love to smell the pages of a second hand book, while imagined where that book came from, who had flipped its pages before me...

Those little treasures are the reason why I love this city so much. And to think that I would have to leave again soon (this time, for good)...Uhmmm...it's heartbreaking.

A Short Trip to Bonn

When my boss in the NGO where I've worked part time in this last couple of years told me, that they were opening a full time position in Indonesia as a Liaison Officer, I didn't think too serious about it. The details of my big day (which, answering some people's question, will be held in December) was quite giving me a constant headache. That's why, I thought a full time job was the last thing I need (although, come to think about it, the money part does make it sound a bit more interesting, hehe)...

But, since I've been working for quite some time with them, I thought this job would perfectly fit me. There will be no office (only working from home, huray!), lots of traveling to eastern part of Indonesia (which has too many places that I haven't explored before), and having a boss in a thousands miles distance...Quite tempting, hmm?

So I decided to just go for it, sending my resume, and suddenly, they asked me to come to the headquarter (which is located in Bonn, Germany) to have a final interview with some of the managers. So the next think I know, I have packed my small suitcase (without really knowing what were exactly I put inside it), and said goodbye to my family and my guy.

I was more nervous about the interview, so the fact that I will go to Europe for only 5 days (including the journey) didn't really fascinate me. Actually I didn't really care where the interview took place, as long as I wouldn't do anything stupid in front of my future employers.

So, I sat in Lufthansa for more than 12 hours, cursing the European plane with their lack of entertainment (but what could I say? my ticket is paid by the organisation, so I didn't have much choices, did I?), and spending most of my journey by sleeping. And finally, still in jet lag and didn't have any clue how to get to Bonn from Frankfurt Airport (I was given the direction to my hotel, of course, but my sense of direction itself was very dangerous to be relied on), so imagined how happy I was when accidentally met Indonesian students who just got back from their holiday in Indonesia, and on their way to Bonn!!(Gabriel and Sisco, I owe you guys one!).

So, I arrived in my hotel safely. A nice hotel, actually. But the very next question was: What should I do now? The interview was scheduled for the next day,so I had to spend one day in the city, alone. The thought of it suddenly hit me. I was alone in this freaking city, without knowing what to do. I didn't prepare my mood to become a tourist, so it took me quite some time to switched my mode into "exploring the city" mode.

But turned out, Bonn is quite beautiful. This city is actually the birthplace of Beethoven, so I decided to start my journey from the Beethoven Haus.
The nice thing about the city was its public transportation. The system was exactly like the one in Netherlands, so it's not really complicated for me. I took the tram to the Main Station, and from there walking to the museum. Beethoven Haus was a nice place, with lots of stories, archives, and bits and pieces about Beethoven.

Then I went to the market, (or centrum, like we called in the Netherlands), browsing some shops and taking pictures of beautiful buildings, having lunch in one of the squares, and going back to the hotel. It's easy to get homesick when you're traveling alone, but somehow Bonn reminded me a lot with Den Haag, from the old buildings, the pigeons in the squares, people with bicycles, even the way they say thank you.

On the second day, I had my interview, but to tell you the truth, all the images from that interview was just a blur, mostly because I was too nervous to remember anything, haha...Well, my presentation was not that bad, but those questions they asked!!! Huhuhu....

Anyway, on my last day, I decided to walk around the city for the last time. I stopped for a short time in Museum of The History of Federal Republic of Germany , buying some German sausages (yep, the pork ones! hahaha)for my mom in one of the supermarkets, and sat on the side of Rhein River, which divided the city into two beautiful parts.

And, despite my desire to really get the job, I felt very grateful to have this short yet wonderful trip experience. It's a great feeling when you think, hey, I'm a citizen of this beautiful place called Earth, and there are so many great places ready to welcome me...=)

PS: Several things about the Bonn-ers:

Like most of European people, they like to chase the sun...even when the sun doesn't feel like showing in the city. Don't worry...there'll always be the Sunpoint...where you can get the tan even though the sun feels like hiding forever =)




Don't feel bad about your English when you're in Germany. They also struggle with the language. And believe it or not, Wall Street Institute is definitely a good choice to start! (Well, now you don't have to be ashamed when walking to your class in Wall Street Institute in Ratu Plaza or Kelapa Gading Mall).

Using QWERTZ

Baru gue sadar kalo selama ini gue udah sangat terbiasa dengan keyboard QWERTY, dan mendapatkan kesulitan luar biasa menggunakan kezboard QWERTZ....

untuk nulis alamat emailpun misalnza, hasilnza adalah seperti iniÄ astridfelicia"hotmail.com....tombol @ harus diakses sedemikian rupa karena terletak di tombol huruf Q, dan harus ditekan bersamaan dengan tombol AltGr....

gak bermutu zah postingannza kali ini...hahaha-.-(Gue kok jadi serasa ngobrol sama Mr Punk...tau kan, guru fisika galaknya Lupus di novelnya Hilman..hehehe)

Yaaa..ini hanya catatan singkat dari sebuah warnet di tengah kota Bönn...will continue the story later----

Gosh

I would never thought that there is an important difference between imported and local flowers, red roses and white lily, wedding cake and champagne,or white, off white, and broken white gown (why on earth there's so many whites anyway?).

And I've never realized that we had to take so much time to choose the color for family's uniforms (and why, again, there has to be uniform after all?), and to arrange all the forms and official documents. Ow, and the never ending questions: who's going to take the ring to the aisle, what's the theme of your wedding, and how many invitations you would like to print?

And, it's going tougher when the guy you think you've known so well, started to act quite annoying: What if we add about 100 people to our guest list? (Yea, as if we still have lots of savings in our bank account!!!) Can I change the color of my suit? (yep, after I bought a songket which has perfectly matched the previous color he chose). OR, how bout this type of conversation:

Him: I don't like the design of our invitation card
Me: Then, how's the one you like?
Him: Well...it's not quite like that...I have it in my head, but somehow I can't describe it...
Me: So draw it
Him: I can't draw
Me: Just try it
Him: ...
Me: So?
Him: Let's use the one we had..

(BUT, this conversation had been repeated on and on again, say, like every single day!!!!)

I would never have thought that it needs so much effort, patience, and compromise, to prepare for something, that at the end, only means one thing: my commitment to love him for every single day of my life. (But as everybody says, this is only the beginning...so hell yeah, i will enjoy it till the very big day arrive!!)

Menerima

Salah satu unsur paling penting - sekaligus paling sulit - dalam proses mencintai seseorang, adalah menerima. Yaa...menerima semua perbedaan yang ada, menerima hal-hal konyol dan menyebalkan yang sudah melekat erat dengan karakternya, bahkan menerima segala sesuatu yang sudah menjadi satu paket dengannya, seperti keluarga dan masa lalunya.

Well, buat gue, proses "menerima" tadi butuh waktu yang cukup panjang, apalagi saat menyangkut suatu hal yang sudah sejak lama merupakan "a big no-no" dalam hidup gue. Satu hal, yang sejak dulu....sudah membuat gue antipati. Mungkin namanya karma, gue malah bertemu, jatuh cinta, dan memutuskan untuk menghabiskan sisa hidup gue, dengan seseorang yang justru merasa hal tersebut adalah jalan hidupnya.

Yep, lupakan yang namanya menerima, karena yang ada, awalnya kita berantem dan berdebat nggak ada habisnya. Sampai di satu titik, karena sudah terlalu capek, kita hampir memutuskan untuk menyudahi saja semuanya.

Tapi, jauhhhh dari dalam hati, ada suara yang mengusik gue. Kenapa sulit banget buat menerima, padahal nggak ada alesan bagi gue, selain karena gue sudah telanjur antipati dengan hal tersebut? Padahal lagi, hal itu justru bisa membuat dia menjadi orang yang lebih baik? Jadi, gue mencoba. Dan syukurlah, gue nggak pernah menyesal.

Well...it's not easy to love someone, just the way he is. But hey, I've tried, and it felt damn good to accept him with every flaw and every greatness he has.

dedicated for my guy, i'm glad we've tried!

Pengangguran Terselubung

Seorang teman yang bekerja freelance pernah bilang, sebenarnya istilah "freelancer" hanyalah suatu euphimisme berlebihan dari kondisi sesungguhnya, "pengangguran terselubung"..

Waktu itu gue hanya ketawa, tapi setelah menjalani sendiri status freelancer selama hampir 6 bulan belakangan ini, gue baru mengerti kalau omongan teman gue nggak sepenuhnya lucu.

Seringkali ada rasa deg-degan kalo kerjaan udah mendekati kata selesai, sementara di depan mata kok sepertinya belum ada tanda-tanda munculnya tawaran baru yaaa?? Atau di saat orang-orang excited udah mau gajian di akhir bulan, gue yang memang dibayar per project hanya bisa gigit jari karna belum waktunya dapet jatah...Saat-saat kaya gitu, kayanya emang status sebagai freelancer lebih tepat digantikan dengan pengangguran yang terselubung...

Belum lagi kalau ditanya orang-orang, hmm..kerja di mana sekarang? Kantornya di daerah apa? Kelimpungan deh jawabnya. Mending kalo yang nanya adalah orang-orang yang ngerti apa itu kerjaan freelancer. Tapi kalo orang-orang dari generasi jaman jebot yang nggak mudeng sama istilah itu, hmm..salah-salah dianggap pengangguran beneran, alias udah nggak terselubung lagi...hehehe...

Tapi untungnya dalam kasus gue, adaaa....aja tawaran-tawaran dari mulai yang cere sampe yang lumayan gemuk, untuk mengisi "waktu luang" gue...Dan yang membuat gue masih betah menjalani status ini adalah serunya bekerja dengan berbagai tipe kantor dan orang-orang di dalamnya...Gue jadi tahu gimana harus menghadapi orang-orang dari design agency, yang super kreatif tapi bingung kalau udah harus ngasih timeline, atau orang-orang majalah tempat segala macem gosip bisa dikonfirmasi, atau bule-bule NGO yang serba idealis tapi kadang mengawang-awang...

Dan satu hal lain yang masih bikin gue betah jadi "pengangguran terselubung"? Hmm..nggak perlu bangun pagi buat ngantor...=)

Get Some, Lose Some

For everything in life, there will always be a trade off. You get some, and you lose some. That's why many people said, life is about making choices. And it depends on you, which part of your life you're willing to sacrifice.

This is the topic I've been discussed with my Mom a couple of nights ago. It's started with talking about my uncle, who'd been moved to the States three years ago because he and his whole family got a Green Card from the US Embassy. Of course my big-fat family were very surprised when he told us the news. What? Moving to LA? In his age? While he's already got a great job here? What was he thinking????

But he said he wanted to get his family a better life..And so he left, with his wife and two kids.

And what did we hear afterwards? The news from him that "Life's here is indeed hard", and couple of years later, his wife's desire to come home to Indonesia because her mother was very sick.

So when they were back to Indonesia for holiday last month, we saw two different things. The kids who now speak English very fluently (and speak Bahasa Indonesia a bit like Cinta Laura, hahaha)and look very happy and healthy; and the mom and dad who looked very thin and a bit stressed out. Hmmm..you get some, and you lose some....

And I can't stop remembering lots of my friends and cousins who chose to live abroad. They definitely get some, maybe even more than what we have here...A nice environment, a good living, a great experience to know people from around the world and also a chance to visit many beautiful places. But do those things could overcome the "losing" part? Spending times with the big family and the bestest friends, the familiarity of this country, great food, and all loving memories in their hometown? Is it all worth it to get a brand new happy life and losing your good-old one?

I thought about my cousin who's studying in London and met the man of her dream there. And how her mother was very afraid of losing her and letting her live in a country with 10 hours flight to go. I also thought about my closest friends (and future in laws! hehe) who still have their long distance marriage and struggling to choose where they will spend their life in the future. It's a hard choice, I can tell.

Many times, I envy those people who can take such a brave decision. Trying to find their new familiarity instead of just living the old ones. But still, I cant imagine to live far from my family (call me Indonesia banget! haha..), or experiencing my aunt's fear that she'll come too late for her sick mother.

Still, we only live once..Lots of opportunities out there, which may not gonna come twice. And finally, we can only hope that we make as little regrets as we can in our life...=)

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Holiday

Beberapa minggu yang lalu gue dan keluarga besar dari pihak nyokap (yap, The Batak-ers) berlibur ke Bali. Ini kesempatan langka, karena untuk memberangkatkan sekitar 50-an anggota keluarga (termasuk segerombolan anak kecil yang over excited) ke tempat yang lumayan jauh termasuk kerjaan yang nggak gampang. Selama ini biasanya kita mentok sampai Bandung atau Puncak. Tapi tahun ini, mumpung ada kesempatan, termasuk tawaran hotel murah karena adanya koneksi dengan si empunya, akhirnya berangkatlah rombongan yang udah mirip rombongan sirkus ini ke Pulau Dewata.

Sebenernya gue juga sangat excited menunggu-nunggu liburan ini. Tapi sejak awal, adaaaa aja kesialan yang gue alamin. Pertama-tama adalah pesawat gue. Kita dibagi-bagi jadi beberapa rombongan, karena penuhnya pesawat di musim liburan sekolah. Dan gue kebetulan kebagian rombongan terakhir, naik Garuda yang seharusnya berangkat jam 9.30 pagi. Tapi apa mau dikata, di antara jarangnya pesawat Garuda yang terpaksa di-delay, entah kenapa justru pesawat gue lah yang harus mengalami kesialan itu. Nggak tanggung-tanggung, delaynya sampai 3 jam lebih. Akhirnya terpaksalah gue dan rombongan menghabiskan waktu di salah satu lounge berbekal pinjam meminjam kartu kredit.

Oke, gue pikir, nggak papa deh delay, yang penting gue mau seneng-seneng di Bali. Dan nyampe Bali, gue langsung melampiaskan kangen gue sama ponakan gue, Matthew, yang baru pertama kalinya menginjakkan kaki di Bali, dan main-main di pantai sama dia. Kebetulan banget, hotel kita langsung menghadap pantai yang lumayan sepi. Tapi di tengah hebohnya main terjang menerjang ombak, tiba-tiba gue meraba kantong celana pendek gue dan sadar, loh, HP gue di mana yaaaaa??? Perasaan tadi gue kantongin sebelum berangkat ke pantai. Paniklah gue, balik lagi ke kamar, ternyata nggak ada. Menyusuri jalanan tempat gue lewat, nihil. Dan dengan sia-sia mencari di seputaran pantai. Akhirnya, gue terpaksa merelakan HP gue (lagi!!!! setelah tragedi kecopetan di bis P6 beberapa tahun yang lalu) ditelan lautan...Lengkap dengan semua nomer-nomer kontak yang lagi-lagi nggak pernah gue back up. Huhuhu....

Perasaan gue langsung berbalik 180 derajat. Sepertinya liburan ini memang membawa sedikit demi sedikit kesialan buat gue.

Tapi toh, gue masih berusaha menikmati sisa liburan yang ada. Makan di Jimbaran, jalan di Legian, bahkan nonton Fire Dance di Uluwatu. Pokoknya turis banget deh...

Sampai akhirnya, sebuah kesialan lagi menghampiri gue. Waktu lagi berkunjung ke rumah salah satu teman lama keluarga gue di daerah Sanur, gue mengambil sebuah permen yang ditawarkan. Sebenernya permennya mungkin nggak kenapa-kenapa, tapi gigi gue aja yang memang bermasalah. Karena setelah kunyahan kesekian, permen yang sangat kenyal itu membawa serta tambalan gigi beserta pinggiran geraham gue yang langsung rompal. Gue langsung panik, membayangkan menjalani sisa liburan dengan gigi bolong dan perasaan senut-senut sepanjang hari. Sial.

Kalau menurut nyokap gue, kesialan itu datangnya tiga kali. Jadi seharusnya, setelah tiga kesialan berturut-turut ini, gue akan menjalani sisa liburan dengan tenang (di samping fakta nggak punya HP dan gigi linu-linu). Tapi justru keseruan yang paling edan masih disimpan untuk akhir liburan ini.

Setelah sebagian besar anggota keluarga pulang, gue dan adik gue memperpanjang liburan dan pindah dari Discovery Hotel di Kartika Plaza ke hotel yang lebih merakyat, Oasis Kuta. Lokasinya oke, harganya reasonable, dan desainnya yang minimalis juga lumayan bikin betah.Memang ada bau-bauan yang sedikit aneh di daerah balkon kamar kita (kamarnya langsung menghadap ke kolam renang besar yang terletak di bagian tengah hotel yang berbentuk huruf U), tapi kita berusaha untuk nggak peduli.

Sampai saat hari kedua kita nginep di sana, kita dibuat kaget dengan rombongan polisi yang tiba-tiba mengerumuni sekitar kamar kita. Usut punya usut, ternyata di balkon sebelah kamar kita, ditemukan janin yang udah berumur beberapa hari. Bayangin aja!!! Berasa ada di tontonan Buser atau acara-acara kriminal gitu. Dan gue sama adik gue langsung ngebayangin bau-bauan aneh yang udah kita cium keberadaannya sejak kemarin. Huaaaa!!!!! Gue nggak habis pikir, kenapa ada orang yang dengan gilanya meninggalkan janin di kamar hotel. Apa nggak ada tempat lain ya??? Sinting.

Dan itulah. Liburan gue diawali dengan kejadian menyebalkan, dan diakhiri dengan kejadian mengerikan. But overall I enjoyed my holiday, because what is a holiday without a little bit of madness, right? =)

Saying Goodbye...

Well...saying goodbye to Italy in Europe 2008 is one thing (setidaknya kekalahannya nggak semenyakitkan Belanda yang kena santet Rusia, hehehe..plus, yang ngalahin adalah tim favorit gue nomer dua..yahhhh not bad lahhhh)...But saying goodbye to my former puppies....is totally a different thing...

Sedihhh banget deh rasanya harus mengucapkan selamat berpisah satu demi satu sama anak-anak golden mungil yang semakin membesar...Kadang gue suka bertanya-tanya, apa bener, orang yang ngambil mereka bakal memperlakukan mereka dengan baik? Apa bener, mereka bakal bahagia di tempat barunya?

Tapi setelah gue pikir-pikir, selama ini udah berapa banyak coba, orang yang kita bahagiain dengan kehadiran golden" itu? Dan memang, gue jadi berasa punya keluarga baru, yang dihubungin dengan anjing-anjing itu...Kalau ketemu sama pemilik-pemilik mereka pun, gue selalu dikasih tau kabar terbaru... Ada yang baru ngelahirin 10 ekor, ada yang udah disekolahin, ada juga yang selalu semangat ngasih liat foto-foto terbaru...

Nasib golden-golden alumni rumah gue memang beda-beda...Ada yang udah dianggep anak sendiri, karena anak-anak di keluarga itu pada pergi merantau ke luar negeri semua...Ada juga yang beruntung dimiliki oleh salah satu menteri di negara ini (hayo, bingung kan link nya dari mana, hehe)...Dan ada yang malah ditawar-tawar sama pembeli karena bulu dan badannya yang sangat bagus (nggak terlalu memalukanlah, keturunannya, hahaha...). Tapi satu hal kesamaannya, mereka berada di tangan-tangan yang mencintai mereka, dan bahagia dengan kehadiran mereka...

Dan kalau udah mikirin hal-hal itu...gue jadi sedikit lega...Setidaknya, mereka berada di orang-orang yang tepat...ditambah lagi, gue jadi punya hubungan kekeluargaan yang menyenangkan dengan orang-orang itu...Dan lagi, ada yang bilang kan, kalau to love is mostly about letting go...Jadi, gue memutuskan untuk menghilangkan kesedihan gue, and in spite of saying goodbye, maybe i could just wish them the happiest lives...=)

ps: gue kok jadi kepikiran buat reuni keluarga besar golden yah? hehehe...tapi tempat mana pula yang bisa menampung sekitar 40 ekor anjing? =p

Masih tetep....

Piala Eropa memang nggak segereget Piala Dunia...Yang main timnya gitu" aja, jarang ada kejutan" berarti seperti tim" underdog dari Afrika atau Asia yang suka tiba-tiba berjaya di Piala Dunia...

Tapi tetep sih, bela-belain begadang juga, karena ketidakberuntungan zona waktu Indonesia yang memaksa para penonton untuk terkantuk" setelah semaleman berusaha melek terus..Untungnya gue lagi berada di masa-masa ngantor dari rumah, dengan kerjaan-kerjaan freelance yang menyenangkan, jadi bangun siang bukan merupakan sesuatu yang tabu buat gue =)

Dan biarpun sempat dikecewakan sama tim favorit gue (iya, masih inget sama kecintaan gue dengan tim Azzurri duonk...hehehe), yang kalah 3-0 di pertandingan pertamanya dari tim Oranje (iya, negara kecil tempat gue menuntut ilmu S2 gue...damn damn damnnnn)...gue tetap menikmati permainan mereka...dengan drama-dramanya, Gattuso yang super iseng, Luca Toni yang emosi tinggi, Buffon yang tetep cool, sampe Cannavaro yang menjadi pemandangan paling heartbreaking sepanjang pertandingan, karena hanya bisa termangu" dari bangku cadangan...Gue memang nggak berharap terlalu banyak sama tim Italia di Piala Eropa tahun ini...Pasalnya, nonton Italia dengan beban gelar juara dunia memang lebih nggak asyik dibanding Italia yang hanya memiliki predikat "tim drama, tim diving, tim offside", dan predikat sejenis yang sama konyolnya...

Penuh beban, apalagi dengan cederanya Cannavaro, pelatih yang belum teruji kecanggihannya (we missed you Papa Lippi!!!),dan pemain yang memang lebih tua dari rata-rata usia tim lainnya...menjadi hambatan tersendiri dari tim berseragam biru ini..Makanya gue expect for the least aja, meskipun tetep sedih juga sih, nggak nyangka dibantai segitunya di pertandingan pertama...hiks...

Tapi eniwei...ternyata rasa cinta itu masih ada (nggak kaya beberapa temen gue sesama pencinta Azzurri yang langsung ngeles, "Gue nggak dukung Itali kok di Piala Eropa...lemah!!!!" atau "Itali sih payah, gue ngejagoin Jerman sekarang ini"...Halah. Bisaaa...aja dehhhh).

Dan sempet terhibur juga sih karena jagoan nomer dua gue, Spanyol, berhasil menggilas Rusia 4-1 dengan cantiknya...Way to go!!!

*hmmm...seandainya ada Pippo...mungkin ceritanya bakal laen....* (eits! dilarang protes!!!) =p