Ngomong-ngomong tentang ngerumpi, aku lebih suka ngerumpi tentang orang-orang yang kusayangi karena kecenderunganku untuk selalu membicarakan tentang orang-orang yang kusayang. Kupikir banyak orang yang bisa mengerti akan hal ini. Misal: orang tua suka berbicara tentang anaknya, seseorang berbicara tentang kekasihnya, mungkin juga anak tentang orang tuanya, dll.
Tatkala aku kuliah di American Studies beberapa waktu lalu, tentu Julie hafal kebiasaanku bercerita tentang my loved one pada waktu itu. Sampai bosan kali dia ya? Hahahaha ... Tapi dia ga protes kok. She is very sweet. Kalau aku bercerita tentang Angie, dia akan bercerita tentang keponakan-keponakannya.
Sekarang kebetulan aku sedang tidak punya teman dekat untuk ngerumpi, kecuali Angie dan Abangku. Tiap hari aku bercerita tentang Abangku ke Angie, dan dia belum pernah protes, kecuali agak ngiri. Hahaha ... Aku juga tidak pernah protes kalau dia bercerita tentang teman-teman sekolahnya, cowo yang dia taksir, cowo yang naksir dia, gebetannya yang kakak kelasnya, guru-gurunya, dll. Malah kalau dia tidak sedang mood bercerita, aku ajak dia eating out, dan keluarlah cerita-cerita yang memenuhi batok kepalanya.
Kebutuhan untuk berbagi cerita tentang orang-orang yang kusayangi ini tentu saja terbantu dengan adanya media blog. Abangku pernah protes karena aku sering menyebutnya di blog. “Entar ada cowo (alias laki-laki deh, LOL) yang mau naksir kamu ga jadi karena dikira kamu ada apa-apanya dengan Abangmu,” protesnya. Huehehehe ...
Beberapa bulan lalu ketika Julie sedang berlibur ke Semarang, aku sempat mengunjunginya. Dan aku mengabarkan hal ini kepada Abang lewat sms.
Keesokan hari sewaktu chat dengan Abang, dia ‘menginterogasi’ku, “Kamu cerita apa aja ke Julie?”
“Ya macam-macamlah Bang, kan udah lama kita ga bertemu? Tentang Angie, her dad, our ex workplace, her new workplace and her new job, dll.”
“Pasti ngomongin tentang aku kan?” tuduhnya.
Wakakakakaka ...
“Ya mestilah Bang. Lha wong saat itu Abang kirim sms gitu kok ke aku?”
“Sudah kuduga. Kamu kan tipenya begitu, suka obral cerita. Look, sekarang kamu ga punya privacy lagi toh? Semua pembaca blogmu tahu tentang Abangmu!”
Huehehehehe ... “Emang salah? Kan ga papa toh?”
“But, tentu saja masih buanyak hal lagi yang tidak kuobral di blog, karena aku merasa tidak perlu menuliskannya.” Kataku lagi.
“Kamu tunjukin fotoku ga ke Julie?” selidiknya. Hahahahaha ...
“Engga lah, kan aku udah janji ke Abang ga akan simpan foto-foto Abang di MP? Kecuali kalau dia main ke rumah, akan kutunjukin foto Abang di desktop kali.” Hahahaha ...
Tapi, kayaknya dia ga percaya deh padaku. But, that was his own business. LOL.
Meanwhile ...
Aku tidak suka merumpi seperti orang-orang di infotainment itu, kayak kurang kerjaan aja. Mungkin juga karena aku tidak sayang para celebrities itu, so ngapain aku merumpiin mereka? Mau menikah di Mekkah kek, mau lempar-lemparan hape kek, emang gue pikirin? Kecuali membahas beberapa kasus dari suduh pandang feminist, mungkin akan kulakukan, tapi sangat jarang.
Aku masih pengen nulis lagi, tapi waktu memaksaku untuk segera siap-siap berangkat bekerja. Pablebuat?
Ciao.
PT56 14.23 300507
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Paradise Club 30 May 2007
Waktu menunjukkan pukul 07.07 tatkala aku menghenyakkan pantatku di atas bangku kesayanganku yang terletak di sebelah Timur kolam renang Paradise Club. Kukeluarkan cutie dari tas, juga dua buku yang berjudul “Melampaui Pluralisme” dan Jurnal Perempuan nomor 42 yang berjudul “Mengurai Kemiskinan”. Kuletakkan ketiganya di atas meja, sembari membetulkan letak earphone dan mengganti lagu di Media Player.
Setelah cutie nyala, aku mulai scribble di file diary. Baru menulis beberapa kalimat, aku menguap, ngantuk. LOL. Semalam aku beranjak ke tempat tidur sekitar pukul 23.30. bukan karena mengantuk, melainkan karena Angie merengekku untuk segera memadamkan lampu kamar. Dia ingin segera tertidur nyenyak untuk menggalang energi yang dia butuhkan hari ini. Bersama semua siswa kelas X SMA N3, Angie akan melakukan OUTBOUND. What the hell is that? Meskipun aku telah mendengar istilah yang sok asing ini beberapa kali, namun aku belum tahu secara pasti acara apa sajakah yang termasuk dalam OUTBOUND.
Tiba-tiba terdengar hentakan suara housemusic dari lantai dua gedung utama Paradise Club. Well, instruktur erobik telah datang, dan mulai bersiap-siap. Aku segera mematikan cutie, dan memasukkannya ke dalam tas kembali. What have I done with the two books? NOTHING. Huehehehe ...
****
Sesampai di lantai dua dan masuk ke ruang erobik, ternyata belum banyak orang yang ada di sana. Aku sempat ngobrol sejenak dengan seorang teman—yang karena sesuatu dan lain hal, sampai sekarang kita berdua saling belum pernah bertanya nama masing-masing. LOL. Kemudian kita berdua menempatkan diri, berdiri di barisan yang agak di depan. (FYI, ruang untuk erobik ini mungkin berukuran sekitar 10 x 25 m.)
Setelah mulai warming up, para member lain mulai berdatangan. Ada dua orang yang tiba-tiba saja berdiri di depanku, dan menempatkan dirinya di situ, tanpa mempedulikan jarak antara kita berdua. Memangnya kita berdiri sedang berbaris mengikuti upacara sehingga tidak mempedulikan jarak? Aku yakin kalau kita merentangkan tangan, tentu tangan kita akan bersentuhan. Apa yang akan terjadi kalau sudah mulai erobik? Apalagi kalau sudah sampai high impact? Bakal kita bertubrukan tentu saja.
Aku langsung merasa tidak nyaman. Satu hal yang selalu membuatku sebal kalau sedang mengikuti erobik. Aku selalu berusaha untuk berangkat pagi agar mendapatkan tempat yang agak di depan, (karena barisan paling depan seolah-olah telah ‘dikontrak’ mati oleh beberapa orang, yang sok merasa memiliki fitness centre tersebut LOL), karena aku sadar tubuhku yang mungil ini plus mata yang sudah tidak awas lagi (males banget kalau harus memakai kacamata tatkala erobik toh?) membuatku sering kehilangan konsentrasi kalau mendapatkan tempat yang agak di belakang. Namun ternyata semakin banyak orang yang merasa dirinya telah mengontrak barisan depan, sehingga meskipun mereka datang terlambat, mereka tetap saja dengan cueknya berdiri di depan. Dan kupikir kok kayak anak kecil amat masalah seperti ini membuatku dengan yang lain bertengkar. (Bagi seorang blogger sepertiku ini, mendingan menulis di blog ketimbang bertengkar dengan orang-orang yang seperti itu. Huehehehehe ...) Selain itu, aku ingat guyonanku dengan Abang, “Sing waras ngalah...” dan karena aku ingin mendapatkan julukan ‘sing waras” dari diri sendiri, wakakakaka ..., akhirnya aku diam saja, dan pelan-pelan beranjak agak ke belakang agar gerakanku lebih leluasa, meskipun beresiko tak bisa melihat gerakan sang instruktur dengan jelas karena terhalangi orang-orang lain.
Pagi tadi ternyata mood-ku memburuk dengan kejadian itu. Baru 20 menit berlalu, aku langsung kabur. Aku turun ke lantai satu dimana ada banyak alat untuk fitness. Syukurlah stationed bicycle yang kusukai (ada 3 stationed bicycles di ruang fitness lantai satu itu, dan yang paling kusukai terletak di sebelah kiri) sedang nganggur. Setelah meletakkan tas di sofa, mengambil buku Jurnal Perempuan no 42, dan handuk kecil, aku mulai cycling. Not bad, eh, berolahraga sembari membaca buku, ga perlu pakai kesel lagi karena harus berdesakan dengan orang lain. LOL. I did it for about 25 minutes, dan menyelesaikan membaca dua artikel “Pemberdayaan Hukum Perempuan untuk Melawan Kemiskinan” tulisan Dewi Novirianti dan “Kemiskinan dan ‘Janji Surga’ bagi Perempuan Sasak” tulisan Makinuddin.
Aku masih duduk di atas stationed bicycle, sedang mengelap keringat dengan handuk kecil, tatkala seorang teman erobik turun ke bawah, dan mendekatiku.
“Kamu perhatikan ga tadi? Setelah ngilang selama beberapa hari, dia hari ini datang memakai serenteng gelang emas yang besar-besar. Gila kan?”
“Bagus dong. Berarti bayarannya besar kan? Dapat kakap kali?” komentarku.
“Tapi warna keemasannya mencurigakan tuh, emas beneran atau cuma kuningan?” sambungnya.
“Ya gapapa lah...” jawabku.
“Kamu jangan mau kalah dong Na? Kamu kan lebih cantik, muda, dan seksi? Masak sih ga bisa?”
“Yah gimana yah? Kurang promosi kali? Kamu mau ga bantuin promosiin aku?” kelakarku.
“Yang kayak mana maumu?” tanyanya. Ga jelas dia serius atau nyambung kekelakarku.
“Yang keren dan tajir,” jawabku. LOL.
“Kok pakai milih yang keren sih?” protesnya.
“Boleh dong milih yang keren? Siapa bilang ga boleh?” aku protes balik.
“Kalau terlalu milih entar ga laku!” katanya.
“Ga laku ya gapapa, toh aku tetap masih bisa hidup?”
“Udah ah, aku mau pulang. Kerjaan numpuk!” katanya lagi sambil pamitan.
****
Temanku yang satu ini, inisialnya R, salah satu member yang paling lama di PC. Aku tengarai hobbynya mungkin merumpi. Tapi harus aku akui dia memang ramah terhadap member baru. Kesukaannya merumpi inilah yang akhirnya membuat para member baru tahu ‘profesi’ sampingan beberapa member yang lain. Aku yang dulu pernah aktif di PC tahun 2000-2001 tidak tahu apa-apa tentang profesi sampingan beberapa member ini akhirnya jadi tahu.
Well, aku bukannya tidak pernah merumpi (kalau bertemu dengan orang yang cocok, aku bisa merumpi berjam-jam, merumpiin orang yang kusayang tapinya. Hahahaha ...) tapi aku merasa tidak begitu suka dengan kebiasaan R yang satu ini. Sering kali untuk menghentikan rumpiannya tentang member yang berprofesi sampingan itu, aku sering bercanda, “Eh asik kali ya berprofesi seperti itu? Kerjaannya enak, ikut bersenang-senang, mendapatkan kepuasan, eh dibayar pula.”
“Emang kamu tidak takut dosa?” tanya R beberapa bulan lalu tatkala aku mengatakan hal tersebut.
“Dosa itu kan bagi mereka yang percaya dosa? Yang engga? Ya enggalah. Lagipula dosa itu kan urusan pribadi masing-masing orang dengan Yang Di Atas? Mengapa kita harus ribut?” jawabku.
“Kok ga malu ya?” kata R lagi.
“Yah, dalam hati orang siapa yang tahu? Mungkin mereka malu? Tapi karena mereka butuh uang, dan tidak punya keahlian lain, apa boleh buat? Jawabku.
“Tapi aku heran loh. Dia kan sudah tidak muda lagi? Mana ga cantik, kulit hitam kusam. Kok masih laku? Kira-kira yang butuh kayak dia seperti apa ya orangnya? Mungkin laki-laki yang telah berusia kakek-kakek begitu ya?” komentar R.
“Kupikir dalam hal ini pepatah ada uang abang disayang, ga ada uang abang ga disayang berlaku kali. Seorang laki-laki yang telah berusia udzur, namun punya duit banyak, mana mungkin lah perempuan muda belia yang berprofesi begitu menolak? Malah senang mungkin, karena tidak perlu bekerja keras? Sebentar aja pasti dia sudah loyo?” jawabku seadanya. Hahahahaha ...
“Berarti pelanggan dia laki-laki tua yang uangnya pas-pasan dong?” analisa R.
“Barangkali!!!!!!!!!!” jawabku sambil tertawa ngakak. “Laki-laki tua yang uangnya pas-pasan tapi ingin mencicipi tubuh perempuan lain, selain istrinya.” Sambungku.
****
Aku suka R karena keramahannya itu. Menurutku dia yang paling ramah di antara member-member lain. Keramahannya itu membuat sifat introvertku yang suka kambuh di tempat-tempat publik seperti fitness center membantuku untuk mencairkan suasana kaku. Namun ya itulah kelemahannya. Dia suka menceritakan beberapa member yang berprofesi sampingan itu kepada member-member baru.
Tadi pagi, setelah selesai cycling dan R pulang, aku masih sempat berolah raga lagi sekitar 15 menit. Kemudian aku pulang. (Emang mau nginep di PC? Hahahaha ...)
PT56 11.40 300507
Setelah cutie nyala, aku mulai scribble di file diary. Baru menulis beberapa kalimat, aku menguap, ngantuk. LOL. Semalam aku beranjak ke tempat tidur sekitar pukul 23.30. bukan karena mengantuk, melainkan karena Angie merengekku untuk segera memadamkan lampu kamar. Dia ingin segera tertidur nyenyak untuk menggalang energi yang dia butuhkan hari ini. Bersama semua siswa kelas X SMA N3, Angie akan melakukan OUTBOUND. What the hell is that? Meskipun aku telah mendengar istilah yang sok asing ini beberapa kali, namun aku belum tahu secara pasti acara apa sajakah yang termasuk dalam OUTBOUND.
Tiba-tiba terdengar hentakan suara housemusic dari lantai dua gedung utama Paradise Club. Well, instruktur erobik telah datang, dan mulai bersiap-siap. Aku segera mematikan cutie, dan memasukkannya ke dalam tas kembali. What have I done with the two books? NOTHING. Huehehehe ...
****
Sesampai di lantai dua dan masuk ke ruang erobik, ternyata belum banyak orang yang ada di sana. Aku sempat ngobrol sejenak dengan seorang teman—yang karena sesuatu dan lain hal, sampai sekarang kita berdua saling belum pernah bertanya nama masing-masing. LOL. Kemudian kita berdua menempatkan diri, berdiri di barisan yang agak di depan. (FYI, ruang untuk erobik ini mungkin berukuran sekitar 10 x 25 m.)
Setelah mulai warming up, para member lain mulai berdatangan. Ada dua orang yang tiba-tiba saja berdiri di depanku, dan menempatkan dirinya di situ, tanpa mempedulikan jarak antara kita berdua. Memangnya kita berdiri sedang berbaris mengikuti upacara sehingga tidak mempedulikan jarak? Aku yakin kalau kita merentangkan tangan, tentu tangan kita akan bersentuhan. Apa yang akan terjadi kalau sudah mulai erobik? Apalagi kalau sudah sampai high impact? Bakal kita bertubrukan tentu saja.
Aku langsung merasa tidak nyaman. Satu hal yang selalu membuatku sebal kalau sedang mengikuti erobik. Aku selalu berusaha untuk berangkat pagi agar mendapatkan tempat yang agak di depan, (karena barisan paling depan seolah-olah telah ‘dikontrak’ mati oleh beberapa orang, yang sok merasa memiliki fitness centre tersebut LOL), karena aku sadar tubuhku yang mungil ini plus mata yang sudah tidak awas lagi (males banget kalau harus memakai kacamata tatkala erobik toh?) membuatku sering kehilangan konsentrasi kalau mendapatkan tempat yang agak di belakang. Namun ternyata semakin banyak orang yang merasa dirinya telah mengontrak barisan depan, sehingga meskipun mereka datang terlambat, mereka tetap saja dengan cueknya berdiri di depan. Dan kupikir kok kayak anak kecil amat masalah seperti ini membuatku dengan yang lain bertengkar. (Bagi seorang blogger sepertiku ini, mendingan menulis di blog ketimbang bertengkar dengan orang-orang yang seperti itu. Huehehehehe ...) Selain itu, aku ingat guyonanku dengan Abang, “Sing waras ngalah...” dan karena aku ingin mendapatkan julukan ‘sing waras” dari diri sendiri, wakakakaka ..., akhirnya aku diam saja, dan pelan-pelan beranjak agak ke belakang agar gerakanku lebih leluasa, meskipun beresiko tak bisa melihat gerakan sang instruktur dengan jelas karena terhalangi orang-orang lain.
Pagi tadi ternyata mood-ku memburuk dengan kejadian itu. Baru 20 menit berlalu, aku langsung kabur. Aku turun ke lantai satu dimana ada banyak alat untuk fitness. Syukurlah stationed bicycle yang kusukai (ada 3 stationed bicycles di ruang fitness lantai satu itu, dan yang paling kusukai terletak di sebelah kiri) sedang nganggur. Setelah meletakkan tas di sofa, mengambil buku Jurnal Perempuan no 42, dan handuk kecil, aku mulai cycling. Not bad, eh, berolahraga sembari membaca buku, ga perlu pakai kesel lagi karena harus berdesakan dengan orang lain. LOL. I did it for about 25 minutes, dan menyelesaikan membaca dua artikel “Pemberdayaan Hukum Perempuan untuk Melawan Kemiskinan” tulisan Dewi Novirianti dan “Kemiskinan dan ‘Janji Surga’ bagi Perempuan Sasak” tulisan Makinuddin.
Aku masih duduk di atas stationed bicycle, sedang mengelap keringat dengan handuk kecil, tatkala seorang teman erobik turun ke bawah, dan mendekatiku.
“Kamu perhatikan ga tadi? Setelah ngilang selama beberapa hari, dia hari ini datang memakai serenteng gelang emas yang besar-besar. Gila kan?”
“Bagus dong. Berarti bayarannya besar kan? Dapat kakap kali?” komentarku.
“Tapi warna keemasannya mencurigakan tuh, emas beneran atau cuma kuningan?” sambungnya.
“Ya gapapa lah...” jawabku.
“Kamu jangan mau kalah dong Na? Kamu kan lebih cantik, muda, dan seksi? Masak sih ga bisa?”
“Yah gimana yah? Kurang promosi kali? Kamu mau ga bantuin promosiin aku?” kelakarku.
“Yang kayak mana maumu?” tanyanya. Ga jelas dia serius atau nyambung kekelakarku.
“Yang keren dan tajir,” jawabku. LOL.
“Kok pakai milih yang keren sih?” protesnya.
“Boleh dong milih yang keren? Siapa bilang ga boleh?” aku protes balik.
“Kalau terlalu milih entar ga laku!” katanya.
“Ga laku ya gapapa, toh aku tetap masih bisa hidup?”
“Udah ah, aku mau pulang. Kerjaan numpuk!” katanya lagi sambil pamitan.
****
Temanku yang satu ini, inisialnya R, salah satu member yang paling lama di PC. Aku tengarai hobbynya mungkin merumpi. Tapi harus aku akui dia memang ramah terhadap member baru. Kesukaannya merumpi inilah yang akhirnya membuat para member baru tahu ‘profesi’ sampingan beberapa member yang lain. Aku yang dulu pernah aktif di PC tahun 2000-2001 tidak tahu apa-apa tentang profesi sampingan beberapa member ini akhirnya jadi tahu.
Well, aku bukannya tidak pernah merumpi (kalau bertemu dengan orang yang cocok, aku bisa merumpi berjam-jam, merumpiin orang yang kusayang tapinya. Hahahaha ...) tapi aku merasa tidak begitu suka dengan kebiasaan R yang satu ini. Sering kali untuk menghentikan rumpiannya tentang member yang berprofesi sampingan itu, aku sering bercanda, “Eh asik kali ya berprofesi seperti itu? Kerjaannya enak, ikut bersenang-senang, mendapatkan kepuasan, eh dibayar pula.”
“Emang kamu tidak takut dosa?” tanya R beberapa bulan lalu tatkala aku mengatakan hal tersebut.
“Dosa itu kan bagi mereka yang percaya dosa? Yang engga? Ya enggalah. Lagipula dosa itu kan urusan pribadi masing-masing orang dengan Yang Di Atas? Mengapa kita harus ribut?” jawabku.
“Kok ga malu ya?” kata R lagi.
“Yah, dalam hati orang siapa yang tahu? Mungkin mereka malu? Tapi karena mereka butuh uang, dan tidak punya keahlian lain, apa boleh buat? Jawabku.
“Tapi aku heran loh. Dia kan sudah tidak muda lagi? Mana ga cantik, kulit hitam kusam. Kok masih laku? Kira-kira yang butuh kayak dia seperti apa ya orangnya? Mungkin laki-laki yang telah berusia kakek-kakek begitu ya?” komentar R.
“Kupikir dalam hal ini pepatah ada uang abang disayang, ga ada uang abang ga disayang berlaku kali. Seorang laki-laki yang telah berusia udzur, namun punya duit banyak, mana mungkin lah perempuan muda belia yang berprofesi begitu menolak? Malah senang mungkin, karena tidak perlu bekerja keras? Sebentar aja pasti dia sudah loyo?” jawabku seadanya. Hahahahaha ...
“Berarti pelanggan dia laki-laki tua yang uangnya pas-pasan dong?” analisa R.
“Barangkali!!!!!!!!!!” jawabku sambil tertawa ngakak. “Laki-laki tua yang uangnya pas-pasan tapi ingin mencicipi tubuh perempuan lain, selain istrinya.” Sambungku.
****
Aku suka R karena keramahannya itu. Menurutku dia yang paling ramah di antara member-member lain. Keramahannya itu membuat sifat introvertku yang suka kambuh di tempat-tempat publik seperti fitness center membantuku untuk mencairkan suasana kaku. Namun ya itulah kelemahannya. Dia suka menceritakan beberapa member yang berprofesi sampingan itu kepada member-member baru.
Tadi pagi, setelah selesai cycling dan R pulang, aku masih sempat berolah raga lagi sekitar 15 menit. Kemudian aku pulang. (Emang mau nginep di PC? Hahahaha ...)
PT56 11.40 300507
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Indonesia - Inggris
“Do you realize how relieving it is to have a scapegoat in our life?”
I found the interesting article with the similar title with the title of the post at www.superkoran.info This is not because I want to promote this online newspaper in my blogs, (after the owner posted my two articles there) NO, LOL, but because when reading the article there, I suddenly remember my own recent habit of using the two languages in my writing. LOL. I was about to leave a comment in that article, but due to my internet illiterate, I was confused how to leave a comment there. LOL.
(You know what? Even my Abang who is an expert in computer and internet didn’t know how to leave a comment in my blogs some months ago. LOL. He didn’t know either how to leave a comment in the shoutbox. Hahahaha … So, can we say that he is not fully computer and internet literate expert? Wakakakaka …)
Well, in fact he is also the SCAPEGOAT that has made me use the mixture of Bahasa and English in one writing. Aha … LOL. I am so excited thinking of writing this short article, you know. Hahahaha …
Before he ‘came’ into my life, I was somewhat strict in using what language to use in writing one email/article. Even, when writing emails to my good friends who speak both languages well, I usually want to focus only on one language—mostly English. In writing my articles for blogs, of course I choose to use English, since my first love for blogging is to my blog at http://afemaleguest.blog.co.uk where most visitors speak English.
The first time I started sending personal emails to my Abang of course I wrote them in English. However, he often replied in both languages, Bahasa and English. Some friends in the mailing lists I join who live abroad said that they were tired to speak English all the time so that they choose to interact in the mailing lists using English. This happens too to my Abang.
Gradually I was infected by him. LOL. I started mixing the use of the two languages. One day when I accused him for infecting that ‘contagious disease’ to me, simply he said, “Habis enak sih!!” (“It is yummy!!”) wakakakaka …
Since then on, I recognized that I started to write my articles for blogs in Bahasa, not only in English. Nah lo!!! LOL. However, after I decided to be more serious in blogging and registered my blog at http://afeministblog.blogspot.com at google adsense, I started to write more in English again.
But to write emails to my Abang, of course I still use both languages.
LL 16.08 220507
Proctoring
Proctoring a test is apparently one most-liked activity in class for my workmates. I love it too because while proctoring, I can scribble something in the cutie, or on a piece of paper, before my darling Abang gave me the cutie. Perhaps people then will think that I am not a good proctor? LOL. I am quite a strict proctor at the beginning minutes I enter a classroom. I will carefully pay attention to whether the students creatively have changed the arrangement of the chairs so that they can cheat one another easily. LOL. So? The first time I usually do when coming to a class for proctoring, I will arrange the students’ seats. The seats at the first rows must be full first, then to the back.
Scoring the students’ test is one activity I don’t really like though. LOL. This is especially if the test is not just crossing/blackening the letters a, b, c, d that means a multiply choice test. If it is an essay test, I often get trouble to score if the students’ handwriting is difficult to read. Unfortunately two subjects I have in one private college in Semarang cannot make me give the students multiple choice test.
Two weeks ago I gave my classes mid-term test. For the Poetry Analysis Class, I prepared four questions; while for the Drama Analysis Class, I prepared five questions. Since the name of the subject is related to ANALYSIS, of course I have to ask my students to analyze something that will make the students elaborate their answers. Luckily, different from last year I had two big classes, one class consisted of around 50 students, this year, I only have 15 students. I don’t need much time to score their answer sheets. I don’t need to get headache for a long time either when reading the ugly handwriting. LOL.
At this article, especially I want to focus on the Poetry Analysis Class. I inserted two poems to be analyzed by the students: “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, and “Reassurance” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. One thing I really enjoy from teaching literature subjects is I can give literary works written by feminists or that can be viewed using feministic perspective. By doing this, I can spread equality ideas between men and women to my students.
For the poem “Reassurance” itself, I gave it to be discussed in the class at the beginning of this semester where only four or five students arrived. I chose this poem to be inserted in the test rather than any other poems (such as “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks, or “Ain’t I a Woman” by Sojourner Truth, or “Woman of My Color” by Wanda Coleman) in order to show my appreciation to the students who came to my class at that time. By attending my class, they would get involved in the discussion in the class so that they hopefully would get a better and clearer comprehension than the others who did not come at that time.
However, when scoring the answer of the students this morning, I did not find satisfying answer from the five particular students. Only two of them wrote a satisfying analysis. Meanwhile, some other students who did not attend the class at that time could write a good interpretation.
As far as my teaching experience in English Department, I have found more students who do not enjoy studying literature than those who join the classes and involve themselves in the discussion enthusiastically. They come to English Department only to learn about ENGLISH, the language, and not any other subject. In fact, if they only want to learn English, it is enough for them to go to English courses, and not to English Department. But of course they will not get any title from the English Course. And I know many people go to English Department only to get the certificate and the title, and not the knowledge that they will get.
Pathetic, eh? This is Indonesia, the dreaming country, my Abang said. LOL. Dreaming to be the leader of the world, eh? LOL.
PT56 11.30 220507
Scoring the students’ test is one activity I don’t really like though. LOL. This is especially if the test is not just crossing/blackening the letters a, b, c, d that means a multiply choice test. If it is an essay test, I often get trouble to score if the students’ handwriting is difficult to read. Unfortunately two subjects I have in one private college in Semarang cannot make me give the students multiple choice test.
Two weeks ago I gave my classes mid-term test. For the Poetry Analysis Class, I prepared four questions; while for the Drama Analysis Class, I prepared five questions. Since the name of the subject is related to ANALYSIS, of course I have to ask my students to analyze something that will make the students elaborate their answers. Luckily, different from last year I had two big classes, one class consisted of around 50 students, this year, I only have 15 students. I don’t need much time to score their answer sheets. I don’t need to get headache for a long time either when reading the ugly handwriting. LOL.
At this article, especially I want to focus on the Poetry Analysis Class. I inserted two poems to be analyzed by the students: “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, and “Reassurance” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. One thing I really enjoy from teaching literature subjects is I can give literary works written by feminists or that can be viewed using feministic perspective. By doing this, I can spread equality ideas between men and women to my students.
For the poem “Reassurance” itself, I gave it to be discussed in the class at the beginning of this semester where only four or five students arrived. I chose this poem to be inserted in the test rather than any other poems (such as “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks, or “Ain’t I a Woman” by Sojourner Truth, or “Woman of My Color” by Wanda Coleman) in order to show my appreciation to the students who came to my class at that time. By attending my class, they would get involved in the discussion in the class so that they hopefully would get a better and clearer comprehension than the others who did not come at that time.
However, when scoring the answer of the students this morning, I did not find satisfying answer from the five particular students. Only two of them wrote a satisfying analysis. Meanwhile, some other students who did not attend the class at that time could write a good interpretation.
As far as my teaching experience in English Department, I have found more students who do not enjoy studying literature than those who join the classes and involve themselves in the discussion enthusiastically. They come to English Department only to learn about ENGLISH, the language, and not any other subject. In fact, if they only want to learn English, it is enough for them to go to English courses, and not to English Department. But of course they will not get any title from the English Course. And I know many people go to English Department only to get the certificate and the title, and not the knowledge that they will get.
Pathetic, eh? This is Indonesia, the dreaming country, my Abang said. LOL. Dreaming to be the leader of the world, eh? LOL.
PT56 11.30 220507
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Father -Children Relationship
There is one man that has quite attracted my attention recently when I sit on one bench around the swimming pool every Sunday. He usually sits not quite far from where I usually sit, read books or scribble in the cutie notebook while enjoying a cup of Nescafe and waiting for my hair to dry after taking a shower. (FYI, I usually go swimming in the early morning on Sunday.) Some weeks ago, I noticed that there were two boys—around the same age, perhaps around eight till ten years old—coming to him after they swam. Sometimes, those boys came to him, to take something to drink or some snack to munch, and then jumped to the pool again. After the boys finished swimming, they went to the shower room. That man kept sitting on the bench under one big wooden umbrella while waiting for the boys. After some time, I saw them going home together, the two boys and the man. It made me conclude that the two boys were his sons.
My poor eyesight hindered me to take a clear look at him so that I could not guess how old he was. I usually just make myself busy with the books I read or the cutie where I can scribble so that I don’t pay attention to him whether he also took a look at me. My poor eyesight also hindered me to recognize whether he ever put a smile on his face for me so that I think I had better pretend to be ignorant to him. LOL. LOL.
This morning while I was busy scribbling in the cutie, I saw two girls coming to him. One girl is perhaps at her teenage, and the other one is perhaps around three or four years old. Where were the two boys that I usually saw together with him? I was wondering.
I saw the big girl talking to the man, sipping from one bottle given by him. Then she gave the bottle to the little girl. After that I saw the two girls going to the shower room.
After taking a shower, the two girls went back to where the man was sitting. The big girl then was sitting next to him. After some time, the little girl walked around. She went to one swing located on my left side, around 10 meters from me.
I was wondering who they were waiting for?
I was also wondering how the man let the little girl play on the swing without his company. This made me remember the time when Angie was still very little. When we were going sightseeing or going to game center offering many kinds of games for little children, I never let her by herself. From my point of view, I wanted to show her how much I cared for her. Perhaps other people would think that I protected little Angie so much that I could make Angie grow up as a spoiled girl.
Going back to my morning experience in the swimming pool. Every time the little girl passed me from the swing to where her (perhaps) father and big sister were sitting, I felt like I wanted to come to her, to hold her, to carry her in my arms, to kiss her cheeks while at the same time I also wanted to talk to her. But I didn’t do it. Perhaps it would scare her?
Some time passed. My busy scribbling in the cutie made me forget for a while to pay attention to the man and his two daughters.
However, when they passed the bench where I was sitting, I spotted them. There was one boy that I usually saw with that man the other weeks. So the man and his big daughter were waiting for the boy before they went home. Again, when looking at the little girl walking by herself in the middle, I really wanted to come to her, to carry her in my arms.
###
By the way, I always like to see a man who is very close to his children. This is to counter what people think that women have bigger responsibilities to take care of the children. With their so-called motherly nature, women are to take care of the children’s upbringing. When a woman is considered not really good to take care of her children, society will easily label her as not a good woman. On the contrary, when the father is busy with his own business/job so that he doesn’t have time to be with his children, society will always understand that because man is believed not to have that motherly nature. The so-called fatherly nature that men are to have is not related to take care of children.
I remember one female student of mine. She is in second grade of senior high. Some weeks ago when discussing ‘friendship’ in class, she told her classmates and me that her best friend was her father. She always comes to her father for anything, not only to ask for money, but also to ask his suggestion to solve her problems, and confide in him as well. “I have no better friend than my father,” she said. That means she was not that close to her mother. It was wonderful, in my opinion.
PT56 11.43 200507
One Activity in Classroom
On Friday May 18, 2007 I gave my FSC 6 class the mid-term test. (FYI, FSC class is for junior high school students. My FSC 6 class consists of some first grade, second grade, and third grade students.) The students needed around 40 until 50 minutes to do the test. After all students finished doing the test (there is no time allotment to do the test so that I was quite lenient to wait until all students finished), we discussed the test together. It also means that I asked my students to help me score their classmates’ works so that it would be easier for me to record the score in the monthly report. )
For your information, while proctoring the test, I was busy scribbling something in my cutie notebook while thinking what activity to give the students after the test. (What a lousy teacher I am ) While looking at the music folder in the harddisk, I got that idea. I prepared some songs in the playlist, various kinds of music.
There was 30 minutes left after we discussed the test. After collecting the test booklets and the answer sheets, I asked the students to work in pairs. I told them that I would play some songs in the notebook. While the students were listening to one song, I asked them to write at least one sentence (that must be in English because this is a class in an English course. The students come to study English, don’t they?) The sentence is not necessarily related to the lyric of the song. Anything that comes to their minds while listening to one song can be written. I played seven songs at that time: “Kau Masih Kekasihku” from NAFF, “Snow on Sahara” from Anggun, “Ave Maria” (instrumental) from Embong Raharjo, “Song of Joy” from Julio Iglesias, “Ye Liang Tai Piau Wo Te Sin” from Teresa Teng, “Semusim Sekali” from Franky and Jane, and “Untuk Kita Renungkan” from Ebiet G. Ade.
After the time was over, I collected their papers, and then dismissed the class. When reading the students’ sentences, I recognized that they tended to write more sentences when they were familiar with the songs. Two songs that were quite familiar to them were “Kau Masih Kekasihku” and “Untuk Kita Renungkan”. The first song was quite popular around a year ago, together with another NAFF’s song entitled “Akhirnya Ku Menemukanmu”. The second song was released by Ebiet for the first time more than twenty years go. However, this song is often played on television especially when there was disaster that happened in Indonesia, such as Tsunami in Aceh, earthquakes, flood, landslides, etc.
****
On Saturday May 19, 2007 a workmate of mine asked me to substitute her at 16.00-18.00. It was Intermediate 1 class. My workmate told me that it was the time for the students to get the periodic test 1. I was happy of course because I didn’t need to prepare any material, just proctoring the test. And to spend the rest of the time after the test, I would do the same thing like what I did in my FSC class the day before. This time I prepared more various songs in the harddisk of my cutie notebook, namely: “Gomenasai” from TATU, the original soundtrack of Doraemon, one popular cartoon on television, “Ketaman Asmoro” a campur sari song using Javanese Language, “Kembang Perawan” from Gita Gutawa and “Terlalu Cinta” from Rossa that have been popular for these past a few weeks, “SMS” one dangdut song that has been very popular in Indonesia since a year ago, if I am not mistaken. For songs using English, I chose “What a Wonderful World” from Louis Armstrong, “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” from Coyote Ugly and Leanne Rymes, “Song of Joy” from Julio Iglesias. I also played the same song again from Teresa Teng.
After the bell rang showing that the time was over, I quickly collected the papers where the students wrote their sentences. Then I dismissed the class. To my surprise, all students tried to catch the words uttered by the singers in those ten songs, and then wrote them down. So? For the songs whose lyrics are not in English, they wrote what they heard, such as some songs in Bahasa, they wrote exactly what they heard.
Since all of the students did the same thing, I had to accuse myself for not giving a clear instruction to the students: that they were supposed to write sentences in English!!! LOL. LOL.
PC 09.30 200507
For your information, while proctoring the test, I was busy scribbling something in my cutie notebook while thinking what activity to give the students after the test. (What a lousy teacher I am ) While looking at the music folder in the harddisk, I got that idea. I prepared some songs in the playlist, various kinds of music.
There was 30 minutes left after we discussed the test. After collecting the test booklets and the answer sheets, I asked the students to work in pairs. I told them that I would play some songs in the notebook. While the students were listening to one song, I asked them to write at least one sentence (that must be in English because this is a class in an English course. The students come to study English, don’t they?) The sentence is not necessarily related to the lyric of the song. Anything that comes to their minds while listening to one song can be written. I played seven songs at that time: “Kau Masih Kekasihku” from NAFF, “Snow on Sahara” from Anggun, “Ave Maria” (instrumental) from Embong Raharjo, “Song of Joy” from Julio Iglesias, “Ye Liang Tai Piau Wo Te Sin” from Teresa Teng, “Semusim Sekali” from Franky and Jane, and “Untuk Kita Renungkan” from Ebiet G. Ade.
After the time was over, I collected their papers, and then dismissed the class. When reading the students’ sentences, I recognized that they tended to write more sentences when they were familiar with the songs. Two songs that were quite familiar to them were “Kau Masih Kekasihku” and “Untuk Kita Renungkan”. The first song was quite popular around a year ago, together with another NAFF’s song entitled “Akhirnya Ku Menemukanmu”. The second song was released by Ebiet for the first time more than twenty years go. However, this song is often played on television especially when there was disaster that happened in Indonesia, such as Tsunami in Aceh, earthquakes, flood, landslides, etc.
****
On Saturday May 19, 2007 a workmate of mine asked me to substitute her at 16.00-18.00. It was Intermediate 1 class. My workmate told me that it was the time for the students to get the periodic test 1. I was happy of course because I didn’t need to prepare any material, just proctoring the test. And to spend the rest of the time after the test, I would do the same thing like what I did in my FSC class the day before. This time I prepared more various songs in the harddisk of my cutie notebook, namely: “Gomenasai” from TATU, the original soundtrack of Doraemon, one popular cartoon on television, “Ketaman Asmoro” a campur sari song using Javanese Language, “Kembang Perawan” from Gita Gutawa and “Terlalu Cinta” from Rossa that have been popular for these past a few weeks, “SMS” one dangdut song that has been very popular in Indonesia since a year ago, if I am not mistaken. For songs using English, I chose “What a Wonderful World” from Louis Armstrong, “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” from Coyote Ugly and Leanne Rymes, “Song of Joy” from Julio Iglesias. I also played the same song again from Teresa Teng.
After the bell rang showing that the time was over, I quickly collected the papers where the students wrote their sentences. Then I dismissed the class. To my surprise, all students tried to catch the words uttered by the singers in those ten songs, and then wrote them down. So? For the songs whose lyrics are not in English, they wrote what they heard, such as some songs in Bahasa, they wrote exactly what they heard.
Since all of the students did the same thing, I had to accuse myself for not giving a clear instruction to the students: that they were supposed to write sentences in English!!! LOL. LOL.
PC 09.30 200507
Friday, May 18, 2007
Nyetir
Sudah dengar berita tentang sebuah Honda Jazz yang ‘melompat’ keluar dari Pusat Perbelanjaan ITC Permata Hijau Jakarta?
Pertama kali mendengar cerita nahas ini dari mulut adikku yang sedang bercerita kepada my Mom kemarin Kamis 17 Mei 07. Aku langsung tercekat mendengarnya, dan lemas seluruh tubuhku. Aku ingat satu peristiwa yang terjadi di tahun 1992.
Saat itu aku sedang KKN di sebuah desa yang terletak di pojok Barat Purworejo. Karena proposal seorang teman KKN dikabulkan oleh Telkom Semarang, aku menemaninya ke Semarang untuk mengambil dana tersebut. Mengapa aku? Pertama, karena tak ada teman KKN lain yang bisa meninggalkan lokasi KKN. (FYI, dosen pembimbing lapangan kita lumayan rajin menengok ke desa, dan berdasarkan peraturan KKN, mahasiswa dilarang meninggalkan lokasi KKN lebih dari 1 x 24 jam.) Kedua, tentu saja karena aku satu-satunya mahasiswa KKN di daerah itu yang berasal dari Semarang.
Meninggalkan desa Bandung Kidul Purworejo di pagi hari, aku dan Pieter sampai di Semarang sekitar pukul 14.30. Kantor Telkom tutup pukul 16.00 yang membuat kita harus bergegas ke sana. Di rumah hanya ada sebuah mobil peninggalan my late Dad. Berhubung aku jarang nyetir, so ya maklum lah kalau aku bisa nyetir hanya sekedarnya saja. LOL. Tapi demi menyingkat waktu, aku dan Pieter berangkat ke kantor Telkom naik mobil. Aku yang nyetir karena ternyata Pieter sama sekali tidak bisa menyetir.
Setelah mendapatkan dana dari Telkom, Pieter mengajakku makan. Aku yang jarang makan di luar (bawaan orang tuaku yang jarang makan di luar), aku bingung mau mengajaknya makan di mana. Aku malu kan kalau sampai dibilangin kurang main di kota sendiri? Padahal memang aku kurang main. Hahahaha ... Akhirnya waktu itu Pieter aku ajak ke food court yang terletak di Plasa Simpang Lima. (Citraland Mall yang terletak di sebelah Barat Laut Plasa Simpang Lama belum dibangun). Food court terletak di lantai 4 kalau tidak salah. (Saat ini aku tidak yakin apakah food court di Plasa Simpang Lima masih ada? Hehehehe ... Maklum ga pernah keluyuran ke situ lagi.)
Sesampai di tempat parkir Plasa Simpang Lima, tukang parkir memberi aba-aba untuk naik ke tempat parkir di lantai atas. Waduh, aku ga pede. Huehehehe ... “Will you drive this car, Piet?” aku menawari Pieter, but dia bilang ga bisa nyetir sama sekali. Aku langsung bilang ke tukang parkir, “Ga berani naik ke lantai atas Pak. Tolong dong cariin tempat parkir di bawah saja!”
Tukang parkir menggoda, “Baru latihan nyetir ya mbak?”
Aku cuma tertawa mendengarnya. Untunglah tukang parkir menemukan satu tempat pas buatku memarkir mobil. Trus, aku dan Pieter naik lift untuk naik ke food court.
Menyadari bahwa aku belum bisa menyetir mobil dengan canggih membuatku tidak berani naik ke atas.
Anyway, mengingat janji manusia kepada Tuhannya saat kapan kita akan kembali kepada-Nya memang tidak akan menghalangi apa pun untuk seorang manusia mengakhiri hidupnya di dunia yang fana ini.
****
Di saat yang bersamaan aku ingat one ex private student of mine, yang sering mengajakku eating out. Satu kali dia bertanya padaku, “Do you think I am a lousy driver, Na?”
“You are a better driver than I am.”
Dan dia langsung mutung. Hahahaha ... “You can drive?” she asked me, dengan mimik wajah tidak percaya. Hahahaha ...
“I can drive. But I have stopped driving for quite a long time. Now I already forgot how to drive a car.” LOL.
Sekitar setahun yang lalu seorang (mantan) rekan kerja terheran-heran mendengarku bercerita naik motor. “Loh, bu Nana bisa naik motor toh? Kirain ga bisa, karena aku belum pernah lihat bu Nana naik motor.”
(baca naik motor maksudnya mengemudikan sepeda motor, dan bukan hanya duduk di boncengan.)
Apakah kita perlu melihat dulu sebelum percaya? Huehehehe ...Mungkin dia tidak percaya karena seorang teman kerja yang tinggi besar tidak (atau belum) bisa naik motor, sehingga dia selalu tergantung kepada suaminya untuk mengantarnya pergi kesana kemari, sedangkan aku yang kecil mungil bisa naik motor. LOL. LOL.
PT56 12.20 180507
Pertama kali mendengar cerita nahas ini dari mulut adikku yang sedang bercerita kepada my Mom kemarin Kamis 17 Mei 07. Aku langsung tercekat mendengarnya, dan lemas seluruh tubuhku. Aku ingat satu peristiwa yang terjadi di tahun 1992.
Saat itu aku sedang KKN di sebuah desa yang terletak di pojok Barat Purworejo. Karena proposal seorang teman KKN dikabulkan oleh Telkom Semarang, aku menemaninya ke Semarang untuk mengambil dana tersebut. Mengapa aku? Pertama, karena tak ada teman KKN lain yang bisa meninggalkan lokasi KKN. (FYI, dosen pembimbing lapangan kita lumayan rajin menengok ke desa, dan berdasarkan peraturan KKN, mahasiswa dilarang meninggalkan lokasi KKN lebih dari 1 x 24 jam.) Kedua, tentu saja karena aku satu-satunya mahasiswa KKN di daerah itu yang berasal dari Semarang.
Meninggalkan desa Bandung Kidul Purworejo di pagi hari, aku dan Pieter sampai di Semarang sekitar pukul 14.30. Kantor Telkom tutup pukul 16.00 yang membuat kita harus bergegas ke sana. Di rumah hanya ada sebuah mobil peninggalan my late Dad. Berhubung aku jarang nyetir, so ya maklum lah kalau aku bisa nyetir hanya sekedarnya saja. LOL. Tapi demi menyingkat waktu, aku dan Pieter berangkat ke kantor Telkom naik mobil. Aku yang nyetir karena ternyata Pieter sama sekali tidak bisa menyetir.
Setelah mendapatkan dana dari Telkom, Pieter mengajakku makan. Aku yang jarang makan di luar (bawaan orang tuaku yang jarang makan di luar), aku bingung mau mengajaknya makan di mana. Aku malu kan kalau sampai dibilangin kurang main di kota sendiri? Padahal memang aku kurang main. Hahahaha ... Akhirnya waktu itu Pieter aku ajak ke food court yang terletak di Plasa Simpang Lima. (Citraland Mall yang terletak di sebelah Barat Laut Plasa Simpang Lama belum dibangun). Food court terletak di lantai 4 kalau tidak salah. (Saat ini aku tidak yakin apakah food court di Plasa Simpang Lima masih ada? Hehehehe ... Maklum ga pernah keluyuran ke situ lagi.)
Sesampai di tempat parkir Plasa Simpang Lima, tukang parkir memberi aba-aba untuk naik ke tempat parkir di lantai atas. Waduh, aku ga pede. Huehehehe ... “Will you drive this car, Piet?” aku menawari Pieter, but dia bilang ga bisa nyetir sama sekali. Aku langsung bilang ke tukang parkir, “Ga berani naik ke lantai atas Pak. Tolong dong cariin tempat parkir di bawah saja!”
Tukang parkir menggoda, “Baru latihan nyetir ya mbak?”
Aku cuma tertawa mendengarnya. Untunglah tukang parkir menemukan satu tempat pas buatku memarkir mobil. Trus, aku dan Pieter naik lift untuk naik ke food court.
Menyadari bahwa aku belum bisa menyetir mobil dengan canggih membuatku tidak berani naik ke atas.
Anyway, mengingat janji manusia kepada Tuhannya saat kapan kita akan kembali kepada-Nya memang tidak akan menghalangi apa pun untuk seorang manusia mengakhiri hidupnya di dunia yang fana ini.
****
Di saat yang bersamaan aku ingat one ex private student of mine, yang sering mengajakku eating out. Satu kali dia bertanya padaku, “Do you think I am a lousy driver, Na?”
“You are a better driver than I am.”
Dan dia langsung mutung. Hahahaha ... “You can drive?” she asked me, dengan mimik wajah tidak percaya. Hahahaha ...
“I can drive. But I have stopped driving for quite a long time. Now I already forgot how to drive a car.” LOL.
Sekitar setahun yang lalu seorang (mantan) rekan kerja terheran-heran mendengarku bercerita naik motor. “Loh, bu Nana bisa naik motor toh? Kirain ga bisa, karena aku belum pernah lihat bu Nana naik motor.”
(baca naik motor maksudnya mengemudikan sepeda motor, dan bukan hanya duduk di boncengan.)
Apakah kita perlu melihat dulu sebelum percaya? Huehehehe ...Mungkin dia tidak percaya karena seorang teman kerja yang tinggi besar tidak (atau belum) bisa naik motor, sehingga dia selalu tergantung kepada suaminya untuk mengantarnya pergi kesana kemari, sedangkan aku yang kecil mungil bisa naik motor. LOL. LOL.
PT56 12.20 180507
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
First daughter problem (?)
Some time ago I had a talk with my younger sister about our teenage experience. She told me some jealousies she had when both of us were still teenagers. She was surprised when I told her that I was quite envious to her too at that time. Mainly her jealousies were based on the fact that I always studied in some favorite schools. Graduating from an Islamic elementary school, I went to SMP N 1, SMA N 3, two high schools that were famous with their smart students. As far as she remembered, when our parents’ friends came and asked where we studied, they would seem amazed to know that I was studying in favorite schools in Semarang. And when they heard the name of the school where my sister was studying, they would seem astonished, and she interpreted it as, “Why there? You are not as smart as your elder sister, huh?”
Even when her schoolmates found out that I was studying in one most favorite state university in Indonesia, they jokingly asked her, “Your sister is studying at Gadjah Mada University? Why are you here?”
But then I told her that I envied her in some other things. She didn’t find any difficulty to ask our parents’ permission to let her join Pencak Silat, one traditional martial art when she was in senior high school. Compared to when I was in junior high school, I had to beg our parents to permit me. Our parents always let her join any activity, including when she needed to stay a night out of town or at school.
“It was because I insisted that they let me go. And it is okay for me to have an open confrontation. And perhaps it was also because of my hard temperament.”
“Do you think I didn’t insist? I remember one time our parents didn’t let me go with my classmates somewhere, till I cried for days, stopped talking for days, and they just kept quiet.” I complained.
My younger sister laughed.
“Well, anyway, I continued my study to college out of town. It paid all the time when I was in junior and senior high school.”
And then we laughed together.
I remember when I lived in a boarding house when I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree. I was close to one boarder. She told me how her elder sister took care of her two children. The first child, a boy, was a timid one, not really confident, because her parents were over protective. Seeing the result like that, they changed their way to bring up the second child. The second child, a girl, was a brave one, confident, and naughty because her parents often let her do anything she wanted since toddler, contradictory thing from the previous child. If they had the third child, perhaps the third child would have the combination traits. LOL.
Trial and error is applied everywhere. LOL.
PT56 12.08 160507
Even when her schoolmates found out that I was studying in one most favorite state university in Indonesia, they jokingly asked her, “Your sister is studying at Gadjah Mada University? Why are you here?”
But then I told her that I envied her in some other things. She didn’t find any difficulty to ask our parents’ permission to let her join Pencak Silat, one traditional martial art when she was in senior high school. Compared to when I was in junior high school, I had to beg our parents to permit me. Our parents always let her join any activity, including when she needed to stay a night out of town or at school.
“It was because I insisted that they let me go. And it is okay for me to have an open confrontation. And perhaps it was also because of my hard temperament.”
“Do you think I didn’t insist? I remember one time our parents didn’t let me go with my classmates somewhere, till I cried for days, stopped talking for days, and they just kept quiet.” I complained.
My younger sister laughed.
“Well, anyway, I continued my study to college out of town. It paid all the time when I was in junior and senior high school.”
And then we laughed together.
I remember when I lived in a boarding house when I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree. I was close to one boarder. She told me how her elder sister took care of her two children. The first child, a boy, was a timid one, not really confident, because her parents were over protective. Seeing the result like that, they changed their way to bring up the second child. The second child, a girl, was a brave one, confident, and naughty because her parents often let her do anything she wanted since toddler, contradictory thing from the previous child. If they had the third child, perhaps the third child would have the combination traits. LOL.
Trial and error is applied everywhere. LOL.
PT56 12.08 160507
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Online Buddies = True Friends
haha, the pic was not about the story
Around two or three weeks ago (I have started to ignore details recently so I don’t really remember ) a friend I got to know from a mailing list we join together came to Semarang. Mbak Icha came to Semarang not merely to meet me of course, but because she got an assignment from her workplace to come to this hometown of mine. Since I was busy with my job, I could not really spend a long time with her.
She arrived on Wednesday April 18, 2007. I visited her around 13.00-14.00 (I could not stay long because I had to go to my workplace at 15.00). During one hour, we talked a lot. Well, more correctly, she talked a lot about her two soul mates; Bastian, her son, and Vanessa, her daughter. Her warm and friendly plus talkative trait easily made me feel comfortable so that I could talk a little about myself.
In the night, she had to do her job till more than 10pm, she said. That hampered me to visit her again. I told her, “Maklum, gadis pingitan nih, so ga keluar malam-malam.” LOL. I mean, aku memingit diri sendiri, untuk ga keluyuran malam-malam. LOL.
The following morning, Thursday, April 19, I had to wash a compile of clothes of Angie and mine so that I was ready to visit mbak Icha at 9am.
She told me that she wanted to visit Gedung Batu Sam Po Kong, so four of us (besides mbak Icha and me, there were Melissa, mbak Icha’s workmate from Jakarta that came to Semarang together with her, and Yani, Melissa’s friend from Semarang) went to SPK by taxi. Melissa, mbak Icha and I were sitting at the back, while Yani was sitting at the front, next to the taxi driver.
There was one funny story with the taxi driver. He said proudly (NOTE: PROUDLY, and not SHYLY) that his father had six wives, and thirty-five children. I saw Melissa’s dumbfounded facial expression when hearing that. “It means from one wife, at least he got five or six children.” she whispered, amazed. LOL. I could hear it because I was sitting between Melissa and mbak Icha.
“How about you, sir? How many wives do you get?” Mbak Icha and I asked him simultaneously. LOL.
“I only have one wife, mbak.” He answered.
“Loh, bukannya anak itu harus lebih dari orang tua?” I teased him. LOL. “Masak bapaknya aja istrinya enam, mengapa anaknya Cuma punya satu istri?” LOL. LOL.
Arriving at SPK, the four single girls, LOL, went around that amazing building. (I forgot to take pictures using my pas-pasan digital camera in my mobile phone, LOL, so I cannot post any picture of SPK here.) The taxi driver stayed in his taxi.
After finishing taking pictures, we went back to the taxi. We didn’t stay long there because mbak Icha and Melissa had to hurry back to the hotel and then to the aiport. Their flight was at 12 according to the schedule.
When we told the taxi driver that we wanted to eat something, the taxi driver took us to BAKSO PAK GEGER, quite famous in Semarang, and once it was promoted in one program on television, “Wisata Kuliner”. Why there? The two guests from Jakarta are bakso freaks!!!
During our way to food stall of BAKSO PAK GEGER, out of the blue, the taxi driver said, “I have one wife only, mbak, but I have three girlfriends.” NAH LO!!! LOL.
“Oh? Does your wife know? What did she comment?” innocently mbak Icha asked him. LOL.
“Of course it is secret. She doesn’t know anything about it. The third world war could happen in my house if she knew.” He said. LOL. (NOTE: he spoke in Bahasa Indonesia. I just translated it into English. I am still practicing myself to write in English. LOL.)
“Well, do you have those three girlfriends at the same time or at different time?” Mbak Icha went on investigating. LOL. I had that question in my mind too, but mbak Icha asked it first.
“Of course at the same time.” The taxi driver answered.
“So, you visit them one by one? Let’s say on Monday you visit A, on Tuesday you visit B, and on Wednesday you visit C?”
Can you imagine a taxi driver has one wife with three girlfriends?
He said, “A man is okay to do that under one condition. He has enough money to do that! If not? Don’t ever try to do it. To visit a girlfriend, to treat her out, a man needs money, right?”
During our meal at BAKSO PAK GEGER, mbak Icha kept investigating him, LOL, I kept listening and once in a while asked him questions too. Yani and Melissa just listened to us.
“Now like this, sir. If you have one wife and three girlfriends, is it okay for your wife to have a boyfriend?” Mbak Icha asked.
“No, it is not good for a woman to do that.” the taxi driver replied.
“Why not?” Mbak Icha asked him calmly. (Oh, if I were alone, interviewing him, I wouldn’t be able to stay calm. LOL.)
“Listen mbak. Having girlfriends for married man is just a matter of looking for sexual partners. A man can do it because he needs a “place’ or “media” to throw away something, and women provide that “place” or “media”. If the woman’s husband already pours out his “things” to her, she no longer has “place” or “media” left.” The taxi driver tried to explain his perspective.
“Look, sir. You are busy with your three girlfriends. How about if it is your turn to be with your wife, but you are tired, and she needs that, how can you satisfy her?” Mbak Icha shot him. LOL.
“Ya, be patient. She has to be patient.” Selfishly that driver said. LOL.
“Look, sir. You are selfish here. Why don’t you just let your wife have a boyfriend so that she will not bother you for that?” Mbak Icha shot him again. LOL.
“No mbak. It is not good for a woman to do that. Our culture does not let women do that. But for men, it is okay.”
I wish I could throw my thick-heeled shoes to him. LOL. LOL. (Un)fortunately, I was not all alone. LOL.
“Will you let your daughter become the nth wife of a man? Or well, become a girlfriend of a married man?”
He said no. “A man who proposes my daughter must marry her for good.” He said.
I thought gradually he realized that mbak Icha and I wanted to show him how selfish he was, how narrow-minded he was, so at last he said, “Mbak, it was the past. Now I am loyal to my wife.” LOL. LOL.
Unfortunately the time was not on our side. Mbak Icha and Melissa had to be in a hurry. It was 11 o’clock when we left the food stall. We went back to the hotel where mbak Icha and Melissa stayed to take their luggage, and they went to the airport.
On my way home, I remember around three years ago, a chatter told me, “You must be dreaming if you say that you are looking for friends online. If you want to look for friend, don’t go to the cyber world. Look for one in your real world, around you there.”
Mbak Icha is an example of a true friend I get from internet. Not to mention my darling Abang. He is the best of all. It is always possible to get true friends everywhere.
PT56 00.05 080507
My Elementary Children Class
Seminggu yang lalu bola plastik yang sering kubawa ke kelas Elementary Class-ku rusak. Semula kempes. Beberapa siswa yang sedang bermain dengan bola itu, menunjukkan ke aku, “Ms. Bolanya kempes!!!”
Aku yang sedang sibuk memeriksa hasil kerjaan anak-anak, menoleh ke arah beberapa siswa yang sedang bermain. “Dasar kreatif!” kataku dalam hati.
“Ya, tidak apa-apa, nanti coba Ms. Nana tiup lagi.” Kataku.
Seorang anak kemudian meletakkan bola yang sudah kempes itu di atas mejaku. Tapi tak lama kemudian seorang anak lain lagi mengambilnya. Dan, tanpa sepengetahuanku, beberapa anak kemudian menarik-narik bola yang sudah kempes itu, dan ... VOILA ... bola plastik itu akhirnya robek. NAH LO! Ketika seorang anak menunjukkan nasib apes bola itu kepadaku, aku tidak habis pikir bagaimana anak-anak itu dengan begitu kreatif telah merusak bola itu.
Melihat wajahku yang sedih, seorang anak bertanya, “Ms. Nana nangis ya?”
Tentu saja aku tidak menangis. Tapi aku tidak bisa memarahi mereka.
*****
Hari Senin kemarin ketika masuk ke kelas EC, aku membawa bola lain lagi. (FYI, topik utama pelajaran adalah MY TOYS, dan preposisi IN, ON, dan UNDER. Membawa realia ke kelas akan mempermudahku untuk menunjukkan beda IN, ON, dan UNDER.) Anak-anak takjub melihat aku datang dengan membawa bola lagi.
“Ms. Kalau kempes lagi nanti bagaimana?” tanya seorang anak laki-laki.
“Ya jangan dong. Diusahain kalau sedang bermain bola jangan sampai kempes. Ya?” aku memohon pengertian anak-anak itu.
“Kemarin tuh soalnya bolanya ditusuk oleh C pakai pensilnya,” si anak laki-laki itu bilang kepadaku.
Aku terhenyak kaget mendengarnya. Oh, ternyata bola itu kempes karena ditusuk pensil? Bukan karena dipakai rebutan oleh anak-anak?
C, anak perempuan yang bermata bundar polos itu memandangku, dengan tanpa rasa bersalah, berkata, “Semula aku mau menusukkannya ke L kok Miss, tapi kena bola,” dia mencoba memberi alasan.
Dari sepuluh siswa perempuan, memang C satu-satunya yang suka berkelahi dengan anak laki-laki. Yang lain lebih suka bermain dengan teman-teman perempuan yang lain. C lebih suka bermain dengan anak-anak laki-laki, termasuk berkelahi.
Pada hari yang sama aku juga membawa hape mainan ke kelas. Anak-anak suka memainkannya, dan bergantian satu per satu untuk memencet tuts yang kemudian menghasilkan musik yang berbeda-beda.
Satu kali, tatkala aku sedang sibuk memerika pekerjaan anak-anak, seorang siswa laki-laki, meminjam hape mainan itu, plus gunting. Dia bilang, “Miss, antennanya kugunting ya?”
“Jangan dong.” Kataku.
“Cuma sedikit aja kok Miss. Ga papa ya?” rengeknya.
“Jangan sampai rusak ya?” pesanku.
Dan ... akhirnya, begitulah. Antenna yang semula bisa mengeluarkan cahaya kalau tuts hape dipencet, cahaya itu hilang akhirnya, karena ujungnya telah digunting.
Aku ingat my sweet Angie. Begitu sweetnya dia sehingga dia tidak pernah merusak dengan sengaja mainan yang dia miliki.
“Tidak merusak tidak belajar?”
Atau mungkin aku yang lupa karena telah lama berlalu. LOL.
Anakku yang cuma satu tentu saja menghalangiku untuk membandingkan dia dengan yang lain. Angie will always the best of all, karena anakku ya cuma satu dia itu. Dia selalu mudah kuajak bicara, such as, “Kalau Angie malakukan ini, nanti hasilnya begini. Kalau Angie melakukan itu, nanti hasilnya begitu.” Dan dia selalu dengan manis mempercayaiku.
Seperti tatkala pertama kali dia harus minum obat dalam bentuk kapsul, dia bertanya kepadaku, “Rasanya seperti apa Mama?”
“Rasanya enak Sayang,” jawabku. “Karena dengan minum ini Angie akan segera sembuh.”
Angie percaya dan dengan mudah meminum obatnya. Namun tatkala kapsul itu sulit masuk tenggorokannya, dan tertinggal di dalam mulutnya, dengan meringis kepahitan, dia memandangku dengan sorot mata tidak percaya masak Mamanya berbohong? “Katanya enak? Kok pahit?” LOL.
Akhirnya Angie pun komplain, “Kok kayak gini enak Ma?”
“Enak Sayang. Karena setelah minum obat ini Angie akan segera sembuh.” Jawabku.
Dan Angie pun tersenyum, baik bibir maupun matanya.
Mengajar kelas Elementary Class membuatku mengenal lebih banyak karakter anak, yang dengan tanpa sengaja membuatku membandingkannya dengan pengalamanku menghadapi Angie kecil dulu.
How do other parents face and take care of their children so that they produce such children? Will I produce another child just like Angie if I have another kid?
PT56 00.15 090507
Aku yang sedang sibuk memeriksa hasil kerjaan anak-anak, menoleh ke arah beberapa siswa yang sedang bermain. “Dasar kreatif!” kataku dalam hati.
“Ya, tidak apa-apa, nanti coba Ms. Nana tiup lagi.” Kataku.
Seorang anak kemudian meletakkan bola yang sudah kempes itu di atas mejaku. Tapi tak lama kemudian seorang anak lain lagi mengambilnya. Dan, tanpa sepengetahuanku, beberapa anak kemudian menarik-narik bola yang sudah kempes itu, dan ... VOILA ... bola plastik itu akhirnya robek. NAH LO! Ketika seorang anak menunjukkan nasib apes bola itu kepadaku, aku tidak habis pikir bagaimana anak-anak itu dengan begitu kreatif telah merusak bola itu.
Melihat wajahku yang sedih, seorang anak bertanya, “Ms. Nana nangis ya?”
Tentu saja aku tidak menangis. Tapi aku tidak bisa memarahi mereka.
*****
Hari Senin kemarin ketika masuk ke kelas EC, aku membawa bola lain lagi. (FYI, topik utama pelajaran adalah MY TOYS, dan preposisi IN, ON, dan UNDER. Membawa realia ke kelas akan mempermudahku untuk menunjukkan beda IN, ON, dan UNDER.) Anak-anak takjub melihat aku datang dengan membawa bola lagi.
“Ms. Kalau kempes lagi nanti bagaimana?” tanya seorang anak laki-laki.
“Ya jangan dong. Diusahain kalau sedang bermain bola jangan sampai kempes. Ya?” aku memohon pengertian anak-anak itu.
“Kemarin tuh soalnya bolanya ditusuk oleh C pakai pensilnya,” si anak laki-laki itu bilang kepadaku.
Aku terhenyak kaget mendengarnya. Oh, ternyata bola itu kempes karena ditusuk pensil? Bukan karena dipakai rebutan oleh anak-anak?
C, anak perempuan yang bermata bundar polos itu memandangku, dengan tanpa rasa bersalah, berkata, “Semula aku mau menusukkannya ke L kok Miss, tapi kena bola,” dia mencoba memberi alasan.
Dari sepuluh siswa perempuan, memang C satu-satunya yang suka berkelahi dengan anak laki-laki. Yang lain lebih suka bermain dengan teman-teman perempuan yang lain. C lebih suka bermain dengan anak-anak laki-laki, termasuk berkelahi.
Pada hari yang sama aku juga membawa hape mainan ke kelas. Anak-anak suka memainkannya, dan bergantian satu per satu untuk memencet tuts yang kemudian menghasilkan musik yang berbeda-beda.
Satu kali, tatkala aku sedang sibuk memerika pekerjaan anak-anak, seorang siswa laki-laki, meminjam hape mainan itu, plus gunting. Dia bilang, “Miss, antennanya kugunting ya?”
“Jangan dong.” Kataku.
“Cuma sedikit aja kok Miss. Ga papa ya?” rengeknya.
“Jangan sampai rusak ya?” pesanku.
Dan ... akhirnya, begitulah. Antenna yang semula bisa mengeluarkan cahaya kalau tuts hape dipencet, cahaya itu hilang akhirnya, karena ujungnya telah digunting.
Aku ingat my sweet Angie. Begitu sweetnya dia sehingga dia tidak pernah merusak dengan sengaja mainan yang dia miliki.
“Tidak merusak tidak belajar?”
Atau mungkin aku yang lupa karena telah lama berlalu. LOL.
Anakku yang cuma satu tentu saja menghalangiku untuk membandingkan dia dengan yang lain. Angie will always the best of all, karena anakku ya cuma satu dia itu. Dia selalu mudah kuajak bicara, such as, “Kalau Angie malakukan ini, nanti hasilnya begini. Kalau Angie melakukan itu, nanti hasilnya begitu.” Dan dia selalu dengan manis mempercayaiku.
Seperti tatkala pertama kali dia harus minum obat dalam bentuk kapsul, dia bertanya kepadaku, “Rasanya seperti apa Mama?”
“Rasanya enak Sayang,” jawabku. “Karena dengan minum ini Angie akan segera sembuh.”
Angie percaya dan dengan mudah meminum obatnya. Namun tatkala kapsul itu sulit masuk tenggorokannya, dan tertinggal di dalam mulutnya, dengan meringis kepahitan, dia memandangku dengan sorot mata tidak percaya masak Mamanya berbohong? “Katanya enak? Kok pahit?” LOL.
Akhirnya Angie pun komplain, “Kok kayak gini enak Ma?”
“Enak Sayang. Karena setelah minum obat ini Angie akan segera sembuh.” Jawabku.
Dan Angie pun tersenyum, baik bibir maupun matanya.
Mengajar kelas Elementary Class membuatku mengenal lebih banyak karakter anak, yang dengan tanpa sengaja membuatku membandingkannya dengan pengalamanku menghadapi Angie kecil dulu.
How do other parents face and take care of their children so that they produce such children? Will I produce another child just like Angie if I have another kid?
PT56 00.15 090507
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