Man, damn, when you got curious of other's private stuffs, complications and disasters will follow...
Of course, honesty is the best policy and that seems to be the sensible thing to do, and I did..
What will happen? Ruining my friendship with someone that I care for...
Oh, well, damage has been done. Not much to do then...
Monday, December 29, 2003
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Hari bete nasional...
Gile..setelah libur seminggu lebih gw jadi bete banget di rumah..tiap hari isinya cuman nonton DVD doang mana asyik...ya sempat sih pergi ke Minneapolis, ikutan rayain natalan di tempat Jana, tapi ya itu deh..abis gitu bete lagi.
Makanya hari ini setelah bangun jam 11 siang *gile...sisa2 capek ke Minne kemarin* nonton the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings dan pergi ke public library, gw telp Michael, sapa tau dia dan Yiendra rencana mo bikin apaan gitu, kayak semalem pergi main bowling. Ternyata Michael mo ke Staples dan Walmart. Makanya daripada bete gw ngikut aja deh.
Abis dari 2 toko gede itu *gw akhirnya beli telp baru, buat ganti yg lama yg baterainya dah bapuk* gw nongkrong di 225 Hyland...spt biasa...maen game, nyanyi2, ngobrol2 dsb...lumayan paling tidak kita bete bareng2 hehehehe
Makanya hari ini setelah bangun jam 11 siang *gile...sisa2 capek ke Minne kemarin* nonton the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings dan pergi ke public library, gw telp Michael, sapa tau dia dan Yiendra rencana mo bikin apaan gitu, kayak semalem pergi main bowling. Ternyata Michael mo ke Staples dan Walmart. Makanya daripada bete gw ngikut aja deh.
Abis dari 2 toko gede itu *gw akhirnya beli telp baru, buat ganti yg lama yg baterainya dah bapuk* gw nongkrong di 225 Hyland...spt biasa...maen game, nyanyi2, ngobrol2 dsb...lumayan paling tidak kita bete bareng2 hehehehe
I am who?
Accprding to the quiz about the Lord of the Rings characters, I am...
Congratulations! You're Sam!
Which Lord of the Rings character and personality problem are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Really??????
Congratulations! You're Sam!
Which Lord of the Rings character and personality problem are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Really??????
Saturday, December 27, 2003
MINNEAPOLIS TRIP...ONLY FOR THE RICH!
It just happened that some friends were going to Minneapolis, Minnesota, so I was invited to tag along...and off I went! On sunny Friday morning...
As usual, Indonesians are identical to lateness. When I was told that we would go at 6 AM, some complications arose. I got to send money home through Western Union and the Hyvee, where the agent for Western Union is located, opened only after 6 AM after its Christmas holiday. So I woke up early, hit the shower, and rushed to Hyvee, back again to my apartment, waiting for the guys to show up, only to find that they would be running late...Damn...
But, finally off we went...We got two cars: Juhari's and Kelvin's with ten other persons going: Refina, me, Pipiet, Ardi, Andre, Adi Lila, Kelvin, Juve, and Denny. We hit McD for some of us hadn't had breakfast. And then, at 9 we went north to Minnesota. Along the road, as usual when you're traveling in Midwest, farms, farms and farms, usually interrupted by inns, storage facilities, etc. We stopped at Modern Rest Area which has a showcase of Iowa's stuffs. It happened to be at the TOP of Iowa, meaning the northest place in Iowa.
We planned to go to Mall of America, the largest mall in the USA. And it is. On the first floor, it has a huge theme park, with Peanuts characters as the theme. So you will find Snoopy and his friends painted everywhere. It has a rollercoaster, merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, etc. the usual fun in a park. But of course, they cost money and they are expensive. So, I was only staring at them, wishing to be one of the kids in the wheel. And my mind was off to Jalu. If only he had been there! He would have been thrilled, as thrilled as me. They also got a Lego section, with children busily building something out of the blocks. Jalu would love it.
Inside of the mall? Stores, stores, stores. Shoppers, shoppers, shoppers. Fancy chicks, dandy dudes, trendy pops, fashion-lover mommies and cute babies, from any ethnic groups. Got heaps of money to spend on winter sales. Bloomingtons, Express, JC Penney, GAP, Banana Republic, Barnes and Nobles, Victoria's Secret, Pottery Barn, you name it, they got it. But of course, those are only available for the haves. When you have money, all doors will be open in Mall of America.
Excuse me? Sure there are other faces in Mall of America, like my face. Have money but not sufficient to spend on a holiday spree. So we have our eyes to do shopping, dreaming that someday we can get a hold of the fancy stuffs. I want the sweaters, I want the perfumes, I want the books, I want the CDs, I want the jeans, I want the stationeries. Instead, I got a Franklin Covey journal (worth 3 weeks of my grocery shopping, btw) which for almost a month now I had been giving a thought of buying , busily considering if it worths the money. And a book about reflexology, hoping that it can help others in pain. In other times, I just set my eyes on those stuffs, those people, those expressions of joy of passerby shoppers.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not envious or anything. I was just dreaming, and I am still dreaming....
That is what I got from my one day trip to Minneapolis...
As usual, Indonesians are identical to lateness. When I was told that we would go at 6 AM, some complications arose. I got to send money home through Western Union and the Hyvee, where the agent for Western Union is located, opened only after 6 AM after its Christmas holiday. So I woke up early, hit the shower, and rushed to Hyvee, back again to my apartment, waiting for the guys to show up, only to find that they would be running late...Damn...
But, finally off we went...We got two cars: Juhari's and Kelvin's with ten other persons going: Refina, me, Pipiet, Ardi, Andre, Adi Lila, Kelvin, Juve, and Denny. We hit McD for some of us hadn't had breakfast. And then, at 9 we went north to Minnesota. Along the road, as usual when you're traveling in Midwest, farms, farms and farms, usually interrupted by inns, storage facilities, etc. We stopped at Modern Rest Area which has a showcase of Iowa's stuffs. It happened to be at the TOP of Iowa, meaning the northest place in Iowa.
We planned to go to Mall of America, the largest mall in the USA. And it is. On the first floor, it has a huge theme park, with Peanuts characters as the theme. So you will find Snoopy and his friends painted everywhere. It has a rollercoaster, merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, etc. the usual fun in a park. But of course, they cost money and they are expensive. So, I was only staring at them, wishing to be one of the kids in the wheel. And my mind was off to Jalu. If only he had been there! He would have been thrilled, as thrilled as me. They also got a Lego section, with children busily building something out of the blocks. Jalu would love it.
Inside of the mall? Stores, stores, stores. Shoppers, shoppers, shoppers. Fancy chicks, dandy dudes, trendy pops, fashion-lover mommies and cute babies, from any ethnic groups. Got heaps of money to spend on winter sales. Bloomingtons, Express, JC Penney, GAP, Banana Republic, Barnes and Nobles, Victoria's Secret, Pottery Barn, you name it, they got it. But of course, those are only available for the haves. When you have money, all doors will be open in Mall of America.
Excuse me? Sure there are other faces in Mall of America, like my face. Have money but not sufficient to spend on a holiday spree. So we have our eyes to do shopping, dreaming that someday we can get a hold of the fancy stuffs. I want the sweaters, I want the perfumes, I want the books, I want the CDs, I want the jeans, I want the stationeries. Instead, I got a Franklin Covey journal (worth 3 weeks of my grocery shopping, btw) which for almost a month now I had been giving a thought of buying , busily considering if it worths the money. And a book about reflexology, hoping that it can help others in pain. In other times, I just set my eyes on those stuffs, those people, those expressions of joy of passerby shoppers.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not envious or anything. I was just dreaming, and I am still dreaming....
That is what I got from my one day trip to Minneapolis...
Thursday, December 25, 2003
LAGU GUE (IN PROCESS)
You and me
amazingly
two entities
in love but just differently
You are there
with your gazing eyes
but deep inside
I'll never see
Is it love
for me only
or is it just pure my fantasy
tell me baby
it is not just my fantasy
(to be continued....)
amazingly
two entities
in love but just differently
You are there
with your gazing eyes
but deep inside
I'll never see
Is it love
for me only
or is it just pure my fantasy
tell me baby
it is not just my fantasy
(to be continued....)
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
CHRISTMAS IN AMES...FULL OF FOOD...
Today is the day before Christmas and I woke up at 6, cooking "oseng-oseng kacang panjang" for the Hertz Family Christmas. Done with that, I wrapped christmas gifts for Tom and Joyce.
At 10, Jana and Joyce picked us up to go to Nevada to Carl and Marjorie's farm to celebrate christmas with food and loads of Hertz family. We had wonderful lunch, talks, and baby sit the baby Grace. She's soooo cute and chubby. She's just 18 months old, reminded me so much of Jalu when he was her age!!!
I also went to their lake behind the house and do ice sliding....gosh...so fun!
Then, we left at 5 PM to...another christmas dinner! This time was the Dickson's (Joyce's side of family) and it was full of laughter. Dave and Bonnie (Joyce's brother) announced their engangement! So great...we raised a toast for them!
Great..great...great food and company!
At 10, Jana and Joyce picked us up to go to Nevada to Carl and Marjorie's farm to celebrate christmas with food and loads of Hertz family. We had wonderful lunch, talks, and baby sit the baby Grace. She's soooo cute and chubby. She's just 18 months old, reminded me so much of Jalu when he was her age!!!
I also went to their lake behind the house and do ice sliding....gosh...so fun!
Then, we left at 5 PM to...another christmas dinner! This time was the Dickson's (Joyce's side of family) and it was full of laughter. Dave and Bonnie (Joyce's brother) announced their engangement! So great...we raised a toast for them!
Great..great...great food and company!
Monday, December 22, 2003
ANNOUNCING THE BEST DRIVER IN THE US...CYRIDE DRIVERS!
I was out tonight, watching my beloved Hugh Grant in Love Actually at Ames Theater with Refina and Lydia. And, as it sometimes happens, I almost missed my bus.
You see, coming out from the world of the silver screeen, I checked my precious bus schedule and I noticed that I got only 2 minutes to walk *or should I say run* from the theater which is in Lincoln Way to the bus stop at Welch Avenue Station, and the distance is about 340 meter. Fortunately, the bus stopped for about 3 minutes or so at the traffic light at Welch Ave-Lincoln Way intersection, so I got more seconds for running.
The bus driver obviously saw me running like a mad man along Welch Ave so he stopped at the bus stop in front of Welch Avenue Station and waited for me. I was out of breath....golly gosh...
So here I am, announcing the best driver in the US *or shall I say the world?*: Cyride drivers!
This is the bus that should receive world recognition: cyride!
You see, coming out from the world of the silver screeen, I checked my precious bus schedule and I noticed that I got only 2 minutes to walk *or should I say run* from the theater which is in Lincoln Way to the bus stop at Welch Avenue Station, and the distance is about 340 meter. Fortunately, the bus stopped for about 3 minutes or so at the traffic light at Welch Ave-Lincoln Way intersection, so I got more seconds for running.
The bus driver obviously saw me running like a mad man along Welch Ave so he stopped at the bus stop in front of Welch Avenue Station and waited for me. I was out of breath....golly gosh...
So here I am, announcing the best driver in the US *or shall I say the world?*: Cyride drivers!
This is the bus that should receive world recognition: cyride!
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
I'M (ALMOST) FAMOUS...
Check this out...I'm (almost) famous in Des Moines area...
ISU students teach Central kids of their homelands
I found this in Google and have fun reading about myself...what an ego maniac :P
ISU students teach Central kids of their homelands
I found this in Google and have fun reading about myself...what an ego maniac :P
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
WEB-BASED TEACHING UNIT DONE!
Cardenas, Grannis, Isharyanti, O'Bryan, and Perales proudly present:
The Stolen Mona Lisa: A Tense Consistency Mystery
Hope you love it and you use it!
The Stolen Mona Lisa: A Tense Consistency Mystery
Hope you love it and you use it!
MY CLASSMATES, MY BUDDIES...
This evening, some people in my 510 class decided to go to Boheme Bistro to have a drink and to wind down after we finished the WBTU (well, actually, we are not quite done yet, especially the other group, but we went anyway) and to celebrate the job done. Volker, my professor, did come, so it was good. The relationship between students and professors here in States is really good, especially in graduate programs. You can be friends with your professors too, unlike in Indonesia.
My classmates are awesome. We had Betsy, Erin, Chris, Shannon, Moises, Monica, Dessie and Anne. Plus Volker and Esteban *Monica's bf*. We drank a bit and chatted through the night. It's kinda of cool and relaxing. Boheme is usually a place where people dance, but this evening because it is on Monday and it is the finals week, so there is no dancing at all. Just cozy seats and slow music. Good friends around. It felt good. And I'm feeling contented...
Anne~Erin~Volker~Monica~Chris (pics by English 510)
My classmates are awesome. We had Betsy, Erin, Chris, Shannon, Moises, Monica, Dessie and Anne. Plus Volker and Esteban *Monica's bf*. We drank a bit and chatted through the night. It's kinda of cool and relaxing. Boheme is usually a place where people dance, but this evening because it is on Monday and it is the finals week, so there is no dancing at all. Just cozy seats and slow music. Good friends around. It felt good. And I'm feeling contented...
Anne~Erin~Volker~Monica~Chris (pics by English 510)
Monday, December 15, 2003
FULBRIGHT SEMINAR IN ARIZONA
Wow, I just received the confirmation that I'm selected to go to Fulbright seminar in Tempe, Arizona on Feb 19-22, 2004. Isn't it fun? I'm not going to Pittsburgh for the CALICO conference but I got the substitution...probably not the one that I want, but the chance to travel is a good thing.
Sunday, December 14, 2003
GOING HOME...
Today Yudi and Jalu are going home to Makassar. I'm happy that finally my parents-in-law meet their grandson for the first time. I know Yudi loves going home. It's been five years he did not see them at all. From the sound of him in the telephone, he is happy and I feel happy too. I got the chance to talk to my brothers-in-law: Irham and Guntoro. They loved their nephew!
Probably this is the best for Yudi and Jalu...being surrounded by people who understand and love them...
Probably this is the best for Yudi and Jalu...being surrounded by people who understand and love them...
Friday, December 12, 2003
PROJECT ENGLISH 510: PAINSTAKING, TIME CONSUMING...REWARDING!
So here is the situation right now:
We're stuck here in the computer lab, doing our Web-Based Teaching Unit project. It's 8 PM, we have been here since 11 AM and still working! We've been like this for weeks, and we don't want to leave it, because we're sick of it and we want it to be done tonight and tomorrow we can have our social life back :)
Our WBTU (that's what we affectionately call our project) is about the stolen Monalisa painting. The fun part of it was we had to dress up in Reinassance costumes that we borrowed from Fisher Theater and acted. I acted as Duke Ludovico Scirfoza and I looked so silly! We're teaching the Tense Consistency in the website. Our group members are fun: Anne, Dessie, Moises and Monica...you got to see their websites in my link "Pertemanan" in this blogsite.
I'll post the link here when it's up and running! It's gonna be awesome...
We're stuck here in the computer lab, doing our Web-Based Teaching Unit project. It's 8 PM, we have been here since 11 AM and still working! We've been like this for weeks, and we don't want to leave it, because we're sick of it and we want it to be done tonight and tomorrow we can have our social life back :)
Our WBTU (that's what we affectionately call our project) is about the stolen Monalisa painting. The fun part of it was we had to dress up in Reinassance costumes that we borrowed from Fisher Theater and acted. I acted as Duke Ludovico Scirfoza and I looked so silly! We're teaching the Tense Consistency in the website. Our group members are fun: Anne, Dessie, Moises and Monica...you got to see their websites in my link "Pertemanan" in this blogsite.
I'll post the link here when it's up and running! It's gonna be awesome...
Thursday, December 11, 2003
MY FAILURE...ACADEMICALLY...
That's it! I'm not going to go to Pittsburgh to present something in the conference! Our proposal got rejected....
I'm totally upset to myself...
I'm totally upset to myself...
DONE DEAL! BUT...
Finally, I finished my English 518 paper, but without a problem. I don't feel that it is a good piece of writing. I should have done it better. Again, I don't know what is going with my mind. It seems to refuse to cooperate. All stuck in the mud of uncertainty....
Anyway, it's done, alright!
And this evening, in the cold snowy temperature of -12 degree (Celcius...always in celcius you Americans! like the rest of the world...) I went home with 11.51 PM bus, the last blue route bus. I had to attend the very last 518 class from 6-9 and I had to finish 511 research paper with Monica *as we did it as a team, although the idea was MINE, it was MINE* because it is due tomorrow. Finally, there is only one thing left to finish: the Web-Based Teaching Unit for 510.
Oh, forgot to mention what classes I am taking this semester. I am taking three classes, i.e. English 518 is a TESL teaching methods class with Prof. John Levis, English 511 is a class of introduction to linguistics with Prof. Dan Douglas, and English 510 is Computer-Assisted Language Learning Class with Prof. Volker Hegelheimer.
OK, gotta sleep now...if not I might catch a cold...
Anyway, it's done, alright!
And this evening, in the cold snowy temperature of -12 degree (Celcius...always in celcius you Americans! like the rest of the world...) I went home with 11.51 PM bus, the last blue route bus. I had to attend the very last 518 class from 6-9 and I had to finish 511 research paper with Monica *as we did it as a team, although the idea was MINE, it was MINE* because it is due tomorrow. Finally, there is only one thing left to finish: the Web-Based Teaching Unit for 510.
Oh, forgot to mention what classes I am taking this semester. I am taking three classes, i.e. English 518 is a TESL teaching methods class with Prof. John Levis, English 511 is a class of introduction to linguistics with Prof. Dan Douglas, and English 510 is Computer-Assisted Language Learning Class with Prof. Volker Hegelheimer.
OK, gotta sleep now...if not I might catch a cold...
Sunday, December 07, 2003
AGAIN..PAPER...BELUM JADI!
Hah, sebelnya kalo ilham tidak datang! Ini nih, kalau otak lagi macet, gak tau musti tulis apa. Atau sebenarnya bukan otak gw yg macet, tp gw yg kurang membaca, kurang wawasan, jadi tidak punya bahan utk ditulis. Gila nih, udah duduk hampir tiga jam di sini, cuma menghasilkan 3 lembar, itu pun yg satu lembar bibliografi. Parah kan?
Aku lagi butuh teman diskusi tp entah lagi pada kemana. Oh, I hate being stuck here with no ideas! Siapa nih yg bisa dijadiin korban buat diskusi, Tyas dah tidur, Monica dah bobok juga...:((
What should I do? Bobok juga? Entar ketiduran ampe jam sembilan pagi...udah tau hawa winter gini bikin bobok tambah nyenyak....
Help!
Aku lagi butuh teman diskusi tp entah lagi pada kemana. Oh, I hate being stuck here with no ideas! Siapa nih yg bisa dijadiin korban buat diskusi, Tyas dah tidur, Monica dah bobok juga...:((
What should I do? Bobok juga? Entar ketiduran ampe jam sembilan pagi...udah tau hawa winter gini bikin bobok tambah nyenyak....
Help!
Saturday, December 06, 2003
BIROKRASI...OH BIROKRASI...
Sebagaimana warga negara Indo yg baik, terang dong keberadaan gw di tanah sebrang ini musti diketahui oleh pihak2 yg berwenang. Makanya hari ini gw dg niatan baik ikutan acara Permias yg mendatangkan pejabat2 Perwakilan RI di Chicago buat segala urusan konsuler tetek bengek. Yg gw butuh sih melaporkan keberadaan gw di Ames dan niat sampingannya adalah spy gw gak perlu bayar fiskal lagi entar klo abis balik liburan ke Indo.
Hmmm..birokrasinya sih lumayan lancar. Gw cuman perlu mengisi formulir, menyerahkan foto, memperlihatkan DS 2019 gw (kayaknya gw satu2nya di Ames yg pake ini soalnya gw kan satu2nya yg pake visa J-1 alias visa exchange student), dan meninggalkan paspor. Nah, meninggalkan paspor ini yg bener2 lama bener! Artinya proses dari penyerahan segala berkas hingga paspor gw dicap dg tulisan "telah melaporkan diri di KJRI Chicago blah blah blah" ini yg bener2 laaaaammmmaaaaa. Dari jam setengah dua belas, hingga jam empat. Pasalnya bapak dan ibu petugas tampaknya harus menggunakan tulisan tangan utk menindaklanjuti tindakan konsuler thd paspor ijo nan nasionalis itu. Dan yg hrs ditindaklanjuti ada berpuluh2. Coba pake komputer plus bar code plus sambungan internet, bukankah tinggal disorot barcodenya dan gw bisa melenggang pergi pulang ke apartment buat ngerjain tugas paper gw yg ndilalah kok ya belum kelar2 jg dari kemarin????
Anyway, birokrasi Indo memang mengagumkan...either lama...atau jer basuki mawa bea...well...di negeri sebrang ini yg kedua tidaklah berlaku tp yg pertama masihlah ada....
Hmmm..birokrasinya sih lumayan lancar. Gw cuman perlu mengisi formulir, menyerahkan foto, memperlihatkan DS 2019 gw (kayaknya gw satu2nya di Ames yg pake ini soalnya gw kan satu2nya yg pake visa J-1 alias visa exchange student), dan meninggalkan paspor. Nah, meninggalkan paspor ini yg bener2 lama bener! Artinya proses dari penyerahan segala berkas hingga paspor gw dicap dg tulisan "telah melaporkan diri di KJRI Chicago blah blah blah" ini yg bener2 laaaaammmmaaaaa. Dari jam setengah dua belas, hingga jam empat. Pasalnya bapak dan ibu petugas tampaknya harus menggunakan tulisan tangan utk menindaklanjuti tindakan konsuler thd paspor ijo nan nasionalis itu. Dan yg hrs ditindaklanjuti ada berpuluh2. Coba pake komputer plus bar code plus sambungan internet, bukankah tinggal disorot barcodenya dan gw bisa melenggang pergi pulang ke apartment buat ngerjain tugas paper gw yg ndilalah kok ya belum kelar2 jg dari kemarin????
Anyway, birokrasi Indo memang mengagumkan...either lama...atau jer basuki mawa bea...well...di negeri sebrang ini yg kedua tidaklah berlaku tp yg pertama masihlah ada....
FALLING APART lyric
Music : Yierick, Yiendra, Raymond
Lyric : Neny
This is just an empty space
I must fill it anyway
I don't feel that I belong
I'm just an entity
People are clamoring
expect me to be here
Don't they know that I'm lost
* I live it up to you
I live it up to you
Living it up to you
Reff: When my sanity's running wild
It's the day I'm falling apart
When my common sense's running wild
It's the day I'm falling apart
It's the day I'm falling apart
Will you help me out this pain?
Through this anger I crusade
I've been sinking way to fast
I've been deeply in vain
Sunshine is out of reach
Freedom is just a dream
Lost in lonely mist
back to *, Reff
DOB: Nov 29, 2003
Lyric : Neny
This is just an empty space
I must fill it anyway
I don't feel that I belong
I'm just an entity
People are clamoring
expect me to be here
Don't they know that I'm lost
* I live it up to you
I live it up to you
Living it up to you
Reff: When my sanity's running wild
It's the day I'm falling apart
When my common sense's running wild
It's the day I'm falling apart
It's the day I'm falling apart
Will you help me out this pain?
Through this anger I crusade
I've been sinking way to fast
I've been deeply in vain
Sunshine is out of reach
Freedom is just a dream
Lost in lonely mist
back to *, Reff
DOB: Nov 29, 2003
Friday, December 05, 2003
I LOVE MY BAND! The Others Band Eight...
Whenever I'm feeling down, singing especially singing in a band, can always lift up my spirit. Here I am with my band mates, just jamming some sounds. I love it!
This evening, we are practising our song "Falling apart" (Yierick, Yiendra and Raymond created the music, I wrote the lyric) and it feels so good playing our own song. Then, we're jamming "I will Survive", just trying different solo for different music instruments. Yierick is trying on the new variations with his guitar, Raymond is practising a few beat, and Juhari is enjoying his bass with an ecstasy look in his face. Here I am, feeling completely being myself. I'm just Neny, the person who loves music in her heart. I'm not a student, I'm not a student, I'm not a mom, I'm not a wife, just me, plain Neny.
Don't take it wrong, I never forget my attributes. For a couple of hours, I just want to sing.....
THE OTHERS BAND EIGHT are: (in alphabetical order)
Edward Surya Seputra ~ Vocal
Elaine Steffanny ~ Bass, lyric writer
Muhammad Juhari ~ Bass, Guitar
Neny Isharyanti ~ Vocal, lyric writer
Raymond Sidharta ~ Drum, Bass, song writer
Yiendra Porayouw ~ Drum, Vocal, song writer
Yierick Porayouw ~ Guitar, Bass, song writer
Studio address : 225 Hyland Avenue, Apt. 8, Ames, IA 50011, USA
This evening, we are practising our song "Falling apart" (Yierick, Yiendra and Raymond created the music, I wrote the lyric) and it feels so good playing our own song. Then, we're jamming "I will Survive", just trying different solo for different music instruments. Yierick is trying on the new variations with his guitar, Raymond is practising a few beat, and Juhari is enjoying his bass with an ecstasy look in his face. Here I am, feeling completely being myself. I'm just Neny, the person who loves music in her heart. I'm not a student, I'm not a student, I'm not a mom, I'm not a wife, just me, plain Neny.
Don't take it wrong, I never forget my attributes. For a couple of hours, I just want to sing.....
THE OTHERS BAND EIGHT are: (in alphabetical order)
Edward Surya Seputra ~ Vocal
Elaine Steffanny ~ Bass, lyric writer
Muhammad Juhari ~ Bass, Guitar
Neny Isharyanti ~ Vocal, lyric writer
Raymond Sidharta ~ Drum, Bass, song writer
Yiendra Porayouw ~ Drum, Vocal, song writer
Yierick Porayouw ~ Guitar, Bass, song writer
Studio address : 225 Hyland Avenue, Apt. 8, Ames, IA 50011, USA
PAPER ATTACKS!!!
Today I declare as a paper day!
I'm not going to go outside (duh, it's snowing and freezing outside!) and bury myself in my books, cramming myself with ideas and thoughts and notions from those experts in order to come up with something called a bloody paper!
Well, it's a paper for English 518. We're supposed to write a research paper. Somehow, I'm always drawn to write something related to culture, and in this paper which is supposed to be about ESL, I'm going to make a set of criteria of how web-based ESL materials should be created in a way that they reflect and teach the readers of the cultural values of the target language, in this case English. Sounds complicated, huh?
Let's see how I can survive this day...
I'm not going to go outside (duh, it's snowing and freezing outside!) and bury myself in my books, cramming myself with ideas and thoughts and notions from those experts in order to come up with something called a bloody paper!
Well, it's a paper for English 518. We're supposed to write a research paper. Somehow, I'm always drawn to write something related to culture, and in this paper which is supposed to be about ESL, I'm going to make a set of criteria of how web-based ESL materials should be created in a way that they reflect and teach the readers of the cultural values of the target language, in this case English. Sounds complicated, huh?
Let's see how I can survive this day...
Thursday, December 04, 2003
A LITTLE LATE, A LITTLE LAZY...
Alright, I have to admit to you all that I'm lazy. Yes. Lazy as a lazy bum. I have two papers due next week and a project due next week, and I haven't done any single thing for the papers!
With this snow all over my apartment, my campus, every where, the chill of the weather has affected my body in a way that the only safe and heavenly place I can think of at the moment is my bed. I want to sleep. I don't want to work on my bloody papers. Something in the weather that makes you feel sleepy all the time. And somehow you are constantly hungry and need a rest.
But, life sucks! As always. So here I am in the library, looking for books for the resources of one of my papers. Looking at pages and pages and pages....
So forget all about the slumber that I'm dreaming off....
With this snow all over my apartment, my campus, every where, the chill of the weather has affected my body in a way that the only safe and heavenly place I can think of at the moment is my bed. I want to sleep. I don't want to work on my bloody papers. Something in the weather that makes you feel sleepy all the time. And somehow you are constantly hungry and need a rest.
But, life sucks! As always. So here I am in the library, looking for books for the resources of one of my papers. Looking at pages and pages and pages....
So forget all about the slumber that I'm dreaming off....
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
NENY ON THE WEB!
Tell you what, people...I finally updated my professional website. You see, I used to do website designing as a creative outlet but now in this English 510 with Professor Volker Hegelheimer, you do it as an assignment. So don't get startled if I sounded very 'professional' in the website, but I managed to sneak some of my cool stuffs *heheheh, so Neny!* Check it out here.
Also, do you know that I'm a profile of the month of Permias (Persatuan Mahasiswa Indonesia di AS) Ames website! Well...no wonder .... ;P Go take a look quick, before someone replaces me!
Well, gotta eat now, the snow is making me hungry all the time :))
Also, do you know that I'm a profile of the month of Permias (Persatuan Mahasiswa Indonesia di AS) Ames website! Well...no wonder .... ;P Go take a look quick, before someone replaces me!
Well, gotta eat now, the snow is making me hungry all the time :))
ON SNOW
My comment of my first snow (after looking from my apartment window)
Oh My God! It's SNOW! It looks beautiful!
My comment of my first snow (going to the bus stop, walking to Ross Hall)
Oh My God! This SNOW! It doesn't feel beautiful! It's cold!
On the conclusion:
Snow: It looks beautiful, but it doesn't feel beautiful...
Lake Laverne, Dec 2003 (pic by ISU website)
Oh My God! It's SNOW! It looks beautiful!
My comment of my first snow (going to the bus stop, walking to Ross Hall)
Oh My God! This SNOW! It doesn't feel beautiful! It's cold!
On the conclusion:
Snow: It looks beautiful, but it doesn't feel beautiful...
Lake Laverne, Dec 2003 (pic by ISU website)
SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! OMG, SNOW!
Snowing today! Hah, can't believe myself! Gila, bagus banget tau gak? Dan gw sampe histeria ngeliatnya! Ndesit bener....
Di depan apartment gw, dari jendela gw liat, orang2 sudah sibuk shovelling snow dan semua mobil yg parkir di parking lot tertutup salju. Atap apartment dan pohon2 jadi serba putih...hmmmm, beauty! Kayaknya ini harus difoto utk dokumentasi bhw I have experienced snow!
Tapi jeleknya snow, jalanan jadi licin. Si Tyas bilang, dia sudah mengalami berapa kali yg jatuh krn terpeleset. Si Nonik tadi malam pulang2 dari kampus langsung gedor pintu kamar gw mengabarkan kalau ada bbrp kecelakaan yg dia liat selama dia pulang naik bis. Si Tyas langsung mengumumkan ke gw bhw dia gak lagi bisa nge-drive gw kemana-mana. Pasalnya dia gak berani setir mobil di atas snow! Yah...
Yg jelas sampe aku tulis ini aku belum actually out there and touch the snow..well, klo snow yg kecil2 sih seminggu yg lalu udah sentuh (si Monica ama Moises dah siap dg kamera, tapi saljunya gak niat banget... dan gak menutup tanah sama sekali) dan kemarin malam (jam 7) pulang dari kampus aku udah berlari2 di bawah hujan salju yg mikroskopik, tapi aku belum ngerasain jalan di atas snow. Makanya abis ini musti foto di depan apartment dan di atas salju.
Kebingungan selanjutnya: baju! Wah...klo hari biasa Fall aku pake 4 lapis, hari ini musti pake brp lapis????
Di depan apartment gw, dari jendela gw liat, orang2 sudah sibuk shovelling snow dan semua mobil yg parkir di parking lot tertutup salju. Atap apartment dan pohon2 jadi serba putih...hmmmm, beauty! Kayaknya ini harus difoto utk dokumentasi bhw I have experienced snow!
Tapi jeleknya snow, jalanan jadi licin. Si Tyas bilang, dia sudah mengalami berapa kali yg jatuh krn terpeleset. Si Nonik tadi malam pulang2 dari kampus langsung gedor pintu kamar gw mengabarkan kalau ada bbrp kecelakaan yg dia liat selama dia pulang naik bis. Si Tyas langsung mengumumkan ke gw bhw dia gak lagi bisa nge-drive gw kemana-mana. Pasalnya dia gak berani setir mobil di atas snow! Yah...
Yg jelas sampe aku tulis ini aku belum actually out there and touch the snow..well, klo snow yg kecil2 sih seminggu yg lalu udah sentuh (si Monica ama Moises dah siap dg kamera, tapi saljunya gak niat banget... dan gak menutup tanah sama sekali) dan kemarin malam (jam 7) pulang dari kampus aku udah berlari2 di bawah hujan salju yg mikroskopik, tapi aku belum ngerasain jalan di atas snow. Makanya abis ini musti foto di depan apartment dan di atas salju.
Kebingungan selanjutnya: baju! Wah...klo hari biasa Fall aku pake 4 lapis, hari ini musti pake brp lapis????
Saturday, November 15, 2003
KESAN PERTAMA BEGITU MENGGODA...SELANJUTNYA....
Sudah hampir 4 bulan aku tinggal di Ames dan semester ini tau2 udah mau abis! Gila cepet bener yaaaaa... tinggal 2 minggu lagi Fall semester abis dan aku masih utang 2 paper dan satu project...Man...gak ada waktu lagi buat nonton DVD, baca buku, ngeband, hang out wuaaa...
Gw mau nulis kesan2 gw kali ya ttg Amrik. First, gw kangen bis di rumah dimana elu bisa cegat itu bis di mana aja, kapan aja. Di sini semua begitu diatur jam, serba harus di halte bis, kalau lagi bete berat krn ditinggal bis gara2 telat nyampe di halte gw jadi teringat Bis Esto...Kedua, porsi makan, porsi makan dan sekali lagi porsi makan...terlalu besar! Sampai saat ini gak ada makanan asli Amrik yg bener2 diterima ama perut gw..semuanya either dimakan sedikit atau dibuang sama sekali. Makanan Chinese sih masuk aja terutama mongolian beef heheheh dasar perut melayu! Makanya gw selalu bahagia diajak makan ke Little Taipei, May House, Thai Kitchen, King Buffet dan segala resto Chinese di sini heheheheh....Yg lainnya adalah antri! Tertib! Gw pernah tuh dimarahin di kantor pos gara2 gak antri padahal gw bener2 gak tau dimana musti nanyain kiriman barang itu! Tapi ada bagusnya juga...gak bakal berantem soal antrian... Yang bikin gw bahagia juga kita selalu bisa ngembaliin semua barang yg kita beli tanpa hrs rese ditanya-tanyain atau dimarahin krn udah dicobain itu barang. Makanya kalo beli barang gw suka asal beli aja, entar kalo gak suka, ya dibalikin aja, abis perkara! Dan orang sini bener2 penuh pujian. Bener2 encouraging. Hal2 yg gw kira biasa2 aja, buat mereka bagus. Misalnya aja, kapan hari gw ngasih Mr. Tom Hertz (bokapnya Jana) dan Chris Rozendaal (classmate gw) hadiah yg gw bungkus dg model lipatan2 yg di Indo bener2 biasa banget, tapi Mrs. Joyce Hertz (nyokapnya Jana) dan Chris bilang itu sangat bagus dan mereka simpan itu bungkus!
On the academic stuff, ternyata prestasi gw gak buruk2 amat. Artinya walo gak bisa dpt A, tapi paling tdk project atau paper atau peer gw rata2 dpt A-. Yg penting mah gak di bawah B. Bisa2 scholarship gw dicabut but! Tapi yg buruk adalah gw ngerasa klo gw put more energy into it pasti bisa dpt A. Tapi yah, dasar gw, kadang2 klo udah capek banget gak mau take one step further. Well...
On the social stuff, boleh dibilang Ames ini asyik banget. Artinya teman2 gw di sini betul2 asyik2. Gw punya berbagai circle of friends yg menarik. Temen2 sekelas gw baek2 dan sangat helpful. Monica, Moises, Dessie, Anne, teman2 segroup gw bikin project sangat2 asyik utk diajak kerja sama. Temen2 gw di English 510 (Pam, Betsy, Erin, Chris, Shannon) saling bantu klo urusan bikin website. Temen2 band (Yierick, Yiendra, Raymond, Juhari, Tias, Eduard, Elaine, Donny) yg maennya ngerock melulu tapi kadang ngepop juga. Kita malah udah berhasil bikin 2 lagu! Wah, kreatifitas gw dpt penyaluran di sini. Temen2 nongkrong weekend gw (Inneke, Sylvi, Michael, Kariman, Andres) yg suka banget nonton video di 225 Hyland Ave dan yg suka masak2 bareng. Temen2 pengajian (Juhari, Refina, Teddy, Harri, Pipiet) yg ngebikin bulan ramadan dan lebaran gw gak terlalu sunyi.
Raymond and Yiendra, both drummers in my band
Donny and Edward, both vocalists in my band
back left to right: Davina, Tias, Refina, Heidy, Ramona; front left to right: En2 and Me (Madison Cup 2003, pic by Refina)
Gw jg dapet sahabat2 yg baik yg bisa diajak berbagi: Monica (buat urusan kuliah), Tyas (buat urusan cowok, hahahahah, go on pursuing Mr. J, Yas!), En2 dan Nonik (roommates gw yg penuh perhatian), Yiendra (welcome to the life of a grad student!), Yared (come on have a life!)...Gw jg punya keluarga yg sangat baik: Tom, Joyce and Alan Hertz (thanks for taking care of me and helping me in many ways to settle in Ames and for letting me into your EXTENDED family!). Bisa dibilang gw gak perlu beli furniture apa pun krn the Hertz meminjamkan tempat tidur, meja, kursi, rak buku, rak baju...dan kalau ada apa2 mereka sangat helpful!
My life is good in Ames...but still I miss Yudi and Jalu....
Gw mau nulis kesan2 gw kali ya ttg Amrik. First, gw kangen bis di rumah dimana elu bisa cegat itu bis di mana aja, kapan aja. Di sini semua begitu diatur jam, serba harus di halte bis, kalau lagi bete berat krn ditinggal bis gara2 telat nyampe di halte gw jadi teringat Bis Esto...Kedua, porsi makan, porsi makan dan sekali lagi porsi makan...terlalu besar! Sampai saat ini gak ada makanan asli Amrik yg bener2 diterima ama perut gw..semuanya either dimakan sedikit atau dibuang sama sekali. Makanan Chinese sih masuk aja terutama mongolian beef heheheh dasar perut melayu! Makanya gw selalu bahagia diajak makan ke Little Taipei, May House, Thai Kitchen, King Buffet dan segala resto Chinese di sini heheheheh....Yg lainnya adalah antri! Tertib! Gw pernah tuh dimarahin di kantor pos gara2 gak antri padahal gw bener2 gak tau dimana musti nanyain kiriman barang itu! Tapi ada bagusnya juga...gak bakal berantem soal antrian... Yang bikin gw bahagia juga kita selalu bisa ngembaliin semua barang yg kita beli tanpa hrs rese ditanya-tanyain atau dimarahin krn udah dicobain itu barang. Makanya kalo beli barang gw suka asal beli aja, entar kalo gak suka, ya dibalikin aja, abis perkara! Dan orang sini bener2 penuh pujian. Bener2 encouraging. Hal2 yg gw kira biasa2 aja, buat mereka bagus. Misalnya aja, kapan hari gw ngasih Mr. Tom Hertz (bokapnya Jana) dan Chris Rozendaal (classmate gw) hadiah yg gw bungkus dg model lipatan2 yg di Indo bener2 biasa banget, tapi Mrs. Joyce Hertz (nyokapnya Jana) dan Chris bilang itu sangat bagus dan mereka simpan itu bungkus!
On the academic stuff, ternyata prestasi gw gak buruk2 amat. Artinya walo gak bisa dpt A, tapi paling tdk project atau paper atau peer gw rata2 dpt A-. Yg penting mah gak di bawah B. Bisa2 scholarship gw dicabut but! Tapi yg buruk adalah gw ngerasa klo gw put more energy into it pasti bisa dpt A. Tapi yah, dasar gw, kadang2 klo udah capek banget gak mau take one step further. Well...
On the social stuff, boleh dibilang Ames ini asyik banget. Artinya teman2 gw di sini betul2 asyik2. Gw punya berbagai circle of friends yg menarik. Temen2 sekelas gw baek2 dan sangat helpful. Monica, Moises, Dessie, Anne, teman2 segroup gw bikin project sangat2 asyik utk diajak kerja sama. Temen2 gw di English 510 (Pam, Betsy, Erin, Chris, Shannon) saling bantu klo urusan bikin website. Temen2 band (Yierick, Yiendra, Raymond, Juhari, Tias, Eduard, Elaine, Donny) yg maennya ngerock melulu tapi kadang ngepop juga. Kita malah udah berhasil bikin 2 lagu! Wah, kreatifitas gw dpt penyaluran di sini. Temen2 nongkrong weekend gw (Inneke, Sylvi, Michael, Kariman, Andres) yg suka banget nonton video di 225 Hyland Ave dan yg suka masak2 bareng. Temen2 pengajian (Juhari, Refina, Teddy, Harri, Pipiet) yg ngebikin bulan ramadan dan lebaran gw gak terlalu sunyi.
Donny and Edward, both vocalists in my band
back left to right: Davina, Tias, Refina, Heidy, Ramona; front left to right: En2 and Me (Madison Cup 2003, pic by Refina)
Gw jg dapet sahabat2 yg baik yg bisa diajak berbagi: Monica (buat urusan kuliah), Tyas (buat urusan cowok, hahahahah, go on pursuing Mr. J, Yas!), En2 dan Nonik (roommates gw yg penuh perhatian), Yiendra (welcome to the life of a grad student!), Yared (come on have a life!)...Gw jg punya keluarga yg sangat baik: Tom, Joyce and Alan Hertz (thanks for taking care of me and helping me in many ways to settle in Ames and for letting me into your EXTENDED family!). Bisa dibilang gw gak perlu beli furniture apa pun krn the Hertz meminjamkan tempat tidur, meja, kursi, rak buku, rak baju...dan kalau ada apa2 mereka sangat helpful!
My life is good in Ames...but still I miss Yudi and Jalu....
Saturday, November 08, 2003
JOHN MAYER CONCERT...AWESOME!
I went to John Mayer concert!!!!
Well, the ticket was a bit expensive, $ 36.5 and I got not the good spot *like in front of the stage so I can scream 'I love you, John!!!!!!!' to him out loud* but my seat (which is in Parquet 22 Seat 15) was near the stage so I can see clearly John jamming with his guitar. Actually I could get a better seat if I wasn't stupid cancelling my ticket with Evans (he was standing in a queue for us on the first day of ticket sales) so I had to get my own ticket at the Stephens Auditorium on a rainy day. But it's worth it! I got to see John on stage!
The performance was awesome, except that some of his new songs from his last album 'Bigger that Your Body' were slow ones so I almost fell asleep *grins* but of course I was singing along for 'Why Georgia', 'Perfect Sense', 'My Stupid Mouth', 'Your Body is a Wonderland', and my favorite song 'No Such Thing'. He was really good with his guitar and he's improvisazing a lot and gave a talk in the midst of his songs. Scotty, one of his band members, called the concert as THE AMES TO PLEASE SHOW as the audience gave John a lot of opportunities to chat, to play whatever he wanted....Ames, an appreciative audience!!! Rock!!!
This is awesome, I love John!!!!
pics from John Mayer's official website
Well, the ticket was a bit expensive, $ 36.5 and I got not the good spot *like in front of the stage so I can scream 'I love you, John!!!!!!!' to him out loud* but my seat (which is in Parquet 22 Seat 15) was near the stage so I can see clearly John jamming with his guitar. Actually I could get a better seat if I wasn't stupid cancelling my ticket with Evans (he was standing in a queue for us on the first day of ticket sales) so I had to get my own ticket at the Stephens Auditorium on a rainy day. But it's worth it! I got to see John on stage!
The performance was awesome, except that some of his new songs from his last album 'Bigger that Your Body' were slow ones so I almost fell asleep *grins* but of course I was singing along for 'Why Georgia', 'Perfect Sense', 'My Stupid Mouth', 'Your Body is a Wonderland', and my favorite song 'No Such Thing'. He was really good with his guitar and he's improvisazing a lot and gave a talk in the midst of his songs. Scotty, one of his band members, called the concert as THE AMES TO PLEASE SHOW as the audience gave John a lot of opportunities to chat, to play whatever he wanted....Ames, an appreciative audience!!! Rock!!!
This is awesome, I love John!!!!
pics from John Mayer's official website
Monday, September 29, 2003
Madison Cup in Madison Wisconsin, we won!!!!
On Sept 27-28, 2003, I went with Permias Ames to Madison Cup in Madison, Wisconsin. Mad Cup is an annual competition organized by Permias Madison for other Permias organizations in Midwest.
Our group was not big, only about 30 people. We were travelling by cars and stayed in a hotel near Madison city. We were involved in Basketball, football, winning eleven, and volleyball competition. And since our band was performing, I was in!
The biggest thrill was that we won the basketball!!!!! Yippeeeeee!!!!! And the band was awesome as usual, as the crowd was madly in love with us :P
Check out the pics here.
Our group was not big, only about 30 people. We were travelling by cars and stayed in a hotel near Madison city. We were involved in Basketball, football, winning eleven, and volleyball competition. And since our band was performing, I was in!
The biggest thrill was that we won the basketball!!!!! Yippeeeeee!!!!! And the band was awesome as usual, as the crowd was madly in love with us :P
Check out the pics here.
Saturday, August 30, 2003
Welcoming Party Fall 2003
Alrigthy everyone! This is Ames in Fall 2003 and it's still Summer!
New students (that includes me!) got this party, filled with fun! And although I am a new student, they regarded me as an old buddy since I was in the band!!!!! I was singing "Turn Around" and the crowd went madddddd....well, not that mad, but I got good response!
I invited Joyce and Tom Hertz and they enjoyed the event tremendously!
I was also participating in a cooking competition for new students and our group won!
Check out our delicious omelette entitled "Candlelight Dinner Under the Full Moon" (of course I came up with the name, isn't it obvious!
more pics from Permias Ames gallery...
New students (that includes me!) got this party, filled with fun! And although I am a new student, they regarded me as an old buddy since I was in the band!!!!! I was singing "Turn Around" and the crowd went madddddd....well, not that mad, but I got good response!
I invited Joyce and Tom Hertz and they enjoyed the event tremendously!
I was also participating in a cooking competition for new students and our group won!
Check out our delicious omelette entitled "Candlelight Dinner Under the Full Moon" (of course I came up with the name, isn't it obvious!
more pics from Permias Ames gallery...
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
KANGEN YUDI....MAU MATI...
Gw terima email Yudi hari ini dan rasanya mau mati! Aku kangen banget ama dia, kangen ama Jalu, sampai2 nangis sendiri di lab komputer. Oh, Man....rasanya jauh banget Indonesia, jauh banget Salatiga. Aku belum punya teman yg bisa sehati dan sepikiran yg bisa mengerti situasi gw ini. Kayaknya aku jadi total stranger di kota ini. Kadang2 jalan keliling kampus aku gak kenal siapa pun, bikin depresi. Udah gitu, karena belum ada kelas, aku jadi gak tahu mo bikin apa. Kalau aku ada kesibukan mungkin itu bisa bikin gw fokus, tapi krn gak ada kesibukan, dan aku belum bisa masuk apartment aku jadi gak tahu mo ngapain.....
Yud, forgive me kalo gw kedengarannya sangat ceria di blogsite ini, tp sebenarnya aku menangis....
Yud, forgive me kalo gw kedengarannya sangat ceria di blogsite ini, tp sebenarnya aku menangis....
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
WELCOME TO AMES! LAND OF THE CORN...
OKd, Jadi gw udah sampe di Ames nih, dari Bandara Cedar Rapids, gw dijemput ama Juhari atau yg akrab dipanggil Ari, yg baeeeeekkkk banget mau nyetir empat jam bolak balik buat ngejemput anak ndeso kayak gw, heheheheheh...sepanjang jalan ke Ames yg ada yah..the only scenery of Iowa, ladang jagung!!! Bosen gak sih....
Gw langsung dianterin ke tempatnya si Tyas, di Stanton Ave. Dia tinggal di lantai 3, dg 2 roommates, tp kebetulan roommatesnya dia belum datang. Jadi gw bisa stay ampe tgl 21. Wah, kita yg langsung seide, sepikiran, dan curhat segala...*termasuk soal cowok, hehehe*. Dia baek banget! Kali secara gak sadar dia penganut pay it forward kali ya? Dia ajakin gw kemana2, termasuk ke piknik anak permias, show me many things *including laundry machine, hehehe, sekali lagi ndesit tetep ajah!*, ngajak makan di Thai Kitchen, dsb...wah, gw merasa welcome bgt deh!
Gara2 bergumam nyanyi2, si Tyas langsung telp Yierick, undergrad yg punya band, dan gw langsung 'dipinang' utk menjadi vokalis! Ya....cerita lama....entar sore gw rencana ama Yierick abis belanja kebutuhan apartment di Walmart mo pergi latihan band...hmmm, mumpung kuliah belum mulai!
Yierick in action! (Welcome Party Fall 2003, pic by Permias Ames)
Hari pertama orientasi kemarin diisi dg....ngantri! Yup, dimana2 serba antri. Dari mulai registrasi new students, bikin appointment utk health center, bikin email account, bikin ID...serba ngantri. Yah, ada bagusnya sih, gak dorong2an dan lebih tertib, tapi pegelnya berdiri itu yg bikin keki. Yg lama sih registrasi dan appointment buat health center di Memorial Union (MU), soalnya semua orang pinginnya ke sono. Yg bikin ID gw langsung gak sampe 5 menit dah jadi. Cuman isi form, foto digital, proses di komputer, dah kartu plastik gw jadi! Cepet bener...klo di Indo pasti disuruh ngumpulin foto, nunggu kartu dari Jkt, etc, dsb...bikin email account, cuman dimintai ID trus kita disuruh register sendiri di komputer. Cepet! btw, email address gw: neny@iastate.edu. Just in case yg baca mo email gw...sok seleb! :P
Hal yg lain adalah...jalan kaki! Yup, kampus ini gueeeede bgt! Kalo di Salatiga, kira2 besarnya dari Pasar Raya, sampai Jalan Wahid Hasyim di Jetis. Bayangin ajah! Mana orang2 jalannya cepet2 lagi, aku keponthal2...dan hawa di Ames lagi paaaaaannnaaaasss, sampai 30 derajat Celcius! Salatiga aja kalah! Katanya sih dalam 10 tahun terakhir Summer ini yg terparah panasnya..hmm, jangan2 gw salah negara! :D Jadi tiap hari aku jalan lebih dari 3 km kali? Yah, gimana enggak yg namanya dari Library ke Ross Hall ajah lewatin lapangan barang 300 m gitu!
Memorial Union ~ Ross Hall ~ Park Library
Gw langsung dianterin ke tempatnya si Tyas, di Stanton Ave. Dia tinggal di lantai 3, dg 2 roommates, tp kebetulan roommatesnya dia belum datang. Jadi gw bisa stay ampe tgl 21. Wah, kita yg langsung seide, sepikiran, dan curhat segala...*termasuk soal cowok, hehehe*. Dia baek banget! Kali secara gak sadar dia penganut pay it forward kali ya? Dia ajakin gw kemana2, termasuk ke piknik anak permias, show me many things *including laundry machine, hehehe, sekali lagi ndesit tetep ajah!*, ngajak makan di Thai Kitchen, dsb...wah, gw merasa welcome bgt deh!
Gara2 bergumam nyanyi2, si Tyas langsung telp Yierick, undergrad yg punya band, dan gw langsung 'dipinang' utk menjadi vokalis! Ya....cerita lama....entar sore gw rencana ama Yierick abis belanja kebutuhan apartment di Walmart mo pergi latihan band...hmmm, mumpung kuliah belum mulai!
Yierick in action! (Welcome Party Fall 2003, pic by Permias Ames)
Hari pertama orientasi kemarin diisi dg....ngantri! Yup, dimana2 serba antri. Dari mulai registrasi new students, bikin appointment utk health center, bikin email account, bikin ID...serba ngantri. Yah, ada bagusnya sih, gak dorong2an dan lebih tertib, tapi pegelnya berdiri itu yg bikin keki. Yg lama sih registrasi dan appointment buat health center di Memorial Union (MU), soalnya semua orang pinginnya ke sono. Yg bikin ID gw langsung gak sampe 5 menit dah jadi. Cuman isi form, foto digital, proses di komputer, dah kartu plastik gw jadi! Cepet bener...klo di Indo pasti disuruh ngumpulin foto, nunggu kartu dari Jkt, etc, dsb...bikin email account, cuman dimintai ID trus kita disuruh register sendiri di komputer. Cepet! btw, email address gw: neny@iastate.edu. Just in case yg baca mo email gw...sok seleb! :P
Hal yg lain adalah...jalan kaki! Yup, kampus ini gueeeede bgt! Kalo di Salatiga, kira2 besarnya dari Pasar Raya, sampai Jalan Wahid Hasyim di Jetis. Bayangin ajah! Mana orang2 jalannya cepet2 lagi, aku keponthal2...dan hawa di Ames lagi paaaaaannnaaaasss, sampai 30 derajat Celcius! Salatiga aja kalah! Katanya sih dalam 10 tahun terakhir Summer ini yg terparah panasnya..hmm, jangan2 gw salah negara! :D Jadi tiap hari aku jalan lebih dari 3 km kali? Yah, gimana enggak yg namanya dari Library ke Ross Hall ajah lewatin lapangan barang 300 m gitu!
Memorial Union ~ Ross Hall ~ Park Library
Saturday, August 16, 2003
WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
Ok, gw dah sampe di Ames tp perlu kali ya cerita ttg apa yg terjadi selama perjalanan gw yg puuuuaaaannnnnjang ini...
Begitu sampe ke Dallas gw alone banget...krn pas keluar dari pesawat, kebetulan kursi gw agak dekat kelas bisnis jadi gw bisa keluar duluan dan masuk imigrasi amrik. Di imigrasi setelah nunggu di antrian dan ada officer yg baek bgt periksa I-94, gw langsung ke counter dan si petugas imigrasi itu sangar bener, nanya 'kamu abis potong rambut ya?' 'Ke Amrik mo ngapain' dg wajah sangar gitu. Tapi gak ada pertanyaan yg serius. Cuman kira2 10 menit ajah, itu pun krn dia harus lookup data gw di SEVIS. setelah ambil tas utk diperiksa (krn ini port of entry gw ke Amrik), gw ke bagian Dept of Agriculture krn gw tulis di form declaration bhw gw bawa food. Jadi gw ditanya gw bawa apa. Gw bilang gw bawa spices, jadi tas gw di x-ray dah gitu dilepasin lah bagasi gw dan gw masukin lagi ke baggage utk diangkut ke Miami.
Setelah bbrp jam sebelumnya gw travelling bareng Pak Bambang, gw akhirnya sendirian. Jalan ke gate gw sendiri, semua orang sibuk dg urusan masing2. Gw yah jadi ikut diem2 gitu, dengerin walkman sampe pesawat gw ke Miami nongol. Di pesawat gw malah ngantuk, jadi gw tidur ajah. Pas lewat dateline cross, gw masih tidur, tp tau2 dah malem ajah...hehehe...bangun udah hampir sampai Miami. Begitu tiba, gw langsung nyari trolley, yg kudu masukin duit dolar kertas atau koin sebanyak 3 dolar. Tas gw minta ampun beratnya! Padahal badan gw kecil gini! Di bandara gw ngerasa kayak di Amerika Selatan gitu. Banyak bgt tampang latino, dimana2 signage dua bahasa Inggris dan Spanish, orang2 bicara bhs Spanyol. Hmmmm, this is not like in US!
Gw baru mikir2 mo naek shuttle van apa taxi..eh, di tempat shuttle gw liat ada anak Asia yg megang2 kertas FB, jadi gw colek. Ternyata bener! Itu anak dari Thailand, namanya Yong, fulbrighter juga! Jadi kita naek taxi barengan ke Florida International University (FIU) tapiiiiiiii...si tukang taxi cewek ini gak tau dimana FIU! Yah ampun deh...terpaksa kita yg ngasih direction sesuai surat petunjuk dari FIU. Mana di direction itu mrk pake deskripsi warna gedung gitu, dan pas gw sampe itu udah jam sepuluh malem! Jadi udah gak keliatan dong warna bangunan. Sempat berhenti dan nanya tapi orang itu jg orang baru. Pake telp manggil polisi kampus, tp polisi kampus jg lagi sibuk....hmmmmm, panik gak sih? Tapi akhirnya ketemu juga yg namanya University Park Towers, tempat kita nginep. Ini gedung ada 10 lantai dan emang didesain utk tempat hunian mahasiswa. Gedungnya ada dua yg 10 lantai dan dihubungkan di tengahnya dg semacam commercial building berlantai 2.
some pics of FIU, taken by Yong
Udah deh, gw geret2 dua koper 25 dan 30 kg itu, plus tas ransel, plus tas gantung, hmmmmm...udah kayak kuli bandara ajah! Di Front Desk, ketemu Eki dan Usep yg udah duluan datang...mrk lagi mo nyari makanan, tp mana ada....kampusnya dah sepi kayak kuburan, gak ada orang lalu lalang. Gw bilang mending kita bikin indomie ajah, dan mereka setuju. Jadi gw cek in, dpt kamar no 922B, sempat ketemu roommate gw Raina dari Syria, lalu ngambil piring ama mangkok ama sendok buat makan lalu ke kamar Eki buat ngambil panci dan makan. Tapi ternyata.....koper Eki yg isinya panci gak bisa dibuka! Ya ampun, padahal dah laper banget! Akhirnya kita putusin makan dari vending machine ajah. Baru sekali itu tuh gw liat vending machine, si Eki sih dah pernah ke Jepang jd dia udah tahu gimana cara operasinya. Tapi gw yg ragu2 bego gitu makenya. Udah deh, drpd lapar, mending makan muffin, minum susu, dan lalu berangkat tidur. Walo mata rasanya gak mau dimeremin krn di Indonesia itu udah siang, sodare2!
pagi, jam empat udah melek, tidur2 ayam sampe jam 5, dan akhirnya baca Harry Potter ajah, mandi, makan pagi (dari vending machine lagi!) dan turun buat ngambil materials. Ketemu ama Arvi (program officer) dan dikasih satu map isinya jadual, materi, info ttg Miami, etc dan dikasih duit 75 dollar buat makan siang dan makan pagi. Kenalan ama Nader RAzouk (Jerman), Masato Ishida(Jepang), Aileen (Philipines), Ludmilla (Rumania) dan bbrp yg laen lagi yg gw gak ingat.
Sesi pertama kita di Graham Center dimana ada sambutan dari Program Director dan danish buat makan pagi, trus kita dibagi ke empat kelompok berdasarkan stiker warna di name tag kita. Gw dapat kelompok merah. Di kelompok kita ada Joo-Il Lee (South Korea), Ludmilla Marthanovski (Rumania), Usep, Dierdere Williams (Trinidad and Tobago), Rowan Gontier (South Africa), Aileen Guzman (Phillipines), Rania, Masato, Michal Jasiczak (Poland), McDonald Jumbo (Malawi), Jia Kim (Germany), Khadija Laamori (Morroco), Alphonce Guzha (Zimbabwe). Macem2 bgt kan? Hari pertama itu bener2 gila! Banyak break, krn masih banyak yg jet lag. Gw sendiri sebelum makan siang udah jatuh tidur jatuh bangun gitu. Tapi mata hrs tetep terbuka krn ikut sesi...haaaaa! Akhirnya pas break sbl makan siang gw beli kopi Starbuck. Lumayan ngebantu spy gak ngantuk. Makan siang di kafetaria kampus. Bayar 6 dolar buat makan sekenyang2nya sepuas2nya sebanyak2nya. Murah kan? Tapi sebenarnya the only reason gw makan di situ ama Aileen, lalu Zayda dan Aloy (the Phillipines) adalah krn kita baca di menu hari itu ada nasi! Hehehehhe, dasar perut melayu! Emang sih nasinya model Latin America gitu, keras, kering, dan porsinya superrrrrr bessssaaaarrrr buat orang Melayu. Ini jg dikomplain ama my fellow Phillipines. Tapi asyik juga bisa makan daging, piza, jelly, buah, pokoknya kenyang abis!
Malamnya kita dinner di luar. Klo gak salah di Port of Miami di salah satu resto latin gitu di Bayside Mall. Sori gw lupa tempatnya. Semeja ama Deidre, Nader, Rowan, Raina, ama Wolfgang Kurz (German). Gw pesan steak ama nasi! Es krimnya enaaaakkkk. Ngobrolnya asyik. si Nader bilang gw ini 'setan' banget krn gw suka ngasih topik yg kontroversial, debatable tapi pas orang lain argue ribut gw tinggal senyam senyum ngeliat hasil kerja gw. hahahahah, malaikat bertanduk dilawan! Gw udah merasa comfy banget dg situasi teman2 gw, terutama pas ngobrol ama Wolfgang dan Rowan. Si Wolfgang ini baru 23 tahun, belajar journalism dan social studies di North Carolina Uni, dia bilang program ini 'just for fun' krn dia ngerjain non-degree program, haaaaaaahhhhh? just for fun dia bilang, OMG! TApi yg gw suka dari dia adalah dia selalu full attention pada orang klo orang lagi ngomong. Rowan dari South Africa yg asli bule *coba di Africa ada bule?* ternyata suka film dan kita ngomongin film2nya Robin Williams, Denzel Washington, asyik bgt! Si Rowan mo ke Texas A & M blajar Mechanical Engineering. Abis makan malam kita jalan-jalan sepanjang Port of Miami yg cantik banget di bawah bulan. Ada yatch, ada live music...aduh indah bener! Sementara gw jalan dan ngobrol dg orang2 yg menarik!
Port of Miami with some new friends :P
left to right: MacDonald, Masato, Neny, Rowan, Yong, Wolfgang
(pic by Yong)
Besok paginya gw semakin banyak kenal orang dan gw enjoy banget ama orang2nya. Gw ngobrol ama Aileen yg mo ngambil PhD Environmental di SUNY, ama Raina yg mo ke Florida, Michal yg mo non-degree program di Berkeley. Dia lagi nyelesaiin PhD dia di Poland sono. Ada juga Deidre, yg pinter nyanyi, tinggi kayak model, mo ngambil MBA dl Marketing. Masato, si philosopher, krn dia mo ikut non degree di Philosophy. Ngobrol ama dia bisa jadi contemplative bgt. Yong anaknya kayak gw, masih 23 tapi udah ngambil master Journalism di NUS, Singapore. Jadi klo nanti dia dah selesai ama program dual program Journalism dan Politics entar dia bakal jadi triple master! Maaaaannnnn...tapi dia asyik bgt buat jalan dan have fun. Max Valverde, anak kostarika yg mo belajar bikin film, hmmmm jago dancer! Rochelle Clarke dari Jamaica, anaknya ceria banget dan cantik. Pokoknya seru deh!
Hari kedua dinnernya di Tuscany di Coconut Grave. Kali ini gw semeja ama Christine Obermiller (German), Joy Jamago (Philipines), Max, Aileen, Raina, McDonald. Makan gw pesan salmon tapi ya itu porsinya kebesaran jadi gak abis. Walo emang itu makanan enak bener kok! Apalagi tiramisunya, hmmm, yummy! Abis makan gw putusin buat liat2 sekitar Coconut Grove. Kali ini ama Michal. Tapi gak ada yg bagus selain toko2 ajah. Akhirnya kita balik kanan pulang. Gw ama Michal asyik banget ngobrol soal Indonesia dan Polandia jadi akhirnya gw ama dia ama Masato liat2 peta dan kartupos bergambar Indo dg gw sibuk ngasih kuliah history dan antropology of Borobudur dan Prambanan. Michal ama Masato bilang gw salah jurusan ngambil Computer-assisted Language Learning, hrsnya ngambil arkeologi apa history gitu, wakakakakakak....
Sesi2nya biasa2 ajah, model health issues, immigration issues, stress management, diversity issues, academic culture and integrity, sexual harrassment, research skills, lebih gw anggap sbg ulangan walo ada bbrp yg baru gw tahu. gak banyak yg tanya2 krn mungkin otak masih beku kena jetlag. Juga krn bbrp hal udah gw pelajari selama orientasi di Bali dan lewat internet. Tapi dua hari itu yg asyik sekali terutama krn gw bisa mengenal orang2 yg benar2 amazing.
Hari ketiga..hmmm...the session is interesting soalnya kali ini kita maen game utk belajar mengerti soal cross cultural issues. Tapi yg parah adalah sesudah lunch. Gw janjian makan sama bbrp teman, tp mrk gak ada yg nongol, akhirnya gw makan di kafetaria FIU yg besar dan penuh anak baru yg lagi orientation, di meja utk berempat yg gw tempatin sendiri, sementara gw di situ look miserable...I'm feeling so lonely.....udah gitu setelah gw ngendon di library, begitu balik ke Architecture Building utk ikut sesi yg selanjutnya, gw kesasar! Ya ilah...emang sense of direction gw buruk betul! tapi untungnya pas kita check in kita dikasih peta, dan gw selalu bawa kompas jadi yah...ketemu juga tuh building...hmmmm, ati2 deh klo punya kampus kayak FIU yg pengaturan bangunannya gak blok2 gitu. Dah gitu pas masuk gw dah telat, jd gak bisa fokus ngikutin diskusi, hmm, tambah parahlah itu loneliness...geeees. Tapi abis itu gw malah curhat soal kesepian itu ama Usep dan memang yah, harus disadari itulah parts of being away from things that you know. si Masato malah bilang kalo alienation is the first step of being philosophical, hahahahahha, dasar philosopher hehehe. Tapi in a way, gw baru ngerasa kalo sebenarnya there are ppl who are concerned about you, soalnya both Usep and Masato told me that they noticed bhw gw lebih diem dari biasanya dan bertanya2 ada apa dg gw...hmmm, nice ppl.
Siangnya, kita ada city tour ke Miami. Kita pergi keliling kota naek bis, ditemani tour guide yg menjelaskan dg sangat fasih dan menarik soal seluk beluk kota. Kita melewati area Key Biscannes dimana di kota itu reservasi terhadap bangunan tinggi dan memang daerah itu memang daerah tertua di Miami sehingga bangunannya sungguh2 bagus. Bahkan kata si guide, klo si pemilik rumah mo ngecat rumah, perbaiki genting atau renovasi remeh temeh, mereka musti menghubungi city council utk mendapatkan ijin....hmmm. Udah gitu rumah2 di situ itu paling murah harganya 4 juta dollar, hah???? Bisa buat ngirim berapa fulbrighter ke Amrik tuh???? Ternyata di Miami ada juga kanal, yg menghubungkan rumah2 itu ke laut. Kebayang gak sih di belakang rumah ada dermaga kecil dan yatch pribadi....oh no....kaya bener....kita juga dikasih liat rumahnya Gloria Estefan yg terletak di sebuah man-made island...katanya sih dia punya dua rumah gede2 di situ. Trus kita juga liat bagian art deco dari kota Miami yg terletak di South Beach. Itu semua bangunan model tahun 50s gitu, dan dibangun setelah Miami terkena hurricanes maha dahsyat yg menghancurkan semua bangunan. makanya arsiteknya memilih model bangunan artdeco spy gampang dan cepet bangun rumahnya. Kita juga lihat rumahnya Giannini Versace yg kayak istana.....jelas banget beda dg sebelah2nya yg model artdeco. Sebelumnya kita sempat dikasih berhenti di dekat Hard Rock Cafe Miami dan liat yatch yg super gede sandar di doknya...hmmm, lucu! foto2 dg latar belakang kota Miami. Indah! Gw jalan ama Michal sambil ngobrol2 betapa surreal-nya ini semua. Orang Indo ketemu orang Polish di Miami. Super awkward buat gw yg belum pernah ke luar negeri dan belum pernah ketemu orang2 dr negara2 yg cuman pernah gw baca atau gw denger namanya. Gw sempat belok ke Starbuck, abis mata gak bisa diajak kompromi selama city tour, ngantuk berat! Lah, di Indo kan emang masih jam tidur malam! No wonder!
Sebelum jalan2 sama Yong dan Veronica ke South Beach Boulevard!!! (pic by Yong)
Kita makan di sepanjang boulevardnya South Beach. Di sebuah restoran yg namanya the Colony. Aku semeja ama Michal, Hae Wok, dan Veronica. Mereka semua ternyata mo pergi ke Berkeley...hehehe, gw jokingly bilang gw sourrounded by Berkeley Mafia. Kita ambil meja yg di trotoar. Dimana di situ kita bisa lihat langsung ke jalan dan duduk di sebelah mobil yg diparkir. Hampir semua yg di sini kayak di MTV Video utk HipHop Music. Mobil sport, musik berdentam2, boys and girls in bikini, kaca mata ceng-dem, kalung emas super gede di leher orang Black, dandanan model rapper, hmmm, an American dream indeed. Cuman sadnya, ada ibu2 tua gitu dg muka yg super keriput dan baju kumel actually came to our table to ask for food! What an irony! Tapi itu bikin gw sadar bhw ternyata Amerika itu tidak se-wah spt sepanjang boulevard itu. Ada juga Amerika dg muka yg kumel gini yg menunjukkan bhw yg namanya segregasi kelas tetep aja ada di negara Paman Sam.
Abis makan, kita dikasih pilihan, mau tinggal sampe tengah malam, apa pulang ke towers pake bis jam 9. Gw milih pergi, krn pesawat gw ke Iowa berangkat siang2. Jadilah gw ama Yong, Wolfgang, Aileen, Joy, Raina, Max, Jia, Nader, dan bbrp orang lain pergi jalan-jalan. Kita langsung aja jalan ke Mango Latino Cafe, yg katanya asyik bener mnrt si Arvi. OKd, kakak, akhirnya gw liat in live yg namanya cewek pake bikini dan dancing di atas meja bar! Wow! Udah gitu musiknya serba latin yg mengajak berdansa gitu. Jadinya hasrat dancing gw keluar deh! Heheheh, gak tahan banget denger musiknya! One rule in the bar: if you're sitting in the bar, you got to buy the drink. Dan, there is no sodas. Jadi tidak ada pilihan, gw pesen minum, alcoholic beverage. Jadinya? Gw gak mabuk, tapi jadi absolutely quiet setelah intoxicated....hehehheeh, kebayang gak Neny yg dewi keributan actually jadi pendiem? Hmmm, surreal lagi tuh!
Bosen di Mango, gw ama Yong dan Wolfgang pergi ke pantai. Ombaknya gede dan pantainya sepi banget! Bulannya pas purnama! Kita duduk2 di pasir, cerita2, dan berjanji bhw either in Christmas atau Summer Break kita mo pergi bareng backpacking along East Coast. Hmmmm, cool plans. Gw jg sempet liat istana pasir yg emang dibangun tiap dua hari sekali. Ada aja orang iseng bikin istana pasir yg paling2 dua hari dah hancur lagi....tapi yah...artistic kali ya?
Balik ke Towers, nothing much interesting, packing tas2 gw sampe jam 3 pagi trus tidur...sampe jam 7 pagi!
Krn ada sekitar 14 orang yg pesawatnya sekitar jam 12 siang, makanya Rowan udah order 2 super shuttle vans utk ngangkut kita semua ke airport. Waduh, penuh sesak bener itu vans! abis kita semua ngebawa koper yg segede2 gajah...one thing I hate, di sisi gw duduk dua orang yg bisa bahasa Spanish, jadi mrk tend to speak Spanish all the time! Hmmm, ini nyebelin, bener kata Jaha. Setelah berhasil nurunin koper gw yg super berat itu, gw sama Joy yg sama2 mo ke St. Louis, dorong2 koper kita buat check-in bagasi, hmmmm officernya agak tidak bersahabat tapi ya sudahlah..koper kita dicheck pakai x-ray, dan salah satu koper gw yg isinya bumbu oleh TSA dibuka. Kita disuruh berada di depan officer yg meriksa, jadi kalo ada bagasi yg masuk, mrk akan panggil nama si pemilik tas sesuai tag yg ada di situ. Makanya baiknya tas dikasih tag yg jelas. Udah gitu, klo udah ketemu ama yg punya tas, mereka akan minta kunci gembok tas, jadi siapin deh. Tas gw diaduk2, tapi krn gw dah baca baek2 petunjuk TSA di websitenya, gw letakkan semua barang yg aneh2 di tas plastik bening jadi mrk gak usah ngaduk2 dan gak bisa ngebalikin tuh tas. Pemeriksaan macam gini gak gw alami pas di Dallas, tapi kata fulbrighters yg lewat LA, Frisco, New York, pemeriksaan di airport2 itu lebih parah....huh, lucky me!
Di pesawat gw malah ngobrol ama Joy dan tidur2 ayam. Di St. Louis gw kudu lari2 ke gate gw krn ternyata gw dikasih cuman 15 menit utk transit. Bah! Capek bener....untung bagasi gw pake through tiket jadi gak usah diambil dan dipindah2in...Sebelnya setelah lari2 gitu ternyata yg namanya pesawat kita telat 30 menit....tau gitu gw gak lari2. Naek pesawat yg model kecilllllllllll banget, model kayak Fokker gitu, tp pramugarinya asyik bgt, cool dan sama sekali gak girly tapi profesional bgt.
Setelah +/- 1 jam flying gw sampe di Cedar RApids, Iowa....yg ternyata hometownnya AShton Kutcher!!!! Heheheh apa hubungannya?????
Begitu sampe ke Dallas gw alone banget...krn pas keluar dari pesawat, kebetulan kursi gw agak dekat kelas bisnis jadi gw bisa keluar duluan dan masuk imigrasi amrik. Di imigrasi setelah nunggu di antrian dan ada officer yg baek bgt periksa I-94, gw langsung ke counter dan si petugas imigrasi itu sangar bener, nanya 'kamu abis potong rambut ya?' 'Ke Amrik mo ngapain' dg wajah sangar gitu. Tapi gak ada pertanyaan yg serius. Cuman kira2 10 menit ajah, itu pun krn dia harus lookup data gw di SEVIS. setelah ambil tas utk diperiksa (krn ini port of entry gw ke Amrik), gw ke bagian Dept of Agriculture krn gw tulis di form declaration bhw gw bawa food. Jadi gw ditanya gw bawa apa. Gw bilang gw bawa spices, jadi tas gw di x-ray dah gitu dilepasin lah bagasi gw dan gw masukin lagi ke baggage utk diangkut ke Miami.
Setelah bbrp jam sebelumnya gw travelling bareng Pak Bambang, gw akhirnya sendirian. Jalan ke gate gw sendiri, semua orang sibuk dg urusan masing2. Gw yah jadi ikut diem2 gitu, dengerin walkman sampe pesawat gw ke Miami nongol. Di pesawat gw malah ngantuk, jadi gw tidur ajah. Pas lewat dateline cross, gw masih tidur, tp tau2 dah malem ajah...hehehe...bangun udah hampir sampai Miami. Begitu tiba, gw langsung nyari trolley, yg kudu masukin duit dolar kertas atau koin sebanyak 3 dolar. Tas gw minta ampun beratnya! Padahal badan gw kecil gini! Di bandara gw ngerasa kayak di Amerika Selatan gitu. Banyak bgt tampang latino, dimana2 signage dua bahasa Inggris dan Spanish, orang2 bicara bhs Spanyol. Hmmmm, this is not like in US!
Gw baru mikir2 mo naek shuttle van apa taxi..eh, di tempat shuttle gw liat ada anak Asia yg megang2 kertas FB, jadi gw colek. Ternyata bener! Itu anak dari Thailand, namanya Yong, fulbrighter juga! Jadi kita naek taxi barengan ke Florida International University (FIU) tapiiiiiiii...si tukang taxi cewek ini gak tau dimana FIU! Yah ampun deh...terpaksa kita yg ngasih direction sesuai surat petunjuk dari FIU. Mana di direction itu mrk pake deskripsi warna gedung gitu, dan pas gw sampe itu udah jam sepuluh malem! Jadi udah gak keliatan dong warna bangunan. Sempat berhenti dan nanya tapi orang itu jg orang baru. Pake telp manggil polisi kampus, tp polisi kampus jg lagi sibuk....hmmmmm, panik gak sih? Tapi akhirnya ketemu juga yg namanya University Park Towers, tempat kita nginep. Ini gedung ada 10 lantai dan emang didesain utk tempat hunian mahasiswa. Gedungnya ada dua yg 10 lantai dan dihubungkan di tengahnya dg semacam commercial building berlantai 2.
some pics of FIU, taken by Yong
Udah deh, gw geret2 dua koper 25 dan 30 kg itu, plus tas ransel, plus tas gantung, hmmmmm...udah kayak kuli bandara ajah! Di Front Desk, ketemu Eki dan Usep yg udah duluan datang...mrk lagi mo nyari makanan, tp mana ada....kampusnya dah sepi kayak kuburan, gak ada orang lalu lalang. Gw bilang mending kita bikin indomie ajah, dan mereka setuju. Jadi gw cek in, dpt kamar no 922B, sempat ketemu roommate gw Raina dari Syria, lalu ngambil piring ama mangkok ama sendok buat makan lalu ke kamar Eki buat ngambil panci dan makan. Tapi ternyata.....koper Eki yg isinya panci gak bisa dibuka! Ya ampun, padahal dah laper banget! Akhirnya kita putusin makan dari vending machine ajah. Baru sekali itu tuh gw liat vending machine, si Eki sih dah pernah ke Jepang jd dia udah tahu gimana cara operasinya. Tapi gw yg ragu2 bego gitu makenya. Udah deh, drpd lapar, mending makan muffin, minum susu, dan lalu berangkat tidur. Walo mata rasanya gak mau dimeremin krn di Indonesia itu udah siang, sodare2!
pagi, jam empat udah melek, tidur2 ayam sampe jam 5, dan akhirnya baca Harry Potter ajah, mandi, makan pagi (dari vending machine lagi!) dan turun buat ngambil materials. Ketemu ama Arvi (program officer) dan dikasih satu map isinya jadual, materi, info ttg Miami, etc dan dikasih duit 75 dollar buat makan siang dan makan pagi. Kenalan ama Nader RAzouk (Jerman), Masato Ishida(Jepang), Aileen (Philipines), Ludmilla (Rumania) dan bbrp yg laen lagi yg gw gak ingat.
Sesi pertama kita di Graham Center dimana ada sambutan dari Program Director dan danish buat makan pagi, trus kita dibagi ke empat kelompok berdasarkan stiker warna di name tag kita. Gw dapat kelompok merah. Di kelompok kita ada Joo-Il Lee (South Korea), Ludmilla Marthanovski (Rumania), Usep, Dierdere Williams (Trinidad and Tobago), Rowan Gontier (South Africa), Aileen Guzman (Phillipines), Rania, Masato, Michal Jasiczak (Poland), McDonald Jumbo (Malawi), Jia Kim (Germany), Khadija Laamori (Morroco), Alphonce Guzha (Zimbabwe). Macem2 bgt kan? Hari pertama itu bener2 gila! Banyak break, krn masih banyak yg jet lag. Gw sendiri sebelum makan siang udah jatuh tidur jatuh bangun gitu. Tapi mata hrs tetep terbuka krn ikut sesi...haaaaa! Akhirnya pas break sbl makan siang gw beli kopi Starbuck. Lumayan ngebantu spy gak ngantuk. Makan siang di kafetaria kampus. Bayar 6 dolar buat makan sekenyang2nya sepuas2nya sebanyak2nya. Murah kan? Tapi sebenarnya the only reason gw makan di situ ama Aileen, lalu Zayda dan Aloy (the Phillipines) adalah krn kita baca di menu hari itu ada nasi! Hehehehhe, dasar perut melayu! Emang sih nasinya model Latin America gitu, keras, kering, dan porsinya superrrrrr bessssaaaarrrr buat orang Melayu. Ini jg dikomplain ama my fellow Phillipines. Tapi asyik juga bisa makan daging, piza, jelly, buah, pokoknya kenyang abis!
Malamnya kita dinner di luar. Klo gak salah di Port of Miami di salah satu resto latin gitu di Bayside Mall. Sori gw lupa tempatnya. Semeja ama Deidre, Nader, Rowan, Raina, ama Wolfgang Kurz (German). Gw pesan steak ama nasi! Es krimnya enaaaakkkk. Ngobrolnya asyik. si Nader bilang gw ini 'setan' banget krn gw suka ngasih topik yg kontroversial, debatable tapi pas orang lain argue ribut gw tinggal senyam senyum ngeliat hasil kerja gw. hahahahah, malaikat bertanduk dilawan! Gw udah merasa comfy banget dg situasi teman2 gw, terutama pas ngobrol ama Wolfgang dan Rowan. Si Wolfgang ini baru 23 tahun, belajar journalism dan social studies di North Carolina Uni, dia bilang program ini 'just for fun' krn dia ngerjain non-degree program, haaaaaaahhhhh? just for fun dia bilang, OMG! TApi yg gw suka dari dia adalah dia selalu full attention pada orang klo orang lagi ngomong. Rowan dari South Africa yg asli bule *coba di Africa ada bule?* ternyata suka film dan kita ngomongin film2nya Robin Williams, Denzel Washington, asyik bgt! Si Rowan mo ke Texas A & M blajar Mechanical Engineering. Abis makan malam kita jalan-jalan sepanjang Port of Miami yg cantik banget di bawah bulan. Ada yatch, ada live music...aduh indah bener! Sementara gw jalan dan ngobrol dg orang2 yg menarik!
Port of Miami with some new friends :P
left to right: MacDonald, Masato, Neny, Rowan, Yong, Wolfgang
(pic by Yong)
Besok paginya gw semakin banyak kenal orang dan gw enjoy banget ama orang2nya. Gw ngobrol ama Aileen yg mo ngambil PhD Environmental di SUNY, ama Raina yg mo ke Florida, Michal yg mo non-degree program di Berkeley. Dia lagi nyelesaiin PhD dia di Poland sono. Ada juga Deidre, yg pinter nyanyi, tinggi kayak model, mo ngambil MBA dl Marketing. Masato, si philosopher, krn dia mo ikut non degree di Philosophy. Ngobrol ama dia bisa jadi contemplative bgt. Yong anaknya kayak gw, masih 23 tapi udah ngambil master Journalism di NUS, Singapore. Jadi klo nanti dia dah selesai ama program dual program Journalism dan Politics entar dia bakal jadi triple master! Maaaaannnnn...tapi dia asyik bgt buat jalan dan have fun. Max Valverde, anak kostarika yg mo belajar bikin film, hmmmm jago dancer! Rochelle Clarke dari Jamaica, anaknya ceria banget dan cantik. Pokoknya seru deh!
Hari kedua dinnernya di Tuscany di Coconut Grave. Kali ini gw semeja ama Christine Obermiller (German), Joy Jamago (Philipines), Max, Aileen, Raina, McDonald. Makan gw pesan salmon tapi ya itu porsinya kebesaran jadi gak abis. Walo emang itu makanan enak bener kok! Apalagi tiramisunya, hmmm, yummy! Abis makan gw putusin buat liat2 sekitar Coconut Grove. Kali ini ama Michal. Tapi gak ada yg bagus selain toko2 ajah. Akhirnya kita balik kanan pulang. Gw ama Michal asyik banget ngobrol soal Indonesia dan Polandia jadi akhirnya gw ama dia ama Masato liat2 peta dan kartupos bergambar Indo dg gw sibuk ngasih kuliah history dan antropology of Borobudur dan Prambanan. Michal ama Masato bilang gw salah jurusan ngambil Computer-assisted Language Learning, hrsnya ngambil arkeologi apa history gitu, wakakakakakak....
Sesi2nya biasa2 ajah, model health issues, immigration issues, stress management, diversity issues, academic culture and integrity, sexual harrassment, research skills, lebih gw anggap sbg ulangan walo ada bbrp yg baru gw tahu. gak banyak yg tanya2 krn mungkin otak masih beku kena jetlag. Juga krn bbrp hal udah gw pelajari selama orientasi di Bali dan lewat internet. Tapi dua hari itu yg asyik sekali terutama krn gw bisa mengenal orang2 yg benar2 amazing.
Hari ketiga..hmmm...the session is interesting soalnya kali ini kita maen game utk belajar mengerti soal cross cultural issues. Tapi yg parah adalah sesudah lunch. Gw janjian makan sama bbrp teman, tp mrk gak ada yg nongol, akhirnya gw makan di kafetaria FIU yg besar dan penuh anak baru yg lagi orientation, di meja utk berempat yg gw tempatin sendiri, sementara gw di situ look miserable...I'm feeling so lonely.....udah gitu setelah gw ngendon di library, begitu balik ke Architecture Building utk ikut sesi yg selanjutnya, gw kesasar! Ya ilah...emang sense of direction gw buruk betul! tapi untungnya pas kita check in kita dikasih peta, dan gw selalu bawa kompas jadi yah...ketemu juga tuh building...hmmmm, ati2 deh klo punya kampus kayak FIU yg pengaturan bangunannya gak blok2 gitu. Dah gitu pas masuk gw dah telat, jd gak bisa fokus ngikutin diskusi, hmm, tambah parahlah itu loneliness...geeees. Tapi abis itu gw malah curhat soal kesepian itu ama Usep dan memang yah, harus disadari itulah parts of being away from things that you know. si Masato malah bilang kalo alienation is the first step of being philosophical, hahahahahha, dasar philosopher hehehe. Tapi in a way, gw baru ngerasa kalo sebenarnya there are ppl who are concerned about you, soalnya both Usep and Masato told me that they noticed bhw gw lebih diem dari biasanya dan bertanya2 ada apa dg gw...hmmm, nice ppl.
Siangnya, kita ada city tour ke Miami. Kita pergi keliling kota naek bis, ditemani tour guide yg menjelaskan dg sangat fasih dan menarik soal seluk beluk kota. Kita melewati area Key Biscannes dimana di kota itu reservasi terhadap bangunan tinggi dan memang daerah itu memang daerah tertua di Miami sehingga bangunannya sungguh2 bagus. Bahkan kata si guide, klo si pemilik rumah mo ngecat rumah, perbaiki genting atau renovasi remeh temeh, mereka musti menghubungi city council utk mendapatkan ijin....hmmm. Udah gitu rumah2 di situ itu paling murah harganya 4 juta dollar, hah???? Bisa buat ngirim berapa fulbrighter ke Amrik tuh???? Ternyata di Miami ada juga kanal, yg menghubungkan rumah2 itu ke laut. Kebayang gak sih di belakang rumah ada dermaga kecil dan yatch pribadi....oh no....kaya bener....kita juga dikasih liat rumahnya Gloria Estefan yg terletak di sebuah man-made island...katanya sih dia punya dua rumah gede2 di situ. Trus kita juga liat bagian art deco dari kota Miami yg terletak di South Beach. Itu semua bangunan model tahun 50s gitu, dan dibangun setelah Miami terkena hurricanes maha dahsyat yg menghancurkan semua bangunan. makanya arsiteknya memilih model bangunan artdeco spy gampang dan cepet bangun rumahnya. Kita juga lihat rumahnya Giannini Versace yg kayak istana.....jelas banget beda dg sebelah2nya yg model artdeco. Sebelumnya kita sempat dikasih berhenti di dekat Hard Rock Cafe Miami dan liat yatch yg super gede sandar di doknya...hmmm, lucu! foto2 dg latar belakang kota Miami. Indah! Gw jalan ama Michal sambil ngobrol2 betapa surreal-nya ini semua. Orang Indo ketemu orang Polish di Miami. Super awkward buat gw yg belum pernah ke luar negeri dan belum pernah ketemu orang2 dr negara2 yg cuman pernah gw baca atau gw denger namanya. Gw sempat belok ke Starbuck, abis mata gak bisa diajak kompromi selama city tour, ngantuk berat! Lah, di Indo kan emang masih jam tidur malam! No wonder!
Sebelum jalan2 sama Yong dan Veronica ke South Beach Boulevard!!! (pic by Yong)
Kita makan di sepanjang boulevardnya South Beach. Di sebuah restoran yg namanya the Colony. Aku semeja ama Michal, Hae Wok, dan Veronica. Mereka semua ternyata mo pergi ke Berkeley...hehehe, gw jokingly bilang gw sourrounded by Berkeley Mafia. Kita ambil meja yg di trotoar. Dimana di situ kita bisa lihat langsung ke jalan dan duduk di sebelah mobil yg diparkir. Hampir semua yg di sini kayak di MTV Video utk HipHop Music. Mobil sport, musik berdentam2, boys and girls in bikini, kaca mata ceng-dem, kalung emas super gede di leher orang Black, dandanan model rapper, hmmm, an American dream indeed. Cuman sadnya, ada ibu2 tua gitu dg muka yg super keriput dan baju kumel actually came to our table to ask for food! What an irony! Tapi itu bikin gw sadar bhw ternyata Amerika itu tidak se-wah spt sepanjang boulevard itu. Ada juga Amerika dg muka yg kumel gini yg menunjukkan bhw yg namanya segregasi kelas tetep aja ada di negara Paman Sam.
Abis makan, kita dikasih pilihan, mau tinggal sampe tengah malam, apa pulang ke towers pake bis jam 9. Gw milih pergi, krn pesawat gw ke Iowa berangkat siang2. Jadilah gw ama Yong, Wolfgang, Aileen, Joy, Raina, Max, Jia, Nader, dan bbrp orang lain pergi jalan-jalan. Kita langsung aja jalan ke Mango Latino Cafe, yg katanya asyik bener mnrt si Arvi. OKd, kakak, akhirnya gw liat in live yg namanya cewek pake bikini dan dancing di atas meja bar! Wow! Udah gitu musiknya serba latin yg mengajak berdansa gitu. Jadinya hasrat dancing gw keluar deh! Heheheh, gak tahan banget denger musiknya! One rule in the bar: if you're sitting in the bar, you got to buy the drink. Dan, there is no sodas. Jadi tidak ada pilihan, gw pesen minum, alcoholic beverage. Jadinya? Gw gak mabuk, tapi jadi absolutely quiet setelah intoxicated....hehehheeh, kebayang gak Neny yg dewi keributan actually jadi pendiem? Hmmm, surreal lagi tuh!
Bosen di Mango, gw ama Yong dan Wolfgang pergi ke pantai. Ombaknya gede dan pantainya sepi banget! Bulannya pas purnama! Kita duduk2 di pasir, cerita2, dan berjanji bhw either in Christmas atau Summer Break kita mo pergi bareng backpacking along East Coast. Hmmmm, cool plans. Gw jg sempet liat istana pasir yg emang dibangun tiap dua hari sekali. Ada aja orang iseng bikin istana pasir yg paling2 dua hari dah hancur lagi....tapi yah...artistic kali ya?
Balik ke Towers, nothing much interesting, packing tas2 gw sampe jam 3 pagi trus tidur...sampe jam 7 pagi!
Krn ada sekitar 14 orang yg pesawatnya sekitar jam 12 siang, makanya Rowan udah order 2 super shuttle vans utk ngangkut kita semua ke airport. Waduh, penuh sesak bener itu vans! abis kita semua ngebawa koper yg segede2 gajah...one thing I hate, di sisi gw duduk dua orang yg bisa bahasa Spanish, jadi mrk tend to speak Spanish all the time! Hmmm, ini nyebelin, bener kata Jaha. Setelah berhasil nurunin koper gw yg super berat itu, gw sama Joy yg sama2 mo ke St. Louis, dorong2 koper kita buat check-in bagasi, hmmmm officernya agak tidak bersahabat tapi ya sudahlah..koper kita dicheck pakai x-ray, dan salah satu koper gw yg isinya bumbu oleh TSA dibuka. Kita disuruh berada di depan officer yg meriksa, jadi kalo ada bagasi yg masuk, mrk akan panggil nama si pemilik tas sesuai tag yg ada di situ. Makanya baiknya tas dikasih tag yg jelas. Udah gitu, klo udah ketemu ama yg punya tas, mereka akan minta kunci gembok tas, jadi siapin deh. Tas gw diaduk2, tapi krn gw dah baca baek2 petunjuk TSA di websitenya, gw letakkan semua barang yg aneh2 di tas plastik bening jadi mrk gak usah ngaduk2 dan gak bisa ngebalikin tuh tas. Pemeriksaan macam gini gak gw alami pas di Dallas, tapi kata fulbrighters yg lewat LA, Frisco, New York, pemeriksaan di airport2 itu lebih parah....huh, lucky me!
Di pesawat gw malah ngobrol ama Joy dan tidur2 ayam. Di St. Louis gw kudu lari2 ke gate gw krn ternyata gw dikasih cuman 15 menit utk transit. Bah! Capek bener....untung bagasi gw pake through tiket jadi gak usah diambil dan dipindah2in...Sebelnya setelah lari2 gitu ternyata yg namanya pesawat kita telat 30 menit....tau gitu gw gak lari2. Naek pesawat yg model kecilllllllllll banget, model kayak Fokker gitu, tp pramugarinya asyik bgt, cool dan sama sekali gak girly tapi profesional bgt.
Setelah +/- 1 jam flying gw sampe di Cedar RApids, Iowa....yg ternyata hometownnya AShton Kutcher!!!! Heheheh apa hubungannya?????
Sunday, August 10, 2003
PRE-JOURNEY: JAKARTA
Hello2...
Jumat 8 Agustus sampe MInggu gw nginep di rumah Kurie yg full buku....aduhhhh, surga banget! Nyokapnya Tante Ansye Sapi'ie dan kakaknya Kang Dede begitu baek bgt! Gw potong rambut di salon deket rumah Kurie sampe rambut gw cepak hampir abis! Hehehe, mungkin elo2 kaget ngeliat gw sekarang dg rambut ala Sigourney Weaver di Aliens *tp gak sependek itu sih*...Sempet panik pas datang di Jkt soalnya koper yg satu gak bisa dibuka! Ternyata miss satu angka ajah pas nge-set-nya jadi gemboknya gak bisa dibuka. Sekarang sih dah bisa....Mana jg setelah dibrief di Aminef ama Pak Piet (PP) ternyata pesawat gw gak ke Des Moines, tp ke Grand Rapids, waaaaaa itu kan 128 miles dari Ames! ....tp dah ngomong si Adi ketua Permias Ames, jd dia udah janji jemput....Thanks God!
Minggu malam 10 Agustus, gw berangkat pake Japan Airlines jam 11.55 PM. Saking asyiknya ngobrol ama Eki di luar *sambil ngokar, heheh* hampir ajah kita ketinggalan! Mana kita bego banget gak ngisi blanko imigrasi dari pertama dikasih, jd buru2 ajah di counter. Gw jg stupid gak tau dimana musti bayar fiskal..heh, malu! Yah, namanya jg baru sekali ini minggat ke luar negeri, jadi bego banget!
Setelah 'terjebak' hampir 8 jam di dalam pesawat JAL 716, akhirnya aku mendarat di Bandara Internasional Narita Jepang. Btw, pesawat Boieng 747-nya JAL bener2 canggih. Yg jelas dek-nya ada 2 tingkat dan di setiap tempat duduk ada TV dimana penumpang bisa nonton film2 terbaru (Gw nonton Xmen United, Bring Down the House), bisa denger musik (dari yg pop, jazz, klasik, Jepang), bisa main games (gw main Mahjong, dan REversi), bisa juga tuh liat brp jauh lagi destination kita plus gambar di luarnya pesawat...CAnggih....Belum lagi tu TV dilengkapi remote control yg sekaligus berfungsi sbg game pad, telpon kartu pake kartu kredit, dan console utk nyalain lampu baca dan manggil flights attendants. Gila....
Dapet koran juga, tapi koran huruf kanji, hiks..gak bisa baca. Toiletnya asyik banget krn ada free sikat gigi, softex, dan paper bag...hehehe, sempet 'nyolong' sikat giginya satu, buat jaga2.
Dapet makan dua kali, late snacks dan breakfast. Yah...gak gitu mengundang selera..abis makanan Jepang, what do you expect, Man..It's a Japan flight....
Bandara Narita sih boleeeee, besar bgt, tp krn lokasinya mencar2 gitu jadi bikin bingung. SEmpet kayak orang bego di customs krn ternyata hrs dpt visa Jepang, harusnya sih kita nginep di Holiday Inn krn kita hrs transit 8 jam. Tp transportasi yg bikin bingung itu jadi kendala. Kita aja dah bolak-balik terminal satu ke dua, naek bis, nunggu check in yg lama bener.....Ya udah, kita memutuskan tungguin aja di bandara yg nyaman ini dan ada internet kiosk tp mahaaaaallllll, 10 menit 100 Yen (~1 USD). Ah, gpp, yg penting di paspor gw dah ada stamp Japan! Heheh...
Sekarang gw sedang bersama Pak Bambang Cipto sedang nunggu pesawat kita American Airlines 060 ke Dallas....kayak orang ilang :D Aduh, masih 5 jam lageeeeeee......Gw mo bobok bisa kali ya? Pak Bambang sih lagi nyari teh anget....hmmmm, yg penting gw dah makan cheeseburger, bekal bawa dari Cengkareng..heheh gak mo tombok!
I miss Jalu and Yudi! Hmmm, kenapa di airport ini banyak bener sih anak kecil! Jadi keinget ketawanya J yg khas banget! Hmmmmmm....hiks hiks...
Jumat 8 Agustus sampe MInggu gw nginep di rumah Kurie yg full buku....aduhhhh, surga banget! Nyokapnya Tante Ansye Sapi'ie dan kakaknya Kang Dede begitu baek bgt! Gw potong rambut di salon deket rumah Kurie sampe rambut gw cepak hampir abis! Hehehe, mungkin elo2 kaget ngeliat gw sekarang dg rambut ala Sigourney Weaver di Aliens *tp gak sependek itu sih*...Sempet panik pas datang di Jkt soalnya koper yg satu gak bisa dibuka! Ternyata miss satu angka ajah pas nge-set-nya jadi gemboknya gak bisa dibuka. Sekarang sih dah bisa....Mana jg setelah dibrief di Aminef ama Pak Piet (PP) ternyata pesawat gw gak ke Des Moines, tp ke Grand Rapids, waaaaaa itu kan 128 miles dari Ames! ....tp dah ngomong si Adi ketua Permias Ames, jd dia udah janji jemput....Thanks God!
Minggu malam 10 Agustus, gw berangkat pake Japan Airlines jam 11.55 PM. Saking asyiknya ngobrol ama Eki di luar *sambil ngokar, heheh* hampir ajah kita ketinggalan! Mana kita bego banget gak ngisi blanko imigrasi dari pertama dikasih, jd buru2 ajah di counter. Gw jg stupid gak tau dimana musti bayar fiskal..heh, malu! Yah, namanya jg baru sekali ini minggat ke luar negeri, jadi bego banget!
Setelah 'terjebak' hampir 8 jam di dalam pesawat JAL 716, akhirnya aku mendarat di Bandara Internasional Narita Jepang. Btw, pesawat Boieng 747-nya JAL bener2 canggih. Yg jelas dek-nya ada 2 tingkat dan di setiap tempat duduk ada TV dimana penumpang bisa nonton film2 terbaru (Gw nonton Xmen United, Bring Down the House), bisa denger musik (dari yg pop, jazz, klasik, Jepang), bisa main games (gw main Mahjong, dan REversi), bisa juga tuh liat brp jauh lagi destination kita plus gambar di luarnya pesawat...CAnggih....Belum lagi tu TV dilengkapi remote control yg sekaligus berfungsi sbg game pad, telpon kartu pake kartu kredit, dan console utk nyalain lampu baca dan manggil flights attendants. Gila....
Dapet koran juga, tapi koran huruf kanji, hiks..gak bisa baca. Toiletnya asyik banget krn ada free sikat gigi, softex, dan paper bag...hehehe, sempet 'nyolong' sikat giginya satu, buat jaga2.
Dapet makan dua kali, late snacks dan breakfast. Yah...gak gitu mengundang selera..abis makanan Jepang, what do you expect, Man..It's a Japan flight....
Bandara Narita sih boleeeee, besar bgt, tp krn lokasinya mencar2 gitu jadi bikin bingung. SEmpet kayak orang bego di customs krn ternyata hrs dpt visa Jepang, harusnya sih kita nginep di Holiday Inn krn kita hrs transit 8 jam. Tp transportasi yg bikin bingung itu jadi kendala. Kita aja dah bolak-balik terminal satu ke dua, naek bis, nunggu check in yg lama bener.....Ya udah, kita memutuskan tungguin aja di bandara yg nyaman ini dan ada internet kiosk tp mahaaaaallllll, 10 menit 100 Yen (~1 USD). Ah, gpp, yg penting di paspor gw dah ada stamp Japan! Heheh...
Sekarang gw sedang bersama Pak Bambang Cipto sedang nunggu pesawat kita American Airlines 060 ke Dallas....kayak orang ilang :D Aduh, masih 5 jam lageeeeeee......Gw mo bobok bisa kali ya? Pak Bambang sih lagi nyari teh anget....hmmmm, yg penting gw dah makan cheeseburger, bekal bawa dari Cengkareng..heheh gak mo tombok!
I miss Jalu and Yudi! Hmmm, kenapa di airport ini banyak bener sih anak kecil! Jadi keinget ketawanya J yg khas banget! Hmmmmmm....hiks hiks...
Monday, July 21, 2003
RESAH...SEBELUM PERJALANAN...
Perjalanan belum dimulai...
Tapi kebingungan dan ketidakpercayadirianku telah membuncah
Tapi kebingungan dan ketidakpercayadirianku telah membuncah
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