Pergi pulang balik Belanda – Indonesia – Belanda sempat membuat gegar budaya skala kecil yang tak terduga. Dari toilet paper sampai roti isi, dari mengemudi di kanan hingga jalur sepeda. Bahkan fast food juga membuat saya sedikit kaget.
Pertama kali tiba di Jakarta, rasanya tidak terbayang kalau ada sedikit gegar budaya yang sedikit aneh, saya sempat bingung mencari toilet paper yang tiap hari saya gunakan di Belanda namun ternyata jarang sekali ada di toilet di Indonesia, termasuk di rumah sendiri. Untunglah akhirnya terbiasa dengan cara asli ala Indonesia.
Satu hari saya makan fast food untuk pertama kalinya lagi di Indonesia, McDonalds, yang selalu jadi tumpuan harapan saya di Eropa karena harganya jauh lebih murah dari resto lainnya, maklum hanya dengan 5,5 euro saya bisa makan Big Mac, salad, dan minuman, saat itu saya hampir saja berbahasa Inggris kepada kasir. Entah karena masalah beban pikiran yang begitu menumpuk atau karena masalah disorientasi.
Di hari lain, di jaringan fast food lain, saya nyaris saja membersihkan nampan saya, membuang sampahnya dan meletakkannya di tumpukan nampan bersih. Waduh, gagap budaya lagi, maklum di sini semua harus membersihkan sendiri. Waktu saya belanja di pasar swalayan, saya juga nyaris memasukkan belanjaan saya ke kantong plastik, hingga akhirnya sadar ada petugas khusus yang memasukkan belanjaan ke kantong plastik saya.
Saya baru sadar, Eropa sebagai asal muasal roti ternyata tidak sekreatif orang Indonesia. Beberapa hari setelah tiba, saya mendadak kangen roti Bread Talk, Bread Story atau Holland Bakery, maklum di Jakarta saya sampai bisa makan 3 roti sekaligus waktu pulang kemarin. Disini tidak ada roti isi daging, coklat, pisang, keju de el el. Yang ada hanya roti biasa yang kita buat sendiri. Jadi siapa bilang orang Indonesia tidak kreatif dalam hal makanan.
Gegar makanan juga berlanjut saat makan di resto wok, satu resto masakan china di Tilburg. Saya sudah memesan 4 mangkuk sambal (ukurannya kecil sekali, isinya sambal oelek), untuk saya dan 2 orang teman. Saat memesan lagi, sang pelayan berseru dengan ekspresi penuh terkejut,” Meer????” (lagiiiii?), ooops si pelayan tidak tahu saya tergila-gila sambal dan suka masakan menado yang pedasnya mungkin terasa mengerikan dengan cabai rawitnya.
Setiba pertama kali tiba di Schipol, rasanya kaget melihat cuaca yang cerah dengan matahari yang bersinar dengan hangatnya, tapi juga terkejut melihat seorang anak kecil berkawat gigi eksterior, waduuuh ngeri melihat kawat gigi yang ditunjang bagian eksterior di lehernya, apa karena biaya dokter gigi yang sangat sangat sangat mahal di Belanda? Di Indonesia, rasanya sudah tidak ada lagi yang memakai kawat gigi ini, entah karena tidak tren atau mungkin karena biaya dokter gigi yang lebih murah.
Ini juga mengingatkan saya akan keterkejutan saya melihat teman-teman yang memakai HP Nokia Communicator, memang benar kata orang, di Eropa saya tidak pernah melihat orang memakai HP Communicator. Bahkan para professional di Big Four, dan para pengacara hanya memakai HP yang terlihat sederhana. Yang canggih hanyalah black berry yang mereka pakai, itupun karena biasanya diwajibkan oleh kantor mereka.
Sekeluar dari Schipol, selain sedikit disorientasi dimana saya harus mengemudikan sepeda, di kiri atau di kanan, saya sempat menyangka jalur sepeda yang dicat merah adalah jalur buswaeee. Halaaaah, kok jadi bingung ya?
PS : cerita diatas bukan iklan merek tertentu, cuma kebetulan. Tulisan ini juga dibuat untuk melihat sisi positif dari kepulangan saya ke Indo yang tidak disangka-sangka yang dapat juga mengingatkan saya akan sisi positif itu.
Satu bulan terakhir adalah bulan yang tak akan saya lupa seumur hidup, bulan yang mungkin sekilas terasa seperti bulan penuh cobaan, kecemasan, bimbang dan ketakutan. Semuanya mulai berubah saat saya mencoba untuk bersyukur atas semua masalah yang ada.
Dari duka cita, beban thesis, beban studi dan segala masalah pribadi yang membuat saya ingin teriak dan lari. Entah mengapa saya seperti ingat bahwa berpikir positif membuat saya tetap tegar, salah satunya dengan cara bersyukur.
Beberapa teman menanyakan kabar kepada saya, yang saya sukar menjawabnya, memang saya baik-baik saja meski butuh waktu untuk membuat saya tenang.
Dan inilah daftar ucapan syukur yang bisa saya buat
Saya bersyukur dapat pulang melihat ibunda tercinta di saat-saat terakhirnya
Saya bersyukur ia bisa berpulang dengan tenang dan damai, lepas dari segala penderitaan yang menyakitkan dia dan perasaan saya sekeluarga
Saya bersyukur bahwa segala permasalahan yang ada membuat saya bisa melihat sisi lain dari orang-orang di sekitar saya yang selama ini mereka sembunyikan
Saya bersyukur atas kepulangan saya yang terlambat karena akhirnya teman baik saya memberikan buku-buku yang sangat bagus untuk bahan thesis (terima kasih banyak Kris, maju terus untuk semuanya...!!!!)
Saya bersyukur akan teman yang memberikan dukungan terhadap saya
Saya bersyukur akan tetangga yang sangat baik dan mendukung saya sekeluarga, tanpa mereka saya sekeluarga akan sungguh repot dan meras sepi
Saya bersyukur saya masih punya keluarga besar yang mendukung saya sekeluarga karena banyak orang yang benar-benar hidup sebatang kara
Saya bersyukur bahwa saya tidak sendirian
Saya bersyukur saya bisa menjumpai kembali orang-orang yang saya cintai setelah sekian lama tidak bertemu
Saya bersyukur bisa menemukan judul dan bahan thesis yang selama ini saya sulit pikirkan(terima kasih banyak untuk George, Erik dan Rachel untuk kiriman jurnalnya)
Saya bersyukur saya masih punya pengharapan dan tidak patah semangat di tengah segala pergumulan
Saya bersyukur akan sekolah yang baik yang masih bisa saya tempuh disaat banyak orang tidak bisa mendapatkannya
Sebenarnya daftar ini masih lebih panjang lagi tapi akan menjadi terlalu panjang untuk saya tulis.
Daftar diatas membuat saya ingat betapa beruntungnya saya dan betapa saya layak untuk bersyukur bahkan di tengah segala permasalahan saya.
Entah kenapa, kata-kata berikut mendadak jadi satu rhema di dalam hati, agar saya mengucap syukur untuk segala sesuatu.
Pulang!!! Itu yang langsung terlintas selain lagu Sio Mama, ditambah seribu satu perasaan campur aduk di dalam hati waktu mendengar kabar dari Jakarta,
Bingung, cemas, bahkan air mata waktu mendengar semua ini
Beberapa tahun lalu waktu saya pertama kali merantau jauh dari kota kelahiran, saya sering menyanyi lagu ini waktu rindu akan sang Mama, satu-satunya orang yang saya kasihi setelah kepergian sang ayah
Berapa puluh tahun lalu
Beta masih kecile
Beta ingat tempo itu
Sio Mama gendong-gendong betae
Sambil Mama bakar sagu
Mama manyanyi deng buju-buju
Lah sampe basar begini
Beta ta lupa Mamae
Sio Mamae
Beta rindu mau pulange
Sio Mamae
Oh mama so lihat
Kurus lawange
Beta Balom Balas Mama
Mamapun Cape sio doloe
Sio Tete Manise
Jaga Beta Pu Mamae
Sio Mama Sio Mama
Oh Beta Sayang Mamae
Berapa tahun lalu saya juga mengerti arti dari Sio Tete Manise yang berarti dalam dan jauh tentang Dia yang sanggup menjadi teman dan sahabat kita.
Ah rasanya tidak sabar untuk tiba kembali di kota kelahiran meski terpisah benua dan 14 jam perjalanan dari ujung bumi yang lain. Entah apa yang saya akan pikirkan selama di perjalanan, kenangan manis tahun lalu saat pergi ke Yogya bersama dia? Atau kenangan manis sejak kecil karena dialah yang merawat dan membesarkan saya sejak saya dilahirkan.
Entah, saya cuma bisa berdoa, Sio Tete Manise, jaga beta pu Mamae
Phd in travelling, why not? It’s an amazing idea to be combined with really enjoyable teaching experience in the Faculty of Travelling, Tourism and Backpacking. I would be in charge to go in-depth in the so-called travel science, write my doctoral thesis about “The application of how to enjoy your life to the fullest as a backpacker due to strong support of domestic tourism information management”. As far as I know, I do need to work hard to prepare this rigorous study later.
As a part of the preparation and preliminary study, I would be asked to pay a visit to the most exciting tourist friendly backpacking destinations which are quite varied from Himalayan, exotic small places in Mediterranean until going back to my home country. For Indonesia, the most likely choice is Bali, that’s mainly about Poppies Lane.This preliminary study would make me write a journal report in a journalist style that’s going to be supervised by Tony Wheeler, the founding father of traveller’s bible called Lonely Planet.
Undoubtedly, Tony Wheeler has inspired thousands of travellers and the number is even still increasing. I would have no second thought if someone offers me to choose him as my promoter and supervisor of my thesis later. I was fascinated that he gave up his promising career to start a new one as a travelling guru on a worldwide basis. A graduate of London Business School, he changed his track of job completely due to this LP things. At present, he has decided to sell 75% of the majority shares so that he would have more time to travel. Am I supposed to envy him?
The Indonesian part has even been described in the early edition of lonely planet but however the tourism and backpacking world in Indonesia has gone upside down. The unmanaged tourism sector has been like a drawback though the richness in nature and culture is marvellous and breathtaking. Where could we know the best way to get into the national park in Indonesia, how could we find the interesting places out of Jakarta which are not touristic and highly recommended? Or to make things more confusing, what is the best public transportation to get there considering usually there’s no fixed schedule for public transportation in Indonesia. It might make this country more adventurous but really worth many visits.
The doctoral thesis would focus mainly on how someone would benefit from backpacking activities and at the same time the local government would eventually benefit from the visits of many travellers to many exotic places. If things could go smoothly, many outing would be conducted to many exotic places that would a part of comparison study (but I’m not on a shopping spree trip however) from South America until the remote parts of China. Tony Wheeler would love to share his personal account how he could influence and gather travel infos to the students.
I do need to get ready for a thorough yet lovely change in the course of my graduate study. Accordingly, I would need to revise my paper so I would write my paper about the comparison of backpacking travel management in three countries. I also need to write more things like “how to merge unorganized travel management institutions in two countries” or even “the use of financial support on backpacking hospitality management in international context”.
Upon my graduation, I could expect to become a professor in backpacking science where I would be teaching at a Faculty of Travelling, Tourism and Backpacking in Backpacker University that might cooperate together with Lonely Planet. Apart of the teaching experience, it would also become a wonderful travel experience since the class would take place in the most exotic places on earth.
WAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIT, could someone WAKE ME UP? This is such a sweet DREAM to be a Phd like that, but seemingly it’s too good to be true hahahahhaha and it still remains as a dream. Learning by burning a midnight oil is necessary and a must but life has to be enjoyable....that’s for sure. However, a Phd like this is indeed a dream of mine (and also other people's dream).
Is it safe to travel to Indonesia because of the bombing, earthquake, tsunami and many other things?
This question might sound not overwhelming, but on the other hand, a bit naive and show total unfamiliarity of a country called Indonesia. It is also a dull, peculiar and, on certain level, annoying to certain people.
I have seen this question thrown in certain discussion forum for travellers. One day, a Canadian gave this question to Indonesians and I eventually could not refrain myself from replying it.
so join this traveler forum for more fair insight about Indonesia since people might think that the opinion given by Indonesian is a bit bias, or join the other traveler forum about Bali (and Indonesia) boards.bootsnall.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/2083038267
you might notice that those involved in this forum are mostly foreigners (westerners), and one of the interesting answers comes like - If you see bombing happened in London, would you decide not to go there? does it mean there's supposed to be travel warning to go to England or even US after the bombing? or - Does it mean that after the things described in the travel warning, Australian tourists stop coming to Bali (for example) since Australian are the main targets?
the funny things could be seen from their advice and report about westerners coming to Indonesia enjoy the topic there, I also agree to many people's conviction that the more we feel afraid the more we're unable to overcome the fear created by those moronic-evil-nasty-insane so-called terrorists..
In short, enjoy and interesting discussion in those two forums and decide by yourself, but I do believe once you decide to go Bali, what you see is usually the crowd of foreigners and westerners in many places
I hope it helps you a lot
=======================
Usually, as you could read from my reply here, I let other foreigners to reply this question. Thus, I still ask that person to see the discussion forum.
I have even seen two interesting discussions about similar question in the Thorn Tree Forum recently with replies coming from Indonesian-loving westerners.
Now, because of my new habitat, it didn’t save me from meeting person with similar question about how safe the country is.
The tsunami and the earth quake It was a Belgian guy (Flemish one) who asked me if there is any of my relatives died due to tsunami. I immediately smiled and replied that there’s none of them. He was still confused until I explained it would be like saying there is a tsunami in Portugal and he said the same question to a Dutch that means, as some people could say, one in a million (hopefully it’s the right term to portray the situation). It takes around three hours to go from Jakarta to Banda Aceh let alone the flight from Aceh to the Indonesia’s easternmost province, Papua.
I do know that people’s geography skill is usually limited and they take it or granted. Anyway, apart of the question about tsunami and earthquake, we are only able to compare apple to apple, not apple with a stingy thorny fruit named durian. Talking about earthquake in Indonesia becomes something in the spotlight after the tsunami and Yogya’s earthquake as well as the other natural disasters. However, I was glad to see the National Geographic report about Indonesia’s volcanoes. Even, I find it amusing, informative and wonderful.
To make the long story short, I like to answer the question with my smile, and grin as well, but at the same time say, if it’s not safe, go to touristy places in Indonesia, and feel the crowd of tourists there
and if you have ever been to Indonesia, which part of Indonesia? (to let them know how huge the country is) Personally, I still dream of going to eastern part of this country.
PS : thanks to my fellow travellers or anyone who become unpaid public relation officer of this amazing archipelago.
Yes. I love this bright sunny day in the Netherlands since for the last few days, Dutch weather has been truly enjoyable though the temperature is still around 10 degrees Celsius. It already feels like summer. Last week’s weather was horrible though due to strong wind and rain. Now it makes smile and enjoy the nice bright blue sky with some doves and even some seagulls (from the canals) flying near my window. It reminds me that winter is almost over and the coming spring break is supposed to be more enjoyable due to nice Dutchy weather.
Too bad, some Indonesian friends of mine complained about the gloomy day in Jakarta. It was downpour accompanied with wind blowing fast in the downtown and seemingly everyone is really concerned about the possible inundation in the city (again). Anyway, I wish I could share this beautiful weather of mine, sadly it’s only through this story and photos.
What if 40.000 young people across Europe gathered in one place in Geneve, Switzerland? A gathering that made me travel to this wonderful city. All of a sudden, the city became packed with youth spirit, joyful chants among the participants, fellowship, interesting discussion, chances to build friendship among new found mates and opportunities to pray together. This Taizé annual celebration for European youngster called Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth began on December 28, 2007 until January 1, 2008.
I was fortunate to join this joyful occasion thanks to Belgium group who arranged this pilgrimage to Geneve. A bit funny thing happened since there are the two parts of Belgium, Flemish and Francophone, I needed to pick up a particular group. Though my new habitat is in the Netherlands but I prefer to speak and use French (with my poor French skill, anyway I eventually prefer to use my English), thank God there’s French Cultural Center in Jakarta.
The gathering began after all participants arrived in Geneve, a city well known for the Lake, the one that I really like, located in a mountainous area. After the placement process, I joined the francophone friends with my host in Lausanne, another city that’s reachable within 30 minutes by train. It’s really fun from the beginning and in the afternoon, the gathering started at Geneve Airport. Amazing, after having not seen thousands of young people gathering in one place for fellowship, eventually I saw them.
My first experience It was indeed my very first experience, but the prayer and the meditative songs captivated my heart from the very beginning. The Taize brothers led the whole prayer in such a way that made me wonder how these young became interested to gather. The answer might come from the fellowship and the simple spirituality combining people from different denominations, different churches in a single fellowship. They have no zealous preaching, only simple meditation in each meeting. There’s particular method, they merely offer friendship ( I got some french speaking friend at that time). They have no emphasis on dogma or whatsoever but the message is clear and too obvious, there’s God who cares for us. Someone who loves us as I hear in one of the songs, “Nothing can ever come between us and the Love of God”.
The fellowship The lunch and dinner session were also unbelievable, seeing thousands of people made me think that probably they need few fishes and breads ( does the parable ring a bell?). It’s fun to meet and share my struggle, faith and hope among the others not only for praying together. I guess that’s the true spirit of fellowship and community. My journey from Geneve to Lausanne, with free ride ticket given by the organizer, was fun indeed and full of songs from different languages. Surprisingly I got a chance to teach songs when my friends asked me to teach some songs and I had no reluctance to teach those songs (I love it and remember it by heart).
Enjoying Lausanne and Geneve During those days, all participants were also able to explore the beauty of Lausanne and Geneve. Many options were given variably from gospel concert, city tour, reflection with Taize brothers, musical performance until meditation. Too many options for even a single day.Lausanne with its cathedral looked great, the Lake Geneve is also awesome due its breathtaking background that is snowy mountains.
In a nutshell, it’s fun, enjoyable and I miss those moments again. A zillion thanks for Taize community, my friends, and the Belgium organizer on this trip, good luck for being the next host of Taize meeting this year.
Penah berbagi cerita tentang indahnya negeri ini dan ingin agar orang asing juga dapat menikmati indahnya Indonesia? Pernah bertemu orang non Indonesia yang penasaran akan Indonesia dan ingin bertanya banyak tentang negeri tercinta kita tentang keindahan alam, budaya dan lainnya?
Belum lama ini juga banyak orang Indonesia merasa panas karena berita tentang budaya kita yang diklaim orang atau pernah melihat orang asing yang takut datang ke Indonesia? Ah rasanya perasaan saya campur aduk tentang cerita dan ribut-ribut tentang pencurian budaya dan citra Indonesia
Akhirnya saya mulai bisa melihat Indonesia dari cara pandang lain setelah “minggat” ke negeri orang. Saya bisa melihat Indonesia dari cara pandang orang asing, cara pandang orang ketiga.
Rasanya buang-buang energi waktu ribut kasus pencurian budaya, meski saya kaget juga melihat masalah ini dalamthread Lonely Planet dalam forum diskusinya, bahkan ada yang mengatakan bahwa negara tetangga kita adalah Truly India, Truly China, Truly Indonesia. Ternyata banyak orang asing yang cukup tahu masalah ini.
Hampir semua komentar backpacker asing di Thorn Tree positif tentang Indonesia bahkan beberapa yang mengatakan,” if you say you have been to Indonesia, but what part of Indonesia?” saya setuju sekali dengan pendapat dia bahwa Indonesia begitu beragam dengan budaya dan alam yang sangat berbeda. Bayangkan kalau di beberapa tempat di Indonesia seperti Lombok, alam terlihat kering, tandus dan berbeda dengan hutan hujan di daerah Ujung Kulon misalnya.
Terasa lebih elok kalau kita menanggapi semua perdebatan tentang Indonesia dengan kepala dingin, kalau saya sendiri memilih dengan sepenuh hati berbagi indahnya negeri tercinta Indonesia kepada orang asing. Cuma itu yang saya bisa lakukan sementara ini dengan berbagi cerita tentang indahnya alam Indonesia dan menariknya budaya Indonesia kepada orang asing (non Indonesia) yang dapat kita temui secara fisik atau di dunia maya,
Saya masih ingat cerita yang saya bagikan tentang indahnya Sabang dan Pulau Weh di satu hostel kepada orang Irlandia yang bersemangat mendengarkan pengalaman saya, Cerita sederhana yang ternyata menggugah hatinya
Satu saat saya berbagi info tentang indahnya tinggal di Bali kepada seorang Itali yang merindukan surfing di surga tropis. Matanya berbinar waktu saya bercerita tentang Bali.
Dalam satu kesempatan, seorang Belgia bertanya tentang Ujung Kulon, jawaban saya selain bercerita tentang indahnya tempat ini, luar biasanya pemandagan disana, nikmatnya naik kano disana, saya tutup dengan kalimat, ”Highly recommended”, Namun ada satu pengalaman menarik waktu saya bercerita tentang indahnya Indonesia khususnya Jawa kepada orang Jawa Suriname di Belanda. Dia belum pernah menginjakkan kakinya di Indonesia dan ia mengatakan kalau satu saat ia berkunjung, kunjungan itu akan terasa emosional baginya.
Makanan di Indonesia sebenarnya juga bisa menjadi satu sumber wisata yang tidak ada habisnya dengan makanan yang beraneka rupa dari makanan tradisional, masakan Cina, India, Asia hingga Eropa mudah ditemukan. Saya pernah menerangkan kepada teman Belanda tentang arti rijstafel di Indonesia hingga akhirnya saya menerangkan adanya kekayaan kuliner di Indonesia yang sangat beragam karena adanya ratusan etnis di Indonesia. Bahan makanan di Indonesia umumnya segar atau masih hidup, pengalaman tak terlupakan saya adalah saat saya makan lobster ukuran besar seharga 25 ribu rupiah di Teluk Kiluan Lampung.Seorang teman asal Portugal juga membenarkan lezatnya makan ikan bakar di Indonesia yang juga murah. Bayangkan itu hanyalah satu dari begitu banyak kekayaan kuliner di Indonesia.
Tentang keindahan alam, bayangkan kalau diri kita mengelana jauh ke negeri orang, tentunya kita ingin melihat keindahan negeri itu, namun di Indonesia rasanya sukar mengandalkan pemerintah. Di negeri lain fasilitas informasi wisata melimpah, tapi di Indonesia? Rasanya kita perlu mempunyai semangat untuk berbagi.
Kenapa tidak mulai berbagi keindahan negeri kita? Saya sendiri tidak menutup kemungkinan ada turis yang punya pengalaman buruk, apalagi jika melihat turis yang kritis, dan mungkin bukan turis pengelana pecinta alam.Satu pasangan Belanda pernah bercerita tentang alasan mereka memilih pergi ke Malaysia dan Thailand karena ada penerbangan langsung kesana dan menurut mereka tidak terlalu turistik seperti Bali. Seperti biasa saya mengompori mereka untuk datang ke Indonesia. Saya juga pernah menemukan seorang bacpacker asing yang menuliskan touris trap Indonesia di webnya serta hal-hal yang harus dihindari, namun ia juga menulis tentang tempat non turistik yang wajib dikunjungi di Indonesia (http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/2e789/654/8/)
Terkendala bahasa? Meski demikian, kenapa tidak mencoba? Saya yakin terkadang bahasa bukan satu halangan utama, karena foto dan kemauan masih bisa juga bercerita banyak tidak hanya tentang alam tapi juga tentang budaya negeri tercinta.
Sayangnya banyak orang Indonesia tidak tahu tentang keindahan dan keelokan negeri sendiri, banyak yang bingung mau menunjukkan apa. Rasanya terlalu indah untuk dinikmati sendiri. Sekedar catatan tambahan, terkadang jika ingin mendapatkan info jalan yang lengkap lebih baik kita melihat Lonely Planet edisi Indonesia yang jelas-jelas ditulis oleh orang asing.
Akhir kata rasanya akan lebih baik jika kita lebih mengenal keindahan negeri sendiri dan akhirnya bisa berbagi kepada orang lain tentang indahnya negeri ini.
PS : Dunia maya juga bisa menjadi jawaban jika anda ingin menjadi berkat bagi pariwisata Indonesia. Selamat mencoba !!!
Having celebrated your Christmas with your family? Undoubtedly since the recent Christmas is my first 'Kerstmis' abroad, I do miss my family but later I also learn more values that I also miss, values of family and community.
My first Christmas in Netherlands surprisingly reminds me of how people in my homecountry celebrate Christmas in a different way. I don't mean to refer more vibrant religious celebration but I refer to communal celebration of community and neighborhood when it comes to Christmas (not to limt to other belief's observance) since neighbours would get together for this special day, and a day when extended family becomes reunited (that might happen only once a year).
Yes, religious observance including Christmas in Indonesia is a joyful occasion when families get together, it's a time when neighbours come to pay a vistit to their neighbours, it's also a time when families prepare delicious food for their guests (don't say I'm not fond of those rijstaffel style meal :-P ). In short I miss those things
Thank God, on this Christmas for two consecutive days, I was invited by my relatives and my friends. It's something that I really appreciate, not only because I'm new here but also because I like to be celebrating with family and friends (no doubt about it). It's also the first time for me to taste the deer meat. Deer? Yup, it's a special meat used and sold only special occasions like Christmas. Thanks for Tante Lena and Om Ferry's family for the delicious meal, thanks to Om Roy's family for the deer meat and the turkey (Stanley, you're truly a good chef).
Perhaps for non Dutch people, it's must-try food for Christmas.
At last, I know it's impossible to have a similar Christmas family celebrations like the common celebration in home country, however, Thank God, I could taste it here.
Natal pertama di negeri Belanda. Natal pertama jauh dari keluarga. Natal pertama saat saya melihat gereja di Tilburg menjadi penuh kembali dengan koor dan orkes yang menarik.
Seribu satu cerita dan pesan Natal membuat saya ingat kembali manisnya Natal, tapi memang tinggal jauh dari keluarga membuar Natal terasa beda. Prosesi misa natal di Gereja ‘dua menara’ Saint Joseph tidak mempunyai prosesi lilin atau cahaya. Semalam saya berangkat sendirian dan sempat terkejut melihat gereja yang biasanya sepi, dingin dan kosong menjadi penuh dengan orang-orang Belanda. Memang, misa tidak dalam bahasa Indonesia atau Inggris tapi semangat Natal ternyata masih ada. Entah kenapa saya hanya bisa berdoa untuk keluarga, untuk teman-teman saya, orang-orang-orang yang datang ke misa saat itu, termasuk untuk orang-orang yang merasakan cemas, takut, bimbang serta sakit penyakit saat Natal ini. Sehari sebelum Natal ada yang mengingatkan saya tentang arti Natal, tentang cinta, iman dan pengharapan. Cinta? Ah kata ini mengingatkan saya akan keluarga dan teman saya, Iman mengingatkan saya untuk percaya akan sesuatu, dan pengharapan akan janji Dia untuk memberi yang terbaik bagi saya.
Beberapa hari sebelumnya, seorang teman dari Amerika mengatakan bahwa iman seperti hal kuno karena itu terutama diperlukan saat perang, saat kekacauan dan manusia dalam ketakutan, itulah saat dimana iman diperlukan. Itu sebabnya ia merasa tidak perlu iman, satu pertanyaan yang membuat saya merenung, apakah saya tidak pernah merasa takut, cemas, dan tidak butuh iman dan pengharapan?
Eropa mungkin terasa sekuler, tapi saya percaya cinta, iman dan pengharapan adalah hal yang dapat diterima dimana saja dan Natal mengingatkan saya akan hal ini bahwa saya dicintai, mempunyai iman dan pengharapan akan janji Dia untuk memberi yang terbaik bagi saya.
SELAMAT NATAL.. TUHAN MEMBERKATI
Tilburg, 25 Desember 2007
PS : foto diambil dari nativity scene di depan gereja 'dua menara' di Tilburg
Tonight i was looking out of window only to see snow falling from the sky, it's beautiful....!! I wonder what it feels during the day... to be frank, I can't wait.. The weather forecast says the temperature for the whole week would be around -1 and -2 degree celcius and now I could clearly see the parking lot below my studenthouse covered with the snow. Yesterday I also watched a TV program of frozen lakes and river in Netherlands and today seems like the culmination process of the freezing days previously
I just can't wait to enjoy this new landscape, from taking photos, going to winter festival in Eindhoven, going to a neighbour country (I'll let you know) or just enjoy the new snowy days here Anyway I don't think I would be able to bike freely since last Sunday, I was frozen when I went biking for just 5 minutes.
Being a nocturnal human being so that I would be able to burn my midnight oil, that’s probably the short way to describe my present condition. Anyway, apart of this headache-producing activities, do I need no time to pamper myself? From going the national park, diving (ooops) until going biking across the borders. Undoubtedly, I need to take away this book-related craze for a moment, I call it a calming moment of mine.
When I was at job or working at my then office, I always tried to find ways to seek any compensation in whatsoever to pump my adrenalin during my holiday mainly on my long weekend. A show aired on a local TV channel titled ‘Work hard, play hard’ inspires me, and perhaps any other viewers in home city, to get our life more enjoyable. On the present reality, literally I need to soak myself in a sea of books, get myself trapped in burning -midnight-oil activities to make me pass any test, no matter with flying colours or not.
I am the one who hates the idea of life being totally absorbed in work or study tough it could sometimes make me almost forget that I’m destined to be with my books... hiks However, this winter days make it a bit difficult to enjoy my liking, outdoor activities. My friends, magazines and some websites also inspired me to
- go to national parks in Netherlands; yup too bad it’s winter
- diving club; I immediately say a BIG NO, hehehe I even saw a blog of Indonesian woman telling the bad visibility of diving in Netherlands in here
- going biking around Netherlands, it’s definitely awesome but not in winter, for further details check the biking route in Netherlands , a friend even told me about his fun biking trip from groningen to German by bike in summer... gee i do envy him
- going camping in the camping grounds; that’s also not possible in the winter
- ice skating; I saw a nice photo of ice skating in a frozen river in Leiden that seems so cool.
- Playing soccer, it’s also fun but now I do need an indoor soccer field to cope with the freezing weather, by the time i write this, it's minus 2 degree celcius, the water outside is already frozen.
Seeing the list above makes me realize an ultimate difference of my outdoor activities in my home country which are more diverse. You could name it, from mountain hiking (Netherlands is plain land, no hill or mountain), diving, snorkeling, trekking, surfing ( I like body boarding in Bali), rafting (the last time was in Bali), geee..
Ah, I just can’t wait to end this bookish craze, but I need more patience.mmm but at least I also dislike the idea of 'I don't work hardly and I play hard" still I prefer to work hard and play hard. but God, don’t let my professors make my life more complicated.
, a nice view of horizon with a possibility of rainbow appearance, including fog that could come all of sudden in the nearby parking lot, are the things I always see from my window. Yes, it's a studenthouse room on the 4th floor, a place where I live. Sometimes, those things could amuse me especially at night or during the day as well since pigeons like to fly around on the sky near my apartment.
see that? the building is indeed of different colours.
and here's the actual view among stacks of books :-P
Orang Indonesia ternyata suka berkumpul, dimanapun mereka berada di penjuru dunia..., sukar untuk meninggalkan kebiasaan yang sudah mendarah daging ini selalu dibawa kemanapun mereka berada.
Inilah kesimpulan yang saya dapat setelah minggat dari negeri sendiri. Ini semua berawal dari kata-kata seorang Belanda yang mendukung pemahaman saya sebelumnya. Bayangkan, mana mungkin kita menerjemahkan arisan ke dalam bahasa asing,
bagaimana kita menjelaskan konsep RT dalam bahasa asing? Atau bagaimana jika anda menjelaskan bahwa anda nongkrong di gardu kamling? Satu ide yang terasa absurd bagi sebagian orang di bagian lain di dunia. Nuansa individualisme sangat terasa meresapi hati pada kebanyakan orang Eropa, meski masih ada beberapa daerah seperti di Belanda yang masyarakatnya tetap memperhatikan nilai komunal dengan cukup kuat.
Pernahkah atau seringkah kita melihat pengelana dari negeri Eropa yang
membawa Lonely Planet berkelana sendirian di Indonesia? Saya yakin jawabannya, sering!!!! Saya sendiri sadar waktu memutuskan minggat dari Tilburg di awal musim gugur, benar kata orang, saya makhluk langka di kalangan orang Indonesia yang bisa menikmati perjalanan sendiri ke negeri lain yang masyarakatnya tidak bisa bahasa Inggris. Sedangkan pada saat yang sama teman-teman saya pergi ke tempat lain bersama-sama, kebetulan juga jadwal liburan saya tidak bersamaan dengan teman saya.
Di milis para penggila jalan bahkan sering ada tawaran jalan bersama, dan sering ada trip hingga keluar negeri. Entah kenapa saya jarang melihat penawaran
ini disini, (meski belum lama ini ada penawaran trip bareng ke Eropa Timur yang harus saya tolak meski harganya murah, hiksssssss).
Beberapa kesan orang Eropa, termasuk professor saya yang doyan jalan, yang mengatakan bahwa orang Asia Tenggara termasuk orang Indonesia termasuk murah senyum benar adanya. Mungkinkah ini dikarenakan cuaca tropis yang hangat?
Satu hal yang cukup menggelitik saya adalah kata-kata seorang Belanda bahwa meskipun orang Indonesia tinggal bersama di satu asrama mahasiswa di Belanda, namun mereka tetap sedikit membuka pintunya. Satu kenyataan bahwa orang Indonesia lebih bersifat komunal daripada orang Eropa
Tentang saya sendiri, saya terkadang menikmati jalan sendiri maupun jalan bersama teman. Yang jelas keduanya sama-sama menyenangkan!!!!!
Bayangkan, dari jutaan sepeda di Belanda, tidak ada satu pun tukang tambal ban di Belanda. Dari sekian banyak kampus, tidak ada satu pun tukang foto kopi dan warung makan murah meriah di sekitar kampus. Bisakah ini berubah? Tidak mungkin? Bagaimana jika Belanda terletak dekat Indonesia?
Dapat saja terjadi, ratusan atau ribuan tukang tambal ban akan merelokasikan usahanya ke Belanda untuk meraup euro. Mereka akan berusaha mendapatkan visa tenaga kerja dengan keahlian khusus bahkan sektor ini bisa dipastikan akan dikuasai orang Indonesia, tentunya tanpa merujuk pada etnis tertentu di Indonesia. Bisa diramalkan, yang terbaik sajalah yang akan meraih keberhasilan tentunya termasuk dengan mengembangkan usaha sampingan seperti kursus tambal ban serta penjualan kit tambal ban untuk pribadi.
Pengusaha warung tegal akan segera mengembangkan usaha ke negeri belanda, terutama membuat menu Rijsttafel. Para pemilik warung mungkin akan sedikit terkejut saat menyesuaikan diri dengan standar kesehatan Eropa. Waroeng Indonesia akan bertebaran menyediakan rijsttafel siap saji dengan automaat atawa vending machine. Mereka akan membuka cabang di tiap kampus, dan memposisikan diri sebagai penjual makanan Indonesia yang murah meriah. Namun yang paling penting mereka harus belajar melaporkan penghasilan mereka ke BelastingDienst atau Kantor Pajak di Belanda. :-P
Makanan cemilan Indonesia akan semakin terkenal bahkan para penjual lumpia asal Vietnam di Belanda bisa tergusur kepopulerannya karena banyaknya dan beraneka rupa makanan jajan pasar asal Indonesia. Pisang goreng (banana fritters atawa fried banana), bakwan malang, lumpia semarang, bika ambon, batagor, gado-gado, asinan dan ketoprak mungkin bisa dijadikan menu favorit bagi pecinta makanan cemilan Indonesia.
Tukang foto kopi yang mengembangkan usahanya di Belanda harus belajar hukum atau Undang-Undang Hak Cipta yang seringkali diabaikan di Indonesia. Mereka akan mengusahakan pembayaran royalti atas buku-buku yang difotokopi, satu usaha yang dapat saling menguntungkan bsgi mahasiswa dan penulis buku.
Coffe shop akan dipelesetkan menjadi waroeng koffie, tempat orang Belanda juga bisa mencicipi minuman non alkohol versi Indonesia yang menghangatkan tubuh dari bajigur, sekoteng hingga wedang jahe. Para penikmat hidup sehat Belanda kemungkinan besar akan menyerbu waroeng ini termasuk penggemar wine produksi Bali yang akan mendapat pasar baru di Belanda lewat waroeng ini.
Liburan di Indonesia!!! Bali dan Indonesia khususnya pasti akan menjadi tujuan liburan nomor satu di Belanda. Pemandu wisata tidak perlu repot belajar bahasa Belanda karena hampir setiap orang Belanda lancar berbahasa Inggris, namun segelintir pemandu wisata akan belajar bahasa Belanda untuk mendekatkan diri dengan para wisatawan asal Belanda. Saat musim dingin yang menusuk tulang, jumlah wisatawan akan meningkat untuk bermandi matahari di Indonesia
Belajar di Belanda? Kenapa tidak? Dengan biaya kuliah yang bersaing, dan begitu banyaknya program kuliah berbahasa Inggris, Belanda jelas menjadi pilihan, mungkin jadi pilihan menarik dibanding program internasional dari kampus Indonesia. Akhirnya banyak kampus akan menawarkan program double degree berbahasa Inggris dengan Universitas di Belanda.
Katakan cinta dengan tulip!!! Tulip bisa jadi satu bahasa dan simbol cinta, tukang bunga potong akan mengimpor tulip dari Belanda, sebaliknya bunga tropis seperti anggrek akan menjadi bunga favorit di Belanda
Pulang kampung akan mudah, bayangkan ada banyak orang Suriname keturunan Jawa yang sekarang tinggal di Belanda. 15 % dari orang Suriname bahkan keturunan Jawa. Mereka akan pulang kampung karena mudah dan murah, termasuk menelusuri romantika jejak nenek moyang mereka, meski nama Jawa mereka hanya menjadi nama keluarga, mereka akan menemukan kembali akar mereka karena mampu berbahasa Jawa.
Buat saya sendiri, hal yang penting adalah serupa dengan yang terakhir... bisa pulang kampung dengan mudah hehehee
Dari yang rindu kampung eh kota halaman di tengah musim gugur.
Unbelievable, some people say to me,”Are you German?”, “Vous parlez Vietnamese?”, “ From India?”,”Filipino”, or the worst one is,”Do you come from America?” These bizarre questions came in various ways. I could recall what happened when a classmate thought I came from German because of my name (my name is used by one tenth of German men). In Europe, when I asked for a direction to Asian woman in a museum, tried to speak French, the woman replied,”Vous parlez Vietnamese? Oh no, she mistakenly thought I was Vietnamese.
On my last travel, an Asian looking man approached me and said,”Are you from India?”. Oops On the other day, I was taking night photos when a Javanese looking woman smiled and talked to me,”Filipino?” oops another mistake, we eventually talked and she introduced me to her husband. Due to her Javanese look I almost spoke Indonesian many times, instead of using English. Fortunately before I met her, a few hours before, I met an Indonesian family who spoke Javanese in a Metro station. They thought I could be Filipino, not Indonesian.
In a different city, I was also taking night photos with my tripod when an old couple tried to take similar photos in the intersection. They couldn’t speak English so I had to converse in French (our French is obviously quite limited). They tried to elaborate the good and favorite locations for night photos until they said,”America?”. Ooh no, another mistake again... On the metro on the next few days, some tourists thought I couldn’t speak English, hehehe perhaps I seem a bit like local people. I was also confused when these non-English-speaking locals spoke to me with their mother tongue, hehehehe. Therefore I used the sign language, I mean showing my smile and grin.
A man wearing his sarong looks a bit cengengesan near a polisi tidur, he is staring at a group of women coming home from arisan. A few minutes ago, there was a man running amok, a man who seemed to receive kerokan on his back, it seems that he's masuk angin before that. He almost hit a hawker selling ketupat. With his kentir look, he was obviously kekeuh to sell his product at night. Too bad the siomay hawker did nothing and remained bengong to see the incident. Now, we coud also still see the hawker's cobek lying on the street. A jamu gendong seller nearby was so surprised that for a minute she was only melongo looking at the situation.
The sentences above might be a bit weird since they are using Indonesian words that I find a bit difficult to say in English. It's almost impossible to use a single English word to describe kerokan since it's a typical Indonesian culture. Westerners might see stripes of kerokan as a part of seemingly domestic violence.
Arisan? What is that? How could you describe it to a non Indonesian about it? Regarding Indonesia's regional languages, we could sometime nyengir to hear some words used to describe various things. If synomim for crazy in English is like insane, demented or other words, it might not be used for something hilarious like the way Javanese would use the synonim of crazy such as mengong, kentir, gendeng. FYI, I think that's the reason why there are many Javanese comedian become quite popular nationally in Indonesia.
The same thing could also be seen at variety of Indonesian food, Netherlands could be such a wonderful example, they take Indonesian words to name Indonesian food like keroepoek, sate, bakmi goreng, bakpao, nasi uduk or sambal oelek. It's so easy to find those things at any supermarket around this country.
These interconnected languages could be seen in the word amok that's absorbed by English speaker. Does it mean that amok is a typical thing from Indonesia?
I disagree if the typical Indonesian things translated improperly, kerbau, sometimes called water buffalo, but this is a Malay Indonesian thing therefore it's appropriately called kerbau instead of water buffalo. Could we translate the word gado-gado? Should we translate the word cobek, since it's used only for Indonesian cuisine.
Ah, this thing could make me smile and long many Indonesian things…..
Tiba di negeri Londo!!! Sudah begitu banyak cerita dari naik sepeda yang nyaman, teman satu housing yang beraneka, bertemu banyak teman yang seru. Tidak terasa hampir seminggu tinggal di Tilburg, satu kota di Noord Brabant, rasanya masih ingat benar naek kereta yang nyaman dari bandara, menuju Tilburg West Train Station yang persis di sebelah kampus, sosialisasi di tengah kampus,semuanya ditengah segala macam perasaan campur aduk dari senang, dek2an, grogi, tidak sabar dll setelah perjalanan 2 jam dengan MAS ke KL, dan 12 jam perjalanan dari KL menuju Schipol,
Yang baru
Pertama kali tiba rasanya asing campur kaget, dari awal di Schipol sudah bertemu orang Indonesia yang sudah puluhan tahun di Belanda bahkan bahasa Indonesianya sudah patah-patah, malah di kereta ada suami istri Indonesia yang sudah puluhan tahun menetap di Belanda dan sang suami masih merokok Djie Sam Soe (maaf bukan iklan)
Surga sepeda…. Memang benar nyaman benar naik sepeda di Belanda, jalurnya terpisah bahkan ada jalur khusus dan lampu merah untuk sepeda, sampai akhirnya beli juga sepeda bekas di Centrum.
Sungguh beruntung tinggal di Belanda dalam hal makanan karena sangat banyak toko dan restoran Indonesia bahkan untuk ukuran kota sekecil Tilburg, lucunya saya pernah dijamu orang Indonesia dengan tahu bumbu tauco hehehehe, enak tuh. Memang banyak sekali orang Indonesia disini dan sayangnya anak-anak mereka rata-rata tidak lagi bisa berbahasa Indonesia.
Hunting Photo
Gak rugi menenteng dua kamera ke Tilburg karena banyak sekali objek foto dari transportasi, bayangkan memfoto kereta, open market di dekat kampus, tempat bersejarah (Tilburg punya beberapa museum yang bagus), hutan di belakang kampus, serta keliling negeri Londo ini hehhehe
Saya akan minggat ke Eropa, tepatnya Belanda menuju satu kota bernama Tilburg Memang tidak mudah meninggalkan tanah kelahiran, pekerjaan yang menarik, dan semuanya terutama orang yang saya kasihi ah berat, rasanya tidak mungkin melakukan ini tanpa restu mereka Mereka semua sepakat, kesempatan tidak akan datang dua kali. Rasanya sukar menolak kepindahan gratis untuk menuntut ilmu di sana.
Bersama ini juga mohon pamit atas semuanya mohon maaf kalau ada kesalahan
Is it me? Being a global citizen? A global citizen wannabe?
The idea of a global citizen was heard when I met a global citizen and heard the story of some travelers wandering globally or someone working across the borders of nationalities. They have no permanent address and perpetually change their home and their phone number. Fortunately, the hype of technological advancement helps us to keep in touch with email. Yes, email seems to be their permanent address to keep in touch with them. In the recent years, though cell phone also becomes a basic need for human being, the soaring cost of international roaming hinders many people to keep using one single number everywhere around the globe. Once again emails as well as their own website play the most important part for a means of communication amongthe global traveler.
It’s undoubtedly something uneasy for me to choose to be a global citizen since in the next few months I might perpetually change my address, change my cell phone number but, as I mention above, not to change my email address. My newly bought Lonely Planet would be my best companion, my phrase book would help me a lot to communicate with the local language. What would I call myself? A global citizen wannabe? Forget the terms, leave the debate, I might need time to get used to it. Imagine this way, think in my mother tongue (yes my mom has a tongue … heheheh), talk with my first foreign language, and learn my third foreign language to blend and mingle with the locals.
Anyway, as a travel freak, I hope to see more cultures, more customs, more knowledge around the globe. That’s probably what this so-called global citizenship means, to explore this globe across the boundaries of cultures, customs and nationalities
Right now, I’m really anxious for my start as a global citizen. yaiiiks.
