Maid o Maid

When she finally arrived in our house yesterday afternoon, we could feel our body relaxing, our mind winding down, even the baby was laughing. Who is she? our new maid!

You might think that we are so lazy or spoil that the arrival of a maid can makes us so happy. But if you live in Indonesia and you don't have a maid, especially when you have a family with young children, you're probably: A. Too poor to have one; B. You're a super woman/man; C. You live with a huge number of extended family members.

Now, when I say poor I don't mean european / american poor, I mean you earn averagely 1 USD or less a day. Because in Indonesia, even the middle class have at least one live in maid. And if you are the rising middle to upper class you probably have one live in maid, a full time nanny for each of your children and even a full time driver. The real mark that you've "arrived",  you have at least 3 maids, a garderner, 2 full time drivers, and at least one full time security guard for your house.

The reason why having maid is almost essential in most Indonesian household, is because labors are cheap here. In East Java, a live in maid is given about 450k-500k (about 50-55 USD) / month, a part time maid is given about 10k-20k (about 1.2-2.2 USD) per day. In Bali, the price is 50% more, because the living cost is also higher.  The other reason for maids is that most things in Indonesia are still done by hand. From cooking to washing clothes, for example in most western countries if you want to cook and don't want the hassle, you just go to your nearest grocery shop / supermarket and voila, you got pre-package or frozen goods, in Indonesia, cooking means;
1. you go to the nearest wet market, for your fresh veggies, (live) meats and spices, must come early if you want to get the good stuffs.
2. Bring home your groceries, make sure you wash them thoroughly and properly, this means check for bugs n worms, n make sure no pesticide stuck on your veggies.
3. If you are going to cook Indonesian food, that means peeling, crushing and grounding your spices from scratch by hand, using pestle and mortar.
4. Almost forgot, most Indonesian food require coconut milk, which means, you buy fresh coconut flesh, grate and squeeze them yourself, by hand.

And after you finish cooking and eating, wash all the utensils by hand since dishwasher is as rare as blue moon. O, almost forgot again, most Indonesian don;t have washing machine, meaning all clothes are, again, hand washed. So, all of those things to do and young children (or a very active 8 m.o. baby like me), you can see now why a maid or two are so helpful.


When the baby hasn't arrived yet, we use part time maid to clean our house. Now, with our bundle of joy in hand cleaning the house is not only a nuisance but a huge burden. Our first maid was wonderful, she loves our baby, great at house work, hard working, reliable, and honest. Then came the Eid, being a muslim, she celebrated by going back home to her (lazy deadbeat) husband and her 2 daughters. And the cliche story happens again, the story of "my (lazy deadbeat) husband" doesn't let me go back to work. So we lost a great maid.

To fill the void and ease our burden, we used a part time maid, again, she quit coz of her kids. Finally, after days of just barely surviving, we got the call from the recruitment agent that they have the maid that fits our criteria.

I finally was able to have time for "free" massage from a friend who happened to need a body to train her masseuse therapists for her up and coming spa, also really appreciate the sane time to be able to write this blog. And praying to all the power that be, that this one stays for a long time................oooo....and if you pray with me, maybe next time i will write about the maid stories and tips about them......................

Having a son is a money saver....for me!

When the two blue strips appeared on the test pack, I immediately imagine a little girl inside my tummy, even after my "usually can feel and right in the end" husband told me that is going to be a boy, I still told people and myself that I would like the baby to be a girl. And of course my mum, who already have a grandson from my brother also helped me in my prayer.

The reason that I wanted a girl: because I want to shower her with all the cute little things that they sell and made for girls, that was not available when I was growing up. When I was a small girl myself, the choices for clothing and accessories for us was really limited. And if your mom or one of your family member couldn't sew, though luck! In this case, I am really lucky, my mum, the superwoman, is a genius when it comes into making clothes for her family. I can bring a magazine picture or show her what my idol was wearing on the TV, and she would replicate them so well that you would think my mum was the original creative designer of the clothes on the magazine. But that of course have it's limit. First of all, as genius as mum is, there are plenty of things she can't make such as jeans, and not mentioning how busy she is, with 4 kids, a house to run, a business to manage. So ultimately I have to wait for weddings, new years, birthdays and big events to happen before I can have new cloth.

These days all you have to do is walk into a children clothing shops and you can buy anything clothing style for your baby, and if you ever decided to make a twin style for you and your baby, that's not hard to do also. I used to walk into Next Kids, H&M juniors, Mothercare and itching to buy girl's cute summer dresses, jackets, shorts, pants, t-shirts....the thing is I don't have anybody that I can buy for. My brother, cousins and my best friends, for some reasons they all decided to have boys. I was so happy when the daughter of one of the teacher I worked with was celebrating her 4th birthday, I finally got a reason to buy one of those cute dresses for her. 

I was a bit down I found out that I was having a boy. But when 3rd trimester started rolling, and not only begun to fall in love more and more with my baby, I realized what a blessing for me, the shopaholic, to have a boy instead a girl. I begun imagining me running around malls buying all the cute dresses that probably be worn 2x before she will grow out of them, hoarding cute berets, headbands and accessories that she probably wore once and lost them or worse yet hate them. And not only I saved money from future spending, I also save money because my nephew's baby clothes are handed down to me.

As I observed two of my brothers, another revelation came to me. Boys for the most part for go the need to beautify themselves, example: my brothers still wear their high school gym tee, eventhough my youngest bro left high school 5 yrs ago, and the other left it 10yrs ago. The tee is pretty bad shape, but they don't care, as long is still comfortable. My sister and me on the other hand, have tons of clothes but everytime we open our closet we said the same thing, "we don't have anything to wear". And that only on the clothing department, let also see the different in toiletries, for us girls, shower means we use the best smelling soap the shop has to offer, the smoothest shampoo on earth, the silkest conditioner we can find, and that just to name the few things we use daily, boys in the other hand, for the most part the can live with a bar of soap to clean for head to toe. Reflecting on this, I am more grateful for a boy. And please don;t get me started on the double standard our (meaning asian) society put on girls.

What if my second child is a girl (if I decided to have another one! :D ), than what do I do, you might asked. Well........we'll cross the bridge when the time come!

Limitless!

No...i'm not gonna talk about the movie.....I am going to talk about my son and his future...........

"Don't worry, art and music talent never runs in the family!" that's what my parent and other family members said to me when I came home showing my report card that I only got C minus for singing class and art & craft class in elementary school. And that's not the first time nor the last time i've heard those words spoken to me. So for many many years, I believe that. I believed that when I was kicked out from the school choir line for being to slow to learn the notations, and I used those words again to justified cheating on the high school drawing final test by submitting my friend's work.

And I definitely heard those words again when my uncle's wife, a piano teacher, told me that I need to loosen up my fingers so that I can play the piano better. So instead of learning to loosen up I gave up, because "art and music talent never runs in the family!"

But later in China, I learned that despite the no talent for art and music, I can do a decent job on my chinese calligraphy (I will never gave up my day job to become a calligrapher though! :D) and my biggest discovery.....when my Yang Qin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangqin)teacher told me that I did a great job and my hand bounce so naturally on the strings............my o my.......That encouragement words fired me to practice almost everyday, whenever i had the time or then school opened the practice room. Unfortunately, to practice was cut short because the room was renovated and i never really found out what happened to the yang qin. But I was so in love with the instrument I decided that when I have the money and place, I will buy one and practice again.

By now you probably asking what's all of that got to do with my son future..............I don't want my son to grow like me. I want him to explore all the possibilities that life is giving him. I will encourage, support and when needed push him when he wants to try a new activity. I believe that everybody is born not knowing what we can or can not do in life. How many times in we heard this: "our family don't do well in sport"; "our people are not a traveler kind"; etc............just because some one in our family can't play sport very good it doesn't mean that the other can't either, maybe they are not going to as famous or as good Beckham but why not try first. Just because a lot of people in the neighborhood don't like being to far from home, it doesn't mean that other people can't explore the wide beautiful world.

Those words, are what I called negative subconscious programming (NSP). NSP can be deadly crippling, yes, I said deadly, because NSP has many people died without knowing what he or she can really do in life. And for vowed that as long as I can I will not give NSP to my baby or anybody around me.

I will give him my cheers and claps, whether he  is a ballet dancer or an engineer.

I will give him my hugs and encouragements, whether he's a painter or an accountant.

I will give him my love and supports, whether he's a writer or a pilot.

He can be whatever he decided to be, as long he will try the best that he can, be happy in what he decided to do and make a decent living on it. For him, the sky is not the limit.............

My baby fell off the bed!

"UUUUAAAA" my baby wailed from his napping room, I rushed down stair to see if he's ok. And He's not, he was laying on his tummy on the floor, that meant that he fell from a 40 cm high bed............I just screamed hysterically and picked him up from the floor, my husband n Wit (my maid/nanny) came rushing to see what happened. I started checking his body for any open wound while my husband is calming him down. After we are sure there is no skin cut, we made sure he's aware and not vomiting. As soon as, and then I asked Wit to get his milk and bag ready, I ran down the street to my neighbor, who happens to be a hired driver, and asked him to take us to the nearest hospital.

On the way to the hospital, each of us can't helped but blame ourselves, especially me, as I prayed for him, I couldn't helped not to do the what "IFs" scenario in my head. What if I didn't go up stair to talked to my husband, what if Wit wasn't busy sweeping the front yard...and many more what "IFs". The hospital is close by, so before I could think of anymore "IFs", we arrived at the BROS (Bali Royal Hospital) ER door. We were the only patient there, thank goodness, that meant the doctors can concentrate on my baby without distraction. From initial check the doctor said that he looked ok, but just to be sure he's sending my baby for CT Scan. When we heard that we're kinda skeptical, not on the scan, but on my son being still for at least 2 minute while the machine is scanning, saying my son is an active boy is an under statement. But with my husband holding his arms, I held his chin, and we both talked and sang songs for him, miraculously he stayed still long enough for the machine to scan his head. After that we were told to wait for 30 minute for the result. It was the longest 30 minute, and with us thanking God and Mother Mary, the scan showed that everything is normal, no blood clot, no hemorrhage, we can take him home and do a 24 hrs observation, if he vomit a lot, got a big headache and started to sleep outside of his sleeping patterns, then we need to bring him back to hospital.

On the way home, we again thanks God and Mother Mary for protecting our son also praying in the next 24 hrs nothing bad gonna happen.

When we got home he was sound asleep, as we put him on his crib, we hugged and cried. We promised him and each other that we'll try harder to protect him.

For now he's looking normal and healthy, and every time he smiles at me, I pray for his safety and well being.

No cellphone? how did you live?

My hubby n I sometimes would talk about the world would look to our son, and we could imagine that is the question he might ask when we'll tell him that we grew up without cellphone and internet.

Today I read an article :

http://www.babble.com/products/mom-products/old-technology-vhs-floppy-disk-cassette-tapes

And I know that we are not alone.

I remember talking to my 12 yrs younger sister about Unyil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si_Unyil), and she shook her head in confusion, this is way before her time. It hit me again when one of my tutoring student was asking to proof read her biology assignment that she got from Google and the worst was when I was trying to encourage a 20 y.o. guy, that I know from my foodie circle, after one of his picture he'd taken was slammed by the a more experienced photographer,so I told him to just shoot a lot of pictures after all he's using a digital DSLR camera so when he doesn't like the picture he can just delete them, unlike before when we still use rolls of films. And he looked at me like I'm from Mars. All of those people are only 12-15 yrs younger than me, but they just might as well be 50 years younger.

Yes, I do feel old when I think about all of those memory and the idea that my son will say that I am old because when I was growing up people still use telegram when they want to send a very important message quickly, or the fact that I knew how to use the typewriter, and that when I said pen pals, that doesn't mean my Facebook friends or my email buddies, that really means you are using your pen and write news or info to you pals on a piece of paper and then send them snail mail.

Any of you have similar experience?

I am the real Tiger Mom

Before you imagine a chinese mother with a whip in one hand and a stack of math books and music score on the other, standing behind a frighten little child playing a piano. Here is the truth :

My son is born in the beginning of 2011, about a month before rabbit year begun, so his chinese zodiac is tiger, hence I am the real Tiger mom.

Well, regardless the all pun intended title joke, there is something in my mind that I just gotta share with the world.

I was reading in Wall Street Journal about this book, and the controversies it has caused. So when my husband was in Singapore, I asked him to get me one copy. First impression, this book is a bit over priced, especially judging by the size and the page count. Moving on.......as I read the book, I must say I am not all surprise by Amy's approach on educating her girls. Just like her, I also come from a chinese immigrant family, my paternal grandparent came from Fujian province and maternal grandparent came from Guangdong province, China. Sharing the almost the same background, I totally understand her fear about her girls losing the good values of being chinese. My parent, especially my dad, always tries to instill us with the values of Confusius and what it means to be a chinese. He always told us that be respectful to older people, especially your parent and teachers, and most importantly don't forget that whatever you have now is because everybody else before you, e.g. your parent, grandparents and ancestors worked hard, so if you want to maintain and even increase what you have you must also work hard to get it. That will always stuck in my head.

The big difference between her family and mine, hers came from a scholarly background, mine is thru and thru merchant bloodline, so far none of my uncles, aunts, cousins and siblings are scholars. Although, my family always emphasize the importance of education, and require us to get at least a bachelor degree in any major of our choosing (getting a master degree will be better) but in the end they always push us to establish our own business. 

As I said in the beginning, I'm not all surprise with her way of teaching, my family kind of does the same only without the big drama. My family also uses the shame technique in teaching us about everything, from school homework to social interaction. "Aren't you ashamed that you only got 80% in you math quiz?" my mom asked this questions many times when I was in school, It didn't matter how hard I studied to get that points or that the fact only 5 of us in the class got more than 75% right. Did that hurt my feeling? Hell yeah....Did it shattered me as a human? Nope.....Did I try harder next time? Sometimes......Yes, I must admit in my household I'm more like Amy's second child, shaming me don't always work. I have more of carefree attitude toward life, and my parent eventually got that and stop using shame method on me.

My point is that Amy's education style maybe a big shocker in US or even most of the western countries, but if you talk to most asian moms especially the chinese descendant moms, they probably not only agree with Amy, they might even applauded her for her strength and tenacity in teaching her girls the chinese way. 

Learning is fun.....

Yap..........Learning is fun........And you know it!

Before you try to deny that statement, stop and think for a second. When you learned something new, be it how to shoot a great picture with your digital camera or just finding out that brangelina just announced they are separating (just an example, please don't shoot me! :D), I bet you are more than just happy, you probably be thrilled. The idea of you knowing something more than everybody else or just knowing that you'll be in the loop, like everybody else always makes us feel good.

Now....I'm not writing this to encourage you to learn anything new, because you probably already are. I'm want to talk about how to make your children have the same notion. I'm sure even if you don't have kid yet, you've seen or heard about the horror stories from parents and teachers on how they tried to get children to study and learn something.

Actually children by nature love learning, the need to learn is already embedded in our DNA. Think about it, babies learned how suck milk from their mother's nipple or bottle as soon as they are born, then they learn how see, how lay on their tummy, how to crawl. The question is if we have this DNA inside of all us by nature, why do we drag our feet every time the teacher or our parent said that we need to learn how read or count. That's because our earliest memory of learning is, us being forced to sit down and listen and repeat, the worst part is when we failed we got punished oneway or another, and when we succeed we don't always get compliment that we deserved.

And when it comes down to start planning for my baby's education, we (me n my hubby) decided no matter what he will learn, we will try as best as we could to make it fun for him. We really don't him to have the idea that learning is boring and restricting. First of all, we agreed that he will start learning as early as possible also fun as possible too.  So, as soon as he can see, we started to have him learning math and reading. Don't worry we are not those kind of parent that pushes their children to become another Einstein or Mozart. Our goal is to help him struggle less when he's growing up. And every time we try to teach him anything, we made sure that he and us are in a good mood. Trying to teach anybody, especially children when you are in a bad mood or in a hurry is a sure recipe for disaster. Because you will be impatient hence you'll have less ability to listen or sense what your students needs.

The other key point for us is encouragement. Every little accomplishment is complimented and given reward. For example, we teach math by showing cards with different number of random placed red dots on them, and every time we finished showing 5 cards, we cheered, clapped and told him what a great kid he is. Even small accomplishment, such as flipping and laying on his tummy will get him the hugs and kisses rewards from us. We try to instill in his memory that learning is fun and every thing that he does count. That way hopefully as he grows up he will never lose his appetite for learning.

The Mirrors that Never Lie

Children....................they are life's honest mirror. From them you can tell a lot about what kind of parent they have, because children never lie. And i'm not just talking about what children said literally but mostly about how their reaction, behavior and attitude on a lot of things in life.

I got this conclusion long ago while I was working in early education field. I saw more than my fair share of these cases. All the books and experts quote that said, you can't expect a child to do what you said and not what you do, are right on the money.  For them, your words are the last effecting edge. And if you say something that contradict your action, your children will be very confuse and started to rebel against you. For example, i know a lady who like to brag about every thing she own or bought, from her newest car to her new toe ring, but when she caught her daughter bragging to her classmate about the new toy she got, she was scolded. So, her daughter started acting out and throwing tantrum when the mother is around. In the little girl eyes her mother is punishing her for doing exactly the same thing like her mother, and it's very confusing for a child to get her head around that.

Parents are children first model for everything..........whatever the parent do that's the norm for children. If the parent yell at each other all the time, then when the children started to socialize outside their home, they will get confuse why people don't like it when they yell to other people. For them home and parent are their most important school and teacher, and unlike formal school where we learn from listening and watching teachers explained to us about different things. Children learn from picking the parent attitude and habits. Case and point, I used to know a lady who love reading books, not surprisingly both of her sons, also started to pick up books and read before they even know how to read books, another lady, I knew like spending time in front the TV watching Soap Operas and gossip shows, again, not surprisingly her daughter thinks books is boring and watching TV is the best activity. Children started to mimic and imitated parent behavior and mirror them back to us.

So next time before forcing and poking your little one to eat vegetables or dragging them to join the school soccer team. First check your attitude toward it. Do you cringe or even say it out loud to other people how you hate the smell of broccoli or do you complain that you got sunburn last time you watched your son soccer game. Even when you think they are not listening or watching,subtle behavior, like pouting and sighing your breath when someone mention a certain food or activity, will be pick up by the children. Trust me when i say, saying stuffs like: "Honey, broccoli is good for your health" or "sweetheart, joining the soccer team is great for your body, you'll get to exercise and breath fresh open air", are useless, unless you back it up with real positive attitude.  


I know parent are human too, and as human we are definitely not perfect. We are also shaped by our parent who in their imperfectness, embedded us with ideas and attitude on certain things. Just be ready with explanation when we do slip or made mistakes, cause chances are that they will ask why is it that they are force to eat broccoli when you said to your friend that you hate the smell of it.

Things you will see or find or hear when you live in Bali

When you live in Bali, among the locals then you will see or find or hear:

1. The stray dogs, they are everywhere, and if you live in the small banjar (balinese community) like me, the dogs are actually good security "portal" because they'll bark at strangers who don't live in the banjar. And even though most of them they won't bite, it's a strong suggestion NOT to pet them, they might the gesture, menacing and might attack you.

2. Offerings, you'll see them everywhere, from street side to the beach side, from the posh hotels to common houses. And if you see a big pile of them in front of a house, that just means that house is having a ceremonial event.

3. Hindu temples, nuff said!

4. The cocks, balinese men love cock fightings, so almost all balinese household will have at least 2 cocks in their yard. Trust me, you won't miss them, coz they crow at all hour of the day.

5. Balinese in their traditional attires, when you them, it just means that they are getting ready to pray or doing a communal duty, such as taking care of the parking in the nearby market.

6. Beautiful art work, balinese are craftmen, so no surprise that they can create stunning wood carvings, paintings, musics and dance.

7. Foreigners living among the locals, Bali is such a huge magnet to live that you will find all sort of foreigner living here, whether is in a luxury villas or in a small rented room. From the rich retiree to the broke and poor beach bum, are attracted with the easy going pace and balinese attitude toward life. Not mentioning, the "i don't care what you do as long as you don't bother me n leave me pray" of the balinese, kinda makes living in Bali so much easier, beacuse you don't have to worry about people telling how you should live your life.  

8. Cuisine from around the world, You can find russian food right next to a Padang restaurant, a Greek cafe across the street from the traditional English fish and chips, or Korean BBQ right behind Balinese babi guling (balinese suckling pig). Of course chinese, japanese and italian food is in every street corner.

9. The smell of incense, well....the balinese pray at least twice a day, where ever they are, at home or work place. So you will not miss the smell, even inside the crowded airport waiting room.

10. Bintang, in Indonesian word this means stars, in Bali, this means a cold and delicious beer. 
 
Now, if you are just on holiday, in addition of those things above, you probably will also see or hear:

1. Balinese traditional music, they play it every where, especially if you stay in big hotels, from the lobby to the restaurant.

2. "Hey boss!", also "Massage, wan dalla (one dollar), wan dalla!".............yes, you will hear this especially if you go to the popular beach such as Kuta and Legian. The "Hey, boss!" usually came from men try to offer you bike for rent or taxi or souvenirs, the "Massage, wan dalla (one dollar), wan dalla!" usually came from middle age women, offering a soothing massage by the beach or in of their little spa salon. Now, be careful in interpreting "one dollar", because it doesn't mean that their service or goods their selling cost only 1 USD or AUD, but that is merely a tag line to lure you, if you are interested in whatever they are selling, be sure to ask how much in rupiah. Few years ago, when me n hubby came to Bali as tourist, after getting sick and tired listening to the one dollar offers every time we stepped out of our hotel. So to turn the table around, my husband finally stopped at one of the little store selling sunglasses, since the seller always insisted that everything is one dollar. My husband chose one shade and said:"one dollar right? that means 10.000 rupiah (pointing the board from the money changer booth next door)". At first, the seller tried to explain that the shade cost 50.000 rupiah, but my husband gently and jokingly persist that one dollar is one dollar.....finally, the seller made a compromised, 15.000 rupiah.

So, if you think you have more to add the list.....please don't hesitate to tell me!

closet-phobic

Finally finished unpacking......so good to see the house is no longer cluttered by boxes. But as I enjoy my clean and neat home, I noticed that all of the closets, including the one in the guest room are full, mostly with my clothes, purses and belts.


And what about my baby and hubby's clothes you might ask......well.....all of my baby's clothes and stuffs fit into 2 medium size plastic drawers which i placed right next to his bathing station, to make it easier for me, when changing time comes. My husband's, well like most men, he doesn't really have to many clothes. His clothes only require 1/4 of the shared closet space, even that is too much space.


So again I sat down and started thinking why do I have so many clothes, purses and belts. Again? yes, again. Because every time we have move, I stared with amazement, how is it I can collect so many stuffs. And this time I realized I have more stuffs than ever.

Now, the ironic part is that I bought most of those in Riyadh, where in daily life, women must wear Abaya when going outside their house or compound. Abaya is a long over garment essentially a robe-like dress (wikipedia). So it doesn't matter what you wear inside, heck, you can even go naked and no one would know. But still, the sale sign was just to good to be ignored. And when they're having sale, they're having SALE.....I was so good at finding good bargain even a lot of the women who live there longer than me was amazed that I can find such a good bargain. For instance I found Next working shirt with beautiful ruffles on the chest only for 35 SAR (9 USD), or Express gold purse for 10 SAR (2,5 USD) or H&M dress pants for 24 SAR (6 USD). So with that kind of bargain, you might understand why it was hard for me not to buy them.

Of course I bought all of those before I have my baby, now a lot of the clothes especially the pants don't fit anymore, but I just can't bear being apart with them so quickly, hoping that after breast feeding, I can mustered enough discipline and will power to do exercises and healthy diet, so that I can fit in those pants again. And of course I also can't bear being parted from my Express faux leather jacket and my Charles & Keith black boots. Now in Indonesia, I don't need those two things but since I took me forever to find the right style and price for those items, I'm not planning to parted from them in the near future.

Looking at my closet, I realize that for every purchase I had some kind of "logical" explanation. From "I need it for my work" to "that would just be perfect to wear on a hot summer day by the beach". I'm sure I'm not the only one who did this.


So for all the ladies (or men) who have the same "problem" as me, give me a shout!





P.S. : Next time maybe I'll blog about my obsession with DVDs

Birthday celebration or competition?

About 2 weeks ago, there's a small article on the national papers about the big birthday bash thrown by a famous business man and his "singer" wife for their daughter's 1st birthday. The celebration was held in on of the 5 stars hotel in Jakarta, the rumor goes that they spent 1 billion rupiah (115.000 USD) for the party. After reading that for that party not only they ordered one of the expensive menu set, they also rented one whole floor of the hotel for families and friends to stay one night, i believe the rumor.

And the sad thing for me, is not that the fact the spent money that could feed a family for decades, but the fact that that news doesn't surprise me anymore. It doesn't mean that i condone this behavior and every time it happens i still wonder why on earth would they do that, but blowing big money for a party that the subject of the party doesn't even get to enjoy yet, is something more more common, here in Indonesia.

The news reminded me, few years ago my parent was invited for one year old birthday party, YES, you read it right for one year old! The invitation came under my parent name not under my nephew name even though he's also about the same age. The reason for the invite, the grandparent of the birthday boy is a friend of my parent, granted my parent don't really know the parent of the kid let alone the kid himself. The party was held in one of the five star hotel in Surabaya. Since my parent couldn't made it, so they sent me instead. As expected the party was a huge one, clowns on every corner of the hall, making balloon animals, juggling balls, doing magic tricks; a bouncy castle in the corner of the hall, never ending flow of food (the expensive menu not kiddy menu) and beverages, adults, including the parent of the boy, dress to the nine (yes, we are still at one yrs old bday party), gift piling high to the roof (literally) on the other corner of the hall, a 1 meter birthday cake on the other corner. The medieval theme decoration was stunningly beautiful. Every guest was given a big desk clock as a thank you gift. So was the little boy enjoying the party?....No one really knew...he was, accompanied by the nanny, asleep from the start of the party till almost the end, at his miniature "throne" on the stage. I didn't even know the kid name, not while i was in the party and not now. So the question is who's the party for? the kid or the parent?

As the question popped in my head, my 3 yrs old nephew, coming home from his pre-kiddie school, came in the house and immediately showed me his new t-shirt, lunch box set and a mug, each has some kind of name and a photo print on them. I asked where did he get them. He said it was a tq gift from one of his classmate. Turn out that one his classmate, a girl, was celebrating her 4th bday at the school. At first i wasn't very surprise, seeing all the goodies that she's given, because its customary here in Indonesia. When you are having a birthday party for your kids, the tq gift usually are personalize with the name of the birthday girl or boy. Even the simple goodies bag, which usually filled wit candies and snacks, has their name on them. But the different this time is that each of the t-shirt has the birthday girl name on the front, and on the back is personalize more with the recipient name. Also when i saw the lunch box set, i can see that it was not your dollar store set, it was the expensive ones. And of course since the bday girl's parent already spent a lot of money for her bday, you have to know her face, so they put her photo on the mug.

I wonder by the time all of those kids hit 5 yrs old what would they remember from this, will they remember that their parent spent a lot of money and probably time for they bday party? And if the parent already give such a lavish party when their were young, what kind of party would they asked when they hit 17 (in Indonesia we celebrate sweet seventeen not sixteen)?

I also remembered reading blogs from mommies, complaining that throwing a birthday party is longer as simple as, getting a cake, put up some balloon and cute pictures. It has become a big competition. It's hard not to, even if as a mom you can ignored how expensive or lavish the other kids parties are, but your kid might not. Imagine the kid in your son class who just happened to have his birthday 3 day before him, got a great party, complete with petting zoo, clowns, bouncy castle, magician and even a live professional singer, what do you think your son gonna say when you told him:" for this year birthday, you can invite all of your classmates, and well have a cake, some chicken nuggets and cupcakes."

Well, i just hope i can teach my son to be wise enough, that it's not the party or the cake that matters, it's the love of the people around him that's most important.




 

Children Learn What They Live

Children Learn What They Live
By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
 

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
 

If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
 

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
 

If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
 

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
 

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
 

If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
 

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
 

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
 

If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
 

If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
 

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
 

If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
 

If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
 

If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
 

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Comfort Food

What is comfort food?

For me, comfort food is food that makes you feel good, safe, comfortable, happy and homey.

There are several food in my life that I consider as comfort food.  My mum chicken and pork steam rice is perfect after a hard day at the school or at the office, the rice reminds me that no matter how bad everything is I can always count on my mother's love.

When my body doesn't feel so good or it's midnite and i;m hungry, my hubby's warm sweet oatmeal makes me feel his hugs and love.

There are some other food but I think for now thats enough......so tell me, share with me: What Is Your Comfort Food???

Kacamata Kuda

Hari senin kemaren saya kebetulan mesti pulang kampung buat ngurus beberapa surat. Gak sengaja saya memperhatikan Delman, yang masi di pake di kota2 kecil di tempat saya sbg alat transport. Saya sempet merasa kasian ama kuda nya krn kacamata yg di pasangin di samping masing2 mata kuda tsb jadi bikin ribet, sampe kepala nya kudu miring2 biar bisa liat. Tapi saya jg mengerti kalo gak di kasi kacamata maka kuda itu bakal mudah terpecah perhatiannya, yg notabene bisa bikin semua yg ada di delman terancam bahaya.
Saya jadi inget omongan salah satu guru SD saya, dia bilang "Kalian nanti kalo udah gede jgn pasang kacamata kuda di hati dan pikiran kalian, buka pikiran dan hati!" Pertama kali denger cuman melongo krn gak ngerti. Skr saya jd ngerti apa yg di maksud dr kalimat itu. Karena byk org yg memasang "kacamata kuda" ke diri nya sendiri, dng membiarkan diri nya berpikiran sempit dan menolak mentah2 pendapat org lain yg berbeda dgn pikirinannya. Ada jg org2 yg membiarkan dirinya di kasi kacamata kuda oleh negara dan lingkungan. Contoh org2 yg dikasi kacamata kuda oleh negara adl org2 Korea Utara yg menolak mentah2 pemikiran2 lain selain dr Presidennya.

So temen2 mau pilih yg mana?

Words of Wisdom???

1. Ir. Soekarno, Indonesia first president : In a revolution, a father taking his own son life is normal

 

2. Soeharto, Indonesia second president : Whoever try to defy me, will be beaten.

 

3. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), Indonesia fourth president : I'm waiting for the action of the government, and if they meddle to much in people's affair, then we have no choice but to encourage people not to vote anymore. 

 

4. Megawati Soekarnoputri, Indonesia fifth president : The Prophet is a leader and he didnt have a university degree.

 

5. Mark Twain, writer : I don't like fighting, so i have an enemy, i will forgive him, and then take him to a very quiet spot and then kill him.

 

6. Ann Landers,columnis : One in every four people is having a mental problem, so if you know 3 people who are sane, it could only means that you are the one with mental problem.

 

7. Zsa Zsa Gabor, Actress : I'm a great house keeper, everytime i left a man i got to keep his house.

 

8. Henry Ford, Ford Motor owner : Thinking is the hardert job in the world, that's why very few people are willing to use their brains.

 

9. Alexander Dumas the Younger, Businessman : Doing business? its very easy, just use other people's money. 

 

10. Angie Dickinson, Actress : I put on clothes for women to see, and take them of for men to see.

 

11. Albert Einstein, Scientist : Understanding taxes are the harderst thing to do in the world.

 

12. Samuel Goldwyn, Movie Producer : I don't like having "Yes-man" around me. I want people to tell me the truth, of course i have to fire them after that. We paid to much for them, and unfortunately they deserve it.

 

13. Roberto Goizueta, Coca Cola CEO : Our enemies are coffee, milk, tea and water.

 

14. John Paul Getty, Billionaire : If you owe the bank 100 dollar, you'll have a headache. But if you owe the bank 100 million dollar, its bank that will have the headache.

 

15. Herbert Hoover, 31st US president : Rejoice my fellow young generation, because it's you that have to pay the country's debt.

 

16. AnatoleFrance, Penulis :Buku sejarah yang tidak mengandung kebohongan pastilah sangat membosankan.

 

17. Woody Allen,Sutradara Film :Ternyata bertemu penjual asuransi jiwa adalah lebih buruk daripada kematian itu sendiri.

 

18. T.S. Eliot,Penulis :Pemulis yang masih muda, meniru. Penulis yang sudah berpengalaman, mencuri ide.

 

19. Agatha Christie, Novelis Misteri :Kolektor barang antik adalah suami yang paling baik, karena semakin tua istrinya, semakin ia mencintainya.

 

20. Alfred Hitchcock, Sutradara Film Misteri :Saya tidak pernah bilang bahwa para aktor adalah sapi. Saya hanya bilang mereka harus diperlakukan seperti sapi.

 

21. Alan King, Comedian : If you want to read books about love and sex, then you have to read to different books.

 

22. AnatoleFrance, writer : Don't ever lend your books if you still want to own them. The books in my library all came from other people's library.

 

23. Voltaire, Filoshopher : When talking about money, everybody share the same religion.

 

24. D.H. Lawrence, Poet : From work we have money, from money we have more money, from more money we have fierce competition, from fierce competition we have the world that we are living noe.

 

25. Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th US president : When 2 people constantly agreeing in everything, it means only one of them is thinking.

 

26. Robert Neville, Actor : Living with a saint is more tiring than being a saint itself.

 

27. Charles de Gaulle, France first president : Politician never trust their own words, that why they always look surprise when people trust their words.

Gomi Shopping

Tinggal di developed country macam Korsel, Jepang, negara2 Eropa, kadang sering bikin dompet bokek dng cpt, krn harga2 biasanya berlipat2 dr developing country macam Indonesia, China, dll. Harga2 yg mahal di karenakan tingginya ongkos tenaga kerja shg ongkos produksi nya jd jadi ikut tinggi.

Nah krn ongkos tenaga kerja tinggi, seringnya memperbaiki barang lebih mahal drpd beli baru………fenomena ini lah yg mau saya bahas diblog kali ini. Saya mau tulis tentang Gomi Shopping.

Gomi adl bhs Jepangnya buat sampah. Istilah gomi shopping di ciptakan oleh org2 asing yg tinggal di Jepang di awal tahun 90an saat Jepang lg on top of the world. Selain tinggi nya ongkos tenaga kerja, ekonomi yg lg booming dan jg budaya dimana mereka merasa second hand goods itu kotor dan tidak suci lg. Semua hal itu jd bikin org Jepang gampang bgt buang barang. Hubby cerita, pertama kali dia tinggal di Jepang 80% barang di apt nya adalah hasil gomi shopping, dia bahkan berulang kali nemu barang2 yg masi baru gres, misal dia pernah nemu toaster oven yg masi gres di kotaknya yg dibuang ama pemiliknya krn ada goresan kecil di permukaan oven, blum lg lemari2 baju gede, sepeda, bahkan sekali waktu hubby nemu kulkas yg masi ok cuman agak kotor dikit.

Dulu ketika masi dating, kalo hubby cerita soal gomi shopping saya cuman bisa manggut2 sambil mencoba membayangkan. Skr tinggal di salah satu developed country, saya mengalami sendiri. Awalnya ketika lg buang sampah di TPA kompleks gak sengaja liat spring bed ukuran queen size yg masi mulus di buang oleh salah satu penghuni apt yg lg mau pindah. Saya cuman melongo, lgs pulang manggil suami n jg ambil center krn itu udah mlm. Tyt di TPA ada macem2 barang mulai dr spring bed, kursi sofa, speaker set gede yg biasanya di pake di tempat karaoke, barang2 dapur, jaket2 n baju2. Lgs deh dgn center di tangan dan semangat 45, kita berdua bongkar n liat barang yang bisa kita pake lg. Aduh kalo gak inget kalo apt sempit mungkin semua barang udah kita angkut abis.........

Gimana gak melongo stl kita cek tyt spring bed yg dibuang itu masi bagus......inget di rumah dulu pas kecil krn ortu blum ada duit kita pake kasur busa yg selalu anjlok stl bbrp bulan, trus liat speaker gede itu jg inget dulu di KMK kalo mau ada acara kudu minjem sound system kanan kiri, trus nemu baju2 yg masi bagus2 jd inget pembantu dirumah yg kalo dikasi baju bekas mama senengnya minta ampun...ini baju masi keren2 kotor aja gak di buang........aduh pgn rasanya ambil semua trus kirim ke Indonesia. Blum lg lemari2 baju mulai yg dr plastik smp yg dr kayu. Gemes abis.......saya smp ngomong ke hubby....Tuhan itu maha adil deh.....soalnya kalo kita berdua tinggal di rumah gede kyk di Sby pasti semua barang itu kita angkut deh.....yah krn apt cuman seuprit jg kudu bener2 milih.

Akhirnya stl milih dgn stg mati dan dgn gak rela, kita pulang dgn 2 jaket, meja rias, cup keramik guede buat tempat bolpen (foto), beberapa keranjang rotan buat naruh buah. Dgn bener2 hati gak rela kita kudu ninggal kursi sofa yg masi bagus n spring bed nya.....hiks hiks.........

Not a romantic girl???????

Kemaren tiba2 jadwal ngajar suami yg biasanya penuh dr jam 9 pagi - 3 sore tiba2 di potong, guru2 nya pada mau ngerayain Natal jd jam 11 siang semua kelas di tiadakan. Kami berdua mutusin drpd merana xmas eve di rumah kita jalan2 ke kota. Mungkin nonton film ato dinner di resto.

So eniwei, pas jalan2 hubby tiba2 nunjukin ke toko bunga, n bilang," do u want some flowers for xmas?", trus hubby lgs ngomong lg,"oops, i forgot u ar a pratical girl, u probably rather buy cake than flowers.".....he he he he ketaun deh........

Jadi inget dulu pas masi pacaran, tahun pertama pacaran pas ultah hubby kasi buket mawar gede buat kado.......Happyyy banget...seumur2 gak ada yg pernah kasi bunga gede gitu, gak tau kenapa mungkin hubby bisa baca raut muka krn saya gak ngomong apa2, soalnya pas birthday dinner dia nanya lg," I think u like d flowers i gave u but u rather have something else, arent u?".  Yah jd gak enak ati.......tp hubby bilang dia gak marah, cuman dia pgn aku seneng jd dia pgn kasi kado yg tepat. So aku bilang kalo bisa milih mungkin aku mending di beliin cake yg paling enak ato di traktir steak yg paling juicy.

Pas cerita ke roommate, dia lgs mencerca abis bilang kalo aku ini anti romantis ..........................weks.....really?????????? Dia lgs aja kasi bukti2, saya milih makanan drpd bunga, saya gak suka film2 komedi romantis, saya gak percaya love at first sight......wah........jd mikir nich apa bener saya ini anti romantis

Dulu pas kecil kalo liat film2 drama romantis dimana lakon cowoknya mendtgi lakon cewek dng seikat bunga, pgn jg.....tp stl dewasa jd lebih praktis, ngerasa kalo romantisme lebih dr kasi bunga. Byk hal yg bisa di kategorikan sbg romantis......dan mungkin saya gak masuk ke salah satu kategori umum romantis............

My Little Tiger

Kemaren nemu pengganti Amao, kucing tercinta yg meninggal. Nemu nya jg gak sengaja.
Jd ceritanya berawal dr minggu malem, di apt mini kami tjd kegaduhan krn sumbat bath tub tau2 ngilang.......kita berdua bingun abis, sampe bongkar kolong ranjang, akhirnya stl 2 jam nyari kita nyerah n mutusin buat beli baru. Nyoba nyari di supermarket deket apt, mereka gak jualan, terpaksa deh senin pagi kudu naik bis ke desa. Tyt sedesa gak ada yg jual, terpaksa lagi ke desa sebelah, dimana ada supermarket yg lebih gede, krn desa sebelah populasi nya lebih byk. Stl beli sumbat plus sekalian blanja mingguan, saya mutusin buat pulang .  Dr supermarket ke halte bus kira-kira 500 M, biasanya biar cepet saya jalan lgs di sbl jalan rayanya, tp kemaren saya mutusin mau pulang lewat kompleks apt dkt supermarket, agak muter sich tp di kompleks mobil jarang lewat n rimbun krn byk pohon.

Lagi enak2nya jalan tau2 denger meow di semak2, pas saya liat tyt kucing yg berjalan pincang n meow dgn ketakutan, dan pas saya angkat ketauan kalo kucing ini kucing rumahan, krn bulu nya yg mulus meski agak kotor n jg kucing ini adl kucing cowok yg udah "netral", jg pas saya deketin dia gak lari ketakutan ato mencoba menggigit. Saya mutusin bawa pulang , n krn kalo naik bis gak boleh bawa binatang terpaksa hrs naik taksi.

Smp rumah lgs saya kasi nama si kucing, Tiger, gak tau kenapa kyk nya kok sreg aja nama itu. Si Tiger ini bener2 takut ditinggal sendiri, kalo saya ke kamar mandi dia ikut n nunggu di dpn kamar mandi, kedapur dia jg ikut trus duduk di pojok dapur nunggu saya selesai masak. Kasian bgt nich kucing, kyknya dia di buang ama pemilik sebelumnya. Dan krn dia kucing rumahan dia gak tau gimana caranya survive di luar.

So for now my home have a new member.

Korean Trip (part 3)

Drpada ngangur nunggu jemputan makan siang, saya jalan2 di sekitar Imgigak hill. Meskipun pake kata hill, jgn di bayangin kalo tmp ini kyk bukit yg rindang yg besar, tmp ini cuman dataran yg agak tinggi dikit. Disini ada Freedom Bridge yg lgs nyambung ke rel kereta yg menghubkan Korsel n Korut. Jembatan kayu kecil ini di beri nama Freedom Bridge krn stl perang korea, 2 belah pihak saling bertukar tawanan perang di jembatan ini, jg di masa lalu byk pengungsi Korut yg lari lewat sungai Imjin masuk lwt jembatan ini. Jembatan ini mirip bgt ama jembatan yg di pake di film 007 Die Another Day, pas si koko Pierce di lepasin balik ke korsel. Sayang skr jembatan ini cuman sbg tempat atraksi turis doank, ujung jembatan di tutup papan kayu tebel, dan org2 menempelkan foto2 kluarga dan doa2 bagi mereka yg tertinggal di Korut, jg ada foto2 21 pekerja Red Cross International dr Jepang yg di culik Korut di tahun 70an.


Kira2 jam 1 an, jemputan akhirnya dtg jg, agak bikin bingung krn bis, guide and group tur nya ganti.  Stl makan siang guide yg baru akhirnya menjelaskan knp kok pd ganti semua. Ganti grup tour krn gak semua org ambil paket yg sama, kebetulan saya ambil paket lengkap (booo kyk beli ayam di KFC aja), yg berarti saya bisa liat semua tmp, ada bbrp yg cuman ikut smp imjigak aja, ada yg cuman ikut buat Panmunjom aja. Trus ganti bis n ganti guide, krn abis lunch kita bakal ke Panmunjom (JSA) dimana gak sembarang org korsel boleh masuk sana, yg boleh cuman tentara yg memang di tugaskan buat jaga perbatasan, guide yg sudah di beri ijin, bahkan pejabat pemerintah aja cuma bisa masuk kalo dpt ijin dr president. Bahkan nanti smp di sana supir nya gak boleh masuk camp, supir dan bis menunggu di tmp parkir di luar camp, dan semua turis n guide bakal naik bis punyanya JSA.

Di bis si guide jelasin lagi peraturan2 yg tertulis di brosur tour. Salah satu nya adalah peraturan soal pakaian, di brosur tertulis turis di larang pake pakaian jeans sobek2, tank top, celana pendek, celana ketat, baju transparan, baju yg terlalu ketat, baju yg mirip2 militer, sandal yg terbuka. Pas baca brosur pertama kali saya udah yg mengerut dahi....weleh kok kyk mau ketemu pejabat aja....tyt ada alasannya larangan soal baju2 itu dikarenakan di masa lalu turis2 yg pake baju2 diatas biasanya bakal di foto ama pihak korut trus di pake buat proganda di negara nya dgn bilang: " Tuch liat org2 di luar korut tuch miskin2 baju nya aja gak lengkap n gak keruan!" WHAT? weleh bgt sich pemerintah Korut ini......Trus yg soal gak boleh pake sandal terbuka apalg sandal jepit, ini di karenakan kalo ada apa2 entar susah larinya and gak boleh nunjuk ato melambaikan tangan di depan tentara2 Korut nanti dianggap sbg provokasi.....HEI???? begitu denger penjelasan ini kita2 lgs tegang......mulai deh dalam hati doa2 sendiri....... Begitu smp JSA camp kita kudu nunggu salah satu tentara JSA buat recheck passport, yg masuk adl tentara dr US yg masi muda bgt.....lumayan cakep sich cuman muka nya dingin bgt waiks.......

Stl cek lancar kita semua pada pindah bis, begitu duduk lgs di warning ama guide, kalo jgn sembarang foto, kudu nunggu di guide kasi ijin baru boleh foto2....wehhhhhhhhhhhh ketatnya........

Pertama kali berhenti di theathre room buat tanda tangan pernyataan kalo sesuatu terjadi ama kita2 JSA dan pemerintah Korsel tidak bertg jawab lagi........HAH??? waduh kyk tanda tangan surat wasiat deh..... doa2 nya tambah kenceng......... stl tanda tangan di liatin film pendek ttg sejarah JSA dan panmunjom, agak bosenin sich abis cuman ngulang yg udah ada di brosur. Abis dr sini kita ke Freedom House.

Freedom House adl gedung bertingkat 4 yg lokasi nya pas di blk  Conference Room yg membagi korea menjadi 2, gedung ini dinamakan Freedom House krn jk ada pembelot ato pengungsi dr Korut, mereka bakal di tampung disini, sambil menunggu surat2 dan di cek apakah mereka bener2 pengungsi bukan mata2.  Disini begitu turun kita lgs disuru baris 2  org, n dilarang keras memfoto gedungnya, kita digiring ke lt 2 sebuah pagoda terbuka, dimana pagoda ini menhadap ke arah Korut, disini kita boleh dgn bebas foto2 pihak korut tp gak boleh foto pihak korsel. Kita jg liat kalo pihak Korut jg foto kita2 n trus mengawasi kita pake teropong. Disini Guide mengingatkan kita, kalo pas deket ama ato ngelihat tentar Korut, jgn ajak ngomong, tersenyum pun dilarang, krn nanti bos si tentara menganggap si tentara mengirim pesan rahasia ke kita, dan dia jg kluarganya bisa2 di kirim ke kamp penyiksaan.....waiks....gak abis2 bikin tegang nich tempat...

Stl dr pagoda, kita di giring lagi ke Conference Room, yg sering di gunakan 2 belah pihak utk menanda tangani berbagai dokumen perjanjian damai. Di dlm ruangan ada meja persegi empang panjang yg di tempatkan pas di atas perbatasan, di satu sisi merupakan sisi Korut di sisi lain punya Korsel. Utk membedakan sisi yg mana, meja di bagi memakai bendera kecil dan kabel mikrofon. Disalah satu ujung meja, di jaga ama satu tentara JSA, sekali lagi si guide lgs warning, kita gak boleh ajak ngomong, pegang2 ato godain si penjaga, n gak boleh jalan di depan ato di belakang dia, masi untung boleh di foto.  Setiap hari sekali pintu di bagian Korut akan di cek apakah masi terkunci, yg mengecek adalah 2 org tentara penjaga, satu buat cek pintu dan yg lain memegang tangan si pengecek pintu, hal ini di lakukan krn di masa lalu ada bbrp kejadian si pengecek pintu hampir saja di tarik tiba2 dr oleh pihak Korut.

Dari jendela Conference Room, kita bisa liat beton panjang yg memisahkan 2 saudara......... Di satu sisi bisa liat tentara JSA, tp WAIT...tentara Korut nya kok ilang...... tyt kalo ada turis, tentara2 Korut lgs di tarik, krn mereka gak mau tentara nya di foto.

Abis dr Conference Room, kita diajak ke Obsevatory Post, dimana kita bisa melihat bbrp pos penjaga Korut yg lain2 dan jg liat bendera Korut yg gede n tinggi bgt.

Dr sini kita di ajak ke Bridge of No Return, dimana stl perang selesai para tawanan perang dr 2 belah pihak di perbolehkan utk memilih mau ikut yg mana, dan stl itu mereka tidak bisa kembali lg. Sayang krn pas saya kesana keadaan politik lg panas jd kita2 gak boleh turun dr bis, cuman boleh foto2 dr dlm bis.

Smp di tempat parkir kita dpt 20 menit bebas buat blanja di toko souvenir JSA, lumayan nyempetin buat beli gantungan kunci n kaosnya. Stl itu back to Seoul...........

Korean Trip (part 2)

Dora Mount Station, spt di blog sbl nya adl stasiun korsel yg paling utara, istilahnya the last frontier. Stasiunnya modern bgt, gimana enggak, ini khan stasiun yg  memfasilitasasi 2 negara.

Di stasiun ini jg ada peta rel kereta yg di rencanakan akan menyatukan eropa dan asia timur, dimana kereta akan berawal dr Busan,  melewati Rusia dan berakhir di eropa, dinamai Eurosia railway. Tapi sayang ketika rel kereta ini selesai di bgn smp di korut, pihak korut dgn liciknya memutuskan kontrak, padahal rel kereta itu semuanya di biayai korsel. Rel kereta ini jg yg masi di pakai oleh pihak China utk mengangkut barang ke korut, dan jg kalo ada turis yg nekat mau mengunjungi Korut hrs lewat Beijing trus naik kereta yg melewati rel ini.

Pas saya mengunjungi stasiun Dora Mount, stasiun masi blum beroperasi krn 2 bulan sblnya korut menutup semua perbatasan dgn korsel, dng alasan korsel tidak menghormati korut krn membiarkan bbrp org nya mengirim balon2 yg berisi uang korut n foto2 korsel. Bbrp hari yg lalu perbatasan baru di buka lg.


Di sebelah stasiun, terdpt gerbang tol yg menghubungkan 2 negara, yg boleh lewat situ hanya org2 korsel yg bekerja di korut dan truk2 yg mengangkut bahan2 mentah spt minyak. Sebagian besar truk2 tersebut menuju ke Kaesong industrial region, 10 Km dr DMZ. Kaesong adl kota industri yg di bangun oleh Hyundai, konglomerat dunia pemilik Hyundai Corp. Di Kaesong terdapat 72 pabrik dr korsel yg memperkerjakan lebih dr 300 rb penduduk korut. Ide utk membuat Kaesong Industrial Region awalnya adl utk membantu penduduk korut agar lebih bisa mandiri scr ekonomi, hal ini di dasari dr si Mr. Hyundaii yg tyt berasal dr korut dan dia ingin melihat korut sbg negara yg gak cuman bisa bikin senjata nuklir. Mr. Hyundai ini jg pernah nyumbang 10,000 sapi ke Korut di th 80 an utk membantu wabah kelaparan.

Stl selesai dr stasiun Dora Mount, kita di giring ke Imjigak hill buat nunggu bis lain yg bakal angkut kita ke tmp makan siang.

To be continued.......

My Korean trip (part 1)

Januari stl hubby dpt libur semesteran, kita mutusin buat travelling, pertama2 pgn ke Bali ato ke Thailand cari yg anget2, tp stl diitung2 mahal di ongkos psw nya. Akhirnya kita mutusin ke Seoul aja, lebih deket n lebih murah.

Stl nitipin si Tiger ke klinik hewan, kita ke Masan train station. Ada 2 pilihan kereta, naik KTX (kereta super cepat yg diimport dr pabrik nya CGV di prancis) cuman 5 jam, cuman kudu pindah kereta di kota Miryang, 2 jam dr Masan. Ato naik kereta yg lambat tp gak pake ganti, smp Seoul 6 jam. Hubby bilang mending naik yg lambat aja krn CGV meskipun cepet tp jarak antar kuris pendek bgt, smp2 susah buat nekuk kaki, lagian harga kreta lambat lebih murah 50%, n stl di pikir2 cuman beda 1 jam. Yah akhirnya mutusin naik kreta lambat, toch gak buru2 n krn lg liburan kita milih yg lebih comfy. Jam 10.37, kreta dtg pas tepat waktu, n kita lgs naik krn kreta cuman berhenti 2 menit. Begitu duduk lgs bongkar bontotan, air minum, orange juice buat hubby, susu coklat buat saya n beberapa onigiri (nasi kepal) isi kimchi (whatelse!). N lgs deh cari kereta makan.....weleh kreta nya bikin iri n sekaligus bikin sedih. Bikin iri krn di kereta makan ada 2 booth buat karaoke tinggal masukin 1000 won bisa karaoke selama 15 menit, sayang semua lagu korea, trus ada booth pijet, didlmnya ada kursi pijet 15 menit jg 1000 won, kalo bosen ada 5 komputer buat internetan, tinggal masukin koin 500 won, bisa ngenet selama 15 menit. Nah yg bikin sedih makanannya cuman snack, kopi, teh, soft drink, beer n soju, ada juga nasi kari ayam n bibimbab cuman sayang nya semua ini bukan fresh, tp microwave food......sigh......jd rindu kreta di indonesia, yg tiap bbrp menit pasti aja yg jualan es teh, es jeruk manis, nasi goreng, nasi pecel, wingko babat, pisang, teh botol sostro....hiks hiks...yah untunglah udah siap sedia. Kalo di pikir2 Korsel itu kecil jg ya dr ujung selatan sampe ke ujung utara cuman 6 jam naik kereta.



Sampe Seoul Station stg lima sore,  untunglah hotel yg udah kita booking deket ama Seoul Station, tinggal jalan 15 menit, hotel nya agak masuk di gang.  Hotel yg kita booking, aslinya backpackers hotel, nama nya aja Seoul Backpacker, asik jg ada kulkas n microwave communal, tp kamar mandi masi pribadi, n spt sebagian besar rumah n apt di Korea, pemanasnya di pasang di lantai. Ok...stl naruh barang2 di kamar, mulai laper deh waktu nya cari makan. Stl nanya2 ama resepsionis hotel, di kasi tau tyt di depan gang, tinggal nyebrang jalan gede, lgs ke pasar Namdaemun, pasar grosir paling terkenal di Seoul. Pasar ini kyk pasar Turi jual macem2, termasuk tas, baju, kacamata n aksesoris tembakan, sebagian besar tokonya tutup jam 6 sore, abis itu jalan pasar di tutup buat kendaraan n jadi pasar malem. Begitu jalan masuk ke pasar lgs ketemu warung2 yg jualan BBQ seafood n daging.  Nemu warung yg cocok, krn yg jualan ramah abis, bahkan bantuin liat peta n nunjukin tempat2 yg asik. Pesen belut masak pedes, pancake daun bawang, n mihun goreng, rasa nya not bad, sayang mereka cuman bisa bikin rasa pedes, gak bisa yg lain. Abis makan jalan2 dikit liat2 pasar malemnya, yg di penuhin ama turis jepang, tyt sejak tahun lalu Won nilainya jatuh, apalg di bandingin ama Yen Jepang, belanja di korsel jd jauh lebih murah di bandingin di Jepang sendiri, itu pun termasuk ongkos psw n hotel. Bahkan turis dr HK jd meningkat krn barang2 yg biasanya lebih murah di HK, skr kalah murah ama korsel stl Won jatuh nilai nya. Krn besok nya kudu bangun pagi2 buat ikut DMZ tur, kita mutusin pulang ke hotel.

Hari kedua, bangun jam 6 pagi krn jam 8 tur ke DMZ brkt dr Lotte Hotel, dan jam stg 8 kudu kumpul dulu buat briefing n cek passport. DMZ adalah area perbatasan Korsel n Korut dimana di dlm 4 km area tidak boleh ada satu org pun dr kedua negara yg berhak utk menginjakan kaki alias 4 Km of no man lands. Lagian sebagian besar area tersebut di penuhi dgn ranjau darat.  Ikut tur ini jg gak gampang krn  pemegang passport dr negara2 ini: Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Moldova, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, China(Hong Kong, Macau), Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Taiwan, Tunisia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen; kudu kirim scan passport halaman foto ke DMZ tours website minim 3 hari sebelum hari tournya, biar bisa di confirm apa pemegang passport nya bener2 bukan  mata2.....yaiks.......dan cuman pemegang passport dr negara2 ini: USA, UK, Canada, Columbia, Yunani, Ethiopia, Prancis, Luxemburg, Belanda, Philipina, Thailand, New Zealand, Turkey, Afrika Selatan, Australia dan Belgia; yg boleh lgs ikut tanpa konfirmasi email. 16 negara ini adalah negara2 yg membantu korsel di perang korea th 1950. Ok....back to my travel story..........

Tyt Lotte hotel itu dkt bgt ama hotel tempat kita tinggal, naik taksi cuman 10 menit. jd smp sana saya masi kepagian, tyt petugas nya udah siap dan menunggu, lgs deh passport di cocokin ama daftar nya ama seklian bayar, krn ikut tur yg full 1 hari, jd fee nya 120,000 KRW, udah termasuk makan siang. Jam 7.35 bis nya smp di depan hotel, drpd bosen nunggu di lobby hotel, lgs aja naik ke bis sekalian liat2 sapa aja yg ikut tur, waiks....tyt dr 35 org yg daftar 31 nya turis jepang.....walah minoritas deh...untung masi ada temen sesama turis yg non jepang, pasangan chinese canadian n bisnismen dr London, lumayan ada temen ngobrol drpd BT dengerin guide nya ngoceh bhs jepang, n tyt jg kita2 yg ngomong inggris dpt guide sendiri.....untunglah......
DMZ bagian korsel berada di daerah yg bernama Panmunjeon. Panmunjeon bener nya deket bgt ama Seoul, cuman 60 Km dr Seoul. Maka nya dulu pas perang Korea, Korut gampang bgt ambil alih Seoul. Ok......sepanjang perjalanan guide jepang ngoceh trus tanpa titik tanpa koma.....lama2 kita2 turis berbhs inggris jd pgn tau jg, apa aja sich yg jelasin smp segitu nya, ngerasa kita mulai ribet guide inggris kita akhirnya ikutan berdiri trus jelasin kalo guide jepang itu cuman ngulang penjelasan briefing n penjelasan brosur, kalo kita2 ada pertanyaan tinggal nanya dia aja. Wah ini pas bgt krn trus terang saya lebih tertarik pendapat org korsel sendiri mengenai korut, lgs aja nanya ke guide, apa dia benci org korut?, si guide dgn muka sedih bilang, dia gak benci org korut toch org korut n korsel adl sodara sedarah, nenek moyang mereka sama2 org sungai Han (sungai yg mengalir dr gunug Geumjang di  Korut, membelah kota Seoul jd 2 lalu mengalir smp ke Laut Kuning di China), sama2 berbahasa korea, suka kimchi n suka soju, yg dia benci adl pemerintah Korut. Wah....jd mikir gimana ya rasanya kalo misal Surabaya di bagi jd 2, trus kluarga n temen2 di sisi lain gak bisa saling mengunjungi hanya krn perbedaan pandangan politik...hiii...jd ngeri.... Stl guidenya ngomong gitu, kita2 jd diem sejenak mikir, baru mikir bentar kita tau2 lewat sisi sungai Han yg di pageri ama kawat berduri yg lumayan tinggi, jd pgn tau lg, si guide lgs jelasin kalo di musim dingin th 70an, ada 2 mata2 dr Korut yg mencoba nyelundup masuk lewat sungai Han, pake  alat2 scuba seadanya nyelam selama 12 jam sebelum akhirnya ketauannya n pas mau di tangkap, mencoba lari n akhir nya di tembak mati. Gluks.....padahal kita masi blum masuk area DMZ.....

Semakin deket ama area nya semakin sepi jalannya, tinggal bbrp truk2 gede n bis2 tur, 2 km sbl masuk ke gerbang DMZ tau2 si guide nunjukin  gerbang batu gede di kdua sisi jalan. Dia jelasin kalo itu adalah gerbang anti tank, dan di sekitar area DMZ ada 6-8 gerbang anti tank. Gerbang anti tank adl gerbang yg di lengkapi dgn sensor otomatis, jd kalo ada kendaraan yg berat nya segede tank ato lebih, gerbang tersebut lgs meledak buat ngeruntuhin semua batu yg ada, yg menunda masuk nya tank selama 45 menit, menurut itungan kalo emang ada invasi dr Korut gerbang2 tersebut bisa kasi waktu pihak Korsel buat evakuasi penduduk Seoul. Waduh bikin tambah nervous, mana si guide pake ngomong,: jgn kuatir bis kita jalannya bisa cepet kok jd kalo ada apa2 kita bisa cepetan lari. WAH......blum selesai kaget nya, kita sampe ke gerbang check point pertama, dimana kita kudu nunjukin passport ke tentara jaga, lalu nama kita di cocokin ama daftar yg udah di fax ke mereka, wah...kyk lewat imigrasi aja....check point ini pas di ujungnya jembatan Tongil, satu2 nya jembatan darat yg menhubungkan Korsel n Korut. Di depan check point ada poster gede ttg bahaya ranjau darat, pas mau foto lgs di larang ama guide krn peraturannya di larang foto fasilitas militer Korsel n masalahnya posternya nempel di barak tentara, yah sayang deh....Stl lewat jembatan kita mampir dulu ke Imjingak, buat mereka yg butuh ke kamar kecil n butuh beli snack. Stl 10 menit, kita brkt ke 3rd infiltration tunnel. Tyt stl perjanjian damai dan genjatan senjata, pihak Korut masi gatel buat ambil alih Korsel. Jadi sejak th 70an sampai th 90an, mereka diam2 bikin 4 trowongan bawah tanah buat jalan tentara2 Korut.  Salah satu trowongan tsb yg di buka buat umum adl trowongan nomer 3, dgn panjang 1,7 km, tinggi 1,95 m, dan lebar 2.1 m, di perkiraan trowongan ini bisa bikin 4000 tentara smp ke Seoul dlm waktu 5 jam...WOW...gile euy...untung ketaun duluan, kalo gak perang Korea lagi donk. Biar trowongan ini gak di pake buat invasi lg pihak Korsel blokir trowongan stl 450 M dr pintu masuk. Disini kita jg gak boleh foto2. Tyt di atas trowongan ada museum kecil, nunjukin barang2 eks perang yg di temuin di sekitar trowongan dan jg peta ke empat trowongan, yg paling menyentuh dr semua barang di museum itu adl poster gede yg nunjukin bpk tua nangis sambil megang kawat berduri nya DMZ.

Ceritanya spt byk org Korut yg lari ke Korsel, bapak ini jg ninggalin kluarga di Korut, tiap th dia ke DMZ dan menangis krn dia tau, smp akhir hayat nya dia gak bakal bisa liat kluarga nya lg. Ahh......again....S stupid political views deviding families n friends.

Dari trowongan kita ke Dora Mount Observatory, dimana kita bisa liat dr jauh, Kijungdong Propaganda Village, desa yg di bangun dgn tujuan propaganda, desa nya sendiri cuman gedung2 tinggi yg kosong melompong yg tinggal disana cuman beberapa tentara penjaga, didesa itu jg terdapat tiang bendera terbesar dan tertinggi di dunia.

Stl dr Dora Mount Observatory kita ke Dora mountain train station, statiun kereta paling akhir di korsel sebelum masuk ke Korut......

(To be continued)

Korean Food part 2

Akhirnya stl menunda2 slm bbrp minggu dpt inspirasi jg buat nulis. Benernya sich salah satu inspirasi nya stl 1 minggu cuman boleh makan yg lunak krn gusi masi penuh jahitan, kmrn dgn sukses jahitan di angkat dan dokter gigi nya yg manis n cantik, bilang " you can eat anything, just be careful when biting"....hooorrayyyy....

Makanan Korea yang paling terkenal selain kimchi yaitu Bulgogi alias BBQ, daging yg di BBQ biasanya adalah sapi dan babi. Dan spt kebanyakan negara Asia, org Korea memakan hampir semua bagian dr binatang, mulai dr daging sampai jerohannya. Daging yg sudah di potong lalu di panggang sebentar lalu di cocol dgn bumbu gochujang yg pedas lalu di taruh di selembar daun selada atau daun wijen mentah lalu dimakan bersama. Spt kita kalo makan ikan bakar dgn lalapannya. Biasanya jg di sediakan cabe hijau besar juga. Dimana biasanya sambil nunggu BBQ nya matang  cabe hijau yg di cocol dgn gochujang jd cemilannya. Kebetulan kemaren saya n hubby nyoba BBQ usus babi, dimana usus babi di potong lalu di lumuri saos pedas. Orang Korea jg sangat suka makan bawang putih, apalg dng BBQ, yg jg selalu di temani sup miso
.


Biasanya stl daging habis, kita di tanya apa mau pesan nasi putih. Nasi nya di campur dgn bumbu yg tersisa di atas panggangan atau kadang kita bisa pesan dimana mereka menyampur nya lgs di dapur, spt nasi goreng.

Selain BBQ, org Korea jg suka makan soup. Dimana soup bisa di bikin dr ikan, kerang, daging babi, daging sapi dan ayam. Biasanya campuran soup adalah kimchi ato ginseng atau hongzhou alias red date. Seperti org Indonesia mereka mencampur nasi putih dgn sup, spt kita kalo makan nasi soto ato nasi rawon.

Seafood jd termasuk makanan yg sangat di gemari di Korea, spt org Jepang mereka jg suka makan Sashimi, selain di makan dgn wasabi mereka jg memakannya dgn bumbu gochujang.

Jika Chinese terkenal dgn arak putihnya, Korea jg punya Soju.  Spt arak putih, Soju jg di buat dr beras yg di fermentasi dan distilasi.


Spt kita2 org Korea jg suka jajan. Salah satu jajan yg populer adalah Odeng, yg biasanya di buat dr tepung ikan yg dibuat menjadi lemabaran lalu di potong panjang2 dan di tusuk dgn tusukan sate, lalu di masak di dlm air kaldu ikan ato kaldu tulang, dan kaldunya bisa di minum gratis, apalg musim dingin gini, kaldu yg panas enak bgt buat angetin badan. Biasanya odeng di jual di warung2 kecil dan bisa di temukan di hampir setiap sudut jalan, warung odeng jg biasanya menjual sanck manis yg berbentuk ikan ato Taiyaki . Dan berisi cream atu kacang ijo tumbuk ato kacang merah.


ok ini dulu utk Korean food, to be continued stl ada info baru lg.......

Korean Food (part-1)

Benernya blog ini udah di rencanakan bbrp minggu yg lalu, but one thing lead to another...selalu tertunda.......
Ok so far ini yg bisa saya tulis soal Korean Food.........maklum masi baru 4 bulan disini....entar kalo udah agak  lama an, saya tambah lg info nya......

So.....kalo ngomong korean food yg pertama2 kudu di cover adalah...KIMCHI..........yap kimchi.......ini kudu bener2 di tulis dgn huruf gede krn hampir setiap makanan di makan dgn ato di masak dgn kimchi. Kimchi sendiri adalah side dish acar sayuran pedas, hampir semua sayuran di buat kimchi, yg paling populer adl sawi putih, daun bawang n timun. Bahan dasar nya, air garam, bawang, daun bawang, bubuk cabe, bubuk jahe, bawang bombay, anchovies, kadang di tambahan acar udang kecil. Wis pokoke klo makanan korea gak lengkap tanpa kimchi. Kimchi gak cuman jd side dish, jg di pake buat sup, gorengan. Kalo temen2 gak suka bau acar, teramat sangat di sarankan jgn makan makanan Korea ato visit Korea, krn dimana2 bau kimchi. Saking cinta nya ama kimchi, disini ada kulkas dng berbagai ukuran khusus kimchi, bahkan ada gift box buat ngado kimchi.  Smua ibu rt tau gimana bikin kimchi, mulai dr cara tradional yaitu pake guci keramik trus di pendem di dlm tanah ato pake kotak plastik trus di taruh di kulkas kimchi. Gak bisa ato gak mau bikin dewe ke supermarket ato toko sayur terdekat aja, mereka jualan home made kimchi ato kimchi buatan pabrik dng berbagai macam merek.  Tiap daerah dan kota punya ciri khas beda2 dlm bikin kimchi.  Ada yg dikasi ikan lokal yg cuman ada di satu daerah, ada yg di kasi buah spt apel ato jeruk biar tambah seger.

Makanan khas korea yg mudah di dpt dan mudah di bikin: Kimbab dan Bibimbab. Dua makanan ini termasuk korean fast food.

Kimbab (gimbab) adl sushi model korea, jg di kenal sbg korean fast food krn bikinnya mudah n cepet. Gim berarti nori ato rumput laut kering. Bab (bap) berarti nasi putih, apa aja yg ada tulisan bap, berarti ada nasi putihnya. Dibuat dr nasi yg udah di campur cuka, minyak wijen, n sedikit kecap asin, trus di gulung pake nori (rumpur laut kering). Dlm nya biasanya berisi acar lobak, telor dadar, akar Gobo, timun, wortel. Dagingnya bisa bervariasi mulai dr tuna, ham, bulgogi dan daging kepiting olahan.

Bibimbab arti nya nasi campur. Dibuat dgn nasi putih anget, timun, wortel, bayam ato bisa diganti dgn selada, irisan kimchi, cambah besar, telor ceplok 1/2 matang, spt nasi campur di Indonesia lauk dagingnya bisa macem, mulai dr daging sapi masak kecap asin, daging babi cacah yg di goreng garing, fillet ikan ato ayam fillet. Trus dikasi bumbu Gochujang ato pasta cabe.
Gochujang sendiri di buat dr bubuk cabe yg di campur dgn bubuk ketan dan semacam tauco lalu di taruh di dlm gentong tanah liat, trus di taruh di luar agar matahari bisa menfermentasi slm bertahun2.

Semua bahan bibimbab di taruh di dlm mangkok yg besar, ada beberapa daerah yg menggunakan mangkok tanah liat yg di panaskan, tp sebagian besar memakai mangkok stainless steel. Mangkok nya harus besar krn sbl di makan semua nya hrs di campur agar semua bahan n bumbu termasuk kuning telur yg stg matang,  nyampur dgn nasinya. Juga ada bibim guksu, yaitu bibim yg pake mie.

Seperti nasi campur dan nasi pecel yg selalu mudah di dpt hampir semua resto dan warung di Jawa timur. Kimbab dan bibimbab jg mudah di dpt di Korea, tinggal cari aja resto ato depot yg jendela dan pintu nya di buat dr kaca gede, trus semua menu dan harga makanannya di tempel di jendela kacanya scr vertikal. Trus yg punya dan yg masak adl 2-3 ibu2 stg baya. Selain 2 masakan td mereka jg selalu sedia ramyeon alias mie rebus pedes ala korea, dan kasye (katsu/cutlet) yaitu bistik goreng, biasanya di buat dr daging babi cacah ato fillet ayam ato fillet ikan yg di kasi tepung roti trus di goreng garing trus disiram bumbu asam manis, di sediakan dgn nasi anget, potongan nata de coco dan peach kalengan, irisan kol yg di siram thousand island. Biasanya di temani  semangkok sup miso yg anget....n gratis lg he hehe....

Tambahan info, kimbab, bibimbab, ramyen dan sosye sgt populer krn selain mudah dan cepat bikinnya, harganya jg hemat. Kimbab biasanya berkisar antara 1000-3500 won, tergantung isi dan dimana jualnya. Bibimbab berkisar antara 2000-5000 won, ramyeon 2500-5500 won dan kasye antara 3500-6500 won.

Well ini dulu utk part 1....to be continued deh!