Walking Across Countries What?

Hello!

So yesterday, Ica and I were joining the news team (Meja Redaksi) of the UMN TV, Azmy and Monica, to do an interview with Arjun Bhogal while he was still in Jakarta. Arjun, if you don't know him, is one of the men behind Border Walk from the UK. He's on a mission of raising funds for charities for two organizations, Water Aid and Marine Conservation Society. Basically, he documents his journey to raise awareness of the environmental issues of our mother earth. He has been walking (yes on foot!) for four years now, Indonesia is the 19th country, and is now heading to Australia as the final country. He believed that by walking across countries and spreading his concern about the issues, the more people know and understand about this project, the more people can be involved in. You can go straight to his blog to have a complete description of what he's been doing on this project or maybe you're interested to donate. 

I can say that we were nervous to meet him yesterday and turns out he's very friendly and easy going. The interview went very well, Monica did a great job as the reporter, still I'm a bit shaky (no wonder, I'm always awkward), we did a nice chit chat, then Ica and Azmy tried out the backpack that Arjun carried along the way from the UK (which is heavy). And fun fact about Arjun is that he only got two pair of clothes for four years! I can't imagine myself being like him lol. There are also lots of obstacles he has been facing for the last four years (like when he was in Afghanistan) but I know he did his best in his mission. He's a good guy with a good heart and good heart will take to a good achievement as well. 

UMN TV, as a community television, got a chance interviewing him and it was such a good honor. I mean he has been interviewed by the one and only Desi Anwar from CNN Indonesia (and he said that she was kinda intimidating lol, of course she's brilliant) and also Kompas TV. So, we're as cool as both of that well-known media, right? *self-proclaimed* You can watch the final soft news of the Border Walk probably on our first streaming in the beginning of this semester at UMN TV.

By Arjun answered the last questions of the interview, the question that I've been wanting to ask him, what value did you get due this mission as a human? 

"One of the reason for doing this is to prove that you don't have to be special to achieve something special. That's kind of the idea behind this project when we started. We're just normal guys and do normal things, but we just have a big concern in it. I've learned through the Border Walk that all we have to do is make a decision to do it and do it."

Well, Arjun, you're so inspiring and good luck in your mission! Thank you for your time and see you on top!

Cheers,

Gendis.

Human

I'm paying attention to all things,

Especially human.

Human;
From the facial expressions, the gestures,

I'd like to guess their stories.

In this case, 

First, you.
I'll never shut my door.

Dodie Clark just uploaded a new video on YouTube yesterday and it's her original called "Human". The lyrics just seem so right, it represents how I feel right now. And Dodie, every time she sings with Jon Cozart, I always adore the harmony and connection they got. You should definitely check out the "An Awkward Duet" by both of them.

"Paint me in trust,

I'll be your best friend.

Call me the one,

this night just can't end."

Cheers,

Gendis.

Train Ride, Walking, Daydreaming

Bogor has always been special in my heart, and now with this two.

Charlie's Angels.

On July 13, I went to Bogor for a one day trip with my friends, Ica and Fila. We got nothing prepared, we got no plan, and it was such an (un)expected day trip. We have no activity during this holiday so off we go!

Ica and Fila.

We went there by train and honestly, it was my first time experience. I have some train ride before to Yogyakarta, Malang, and Surabaya, but never once having a train ride to a close distance until that day. I actually thought that having a train ride will be fun, sitting peacefully while looking at the window and I was wrong! It was fun, but train in the beginning of the day was very packed, I didn't even have to hang on to anything because I wouldn't fall, since the distance between every person is like only an inch. Everyone on the train was like having a straight face while I got my tummy very tickled and I couldn't help myself to stop laughing. I'm beyond lucky having a chance to feel what I felt.

Tanah Abang Station, 7:35.

I'm amused by the ambience of a train station in the morning. Fila and I (since Ica was on the way because we departed in a different station) started imagining how we will survive next year when we begin our internship year. It must be interesting for us to be on a train from Monday to Friday, observing anyone who passes by, sniffing every smell (especially in a train when we get back home), and (hopefully) meeting a handsome young executive in our train ride (HMM, caps lock needed).

I love to see how everyone is in a rush.

Kebun Raya Bogor is our main destination. We would like to pamper our eyes with some greens, our nose breathing fresh air, and our soul to feel peace. After arriving at Bogor Station, we went to Pasar Bogor first to find the nice Soto Bogor Pak Yusuf by angkot, then continue our Soto Bogor searching by walking (a long walk, that's for sure, plus a hard sun exposure). Actually, our Bogor trip was all about walking. Walking, walking, walking, until we can't even feel our feet no more in the middle of the night after the trip lol. 

Istana Bogor.

Lost in a heaven of the trees.

You may think that I must've been to Kebun Raya Bogor a million times. Guess you're wrong because I actually think that day was my fifth time went there, no kidding, even though I spent my childhood in Bogor.

We had our girls' talk, daydreaming about something, literally quiet to having our mind lost in the atmosphere. And of course we took a lot of photos! You don't say, girls! 

Playing Pokémon Go be like.. Lol, no, I'm not playing it.

Behind the scene of pretending to play Pokémon Go.

Basically, we walked all around the Kebun Raya Bogor. We met all kinds of plants, people, not to mention we also found some graves. Turns out, Kebun Raya Bogor was relaxing. It was hot because the sun shines so bright that day, but at the same time cool and windy, feels like we got air conditioned. I got a lot of inspirations while I'm at Kebun Raya Bogor.

I'm enjoying my ice cream, 

as much as I'm enjoying my time with you.

Caption this; Drinking while Ica mouth watering (?)

My favorite part in Kebun Raya Bogor was Taman Meksiko! It was like a secret garden that you can access while in a wonderland of Mary Lennox. My mind started getting wild and imagine every single thing that I could.

Taman Meksiko.

Strike a pose with the (Creepy) Mexican (Statue) Guy.

Until the sun started to calm down, we ended up eating wood-grilled pizza in one famous cafe, Kedai Kita and spent our last minutes in Bogor there before going home.

We headed to the Bogor Station around 18:00 and (died) waiting, transit, train ride until around 22:00 to finally touch down Tangerang. It was all because the train got electrical shorting. 

Again, I like to pay some attention to anyone I met at the station. Train stations during the night were more interesting than in the morning. Their facial expressions, their gestures, were interesting to look at. The train rails, the clock, the schedule board, the vending machine at the station, were like cheering up all the train passengers. They were shouting to each other while passenger were grinning all by themselves at their smartphone. What's on their mind, what's the feeling of being home late, guess I will find out the answer next year.

It was a very nice experience, really, to have a train ride, walking and daydreaming all day long with friends, eating out, observing places. I'm looking for another trip with the girls, shall we? And I'm also looking for a bus ride for sure! It must be as interesting as taking a train ride, right? I can't hardly wait!

Ica and Fila, thank you for the one day trip. I'm grateful :)

Cheers,

Gendis.

Don't We All?

To be a poem: metaphorically, beautifully spoken in words. As deep as a sea, as lovely as a daisy.

I know, 

We have been looking for something ahead so much, even we let the time controls. Probably, that's how it's supposed to be. How everything is right now affects the chances of me looking life, such an overwhelming feeling. Then again, what do I know of life? Well, it's fascinating how we don't know things.

Uncertainty, should I embrace it? Should I trust the wait? But what if I'll be waiting until the rest of my life? And what if I don't even know what I'm waiting for? 

All things take a time, even miracles take a little time said Fairy Godmother of Cinderella. What I know now, patience doesn't kill humans. 

Coffee Before You

Hi!

I drink my coffee in my grandma's rocking chair and feel old.

Now I can understand why a lot of people take coffee to start their day, how they take coffee seriously as a business. 

Coffee is like a daily dose vitamin. 

I drink coffee, but the one with milk. Latte without sugar would always be my coffee preference, 

Until...

I try black coffee (of course without sugar) and I'm in love.

Coffee offers you a choice. To only feel the bitterness of it in every sip or enjoy it to finally feel the sweetness in the bitterness. It gives you a time to chill while at the same time its trigger you to have a life's philosophy. 

And coffee.. can drop you into a deeper conversation within yourself, or with anyone else. 

By the way, about coffee, 

This semester I trusted to be a Producer Assistant (PA) in a new program of UMN TV named Secangkir Kopi, and as you can guess, it came out from my mouth. Secangkir Kopi is a one-on-one talk show between the host and the inspirational figure that will be invited. It will be a nice talk in a coffee break, heart-to-heart to explore the inner thought of the figure. And I hope the audiences will get a cup of inspiration in the modesty of this program in every episode. You know, it's kinda like making Di Kala Jumat into a TV show lol.

The struggle is real and right in front of me, from the pre production to the post production. And we haven't found the host that will perfectly fit our program, that can bring Secangkir Kopi into a whole new level rather than usual talk show. If you're interested to be the host and feels like you got the character to be one, please tell me! 

Well, I know I'm in a great team so we'll rock it, guys! Pray us a bunch of lucks to running this program :)

Cheers,

Gendis.

Eid Al-Fitr in the City of Rain

Hi!

First thing first, here's a bonus photo to start this post: a big bowl of Bakso Pak Jangkung! Pak Jangkung used to selling meatballs around my dad's neighborhood (one of my favorite childhood memory) and now he already got his own stall in a shophouse. I couldn't be more happier! Yeya!

This year, I chose to spend my Eid Al-Fitr with Ayah, my dad. Which means, it was the first time I have to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr without Ibu, my mom, beside me. Well, it was kinda bizarre. Ibu called me every second to make sure I'm okay and told me she found it hard to sleep when there's no me beside her, and did the opposite when I'm next to her. Weirdly, Ayah felt and did the same thing as my mom so I concluded that I'm such a sleeping pill for them. How to be fair as their daughter? I can't be torn up, that's for sure.

What I got since I step my foot in Ayah's house is that I'm still a daddy's little girl. He still treats me like I'm a little girl, maybe he forgot that I already got number two in front of my age. He pinches my cheeks, he plays with my hair, he hugs me like a teddy bear. He still calls me with "Brot" thingy (refer to something cute in his vocabulary) and what I miss about my dad is that he also calls me Adis, instead of Gendis. Adis is my childhood name (used to be Adis Dos lol), what I know is that was Megawati's (Soekarno's daughter) nickname in her house, and she was my dad's client back then so he came up to call me with the same name.

But at the same time, I see that he is trying to involved with my world and letting me involved in his world as well. He started asking me when will I have a boyfriend (cliché, well Ayah, you should read my previous post, "Where is My Benji?" lol), what am I doing on campus, what I like to do in my spare time. I'm not blaming him like asking why don't you know because I literally realized that he lost about 5 years of his parenting life as my dad. 

Towards the middle of the night before Eid, he asked me to watch some videos then we discussed it. Actually the topic was totally random like about the mystical place in Majalengka that people who believed in Kedjawen liked to go there, the golden age of Islam, things that will come up before the apocalypse, until he closed our chit chat with a funny video to laugh at. I'm happy that he became more open to me, he wants to listen to his daughter's thought and opinion, which is good because he started to set aside his ego in front of me.

And on Eid, we went to his mom's house a.k.a my grandma which I finally met after this past six years didn't touchdown this rainy city. All the way to her house, Ayah was telling me his feelings as an old man, how he survived with his mind and soul this past year. I know it was hard to be him, but c'mon dude, let's just be happy and grateful because I can see a little of himself being so negative with life. I believe he still got his lovely spirit to spark out of his heart, he just don't want to admit that life's cruel and we as human should live it as it is. He complicates things, that is what never been changed from him since I know him at the first time. 

After his relief, he asked me to accompany him to the doctor for checking up his health. And I think that time was a way of God's help to tell Ayah the answer of all his sadness. His doctor is an Indian man (which I forgot his names, uh) and he wakes my dad up with his simple yet meaningful philosophy.

He said, "Despite of putting yourself with negative vibes that will make your health even worse and only causing stress on you, trying to cooling down yourself in your solitude. In Hindu, you meditate to heal yourself, empty your mind, don't even try to think anything. After that, you set yourself that you're not the body, you're not even the mind, so you're not a body and a mind. Then you will ask yourself who you are. And in that time, you'll realize that you are you and you got God inside you."

What he sump up from his statement was that we have to be grateful and sincere in everything that happened in our life, embrace our ups and downs with a gentle soul, also always remember that we should not hang on to human because we got God inside us. You should see my dad's face that time like what the doctor said to him was literally on point and get in straight to his soul. I can see his health problems are all caused by himself, especially his mind. He put himself into the stress river that will flow him to be desperate, oh please don't do it, Ayah.

You know, my father-daughter relationship with Ayah is an awkward one. Despite of that, I'm glad that I can conquer my selfishness to sincerely give my Dad a piece of me as his daughter after calming myself out for a month in the holy month, Ramadhan. 

Cheers,

Gendis.

Writing (Observing) My Surrounding: A Writing Journey

Hi!

I just realized that I love to write since I was a little girl. I can tell that I started writing when I was entering elementary school, I was also writing some short stories and poems lol and it was soooo bad you can't even imagine. Since the beginning, I love to read books and maybe that pulled me to write. 

A story about an orphan named Ema (2004)

Please, don't laugh at me lol

I actually have some better one like when I was in grade 4 or 5, but I forgot where I put it. I think there was on my old elementary book and left it on my Dad's home, too bad. I can still remember I've made poems about my feelings, my friends, my parents, also my Brazilian turtles: Tot, Tet, and Tit and my cute little chicks: Cika, Ciki, and Ciko! (Oh! How I miss having some pet!)

I used to write diaries back then (well, until now on) and it's kinda funny to read it again after all this time. I can see that I was so naive, kind of innocent, and an honest one. Well, you can say I'm the only child in the family and I'm not used to sharing what's going on my mind or what I feel to others. So, rather than keeping it myself, I try to write it down. It makes me feel relieved. 

Oh, dear little me, the past is the best experience you could ever ask.

Past few days, I throw back the time when I was at an Islamic boarding school or you can call it pesantren, Daarul Qur'an (DQ) in Bandung. I remembered how I begin to channeling my inner writer's soul again after I met Ibu Desti Fatin Fauziyyah, an Indonesian Language and Literature teacher in DQ. She was successfully encouraged me to write and having no fear to be wrong as long as I want to try to write it down. Not only fictions, but she told me to write articles too. She also introduced me to some majestic poets and writers in Indonesia like Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, Yudhistira ANM Massardi, WS Rendra, Acep Zamzam Noor, not forget to mention Sapardi Djoko Damono and Seno Gumira Ajidarma as well, while at that time, I only know that Dewi Lestari is the one that mesmerized me. And there are many more writers that I adored. 

Even in my notes, instead of wrote the school subjects, I prefer to write my favorite poems in it lol, but thank goodness I still could achieve good scores that time.

Here are two of many poems that I wrote in my notes:

Biarin by Yudhistira ANM Massardi

(Sorry for the misspelling of his name in my notes)

Kucing by Sutardji Calzoum Bachri

At that time, my adrenaline rushed very fast as anything comes to writing. Selamat Ulang Tahun, Ayah was my first (real) achievement in writing. I was so happy and feeling more excited to write! And as you can guess, I would not featured in that local newspaper if I didn't meet Ibu Desti. 

My short story got featured on Belia, Pikiran Rakyat Bandung (2011)

(Sorry for the bad resolution, I forgot where I put the real newspaper)

Until I had to say goodbye to DQ and also Ibu Desti because I moved to Tangerang. It was very emotional to me because I fear of losing the spirit of writing. While in Tangerang, I'm more into writing speeches for competitions. 

You are my savior on literature world Ibu Desti, thank you.

But I was wrong, my passion for writing was getting stronger day by day, especially when I was continuing my study at UMN and meeting my Creative Writing lecturer of the first semester, Ibu Wa Ode Wulan Ratna. She was also having a role in my writing journey. If it was not because of her tasks (that is a lot of it), I would not be as confident as now on to write. I adored her imagination and beautiful mind to create such a beautiful masterpiece. Ibu Wa Ode inspires me to let my mind and my imagination gone wild to finally pour it all down in words. 

As a finalist in Young Journalist Award: Writing (Short Story),

Commpress UMN 2015

I'm definitely just an amateur and still searching for my writing's character. All things I said above are just a little piece of my writing journey. There are a lot more things that make me want to write and a lot more people that inspire me to write. Writing is like having my own pen to make history and planning my own trip. It's such a joy that brings happiness to me. 

What about you? Do you like to write?

Cheers,

Gendis.

sol-i-tude

I see beauty in solitude.

I can seemingly cry over nothing without worrying anything.

I can enjoy being alone with my thoughts.

I can have a room to figure out who I am and why am I feel what I feel.

I can know how to solve problems on my own.

When I'm alone, I think I got a clearer mind, a much more beautiful soul. I can be free. I feel like I'm releasing my fear in the air and all I got in myself are positive vibes and energies. I tend to get a lot of inspirations while I'm in solitude. I feel so original that I can beat anything or anyone in this world. I feel worthed. 

Having a much deeper conversation within the one in me and hearing my heart. 

I can get the essence of being myself. 

I don't know if it is just me or is it because I'm the only child in the family or I'm having social anxiety.

I really don't know, but I love it.