fragments of life, points to ponder, Bahasa IndonesiaDecember 18, 2008 11:22 pm

kejutan-kejutan kecil dari Washington DC

apa sih yang disebut kejutan itu… mestinya adalah hal-hal yang mengejutkan, ya to…kalau nggak mengejutkan ya namanya bukan kejutan.  (lha berarti kado ultah itu mestinya bukan kejuta, hehehe, karena pasti sudah ditunggu-tunggu ke’datangan’nya…)

baru dua hari balik dari Washington DC, jadi pengen curhat beberapa kejutan kecil yang kutemukan di sana…

1.  hotel yang keren berarti no free wifi, hahahaha.  dasar mahasiswa, masuk ke Hyatt Regency yang cuma 2 blok dari Capitol Hill, langsung kecewa ketika tahu bahwa koneksi wifi harganya 10 dollar untuk 24 jam.  yah, untuk mahasiswa yang notabene udah biasa konek 24 jam gratis di kampus, jadi shock deh.  (sebenarnya di apartemen juga bayar sih, tapi mungkin karena murah jadi ga ngerasa kalau sebenarnya selama ini juga ga gratis tuh wifi…payah kan…)

2.  waiter dan waitress di hotel bintang 5 belum tentu ramah.  

3.  dapat kejutan manis, appetizer dan dessert gratis dari 2 waiter Indonesia waktu makan malam di Singapore Bistro, makasih ya Mas…  (kenapa sangat manis, karena kita bersembilan bo’…. kalau nggratisin 1-2 orang sih biasa…lha ini 9 cewek braok rak karuan, hahahahaha….)

4.   pegawai hispanik Krispy Kreme yang super baik…ditanyain soal stasiun mana yang paling deket ke Lincoln Memorial, dia anterin kami masuk ke stasiun subway, nanyain rutenya sama petugas di sana, dan mintain peta….  wah, sebenarnya kami juga udah tahu rutenya, cuma mau ngecek, siapa tahu orang situ tahu lebih baik…but that was super sweet… and unexpected.

5.   bayangan seseorang tentang diriya sendiri bisa sangat berbeda dengan apa yang dilihat oleh orang lain.  sebenarnya prinsip ini bukan kejutan buatku, tapi melihat kejadian di depan mata tetap terkejut…. bagaimana kedua image ini bisa sangat bertentangan…. wow….

6.  berbicara dengan orang kulit hitam yang mengira bahwa ibunya Obama dari Indonesia *sigh*…

7.  ngobrol seru sama sopir taksi yang kaget karena aku naik taksi dari Hyatt Regency, dan minta diantar ke alamat hostel…. hahahahahaha….. (ya iya lah, Pak, kan Hyatt dibayarin…kalau bayar sendiri yang nge-hostel aja kalee….)

8.  hostel di DC lebih kecil dan staffnya lebih nggak ramah dari hostel yang sama di Chicago (eh, emangnya itu kejutan ya…. kalau dipikir-pikir, nggak juga ya, kan hotel di Jakarta juga nggak lebih ramah dari yang di Salatiga, Jogja atau Semarang….)

9.  ternyata aku ga parah-parah amat kalau baca (dan mengartikan….) peta!!! hahahahaha…. itu kalau bandingannya adalah 7 cewek Indonesia di Amerika….I’m totally not bad….

10.  I am still surprised to be reminded on how insecure I am of myself, my place in the world, making friends…. hm….always something new to learn….

Ann Arbor, Dec 18, 2008

Comments (4)
fragments of life, English 10:49 pm

random notes # 2 - Washington DC

scaterred chit-chat in Washington DC…
 
as I was dragging my bag out of the locker room of a certain 5-star hotel on Capitol Hill, Washington DC…I had this conversation with one of the bell captains (bell CAPTAINs… look, how fancy that was….)

"Where are you from, Miss?"
"Oh, I am from Indonesia."
"Oh, Obama country?"
Within a split second I went through bewilderment, surprise, and happiness before I responded tentatively, "Well, kind of…." (a big question mark swimming around in my head, trying to figure out whether this gentleman was being sincere, or was testing me on my knowledge of US…or whatever….)

And then he continued asking, oh, well…. maybe more stating….and asking himself…,
"His mother is from your place, right?"
And thank goodness he was an elderly gentleman, because if he were a young man I would have a tough time trying to hold myself back and not let my jaw dropped to the shinny floor below me.

"Ehemmm…. I believe it was his step-father who came from my country, Sir…. He just spent a couple of years in Indonesia, that’s what I know…"

Now I am not trying to be racist, but boy, how the Javanese upbringing helped me pull this sentence through.

I am still not trying to be racist, when I realized why it was both deeply shocking and why it was so easy for me to maintain my composure in front of this gentleman, because he was a man of color. Of course I didn’t even ask him who he voted for in the last election, or whether he voted at all. But it was both sad and humbling for me to see that a man of color, working in a place only 2 blocks away from the doorstep where Obama will take his oath a mere 33 days from today, though that his mother came from Indonesia.

And maybe even if he knew that she came from Hawaii…he would have thought that it was still abroad.

Though I am proud that people actually recognize ‘Indonesia’ when they hear it, thanks to the controversy surrounding Obama, it is still sad to see how much people need to learn more about him…. And also about us. And the fact that, no, jilbab is not a traditional clothes in Indonesia, and no, we don’t speak Arabic down there on the equator.

 
Ann Arbor, Dec 17, 2008
Comments (1)
fragments of life, EnglishDecember 8, 2008 3:37 am

random notes #1

a new addiction….
Thursday, November 27, 2008 at 5:23am 
 
There are moments in life, when you feel so free, liberated, energized… when all the troubles of the world simply crumble beneath your feet, and the world seems beautiful again.

Call me superficial, but that’s how I feel every time I start dancing. Okay, honestly, NOT social dancing. Not the clubbing part (well, haven’t tried that, maybe I’ll like it…) Just dancing. Just these series of body movements accompanied by nice music with wonderful rhythm, and all of a sudden I feel well again. Of course, finding a good lead is part of the ‘troubles of the world’ ;p but when we are out there….dancing to the music…hm….

Is it superficial to feel happy, JUST BECAUSE? Just because I was able to hear good music. Just because I could stand on both feet and dance to the rhythm (oh, man, believe me, those 2 months when I couldn’t stand on BOTH feet were looooooong…..). Just because I could feel the positive energy surging inside my body, and recharging my soul.

Hm……. is there a support group for dancing addiction? ;p

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