Marriage is a Decision

6 Oktober 2012.

Nggak tahu kenapa, kotbah2 di gereja Katholik itu sering banget buat saya tersentak. Jadi ceritanya setelah berminggu-minggu berhalangan ke gereja Katholik, hari ini saya ke gereja Katholik lagi. Temanya apa? Temanya pernikahan. Pertama denger saya uda males deh, wong ga ada hubungannya, saya juga belom nikah. Tapi ternyata, si Pastor ngeluarin kotbah yang agak-agak bikin saya terkejut n mikir.

Dia membuka kotbahnya dengan menyatakan fakta kalo banyak pernikahan yang berujung perceraian ato yang nggak cerai tapi nggak berjalan dengan baik, bahkan di kalangan gereja sendiri. Setelah itu, dia ngomong kalo di antara mereka *jemaat* ada yang uda dalam perceraian ato lagi ada masalah, ‘the church’ sangat mengeti betapa painfulnya itu, betapa sangat menyakitkannya itu, dan dia berharap bahwa ‘the church’ bisa menjadi tempat untuk mereka bisa mendapatkan kekuatan. Ntah kenapa saya demennnn banget kalo Pastor2 lagi ngmg ‘the church’, kaya semuanya itu satu keluarga, semuanya saling ngebantu, hihihi. Anw ini OOT. Intinya, that’s such a good way to start this kind of topic, isn’t it? Karna pastinya banyak banget orang yang cerai dan ya uda ga bisa diapa2in lagi, itu uda jadi luka dan fakta yang ngga bisa lagi diubah dengan si Pastor kotbah.

Nah lalu si Pastor ini *yang saya lupa namanya siapa, so sorry :(* bilang kalo hal pertama yang harus kita pikirkan kalo lagi ngmgin pernikahan itu adalah...

Is marriage really our calling from God? Apakah pernikahan itu adalah sesuatu yang uda diutus buat kita dari Tuhan?

Saya kaget. Lah? Emang bisa begitu? Emang ada orang yang diutus Tuhan buat nggak nikah (terlepas dari dia adalah seorang Pastor dan suster)? Ini pertama kali saya denger kayak gitu. Dia lalu lanjut berkotbah, mungkin aja kita itu emang ngga di designed buat nikah. Ada orang yang ngga bisa komit sama 1 pasangan, ada orang yang too selfish to live with someone else, ada orang juga yang dia comfort being himself and can’t stand living with someone else *ini kotbahnya pake bahasa Inggris jadi maap campur2*. ato ada yang emang bakal lebih menjadi berkat kalo emang ngga nikah. Ya pokoknya intinya emang ada orang yang emang terpanggil buat ngga nikah, jadi jangan mikir kalo nikah itu suatu keharusan, marriage is a decision!

Lalu eh lalu saya refleksi diri lagi. Selama ini saya pengen nikah ya karna saya pikir nikah itu such a normal thing, smua orang kebanyakan ya nikah, it’s just the way people do things on earth. Tapi setelah denger kotbah ini, saya mikir lagi. Kenapa saya bener2 pengen nikah? Takut galau sendirian ntar kalo uda tua? Gara-gara demen banget sama anak kecil jadi pengen banget nikah biar bisa punya anak? Takut dikatain ga laku? Atau apa? Tapi semoga setelah mikir2 ntar bukan jadi pengen nggak nikah ya, pengennya sih nikah. hahaha. Jujur cita-cita saya tuh salah satunya sama kaya papa, a simple one: having a happy family with God as the Leader.

Tapi anyway, ini kog jadi curhat. Pokoknya, such an interesting topic. Ntah kenapa saya demen banget kotbah-kotbah di gereja Katholik, hihihi.

Bahasa dan Kita

18 september 2012. seperti biasa, ini saya tulis di word dulu soalnya nggak ada internet :p

Tulisan ini tadinya buat mau iseng ikutan lomba menulis di kompasiana, tapi karna sibuk luar biasa sama tugas-tugas kuliah dan midtests, jadi nggak kekirim deh :(( jadi yaudah dipost di sini aja hihi. 

“Lu tahu nggak, sekarang si Donny (anak si Paman, bukan nama dia beneran) nggak bisa kalau disuruh terjemahin Bahasa Inggris ke Bahasa Indonesia.” Begitu ujar paman saya saat saya berkunjung ke rumahnya setelah 3 bulan saya tidak di Jakarta karena studi.

Sang Paman lanjut bercerita kalau anaknya yang masih kelas 3 SD ini lebih fasih bercakap-cakap dengan Bahasa Inggris daripada Bahasa Indonesia. Di keluarga paman, bahasa pertama yang mereka gunakan adalah Bahasa Inggris; dan perlu saya akui, Bahasa Inggris sepupu-sepupu saya yang masih di Sekolah Dasar ini jauh lebih lancar daripada Bahasa Inggris saya yang sudah kuliah di semester 4.

Berdasarkan pengamatan pribadi saya, sekarang kayaknya lagi zaman menggunakan Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa pertama yang diajarkan oleh orang tua ke anak-anaknya. Banyak sekali terlihat di mall-mall anak-anak kecil berumur 3-4 tahun sudah fasih berbahasa Inggris dengan orang tuanya. Bukan hanya di kalangan keluarga, di kalangan anak muda pun, semakin keren seseorang kalau semakin fasih Bahasa Inggrisnya, apalagi kalo aksennya sudah bisa menandingi aksen bule. Memang perlu diakui, fasih berbahasa Inggris akan sangat membantu di dunia sekolah juga di dunia kerja. Sekarang ini, kebanyakan perusahaan-perusahaan sudah merupakan perusahaan multinasional, yang tentu saja memerlukan Bahasa Inggris untuk beroperasi.

Tetapi, apa perlu kita diajarkan Bahasa Inggris sampai kita tidak fasih berbahasa Indonesia? Memang sangat baik halnya kalau kita bisa fasih berbagai macam bahasa, ntah itu Bahasa Inggris, Mandarin, Jepang, atau bahasa-bahasa lain yang saat ini banyak digunakan karena Negara yang berkaitan sedang sangat maju perekonomiannya sehingga demikian pula penggunaan bahasanya. Tetapi apakah baik melupakan bahasa ‘ibu’ kita sendiri, Bahasa Indonesia? Apakah hal yang baik pula bila kita bangga kita lebih fasih berbahasa lain daripada menggunakan Bahasa Indonesia? Tidakkah kita ingat salah satu kalimat yang tertera di Sumpah Pemuda berpuluh-puluh tahun lalu, ‘Kami putra dan putri Indonesia menjunjung bahasa persatuan, Bahasa Indonesia?’ Saya yang dari TK bersekolah di sekolah nasional, saat kuliah banyak bertemu teman-teman yang bersekolah di sekolah international atau national plus. Sungguh saya terkejut mengetahui banyak sekali kosa kata Bahasa Indonesia yang mereka tidak tahu, bahkan kata-kata yang sangat sederhana.

Selain dari zamannya penggunaan bahasa Inggris atau bahasa asing lainnya sebagai ‘pengganti’ bahasa Indonesia, sekarang ini Bahasa Indonesia juga sering diubah. Bahasa-bahasa sms yang muncul di kalangan orang Indonesia seperti mengubah seluruh bahasa Indonesia. Kata-kata yang disingkat-singkat penulisannya, kata-kata yang ditulis dengan angka dan pengkapitalisasian yang tidak benar, penggunaan tanda baca yang ngawur dan asal-asalan, semua membuat Bahasa Indonesia nggak jelas yang mana yang benar cara penggunaannya. Mungkin kalau kita tanya kepada anak-anak sekolah zaman sekarang, mereka sudah tidak tahu lagu yang benar itu ‘kok’, ‘kog’, atau ‘koq’. Atau mereka sudah tidak bisa lagi tahu bagaimana penulisan ‘di mana’ yang benar, karena keseringan menyingkat-nyingkat menjadi ‘dmn’.

Sebagai orang yang lahir seakan-akan seperti di ‘perlintasan’ antara generasi berbahasa Inggris dan generasi berbahasa sms, saya sekarang sangat bersyukur atas kesempatan mempelajari Bahasa Indonesia dengan baik dan benar setidaknya dari TK, SD, hingga SMP. Kebanggaan saya tidak kalah dibanding dengan kebanggaan orang-orang lain yang bangga mereka bisa lebih fasih berbahasa asing daripada bahasa Indonesia. Sebagai orang yang dilahirkan di Indonesia, saya bangga saya bisa fasih berbahasa Indonesia. Akan sangat indah bila semua warga Negara Indonesia mau bangga dengan bahasa persatuannya, Bahasa Indonesia dan lebih memakai Bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa utama dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, terutama pemuda-pemudi Indonesia yang nantinya akan menjadi pemimpin bangsa Indonesia. Boleh kita fasih berbahasa asing, tapi kita harus fasih berbahasa Indonesia!

Tidakkah kita berpendapat sama?

Kekristenan, gereja dan peraturan

(2 September) jadi sebenernya ini tulisan dibuat tanggal 2 september. karna bokek gada saldo inet, jadi baru di post skarang :p

Minggu lalu saya ke gereja Katholik. Hari itu kotbahnya thoughtful banget. Maksudnya thoughtful itu, menurut saya, itu pasti dari buah pemikiran yang dalam dari sang Pastor. Ato saya doang yang sotoy? Hahaha. Ya ntah,itu opini saya. Ato mungkin juga saya belom cukup dewasa buat mikir hal yang sebenarnya dangkal.

Anywayyy, kotbahnya tentang kekristenan, gereja dan peraturan. Jujur sebenernya ini saya persempit temanya, sebenernya temanya lebih luas lagi. Tapi apa daya yang menempel di otak cuma bagian ini, karena sesuai dengan apa yang saya pertanyakan selama ini. Hahaha.

Dia pertama ilustrasiin tentang gimana dia senennggggggg banget maen bola pas masih kecil. Sampe satu ketika, dia dapet kesempatan buat seleksi masuk 1 tim bola sama temen2nya. Karna biasa mreka cuma maen bola ngasal2an yang penting masuk gawang, skarang mereka diajarin gimana cara nendang yang bener. Gimana kalo mau ngoper kemana harus pake kaki yang belahan mana. Sang Pastor terus ngmg gini ‘gara2 itu, saya malah nggak seneng lagi maen bola. Ga bisa menikmati lagi maen bola yang ngasal nendang itu gimana, harus ada peraturan ini itu buat nendang bola doang’. Lalu dia bilang, ‘same with our Christianity life (ini sebenernya kotbahnya in English)’. Dia ngomong, kadang mungkin kita heran kenapa banyakkkk banget aturan2 di gereja (terutama untuk mereka yang semua aturan harus ikut Vatikan). Harus ini, harus itu, bla bla bla.

Saya langsung tersentak. Sebenernya itu salah satu pikiran yang uda saya pikirin dari lama. Kenapa pelayanan di gereja harus ada seragam ini itu? Rok bahan, kemeja putih, celana bahan, dasi, dll dll dll? kalo yang punya duit buat beli mending, lah yang ngga punya duit buat beli? Apakah karena mereka ngga punya duit buat beli baju trs jadi ngga bisa pelayanan? Itu baru hal2 simple tentang pakaian. Belom tentang yang lain. Ada juga yang mengusik pikiran saya, gereja saya di Malaysia mengharuskan baptis selam sebelom pelayanan. Saya juga jadi terusik, lah emang baptis percik salah? Wong pendetanya sendiri bilang baptis 1 kali aja sama aja percik selam, kok malah agak2 contradict ya malah pelayanan harus baptis selam? Terus gimana sama seluruh orang Katholik ato Kristen yang laen yang emang gerejanya baptis percik? Ga diakui kah mereka sebagai pengikut Tuhan? Kalo alesannya ‘Tuhan Yesus kan ngebaptisnya pake baptis selam’, kenapa ngga skalian baptis di sungai Yordan kan ‘Tuhan Yesus ngebaptisnya di Sungai Yordan?’

Ah, itu cuma pikiran2 saya aja. No offense, ga bermaksud menghina bagi yang tersinggung pas baca, tapi itu Cuma pikiran2 dalam otak.

Nah kata si Pastor ini, terlaluuu banyak peraturan itu ngga bagus. Kenapa? Karena jadi mengikis hati kita sendiri, mengikis iman kita sendiri, mengikis kesukacitaan kita untuk fall in love with God and do what we want to do to express it. Mau ini ga boleh, mau itu eh ada peraturan ini, mau ke sana aduh ga boleh. Tapi gereja dan iman kita tanpa peraturan juga ngga bagus. Masa ntar pelayanan pake short n tanktop? Ga mungkin kan? Ato pelayanan pake rok di atas lutut? Itu kan juga ngga bagus. Tentang baptis membaptis, saya no comment :)) ntar jadi berantem hahaha.

Jadi gimana tentang peraturan gerejawi? Si Pastor ngomong peraturan itu HARUS ngebawa kita bertumbuh dalam iman. Jadi, peraturan2 di gereja itu harus ngebawa kita bertumbuh dalam iman, bukan malah jadi batu sandungan buat kita bertumbuh. N kalo kita mempertanyakan peraturan2 di gereja *seperti saya sendiri mempertanyakan tentang baju pelayanan*, kita harus evaluate diri kita sendiri lagi. Apakah kita sekarang protes gara2 peraturan ini itu emang gara2 kita berasa kita ga bisa tumbuh karena peraturan itu, atau karena kita aja yang ga demen peraturannya? Mungkin kita ga demen pake rok, jadi males banget deh kalo harus beli2 rok buat pelayanan. Atau ‘duh rok itu nggak banget deh buat gw, males abis pake rok. Ga pernah pake rok seumur idup’? nah kalo kita protes karna adanya peraturan karena alesan2 kaya gitu, itu bukan aturannya yang salah, tapi kitanya yang salah!

Dan setelah evaluasi diri saya sendiri, saya sadar saya ngga setuju karena peraturan2 itu sebagian karena alesan2 tadi. Memang ada dipikiran saya tentang orang yang ngga punya, n saya juga masih mau menyuarakan suara2 mereka. Saya yang pernah menjabat sebagai HuMas 4 tahun, kurang lebih pernah ditolak pas ngajak pelayanan karna ‘duh ga punya clana bahan item ciii’ ato ‘yah aku ga punya kemeja putih tangan panjang’. Nah kalo udah gitu ya ga bisa ngmg apa2 deh. Masa ngmg ‘beli ajaaaa’ ga mungkin juga kan? Emang saya juga ngga bodoh2 amat, saya tau beberapa ada juga yang males jadi regu kerja atau pelayanan n malah mungkin seneng mereka ngga punya bajunya *ah karena saya pernah ada diposisi mereka pas baru masuk remaja. HAHAHA. Menyebar aib sendiri*. Tapi yang bikin saya mulai ‘melek’ akan soal baju menghalangi pelayanan itu karena ada yang bbm saya dia mau pelayanan, trs pas saya tanya mau jadi regu kerja ato ngga, dia bilang ‘aduh mau banget ci masa pelayanan ga mau’ eh tapi terus dia ga punya bajunya. Ah itu saya sedihhh sekali :((

Eh ini kog jadi curhat.

Lalu intinya ya itulah. Kita harus evaluasi peraturan2nya dan karena kita emang bukan diposisi yang bisa merubah peraturan, kita harus bisa lebih menerima peraturan2 yang ada n membuat itu peraturan2 yang ngejelimet ga menjadi batu sandungan buat kita. Percaya aja deh, ga mungkin peraturan2 itu dibuat untuk sesuatu yang ngga baek sebenernya. Peraturan itu bukan meant to be broken. Kita juga harus evaluasi diri kita lagi jangan sampe alesan2 pribadi kita dipakai buat bikin kita ngmg ‘itu peraturan bikin susah gw buat pelayanannn! Buat gw susah bertumbuh imannya!’ dan lain lain. 

saya cinta Indonesia!

hai hai haii! 
sebenernya agak telat buat ngepost sesuatu yang berbau kemerdekaan, tapi ya nggak apa2 kan daripada nggak *kalimat yang uda umum digunain buat orang yang demen ngeles hahaha*

setelah dipikir2, saya mau mulai ngepost pakai bahasa Indonesia lagi. kenapa? karena mau mulai lebiihh cinta lagi sama bahasa sendiri! ceritanya rasa nasionalisme ini tumbuh lagi *halah bahasanya* setelah kebaktian hari Minggu di gereja saya di Malaysia. kebetulan emang gereja saya di Malay tuh gereja2 orang indo. semua petugas pendeta jemaatnya 100% orang indo.

nahhhhhhh. hari Minggu kemarin jatuh di tanggal 19 Agustus, yang berarti 2 hari setelah Hari Kemerdekaan Indonesia yang ke 67. saya yang baru pertama kali ngerasain gimana rasanya ada di luar negri pas Hari Kemerdekaan, berasa agak2 aneh karna dari dulu uda biasa ngeliad bendera Indo berkibar dimana2, terus libur karna tanggal merah, ada acara ini itu di deket rumah *sampe jalan ditutup di mana2! bagian ininya tetep menyebalkan*, ada acara juga di skolah, terus ada upacara juga, eh di sini ngga ada acara sama sekali. kangen suasananya, walau ngga bisa bohong, saya tetep ngga kangen sama yang namanya upacara. hahaha.

nah dalam rangka kemerdekaan ini, ternyata gereja di Malaysia uda ngerancang kebaktian yang nuansanya nuansa kemerdekaan. petugas2nya pake baju merah putih, pipi2 orang yang bertugas digambarin bendera Indonesia *yang kaya orang2 pada nonton bola itu lohhh. tau kan tau kann?* nah terus tangan kanan yang tugas di panggung juga di cat merah putih. berasa banget deh nuansa merah putihnya. masuk2 ruang kebaktian jadi berasa senennnggggg. hihihi. 

yang pertama kali bikin berasa banget tema kemerdekaannya, pas bagian praise and worship kita nyanyiin lagu 'Doa Kami' yang diciptain oleh Sari Simorangkir. aduh hampir nangis pas nyanyi lagu itu. saya kira pas pertama kali dateng tuh cuma dress codenya aja yang merah putih, tema kebaktian mah ngga ada hubungannya. eh taunya ngggaaa :)) jadi kita nyanyiin lagu ini, sukaa banget deh liriknya. 

Doa Kami

syukur untuk setiap rencanaMu
dan rancanganMu yang mulia
dalam satu tubuh kami bersatu
menjadi duta kerajaanMu

bridge:
kuucapkan berkat atas Indonesia
biar kemuliaan Tuhan akan nyata

reff:
bagi bangsa ini kami berdiri
dan membawa doa kami kepadaMu
sesuatu yang besar pasti terjadi 
dan mengubahkan negeri kami 
hanya namaMu Tuhan ditinggikan 
atas seluruh bumi

kami rindu melihat Indonesia 
pulih dari semua problema
hidup dalam jalan kebenaranMu
pancarkan terang kemuliaanMu
kami tahu hatiMu 
ada di bangsa ini

pas nyanyi lagu ini, ngga tau kenapa bener2 tulus berdoa kalo Indonesia bisa suatu saat nanti jadi negara yang lebih maju dari sekarang, bisa bebas dari korupsi2 yang sekarang ada, ngga ada lagi kesenjangan sosial yang parahhhhh banget kaya sekarang, ngga ada lagi anak2 yang ngga bisa sekolah, ngga ada orang yang harus tinggal di pinggir2 jalan, orang yang penghasilannya 10ribu sehari padahal ada istri dan anak yang harus dikasih makan, ngga ada lagi orang2 yang meninggal karena kelaparan atau kekurangan gizi. aduh hampir nangis lagi nulisnya. cengeng ya? tapi ngga tau kenapa sedihhh banget kalo ngebayangin. 

setelah sesi praise and worship yang sangat menyentuh hati, kotbahnya juga ngga kalah 'nancep'. kita diingetin lagi buat hati-hati dalam bertindak karena ada nama 'Indonesia' yang dibawa terutama buat kita yang tinggal atau belajar di luar negri, juga buat terus menerus berdoa untuk Indonesia, n kita sendiri biar bisa terus jadi orang yang ngejalanin hidup sesuai dengan panggilan kita, yang ujung2nya juga harus berdampak positif buat Indonesia, karena kitalah remaja2 yang ntar bakal jadi 'pemimpin'. diingetin lagi ada 7 pilar dalam tujuan hidup. ada politik, gereja, sosial, bisnis *yang 3 lagi lupa*. intinya, dimanapun tujuan hidup dan passion kita ada, kita harus make itu buat bikin Indonesia lebih maju lagi. contohnya, kalo cita-cita kita bikin bisnis, ya kerjakanlah itu dalam Tuhan dan buat memajukan Indonesia. ngga cuma bisnis yang korup di mana2, yang nyogok pemerintah, yang ngga bayar pajak, dll dll. 

ini kotbahnya bikin galau, karna uda 3 minggu temanya tentang tujuan hidup. ntar ngepost sendiri ah tentang kotbah tujuan hidupnya. hehehe. 

nah terus abis kotbah, ada bendera merah putihhh! jadi ada 6 orang yang bawa bendera merah putih, mereka ngibar2in itu bendera sambil kita nyanyi lagu Kebyar-Kebyar. tau donnnggg lagunya?

Kebyar-Kebyar

Indonesia merah darahku, putih tulangku 
bersatu dalam semangatmu
Indonesia debar jantungku, getar nadiku
berbaur dalam angan-anganmu
kebyar-kebyar pelangi jingga

Indonesia nada laguku, simphoni perteguh
selaras dengan simphonimu 
Kebyar-kebyar pelangi jingga

hihihi. so sweet kan bisa nyanyi lagu gitu? mungkin buat kalian biasa aja, tapi buat yang lagi tinggal di luar negri, sentuhan kecil yang ingetin tentang rumah itu rasanya so sweet banget :) ngeliat bengbeng aja uda senengggg banget hahaha :p

nah selama nyanyi lagu itu, bendera merah putihnya yang guedeeee banget di oper satu2 ke semua jemaat remaja yang dateng. hihihi. gila senenggggg banget deh rasanya ngga tau kenapa. pokoknya hari itu kebaktiannya berhasil ngebawa nasionalisme lagi *at least buat saya pribadi, ngga tau deh yang lain*. secara emang uda terlalu sering ngmg 'gila indo, sama malay aja uda kalah' ato 'yah namanya juga indonesia' dll dll yang bukannya ngebuat Indonesia jadi lebih baik, malah seakan2 bangga n malah nyebarin kemana2 tentang 'kejelekan2' Indonesia.

kebaktian minggu lalu mungkin bakal jadi salah satu dari beberapa kebaktian yang ngga mungkin saya lupain, yang dalam shari uda ngajarin banyak banget. emang susah buat kita semua berhenti ngomong n becandain Indonesia, tapi atleast berusaha buat bikin Indo lebih baik. buang sampah di tempatnya, contoh yang paling kecilnya. susah juga buat kita mencintai Indonesia, kebanyakan pasti cita-citanya mau kerja di luar negri. tapi inget lah kalo kita ini tumbuh di Indonesia. tinggal di mana pun kita, tetep negara, bangsa, bahasa utama kita ya Indonesia. 

saya cinta Indonesia!

not regretting the past

i just watched a film titled 'Courageous' *did i spell that right? hahaha*. it's a VERY GOOD CHRISTIAN MOVIE and is recommended for all boys and fathers in the world. 

anywayyyy. what i want to write is not about the boys and fathers thingy. it's how the father letting go her daughter. 

so the story was, his 9-year-old daughter died in a car accident in her way to go to her friend's birthday party. this father, very broken-hearted, at some day was successful to let go his daughter. 

and this is what he said, 

"God, thank You for the 9 years You gave me to spend with my daughter" 

a very positive way of thinking, which i hardly can get. 


btw the sentence is paraphrased, of course. i cant remember the exact words :p


i somehow always have this bad and 'regret' feeling when i am remembering how i, for several times, have failed in relationships. HAHA. im not being mellow in the middle of the night, im being honest! sometimes i cant stop regretting what ive done. i cant stop thinking 'why would i want to hurt myself. i know i was not supposed to do that, but stubbornly, i did!' or 'i was stupid' or 'i am supposed to have one relationship for one life then happy ending. no tears, no broken heart, no galau2 *hahaha*'

but life is no fairy tale and because of this film, i am now peacefully able to say this.

"God, thank You for the months or years You gave me to spend with them. the failures still hurt, but these experiences i got gave me a whole bunch of knowledge and understanding"

did i regret to meet them? now i can say 'no' without any tickling feeling in the stomach =)

Marry Your Daughter

heard this song a few days ago and i swear i would make my future husband sing this song when he proposes or at least, make this as a background song. haha. such a hopeless romantic, am i not?

and this is the lyrics:

Sir, I'm a bit nervous

about being here today

still not sure what I'm going to say

so bare with me please 

if i take up too much of your time.

see in this box is a ring for your oldest.

she's my everything and all that i know is 

it would be such a relief if i knew that we were on the same side

cause very soon I'm hoping that i....

can marry your daughter

and make her my wife

i want her to be the only girl that i love for the rest of my life

and give her the best of me 'til the day that i die, yeah

I'm gonna marry your princess

and make her my queen

she'll be the most beautiful bride that i've ever seen

i cant wait to smile

when she walks down the aisle

on the arm of her father

on the day that i marry your daughter

she's been here every step

since the day that we met

(im scared to death to think of what would happen if she ever left)

so dont you ever worry about me ever treating her bad

ive got most of my vows done so far

(so bring on the better or worse)

and 'til death do us part

there's no doubt in my mind

it's time

i'm ready to start

i swear to you with all of my heart...

im gonna marry you daughter

and make her my wife

i want her to be the only girl that i love for the rest of my life

and give her the best of me 'til the day that i die, yeah

i'm gonna marry your princess 

and make her my queen

she'll be the most beautiful bride that i've ever seen

i can't wait to smile

as she walks down the aisle

on the arm of her father

on the day that i marry your daughter

the first time i saw her

i swear i knew that i'd say i do

im gonna marry you daughter

and make her my wife

i want her to be the only girl that i love for the rest of my life

and give her the best of me 'til the day that i die, yeah

i'm gonna marry your princess 

and make her my queen

she'll be the most beautiful bride that i've ever seen

i can't wait to smile

as she walks down the aisle

on the arm of her father

on the day that i marry your daughter

to the best friend of mine :))

HEY YOU!




YES, YOU!




YOU!





CITRA PUTRIARUM!





HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY, MY DEAREST FRIEND :)))




a friend in need, is a friend indeed. and YOU, are really my indeed and truly friend.

you, without you knowing it, have been doing so much in my life. and im not exaggerating, you indeed have. you should know that i am very thankful and grateful that i have a friend like you :))

i always know that i can bbm you or text you whenever im in trouble and need friend to talk to though we are far apart.

we might not chat every day, like girlfriends usually do. but i know that when people ask me who really my friend is, your name will be the one, among others, who first come up.

and you, you will always have that special place in my heart (not that im being a hopeless romantic here, i mean it. hahaha) which will always be there, no matter how many new people i meet every day, every week, every month and every year. 

i hope you get as much pleasure from our FRIENDSHIP as I DO. this is what you wrote in your sweet 2-year-ago birthday present for me. YES, I DO enjoy our friendship, or i should say that I DO REALLY VERY INDEEDLY ENJOY our friendship n i really hope that you also get that much pleasure then, now, and later :))


I LOVE YOU, CITRA PUTRIARUM!


and here i am sincerely wishing you all the best. may you get more and more wisdom, kindness, health and sincerity. may you enjoy your life, as it is the very important one, hihihi. may you get the happiness of life! keep shining as you have been shining. keep blessing other people with all things you do with your life. keep placing God the first as you have been doing *and really,you should teach me this one :p*. keep being happy and keep making people around you happy!


and once again, HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY! :*

cutting your fruit

there are many things that i couldnt realise until i got to live alone in Malaysia. 

we all know, n realise, that people usually compare their life with those 'higher' than them and so do i. this 'higher' means everything. richer, cleverer, more handsome, prettier, you name it. i couldnt help but comparing myself to other people, being ungrateful with every condition, cause i always see points in which people are better or 'higher' than me.

until one day, i was cutting my fruits (grapes and apple) in my room in Malaysia. i was VERY LAZY to do that. my brother and i, wont eat any fruit that still has seeds in it. hahaha. such a lazy couple, arent we? orange, grapes, apple, etc, wont be eaten if there are seeds. it used to be my helper cutting the grapes and throwing away all the seeds. same case with apple. they will cut the apple, throw away all the seeds and specially for me, because of my teeth, they will cut the apple in small pieces so that i dont have to bite the apple. the point is, no matter what kind of fruit they are, they all will be placed nicely in one plate. we, then, will eat them happily, without facing any difficulties in throwing away any seeds.

at that time i was thinking. i was so lazy to cut those grapes and apple and throw away all the seeds, though after that, ME is the one who will be eating that fruit.i just cant imagine that i have to cut the grapes and apple and throw away all the seeds, and i will not taste even a bite of it. 

but then i was like 'isnt it my helper always like this? they cut the fruits, they throw away all the seeds and they DONT eat the fruits?'

hahaha --> it's a sad laugh. 

how can i do that to my helper? GRAR. well, not that if we give them they will eat it. they wont. i swear. they wont. ive tried to give them food before we eat *so that it wont be 'leftover'*, but they never want to eat before we eat.  


but still, how can i not think about that? 


at the very least, how can i not be thankful of their presence? how can i still compare all things that i dont have and not being grateful with the ones i have?

while we are eating happily, they are cutting the fruit. when we are done eating, the fruit will be placed nicely in the table. it seems simple, but when i think more of it, there are people working who make that able to happen. there are people who have to cook before we are able to eat. there are people who have to cut the fruits and throw away all the seeds so that we can eat them without any difficulties. there are people who will wash all the dishes so that we can continue our movies or homework or novels or whatever activities seconds after we are done eating. there are people who have to clean the kitchen after the cooking is all done so that we dont have to worry about all the mess resulted from the cooking.

living alone has been giving me lessons from the very simplest things to all the 'big' things. what ive been learning the most is how to be grateful with what i have, and this is one of them. cutting fruits might seem simple, but it gave me a whole bunch of knowledge and lessons that i couldnt even think of it before. and i should say, people who have chance to cut their own fruit at the very beginning should be very thankful :))

 

loving my lazy day :))

HEYHO!

that picture doesnt really represent my family, i dont have any dog, and there are only 4 of us, not 5. but the point is, i love my family! :D

anywayyyy, life's been good here. ive been eating much *too much, maybe :p* ive been gaining weight, ive been sleeping well *VERY well*. n ive been happy!

when i was in Malaysia, picturing my holiday, i was thinking it would be me going all around Jakarta to re-taste every street food and every mall id been missing. but, when i arrived at my home, entered my bedroom, i know that i wont be doing all those things on my holiday. at that very second, i know that i want to 'enjoy' my home. i want to enjoy my bed, i want to enjoy my parents' comfy sofa n watch a whole bunch of dvds.

sounds so lazy, doesnt it? 

but, i just realised that THAT really is the one ive been missing --> A LAZY DAY

a lazy day that starts with waking up so late, having brunch, followed by watching some dvds, late lunch, back to the watching room to watch some more dvds. people might say that im wasting my time. i dont care. THAT is the one ive been waiting so long :D

it is very good, when you wake up without worrying n trying to make a list of what you're going to eat for the whole day. you want to eat that, but you have to walk 20 minutes. you want to eat that, but you've to walk 10 minutes. you dont want to walk, youve to wait for delivery. delivery means the food wont be warm. you are lazy to walk, dont want delivery, the only choice is go to the dorm's cafetaria. but it's expensive and not that delicious. eat is kinda complicated, huh? or is it me that is complicated? hahaha. but really, when you are overseas, you will be very much dependent on your friends. you dont really want to eat alone, do you? then yes, eat will be more complicated cause you will be asking around what they want to eat. or in times when you have known what you want to eat, they will ask you to eat to another place. wekekekek.
therefore, yes. that kind of thoughts really annoys your lazy day! so it feels REALLY GOOD when you wake up, there's a toast + milo waiting :))

it is also very good, when you enjoy your room without worrying you will be using too much air con (AC). we are to use only 180hours a month (meaning 6 hours per day). if you go beyond that, youve to pay. n of course i dont want to pay! hahaha :p 
here i can turn the air con on as long as i m in the room. i can use air con in every second i watch dvd. i can use air con while i m typing every single letter in this blog! 


that kind of thing, really makes me feel that im so blessed with everything i have. i might not have jaguar, ferrari, louis vuitton bags, prada stuffs, etc like what my friends have. but i have a home filled with warmth and joy, with all people that i love the most. 


i am blessed, i am happy, i am enjoying my life! 


have a great weekend! :))
 

i love both of you :*

dulu gw selalu mikir....

kenapa gw lahir di keluarga yang orang tuanya 22nya kerja. ga ada yang anter skolah, ga ada yang jemput dari sekolah, dari TK uda pake anter jemput, dari TK uda jadi anaknya si mba, pergi les di anter mba, yang tungguin gw selama sekolah si mba, yang bantuin gw kerjain PR juga si mba, yang masakin bekal mba, yang bantuin pake baju seragam si mba, dll dll dll. 

 

nyokap gw *sama kaya gw*, bukan orang yang cewe2 amat. gw belajar make up bukan dari nyokap, gw belajar masak bukan dari nyokap, gw belajar ini itu kebanyakan bukan dari nyokap. 

kadang2 gw mikir.... kenapa begitu?

di keluarga lain, bonyok2 bisa akrab banget sama anak2nya. pas pertama kali dateng ke Malay, temen2 gw pada stiap hari skype sama bonyoknya. nah gw? sampe skarang uda 4 bulan cuma pernah skali! wkwk lebih sering gw skype sama temen2 gw daripada sama bonyok. 

kadang2 gw protes, kenapa begini kenapa begitu... kadang gw mikir, i never can love my parents as much as i love my friends. my friends are always there for me, but they never are. 

TAPI.

banyak kejadian di Malaysia yang merubah pikiran gw :)))

gw banyak stressnya di Malaysia, dan gw bisa merasakan gimana gw AMAT SANGAT BERSYUKUR N CINTA sama bonyok gw. 

pernah ada kejadian yang bikin gw panik bener2 sepanik2nya. jadi ada 1 pelajaran yang harusnya ga gw ambil tapi gw ambil. gw gatau itu ga boleh diambil, karna emang ga pernah ngecekin gituan *aslinya semua info available di internet*. tapi toh gw pikir gw mau apply pelajaran harus ada approval dulu. ya uda, uda di approved, ga masalah dong harusnya. tapi taunya, credit point gw 0. NOL. NIHIL. n tau apa akibatnya? gw harus perpanjang 1 smester lagi saudara2. n itu ga murah, itu mahal. itu buang2 waktu gw buat kesempatan internship. itu buat gw cape karna gw uda pelajarin itu setengah pelajaran, n itu bukan pelajaran yang gampang. KESEL setengah mati. kenapa kalo uda ga boleh pake di approved2 segala sama Monash? rese banget kan. mana mahal pula. gw uda ga enak banget sama bonyok, uda panik setengah mati, ga tau mau kasih taunya gimana. antara takut kena omel, ga enak, kesel uda sia2 ambil itu pelajaran selama 1 stengah bulan, dll dll smua campur aduk jadi 1. 

tapi tau kah nyokap gw ngmg apa pas gw kasih tau di telpon? 

"yah gapapa lah, kalo emang harus ambil lagi bayar lagi ya udah. mau gimana lagi? usahain aja ga usah ngulang, bilang ke mereka toh itu juga ga sepenuhnya salah kamu, ada salah merekanya juga"

gw SHOCKED berat. di pikiran gw, mereka bakal ngmg yang kira2 "kenapa kalo kaya gitu ga di cek dulu? bla bla bla bla bla"

n pas sebelom gw tidur, tiba2 dateng 1 bbm dari bokap gw. ini aneh banget. soalnya biasanya kalo komunikasi langsung di group bbm, jarang banget di chat pribadi. 

bbmnya adalahhh "Tesa, tenang aja, yg penting usakan jangan sampai kehilangan waktu, oke?" sumpah gw terharu sampe nangis. mereka sama sekali ga merhatiin duit ntah berapa juta yang bakal ilang, tapi mereka cuma mau gw ga kehilangan waktu n ga stressed *karna emang waktu itu mereka tau gw juga ada test* nangis loh gw sebelom tidur -__- gw menitikkan air mata trs abis itu tidur nyenyak banget ga panik sama skali :))

anw, akhirnya gw ga perlu bayar n credit point gw kembali jadi 6 :D God is indeed good!

trs ada lagi. 

gw sangat amat stressed pas belajar buat final exam Financial Accounting. that, from the view us (students), is the most important subject, as we take accounting degree. gw uda latian hampir 50 halaman bolak balik folio, tapi ngitung ngga pernah bener -___- uda sampe nangis2 gw belajarnya. uda sampe gatau mau gimana lagi. gatau ya, gw ga rela jelek di accounting. kalo jelek di yang laen gapapa deh kalo jelek di accounting, gw ga rela lah. kan gw ambilnya jurusan accounting! hahaha. 

nyokap gw pas gw stressed cuma bbm gini di group: "fail juga ngga mati. kenapa dirisaukan? yang penting be the best and God will do the rest. kalo uda be the best hasil ngga usah dipikirkan."

and i was like 'did she really mean that?'

kalo ngulang, berapa duitrlagi yang bakal keluar, belom hrs nunda pulang, yang berarti nambah biaya kos n makan lagi. 

n setelah 3 hari ga bisa tidur nyenyak karna belajar accounting, gw hari itu bisa tidur nyenyak sampe bangun2nya ngeces huahahaha. gw bener2 ga lebay, beneran ga bisa tidur. bisa 10x kali gw bangun, n slalu bangun sebelom alarm bunyi. padahal alarm gw stel tuh 6 jam dari waktu gw tidur. 

dan shari sebelom gw ulangan (hari Minggu), bokap gw nelpon sambil ketawa2. dia ngmg "stress ya bu? jangan stres2lah huahahaha" lucu banget deh dia ketawa2 trs di telpon gw juga jadi ketawa2 sendiri jadinya padahal lagi stress banget. trs malah gokil banget gw disuruh ke mall buat refreshing, trs disuruh ke gereja lagi *gw uda ke gereja hari sabtunya waktu itu*. pokoknya intinya gw harus refreshing n gw harus tidur cepet biar gw bisa konsen besok pas ulangan. 

my parents are both really sweet, arent they? hihihi 

bonyok gw juga terus2an ngmg 'yang penting do the best. hasil ga usah pikirin. belajar, pasrah, doa. tenang dan fokus, jangan gugup. tidur yang cukup'

trs, 

disaat passport gw belom balik padahal 2 hari lagi gw pulang, bonyok gw juga trs2an ngmg 'ga usah dipikirin. kalo bayar lagi buat tiket ya bayar lagi. yang penting pikirin ujian dulu.'

that was really touching!

mereka bukan orangtua yang mungkin bisa di rumah 24 jam. well, 12 jam aja ga pernah. tapi mereka orangtua yang selalu ada buat gw, dimanapun kapanpun gw butuh. gw baru sadar skarang kalo mereka orangtua yang selalu ada buat kasih gw semangat, dukungan, nasihat, kebijaksanaan kapanpun gw lagi stress. dulu gw ga pernah minta saran ini itu dari bonyok, gw ga pernah cerita apa2, ntah kenapa tapi skarang cerita, n gw baru tau betapa bijaksananya mereka, betapa mereka ngedukung gw, betapa mereka selalu mau yang terbaik buat gw :D

I AM REALLY BLESSED TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU AS MY PARENTS :)))

I LOVE YOU, I INDEED DO!

if you are tough with yourself, then world will seem much easier

finally, MID SEMESTER BREAK. 


i've been VERY TIRED these last weeks coz of the unending tutorial assignments, tests, major and minor assignments, etc. never had a chance to sleep before 1 a.m. a REALLY TIRING school, that's what best describes Monash. 


my friends started to sick. but i really thank God that i am never easy to get sick :D


indo aja deh ya, lagi males mikir gara2 begadang sampe jam stengah 5 pagi. hahaha.


nah tapi di saat semuanya itu susah, gw selalu keinget apa yang bokap gw ngmg:


"if you are tough with yourself, then world will seem much easier"


selama ini gw ga pernah inget kalimat itu, tapi tiba2 gw diingetin itu lagi, di saat malem2 gw ga bisa tidur n lagi ngeluh sana sini gara2 Monash ga kelar2 tugasnya. 


dari dulu gw juga ga pernah bener2 ngeh sama arti kalimat itu, tapi sekarang gw baru ngerasain. kalo kita bener2 tough with ourselves, then world will seem much easier. 


sebenernya yang bikin gw sadar itu, ada 1 temen gw yang ngmg intinya tuh 'lu sih uda sering begadang n tidur pagi, jadi ga pernah sakit deh begadang kaya gini. gw di rumah ga pernah begadang, begitu tidur jam 1 stiap hari, lgsg tepar'. 


gw wkt ngerenungin itu pas ga bisa tidur, lgsg berdoa ngucap syukur sama Tuhan. 


terima kasih kalo gw uda diijinin pacaran jadi sering begadang karna telpon2an *ini geje abis sih*
terima kasih kalo gw boleh dikasih kesempatan buat latian2 band n jadi ketua acara natal di gereja gw. semua itu sering bikin gw setiap hari ke gereja, pulang malem, kadang ga sempet pulang dulu n lgsg aja dari kampus, ga peduli besoknya ada test, ada essay ato report yang harus di kumpulin di college. dan Praise the Lord banget, gw bisa ngelewatin itu semua dengan 'baik'. kenapa ada tanda kutipnya, karna mungkin menurut gw sebagai manusia itu uda baik, tapi gatau deh menurut Tuhan. hehehe.  


gw bener2 baru sadar n baru ngeh kalo karna anugrah Tuhan doang, band yang gw maenin bisa berjalan dengan baik, kalo acara natal bisa juga berjalan dengan baik, disamping itu gw juga bisa dapet nilai yang baik. dan gw juga baru ngeh mungkin karna yang uda terbiasa cape sampe kaya gitulah, gw disini bisa begadang tapi tetep ngga sakit. ga enak abis loh sakit disini. cari makan tetep harus cari makan sendiri, uda gitu nyari yang anget2 kaya bubur aja ga ada, indomie harus masak sndiri, ngga ada yang nemenin, dll dll. mana gw juga ga bawa obat sama skali, ga kaya temen2 gw yang uda lengkap senjatanya. 


waktu gw sadar bahwa suatu anugerah banget gw boleh ngelewatin masa2 itu, gw bener2 lgsg duduk n berdoa ngucap syukur ke Tuhan kalo gw uda diijin ngalamin smua pengalaman2 gw di jakarta, yang ngebuat *menurut gw* gw bisa menjalani kehidupan gw di college dengan mungkin sedikit lebih terbiasa dari temen2 yang lain. 


gw skarang juga bener2 bisa meng-amini kalo semua yang terjadi itu yang terbaik, walopun mungkin nggak keliadan saat kita ngalamin :)

goals and dreams

MY FIRST POST FROM MALAYSIA!!


i can be separated from my iPod speaker, but i can NEVER be separated from my blog! hahaha. writing will always be my desire. i want want want want to be a writer sometime, somehow, somewhere. yes yes YES! i know my writing is not that good. but people can have dreams, right? 


i am enjoying my life here. there are of course, some things here and there those i am not comfortable with. but overall, here i am, sitting in my dorm, enjoying a little relax time to update my blog. other words, enjoying and relaxing my day :D 


life's been tough here. we are asked to be SO independent with our assignments and tutorials. we were (still are, actually) not used to that, got REAL stressed and panic, and in the first 2 weeks, cannot be separated from our study desk. being a nerd in our room, studying whole day. 


THAT really makes me think. the more i study about accounting and stuffs and the more i know about work and business culture, the more i dont want to be a worker in a company nor a businessman (business woman, to be exact :p). i dont want to be so stressed out with my life, i dont want to be faced with ethical decision (you know, accountant --> money. SIGH. n Indonesia is one of the most corrupted country, right? uh i really dont want to work as an accountant in indo!) i want to enjoy my life, i want to do what i REALLY LOVE. 


the thing is, what i really love cannot raise money. i am not a money-is-everything person, but i really know that money is really needed to survive. we dont have money, we cannot eat. it's as simple as that, am i right?  


you know what i want? 


...


???


i really want to be a full time volunteer. 


jeng jeng jeng. 


volunteer, as the ones who help the hunger eat. 
volunteer, as the ones who take care of orphaned children.


i am not a very smart person. but i am smart enough to know that i get nothing (in terms of money) from doing that. i know that we should just have faith in God, but it's very difficult to not being realistic. 


my second dream is to be a full time writer. HUAH. i really LOVE writing. i LOVE writing. but i know my writing is not that good. that's why i did not study journalism at the first place. that's why i studied accounting. because that's really the basic of every business and company, therefore i SHOULD get job easier. 


my second big dream is to be a writer (OF COURSE!)
i really envy those who can write in magazines or newspaper. oh i should have gone to Pontianak to follow my granddad's staffs. HAH. maybe i should do it on my next holiday. 


i really don't know what to do. i think it's a little bit late to think about dreams and goals :( but what i know is what's happening now is in God's hand and it's the best for me. i must keep doing my best in my study, keep praying for my dreams, and see where they end. 


loads of cheers from Malaysia!

huh hoh

it's finally 16 days left!


is 'HORAY' the right word to follow that sentence or 'HIKS' is the right one?


well at some times i was SO DAMN HAPPY knowing that i wont no longer be at my house, but at some other time i was SO DAMN SAD. well, i guess humans are simply complicated, huh?


i have many wishes for my last days in Jakarta, but i guess i have to give up all of them :( so, here are some of my wishes.... i hope i wont be sad when i am reading this post in malaysia :(


i want, WANT, WANT to go around jakarta with its public transportation. but it's hard to find a friend haihhhh. and i am too afraid to go by myself as you know there were loads of rape and sexual harassment cases lately, not to mention robbery,that is like a very usual thing in indonesia. my mother wont allow me to go by public transport alone anyway. she used to, but she does not any longer after hearing the rape cases. so even if i were not afraid, i were not allowed. 


and then i want to go to all malls in jakarta. well, ive been to all malls in gading, ive been to GI and PI very often, ive been to sency, PS, PP, CP, PIM, and plaza semaggi once, but ive never been to Gandaria City! ha. i guess i still have a place to go, right? and Nanny's Pavillion just opened their new branch there, and ive been craving for this restaurant for like, forever. so there are 2 SUPER BIG reasons why going to GanCi is a complete MUST. 


and then, there are these night-open street restaurants that i always want to try, but never have a fried who is allowed to go till late at night and lives near to my house *well, i cannot drive, im not allowed to go by public transportation, so i guess this person must drive me home, right? and it's impossible if their houses are far far away and you ask them to drive me home*. so, yes i never eat at WGP. yes i never it at kemang. yes i never eat at mangga besar. yes i never eat at bu iis at night. and YES I AM A VERY PITIFUL PERSON. hahahahaha -___- 


huahhh. there are still loads of places i want want WANT to go in Jakarta, there are still loads of restaurant i want to try, but i simply cant :( i guess i will know Malaysia better than Indonesia. for me, that's sad. i wont even know jakarta's busway routes, but i will remember every bus routes in Malaysia. hmmmm that's uncomfortable, at least for me. haha. 

lagu waktu SD

OOT sebentar dari post2 gw tentang Melbourne Trip nih :p


lagu ini diajarin sama guru agama pas masih SD. udah lamaaaaaaa banget, tapi gw masih inget banget itu lagu favorit waktu itu, diajarin sama guru agama favorit :p
lagunya judulnya uda lupa, tapi ntah kenapa nada n kata2nya masih melekat di kepala. yah mungkin kalo ada yang baca n ngenalin lagu ini bisa tau kalo ada salah2 sedikit di kata2nya, maklum dari SD :p


dan ntah kenapa juga, bangun2 tiba2 nyanyi2 sndiri lagi ini hehehe :) bagusss banget. bukan cuma nadanya doang yang bagus, tapi kata2nya juga bagus. 


sebenernya gw agak bingung karna gw search2 di google ga pernah nemu, mungkin ini ciptaan guru agama gw sndiri kali ya? hmm


here it is...


Saat ini kupuji kebesaranMu Tuhan
tuk cinta kasih nan tulus dan mulia
di atas segalanya


Saat ini syukurku panjatkan atas anugrahMu
untuk sahabat dan saudaraku 
di dalam Tuhan


Bersama kita arungi kehidupan ini
berbagi suka dan duka tumbuhkan harapan
Bersama kita arungi kehidupan ini
berbagi kasih nan tulus damai sejaht'ra


reff: Kau dan aku satu, dalam cinta kasih
        Kau dan aku satu, dalam tujuan 'tuk nyatakan pada
         dunia
        cintanya Yesus yang abadi s'lamanya

Melbourne - Part 2

before i start writing anything, 


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! wish you all a great year ahead :)


now im continuing writing about my Melbourne trip! the second day, me and my mother joined a one-day trip to the Great Ocean Road. it was a bit raining when we woke up and walking to the assembly point, but we didnt care much as we thought the rain would stop at a later time. 


however, yes assumption is the biggest problem! the rain did not stop at all! even after we went to sleep that night, the rain had not stopped. yes Melbourne  is great in terms of weather. SIGH. 


oh and i have to tell you first a bit about the tour. it was a Chinese-own tour, therefore it was very cheap compared with other tours. i forgot the exact price, but i remember it was half the price of other tours. 40 or 50 AUD per person, i think. we would like to join the english programme, but it was sold out. however, we had the courage to join the Chinese programme though none of us understand Chinese well *because of the price, of course! haha*. BUT, we were very lucky because the programme was changed to bilingual programme at the end. i think maybe because of the demand of their sold-out english programme, as i saw a couple of western people there. westernes would not understand Chinese at all, right? they must demand for an english programme.


okay, back to the trip itself.


we did not take many photos because of the rain and the wind. the wind is MUCH WORSE than the rain itself. even we had umbrellas, we were still wet because of the wind. haiyoh. 


this one was taken from our toilet-stop. my mom said that this one was actually a tourist spot, too. but i forgot the name :p

this was in our another stop spot, because the tour leader said the spot was good. anyway, you can see the wind, right? haha -__- and pay attention, my cloth was not wet YET. oh and both of us did wear wrong cloth. all people there wore thick jacket and long pants, but look what i wore! we did that because we thought we were going to the beach *all beaches in Indonesia is hot, hellooowww* 

our first stop is George something food court. we had to walk from the bus and that took quite an effort. sigh. 

too bad i did not have any photo of the restaurant, but i did take a photo of what happened in front of the restaurant. there were a group of people (as you can see below) who sold food, things, drinks, etc for charity. meaning that money they got will be donated. wasnt it good? and look! all the people selling were elderlies!

oh i also remember what i had for lunch there, spaghetti bolognaise. my mom said that it was very australian. i did not really notice the difference, but i liked it more than any spaghetti i've eaten. 

after we made ourselves a lil bit warmer, we were trying really hard walking to the bus. though the sky was sooo clear, but the rain and the wind was very bad. sigh. it was a wrong day to go to the ocean, wasnt it?

the photo below was the 12 Apostles. the reality was much nicer yet the wind was REALLY killing me. even my mom had to force me really hard to go see this apostle *there were people who decided to stay in the bus, anyway*. and thanks to my mom who forced me, it was really good and i believe it would be much better if there were no rain and wind. we were having a difficult time to take photos because our freezing hand and we also had to make sure our umbrella did not fly away because of the strong wind while we were taking pictures.  

i only posted the one below to show you all that even i wore an umbrella, my top was still wet! can you see? hahaha -__- 

oh and this was taken at some park near the 12 Apostle *forgot the name* and i did see kangaroos jumping around! i did not have chance to take their pictures as they were too far and too fast and yes it was very difficult to take my camera.

this was our very-funny tour leader with his also-very-funny poncho. 

these were just posted to show you the very-strong wind! haha -___- and our wet clothes though we had umbrellas. 

THE NEXT DAY, first we went around the city by Melbourne's free-city circle tram. 

these were photos of the tram :)

this actually is the hmm i dont know what the word is, but it is where the driver drives the tram. the cockpit, maybe? hahaha. 

and this one was the only stop where the tram was stopped by the driver without any of us demanded. i did not know what building it was. i was too sleepy even to pay attention to the road. my mom was angry about this. but hey, yesterday was a very tiring day! 

and this was the look of the city circle tram. and i forgot to say, we could enjoy this for free!













and theenn, part two ends here :)