footprints of life

How many of you actually always have a camera with you?  Or in possession of a cameraphone?

Yup, I saw some hands back there, and also one here.  Ehemmm….probably a bit on the extreme side, I happen to have a small camera AND 2 (two) cameraphones with me in my so-called purse (ugh…hate the word, not to mention that IT couldn’t be called a purse because of its sheer size…let’s call it my handy bag, instead).

And recently, I found one goody thing about having a camera/cameraphone handy…being a girl that is, I can transform it (errr…them..) into an instant visual shopping list, yay!  

The problem started ~ wait, it was not a problem then, it was an opportunity, LOL ~ when I am ’stranded’ in this place, where most of the population doesn’t speak English (nor Indonesian, nor Javanese, in case the earlier statement failed to illustrate how dire my situation had been), and I was (err…actually still am) in a serious need of a pair of nail-clippers.  Yeah, a very simple thing.

My first thought was to run to the nearest pharmacist and ask them if they have anything like that. But then again, what if I can actually find it in a supermarket?  Or cosmetic shop?  Or it is located in some unfathomable department in that ever crowded Shumaila Hari super store (emmm…it’s like the Meijer or Matahari or Carrefour of Sana’a, Yemen)?  Then, where would I end up?  

Next idea was to search an image of the said nail clippers on Google and print it out.  But thanks to the ever present power cut, the images were nicely stored in my hard disc and I had not managed to print them out just yet.

And then it dawned on me some random article on photography knick-knack I read a couple of months back, and I had a revelation.  Dummy! Of course I can take a picture of that picture (err…still following me?), and bring it with me, how smart!

So here I am, with a pair of nail clippers as the wallpaper of my phones, but alas, I have not managed to get to one of those shops, yet.  Thanks to the pile of Arabic homeworks.  Maybe next time.

But hey, a good idea deserves some bragging, right?

In case some of you are interested to see what other ideas are out there, here is the link to the original article about the other uses of your camera. Cheese!

Sana’a, Yemen

June 24, 2009

Seminggu kemudian, aku pusing menghadapi setumpuk huruf yang bukan cuma harus dihapalkan, juga harus disambung-sambung dan dibaca dengan lancar….aduh mak…

Selamat datang di dunia pelajaran Bahasa Arab.

Yah, betul, anda tidak salah dengar baca. Hari ini dengan resmi ditutup hari ke-5 aku duduk manis 3 jam setiap hari di Yemen Language Center / Yemen College for Middle Eastern Studies di Sana’a, untuk belajar Bahasa Arab. Guru-gurunya semangat banget, saking semangatnya, dalam waktu dua hari aku sudah diberi buku ke-2, padahal ngapalin alif, ba, ta aja masih kerepotan. Tapi sedih juga sih…soalnya belum bisa belajar yang lain-lain sebelum bisa baca huruf Arabnya, alias, sudah seminggu belajar aku baru bisa bilang "assalamualaikum" (yah, itu sih dari Indonesia juga udah bisa, hihihi….), "selamat pagi" sama "apa kabar"… oya, sama "namamu siapa?", hahaha… Masa ngobrol sama orang, habis nyapa selamat pagi, gimana kabarnya, siapa namanya, terus macet…. Ujung-ujungnya cuma bisa bilang "qalas"…alias cuma bisa segitu aja, hahaha, sambil cengar-cengir.

Masih ada dua minggu lagi… SEMANGAT!! Dan berharap semoga minggu depan sudah bisa ngomong sedikit, paling nggak sama sopir taksi.  Lah, masak dianter-jemput 20 menit sekali jalan, nggak ngobrol apa-apa.  Ya itu tadi, habis bilang selamat pagi, apa kabar, terus sepi deh…hahaha…

Wish me luck ya, temans!

Sana’a, 24 Juni 2009

After trying massage, hot pad, balms…..and simply trying to fall asleep for 2 straight days… and finally, I got a good worth of a good night sleep after popping in 2 caplets of Panadol Extra.  Phew….

Today I realized that my text message inbox had hit over 1000 messages – again.  It’s time to start deleting.

As I went through the messages – some of them contained addresses and details I want to keep, so, yes, I am doing it the hard way – flood of memories surged through my brain.

Thoughts about random Italian dinner prepared by our enthusiastic Italian chef Teresa, appointments on reviewing previous week’s salsa moves with Steve, random notes in three languages with Nat, dancing appointments @ Café Habana with Alicia, confirmation on volunteering activities with Rosana, movies, walks, coffees, cultural festivals, I-love-you-s, see-you-tomorrow-s, good-luck-s, South Park, keg parties, grocery shopping, house on fire, midnight rendezvous, mochi ice cream…. Story of a lifetime fleeted before my eyes.  And what a wonderful life it had been.

And I cannot thank you well enough, though I cannot tell you face to face. 

Thank you for opening the door for me.  Thank you for giving me a chance to create beautiful memories to last me a lifetime.

And to a very dear friend, who magically found me and pushed me over the limit almost 4 years ago, thank YOU.

For none of these would have been possible without ‘the chance meeting’ with you.  If you had not jerked me away from the life I thought I had wanted all along, I would have been another ‘normal’ person, and you were right… I would have been bound to be unhappy.  So…thank you, Gatotkaca.

Though sad I am, not to be able to tell you in person, I am sure you are out there somewhere, inspiring people.  Just the way you had inspired me.

 May 31, 2009