The documentary made by giving the perspective of 4 different babies for 4 very different place. Namibia, Mongolia, San Fransisco, and Tokyo. When I saw Oprah making a big fuss about it, I was intrigue, because sometimes Oprah makes a big fuss about a book or a movie or a musical, not because it's really good but because she likes it. Well, i can't blame her, i do the same, when i like something i would also run around telling who ever willing to listen about how wonderful my finding is, whether is a book, movie, or even just a simple snack from the street side.
Anyway, back to Babies. This documentary was release exactly the time my tummy is getting bigger, so it couldn't come in better timing. It gives me a deeper understanding about human nature, motherhood and baby development to be exact.
Motherhood......no matter where you are, what culture you are raise in, basically motherhood is same all over the world. It's all about whats best for your baby. From getting the best care to protecting them from any danger.
Now lets talk about the babies, something that I've noticed from the documentary. That, they have no preconceive notion what is right or wrong, danger or safe, clean or dirty. The Namibian baby, for example, since he saw his mother and other women around him walk around topless, so for him that's natural, also for him crawling around on dirt is what the common thing to do. Or the Mongolian baby, for him playing with live stocks such as goats and cows is just the norm, also for him not seeing anybody beside his brother, mother and father, for long period of time is also normal. But for the Tokyo baby, for her, the sound of hustling and bustling of a big cosmopolitan city is not unusual. And for the US baby, seeing mommy and daddy taking her to meet new people is a daily routine.
You might say that the Namibian baby is the most uncivilized and the Mongolian baby is barbarian. But who are we to judge, if you look closely those two babies seem as happy and adjusted as the other babies who live in the big cities.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Books.....the windows of the world
Yesterday, I went to one of the biggest bookstore in Surabaya. Bookstore is one of my favorite store, right along with DVD and shoes store. I think this love came from my parent who never gave me money to buy "garbage" snacks but when it comes to books, suddenly my mom's purse and my dad's wallet are opened wide. I guess since then I associated books with a great feeling of joy. And of course, my extended family such as my aunts and uncles also brought me books whenever they visited me. So every time I enter a bookstore, don't wait up....I might be a while. It's my little wonderland. I remembered the first time I went to Kinokuniya book store in Singapore, it was so big....OOO boy....I was so excited I didn't even know where to start......and when I read about the biggest bookstore in world in Toronto , every time I'm thinking about visiting Canada, I always make a mental note to put aside at least 1 day to visit this bookstore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Biggest_Bookstore
Anyway, going to the bookstore yesterday also gave a sad thought about my fellow Indonesian reading habit. It's so low that it's almost non-existence. For example only 2,8% of the population reads newspaper, I can't even imagine how much lower the percentage for books.
Yes..yes....I must admit there are several issues behind the low rates of reading among the Indonesian. The biggest reason is, as usual financial, it's kinda hard to even think about buying book when you are struggling just to put basic meal on the table. Unfortunately for more that 49%of the population that's just the reality of life. What about the other 50% of the population, you might ask. Well, it's hard to beat the culture of TV, just from my observation when I'm in public spaces such as doctor waiting room, you will find almost everybody will have their eyes glued on some inane TV program or the one with smart phones will have their eyes glued on their phones.
And the other reason is the access to a book, unless you live in a big city or at least decent size one, getting books is as hard as getting water in the Sahara desert. I know this from first hand experience. I was born and until 15 yrs old, lived in a small town. To give you an idea how hard it is to get good literature source when I was growing up the morning paper showed up late in the afternoon. You might say "well, time has change, it's the 21st century now." Yes, we are living in the 21st century but other than school textbooks and magazines, you're still not gonna find anything else. You still need to go to a big city such as Surabaya to find decent books. And if you think that's bad, just think that my hometown is still located in Java, the main island of Indonesia. I can't even begin to imagine places outside of Java, like Kalimantan or even worse Papua.
According to survey in 2009, for the whole Indonesian population only 0,0009% new books are publish yearly. That's really bad because according to UNESCO a developing country should have at least 10% published books for the whole population, and a developed country should have at least 30%.
And the attitude of the books providers are not exactly helping. For instance, if you go to Gramedia (one of the biggest publisher and book store in Indonesia) store, you will find it hard to find some kind of a chair to sit down and enjoy a book in the store. So if you want to read the book before deciding to buy it, you have to do it standing. Actually, the fact that they even let you read it first place is already a big step forward. When I was growing up, most of the bookstores, including Gramedia put big sign all over the store, "Di larang baca di tempat" (Don't read the book in the store), and if you did the clerks will give you dirty look or even out loud scolded you. That's so the opposite of Korea, Singapore, China and even Saudi.
In Singapore and Korea, they provide you chairs and if you don't like sitting on a chair just find a cozy spot on the carpeted floor. In Saudi, they provide you hard metal chairs. And in China, they don't provide you with chairs but you are welcome to sit on the floor, as long as you don't mind people walking around you.
The progress of literacy in Indonesia is also still pretty slow, for instance China translated the great classic works of Shakespeare, Dickens and other western classical writers back in the 40's n 50's. Indonesia is still haven't even come close to that stage. If you are an Indonesian interested in reading and learning more about Romeo and Juliet or Othello, then you better learn english first, because that's the only language the books still available in.
But the truth is, I haven't lost hope for this country. The evidence in the book store gives showed me that there are a lot of aspiring and talented writers in this country, also you can find more and more bookstores in big cities. Maybe in the next ten or twenty years all this will change for the better. One can always hope and pray!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Biggest_Bookstore
Anyway, going to the bookstore yesterday also gave a sad thought about my fellow Indonesian reading habit. It's so low that it's almost non-existence. For example only 2,8% of the population reads newspaper, I can't even imagine how much lower the percentage for books.
Yes..yes....I must admit there are several issues behind the low rates of reading among the Indonesian. The biggest reason is, as usual financial, it's kinda hard to even think about buying book when you are struggling just to put basic meal on the table. Unfortunately for more that 49%of the population that's just the reality of life. What about the other 50% of the population, you might ask. Well, it's hard to beat the culture of TV, just from my observation when I'm in public spaces such as doctor waiting room, you will find almost everybody will have their eyes glued on some inane TV program or the one with smart phones will have their eyes glued on their phones.
And the other reason is the access to a book, unless you live in a big city or at least decent size one, getting books is as hard as getting water in the Sahara desert. I know this from first hand experience. I was born and until 15 yrs old, lived in a small town. To give you an idea how hard it is to get good literature source when I was growing up the morning paper showed up late in the afternoon. You might say "well, time has change, it's the 21st century now." Yes, we are living in the 21st century but other than school textbooks and magazines, you're still not gonna find anything else. You still need to go to a big city such as Surabaya to find decent books. And if you think that's bad, just think that my hometown is still located in Java, the main island of Indonesia. I can't even begin to imagine places outside of Java, like Kalimantan or even worse Papua.
According to survey in 2009, for the whole Indonesian population only 0,0009% new books are publish yearly. That's really bad because according to UNESCO a developing country should have at least 10% published books for the whole population, and a developed country should have at least 30%.
And the attitude of the books providers are not exactly helping. For instance, if you go to Gramedia (one of the biggest publisher and book store in Indonesia) store, you will find it hard to find some kind of a chair to sit down and enjoy a book in the store. So if you want to read the book before deciding to buy it, you have to do it standing. Actually, the fact that they even let you read it first place is already a big step forward. When I was growing up, most of the bookstores, including Gramedia put big sign all over the store, "Di larang baca di tempat" (Don't read the book in the store), and if you did the clerks will give you dirty look or even out loud scolded you. That's so the opposite of Korea, Singapore, China and even Saudi.
In Singapore and Korea, they provide you chairs and if you don't like sitting on a chair just find a cozy spot on the carpeted floor. In Saudi, they provide you hard metal chairs. And in China, they don't provide you with chairs but you are welcome to sit on the floor, as long as you don't mind people walking around you.
The progress of literacy in Indonesia is also still pretty slow, for instance China translated the great classic works of Shakespeare, Dickens and other western classical writers back in the 40's n 50's. Indonesia is still haven't even come close to that stage. If you are an Indonesian interested in reading and learning more about Romeo and Juliet or Othello, then you better learn english first, because that's the only language the books still available in.
But the truth is, I haven't lost hope for this country. The evidence in the book store gives showed me that there are a lot of aspiring and talented writers in this country, also you can find more and more bookstores in big cities. Maybe in the next ten or twenty years all this will change for the better. One can always hope and pray!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Street Diner
If you are living in one of Asian countries or visited one, you would know that the best food is usually found not inside an aircon restaurant, but on the street. Born n raised in Indonesia, also spent enough time in China, for me street food is the ultimate feeling of home. Often when I was away from my beloved country, I caught myself missing those food before I miss my family or friends. It's not that I don't love my family n friends, but street food, gives me the warm feeling that no matter what happened they're gonna be alright.
Why, you might ask. The answer is, they are dependably cheap and where ever you go in Indonesia, you can easily find them, from the ones on the side of busy road, to the ones tuck away in little way. Except for the occasional big holiday such as Ied or the case of family events (weddings, death, etc). You can rely on their open "doors" policy even when thunderstorms hit.
It's easy to spot them, a lot of them only open after sunset. They are mobile, meaning when they are done for the day, they'll pack everything up, haul all of the necessary tools from the dining tables for the customers to the cooking cart. Usually this is a family business, don't be surprise to find husband and wife working together, sometimes they will bring their siblings, relatives and children to help them.
You can find all sort of food on the street, from the simple wedang kopi (hot cofee) accompanied with small fritter snacks such as deep friend banana and spring rolls, chinese food, seafood, bakso (meatball soup, one Obama's favorite Indonesian food), deserts such as toasted bread with jam, lets not forget the ever popular bakmi and nasi goreng ( fried noodle n fried rice, Obama said this also his favorite) in some cities they even sell steak (good one too).
A lot of new comer foreigner, even the few squeamish Indonesian, get turn off with the street food. Many reason to say no to, from the not so convincing location, most of the vendors set their businesses right on the road side where dust and smokes from car exhaust are the "menu", not mentioning the sighting of all sort of bugs and the occasional rat, then there is the questionable sanitary background. Yes......that's all the "bonus" you will get when eat there. And to make matter worse some of those vendors don't even own tables and chairs. Customers are expected to sit on the plastic covered pavement, sometimes the food doesn't even come on a plate, it will come on a piece of banana leave or the brown paper of food wrapper. Not to worry, all of those also come with a wonderful side effect, it's really cheap to get the food, for less than 10.000 IDR (1,1 USD) you will get a full delicious hearty meal, sometimes includes the famous es teh manis (sweet iced tea).
Now if you are a foreigner that just arrived from north america or europe, i would strongly suggest to hold the desire to try the street food until your stomach is adjusted to Indonesia. That way, by the time you are ready to venture to the wonderful world of Indonesian street food, you will get a good experience without the food poisoning.
I haven't even mention the food that comes to your door, from early morning till midnite. From the breakfast staple of bubur ayam (chicken porridge) in the morning and the late night mie (noodle) duk-duk, that sells fried noodle n fried rice with their signature duk-duk sound, made from beating a hollowed piece of wood. And everything in between.
Every time, I lived outside of Indonesia, and its late at night, when the hunger strike me, I have either eat dinner left over or make instant noodle.....that's when I miss all those food the most.
Why, you might ask. The answer is, they are dependably cheap and where ever you go in Indonesia, you can easily find them, from the ones on the side of busy road, to the ones tuck away in little way. Except for the occasional big holiday such as Ied or the case of family events (weddings, death, etc). You can rely on their open "doors" policy even when thunderstorms hit.
It's easy to spot them, a lot of them only open after sunset. They are mobile, meaning when they are done for the day, they'll pack everything up, haul all of the necessary tools from the dining tables for the customers to the cooking cart. Usually this is a family business, don't be surprise to find husband and wife working together, sometimes they will bring their siblings, relatives and children to help them.
You can find all sort of food on the street, from the simple wedang kopi (hot cofee) accompanied with small fritter snacks such as deep friend banana and spring rolls, chinese food, seafood, bakso (meatball soup, one Obama's favorite Indonesian food), deserts such as toasted bread with jam, lets not forget the ever popular bakmi and nasi goreng ( fried noodle n fried rice, Obama said this also his favorite) in some cities they even sell steak (good one too).
A lot of new comer foreigner, even the few squeamish Indonesian, get turn off with the street food. Many reason to say no to, from the not so convincing location, most of the vendors set their businesses right on the road side where dust and smokes from car exhaust are the "menu", not mentioning the sighting of all sort of bugs and the occasional rat, then there is the questionable sanitary background. Yes......that's all the "bonus" you will get when eat there. And to make matter worse some of those vendors don't even own tables and chairs. Customers are expected to sit on the plastic covered pavement, sometimes the food doesn't even come on a plate, it will come on a piece of banana leave or the brown paper of food wrapper. Not to worry, all of those also come with a wonderful side effect, it's really cheap to get the food, for less than 10.000 IDR (1,1 USD) you will get a full delicious hearty meal, sometimes includes the famous es teh manis (sweet iced tea).
Now if you are a foreigner that just arrived from north america or europe, i would strongly suggest to hold the desire to try the street food until your stomach is adjusted to Indonesia. That way, by the time you are ready to venture to the wonderful world of Indonesian street food, you will get a good experience without the food poisoning.
I haven't even mention the food that comes to your door, from early morning till midnite. From the breakfast staple of bubur ayam (chicken porridge) in the morning and the late night mie (noodle) duk-duk, that sells fried noodle n fried rice with their signature duk-duk sound, made from beating a hollowed piece of wood. And everything in between.
Every time, I lived outside of Indonesia, and its late at night, when the hunger strike me, I have either eat dinner left over or make instant noodle.....that's when I miss all those food the most.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree
Yesterday, I got to see some of my old friends again, and its been awhile since we saw each other. Of course time has change, all of us now married and even have young children. As usual the chat started about hows everybody doing, then one of my friend shared that for the last few days he's having trouble getting his 1,5 yrs old daughter in bed at night, so he asked my other friend with 4 yrs old son how she managed to get her son trained to sleep on time every night. And from that innocent question suddenly started a whole new conversation piece about how to raise and disciplining children.
And friend with the son said that having a child is like having a mirror that "slapped" in her face constantly, because whatever she said or did to him especially the negative ones , he will imitate them to others. This really makes her think twice every time she wants to punish or teach her son.
I couldn't agree more with her, and I even pointed out that I am big believer of :"Most children are not born bad, they just have bad parents." And as usual after I said that I'm waiting for the million dollar comments such as:"you are not a parent yet, so it's easy for you to say that" and "You know they gonna say the same thing to you when your kid behave badly.," As I predicted both comments did come almost the same time.
Well, for the first statement I usually answer:"I may not be a parent yet, but been working in early childhood education field, I've seen enough that give that conviction." and as the second statement, since I'm waiting for my first child to be born soon (less than 2 mth), me n my husband already decided that we're going to educated and teach our son the best we could, and if he behave badly, yes we will take the responsibility.
When I say bad parents, I meant parents who neglect their children physically and mentally. also parents whot never teach their children about boundaries and discipline. Don't get me wrong, I like children to creative, active, independent, and free spirited but that doesn't mean that they just be rude and uncivilized. I'm sure you've seen them, children throwing tantrum and causing scene in public. What I've learn is that if they have enough confident to do that in public, it means they must done worst than that at the comfort of their home, so the question is what did the parent do when the children did all of that at home?
Anyway, I know that we are, including me and my husband are just humans. We are imperfect, which means we are bound to make mistakes, even in raising our children. But it doesn't mean we don't try our best as parents.
And friend with the son said that having a child is like having a mirror that "slapped" in her face constantly, because whatever she said or did to him especially the negative ones , he will imitate them to others. This really makes her think twice every time she wants to punish or teach her son.
I couldn't agree more with her, and I even pointed out that I am big believer of :"Most children are not born bad, they just have bad parents." And as usual after I said that I'm waiting for the million dollar comments such as:"you are not a parent yet, so it's easy for you to say that" and "You know they gonna say the same thing to you when your kid behave badly.," As I predicted both comments did come almost the same time.
Well, for the first statement I usually answer:"I may not be a parent yet, but been working in early childhood education field, I've seen enough that give that conviction." and as the second statement, since I'm waiting for my first child to be born soon (less than 2 mth), me n my husband already decided that we're going to educated and teach our son the best we could, and if he behave badly, yes we will take the responsibility.
When I say bad parents, I meant parents who neglect their children physically and mentally. also parents whot never teach their children about boundaries and discipline. Don't get me wrong, I like children to creative, active, independent, and free spirited but that doesn't mean that they just be rude and uncivilized. I'm sure you've seen them, children throwing tantrum and causing scene in public. What I've learn is that if they have enough confident to do that in public, it means they must done worst than that at the comfort of their home, so the question is what did the parent do when the children did all of that at home?
Anyway, I know that we are, including me and my husband are just humans. We are imperfect, which means we are bound to make mistakes, even in raising our children. But it doesn't mean we don't try our best as parents.
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