you taught me how to ride my bike

before him I couldn't ride my bike. it scared the hell out of me. it was simply incomprehensible to me how something with only two tires could be stable, and the thought of not being able to stop that bike always scares me. but there we were, and he believed in me, and that trust was what made me trust myself to ride it -other than the trust in him that he wont let me fall either-. and I really could ride it. I just need someone to believe.

he might not be my Tinkerbell and also not my prince charming, but I kinda loved him anyway. he was my lover and my friend, in a way I never experienced before. I never fully understood what happened to me and him, and I don't think he understands either, but I wish him all the happiness in the world. For in my heart, when I ride my bike I always know that you were the one who taught me how to ride it.

in the arms of his father

in the arms of his father, a photo by asihsimanis on Flickr.

why I never have money

Today I just paid my apartment fee through the bank. I did this with the help of my Chinese friend, because here in Japan everything is in kanji, so even basic things like paying your rent is a little difficult for an illiterate girl like me. Anyway, since we used the bank, now he kinda knows the amount of money that is inside my bank account. Shit. I'm so 恥ずかし (ashamed). I am so poor.

And inevitably, while we cycled to campus, he asked me "Where is all your money?". hmm where to begin..

The thing is that I actually have quiet a big salary (aka scholarship) but it puzzles me why with all that money I am still so so poor.. Seriously, why don't I ever have money?

I will gladly blame my dad for everything, because he died last year I had to go back to Indonesia, which cost me a hell lot of money, since I bought the ticket at the airport. but well, it was not really that expensive, it shouldn't have made me broke..

So you might say, maybe you are spending too much money, maybe you eat in restaurants, buy a lot of clothes etc. but the answer is no, I don't do all that. I am one of those people who don't turn on their heater a whole month in winter because I wanted to save gas and electricity. And as for food, I cook. I cook to save money. and clothes.. the whole winter I used only the sweaters I brought from Indonesia, I didn't buy anything new.. So I have no idea why I am broke.

But well I do know why.

I am poor because I travel too much. I spent so much money on travelling I am always left with no money at all.. And then there comes the never ending question.. is it all worth it? My friend said once that when you travel you are left with nothing. Really?

The way I was raised is that travelling is essential in growing as a person. Of course one can not judge ones self growth, so I might be totally biased when I say that I have learned a lot here in Japan, with all the travelling I have done. but If you asked me, I have gained a lot of experience, and although I am always always so poor, but I arrive richer after every journey. hmm hopefully this makes sense.

There is no point in living your life the same everyday with the same routine everyday, and there is no point on saving all your money and leave it in your bank, there is no point in having it all if you can not have the time to see the world. So that is why if I have the opportunity to travel, I will always choose to travel. It is like a hunger inside of me. well of course as time goes, and if someday I have a family, these priorities might change, but I will always try to travel with my family. My children need to see the world. travelling is part of living.

I'm crunching numbers in my head again, because i want to go to Kyoto next weekend. I know I will have to live miserably again because after the trip I would probably be broke again, but that never stopped me. So listen guys, at this moment, what I know is that life is short, you never know when your time is up, so pick your priorities, work hard, and always always find time to travel and see what is out there. This way you know that the world is beautiful and that makes life a thousand times more endurable.

banana bread

my first banana bread everyone!just made it with my rice cooker!

The recipe was pretty easy, which explains how a super amateur cooker like me could make it. Here I will give you the link to the page I found. If there was any creativity in my part, it would be to change the milk to coconut milk. and that's all. everything else was done by the book.

As for cooking with rice cooker, every rice cooker has its own thing. I had to cook it 4 times because in the first time, the bread was still not fully cooked, so you just gotta keep looking at the bread inside  and judge for yourself whether its done or not (I mean after the rice cooker is finished cooking, you gotta see the inside first, if its not done, turn it back on). As for how it tastes, I think it tastes superb. I gave some to my friends and they all liked it, so maybe you should try to:)

my simple french toast

On the bright side of living in a country far far away that is currently in a serious thread for nuclear radiation is that I can actually cook these days, like really cook food that people can eat. Which is an exponential improvement to what I was before. So thought maybe I should document my improvement by giving away recipes. which you could actually make. So my first recipe would be my simple french toast.


Ingredients:
Bread (3 slices or more)
1 Egg
1 cup of Coconut Milk
Cinnamon Sugar
Sugar
Salt

Step by Step.
1. Beat the egg with coconut milk (ofcourse you can simply use milk) and put inside a little salt, sugar and cinnamon sugar, how much of these you put inside is solemnly based on your good judgment :D
2. heat the pan, put in butter. wait until the pan is heated evenly.
3. Put in the bread inside the dough and quickly put in on the pan. wait until the color turns brown.

Well, I would love to add somepictures to this recipe, if I had the will to decorate the food, and also to take pictures of it. so maybe later. But I love the smell of the cinnamon and the sweetness of the bread. the ingredients are kinda exotic (with the coconut milk and all), but the taste is super western style. Happy tasting.

long distance relationship

They say Long Distance Relationship is difficult, I always say it isn't. Love is simply not just about presence, not just about meetings, and certainly not just about lust. So when I went to Japan I was certain that if it was meant to be, then it was meant to be.

How wrong I was. Love is however a commitment, and that commitment needs to be mend numerously and taken care of. Somehow even with all the technology in the world, people do grow apart. Somewhere along the way, when distance is in the equation, you forget that love is about giving your effort, your time, and your attention to the person you love, and without all that, the relationship simply is doubt able.

When you have doubt, then you will question, and when you question love, you will start to think, and when you think, then love is not part of the equation anymore. This all makes sense in my head, if it doesn't make sense to you, please move on.

Since I have reached Japan, I have gotten 2 mayor Crisis, one is the death of my father, the second one is the situation in Japan now. I wonder with so much going on, can my long distance relationship survive?

in times of Crisis part 2

I would say one thing, that right now I am proud to be Indonesian. Despite we are a poor country, and despite we dont have much to give, but as I know, Indonesia is sending help to Japan. And that alone tells that we are a nation that still cares about others suffering. Hopefully this will continue.

my decision to stay

I have no idea why I am staying. it probably is simply because I'm too lazy to run away. but I hope that my reasons are deeper than that. I could say proudly that I have not run  away, that this Crisis has not gotten to my nerves -but then I would be lying-. It has gotten to my nerves, and as I went to the supermarket yesterday I panicked a little when the things I wanted to buy for emergency supplies were not there, I panicked when stocks have gone out, and I panicked a little when I saw writings in kanji saying what I think means a restrictions for one to buy some products -meaning that someone can only buy 6 cans of canned food for instance-.

I also panic because every time I pass some Japanese people who are talking to each other I hear the word 心配　(Shinpai) which means worried, and it makes me 心配． I wish I understood the language well enough to know that when they say shinpai, they were talking about the weather which is very cold these days. or probably they are shinpai because they have their exams results or simply find anything in that conversation that can reassure me that the Japanese Shinpai does not concern any of what is happening in Fukushima. I wish I could be sure.

The fact that my two room mates are positively running away from japan next week doesnt really help either. 50% of the foreign population in my University has left the vicinity. Even if they hadn't run back home to their country, they might have run to Osaka -a city most consider to be safest in these times-.

In this level of uncertainty, the easiest way would be to fly home. To run away from everything and leave everything behind. but I am not done here yet. My gut is telling me to stay. I hope that I wont regret this decision.

I remember a friend of mine, who said to me once, when I told him that I am always amazed on how people can handle a crisis, how they can always stay strong, when they just lost everything they had -which is the case after what happened in the Tohoku region- but they can stay strong, he said to me," You always think you could never get through it if the same thing would to happen to you, but when the time of crisis comes, you see that people are always strong."

I hope that everyone in Japan can keep strong and level headed. I hope I can be strong and level headed.

May the force be with all of us.

Say YES to GAMBARU!

by Rouli Esther Pasaribu on Monday, March 14, 2011 at 10:02 AM

Terus terang aja, satu kata yang bener2 bikin muak jiwa raga setelah tiba di Jepang dua tahun lalu adalah : GAMBARU alias berjuang mati-matian sampai titik darah penghabisan. Muak abis, sumpah, karena tiap kali bimbingan sama prof, kata-kata penutup selalu : motto gambattekudasai (ayo berjuang lebih lagi), taihen dakedo, isshoni gambarimashoo (saya tau ini sulit, tapi ayo berjuang bersama-sama), motto motto kenkyuu shitekudasai (ayo bikin penelitian lebih dan lebih lagi). Sampai gw rasanya pingin ngomong, apa ngga ada kosa kata lain selain GAMBARU? apaan kek gitu, yang penting bukan gambaru.

Gambaru itu bukan hanya sekadar berjuang2 cemen gitu2 aja yang kalo males atau ada banyak rintangan, ya udahlah ya... berhenti aja. Menurut kamus bahasa jepang sih, gambaru itu artinya :

 

"doko made mo nintai shite doryoku suru" (bertahan sampai kemana pun juga dan berusaha abis-abisan)

 

Gambaru itu sendiri, terdiri dari dua karakter yaitu karakter "keras" dan "mengencangkan". Jadi image yang bisa didapat dari paduan karakter ini adalah "mau sesusah apapun itu persoalan yang dihadapi, kita mesti keras dan terus mengencangkan diri sendiri, agar kita bisa menang atas persoalan itu" (maksudnya jangan manja, tapi anggap semua persoalan itu adalah sebuah kewajaran dalam hidup, namanya hidup emang pada dasarnya susah, jadi jangan ngarep gampang, persoalan hidup hanya bisa dihadapi dengan gambaru, titik.).

 

Terus terang aja, dua tahun gw di jepang, dua tahun juga gw ngga ngerti, kenapa orang2 jepang ini menjadikan gambaru sebagai falsafah hidupnya. Bahkan anak umur 3 tahun kayak Joanna pun udah disuruh gambaru di sekolahnya, kayak pake baju di musim dingin mesti yang tipis2 biar ngga manja terhadap cuaca dingin, di dalam sekolah ngga boleh pakai kaos kaki karena kalo telapak kaki langsung kena lantai itu baik untuk kesehatan, sakit2 dikit cuma ingus meler2 atau demam 37 derajat mah ngga usah bolos sekolah, tetap dihimbau masuk dari pagi sampai sore, dengan alasan, anak akan kuat menghadapi penyakit jika ia melawan penyakitnya itu sendiri. Akibatnya, kalo naik sepeda di tanjakan sambil bonceng Joanna, dan gw ngos2an kecapean, otomatis Joanna ngomong : Mama, gambare! mama faitoooo! (mama ayo berjuang, mama ayo fight!). Pokoknya jangan manja sama masalah deh, gambaru sampe titik darah penghabisan it's a must!

 

Gw bener2 baru mulai sedikit mengerti mengapa gambaru ini penting banget dalam hidup, adalah setelah terjadi tsunami dan gempa bumi dengan kekuatan 9.0 di jepang bagian timur. Gw tau, bencana alam di indonesia seperti tsunami di aceh, nias dan sekitarnya, gempa bumi di padang, letusan gunung merapi....juga bukanlah hal yang gampang untuk dihadapi. Tapi, tsunami dan gempa bumi di jepang kali ini, jauuuuuh lebih parah dari semuanya itu. Bahkan, ini adalah gempa bumi dan tsunami terparah dan terbesar di dunia.

 

Wajaaaaaaar banget kalo kemudian pemerintah dan masyarakat jepang panik kebingungan karena bencana ini. Wajaaaaar banget kalo mereka kemudian mulai ngerasa galau, nangis2, ga tau mesti ngapain. Bahkan untuk skala bencana sebesar ini, rasanya bisa "dimaafkan" jika stasiun-stasiun TV memasang sedikit musik latar ala lagu-lagu ebiet dan membuat video klip tangisan anak negeri yang berisi wajah-wajah korban bencana yang penuh kepiluan dan tatapan kosong tak punya harapan. Bagaimana tidak, tsunami dan gempa bumi ini benar-benar menyapu habis seluruh kehidupan yang mereka miliki. Sangat wajar jika kemudian mereka tidak punya harapan.

 

Tapi apa yang terjadi pasca bencana mengerikan ini? Dari hari pertama bencana, gw nyetel TV dan nungguin lagu-lagu ala ebiet diputar di stasiun TV. Nyari-nyari juga di mana rekening dompet bencana alam. Video klip tangisan anak negeri juga gw tunggu2in. Tiga unsur itu (lagu ala ebiet, rekening dompet bencana, video klip tangisan anak negeri), sama sekali ngga disiarkan di TV. Jadi yang ada apaan dong?

 

Ini yang gw lihat di stasiun2 TV :

1. Peringatan pemerintah agar setiap warga tetap waspada

 

2. Himbauan pemerintah agar seluruh warga jepang bahu membahu menghadapi bencana (termasuk permintaan untuk menghemat listrik agar warga di wilayah tokyo dan tohoku ngga lama-lama terkena mati lampu)

 

3. Permintaan maaf dari pemerintah karena terpaksa harus melakukan pemadaman listrik terencana

 

4. Tips-tips menghadapi bencana alam

5. nomor telepon call centre bencana alam yang bisa dihubungi 24 jam

 

6. Pengiriman tim SAR dari setiap perfektur menuju daerah-daerah yang terkena bencana

 

7. Potret warga dan pemerintah yang bahu membahu menyelamatkan warga yang terkena bencana (sumpah sigap banget, nyawa di jepang benar-benar bernilai banget harganya)

 

8. Pengobaran semangat dari pemerintah yang dibawakan dengan gaya tenang dan tidak emosional : mari berjuang sama-sama menghadapi bencana, mari kita hadapi (government official pake kata norikoeru, yang kalo diterjemahkan secara harafiah : menaiki dan melewati) dengan sepenuh hati

 

9. Potret para warga yang terkena bencana, yang saling menyemangati :

 

*ada yang nyari istrinya, belum ketemu2, mukanya udah galau banget, tapi tetap tenang dan ngga emosional, disemangati nenek2 yang ada di tempat pengungsian : gambatte sagasoo! kitto mitsukaru kara. Akiramenai de (ayo kita berjuang cari istri kamu. Pasti ketemu. Jangan menyerah)

 

*Tulisan di twitter : ini gempa terbesar sepanjang sejarah. Karena itu, kita mesti memberikan usaha dan cinta terbesar untuk dapat melewati bencana ini; Gelap sekali di Sendai, lalu ada satu titik bintang terlihat terang. Itu bintang yang sangat indah. Warga Sendai, lihatlah ke atas.

 

Sebagai orang Indonesia yang tidak pernah melihat cara penanganan bencana ala gambaru kayak gini, gw bener-bener merasa malu dan di saat yang bersamaan : kagum dan hormat banget sama warga dan pemerintah Jepang. Ini negeri yang luar biasa, negeri yang sumber daya alamnya terbatas banget, negeri yang alamnya keras, tapi bisa maju luar biasa dan punya mental sekuat baja, karena : falsafah gambaru-nya itu. Bisa dibilang, orang-orang jepang ini ngga punya apa-apa selain GAMBARU. Dan, gambaru udah lebih dari cukup untuk menghadapi segala persoalan dalam hidup.

 

Bener banget, kita mesti berdoa, kita mesti pasrah sama Tuhan. Hanya, mental yang apa-apa "nyalahin" Tuhan, bilang2 ini semua kehendakNya, Tuhan marah pada umatNya, Tuhan marah melalui alam maka tanyalah pada rumput yang bergoyang.....I guarantee you 100 percent, selama masih mental ini yang berdiam di dalam diri kita, sampai kiamat sekalipun, gw rasa bangsa kita ngga akan bisa maju. kalau ditilik lebih jauh, "menyalahkan" Tuhan atas semua bencana dan persoalan hidup, sebenarnya adalah kata lain dari ngga berani bertanggungjawab terhadap hidup yang dianugerahkan Sang Pemilik Hidup. Jika diperjelas lagi, ngga berani bertanggungjawab itu maksudnya : lari dari masalah, ngga mau ngadepin masalah, main salah2an, ngga mau berjuang dan baru ketemu sedikit rintangan aja udah nangis manja.

 

Kira-kira setahun yang lalu, ada sanak keluarga yang mempertanyakan, untuk apa gw menuntut ilmu di Jepang. Ngapain ke Jepang, ngga ada gunanya, kalo mau S2 atau S3 mah, ya di eropa atau amerika sekalian, kalo di Jepang mah nanggung. Begitulah kata beliau. Sempat terpikir juga akan perkataannya itu, iya ya, kalo mau go international ya mestinya ke amrik atau eropa sekalian, bukannya jepang ini. Toh sama-sama asia, negeri kecil pula dan kalo ga bisa bahasa jepang, ngga akan bisa survive di sini. Sampai sempat nyesal juga,kenapa gw ngedaleminnya sastra jepang dan bukan sastra inggris atau sastra barat lainnya.

 

Tapi sekarang, gw bisa bilang dengan yakin sama sanak keluarga yang menyatakan ngga ada gunanya gw nuntut ilmu di jepang. Pernyataan beliau adalah salah sepenuhnya. Mental gambaru itu yang paling megang adalah jepang. Dan menjadikan mental gambaru sebagai way of life adalah lebih berharga daripada go international dan sejenisnya itu. Benar, sastra jepang, gender dan sejenisnya itu, bisa dipelajari di mana saja. Tapi, semangat juang dan mental untuk tetap berjuang abis-abisan biar udah ngga ada jalan, gw rasa, salah satu tempat yang ideal untuk memahami semua itu adalah di jepang. Dan gw bersyukur ada di sini, saat ini.

 

Maka, mulai hari ini, jika gw mendengar kata gambaru, entah di kampus, di mall, di iklan-iklan TV, di supermarket, di sekolahnya joanna atau di mana pun itu, gw tidak akan lagi merasa muak jiwa raga. Sebaliknya, gw akan berucap dengan rendah hati : Indonesia jin no watashi ni gambaru no seishin to imi wo oshietekudasatte, kokoro kara kansha itashimasu. Nihon jin no minasan no yoo ni, gambaru seishin wo mi ni tsukeraremasu yoo ni, hibi gambatteikitai to omoimasu. (Saya ucapkan terima kasih dari dasar hati saya karena telah mengajarkan arti dan mental gambaru bagi saya, seorang Indonesia. Saya akan berjuang tiap hari, agar mental gambaru merasuk dalam diri saya, seperti kalian semuanya, orang-orang Jepang).

 

Share the happiness

*ini bukan tulisan saya, saya mendapatkannya dari ibu saya, yang mendapatkannya dari milis ITB76, jika penulis tidak suka dengan pemasangan tulisan ini di blog saya, maka akan saya turunkan secepatnya. Saya memasangnya di blog saya karena menurut saya ini merupakan suatu tulisan yang baik yang mencerminkan orang-orang sini, yang juga saya hormati. Ganbarimasu!

in times of Crisis

They say that in times of crisis you can see who your real friends are -and probably who you really are-. I wonder if what is happening in Japan right now is a crisis -which of course it is-, what does that make us?

In my own personal scope-this is a part you can conveniently skip, because it has no effect whatsoever in the big picture in which we should be concerned at-

I would say that these pass few days I've been starting to think whether anyone cares about my safety. unlike all my other foreign friends, I have not been urged to come home, or really been contacted 24/7 by any of my friends. I wonder what that means? I wonder whether I have been a horrible friend to all of my friends, so they have no interest in my well being. I wonder whether I could ever trust any of them again.it is not that I want to go home, it is just somehow comforting if you know someone is worried with you.

In the scope of Japan

I wonder why no one has been trying to collect donations. I wonder why no one has tried to collect blankets to distribute to Sendai or Fukushima. I wonder why its difficult to find a place to donate. I wonder why they say that Japan has not received as many donations as what they received after the Katrina hurricane or any other big Crisis. I wonder whether people care? I wonder whether I care? What is it about our own lives that makes other lives less important? What is it about our lives that makes us forget about the difficulties that other people are experiencing, What does it mean in terms of who we are. Are we selfish?

Yesterday was my birthday, and in the middle of this rumble, when I came to my lab, a good friend of mine, whose home town is the infamous Sendai, gave me one big bento of Sushi she made herself. She wrote on the card to me that she is happy that I am around. So did my other friend who came from Fukushima, she said in the card that  she is glad I'm around. I wonder whether they still think so, when in this dilemma I can not help them at all, while their whole family has been heavily affected. How can I help?

Everyone has been monitoring the nuclear situation obsessively, they forget that there are people out there -thousands of people- who are still struggling for their lives out there -without electricity, without water, without food - in the middle of winter. What does that make us?

 I sit impatiently watching the whole situation go by. Angry of what is happening, disappointed about not being able to help, ashamed about not trying enough to help. Can we really as a society overcome this? Can we grow stronger as human beings? People have been saying Japan be strong over and over again, but really, is this only a problem for the Japanese? as a growing culture we should have gotten to a point in this rapid growth of globalism where we no longer view Japanese as Japanese, the failure of Crisis management by the Japanese authority, or the lack of food for the victims are -however- a failure of humanity, not just a simple internal problem solvable by the Japanese alone.

In times of Crisis, when will we ever overcome the walls of diversity and finally come to a state where we spread love?

Donations for Japan

It is arrogant and simply intolerable to think that these people do not need the money because they are rich people. The Japanese are rich people, but they do need help. and the difference between this situation and what happened in Indonesia (whether in Aceh, Yogyakarta, or any other disaster effected area), is that the money we give will be distributed to the once in need. So please open your wallet everyone, they need it!

These people might not be begging you to give them money, but that doesn't make it any less necessary for you to donate. The devastation and the disaster that happened is just as big as what happened in Aceh in 2004, although luckily because of great prevention less people died. but still, there are people out there in the disaster area living inside public places, without any electricity, and it is still winter! it is still snowing! please people please help Japan!

*In this link Im giving you a page where a lot other links are, for the purpose of donation

what it means to be Japanese

I don't believe in coincidence, I believe in faith, and I believe that from every thing that happens, there will be a lesson to be learned. And I add one other thing I believe in, I believe in the humanity and the civility that is Japanese.

These pass few days my world has been teared apart into 2 worlds, the world of the fellow non-Japanese, and the world of the Japanese in my Lab. The Japanese world is save and calm, and continues to do their work. The other world is in chaos and panic, it is on the verge of a nuclear meltdown. which part should I put my feet on. I wish there was a way to be in both worlds.

It is only after I read this blog , I understood a little of what it means to be truly Japanese, and how much faith they have on their own people. I admire their spirits and their braveness, but should I follow?

As everyone is running away from Japan, or at least running to the southern part of the country, should I follow? or should I simply stay in my lab, where everything is save and researches are still being conducted and virtually nothing has changed. what should I do? What does it mean however to be truly Japanese if you are not a Japanese?

*This article explaines the beauty of the Japanese community, if you are interested, you might read it.

terus mengamati keadaan setelah gempa

Hari hari tetap berjalan sebagaimana biasanya, tidak terasa ada yang spesial, kecuali jika menyalakan tivi, terlihat sudah berbagai kerusakan yang terjadi dan sebagainya. tapi tanpa tivi sebagai jendela informasi, ataupun internet sebagai pemasok berita-berita terkini, kehidupan di sini rasa-rasanya berjalan seperti biasa.

seorang teman dekatku di sini, orang jepang, berasal dari Sendai. daerah yang paling terpengaruh akibat gempat Jumat lalu, namun toh kami bersama-sama makan sushi sebagai makan malam, hari jumat itu juga, dia bilang Asih ingin makan, jadi mari kita semua pergi makan sushi!

Siang pada hari jumat itu, saat terjadi gempa, kami semua di lab sibuk mencari informasi mengenai sumber gempa dan sebagainy. betapa dewasanya reaksi itu. tak ada satupun dari teman saya yang kabur keluar bangunan, ataupun keluar lab. dan tak ada satpun yang terlihat takut. itulah artinya kepercayaan diri terhadap bangunan yang kau tempati. dengan rasa percaya ini, tak ada panik, dan in turn of that, tanpa panik itu, tak ada pula kecelakaan akibat rasa panik itu.

Lalu saya pulang ke rumah, dan selama week end saya menghabiskan banyak waktu dengan teman-teman yan bukan orang jepang, wah betapa bedanya. Semua panik, semua disorientasi, semua bersiap evakuasi. pertanyaannya  kenapa?

Media

Media yang terus menerus memberitakan keadaan Jepang, seolah-olah bencana yang terjadi terjadi pada seluruh jepang membuat semua orang menjadi was-was. padahal sama seperti bencana yang terjadi di Sumatra pada 2004, dimana mungkin Palembang tidak begitu terpengaruh, maka di pulau Honshu ini, tempat terjadinya gempa, tidak semua daerah terpengaruh gempa itu. contohlah wilayah saya, kami memang merasakan gempa tersebut (di tempat kami mungkin terasa seperti 6), tapi tidak ada kerusakan sama sekali di tempat kami.  dan saya juga menelpon teman saya yang berada di Kyoto, beliau pun merasakan getarannya, namun tidak ada kerusakan. namun mengapa sekarang semua orang menjadi panik? Keluarga kami di rumah mendengar berita yang lular biasa itu, sehingga mereka menjadi tidak tenang, namun mohonlah bagi keluarga yang mana anggotanya tidak berada di daerah tohoku, calm yourself! The situation mught be bad, but it is not that bad yet!

daripada semua orang fokus untuk melarikan diri dari jepang, tidaklah lebih baik kita semua bahu membahu mencoba membantu jepang?

asih

Earthquake for Indonesia

Shut your mouths anyone who talks about bad morality of the people who died on the Boxing Day in Indonesia – nobody deserves to die, no one deserves to judge who deserves to die -. It ignited a fire deep inside me, experiencing a huge earthquake here in the land of Japan - where people work to find the cause of deaths and prevent it –rather than blaming morality on it -, and see how many people died? Probably just a fraction of the amount of people who died on the boxing day in Aceh. Can I ask why?

If the reasons are to be mentioned then there will be a lot of reasons: corruption, stupidity, lack of education, lack of any warning system, lack of consciousness, and lack of everything in this context. Where to begin the repairs? Where to begin to gain control over your own destiny? Is it too late?

It does not matter that we are not a rich country, being rich should not be the goal of anyone, nor should it be the goal of any country, we should simply just pursue like what the Americans would pursue, the pursue of happiness but in a very modest way, and in a way that insures a better future for our children. Not just for our children, but also for our children’s children. That’s how anyone sane should view their life right?

I would suggest these following actions in Indonesia, although probably nobody would read this post but at least I have gotten it out there. Indonesia should find a way to ensure that there are actions to be done to those who do not play by the rules –in this case, the rules of building the correct way- and Indonesia should find a way to ensure that there is enough information to be given to all its citizen on how to survive an earthquake and also Indonesia should invest on putting warning devices to give the right information for possible aftershocks or tsunamis.

I will not start to talk about corruption or morality, because all of that is not part of my cup of tea – but I would love to believe that we as human beings still care about each other enough to give a little effort for the better of the people- . Is someone out there with me?

Im sorry, that 7.9 Earthquake that just hit Japan made my mood very crampy-.

Multiculturalism has failed us!

Itu adalah pernyataan perdana mentri Inggris baru baru ini. And it got me thinking.

Pertama pertanyaannya adalah, apakah Multiculturalism? Dan jawabannya tentu saja bisa di cari dengan Google. Untuk meringkas Multiculturalism adalah sebuah system dimana dalam satu society dengan banyak kebudayaan, agama, atau ras yang berbeda, setiap perbedaan itu dibiarkan untuk berkembang biak dengan baik, dan perbedaan itu dilindungi oleh negaranya. On short, it is what we have implied in Indonesia, it is what we call： Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.

Lalu mengapa Multiculturalism has failed England, sedangkan multiculturalism itu baik? Mari kita lihat dari sudut pandang mereka.

Di Inggris saat ini lagi ada kegemparan, karena banyaknya terorisme oleh penduduk mereka sendiri dan juga banyaknya orang inggris yang memilih untuk pergi berperang membela Negara lain yang berada jauh dari mereka, karena mereka tidak memiliki perasaan memiliki Negara Inggris. Oke mari kesampingkan isu agama di sini. Bukan itu yang mau saya bahas.

Wajarlah jika orang inggris merasa ketar ketir terhadap kondisi tersebut, karena lebih dari 20% mungkin dari penduduknya bukan “penduduk asli”, tapi mengapa, mengapa walaupun mereka tinggal di sana dan bekerja serta berkeluarga dibawah pemerintahan Inggris, mereka tidak merasa memiliki Inggris? There must be something wrong.

Jawabannya adalah multiculturalism, Dengan adanya kebijakan ini, secara tak sadar mereka jadi memisah-misahkan golongan dalam masayarakat mereka. Mereka telah secara sadar membiarkan perbedaan memisahkan mereka. Mereka secara sadar telah mempraktekkan devide et empera pada diri mereka sendiri.

Di minggu yang sama, saya membaca di majalah Newsweek yang ada di perpustakaan kampus saya tentang adanya pembantaian 3 orang Ahmadiyah di Indonesia. Judul dari artikel itu adalah Intolerant Indonesia. Bagaimana hal seperti itu bisa terjadi?

Tak adil jika pembantaian itu dijustifikasi karena orang yang dibantai adalah Ahmadiyah, tak ada justifikasi untuk sebuah pembantaian. Dan tak adil jika karena pembantaian ini maka satu Indonesia di anggap tidak mempunyai toleransi agama, karena saya sebagai warga Negara Indonesia yakin bahwa kita adalah Negara yang sangat toleran. Bangsa yang toleran. Tapi apakah itu benar?

Setelah pembantaian terjadi tidak ada kegemparan yang terjadi di masyarakat Indonesia yang meminta keadilan ditegakkan, karena mungkin merasa bahwa mereka pantas dibantai? Apakah keheningan masyarakat terhadap hal-hal seperti ini merupakan pertanda bahwa kita memang adalah Intoleran Indonesia?

Ini adalah buah dari Multiculturalism. Dengan mempromosikan perbedaan kita membuat manusia menjadi jauh satu sama lain. Kita menarik diri kita dari sesame bangsa kita, karena perbedaan agama, perbedaan suku, perbedaan pulau, perbedaan bahasa, dan sebagainya. Karena itulah Multiculturalism itu adalah sebuah kebijakan yang gagal untuk sebuah bangsa.

Tapi jangan lupa bahwa Negara kita bukan dibangun dengan Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. Negara kita didirikan dengan Sumpah Pemuda. Sebuah sumpah yang menyatakan bahwa kita mengaku bertumpah darah satu tanah Indonesia, mengaku berbangsa satu Bangsa Indonesia, dan mengaku berbahasa satu Bahasa Indonesia. Semua Perbedaan itu kita lewati demi satu tujuan yang sama, dimana semangat itu sekarang?