Your First WG

Ach so, there you are. Welcome to our WG, die Wohngemeinschaft, I think you have already known that. Is it hard to find? Yes, it is just five o’clock but it’s already dark outside. Oh, you can take off your shoes and put them on the shoe shelves here next to the door. It is cold outside, you know. It’s going to snow soon. But fear not, it is warm here.

So, you say you come from Indonesia? I wonder how the weather would feel like there. Warm? No snow? No winter? No fall season, either? Man, you are lucky, you get the summer all year long. As you may have known, it is totally different here in Berlin. You have to pay attention on what you wear, according to the season. You bring a winter jacket with you, right?

It’s okay, you will have a lot of time to unload your stuffs later. As for right now, you can put your stuffs right here, next to the shoe shelves. I will show you around. Ready?

Okay, we are at the living room right now. It isn’t too big, you can see. There, on the left wall of this building near the window, is the TV. It’s too obvious, isn’t? Twenty one inch flat screen is not too bad. We will share the subscription together with the Internet fee. The remote is next to the TV. Make sure you put it back when you finish watching TV. And here is the sofa. It’s comfortable for TV watching but when it is occupied, there is a small chair on the left. It is cushioned so it won’t hurt your butt. And this table in between, is very important. It serves also as our dinner table. Except for Mahdum – he eat sitting on the carpet, we eat on this table and make sure to clean it up everytime you finish with your meal. And yes, you can do your homework on the table, too, if you like and when nobody is there, watching TV or eating, of course. Otherwise, you can’t concentrate. Oh, when you are bored staying in your room the whole day, there are some magazines to read. Old ones, though. But always good to exercise your German, I guess.

To the right is the kitchen. There are two sinks, thank God, so you can wash something when somebody is using the other sink. We have four electronic stoves here, two big ones and two smaller ones. You can cook whatever you want as long as you clean up your own mess after that. Here is the thing to dry up the plates and other things. Or if you are diligent enough, hanging there on the wall is the cloth for drying up.

Under the sink are the shelves for kitchen utensils. The most upper one is for silverwares: eating spoons, yoghurt spoons, forks and knives. Ah, here is a pair of chopsticks, too. Kim uses it often. Do you use chopsticks too in Indonesia? I guess yes. I never know how to use that kind of thing. Kim taught me once but I gave up. It’s too difficult. I prefer fork and knife. You know, the American way, like I used to grow up with. The second shelf is for plates and bowls. I think we have enough for the four of us. And the last one is for the pans, pots and wok. I know, it is funny to have a wok here. We used to have a Chinese friend living here. She used the wok often and she taught me how to cook some easy Chinese food like fried noodle or so. I was never successful. But Kim uses the wok once in a while. It cooks better with wok, she said. The drinking wares are inside the cabinet above the sinks. Yep, open it up. There you see some glasses, mugs and yes, wine glasses, too. We had some parties once in a while. Get yourself used to beer and wine here.

Next to the door to bathroom is the fridge. Two doors. Above is the freezer. You can put ice cream or meat there. Don’t laugh, but sometimes we make ice cubes, too. It is important, especially in summer. You can put almost all your food in the lower part. As you can see, this part on the upper shelf is mine. We can share the space as I don’t store many things. Ah yes, I need to clean up some space for you later. The middle shelf is Kim’s and the lower one is Mahdum’s. The same thing goes on the door but since we don’t have enough room, it’s better to label the milk or juice bottles with your name. As for vegetables and fruits, there is a special shelf on the bottom.

Come here. You see that switch next to the fridge? Yes, turn it on please. It’s for the light in the bathroom. And here we go: the best room in this apartment. Why smile? It’s in the bathroom where you can get your total privacy. Most thinkers and philosophers searched for and found inspiration in the bathroom, you know. Here is the toilet on the right. Your soon-to-be place for self-reflection. Trust me. Here is a small window above. Make sure you open it up a little bit when you are doing your business. You will need air circulation, anyway. In front of us is the shower. Not too big but enough to contain yourself. Make sure you put the curtain inside the ceramic when you are taking shower so the water doesn’t wet the floor and the carpet. We like dry bathroom. Dampness and wetness attract mold, you know. And to the left is another sink. Wash your face, brush your teeth, squeeze your pimple or shave. Do whatever you like here. Plus, the mirror here is also a cabinet so you can store your toiletries. Open it up and see how it works. Pretty neat, huh? Let’s go out and walk towards the aisle.

The first room on the right is Mahdum’s. He is from India and has been living here for almost three years, I guess. He is studying IT. Sssttt. Put your ear on the door. You hear something? He might be on the telephone. He is always on the telephone. There is always somebody he should call. His mother, his girl friends, his uncles, the Indian market owner, you name it. You’ll find it funnier if you know what his name means. He told me it meant slow and calm in Hindi. He is a very nice guy, actually. Sometimes he cooks curry – and share it with us – which makes this apartment smells like curry for a while. If that happens, open up any windows in the apartment for at least 15 minutes. And don’t be surprise if you see him eating with hand. “It’s our custom,” he said, “I don’t need the spoon and the table. Sitting on the carpet is enough. And it is healthier.” People in Indonesia eat with hands, too? Interesting. He always says he needs a girlfriend but I never see him bringing a girl home. He sometimes goes out for a bottle of beer but always with his Indian friends. And of course, they are speaking the language I don’t understand. I will open the door so he can see you. Yes, just wave your hand if he is on the phone. See? I told you so, he is on the phone.

This one on the left will be your room. Pretty empty, huh? Peter, the former tenant, took all his things with him. But a bed, a table and a cupboard will be a good start for you, right? I do believe you will buy many things later. I thought I had too much room when I first moved in but now I wish I had a bigger room. Don’t laugh. Wait until next year. I’ll buy you a bottle of beer if you don’t come to me and say, “I wonder if I could store this stuff in the living room.” Here on the left is the bed. On the right is your cupboard. And at the far end, facing the window is your table. It is always good to have something to look at when you are studying, right? If you need a bookshelf, I have one in my room. You can use it.

Let’s go back to the aisle. There you see two doors. The right one is mine and the left one is Kim’s. Our rooms are a little bit different from yours. Ours are square and yours is more rectangular in shape, if you get what I mean. Let’s walk there.

So, here lives Kim, from Korea. Her fullname is Kim Beee… Oh, gosh, why is her name so difficult?Kim Bid-Na. Ah, it is here on the door. Bid-Na - that means shining, she told me once. She is 22 but she looks like she is 18. She doesn’t like to be interrupted, especially when she is studying. She told me she should study at least four hours a day. She finished her German course in less than a year, with a “sehr gut” note on her DSH certificate. She is now enrolling at UdK – Universität der Künste – Berlin, studying graphic design. Yes, she might get a straight As and finish early. I should say she is always in the room, actually. I seldom see her going out on weekend. Sometimes she sat on the sofa, working on her homework. Ah, make sure you read whatever posted on Kim’s door before you knock the door. What is on now? Is it in German? Oh, let me see. The writing here means she is studying until 7 p.m. for a test next week. Leave a note under the door if there is something important you need to tell her. She will come and greet you at your room later. She probably cooks you dinner, too. Who knows? And yes, she wears glasses but when she takes it off, she looks like one of the personnel in a Korean girlband, Mahdum told me often. Ah, here is it. Mahdum posted it on the door. What is the name? S-S-N-D? I never know exactly. I saw it once in the Internet. Ah, S-N-S-D is the right name. Wait, what? Korean boybands and girlbands are popular in Indonesia? No wonder you know a lot about them. What a good taste Indonesians have.

Last but not the least, here is my room. Here come inside. It’s a bit messy, like other boys’ room. You see the difference? Mine is more on a square shape, probably only 10x10 feet. Yours is probably 8x12 feet. Ah, I forgot, you need to convert them to meter. I’m sorry; I still count in inch and feet though I have been living here for almost three years. Oh yes, my name is Lelio, as you may have known, and I am from the U.S. And yes, it’s not a typical American name. It comes from Latin, meaning talkative. Ha ha ha. And now you know why I am the one who greet you, right? And that little bookshelf near the window in front of us will be yours, if you want it. Those pictures on the wall are my work. I study photography, as you may have guessed. Here is Brandenburger Tor during the Festival of Lights last October. Here is the Fernsehturm at Alexanderplatz. This picture on the cupboard – my favorite - shows a fracture of concrete, which used to be the popular Berlin Wall. But wait, I need to stop. I can spend hours just talking to you about these other pictures. We'll do it tomorrow or next week. Whenever you are free. 

Let's go out of this room. You might be tired now, after a long flight. How long? Sixteen hours? Holy Jesus. I thought 12-hour flight from Chicago to Tegel was long enough that I wanted to kill myself. Now let’s go take your stuffs and put them in your room. We will have a lot of time to talk and share story. I will make you some tea, if you like. No? It's okay. Tonight you will have your own room to sleep in. See you at the dinner time if you are not falling asleep or feeling the jetlag. Happy unloading.

Common Courtesy

If you are attending a meeting, a lecture or a conference in a hall, what are the common courtesies, especially regarding the noise?

Would you talk your friend sitting next to you every two minute or so?

No.

Even if you wanted to talk, would it be about the on-going lecture or mostly something totally unrelated to the topic?

Preferably regarding the topic: something I don’t understand, something I find interesting, something I want my friend to discuss with me later on.

Would you turn your phone to silent mode?

Yes. But sometimes I forgot and the host reminded the audience. It would be very embarrassing if my phone rang when the hall was silent.

If you didn’t know how, would you ask your daughter or somebody else to help out?

Good idea. My daughter might understand the gadget better than I do.

Even if that didn’t help, would you turn it off instead?

Uh, yes. I decided to attend the meeting, lecture, etc. That means I have already dedicated my time to the event. Unless something really urgent took place, other things going through my phone should wait.

Good. At least you know what the common courtesies in the meeting hall are.

Unfortunately, some Indonesians do not know these courtesies, at least in the event I was in today. Let me tell you more.

Every last Sunday of the month, there is a ‘sarasehan’ (discussion forum) at Rumah Budaya Indonesia (Indonesian Cultural Center) in Berlin. People (mostly German) who had been (or currently) living, working or studying in Indonesia are invited to share their experiences. It is a good way to learn about Indonesia, which is very rich in cultures and natural resources. And today’s topic is Makassar and I found this very interesting because as a person living in west part of Indonesia, Makassar and eastern Indonesia is as foreign as Timbuktu to me.

It started (surprisingly) on time with a guest speaker from Jakarta, a staff from Educational and Cultural Minister, proposing and asking feedback for government's plan to disseminate Indonesian Cultural Centers in several countries.

And so I was sitting quite in the middle row because the first 10 rows were occupied. Behind me sat two Indonesian women. One was in her 50-60s. Another one was in her 20s, probably her daugther. They were sitting next to the guest speaker’s assistant. As soon as the assistant left the seat, the two women started to discussed whether or not the assistant were married, whether or not she had close relationship with some prominent figures in Indonesia. They stopped when the assistant was back.

As the second speaker started to speak, the two women also started their own conversation. At the beginning it was about what the speaker was talking about. Oh, the speaker spoke German and without microphone. So, one of the women might not understand that well and need some explanation. Since my German is not good enough, I need to really listen, too.

Ten minute later, the women changed the topic: where to go on the weekend? why was A so late? what to buy for the house? Started to feel annoyed, I looked back with the hope they understood and stopped talking. Previously, a German woman had given the same look to them. They looked at me back, smiling. Good. They seemed understood my non-verbal language. Oh, I am glad I study psychology.

Two minutes later, the same thing happened again. I moved my chair a little bit forward, again, with the hope they understood I was disturbed. I wouldn’t care should they spoke some languages I didn’t understand. But I understood Indonesian and their voices were audible without me having to ‘really’ overhear them. I am a poor audible person and with the two ways of information sources, my mind found difficulties to divide the attention (although I didn’t want to know what they were talking about, but because I understood the language, my mind automatically processed the information, plus I needed extra concentration because my listening to German was not so good). Trying not to be rude, I applied every non-verbal language I could think of at that moment to tell the two women.

Ten minute later I gave up.

I decided to be a little bit assertive. I asked the two women not to talk too loud. The younger woman turned and looked at me. Her brows were raised closer, her left part of the lips were raised. Her head were raised a little bit. She rolled her eyeballs to the left, looking at me one more time. But after that, they decided not to talk and communicate using their Blackberries.

A ha!

Being assertive was not that bad at all. I got the silence for almost all the lecture until I heard a regular “triiiing” – typical BBM tone. But since it was almost at the end of the lecture and the ringtone didn’t break my attention, I could only shake my head everytime I heard the “triiiing” sound, again, with the hope they realized what they were doing.

After the lecture, I was relieved that I was finally free from the disturbance. I stood up and decided to go to toilet. I was waiting for the next person when the same woman looked at me disgustedly and furily from the line to the lunch table. It was the younger woman who sat behind me. I tried to smile but it didn’t seem to help. Everytime she had a chance, she looked at me, with the same expression. She and her family were talking to somebody working at the Embassy.

Maybe she thought she knew somebody important here and I didn’t have the right to tell them what to do in a meeting? Or who the heck was this new guy trying to tell me what to do in my territory?

Let me tell you girl, you are a representative of your country. Know the common courtesy and show a good image of an Indonesian. That will help creating good image of Indonesia abroad. Knowing somebody important in the Embassy doesn't mean you can do whatever you like. This rule applies everywhere, girl.

Okay, even if you thought my request was too direct and feel offended, hello??? How long have you been living in Berlin if you are not used to the openness and directness of Berliners? You may maintain all your values from Indonesia but if you don’t try to adapt and adjust to the new culture, believe me, you are not going anywhere.

Till we meet again.

From Paris With Love: O-esyiki

Minggu lalu saya berkesempatan mengikuti perayaan O-esyiki (upacara peringatan moksyanya Buddha Nichiren Daisyonin, upacara tahunan terpenting bagi umat Nichiren Syosyu di seluruh dunia) di kuil Shingyoji di Prancis. Berikut adalah kesan saya selama upacara dan perbandingannya dengan upacara yang diadakan di Indonesia.

18 Okt 2012 – Tiba di Paris

Berhubung hanya ada dua kuil di Eropa, yaitu di Prancis dan Spanyol, semua umat di sini “harus berkelana” ke salah satu kuil untuk mengikuti upacara yang dipimpin oleh Bhikkhu. Kemudian saya tahu dari salah satu umat Prancis bahwa Bhikkhu pimpinan kuil di Spanyol sedang sakit dan sudah kembali ke Jepang. Praktis, seluruh umat di Eropa hanya punya satu pilihan.

Saya dan seorang teman dari Medan memutuskan untuk berangkat dari Berlin menggunakan budget airline. Maklum, kami hanyalah mahasiswa dengan pendapatan pas-pasan. Perjuangan saya sendiri diwarnai dengan denda sekitar 40 Euro ketika ingin mencari tahu letak bandara. Pelajaran: kalau memang jodoh saya harus menghabiskan uang sejumlah tertentu, tidak ada cara untuk menghindarinya.

Kuil Shingyoji terletak di 25 Rue Carnot, Montreuil, Prancis. Montreuil adalah daerah pinggiran kota Paris, bejarak sekitar tujuh kilometer dari pusat kota. Kami sengaja mencari hotel yang dekat dengan kuil. Alasannya, lebih praktis dan bisa ditempuh dengan berjalan kaki sekitar 10-15 menit.

20 Okt 2012 – Upacara Ottaya

Karena acara gongyo sore diadakan pada pukul 15:00, kami pun mengarah ke kuil sekitar satu jam sebelumnya, setelah makan siang di daerah pecinan Paris. Dari statsiun terdekat, Croix de Chavaux – M9, kami harus berjalan mencari lokasi kuil. Untunglah kami punya peta di tangan dan dengan bantuan Google Map, kami berhasil menemukan kuilnya.

Melihat bentuk kuil di Prancis, gambaran saya tentang kuil agak terganggu karena kuil-kuil di Indonesia dan Jepang yang pernah saya lihat rata-rata berupa bangunan besar dengan ornamen-ornamen khas kuil seperti bentuk atap dan ukiran-ukiran. Kuil di Prancis terlihat seperti rumah penduduk lainnya: dua tingkat, berpagar dan bergarasi. Ketika melihat gambar kuil melalui Google Map, saya agak ragu sebenarnya. Tapi ketika tiba di tempat dan bertemu dengan orang-orang yang ramah dengan sapaan “Bonjour”, saya yakin bahwa kami tidak salah lokasi.

Di meja resepsionis, kami harus mendaftar ulang dan menitipkan jaket atau tas kepada penerima tamu. Umat tidak membayar untuk mengikuti upacara seperti di Indonesia, karena di sini tidak disediakan penginapan dan makanan berat. Juga tidak ada acara pertemuan atau kesenian seperti di Indonesia.

Ruangan gongyo terletak di lantai tiga. Sayang sekali, gongyo telah dimulai ketika kami tiba sehingga harus puas duduk di lantai dua dengan menonton dari televisi kecil yang disediakan.

Selesai gongyo dan sambil menunggu upacara Ottaiya pada pukul 16:30, kami pun berkenalan dan mengobrol dengan umat-umat dari negara-negara lain di Eropa. Sebuah pengalaman menarik bertemu dengan orang-orang yang percaya hukum agama Buddha di negara-negara yang didominasi agama Kristen. Kemudian saya tahu bahwa ada sekitar 200an umat dari Prancis, Austria, Belgia, Jerman, Italia, Serbia, Spanyol dan Swiss yang turut hadir dalam perayaan O-syiki kali ini.

Sekitar 15 menit sebelum upacara dimulai, panitia memberitahukan peserta untuk segera memasuki ruangan gongyo. Umat di sini agaknya lebih tertib dan teratur karena dalam sekejap, taman di belakang kuil yang tadinya ramai tiba-tiba menjadi lengang.

Saya pun naik ke atas, memasuki ruangan gongyo yang berukuran sekitar 4x10 meter. Tidak seperti di Indonesia, umat di sini berdoa dengan duduk di kursi panjang yang disusun berderet. Tiba-tiba saya teringat dengan vihara di Medan. Ruangannya cukup besar namun umatnya sering mengeluh viharanya terlalu kecil dan tidak terjaga.

Sekitar 100 orang mengikuti upacara Ottaiya. Ada yang datang sendiri, bersama pasangan atau keluarga. Melihat umat-umat yang semangat, saya jadi malu sendiri karena jarang gongyo di rumah.

Upacara harus dilakukan dua kali karena ruangan tidak cukup untuk menampung semua umat yang hadir. Karena tidak ada acara lain setelah itu, kami pun pulang sementara umat lain mengikuti upacara shift kedua.

21 Okt 2012 – Gongyo Pagi, Upacara O-esyiki dan makan siang

Gongyo pagi dimulai pukul 8:00. Karena bangun agak telat, kami harus buru-buru berjalan kaki tanpa sarapan terlebih dahulu. Untunglah kami tiba tepat waktu. Selesai gongyo, kami disuguhkan teh atau kopi.

Upacara O-esyiki shift pertama diadakan pukul 10:00. Kami mendapat shift kedua yang diadakan pada pukul 11:30. Sambil menunggu, umat berpindah ke bangunan di seberang sambil menonton video Tozan Umat Luar Negeri 2009. Karena rasa lapar yang tak tertahankan, saya memutuskan untuk keluar sambil mencari sarapan dan melihat daerah sekitar kuil dan berhenti di sebuah kedai kopi sambil mengamati kegiatan orang-orang di pasar tradisional Prancis.

Saya kembali ke kuil untuk mengikuti upacara, yang lebih kurang sama dengan upacara di Indonesia. Yang saya rindukan dari upacara di Indonesia adalah acara salam-salaman dan cipika-cipiki sembari mengucapkan “Selamat O-esyiki”. Sepertinya itu memang budaya khas Indonesia.

Selesai upacara, umat-umat berpindah ke gedung sebelah yang lebih besar untuk acara makan siang. Sepertinya gedung itu memang sering digunakan untuk acara lain seperti acara kesenian atau pemutaran film. Sambil menunggu, umat-umat bisa menonton video atau melihat galeri foto kegiatan umat Prancis. Sekali lagi, saya terkesima dengan keseriusan umat-umat di sini dalam melaksanakan hati kepercayaan.

Sekitar pukul 13:00, Y.A. Nakano, pemimpin kuil Shingyoji yang juga pernah bertugas beberapa tahun di Indonesia, memasuki ruangan. Seperti di Indonesia, umat-umat sangat antusias untuk mengobrol atau berfoto bersama. Umat-umat Indonesia yang sudah tinggal di Eropa pun tidak ketinggalan.

Salah satu hal yang menarik di sini dan tidak saya temukan di Indonesia adalah acara kan-pai atau bersulang. Setiap umat mendapat segelas kecil wine dan Y.A. Nakano membuka acara makan siang dengan memimpin kan-pai. Menu makanan juga khas Eropa: salad, keju, daging ayam, sejenis bruschetta (potongan roti dengan topping) dan cocktail snack. Acara makan siang seperti acara standing party. Umat mengambil makanan dan mengobrol sambil minum atau makan. Saya sendiri minum sekitar empat gelas kecil wine dan segelas kecil liquor sampai sedikit mabuk.

Pukul 16:30 diadakan gongyo sore dan pembagian bunga sakura kertas. Umat-umat pun pulang sembari menggenggam setangkai panjang bunga sakura berwarna merah jambu. Khas  O-esyiki. Ada beberapa umat yang ditanya warga sekitar tentang bunga tersebut dan mereka dengan senang hati menjelaskan tentang Buddhisme. Umat-umat pun kembali ke hotel atau langsung kembali ke negara masing-masing.

Selamat O-esyiki.

Foto bersama Y.A. Nakano, Vera Kusuma, Stephen dan Kirana

Urban Jazz Crossover 2012: Very Indonesia

Performers of Urban Jazz Cross Over 2012 Jakarta

As you entered the hall of Fairground (SCBD, Jakarta), you know that you are going to experience jazz in a new different way. You saw a lot of people waiting in line; the door to the concert hall wasn’t opened yet despite it was almost 7 p.m. You looked at the ticket you bought for IDR 100,000. It was written: concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Never mind, you said, it was Friday(13/7) night anyway.

Double Shots

As usual, I was sitting on a table in a coffee-chain store at a mall in Jakarta. My laptop was in front of me, a cup of half-drunk coffee stared at me, cables were around – adding a complete mess to the table.

I felt the urge to smoke a cigarette after sitting, working on my assignments for hours. I went outside to the smoking area.

Five minutes after my coming back to the table, a woman approached me. She was no more than 30 years old. She introduced herself, asking for my time. I said yes.

The Sign Is Out There

All the people in the world are equal. God created humans with the same rights, regardless of their skin color or ethnicity. Therefore, it is unbearable if someone underestimates others because they have different skin color. You have to be kind to everyone you know. You have to treat people equally.

Transjakarta Has Ladies Area in the Bus

Ladies, you are special in Jakarta!

I found this out when I stepped into the (reliable?) public transportation in Jakarta called Transjakarta this morning. As usual, river of people flew from the waiting station to the bus after waiting for a couple of minutes. Because the front part of the bus was a bit vacant (compared to the packed rear part of the bus), I walked forward and held on the rail. I never expect to get a seat in the “busway” (called this way because the bus has a special lane on the street, in short, busway). Some lucky women who got the seats looked at me. Because of my hairdo? No. As the bus went on, I looked around and read everything readable. Then my eyes stuck at a sticker on the window.“Ladie’s area” is written. (I have to admit, the people working in the company might not have good English).

Ending Is Another Beginning

Without realizing it, time has flown. I felt like we were asked to learning blogging and multimedia journalism a week ago and now this will serve as the last post for the class.

I have been involving in more news story journalism during the past two quarters, so I got a bit of overview about what journalism is about.  It is about gathering facts (information) and presenting them in a good flow of story to the public. It was more about writing a news story or brief. However, Multimedia Journalism class has brought me to another level of reporting news. Journalism is not only about written stories. There are a lot of ways to present an idea.

Let’s start with slideshows. I mean, just a couple of pictures and cutlines arranged in a comprehensive flow of story can be a powerful reporting media. Even though I was a bit confused with the regular cutlines in my slideshow, I think creating a slideshow is a doable task. People say, a picture can say 1000 words. Forget the hustle bustle of text, here are the pictures of what is happening.

Pictures also serve as descriptive tools on a narrative. I remembered a friend of mine using pictures of closed-down buildings to describe his editorial about the impact of financial crisis on small business. Should that editorial go plain narrative, I wouldn’t have felt touched. As I might going on a career as a photojournalist, this class (along with my internship and college newspaper assignments) has taught me the importance of pictures and how to produce a storytelling picture.

I have been blogging (mostly for my own life journal) for about seven years now but only recently did I learn about using blog for journalistic purpose. I read some journalistic blogs before but never really thought of using mine to serve that purpose. Hence, another new idea on developing my blog.

The last thing that I don’t really think I would go on is video reporting. It is nice to see the final product but the works do not worth the outcome. It takes too many working hours but will attract less viewership compared to the written article or slideshow. However, the class has pushed me to work with storyboard and recording video interview, which I would reluctant to do. I have had this kind of anxious talking with or interview people for my story, and plus asking permission for video recording? Too much. Nevertheless, I kind of broke through my own boundaries. To be honest, I started to enjoy interviewing people and writing stories.

Too bad that the class is about to end. But no matter what, I will carry on with the skills I learned. As I said before, I’m planning on being a photojournalist, for real!

Keep the fingers crossed.

Online News

How do you know if you have done a good job in journalism? Well, you can always evaluate yourself but it seems to me that it will be more objective to let other people judge your works.

In terms of online journalism, there is Online News Association that gives awards in 30 categories to online news outlet (from small to large sites) every year. Last year, they announced 30 outlets in 27 categories.

Al Jazeera won the breaking news, large site award for their coverage on uprising in Egypt.

Looking at the site, I kind of understand why they won. For almost all issue in the Middle East, there will always be in-depth article, video, and blog that shows journalistic values in the site. They also schedule real-time reporting on Syria, for example, which indicates the timelines of the news. When the world is looking for information on Middle East, Al Jazeera is at the right place. They understand the field better than other news outlet.

As for the coverage on uprising in Egypt, users are presented with a one-minute-forty-second video on occupy of Tahrir Square and the trial of Hosni Mubarak, former president of Egypt. Not only that, the video also shows how people react on the verdict.  What makes it more breaking news is the live blog Egypt, which is updated almost every two hours or so.

Timeliness is playing a key role in the news, especially for online (and breaking) news. So, if you decide to walk on the path, at least you know what it takes to be a good one.

Interview 1: Raw

So, here is the first interview for my final project on Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA).
There will be another video later this week.

Vblog: Story Idea on ORCA

So, there is another challenge in this Multimedia Journalism class: making a video blog.

I decided to tell you about my plan on my final project on ORCA. It is interesting to know about the activities in the program. I was there several times. I wish I could enroll in the program because I'm interested in science and it is cool to observe marine animals in a water tank.

If you want to find out more, wait until I finish my final project.

In the meantime, please enjoy my first video blog.

As A Matter of Manner

Once I saw a book called “Otak Sejuta Gigabyte” (One Million Gigabyte Brain), originally titled “The Great Memory Book” by Eric Jensen, M.A. and Karen Markowitz, M.A. It is about how to use simple memory technique to recall names, places, etc. The bottom line: how to use boost your brain to store one million gigabyte of memory.

However, the rest of the blog is not about how we can use the brain, but, rather, about how sometimes the memory can fool you.

In our social life, there are certain responses that go together – either they are to show politeness or just a mere habitual things.

For example, if people say “Thank you” to you, what will you response?

“You’re welcome” (good one!)

Or, if somebody asks you “Do you want some drink?”, the polite way to refuse is to say what?

“No, thanks.” (awesome!)

Enough for the manner lesson. Sometimes we are so used to the pairs that the brain does not really process the questions before giving a response.

Scene 1:

I was on the bus to the downtown for a grocery shopping. The bus gradually stoped. My friend and I walked on the alley towards the front door. As a matter of manner (no pun intended), my friend said, “Thank you, Sir” to the bus driver. The bus driver (and some other passengers)) laughed. What’s wrong? The bus driver was a woman!

Scene 2:

I was walking down a street going back to my apartment. Somebody on the street asked me, “do you have a cigarette?” Without consulting with the brain, my mouth threw out “No, thanks.” Ten steps away, my brain accused my responsive mouth “you should have answered, ‘No, sorry’”.

Scene 3:

Day 1: Staff at the cafetaria : “Have a great day!”

            Me: “You, too.”

Day 2: Staff at the cafetaria : “Have a good lunch!”

            Me: “You, too.”

            Three second later I told myself, “She didn’t have lunch, she was working.”

Scene 4: 

I was riding an automatic motorbike (a good friend let me ride it after my manual motorbike was sold). Everytime I slowed down or I felt that I need to accelerate the speed, my foot stepped to change the gear. I was stepping on the air as there was no gear on the bike.

Scene 5:

Stranger: "How are you doing?"

Me: (hatchoo!!!) "I'm good, thanks."

(Help!) Ideas

As we are entering the second half of the quarter, here comes the most difficult part of the class: story ideas. Not that it is hard to come out with ideas, but there are too many ideas to pick. I want to do this, I want to do that.

So, after those ideas were competing for almost a week, here are the top two:

1.     CCID (Community College for International Development) program

Focus: what is CCID? What does it do good for the U.S.? What’s the contribution to EvCC? How regular student perceived the fact that the students are funded by the Department of State?

Possible use of multimedia: interview video (Craig Lewis as program liaison, Phebe Shen as program coordinator, one of CCID students), slide show or video on CCID students activities.

2.     APSU (Asian/Pacific Islander Student Union) – one of the most active student clubs in EvCC.

Focus: what is APSU? Who are the members? What do they do?

Possible use of multimedia: interview of members, slide shows on activities, video of one of the meeting.

Those are the two that I think possible to be reported.

Please tell me which one you like the most.

Should you have any other input, please tell me on comment.

A Story of A Storyboard

Editor: “Let’s report a story using video.”

Student journalist: “It’s video reporting time. Yay!”

Editor: “Are you ready?”

Student journalist: (looking for a camera) “This camera is too big, can I use my iPhone instead?”

Editor: “Sure.”

Student journalist: “Okay. I’m ready to go out and shoot.” (standing eagerly)

Editor: “Wow, hold on. Calm down. Before you go out and shoot, let’s plan the things you should shoot and how they are shot.”

Student journalist: (sighing disappointedly) “I thought what we need is to contact the source and shoot. Isn’t that the tip: shoot, shoot and shoot?”

Editor: “It’s true. But you don’t want to waste the memory by shooting aimlessly, do you? Let’s start with making a storyboard.”

Student journalist: “Storyboard?”

Editor: “Yes. Storyboard is a sketch of how to organize the story and a list of its content.“

Student journalist: “But, I cannot draw.”

Editor: ”Not necessary. You can make a storyboard using stick figure.”

Student journalist: “Well, why bother drawing if the picture is in my head? I mean, I know what I’m doing.”

Editor: “Well, the pictures help you define the scope of the project. Storyboard will help you define the focus of the story. Once you are done you can swap the pictures for a better flow and sequence.”

Student journalist: “I see. Should I make my own box?”

Editor: “It’s up to you. You can choose any available template you want or using a software.”

Student journalist: (fishing his iPhone back to his pocket) “See you soon, video camera. Let’s make a storyboard.”

Editor: (handing sheets of paper) “Here are some tips you can use to make your own storyboard. Make sure you finish it quickly, we’re on deadline.”

Student journalist: “But, I have just learned about it.”

Editor: “No excuse. I want it in my office at 2. You hear me?”

Student journalist: “Aye, aye, Capt’n.”

Sakura-Con 2012 in einem Blick

If you like anime but miss the last Sakura-Con in Seattle, here is an overview of what happened in Washington Convention and Trade Center on April 7-9, 2012.

(The music "Wind" by Akeboshi is the ending theme of Naruto, which was the reason I followed the series)

Geography and Song

The latest issue of the Clipper discusses about meme(s), especially those that are trending in the Internet. So, what’s meme, you ask.

Basically, it is the idea that goes viral. The easiest example to think of is your friend hums a song and you start singing that song or the song plays in your mind for at least the next 30 minutes and you hate yourself of not being able to stop singing.

Personally, songs have been a powerful tool to pass a message or ideas. Long before I came to the U.S., I have learned about its geography (or at least names of cities and states) through songs.

Everytime I hear the word Long Beach, the song “Sway” plays in my mind as the advertisement of Long Beach cigarette used it as jingle.

The same thing goes to Georgia. Since I know the song (Michael Bolton version), originally popularized by Ray Charles, it’s very difficult for me to mention the word Georgia without singing “Georgia….”

“So, if we go up north, where would we end up to?” I asked my friend when we were driving to Orlando during my winter break vacation.

“Oh, Florida’s northern border is Georgia,” he said.

“I said Georgia… “ I started singing.

He laughed.

Alabama follows suit. Who doesn’t know “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd? (well, if you don’t know, start asking Uncle Google). Or try listen to “Oh Susanna” written by Stephen Foster.

Bee Gees also helped me learning about Massachusetts. Everytime I heard that word, I started singing “Feel I’m going back… to Massachusetts. Something’s telling me, I must go home…” (I’m still singing while typing this).

As for California, it came to me as a song when I watched a film by Wong Kar Wai titled “Chungking Express”. The woman character played by Faye Wong like listening to “California Dreaming” everytime she was doing her job cleaning up an apartment.

On top of all, stood Frank Sinatra with his New York, New York. When I first arrived New York, this song kept playing in my mind. I couldn’t stop singing “Start spreading the news…” for the first 30 minutes since I first step foot on the train station.

Thinking back to my origin, Indonesian songs taught me about cities, too. Kla Project expressed their admiration to Yogyakarta in a song. For sure, if you have ever visited the city, you might be fascinated by the people as described in the song.

Rita Effendi told me about Dili, a capital of Timor Leste, in her song “Januari di Kota Dili.” However, the song was made long before the country separated from Indonesia.

Kuta and Bali were already popular without needing any help from musician. But still, Andre Hehanusa’s Kuta-Bali was a great song to listen to.

So, I said Georgia… (with the hope that you will sing a part of the song).

News in Multimedia

Multimedia is an emerging reporting tool. Despite more hassle in the preparation, it turns out to be the most effective tool in reporting. Viewers not only getting the verbal information, but getting more understanding by looking at video or slideshows or images.

Multimedia is a very good example of “show, don’t tell”.

How do the news outlets cope with the demand on multimedia, especially on their websites?

Some big news corporation has their own section of video (it ranges from news, sport to opinion or editorial).

For example, The Seattle Times published its special report on Elwha River in written stories, timeline, photo gallery and a 3-minute slideshow with audio. It starts with an overview on the history of the dam, what good did the dam give to people and the process of deconstruction of the dam. I think it gives more option to users. If you don’t like reading too much text, at least you can watch a slideshow video.

The New York Times has a better interface for their website. One interesting section is called Opinion. Apart from seeing caricature on the print edition, readers can also watch video. The most recent one is opinion from the Op-Ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof on what the conviction of Charles Taylor means for Sierra Leone and for current brutal dictators and warlords. Instead of writing his opinion, Kristof is sitting at the studio, telling his opinion about the conviction in a 2-minute video. I should say it is a good way to engage both readers and viewers.

So, if students want to empower multimedia as their reporting tool, what should be considered?

As in written news, try to find a way to engage viewers. Interesting introduction or title might help people to stop and click ‘play’.

Think like a video maker: plot, opening, ending, etc. Play with creativity to make a news story a ‘story’, not just a random compilation of pictures or footage.

Timing is important. Doing multimedia can be fun and there is a chance that you just want to tell more information in it. But be careful on the duration of the video or slideshow or interview. The effective multimedia should not exceed 3 minutes, in my opinion. That is probably the average time people can put their attention on a website. Because news in multimedia might not as engaging as a film, put in mind that users might move to another page quickly if they think they have got the information they want.

With those things in minds, next thing to do is : go out and shoot (a lot)! 

Storytelling: Slideshow

Reporting news is not all about writing on paper. News story can be presented in many ways, especially true in the era of multimedia and online journalism.

News can be presented with just a single, tell-it-all photo or video. But today I learned about using slideshow (with/without audio) to report the news.

Some news outlet will just build an online gallery for certain news topic. Some choose to add audio (narration, music, interview) in it. Regardless the ending output, slideshow can be a strong reporting tool.

One example I found in the Internet is a slideshow at the Seattle Times about Black Friday shopping in 2010

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/businesstechnology/apinteractiveblackfridayaudioslideshow.html.

The slideshow, created by Associated Press in 2010, was published at the Black Friday. It gives an element of news story: timeliness.

In a way, the slideshow tells the audience the process of the biggest shopping day in the U.S. It starts by showing pictures of people lining (read: camping) up the night before the shops were opened. It then proceeds to pictures of the busy cashiers and shopkeepers, customers with trolley full of goods. It ends with people moving their items into cars.

The slideshow also tells the audience that despite the recession, people’s buying power did not decline. In fact, some customers pay with cash. It questions if the Americans are really affected by recession.

The narration helps the audience understanding the message in a better way. Should it was just a gallery of photos, it wouldn’t be so informative. The narrator tells the audience what the photos are about, what is behind them.

Social Media + Journalism = New School

Your need to write something for your journalism classes but running out of story ideas.

You scroll down your Facebook wall to see what’s going on in your friend circle. Some of them have just read some online article from news outlets.

Still stuck, you turn to your smartphone, reading what is trending on Twitter.

As the invasion of social media and the needs of information are continuing to grow, news providers have to transform the ways news is delivered.

Triggered by the global economy crisis in 2008, some news corporations decided to shut down their print production and focused on delivering news online.

As journalism students, we are left with tons of opportunities to shape the future of new-school journalism. Hence, the more versatilities we have, the more chances we can survive as the new era of journalism is not just about reporting stories in print but also empowering multimedia: pictures, slideshows, videos, animations, crowdsourcing.

You recalled your instructor suggesting using social media for your reporting medium. But what can you do with them? On the other side, what should you do to maintain your professional reputation?

Almost all do’s apply to your online reporting. Maintain your independent stand as the fourth estate. Displaying all the groups you join might give the sense of your political or religious positions. Posting too many personal stuffs (oh-I-was-drunk-in-a-party-last-weekend posts) might hurt your professional reputation.

However, don’t act too distant. Interacting with your readers through comments or retweeting is a must. You don’t want the readers think they are reading a computer-generated news outlet, especially if you are using blog or Twitter as the medium.

Be critical in gathering information. Don’t just take the information right away. Any body can say anything online! Check if it comes from credible sources. Go to the original webpage to double check.

Another good feature of social media is transparency. Be sure to be open on the sources. You don't want to be like Gailen David, a former flight attendant sued by American Airlines. American Airlines sued him on revealing confidential information. He revealed in his parody videos some confidential information but refused to tell his sources.

Last but not least, use the social media as your reporting tools but always be skeptical as a journalist.

Happy reporting!

A Day with The Seattle Times

I had a rewarding opportunity to do a job shadow with Mike Siegel, photographer at The Seattle Times last Friday.

It was all started from my search for internship opportunity as part of the scholarship program.

I am a journalism student at Everett Community College and thought it might be a good learning experience to be able to intern in a big news company like The Seattle Times. So, I tried my luck.

Apparently, there was no internship position at the time I applied. But in return, Jim Simons, one of the editors, offered me a one-day job shadow with their photographer.

I took it. At least, there would be something I could learn. I made the right decision.

So, Friday morning, I was at Seattle. The bus was surprisingly fast that I reached the place far earlier than I thought it would be.

I was supposed to meet Mike at 8 p.m. but apparently he had an assignment to cover a house fire at Mountlake Terrace happened the previous night.

While waiting, I was given a tour to the newsroom, which was so big. I should say that was my first experience being inside the real newsroom.

The staffs were friendly. There I learned how they update online stories and photos.

Then Mike came and I had a chance to see the process of a breaking-news photo went online. In real time.

Again, I was given another tour. This time, we went to all departments in the newspaper. It was so great to witness how people work in newsroom, how newspaper was produced.

At 10 a.m. I was invited to join Fred Nelson, photo editor, to editor meeting. It was not much different with my story idea meeting with the Clipper, only this was more serious and hi-tech.

There were two editor meetings in a day (10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) in a room called fishbowl (because it was a room with glass wall).

The meeting was started with the presentation of readership of yesterday issue. Then, story ideas from each department for Saturday and Sunday edition. Everybody seems to have lots of stories running.

After that Fred explained to me about his job mediating the photographers and writers. Good stories should go with good photos and good photos deserve publication.

There was a breaking news: a Navy jet hit apartments in Virginia Beach, VA. Everybody was busy looking for more information and photos. Again, I witnessed another breaking news in process.

Soon, the news hit the top of a screen showing traffic of online readership.

We were supposed to have a photo session with Kenny G (yes, the saxophonist and he was from Seattle) but it was canceled.

My second press pass

However, we got another assignment to cover Sakura-Con 2012 at Washington State Convention and Trade Center at Downtown Seattle.

Mike contacted the event organizer, asking permission and press pass.  When everything was okay, we geared up. Shooting time!

It was another learning experience to observe how a professional photojournalist worked on the field. We shoot, took notes. I wish I had a camera with voice memo like the one Mike used. But never mind, I learned another way of recording information from him.

When we were done, I observed Mike working on his assignment: selection, editing, captioning.  Photos were sent and ready to publish.

That was pretty much the day.

Back to Everett, I had to work on my own photos and stories for the Clipper.

Haiku: A New Toy

Five – seven – five.

That’s the rule for haiku, a short form of Japanese poetry. Originally written in Japanese and following the language’s on (or morae) - a unit in phonology that determines syllable weight, haiku has been modified and transferred to other language such as English.

One haiku consists of 17 on (or similar to syllables in English) and three lines. The first line has five on, the second line has seven on and the third line has five on. It can tell about anything, from kitchen utensils to political issues.

My Media Writing instructor first introduced haiku to me. Although she had discussed haiku in her previous quarter newswriting class, I’m more involved in haiku today because she assigned us to create haikus.

At the beginning, I found it hard to describe a thing in just three lines. It seemed to me that an object has many things to describe and three line wouldn’t be enough.

However, as I try to play with words and narrow down the descriptions, I’m addicted (literally).

My mind can’t stop thinking in five-seven-five until now, two hours after I finished writing my haiku.

Here are examples of my haiku:

Move from key to key

E – A – D – G – B and E

Pick the strings and sing

Let your pasta swim

Boiled water and olive oil

Add sauce, salt and cheese

Final penalty

Baggio failed scoring goal

Brazil got fourth cup

Slices, chunk or dice

Potatoes, tomatoes, meat


Cut them as you like

Haiku is so fun

Keep thinking five-seven-five

Why don't you write too?

Segede Bagong Tingkat Dewa

Yeehaa….

Akhirnya, setelah sekian lama, aku memutuskan untuk menulis dalam bahasa keduaku, bahasa Indonesia tercinta (bahasa pertama, tentu saja Hokkian, sebagai keturunan Tionghua yang tinggal di Medan). Setelah melihat-lihat blogku, aku terhenyak karena hampir tidak ada tulisan dalam bahasa Indonesia. (What a shame! - abaikan)

Okay, Indonesian fellas (Haduh, otakkku, stop thinking in English!, - English brain: Ay, ay, Captain!)

Pagi ini, status (dan komentar-komentar di bawahnya) seorang teman di BukuWajah memberi ide untuk mulai menulis. Selagi masih pagi dan belum ada teman sekamar yang bangun, aku pun menulis (lebay!)

Oke (baca: baiklah). Statusnya berbunyi kurang lebih sebagai berikut :

“baru mengerti mengapa ibuku menyuruhku membawa tas segede bagong. Ternyata dia mau menitip barang yang lebih gede dari bagong.”

Temannya  bertanya, “bagong itu apa?”

Teman yang lain berkomentar, “bagong itu pig”

Teman pertama membalas, “loh, bukannya kodok ya?”

Haduh…. Tiba-tiba muncul pemikiran, seberapa sering kita pakai istilah gaul tanpa memahami asal-usul istilah tersebut (atau paling tidak memahami alasan kata-kata tertentu dipakai dalam bahasa gaul). Meskipun aku bukan pakar bahasa gaul (apalagi bahasa tak gaul), tapi aku berusaha mencari tahu supaya tidak terjadi salah pemakaian (pada konteks yang salah, atau penjelasan yang salah)

Oke (baca: baiklah). Mari kita tilik istilah “segede bagong” atau “segede gaban” (ini juga lumayan populer).

Gede = besar (dalam bahasa Betawi/Jawa) dan itu sudah lazim dipakai.

Mari kita tilik kata Bagong. Bagong bukan babi ataupun kodok, melainkan tokoh wayang. Ingat Petruk dan Gareng? Atau ingat acara Aneka Ria setiap hari Minggu di TVRI? (kalau ingat, sadar umur). Yep, Bagong adalah salah satu tokoh punakawan dalam wayang. Ciri fisiknya digambarkan sebagai bertubuh bulat dan besar. Bandingkan dengan Petruk yang cungkring. Mungkin ukuran tubuh yang hampir sama adalah Semar.  

Sementara itu, Gaban merupakan tokoh polisi robot dalam film “Space Cop Gavan/Gaban” (sedikit penjelasan, bahasa Jepang punya bunyi pengucapan terntentu yang tidak terpenuhi dalam pengucapan bahasa lain. Contohnya: vegetarian akan dibaca [bejitarian] atau Luffy dalam komik One Piece akan tertulis [Ruffy] dalam komik aslinya). Bagi mereka yang berusia remaja pada era 80’an 90’an, film Gaban sangat populer. Sekali lagi, Gaban digambarkan sebagai robot yang bisa menjadi raksasa (semoga aku masih ingat filmnya…)

Jadi, istilah “segede bagong/gaban” merupakan hiperbola, bahwa objek yang dimaksud memiliki ukuran yang besar luar biasa seperti ukuran Bagong atau Gaban. Mungkin lain kali, kita bisa menggunakan istilah “segede Monas” atau “segede Power Rangers” atau supaya terkesan lebih gaul: “segede Hagrid”.

Istilah lain yang juga sempat populer di dunia per-BukuWajah-an atau Pengicau (baca: Twitter) atau juga KurirBeriHitam adalah  “…. tingkat dewa.” (isi titik-titik dengan segala kata sifat yang terpikir).

Karena biasanya situs sosial berfungsi sebagai pelampiasan emosi negatif, maka status-status yang bertaburan juga biasanya menggunakan kata sifat negatif. Seperti: lapar/marah/sebel/bingung/emosi/kecewa/… tingkat dewa. Kemudian, seorang teman (ya, jangan tanya berapa banyak teman yang aku punya) berkomentar seperti ini: “capek aku lihat semua yang berakhiran tingkat dewa. Kalau dewa bisa marah, ga disebut dewa lagi.” Ups!

Oke (baca: baiklah). Mari kita tilik. Semua orang percaya bahwa dewa memiliki kemampuan lebih di atas manusia. Mungkin hampir semua manusia (yang mengenal kata dewa) ingin menjadi dewa. Namun, apakah dewa itu sesuatu yang sempurna? Tentu tidak (baca dengan gaya iklan obat cacing). Dewa-dewa dalam cerita Yunani kuno juga memiliki keburukan seperti manusia. Bahkan dewa-dewa dalam cerita di ktiab suci juga tidak sempurna (Lucifer, dkk). Dewa-dewa dalam cerita Tiongkok kuno juga tidak sempurna (lihat saja Panglima Tian Feng alias Ti Pat Kay). Namun, mereka semua memiliki persamaan : lebih hebat dari manusia.

Jadi, istilah tingkat dewa merupakan hiperbola bahwa tingkatan kata sifat yang dipakai melebihi tingkatan yang bisa ditahan oleh manusia. Tentu saja, istilah tersebut bisa dimodifikasi. Seorang teman menggunakan isitilah “tingkat nasional” yang lebih mudah dicerna. Lapar tingkat nasional berarti rasa laparnya tidak main-main lagi, sudah tingkat nasional.

Istilah berikut mungkin hanya diketahui segelintir orang karena setahuku istilah ini hanya digunakan dalam bahasa Hokkian dan ketika aku menggunakannya dalam bahasa Indonesia, teman dari daerah lain bertanya-tanya…. Mungkin percakapan berikut bisa menggambarkan situasi yang aku hadapi

Teman( sebut saja Tulang) : “Aduh, kepalaku sakit, nih.”

Aku : “Hah? Biasa aja kalee…”

Tulang: “Aduh, beneran aku ga bisa tahan lagi deh. Sakit bangeeeeetttt….”

Aku: “Walah, lebih sakit ga punya kepala tahu…”

Tulang: “Ih, apa sih???”

Oke (baca: baiklah). Tidak ada penjelasan asal usul kata di sini dan tidak ada hiperbola, melainkan sarkasme (lupa arti kata ini? Tanya guru bahasa Indonesia ya). Kadang-kadang orang mengeluh tentang sesuatu yang biasa saja. Sakit kepala. Yep. Seberapa sakit, sih? Kalau masih bisa jalan sana-sini, makan, masak dan kawan-kawan, ya masih bisa ditahan bukan. Daripada mengeluh terus, mending makan obat, istirahat, supaya sakitnya sembuh. Jadi, buat mereka yang suka mengeluh sakit kepala, misalnya, bayangkan mereka yang tidak punya kepala, tidak punya perut…. (amit-amit jabang orok – ada yang tau penjelasan istilah ini?)

Wah…. Ternyata saya lebih lancar berbacot dan mengetik dalam bahasa keduaku ini. Tiga halaman dalam waktu 50 menit! Beneran ukuran segede gaban tingkat dewa....