Nova v Praze (new in Praha:-)

Changes Soon in the Czech Immigration Front Line?

2008-08-07T01:39:00.001+02:00

Tales that foreigners like to share and pass along from time to time in Czech Republic is the classic rejection cases and degrees of horrors that they have gone through and been going through in Czech's domestic Immigration front line - the infamous Foreign Police (Cizinecka Policie). The worst of all is Prague's office.

I have never heard or experienced so far any more strikingly dreadful and inhuman experiences caused by any Caucasian authorities than Czech Foreign Police.

All foreigners who stay in Czech Republic due to marriage, work, or study have to register with the Foreign Police, a sub-unit force under the Ministry of Interior. Not to mention those who would like to invite friends and families to Czech Republic, tourists to register with, and residents who want to renew or change permits.

I cannot tell the foreigners' experience preceeding Czech's joining EU in 2004, as I first came in 2005. However, in the aftermath, Czech Foreign Police was divided into two large sections: EU nationals and dependents section and its non-EU conterpart.
Harsh and racist treatment is banal across all non-EU registering frontliners. it has been always tiresome and confusing to be Vietnamese, other Asian minorities as well as those from undeveloped nations. Not only does language barrier become the problem, but also the Czech staff's cold look and cross-cultural indifference that dismiss people too easily whenever they find that their application is incomplete ; without even bothering to provide info centre.

Long queue and despairing people on the line are normal view in the packed, run-down, non-air-conditioning waiting room of Foreign Police; especially for those who are on the non-EU nationals line. It is an endless snake lane. Work ethics or professionalism is something that you miss in this part of the World. The staff is constantly and purposedly unhelpful and difficult to reason with. I witnessed the absence of their efficient and informative system. The 4 working days with only a total of 30 working hours is not helpful either.

Fortunately, being married to a Czech requires me to visit them less frequent and less painful than my friends who are on the other office. Four visits in three years is not bad. I came there to apply for my Permanent Residency Permit when I got my Wedding Certificate. Then I came over to pick it up. The last two visits were due to the need to get a legalized invitation letter for my family in Indonesia and accompany them to register as foreigners in Czech land when they visited me. Soon if I renew my passport or change my address, or If I deliver baby and would like to register him in this land, I need to go there too to update the PR book.

The office moved finally in 2007 to decent, spacious, multistoried premises on Konevova 32 in Prague 3. The unfriendly staff and less-than-40-working hours remain. But they have the Info Centre and digital numbering on queuing system. Does it help? For those who are not married to Czech citizen or have permanent residency permit, the horror stories continue.

How does it happen? Firstly, there are more foreigners now in Czech Republic coming from different part of the world trying to get better life in a relatively-easily accessed and fresh EU country. About 134,000 foreigners visit Prague's office on regular basis. Almost 50,000 of them are Vietnamese. Imagine, compared to 10 million Czech citizens.

Secondly, many mediators and black agents (not litterarily black in color:-)!!) see the opportunity of making tons of cash from these incoming foreigners. One agent can tap at least 10 visits a day and secure a whole working day for his clients. The single fighter foreigners can only wish for a luck to get a number on the day or grab a sleeping bag and wait a night or hours before at the office's entrance along with other same minded ones. The most cultural shock of course is suffered by the non-EU nationals from developed countries who generally do not master the language and do not want to waste time and feel powerless.

Thirdly, having been fortified with listless attitude, indifferent and reserved mentality, understaffed and underpaid condition, the Foreign Police team can be categorized as THE team with low morale and -sorry to say, still shrouded by communist cloak.

Tonight (6 Aug 08) on CT 2, a state television, Mr. Husak, the Director of this Foreign Police was asked for his opinion on the TV report on the long lines of gruntled people in front of the Foreign Police building at night.

Some hint: Mr. Husak was the Head of Czech Police but then demoted to head the Foreign Police. Allegedly he was transferred from the strategic position due to his violating the speed limit while driving.

Back to the TV news. People were interviewed and responded to what they think of the whole affairs and policy towards Czech foreigners. In short, people of course voiced their dissastifcation and frustation as they didnot know to whom they can address all these confusion and waste of time. Mr. Husak said that they will add more people and more working space in two months; meaning more counters and less queuing up.
And, from 1 January 2009, the permanent residency permit (trvaly pobyt) thing that takes about 15% affairs, will be taken care of by the Department of Internal Affairs (Ministry of Interior). And then by 2013, all the foreigners registering things will be too.
BUT, Foreign Police is already under the Ministry of Interior! So, I do not really know what it means anyway. I do not see that being transferred to other Czech state bureaucracy will give more enlightment than before. My prejudice is that the officers will bear the same mentality and attitude and low-paid service.

Does the planned change mean a change after all?

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foto by gamingmmo.com

Ada Perda tentang denda 20 juta rupiah di jalan-jalan Jakarta?

2008-03-24T18:52:00.002+01:00

Aku baru dengar kalau ternyata sebelum Sutiyoso turun jabatan sebagai Gubernur Jakarta, ada Peraturan Daerah yang melarang warga Jakarta untuk memberi uang kepada pengemis dan membeli koran, makanan, dan lain lain dari pedagang asongan di jalan-jalan Ibukota dan sebaliknya.

Dendanya bisa mencapai 20 juta rupiah kalau tertangkap atau masuk penjara.
Kalau sekedar melihat ancaman sangsi nya yang cukup serius, mungkin ada niat serius dari pemerintah untuk menertibkan Ibukota dan membersihkan seluruh pelosok jalan-jalan di Jakarta raya dalam waktu singkat dan efektif.

Tetapi kalau dipikirkan secara serius juga, apa mungkin ini kebijakan yang bijak, apalagi bila para pengasong dan pengemis terpaksa dipenjara karena tentu tidak punya uang jutaan rupiah untuk membayar denda. Mereka pun jelas tidak tahu akan peraturan ini. Tidak ada pembelajaran dan pelatihan dari Pemerintah.
Keluar masuk penjara mungkin jadi alternatif paling aman bagi mereka sembari tetap mengadu nasib di Jakarta.
Kalau salah satu pasal di UUD masih ada bahwa para fakir miskin dan anak anak terlantar dipelihara oleh negara, lalu apa yang sudah negara buat untuk mereka sehingga rakyatnya tidak diperbolehkan memberi uang atau sekedar membeli barang dagangan mereka untuk menyambung hidup orang-orang yang belum beruntung itu?

Aku pikir semua orang yang sudah ada di Jakarta punya hak hidup. Kalau memang kita sepakat bahwa masalah kependudukan di Jakarta sudah terlalu memprihatinkan, ya kebijakannya harus dibuat menyeluruh seperti membuat aturan main yang ketat untuk orang bisa datang ke Ibukota.
Tapi bagaimana caranya melarang orang datang ke Ibukota kalau hasil pembangunan Indonesia belum merata dan menyentuh daerah daerah lain selain kota-kota besar di Jawa, Bali, dan Sumatra?

Duh... aku jadi serius gini:-(....... Oh Jakarta ku ...

image taken from national geographic

JESTED TOWER AT LIBEREC

2008-02-25T15:52:00.016+01:00

Mt. Jested is famous for ski resort in Czech Republic. It stands 1,012 meters above the sea level and is part of Jested-Kozakov Ridge, 100 km north of Prague. Few weekends ago we went up there before the snow melted completely and see Liberec and surrounding in winter time.

Instead of taking funicular, this time we decided to walk 10 km and cover 500 m elevation.The iced path worried me a bit as it added slippery part of the hiking. However, the hot chocolate and garlic soup in the Jested Tower's restaurant paid it off:-).

The view overlooking the Liberec area at that day is not greenery picture at all but it still presented peace and majestic feelings as you looked down and around.

The way back as we were racing with the sunset was not easier after all, with all melting snow and steep hill, we literally were the snowball rolling down the hill with all people staring down from the funicular above:-)!

We were lucky enough to enjoy the live international ski jumping competition. They were so unbelievable! Flying and landing gracefully on the ground.

PERMENNYA MALAH LUPA DIMAKAN!

2008-02-25T15:46:00.003+01:00

Aku mau membagikan kisah sederhana di bawah ini yang membuat aku berhenti sejenak dari kesibukan dan diingatkan untuk menghitung berkat ku lagi hari demi hari.

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Alkisah ada dua orang anak laki-laki, Bob dan Bib, yang sedang melewati lembah permen lolipop. Di tengah lembah itu terdapat jalan setapak yang beraspal. Di jalan itulah Bob dan Bib berjalan kaki bersama. Uniknya, di kiri-kanan jalan lembah itu terdapat banyak permen lolipop yang berwarni-warni dengan aneka rasa.Permen-permen yang terlihat seperti berbaris itu seakan menunggu tangan-tangan kecil Bob dan Bib untuk mengambil dan menikmati kelezatan mereka.

Bob sangat kegirangan melihat banyaknya permen lolipop yang bisa diambil.Maka ia pun sibuk mengumpulkan permen-permen tersebut. Ia mempercepat jalannya supaya bisa mengambil permen lolipop lainnya yang terlihat sangat banyak didepannya. Bob mengumpulkan sangat banyak permen lollipop yang ia simpan di dalam tas karungnya. Ia sibuk mengumpulkan permen-permen tersebut tapi sepertinya permen-permen tersebut tidak pernah habis maka ia memacu langkahnya supaya bisa mengambil semua permen yang dilihatnya.

Tanpa terasa Bob sampai di ujung jalan lembah permen lolipop. Dia melihat gerbang bertuliskan "Selamat Jalan".Itulah batas akhir lembah permen lolipop. Di ujung jalan, Bob bertemu seorang lelaki penduduk sekitar. Lelaki itu bertanya kepada Bob, "Bagaimana perjalanan kamu di lembah permen lolipop? Apakah permen-permennya lezat? Apakah kamu mencoba yang rasa jeruk? Itu rasa yang paling disenangi. Atau kamu lebih menyukai rasa mangga? Itu juga sangat lezat."

Bob terdiam mendengar pertanyaan lelaki tadi. Ia merasa sangat lelah dan kehilangan tenaga. Ia telah berjalan sangat cepat dan membawa begitu banyak permen lolipop yang terasa berat di dalam tas karungnya.Tapi ada satu hal yang membuatnya merasa terkejut dan ia pun menjawab pertanyaan lelaki itu, "Permennya saya lupa makan!"

Tak berapa lama kemudian, Bib sampai di ujung jalan lembah permen lolipop."Hai, Bob! Kamu berjalan cepat sekali. Saya memanggil-manggil kamu tapi kamu sudah sangat jauh di depan saya.""Kenapa kamu memanggil saya?" Tanya Bob."Saya ingin mengajak kamu duduk dan makan permen anggur bersama. Rasanya lezat sekali. Juga saya menikmati pemandangan lembah, Indah sekali!"

Bib bercerita panjang lebar kepada Bob."Lalu tadi ada seorang kakek tua yang sangat kelelahan. Saya temani dia berjalan. Saya beri dia beberapa permen yang ada di tas saya. Kami makan bersama dan dia banyak menceritakan hal-hal yang lucu. Kami tertawa bersama."Bib menambahkan.

Mendengar cerita Bib, Bob menyadari betapa banyak hal yang telah ia lewatkan dari lembah permen lolipop yg sangat indah. Ia terlalu sibuk mengumpulkan permen-permen itu. Tapi pun ia sampai lupa memakannya dan tidak punya waktu untuk menikmati kelezatannya karena ia begitu sibuk memasukkan semua permen itu ke dalam tas karungnya.Di akhir perjalanannya di lembah permen lolipop, Bob menyadari suatu hal dan ia bergumam kepada dirinya sendiri, "Perjalanan ini bukan tentang berapa banyak permen yang telah saya kumpulkan. Tapi tentang bagaimana saya menikmatinya dengan berbagi dan berbahagia."

Ia pun berkata dalam hati,"Waktu tidak bisa diputar kembali." Perjalanan di lembah lolipop sudah berlalu dan Bob pun harus melanjutkan kembali perjalanannya.Dalam kehidupan kita, banyak hal yang ternyata kita lewati begitu saja. Kita lupa untuk berhenti sejenak dan menikmati kebahagiaan hidup. Kita menjadi Bob di lembah permen lolipop yang sibuk mengumpulkan permen tapi lupa untuk menikmatinya dan menjadi bahagia.

Pernahkan Anda bertanya kapan waktunya untuk merasakan bahagia?"Saya akan bahagia nanti... nanti pada waktu saya sudah menikah...nanti pada waktu saya memiliki rumah sendiri... nanti pada saat suami saya lebih mencintai saya... nanti pada saat saya telah meraih semua impian saya... nanti pada saat penghasilan sudah sangat besar... "Pemikiran 'nanti' itu membuat kita bekerja sangat keras di saat 'sekarang'. Semuanya itu supaya kita bisa mencapai apa yang kita konsepkan tentang masa 'nanti' bahagia.Terkadang jika saya renungkan hal tersebut, ternyata kita telah mengorbankan begitu banyak hal dalam hidup ini untuk masa 'nanti' bahagia.

Ritme kehidupan kita menjadi sangat cepat tapi rasanya tidak pernah sampai di masa 'nanti' bahagia itu.Ritme hidup yang sangat cepat... target-target tinggi yang harus kita capai, yang anehnya kita sendirilah yang membuat semua target itu... tetap semuanya itu tidak pernah terasa memuaskan dan membahagiakan.

Uniknya,pada saat kita memelankan ritme kehidupan kita; pada saat kita duduk menikmati keindahan pohon bonsai di beranda depan, pada saat kita mendengarkan cerita lucu anak-anak kita, pada saat makan malam bersama keluarga, pada saat kita duduk berdiam atau pada saat membagikan beras dalam acara bakti sosial tanggap banjir; terasa hidup menjadi lebih indah.

Jika saja kita mau memelankan ritme hidup kita dengan penuh kesadaran; memelankan ritme makan kita, memelankan ritme jalan kita dan menyadari setiap gerak tubuh kita, berhenti sejenak dan memperhatikan tawa Indah anak-anak bahkan menyadari setiap hembusan nafas maka kita akan menyadari begitu banyak detil kehidupan yang begitu indah dan bisa disyukuri.Kita akan merasakan ritme yang berbeda dari kehidupan yang ternyata jauh lebih damai dan tenang.

Dan pada akhirnya akan membawa kita menjadi lebih bahagia dan bersyukur seperti Bib yang melewati perjalanannya di lembah permen lolipop.

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image by candyaddict.com

New Year 08: Old friends, new day

2008-01-07T00:10:00.000+01:00

One of Ondra's close friends is leaving for England. He got a one-year job offer and decided to give it a try. So we and other close friends spent time together on New Year Day at La Mirage.

The place is quite neat for a couple of drinks and a hole to hang out with friends. Psst.. its hot chocolate and mojito are ones of the best in town:-). With more sitting places and some fotbalek machines,It attempts to hit younger market and less dance-floor thingy.

We also stormed out for a while to see the fireworks at 6pm near the Bridge. Prague city always presents free entertainment like fireworks to start the New Year for Praguers like that night. It was more happening then the other one on New Year's eve. Talking about statistics, more than 50,000 people gathered around centre. The temperature that night was exactly zero degree. The theory of relativity plays... it was definitely warmer than the day before but way too cold for those who celebrate New Year in Indonesia and Australia. Afterwards, we hit the bar again, play fotbalek, chat and eat.

It is so unbelievable that all are still friends for more than 15 years and support each others! During busy days and forgotten years, here we are still catching up. Nice evening to start a a new day with good old friends! How did your New Year start?

New Year's Eve: Old times, new friends

2008-01-06T23:51:00.000+01:00

Ceritanya Ondra masih agak sakit sehabis pulang dari Wina. Rencana untuk merayakan malam tahun baru ke luar kota dan gunung jelas batal. Mau pergi ke restaurant atau club, New Year charge-nya bikin kantong tipis, pis, pis.. dan mata sepet..pet.. pet.. karena asap rokok dan banyak orang!!

Sembari tidur-tiduran dan minum teh hangat dan kue natal (udah kayak kakek-kakek dan nenek-nenek:-)) kita bernostalgia kenangan malam tahun baru pertama kita di Brisbane.
Ngumpul dengan international students lainnya kita ke Southbank di tepian Brisbane River sambil melihat pertunjukan kembang api. Kita ngebayangin juga kalau di Indonesia orang orang pergi ke pantai atau Ancol lihat pertunjukan, lihat kembang api, dan tiup terompet.

Akhirnya kita memutuskan ke tempat teman lama yang mengundang pot-luck dinner sembari menghabiskan tahun 2007 dengan teman-teman. Dunia memang kecil, di sana kita ketemu Carolina, mahasiswa Indonesia yang sedang belajar di Brno.

Setelah nonton TV dan mencela-cela pengisi acaranya, ramai-ramai dengan teman-teman mahasiswanya Carolina, kita memutuskan melihat kembang api dari taman dekat rumah teman kami itu. Yeap! Kita memutuskan jalan kaki 10 menit melawan suhu minus 4 derajat.
Kenangan di Brisbane itu kembali. Kita berkumpul dengan international students menikmati Malam Tahun Baru walaupun sesudah itu kita tewas lagi but we had a good time. Thank you friends for boosting our spirit to face a new year!

So if you donot feel like to go somewhere too far or do something too fancy to celebrate New Year's eve in Prague, just invite your friends to cook and eat together. You can always opt to watching the variety shows on Wencleslas Square but the best part is to grab your cup of tea and plate of cookies, turn on the TV, watch and make fun of the presenters and performers.
You can always play some fun games and then.. the climax is to go out and follow the crowds to see the midnight fireworks and toss for new year. But stay away from the crazy bunchs who throw away firecrackers on street and on people. They find happiness by seeing others misery:-(.

2007-12-04T16:13:00.000+01:00

People resort to many ways to comfort themselves in the harsh winter time. Czechs labelled as the largest beer makers and drinkers* and those who live in Czech are also prone to the habit of gulping large amount of alcohol in order to keep warm.
I donot really buy that idea, not only is alcohol proven to widen blood vessel, which contribute to quick warmth effect and prolonged cold but also because of the experience below:

A Guy walks into a bar, notices a very large jar on the counter, and sees it's filled to the brim with $10 bills. He guesses there must be thousands of dollars in it. He approaches the bartender and asks. "What's up with the jar?"

Well, you pay $10 and if you pass three tests, you get all the money.."

The man certainly isn't going to pass this up. "What are the three tests?"

Pay first, those are the rules." says the bartender. So the man gives him the $10 and the bartender drops it in to the jar.

"OK," the bartender says. "Here's what you need to do:

First, you have to drink that entire gallon of pepper tequila, the whole thing, all at once...and you can't make a face while doing it.

Second, There's a pit bull chained-up out back with a sore tooth. You have to remove the tooth with your bare hands.

Third. - There's a 90-year old woman upstairs who has never reachedorgasm during intercourse. You've gotta make things right for her."

The man is stunned. "I know I paid my $10, but I'm not an idiot, I won't do it! You have to be nuts to drink a gallon of pepper tequila, and then do those other things..."

"Your call," says the bartender, "but your money stays where it is."

As time goes on and the man has a few drinks, then a few more, he asks,"Wherez zat tequila?" He grabs the gallon with both hands and downs it with a big slurp. Tears streaming down both cheeks, but he doesn't make a face.

Next, he staggers out back where the pit bull is chained-up and soon the people inside the bar hear a huge, noisy, scuffle going on outside. They hear the pit bull barking, the guy screaming, the pit bull yelping and then silence.

Just when they think the man surely must be dead, he staggers back into the bar, with his shirt ripped and large bloody scratches all over his body. "Now," he says. "Where's the old woman with the sore tooth?"

Nah kan apa kubilang, jangan kebanyakan minum:-))))....

* Famous Czech Beer includes Pilsner Urquell, Budweiser, Gambrinus, Kozel, Branik, etc.

photo is courtesy of lidovsky.cz and tequila story by Andrew Lim.

Mike Mohede and Youtube

2007-12-03T15:08:00.000+01:00

Being far from the homeland is no longer issue in this 21st century as the internet has helped us alot in connecting with current stuffs backhome almost leaving zero point zero zero second delay! Anything you would like to know about your country' favourite shows, hot news, and other stuffs are available worldwide thesedays.

This time my special thanks is for youtube, which enables me to follow almost all the large-discussed talkshows, music shows, and other reality shows. While in Prague, I am following the Slovak Idol's final stage, people in Indonesia are discussing the Asian Idol event in which Indonesia also participates.

I think Indonesians made a good decision on sending Mike Mohede for Asian Idol.He has the voice, he has the style, and he has the charisma.
It is so nice listening to his voice that gives soul to the song he sings. This 23-yr old boy who had to halt his study due to father loss was the winner of the last Indonesian Idol - a contest that takes into account the viewers' poll.
Personally I think Mike who has Sangir-Dutch-Javanese blood has big chance to win Asian Idol beside Philippines, which is also a great singers' machine.

Check his voice on youtube.com and you would agree:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-sN0kADhaQ0 (when he sang: a crazy little thing called love)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=udVDIc3S_ss&feature=related (when he sang: bahasa kalbu).

Stay tune at asianidol2007.blogspot.com

MICHAEL, YOU'VE GOT MY VOTE!!

(Mike's photo by Nova)

2007-11-27T16:46:00.000+01:00

Hi Prague-ers,

If you want to get your favorite stuffs from Mango, Salamander, Nike, Adidas, Alpine, Pepe Jeans, Blazek, Umbro with discounts and donot wish to travel far from Prague, just visit the Factory Outlet place at Fashion Arena Outlet Centre at Sterboholy area (Prague 10).

The place is located by the ringroads between Europark Shopping Centre and Cerny Most Shopping Centre. Thanks to my friend Tya for the direction.

Not only can you find some children stuffs at Bibi or Pompo shop but also the minimum 30% discount on parfume products at the Parfumerie.

The outlets are designed to be one-story round shops like Avion Shopping Centre at Zlicin. When we went there last time, the arena, which is supposed to be a full ring of shops just hosts half of the space making up U-line with the two-story foodcourt set in the middle.

The foodcourt itself is still vacant with Planet Sushi as one of the future vendors.

I am not really impressed by the female stuffs there, as not many rejected products available for affordable price:-). I hope they will have more variety of shops and more last-season's stuffs rather than depending on rejected ones. I havenot compared it with the factory outlets in Znojmo city. We'll see.

However, my hubby who doesnot like shopping got lucky that night. He brought home with him a nice polartex fleece with cheaper price. Nice bargain:-)!

You can reach the place by taking the green-line metro to Depo Hostivar and continue by bus number: 163, 212, 229, 238, 264, 265, 266, 268 to Na Homoli and stop at U Stavoservisu . The Arena is located few meters behind a pump station. You cannot miss the big "foodcourt" wording and "Fashion Arena Outlet Centre" board.

Unfortunately you cannot reach it from Europark shopping centre eventhough they are almost next to each other.The shops are open all week from 10.00 to 20.00. Check this out: http://www.fashion-arena.cz/

Happy Shopping:-)!

2007-11-27T16:41:00.000+01:00

Kapan terakhir kamu nonton film Indonesia?

Pertanyaan ini bukan hanya untuk mereka yang sedang tinggal di luar negeri tetapi juga di Indonesia.Karya film Indonesia yang pernah diramalkan akan tenggelam ternyata terus bertumbuh dan banyak mengambil wajah muda dan tema tema kampung dunia (global).

Walaupun belum ada yang bisa disejajarkan dengan Cut Nyak Dien, Kembang Kembang Kertas, Badai Pasti Berlalu , namun teknologi dan kreativitas yang disajikan lumayan memberi tampilan segar, tangis, dan senyum simpul seperti:

D'Bijis

Nagabonar 2

Arisan

Brownies

Daun di Atas Bantal

Petualangan Sherina

Kekurangan yang paling sering ada di film film Indonesia adalah kelemahan penyajian ending yang memukau. Tema cerita dan kekuatan akting para pemainnya sering tidak didukung dengan plot yang kuat sehingga seringkali film berakhir mengambang atau seakan dipaksakan berakhir karena durasi.

Pilihan judul judul dalam bahasa Inggris juga perlu dipertanyakan apakah memang tidak ada terminologi Indonesia yang bisa mewakili ide film itu.

Banyak juga ide "gila" yang sayang untuk dilewatkan seperti:

Film Horor yang terinspirasi "Scarry Movie"

Film Enam

Quickie Express

Janji Joni

Untungnya kita kita yang di Ceko tidak perlu terlalu kehilangan kesempatan menonton film film Indonesia. Pekan Film Indonesia pun digelar di awal Desember 2007 di Kino Ponrepo, Bartholomejska 11 Praha:

Tanggal 3: 17.30 Ibunda (Matka)

Tanggal 5: 17.30 Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti (Laska na kusu chleba)

Tanggal 6: 17.30 Suci Sang Primadona (Suci, ta prima donna)

Tanggal 7: 16.30 Pejuang (Bojovnik)Tanggal 11: 17.30 Pagar Kawat Berduri (Plot z ostnateho dratu)

Festival Film Internasional tahunan di Ceko juga terkadang disisipi film film Indonesia seperti Gie dan Berbagi Suami. KBRI Praha sendiri dari waktu ke waktu berusaha menyajikan "layar tancap" film film Indonesia seperti Nagabonar 2, Denias, dan film film perjuangan lainnya.

Kehadiran internet dan layanan media gratis www.youtube.com tentu membantu kita kita yang berdomisili di luar Indonesia untuk terus mengikuti berita berita sinema Indonesia terbaru. Terima kasih juga buat Mas Herry yang sudah mengumpulkan daftar film film terbaru Indonesia di webpagenya: http://ezdeeboyz.multiply.com/.

Film terakhir yang saya tonton adalah D'Bijis dari DVD. Siapa sangka judul film diambil bukan dari nama band yang dijadikan tema film itu:-)). Humornya lumayan orisinil dan menarik tetapi sayang ceritanya sepeti dipaksakan berakhir begitu saja, tidak berkesan.

Jangan diketawain ya, ada beberapa film film Indonesia yang sampai sekarang belum dan kepingin sekali saya tonton:

Pasir Berbisik

Biola Tak Berdawai

Beberapa film karya Teguh Karya dan Nyak Abbas Acup

Medley (film baru; yang main senior ku: Yossie Project Pop:-)).

Ada juga website bagus mengulas film film Indonesia masa kini: http://www.sinema-indonesia.com.

Kesimpulannya: Bagi bagi info ya film Indonesia yang menurut kamu bagus. Kalau ada yang punya DVD atau CD film film terbaru Indonesia, gimana kalau kita nonton bareng? atau... boleh kan pinjam:-)?

Psst... Kalau ada yang tahu di mana bisa nonton film film Indonesia full (nggak terputus putus seperti di youtube), kasih tahu ya:-)).

oh Indonesiaku

2007-10-22T14:04:00.000+02:00

Kenapa ya, media rajin amat memberitakan kisah kisah sedih tentang Indonesia seperti yang terbaru, kasus terbaliknya ferry di dekatBaubau.
Kan jadi malu sama teman kantor, kalau tiap kali ada berita pasti ada aja berita nggak enak tentang bangsa tercinta kita.Lagiannnnn (baca: dengan nada gemas), udah tahu kapasitas buat 30 orangkok ya dibiarin 200 orang naik ferry itu!! grrr... memangnya bis kota jakarta :-(.

Silakan buka link berikut:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7052044.stm

Nah, kalau berita seperti di bawah ini, lebih baik dan segar dilihat mata:http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22623960-28737,00.html

USA trip: It Aint All About Burger and Coke or...is it?

2007-06-27T23:47:00.000+02:00

19 May - 20 June 2007. I flew across the Atlantic Ocean to see Ondra and travelled with him throughout the States. The nature and city lives struck us and we tried to bring pieces of memories back home. Stories continue.....

Applying for a visa? Take everything with you

2006-03-17T15:30:00.000+01:00

Lining up under the pouring rain and snowflakes in Prague's winter days in the front of British consular office might give you a chill. Seriously, a chill! This long queue reminds me of old times when I applied for Czech visa, Polish visa and Australian visa. Belgium and French on the other hand were quite nice and welcomed you in immediately so at least you could wait inside.
Anyway, not only did the reception remain the same almost everywhere (confusing:-)), but also the consulars opening hours differences were still the same:-). You better take with you patience and big heart when realizing that you can never rely on the website and the automatic phone.
You also need to bring pen just in case you need to change or have a second thought on some things in the application form but for mobile phone I suggest you not insist on taking it up with you to the second floor coz the officers will persistently suggest you to leave it with them on the ground floor. Dont ask me why:-). Also dont ask me why they charge you 50 pounds whether you get the visa or or not. Yeap dont forget to take some money, just take it or leave it.
Also dont ask me why some of the questions in the application form makes you...well.. uneasy to say yes or no:-).

First question:
If select "civil partnership" please confirm current status of relationship
1. existing civil partnership 2.dissolved civil partnership 3. surviving civil partnership.

Boy Im glad that Im married. At worst, I will have "widow" status not a "surviving" one:-).

Second question:
Where is your spouse now?
Hmmm..... do they really want to know? In the toilet, maybe:-)))))))))))))))))))))))?

Imagine if Bali bombers, terrorists, and Milosevic were asked these third to sixth questions:
Have you ever been refused entry to, deported from,or otherwise required to leave, another country? hmmmmm.....Nope:-)

Do you have criminal convictions in any country? mmmm..... Nope:-)).

Have you ever been concerned in the commision, preparation, and organisation or support of acts of terrorism, either within or outside of the United Kingdom, or have you ever been a member of an organization which has been involved in or advocated terrorism in furtherance of its aims? Hmm.you mean except of illegaly trained to make a bomb? Nahh:-)))

Have you ever been concerned in the commision, preparation, and organisation of genocide or crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in the course of armed conflict? mmmm... you mean out of those bosnian killing? naaahhh:-)))).

So please take your guts when you have to fill in those scarry and intimidating questions:-))).
Take also your book or games or whatever when you submit the form to the lady over the counter. After submitting it, we were simply asked to sit and wait for...ages! I dont know why we should wait there without knowing anything. I mean, I dont know why and for how long I should wait there. No one raised any questions, no one wanted i guess. I was wasting my time by sitting there and do nothing except studying czech map. Not even single brochure about England available around..sighh....
Three hours passed then I run out of my patience. I asked how long will it take and couldnt I just return later? The lady over the counter was not happy and tried to patronize me by asking why cant I just wait and sit as everybody else. I replied calmly that I need to get back to work. She asked impatiently"when?", I said less calmly " when? anytime.. because this is working day i suppose.". Then she said I should wait. Oh boy, I dont need this repetition, i just need to know what's going on and why I cant just go and return few hours or few days later?
She responded that she doesnt know how long it will take. I responded back " Please ask someone, your colleague maybe?". She went in and got back and said:" in 5 minutes, please wait." Fiuhhh...
The visa was finally issued. Dont know whether they gave it because I was so annoying:-). Anyway, I have to admit that they are smart in processing the visa application but not really smart in asking people to stay and wait there hours long.
Since they get the upperhand, you cant do anything but humblely waiting for their mercy:-).
So other tip is to take your time there coz you will never know how long you should stay.
I dont know whether an embassy's culture or values represents the nation's culture, but
this sort of easygoing and not time-oriented regime makes you wonder whether british are really laid back like Ozzy? even Australian bureaucracies are stricter, clearer, and in order:-).
Just a thought. SO finally take with you cheer and good mood. You really need it, mate.

Right person for the right job

2006-03-09T09:36:00.000+01:00

Working in Prague hasnt given me much inspiration of what sort of ethics back europeans endeavours. Some may say that europeans or "white" in general are hardworking,honest,and more focused. I prefer to say that people, no matter where, no matter when, are the same. Some are ambitious, some are easygoing, some are high achiever, some are self contented, some are with praisable mission, some are crooked and corrupted.

The difference lies in the system. In the european countries, they set up a system
which provides check and control and majority support it. Humans are not angels, that's for sure:-)and the system helps to reward and punish those who are irresponsible and damaging others.
While maybe in some countries, the system is just a formality and the majority has no power and access to it, in the end, chaos and distrust are created and lead to distruction. The quality of human resources and how it fits the job also matter to support the so-called "european" system.

What I would like to note is that somehow, no matter how good are the system and procedures,even in a big company, good candidates might lose their chances, and not the right person chosen. Here are some tips that my friend gives when it comes to recruitment (have fun!!)

HOW TO RECRUIT THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB?

Put about 100 bricks in some particular order in a closed room with an open window.
Then send 2 or 3 candidates in the room and close the door.

Leave them alone and come back after 6 hours and then analyze the situation.

If they are counting the bricks,
Put them in the accounts department.

If they are recounting them,
Put them in auditing.

If they have messed up the whole place with the bricks,
Put them in engineering.

If they are arranging the bricks in some strange order,
Put them in planning.

If they are throwing the bricks at each other,
Put them in operations.

If they are sleeping,
Put them in security.

If they have broken the bricks into pieces,
Put them in information technology.

If they are sitting idle,
Put them in human resources.

If they say they have tried different combinations, yet not a brick has
been moved.
Put them in sales.

If they have already left for the day,
Put them in marketing.

If they are staring out of the window,
Put them on strategic planning.

And then last but not least...

If they are talking to each other and not a single brick has been moved.
Congratulate them and put them in top management.

enjoy the life

2006-03-08T13:50:00.000+01:00

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together
to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned
into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests
coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large
pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass,
crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -
telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor
said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were
taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but
normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the
source of your problems and stress.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you
consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society
are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the
quality of Life doesn't change. Some times, by concentrating only on
the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

So, don't let the cups drive you... enjoy the coffee instead.

VALENTINE WISHES

2006-02-15T10:03:00.000+01:00

LOVE is patient…
I want to be slow to judge, but quick to listen.
Hesitant to criticize, but eager to encourage,

LOVE is kind…
I hope my words to be gentle and my actions to be thoughtful.
I want to be able to smile and to say “Please” and “Thank You” and see good in others.
I want to celebrate and appreciate what I have

LOVE is not rude or self-seeking…
I learn not to be grumpy and negative and not only wrapped in my little world and think of others.

LOVE is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs…
I learn to forgive others

LOVE does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth…
I need to stand up for what is right and good. I hope I can help the defenseless, and help the helpless.

I need to make differences after I know love (God's love and human's love).

FALLING...

2005-10-15T14:36:00.000+02:00

PEOPLE SAID THAT FEELINGS AND MINDS ARE THE MOST VOLUNTARY AND FREE GIFT THAT YOU CAN HAVE AND NO ONE CAN TAKE . I HAD ALMOST EVEN BEEN AFRAID OF THINKING AND FEELING. EVERYTIME I THINK AND FEEL, ALWAYS NOTHING GOOD COMING OUT OF THEM.

LET ME TELL YOU A BIT ABOUT MY LIFE LATELY.
I SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRATEFUL THAT I COULD VISIT FRANCE AND ENJOYED MY BELATED HONEYMOON. I WANT TO SHARE ALL PICTURES WITH FRIENDS ONLINE, THEN
I FELT AND THOUGHT THAT: HEY WHY ARE YOU SHOW-OFF? SO MANY PEOPLE OUT THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN IN FRANCE. RESTRAIN YOURSELF!..
OR OTHER THOUGHTS: HEY WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN FRANCE, EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN BUSINESS.BTW, YOUR TRIP TO FRANCE MIGT MIGHT BE BORING...
THEN SOMETIMES I THINK, NOTHING OF MY LIFE IS INTERESTING TO SHARE...

THEN WHEN IM ABOUT TO UPLOAD THE PICTURES COZ A FRIEND ALREADY INSISTED ON (twink twink.:-)), I SPENT HOURS AND HOURS TO SELECT PHOTOS. I REGRET TAKING SO MANY PICTURES (SEE... HOW UNGRATEFUL I AM, GIVEN THE CHANCE TO SEE FRANCE AND HAVE DIGITAL CAMERA AND IM GRUMPY ABOUT IT)
THEN I HAVE TO CUSTOMIZED THE SIZE OF PHOTOS, THEN I GRUMBLE.. COZ IT TOOK AGES.. (SEE HOW UNGRATEFUL I AM HAVING COMPUTER..WHILE OTHERS DONT HAVE DAILY ACCESS)
THEN TO HIGHLIGHT MY DAY: THE PROGRAM AND ACDSEE BROKE DOWN...
(IM AFRAID TO THINK AND FEEL..:-))

THAT'S THE OPENING FEELINGS OF THIS AUTUMN: BEING GRUMPY AND UNGRATEFUL.
THIS AUTUMN, PRAGUE IS QUITE COLD, ALMOST LIKE BEGINNING OF WINTER, MINUS SNOW OFF COURSE. I FELT SO ALOAF ABOUT IT. BUT EVERYDAY I HAVE TO GO TO THE CZECH CLASS THEN IN SOME DAYS I HAVE TO GO TO PRESCHOOL AND CLIENTS' HOUSES TO TEACH ENGLISH.
BRR... THE COLD BREEZE IS KILLING ME.. SEE... THE UNGRATEFUL IMEL, HAVING THE SCHOOL AND SOME SMALL JOBS.

IT STARTED BEFORE THIS FALL, FEELING SORRY FOR MY SELF. THINKING THAT MY LIFE IS FALLING DOWN AS IM JUST A HOUSE WIFE AND NO CLEAR CAREER AS I USED TO HAVE. EVEN IT IS SO DIFFICULT HERE TO GET A DESIRED JOB. IT ALMOST FRUSTATES ME WHEN I THINK MY EDUCATION LEFT ME NOTHING BUT DEGREE.

MY HUBBY COMFORTING WORDS AND HIS SUPPORT DIDNT SATISFY ME. UNTIL I REALISE IN THIS COLD FALL OF 2005 THAT I M THE ONE WHO SHOULD CREATE MY HAPPINESS AND NO ONE CAN TAKE IT FROM YOU. YOU SHOULDNT BE AFRAID OF WHAT YOU THINK AND FEEL AS YOU SHOULDNT BE AFRAID OF LETTING GO SOME AND PURSUING OTHERS.

NOW I FEEL GRATEFUL AS I SEE MY STUDENTS . HOW CAN I BE NOT GRATEFUL, COZ THROUGH ME THEY LEARN NEW THINGS, NOT ONLY LANGUAGE BUT ALSO IDEAS, KNOWLEDGE, AND FUN.

IF YOU SEE THOSE PRESCHOOL KIDS, THEY ARE SO CUTE AND HONEST, HOW CANT I BE GRATEFUL THAT IM TRUSTED TO TEACH THESE OFFSPRINGS SOMETHING?

IF YOU SEE HOW HARD THOSE ADULTS WANT TO STUDY ENGLISH, HOW CANT I BE GRATEFUL THAT IM GIVEN CHANCE TO STUDY CZECH TOO..

IF I SEE SOME UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE WHO COME TO CZECH CLASS COZ THEY WANT TO GET A JOB AND HAVE NO MONEY, HOW CANT I BE GRATEFUL THAT I ALWAYS HAVE FOOD AT HOME, STILL CAN EAT OUT, AND NOT WORRIED OF TOMORROW FOOD?

WHEN A FRIEND SHARED ME HER SAD MARRIED LIFE AND NEED HELP, HOW CANT I BE GRATEFUL THAT I HAVE A LOVING AND CARING HUSBAND WHO IS NOT ONLY A BEST LOVER BUT ALSO MY BEST FRIEND? HE IS NOT RICH MATERIALLY BUT HE IS RICH WITH LOVE AND SMILE.

SO THIS FALL IS NOT A SAD AUTUMN, BUT A MOMENT WHEN I PROMISE TO LET GO THOSE NEGATIVE AND WEAK MINDS AND FEELINGS LIKE THE FALLING LEAVES AND READY TO FACE AND FIGHT THE LIFE.

HAVE A NICE AUTUMN GUYS..

INCONSISTENCY.... rancu bo!

2005-10-11T15:39:00.000+02:00

Di saat orang Indonesia sedang bingung karena banyak hal yang rancu, tidak konsisten terjadi, entah soal ekonomi, politik, atau keamanan, sebenarnya kita tidak perlu heran kenapa hal ini terjadi, lha wong dari dulu masyarakat kita sudah dibuat bingung dan tanpa sadar menelan mentah mentah hal hal yang tidak logis. contoh kecilnya, lagu anak anak.
Lagu anak-anak yang populer ternyata mengandung kesalahan, mengajarkan kerancuan, dan menurunkan motivasi.

Mari kita buktikan :

1. "Balonku ada 5... rupa-rupa warnanya... merah, kuning, kelabu.. merah muda dan biru..., meletus balon hijau, dorrrr!!!"

Perhatikan warna-warna kelima balon tsb., kenapa tiba2 muncul warna hijau

Jadi jumlah balon sebenarnya ada 6, bukan 5 !

2. "Aku seorang kapiten... mempunyai pedang panjang... kalo berjalan prok..prok..prok... aku seorang kapiten!"

Perhatikan di bait pertama dia cerita tentang pedangnya, tapi di bait kedua dia cerita tentang sepatunya (inkonsis- tensi). Harusnya dia tetap konsisten, misal jika ingin cerita tentang sepatunya seharusnya dia bernyanyi :

"mempunyai sepatu baja (bukan pedang panjang)... kalo berjalan prok..prok..prok.."

nah, itu baru klop! jika ingin cerita tentang pedangnya, harusnya dia bernyanyi : "mempunyai pedang panjang... kalo ber- jalan ndul..gondal..gandul.. atau srek.. srek.. srek.." itu baru sesuai dg kondisi pedang panjangnya!

3. "Bangun tidur ku terus mandi.. tidak lupa menggosok gigi.. habis mandi ku tolong ibu.. membersihkan tempat tidurku.."

Perhatikan setelah habis mandi langsung membersihkan tempat tidur. Lagu Ini membuat anak-anak tidak bias terprogram secara baik dalam menyelesaikan tugasnya dan selalu terburu-buru. Sehabis mandi seharusnya si anak pakai baju dulu dan tidak langsung membersihkan tempat tidur dalam kondisi basah dan telanjang!

4. "Naik-naik ke puncak gunung.. tinggi.. tinggi sekali.. kiri kanan kulihat saja.. banyak pohon cemara.. 2X"

Lagu ini dapat membuat anak kecil kehilangan konsentrasi, semangat dan motivasi! Pada awal lagu terkesan semangat akan mendaki gunung yang tinggi tetapi kemudian ternyata setelah melihat jalanan yg tajam mendaki lalu jadi bingung dan gak tau mau ngapain, bisanya cuma noleh ke kiri ke kanan aja, gak maju2!

5. "Naik kereta api tut..tut..tut.. siapa hendak turut ke Bandung.. Surabaya.. bolehlah naik dengan naik percuma.. ayo kawanku lekas naik.. keretaku tak berhenti lama"

Nah, yg begini ini yg parah! mengajarkan anak-anak kalo sudah dewasa Maunya gratis melulu. Pantesan PJKA rugi terus! terutama jalur Jakarta-Bandung dan Jakarta-Surabaya!

6. "Di pucuk pohon cempaka.. burung kutilang berbunyi.. bersiul2 sepanjang hari dg tak jemu2.. mengangguk2 sambil bernyanyi tri li li..li..li..li..li.."

Ini juga menyesatkan dan tidak mengajarkan kepada anak2 akan realita yg sebenarnya. Burung kutilang itu kalo nyanyi bunyinya cuit..cuit..cuit..! kalo tri li li li li itu bunyi kalo yang nyanyi orang, bukan burung!

7. "Pok ame ame.. belalang kupu2.. siang makan nasi, kalo malam minum susu.."

Kalo anak kecil, karena belom boleh maem nasi, jadi gak pagi gak malem ya minum susu!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... SELINGAN... DARIPADA SUNTUK:-).

(courtesy of Judith)

is it easier for you :-)?

2005-09-30T13:42:00.000+02:00

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English
will be the official language of the European Union rather than German,
which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that
English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-
year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this
will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be
dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and
keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the second year when
the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make
words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kanbe
expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are
possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters
which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil
agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is
disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing
"th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords
kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl
riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil
find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil
finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted
in ze forst plas.

The advertisement

2005-08-25T17:38:00.000+02:00

'I need to store 2 bags for 3 weeks while I travel. In one of the bags is a gift to my mom, and I will be unable to bring them with me. I don't have too many friends in the city and I really need a place to store these bags. There's absolutely nothing illegal in the bags, i just need a safe place for them. I am offering 5000 czk (2000 czk up front) and 3000 when I get my bags back in return for three weeks of storage. Phone calls or e-mail accepted. This is an insane deal for anyone who needs some extra cash. Please call XX at 123456'.

How do you feel reading this advertisement? I bet your heart is torn between disbelief and anxious thrill. Is it true that someone can just easily reward you 5000k for having their valuables safeguarded? for your note, 5000k is about half month salary of minimum salary here.

So you are playing with your mind. It is definitely easy money, hot offer, really really hot, and it might easily be gone in seconds... But... isnt it too good to be true?

Will someone offer you that amount only for doing such easy job?
Maybe it is a dodgy stuff. And for the next five minutes you will create various plots of what is behind this tremendeously crazy offer.
Will it be something related with mafia things?
Or he just want to save some precious and sacred things belong to the righteous party?
Will someone break into your house in the miidle of the night to get this thing?
Maybe they will also take my stuffs and threaten us not to speak or even kidnap us... and in the next morning, we will be in the headlines of local news and.....

You know what? SO many things fit!!! Then I did simple thing... I called the guy! Nervously I waited the guy to pick the phone and fearfully fantasized that my number will be recorded by some mysterious people out there and maybe.....

XX: " Hello?"
Me: " Hi, hmm,.hi.. I hmm.. read about your advertisement.."
XX: " Which advertisement?"
Me: " Oh.. you dont remember? hmm.. oh never mind (embarassed)..."
XX: " about what? oh... OK.. bye"
Me: " uh.. wait.. hmm.. sorry... about the storage thing, do you.. hmmm.. still need someone to do the service for you????"
waiting for few seconds...no sound..im about to sweat and hang up..
XX: " uh.. sorry? what was that?? oh that ad.. OH.. THAT AD???
Im almost fainted coz he was suddenly interested and vigorously raising his tone..
XX: " You know what? it was a prank. My friend made a joke on me.. yesterday, I got thousands of calls like that. I should kill my friend... he is crazy... sorry for that bad joke."
Me: "Oh.. OHHHHHH... O.K. I see.. ahh.. never mind, sorry, bye."

So the morale is ........... so what is the morale:-)?

WHOSE FAULTS:-)?

2005-08-24T11:33:00.000+02:00

About a month ago, an Indonesian VIP and his family and group visited Czech and Indonesian community. One of my husband's colleague was assigned to accompany (read: entertain:-)) them. I will call this person as A:-). A had planned excellent itineraries and nice plan for their trips. A took them to famous precincts and pretty Czech countryside and other wonderful places. A tried sooooo hhaaaarrrd to please them. But A came to me with one comment: Indonesians are interesting, at least I know now how to please Indonesians:-).
That sounds...... something's wrong, I asked A to explain. A only described two important subjects. Of course, guys, I paraphrased them:-). They go like these:
Scene I.
A: " OK, ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at B at we have to walk abit to go inside from the parking lot. Because in Czech rep, the walk path is designed to preserve the clean air, natural environment for animals and trees, and quietness. And I guess it would be good for your health and fresh for the lungs:-).
Indonesians and the VIP: Ha?????????????????? (surprised) so we have to walk this far? There is no special transport to the nearest location?
A: : this is the nearest VIP parking lot I could arrange, coz normal people have to park down there"
One Indonesian leaned to A:" this is Indonesian important people, can you arrange something? this is out of the customs to walk too far and go uphill for them.
A: ha????????????????????????????????????

The fact is that A is not aware of indonesian abundant access to transport to any places. so we are spoiled by public angkot, little bus, motor-taxi, taxi, and private cars. Not to mention, if you hold some important positions, the hierarchical power speaks loud!!!!

Scene B:
A: these are the areas where tourists usually buy souvenirs, knitted clothes and czech crystals, maybe we can just browse. I believe that in Indonesia or big cities, you may find them easily.
Indonesians: you are kidding? wow, these are wonderful.... I want to see that.. and maybe I will see you here and after that we go to there.... and ..... (they are suddenly disappeared and enjoyed the shopping).
A: ha??????????????????????????????????

A comment: I have never seen this group as excited, fascinated and happy as now. The thrill and the satisfaction in their eyes at the same time only I witness twice. In Crystal shops and souvenirs....not even in our marvellous castles and chatteaus...

A:here you are, what? to clean the crystal lamp? it is quite easy, they will teach you so you can teach your children to help you to clean it regularly. You are lucky to have some children to help.
the VIP and Indonesians: ha????????????????????????????????????
Indonesians: pssst.. you are kidding right? They have many housemaids and housemen in the house and their children are not supposed to do these petty things.
A: ha???????????????? wow, you must have had big house for having them live inside the house!!!!!!!!

Indonesians and VIP: ha?????????????????????????????????????????????

The fact is that: A does not know that it is Indonesians old custom to retain a or some housemaids in the house to assist daily lives coz they are quite affordable.

When I heard A spilling it out, I giggled and felt so funny, but hey!! That;s not funny at all, I dont know what foreigners will think of Indonesia later on... It doesnt look very nice in the end:-(

SO, whose faults that these people depend heavily on their subordinates, and whose faults that kind of life style exists or in other word, remains exist? Should we abandon it? Should we also abandon local royal families? Arent they spreadt around the world? Even Europe still have their own royal families and their super duper VVIP families. How do they live? Are they different from Indonesian‘ VVIP?

Isnt it the social and political systém which is „responsible“ for this culture? Maybe in some countries, the egalitarian systém has established quite long and well so people forgot how their royal persons lived and existed. So what about Indonesians? How to fill the gap and differences?

Another interesting story of differences is that Indonesian police troops. They have been infamously related with low professionalism. Since their separation from the military, the leaders tried vigorously to clean some stuffs and deal with things more effectively. Také the anti drug unit. They have performed lots of raid and mostly in touristic areas such as Bali. Bali is also used to house multinational drug dealers and users. In Corby and Leslie case (both are Australians), the world is shocked!!! The controversial arrests and trials have raised bad sentiments towards Indonesians and the police. Especially some Australians claimed that the police did the wrong job and demanded the Australian aids for tsunami victims to be returned:-).

Poor police! When they attempt to do the best show, they are cursed and accused. So whose faults? The over-diligent police or the careless and underestimating drug network?

SALAH SIAPA?

2005-08-24T10:46:00.000+02:00

Sekitar bulan lalu ada pembesar dari Indonesia datang ke sini beserta keluarga dan orang orang terdekatnya. Salah seorang temen suamiku bertugas menemani mereka. Dia sudah usaha banget berusaha membawa mereka ke tempat tempat terkenal di Republik Ceko, dari castle hingga nature. Dia berusaha membuat mereka impressed.

Tetapi ternyata cuma dua tempat di mana rombongan Indonesia berbinar binar matanya dan tersenyum bahagia dan berdecak kagum: yaitu: toko kristal dan toko souvenir!!!! (hahahaha... indonesia banget deh:-))

Mereka ribut capek dan nggak kuat berjalan kaki jauh dan sedikit mendaki ke kawasan wisata (karena di Ceko, parkiran mobil harus sedikit agak jauh dari lokasi wisata, demi alasan kesegaran udara dan ketenangan berwisata).
Mereka bilang, apa nggak ada parkiran terdekat dan apa nggak ada kendaraan yang langsung kesana?
Orang Cekonya bingung: ha???????
Orang Ceko mungkin belum tahu orang Indo kaya kaya, karena biasa naik turun mobil (entah angkot, bus, atau mobil pribadi, hihihii).

Lalu yang lucu juga: waktu mau beli lampu kristal dan tanya tanya soal cara membersihkannya, orang Ceko make sure that it is quite easy to clean it apalagi kalo anak anak pembesar ini ikut bantu bergantian membersihkannya...
terbalik sekarang rombongan indonesia yang kaget: ha???? mengapa begitu? kan kita punya housemaid housemaid di rumah, lebih dari satu dan harus dimanfaatkan.
eh gantian orang Cekonya yang bingung lagi: ha?????? rumah anda besar ya? kok bisa menampung begitu banyak housemaid dan houseman?

Pas dengernya juga agak geli sekaligus miris... apa lagi ya yang akan dinilai orang sini tentang Indonesia, buruk atau bagus ya...

Salah siapa kalo mereka tidak biasa mengurus dirinya sendiri? Bukankah sistem sosial dan politik kita yang memelihara mereka? Di seluruh dunia, begitu banyak juga keluarga pembesar baik bangsawan atau pejabat politik dan ekonomi yang memiliki banyak fasilitas dan terbiasa tergantung pada orang orang bawahannya...
bukankah di Eropa tempo dulu banyak keluarga bangsawan dan pembesar? Bagaimana gaya hidup mereka?
Atau mungkin karena orang Eropa sudah melewati babak itu lewat revolusi panjang , mereka kaget waktu menemukan kembali masih ada peninggalan klasik itu di Asia:-).
Kalo mau dirubah, bagaimana caranya? dan apakah perlu dirubah dan dihapus?

Satu lagi yang menarik tentang perbedaan:
Polisi Indonesia kan terus memperbaiki diri sejak terus dikomentari dan dipantau kerjanya oleh orang Indo atau internationa agar lebih profesional. Satu satu mulai dibenahi.

Berita hangat akhir akhir ini adalah kasus kontroversial tim drugs yang membekuk Corby dan Leslie (dua WN Australia) karena memiliki obat obatan psikotropika. Alih alih, malah sekarang polisi dan orang Indonesia yang diteror karena dianggap sembarangan menahan orang. dan beberapa orang Australia malah ngambek dan ingin bantuan tsunami buat Aceh dikembalikan.

Susah juga ya kalo polisi mau disiplin dan strict. Mungkin para pemakai dan pengedar obat inginnya datang ke INdonesia karena dinilai gampang dan aman eh malah jadi kesel karena Indonesia mulai galak soal drug. Salah siapa:-)?

tidbits: some are true (twink twink:-))

2005-08-22T18:02:00.002+02:00

Girls' Dreams

"What I Want in a Man (age 22)"

1. Handsome

2. Charming

3. Financially successful

4. A caring listener

5. Witty

6. In good shape

7. Dresses with style

8. Appreciates finer things

9. Full of thoughtful surprises

10. An imaginative, romantic lover, every day of the week

"What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 32)"

1. Nice looking (prefer hair on his head)

2. Opens car doors, holds chairs

3. Has enough money for a nice dinner

4. Listens more than talks

5. Laughs at my jokes

6. Carries bags of groceries with ease

7. Owns at least one tie and suit

8. Appreciates a good home-cooked meal

9. Remembers birthdays and anniversaries

10. Seeks romance at least 4-5 times a week

"What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 42)"

1. Not too ugly (bald head OK)

2. Doesn't drive off until I'm in the car

3. Works steady - dinner out occasionally

4. Nods head when I'm talking

5. Usually remembers punch lines of jokes

6. Is in good enough shape to rearrange the furniture

7. Wears a shirt that covers his stomach

8. Remembers to put the toilet seat down

9. Shaves most weekends

10. Interested in romance 2-3 times a week

"What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 52)"

1. Keeps hair in nose and ears trimmed

2. Doesn't belch or scratch in public

3. Doesn't borrow money too often

4. Doesn't nod off to sleep when I'm venting

5. Doesn't retell the same joke too many times

6. Is in good enough shape to get off couch on weekends 7. Usually wears matching socks and fresh underwear

8. Appreciates a good instant food

9. Remembers my name on occasion

10. Shaves some weekends

11. Hope for a kiss each day

"What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 62)"

1. Doesn't scare small children

2. Remembers where bathroom is

3. Doesn't require much money for upkeep

4. Only snores lightly when asleep

5. Remembers why he's laughing

6. Is in good enough shape to stand up by himself

7. Usually wears some clothes

8. Likes soft foods

9. Remembers where he left his teeth

10. Remembers that it's the weekend

11. Remembers what romance was like

"What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 72)"

1. Breathing

2. Doesn't miss the toilet

Belgium: the visit to the comic strip and praline state

2005-08-19T12:30:00.000+02:00

Visiting Belgium was one of my dream back in college. This country attracts me in some ways: First: it applies two national language: Dutch and French. Secondly, it is home to my favourite comic characters: Tin Tin, Smurf, and Lucky Luke (although Marsupilia is also "belgian":-)) and one of the biggest China Town in Europe. Third, it is famous by its chocolate praline and its original french fries (Belgians claim that french fries or frites was originated from Belgium!!). Fourth, the first "bule" who taught me english in a nice class was a belgian, and last: for some personal reasons:-). But I thought it would be only a dream back then.

Since now I live in Europe, the idea came one day from my husband in the end of July. He had to go to Belgium in early August to accompany high school students and assist to european union students exchange programme. He surprised me by tagging me along with him as his company and of course was assisgned to help on the programme ( yeah sure:-_)).
We are based on Hasselt city but we visited Brussels and Antwerpen as well. Basically, all belgian cities are alike but still they retain their own characteristics. If you go to Belgium you definitely have to try its pralines, ice cream, cakes, waffles, and of course: French Fries!!
They have more variety of snacks than Czech (read: junk food:-)) such as fried satay, fried lumpia, fried ba'mi, fried nasi goreng roll, fried minced meat roll, kinds of fries and sauces...
For experiencing the lives and cultures, Belgium is alright, but not to enjoy its nature coz you will find meadows with cows, fields with cows, private house garden with cows, and if you are lucky, you will see some ducks and lambs:-). It is flat land as you can enjoy thoroughout your journey.

The first journey led us to HASSELT. It is known as Jenever City and proud of it! They hold regular tour to its brewery. All who drink gin and tonic might be tempted to try this belgian gin as it is very strong and has its own class. But hey, that's not for me, it's too strong and hot!

Hasselt' s selling points are : being a tourists-friendly centre and bikers-friendly city with bike path and bike traffic light and parking lots, its free bus as public transport and its Japanese Garden which is doubt as the largest in Europe (which is so far true, if you compare with Wroclaw).

The compact and lively main square are flooded with updated-fashion outlets and cafes. Either you will spend your day by shopping and munching on pralines or or by... shopping:-)!.
Funny though, they are proud of their ice cream which is branded as AUSTRALIAN ICE CREAM:-) (what the..? even in australia there is no such thing:-))
But I wonder why they dont have many food outlets. Either they have only few nice restaurants or just snacks counters... I miss three-course meal in Czech rep:-(.

The students were encouraged to express their opinions and think critically, know other cultures and appreciates minority-class rights and lives as delivered by the Tutsi-soldier boy veteran, Children rights Foundation, and some entertaining workshop such as practising Capoeira and kendang, and cooking traditional meals. They were also taken to enjoy outdoor actions with team and work together. First they had to get into a small house and found their way out. Then they had to do the sport biking actions, and then continued to the wall climbing and gliding down. Lastly, they had to pass the balance test with water as its limit (they were not supposed to fall into the water:-)).
The highlight of the program was the tour to THE EUROPEAN UNION PARLEMENT BUILDING. It is always interesting how states regulate their common lives. Europe as Asia is also quite a complex world. It homes huge variety of cultures, politics, and economics. I enjoyed the explanations on their striving for unity and conformity with democratization and liberalization still underway... And imagine that this fighting club still struggle but yet want to dictate Asian countries and tell them what to do. Nobody's perfect:-). But money talks, still:-).

Normally, no matter serious is the program, it always goes crazy with the youngsters... it is fun to spend time with the youths and bringing all the mischieves back to live such as sneaking out at night, finding cool places to hang out, foolish conversations, cool photo sessions:-).

BRUSSELS was the next journey. It was big and has nice China Town with yummy cuisine and abundant Asian supplies. It has large and free Palace with its pretty garden to visit. Dont forget the astronomical clock near it and the fabulous main square with the famous Pissing Manekin. I must say that Im not impressed by its minute-sized Manekin and its small street packed with tourists. Somehow Prague is more picturesque and grander to me....
Any way, I got what I wanted here: the comic characters souvenirs!!! Yuhuu....

ANTWERPEN was so far the must-see city. It is really big. I cant really explain how come it looks much bigger than Brussels, maybe it is really big and has nice city plan. WARNING: This is the heaven for the shopping lovers with lots of shops and entertainment.
the atmosphere is almost similar to Praha, although I admit that Antwerpen is interesting!!
Try the noodle bar and pizzeria on the square behind the cathedral or simply enjoy the stage performance in front of the cathedral or go to the main square with its marine-theme statue.. or also go to the dock near the river.. It is surely romantic and heart-capturing!!!!
The atmosphere was great and tempting me to buy the post card like other tourists and mail it to home:-).

People said that pictures talk alot, but I must say, pictures cant talk of everything. You must come and experience it:-). Yet the setback was that Belgium was gloomy, windy, cold, and rainy most of the time... It 's apparently not summer... still Ondra and me enjoyed being strangers in foreign countries:-). See you in next trip!

INDEPENDENCE DAY 170805

2005-08-19T10:55:00.000+02:00

I should send my warm greetings to all Indonesians who read this. Isnt it great guys that we can still can witness this national celebration? I know that we all wish the best for Indonesia and we hope it will stand long enough and worth the world history so we can pass the stories on to our next generations. Eits, jangan diteruskan dengan kata kata: mengheningkan cipta dimulai ya:-).

Pagi pagi 17 agustusan kemarin ini kita sudah siap siap untuk upacara dan perayaannya (alias makan makan dan tari tarian:-)). It was such a bleak and freezing morning and it made us feel blue:-(. The flag raising ceremony went well despite the chilly weather and also not many people could make it that wednesday since not all can take a leave from work. Anyway, Getting the prize for wining the badminton competititon was the boost of the day:-).

Not long after that, some girls like Tia, Vera, Mira, and me should dress up for traditional dancing performance. Mira as usual did the balinese dancing with the new costumes (yuhuuuu:-__) Tia and Vera did the Bajidor Kahot and Yapong and all of us did the Saman dance again. Actually it was kind of the final rehearsal for performance in 19 August.

Then the eating time but we missed the yellow sticky rice:-(( coz we got changed after dancing. But pssst... we had taken the snacks earlier hihihi (they were lemper, risoles and kroket). Overall, everything went well...Defitintely it would be better if we had had sate.. yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh... maybe next year, we'll see.
Terus ada yang kurang...hmm.. yeap! Musik dangdut dan panjat pinang!! hehehe... maybe next year we will have it merrier...

Meeting friends is nice but hanging out with them is nicer:-). You will see that they are great companies and cheerleader team:-) although a bit crazy. upss! I mean, they are nota bit crazy but... totally, completely, 100% CRAZZZYYY:-)!!! These indonesian friends are always ready to cheer you up and make you day like today. You need proof? Check my photo album section for that:-).

First after the celebration is formally done, we had more celebrations in other places:-).
1. The hospoda thing (we spent some time in the nearest garden pub. some had drinks and others had food). Surprisingly, the weather got friendly, nice and sunny. Tia and Mira started taking pictures with Euis and Ican as the victim. (in the end, Tia and Mira also victimized themselves:-)).
Then the idea was launched... why not go to Petrin Hill and take some pictures while laying on the grass and enjoying the sun?

2. episode 2: the Petrin Hill. After long discussion and Asih's saviour-act of bringing some sandals for the girls (twink twink.. come on give us a break, we were from the embassy with kebaya and high heel sandals), we took the funicular and headed to the tower park.

What can we ask more? we had warm and dry grass, we had tranquil atmosphere, we had the sunshine, we had the street musicians with their accordions, and we had lovely girls.
Wait... yes.. we needed one more to make the day's perfect. Great shots of pictures!!!!!!
Hehehe.. so you will see some pictures that we took in turn from my camera. they are so lovely. check out some of my collections...

3. Last scene. Nothing can end the day better than..... ngupi... hihihi.. so we went to the cafe in this Eiffel-like tower and had some coffee, cakes, and sausages. If girls hang out, you will know how our conversations end up, but if girls and boys hang out? it was even better:-). THanks to the boys for lightening up the day and become some objects of our photos.

4. Too bad I had to leave before the sun set coz I would have dinner with my hubby and went for badminton. He made me pizza... thanks so much dear:-), it was tasty. And the night got spicier when we had very laid-back badminton sessions with the boys and continued to the city late at night and shared some stories ( hihihi... thanks boys:-)). But I had to wind it up there.. coz I had to go home, soooo tired and need some sleep.

So in the end, it was a fine day... thanks for the great time to Asih, Euis, Ican and the boy, Irna, Linda and Akang, Mira, Tya and Widya. Dont we all love what we call INDEPENDENCE:-)?

quickly spread, spread quickly

2005-06-23T16:19:00.000+02:00

It's summer time! I already anticipate the heat since almost month ago, days were quite hot sometimes then got chilled and windy again. But definitely, now it's summer. People seem to like it. A summer fashion is created: minimal dress, maximal sunbathing. But I can't stand it. Please no frown...Im serious, Im deadly hot! Although Im from tropical land, this dry and strikingly hot climate is killing me slowly...Especially in our flat. Since we live a bit near to the sky:-) you bet the sun is friendlier to us and not hesitated to come by our windows all the time. Not that we are not in enmity but moderation is always the best.In winter, our flat is warmer than others' houses, and in summer, reality also reveals the relevance. It's hot enough baby to bake something, err... everything!! You can imagine what would dominate our waste produce; drinking bottle s or boxes.

Mentioning produce, summer creates other fashion namely reluctance. Such reluctance that cause people not being friendly, not giving in to other drivers on street, not queuing, not giving seat to others on public transport. My contributions include reluctant to go down to drop my rubbish into the common bin at the ground floor, reluctant to enjoy the sunshine and preferred to walk fast and hide in the shadow. These habits surprisingly spread and become fashion. Alrighty, it was only people around me. Alrighty then, until I start it as followings.

Firstly, my flat's neighbours have followed my bad attitude by resting the waste bag outside the door overnight before throwing them away. You can imagine the smell and potential disease coming out of those waste!!!

Secondly, when I disobey the traffic light for pedestrians, people suddenly also cross the road feeling justified by my misbehave hehehe...

Thirdly, I was not comfortable when older people stand on public transport. Not only do they barely stay steadily and then bump into or step on me but also they squeeze and lean on me. And in summer it will involve lots of sweat, CO2, and NH3 (psst... i mean those fragrance and bad air you know.....), so that's enough. I cheat on my manner and snap youngsters for not giving seat on older people. Sometimes they are shocked coz they dont really know what I mean but sometimes they are ashamed but dont know what to say coz Im foreigner. Usually, after that, many people suddenly have manner and some give seat to older or weak people. Fashion spread.

Forth, romantism increases significantly coz people are happier (please exclude me:-)) and in the mood of hugging and kissing and touching their lovers in public places or transport. When they both wear minimal outfits of course we can see almost all activities involving body exploring. Some people put efforts not to look on vulgar couple, moms will try to hide it from their kids, olders will indignantly look on them, while other like me? will look eagerly, hehehe... OK, you may think that I should behave but what about those who overly make out in public? So I stare at them and sometimes hope for seeing new techniques. Those couples usually not happy of my staring at them but I am reluctant to see or move to other directions coz the metro/tram is packed and we are destined to facing each other hihi...
And after a while, suddenly many people also boldly look at them and enjoy the view because of a pervert like me:-).

Naughty, naughty me! But it's not my fault! It's because of summer! (Yeah, sure:-)). I am reluctant to actively move my body and eyes somewhere else out of their views:-(. Bad things quickly spread, spread quickly indeed.

One month passes...

2005-06-21T09:10:00.000+02:00

We are looking back to 21 May when some thrills developed in the big day preparation.
Facts: Prague was heavily rained, chilly, and gloomy in May.
Result: that saturday was a fine day, totally bright and fine day. Thanks God!

We are looking back to our families' one heart and mind on fulfilling this dream.
Facts: we are bringing with us different culture, past, and expectations baggage.
Result: everyone bigheartedly embraces each other and bound as one family.

We are looking back to our long and painstaking discussions on budget planning, venues, and programme.
Facts: Expenditures should not exceed the treasure:-)
Result: Invaluable supports, amazing gifts and miracles have overtaken our anxiety and compelled us to be grateful!

Having my family visiting and spending time with us was also part of our gratitude. Our official honey moon was splendid! We went out, eat out, and teased each other throughout all journey we made with them. What a precious time catching up days with them.

Then one month passed, all back to routinity and we do not feel huge differences except for my missing out my family. The sun still rise, the night still come, we still snore and disorganized:-). We witness no angels singing in the sky but gloomy days and tough times. Is something wrong?
Nope, everything is right! The world is still evolving, the life resumes. This is life! A real world with realistic life. Getting married may change your life choice and may not. But definitely a realistic choice to resume life. As the priest' saying on our ceremony, Marriage is a hope, a true hope. I married an alive human being! and he also:-). That's why we need to work out our dream and keep on hoping.
I am not sorry for abandoning my single life, hauling this boat trip to a real hope and future, even though we wont change alot, it is a worthy journey....

In short, as inspired by Thomas à Kempis in Imitation of Christ's "Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.", here we share our favourite piece from Susan Schutz to face our real marriage life:

I cannot promise you that I will not change
or that I will not hurt your feelings
or that I will always be strong
or that I will not have many different moods
Or that my faults will not show
But
I do promise that
I will always be supportive of you
I will share my thoughts and feelings with you
I will be completely honest with you
I will give you freedom to be yourself
I will laugh and cry with you
I will help you achieve your goals

But most of all
I do promise you that
I will always (learn) to love you..

Appreciations should be truly given to those who crossed over their comfort zones and financial rationales by supporting our wedding in tremendous way. We salute you!

choose your own superstar and banana

2005-06-15T10:07:00.000+02:00

How many people do you think in this world who do not know Singing Idol contest show and banana? Maybe you ask what connects Idol contest with banana? As some of you may guess, it is what I call the web of global interconnedness, or to put it simply, globalization.
You may like it or not, but one thing we can not control is the global and complex forces which intrigue many countries into world membership club. What I mean is that despite all suspicion and loathness, nations are becoming bound to each other in many aspects of life.
At least two current phenomena in Praha has shown it, people anxiety towards Czech superstar contest and the 31 May seminar on questioning European Union Constitution.
"Czech looks for Superstar" is a licensed program by Fremantle which handles singing contests around the world such as American Idol and Indonesian Idol with World Idol as the final project.
Its procedures, the sms polling as the ultimate voting system, also to mention the hysterical supporters:-), are typical and similar with other countries contests. Cheers and blues sweep the audience and supporters whenever their Idols pass or eliminated. And in the end, of course, someone who is supposed to get major votes (read national support) becomes the winner.
Maybe it is not a special event for you but what interested me was that the winner is not a pure Czech. Alright, please dont regard me as a racist or ethnocentric. What I want to say is that it is a huge improvement in Czech history (for me of course:-)) that a gypsy-Czech is officially a new Czech Superstar. Blood and skin color are not the issues here. What a beautiful day! What a beautiful dream! Someone's destiny can change instantly. Many people struggle to fulfill that dream too. Being famous and rich in such a short time and worldwide known.
But does having worldwide impact improve many lives? Or is that merely a euphoria of equal participation and wide acceptance?for example, what about the life quality of people who live in banana's producing land? as we enjoy the best banana, there are so many local farmers and industries striving for equal competition. As there is no perfect system, this liberal one also brings about some repercussions and questions in terms of the number of benefiters.
Having been concerned with european membership club, President Klaus also hosted a seminar on questioning European Union Constitution. Young people were invited to speak their opinions.
As I recorded the event while Ondra was being one of the speakers, one topic was raised. Czech do not mind the global openness and relations as now they can pick their best banana from all over the world:-) however do not mean that they give in to the rigid european union constitution which overly regulates affairs.
It is a paradox that on one hand people are intrigued to cross their national border, peek on their foreign neighbourhood, and grab their best produce and live happier. While on the other hand they are nervously afraid of being evaluated, invaded by foreign resources and goods, robbed in a way that leave them nothing except their own dignities and the exposure.
So in the end, does the web of interconnectedness give you abundant choices or do you actually trade your abundant choices for the sake of the web? Can you be satisfied with your freedom of choosing the superstar and banana, while your own life and fruit cannot win over the competition leaving you biting your own nails?

afternoon tea and its company

2005-06-14T12:10:00.000+02:00

After a long and tiring day or even dull day, I often crave quality tea break. It doesnt mean that I will only stick to tea, I enjoy other drinks too such as coffee and chocolate. However, since I dont really fancy cold drinks and try as much as possible to moderate my cafein and alcohol intake, so voila.. only some are left, namely tea and chocolate.
Prague is quite pampered by extensive option of tea room and cafe. However, I need to admit that Australia is better in terms of tea'scompany. You can indulge in huge variety of cakes and sweeties to enjoy your afternoon tea. From devil chocolate cake to New York cheese cake, all serve to make your afternoon part of your satisfying epilogue. Boy, I miss those days:-).
However, I religiously visit sweet shops here to enrich my knowledge and assessment and to appreciate the tea break per se:-).
I like to notice the frequenters while sipping my warm drink and dug into my cake. Most are lovers and middle age people.This old group hangs out either to spend their afternoon or have chitchat. Some may meet up with friends, some will sit in the corner alone and look moony. Sometimes, they share the table or merely smile to other aged people simply because they are in the same boat. This kind of batch solidarity also appears on public transport in Prague.
Here are some frequent scenes.

Scene I.
Mr. A, an old, respectable guy with fancy suits and elegant walking stick gets on a tram in a bright yet windy day. The tram is packed but one young guy gives his seat for him. But Mr. A, a respectable man has a noble plan to give it to an old lady who barely stands straight. Then a very rushing old lady grabs the seat and sits nicely and pretends not knowing the situation.
Then the atmosphere becomes awful. All are coldly silent and occasionally stab each other's eyes with killer look. Two elder ladies save the day by giving seats to these old people. Ffuiihh almost!!

Scene II.
Some old people are getting on but the tram is fully packed. The youngsters automatically give seats, however still some are cheeky and do not feel obliged to do that.
Then we can see two groups of these elderly persons:
first one will remain standing and keep their dignities by not begging for seats
the second one will snap on these youngsters and deliberately ask for it and the youngsters will pout and reluctantly stand up hehehe..
What about for aged but not too old people? Seniority prevails mate:-).

Scene III.

Gradually people get off and leave some vacant seats for other not too old but tired matured group. Then Mr B, a very old and poorly groomed man gets on the tram. Mr. A, the gentleman, gives his seat for this guy. At the same time, the lady next to him also stands up and both go and face the other direction of tram. Mr. B then has plenty space for him and his heavy and old bag. I dont know whether he is given seat because people want to avoid sitting close to him or just a matter of honor.

Scene IV
This is the moment when Mr. C gets on the tram. He is a sleek, handsome matured man with a beautiful wooden stick to support him. But he is not old enough to entitle himself the right to request the seat:-). Me, myself, is standing all along too.
Then some old people get off and Mr A and B now can comfortably sit facing each other.
They start to smile and make friendly gestures even though I know they dont know each other. This is maybe some kind of ethical code of old times passengers.
They sometimes seem to struggle to make some conversations but then restrain to cross the border of privacy. But I notice that they secretly evaluate each other's outfit and hair color and walking stick and shoes. Since they are gentlemen, they attempt to do it inconspiciously throughout newspaper reading or dreamily looking to other direction or yawning.
If one happens to be caught by other, they will start awkwardly smiling and nodding to each other and stop watching each other for few minutes and then helplessly do it again:-).

Ups! I have reached my stop. That's my today's afternoon tea and its entertaining company. I bet I will encounter more interesting events. Next time maybe I will review the sweet shop but manana amigo, manana:-).

To my parents...

2005-06-04T16:22:00.000+02:00

Patience has been my lifelong enemy:-). It has tested me so many times, sometimes I won the battle, sometimes I lost, still those lessons have not brought much improvement to my relationship with patience, but when my parents came for my wedding and went around Czech Republic, Patience again played with me and tested my strength:-).

It started on the very first day.The family boarded very late, we had to wait for ages (OK, I exagerrate it:-)) and already felt not comfy waiting so long for them coming out from the imigration while others already were.
Then it continued in the following day, when moderate walk exhausted my parents. I did not realise (or did not want to realise:-)) that they are not as fit as before. Age has consumed them.
Missing the scheduled underground and tram were among those potentials for me to wage war with patience. And the list went on.
HOwever, in the end, I led myself and won the war:-). This forwarding mail contributed to my peace and reminded me of the value of parents for me...

Ma and Pa, I wish you peaceful and enjoyable days. Aku sayang kalian.

KETIKA AKU SUDAH TUA
WHEN I AM OLD NOW

Ketika aku sudah tua, bukan lagi aku yang semula.
WHEN I AM OLD NOW AND NOT WHO I WAS BEFORE
Mengertilah, bersabarlah sedikit terhadap aku.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME AND BE PATIENT WITH ME
Ketika pakaianku terciprat sup,
WHENEVER SOUP BROTH STAINS MY CLOTH

ketika aku lupa bagaimana mengikat sepatu, ingatlah bagaimana dahulu aku mengajarmu.
WHENEVER I FORGET HOW TO TIE MY SHOELACE, REMEMBER WHEN I TAUGHT YOU

Ketika aku berulang-ulang berkata-kata tentang sesuatuyang telah bosan kau dengar, bersabarlah mendengarkan, jangan memutus pembicaraanku.
WHENEVER I REPEAT TELLING SOME STORIES, PLEASE TAKE HEART AND LISTEN

Ketika kau kecil, aku selalu harus mengulang cerita yang telah beribu-ribu
kali kuceritakan agar kau tidur.
WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG, I HAVE TOLD YOU SOME STORIES THOUSAND TIMES SO YOU HAD NICE SLEEPING

Ketika aku memerlukanmu untuk memandikanku, jangan marah padaku.
Ingatkah sewaktu kecil aku harus memakai segala cara
untuk membujukmu mandi?
WHENEVER I NEED YOU TO HELP ME TAKE BATH, PLEASE DONT BE UPSET,
I ALSO TOOK TIME TO PERSUADE YOU, MY LITTLE ONE, TO TAKE BATH

Ketika aku tak paham sedikitpun tentang tehnologi dan hal-hal baru,
jangan mengejekku. Pikirkan bagaimana dahulu aku begitu sabar menjawab
setiap "mengapa" darimu.
WHENEVER I AM DUMB WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY PLEASE DONT SCOLD
REMEMBER WHEN I WAS RELENTLESS ANSWERING ALL YOUR SIMPLE QUESTIONS

Ketika aku tak dapat berjalan, ulurkan tanganmu yang masih kuat untuk
memapahku. Seperti aku memapahmu saat kau belajar berjalan waktu masih kecil.
WHENEVER I BARELY WALK, PLEASE LEND ME YOUR HAND
AS I DID IT TO YOUR SMALL, FRAGILE HAND AS MY BABY CHILD

Ketika aku seketika melupakan pembicaraan kita, berilah aku waktu untuk
mengingat. Sebenarnya bagiku, apa yang dibicarakan tidaklah penting,
asalkan kau disamping mendengarkan, aku sudah sangat puas.
WHENEVER I AM LOST IN OUR CONVERSATION, PLEASE GIVE ME TIME
ABOVE ALL, WHAT MOSTLY MATTERS TO ME IS YOUR PRESENCE

Ketika kau memandang aku yang mulai menua, janganlah berduka.
Mengertilah aku, dukung aku, seperti aku menghadapimu ketika kamu mulai
belajar menjalani kehidupan. Waktu itu aku memberi petunjuk bagaimana
menjalani kehidupan ini, sekarang temani aku menjalankan sisa hidupku.
WHENEVER YOU GLANCE AT MY AGING FIGURE, PLEASE DONT BE TROUBLED
ACCEPT ME, SUPPORT ME JUST LIKE I HAVE DONE TO YOUR LIFE STRUGGLING
NOW ACCOMPANY ME LIVING THE REST OF MY DAYS

Beri aku cintamu dan kesabaran, aku akan memberikan senyum penuh rasa
syukur, dalam senyum ini terdapat cintaku yang tak terhingga untukmu.
GIVE ME YOUR LOVE AND PATIENCE, AND I GIVE YOU MY GRATEFUL SMILE AND LOVE WITHIN

DARI AYAH DAN IBU
FROM DAD AND MOM

story of the day

2005-05-17T11:06:00.000+02:00

IMEL'S DIARY:

Dear Diary, for the last few days, Ondra had been so nervous and absent minded. He was not really paying attention to our discussions on wedding and family's coming details.
He did not seem caring too much about my ideas and feelings.
It had been unusual that he ate little and didnt take time to enjoy his meals. He was often in hurry and a bit rushed in everything.
What made me sad that he went out for few times at night anxiously and came home relaxed and happy. Did he has someone else? he made few sms and calls and chatting that he didnt tell me...

And what made me puzzled, two nights ago, he came home pretty late and looked so happy like in heaven and kissed me and hugged me and asked me to dance...
Did this other person give him a good time? better than me:-((??

ONDRA DIARY

Dear diary,
Now Im so relieved... I am happy and satisfied that Czech hockey team is the champion!! We have beaten those canadians and at last: world championship rests in us... yupeeee!!
I have been so worried about this for the last few days. I thought we couldnt make it.
I contacted few friends and watched the games. Everytime we beat other team, Im happy..coming home with a satisfaction that tomorrow Czech is still playing..
but everytime the next game will be started, Im worried again...so anxious about it...

Imel is not really fond of hockey and I bet if we boys make noise at home and scream and yell during all matches, it will bug her:-)
but why she was confused that I share my happiness coz Czech won? did she forget that tonight is the final? or she is not happy that I havent paid much attention on her and life lately?.. uhh........
_______________________________________________________________

THE MORALE OF THE STORY IS: COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION :-)

a precious letter from Seoul

2005-05-13T12:56:00.000+02:00

As you all know that on May 21, I will abandon my single status and unite with a stranger:-),
this one is a private letter from an old friend who wishes us in an interesting way. I guess it is worthy to share it with you.

Ahoj Imedlo a Ondro *

as this email is addressed to both of you, I decided to write it in
English.
As we are all PolSci majors,I also decided to write it in a language
close to
our minds and hearts.
It was in Australia when we had "a little skirmish" during our
Aussie-tour. At
that time, I truly believed that one day everyone of us will go in
separate
directions,living a life far remote from one another.To my surprise,
a very
positive though I must add, you have kept your coalition alive and
flourishing; moreover,  now you are ready to seal this alliance off
with a
contract that knows no time restriction. I feel that your fight
against me was worthwhile:):):); I am also happy to have been there,
at the very beginning when your views of politics and life began
to converge in such a manner that you could not live withouth each
other anymore. Consequently, i am very unhappy that I won't be able
to wish you good luck on the day when your two individual identities
merge into one big PARTY (the Indonesian-Czech Party of
Friendship, Fun, Love and Children).
Thus, let me tell you from very far away the following:
I wish that your political agenda will always garner many supporters,
I wish that you stay at the top of citizens' popularity,
I wish that you remain faithful and loyal to your believes and
the fundamental ideas of liberalism and socialism:):):), and I wish
that together you can live a happy, healthy and fruitful life.
As a matter of fact, the chances are very high!!!!

All this and more from you comrade in exile in the Far-East,

ivo

* czech's way to call someone's name

SPIRIT OF THE DAY

2005-05-13T12:03:00.000+02:00

Love in our society
Does not work so well
Because so many people
Fall in love with the physical
Then try to accept
What’s inside

When you fall in love
With what’s inside a person
Accepting the physical

(courtesy of Inne Steenhuis)

movies, movies, movies

2005-05-13T11:54:00.000+02:00

watching movies is my sinful pleasure.... I cant get enough of it and I almost have seen all movies, you name it. I will write more about my recent views and experiences here. soon....

for this one, i dont mind globalisation at all:-)

2005-05-13T11:29:00.000+02:00

For some old reasons, I do not support the idea of opening all channel of social and economic interconnectedness by the globalisation machine. However, I should revise a bit. I have been cherishing and praising the globalised know-how as now I can keep in touch with my old and new friends. Do you believe it that I can track and be updated with my old pals in Indonesia from Europe within seconds via f......r ? Do you believe it that I can get advice and support within minutes from friends in Holland in my m......y network? I even can call my mom anytime cheaper from Prague to Jakarta by internet?
not only that, I even can contact my family wherever they are by sms ing them via mobile.
Thanks to people who dedicated their lives for mitigating the humans hard times by improving technology and science. Thanks also to the capitalism which encompasses the spirit of invention and quality and price competitions among traders so that the word monopoly and state-owned unpopular.
(in this case, I think liberalism prevails). I cant imagine if state dominates and arranges which providers or companies can get in to sell high tech products.. In this case, you wont get better price and more options.
I cant also imagine if state screens and censors all media and closes down business foreign traders from capitalist countries. Hence, I could have not imagined if I foolishly lacked behind my friends who already network with many people virtually.

YOu disagree with me? it's OK, that is liberalism. You want to curse me for supporting non socialism form of governance? that's your choice, Im not your dictator:-). btw, how can you read my journal now if it's not because the globalised high tech liberalism:-)?

p.s.: I m not speaking of globalising high tech at extreme level. That will be a different topic.
btw, im still in ecstacy coz I had chit chat with old friends from high school, finally I met them, huurrrrayyyy!!!!!!

COUNTING DAYS TO THE BIG DAY

2005-05-13T09:51:00.000+02:00

Guys, i wanna ask you few things:

1. how do you feel about getting married? opinions may vary
though, but i believe the majority will say that's one of the
most important moment of life, takes lots and lots thoughts
2. how do you feel about getting married abroad? you may
think it depends on the location right? but majority might be
concerned with the issue of local culture and resources
3. how do you feel about deciding to marry a foreigner&moving
to other country?for this, i will leave to multiply friends to answer:-)

I dont know your case guys, but my case was that I jumped right
into no.3 and experienced Prague at first and then straight to no.2
andfinally to no.1. strange? hmm... a bit..

I wanna share something to you. I would have never thought that someday I have to move from my country and marry a foreigner . I love my country and quite satisfied with that. However, when things got serious in campus life in Australia between me and this Czech, it became worthy to consider it.
When we both came home, as we forgot to anticipate, our parents were quite shocked, coz both have their own prejudices and views of foreigners. And I realized, o my goodness, he is a BULE!!! of course when we were in ozzie i didnt really realize the contrast coz it's quite multicultural nation.
But we worked on it and our parents worked on it too.
Im glad that my parents tried to understand and trust him. even to love him, also vice versa.

(break....let me drink coffee first:-))

Then, after view visits to each other's country, we both thought: hmmm.. it's not good to be separate. a healthy relationship requires presence and commitment. Things were considered and by the end I ought to come to Prague to experience and get a grip here.
Adapting to Czechs is not an easy task as they are quite different from other white people.
I also experienced some uneasiness due to my skin color and language in this european-minded and non-english speaking community.
Maybe the history and the culture made them but I would never give up on them. coz no matter what, my fiance is a Czech, a nice and charming Czech indeed, so there must be some nice and warm Czech too. (THIS IS ISSUE NO. 3:-))

Gradually I manage to befriend with as many as Czech I could and surprise surprise... now I have some good friends, really good friends like in Indo to whom I can be myself and share everything.
I believe in proactive actions:
if you never try, you'll never know, if you never give, you'll never receive.this philosophy
I hanged out with them, They shared things and sincerely supported and helped me in hard times. that's why it made us comfortable to try no,. 2: have a wedding here..

(sipping more coffee and munching my tiramisu....)

Getting married in office or official place like church is also a hassle coz as you all know that we need to prepare lots of paper and lots of money (either legal or illegal one:-)). Ffuih!! I have done it. but... wait a minute.... what about the visa? oh no, i had to have the new one as it expired before the real wedding day.
Thanks again to some Czechs who helped and advised us to how to process a new one. My embassy could not do anything coz it's Czech foreign affairs policy.
ffuihhh.... I could breath again..
but then what about the wedding itself? I always wanted a garden party if I got married.
But where? coz it's expensive to have it here, even the wedding party itself is expensive.
Again, my Czech friends helped and some even gave their garden for free for us and not only had they given the place, but also promised to help the preparation and cook.
They are even more excited than me , I supposed. hehehe.
Getting married abroad without your family support is quite daunting as you have to prepare things without their helps and opinions. when you want to make it perfect, you need at least some people who "speak your language" right? who understand your dream and ideas.

I m so touched when these Czech friends even take day off/leave on day before the wedding to help us in shopping and things related to wedding. Having friends who are willing to come to your wedding is already a nice thing. but to have friends who are willing to sacrifice one day of their leave rights is too much for me,.. they are so nice..and surprise surprise.. they are foreigners.. bule!! i told my parents about it and they are glad that even bule want to help me. so there is no more issues of nationality, what is left is : either they are your good friends or not.
that's why im confident to have no. 2 solved in Prague. What makes me even happier is that my family can come (hopefully) to attend the wedding and meet my beloved friends.

But guys, not only that! my friend from Oxford Uni in UK, one from Holland, one from Germany will come too... it's too good to be true. OK, maybe you will say: so what? if they have money, they can come.
Not really guys, even if you have money sometimes you dont have time or leave right to come to a friend's wedding.
Even if you have leave right to come, not many of you want to sacrifice and take one for coming to a friend's wedding. so it's still a honour to me that they want to come.

(finishing my tiramisu and ... hey!!! my coffee is gone, grrrrrr....who drank it!!!!!!!)

Anyway, then no.1 comes. I might not experience convinience as in Indonesia in terms of life, food, job, money, etc..) but definitely Im not longer worried too much of starting new life in Czech Republic. Coz I have my best friend here (my future husband:-)) and other good friends. it's enough for a start. I will let you know soon if I encounter more troubles:-).

p.s.: so if you tell me Czechs or white people are individualistic, I dont buy it. I have some proof that there are also some "human" Czech as well as Australian and there are also some "evil" Indonesian.

GUYS, WOULD YOU ALSO SHARE WITH ME YOUR DAILY LIVES WITH YOUR LOCAL FOREIGNERS AND YOUR WEDDING PREPARATIONS, SO I CAN LEARN FROM YOU ALL? THANKS FOR READING:-)

Never give up life

2005-05-06T08:32:00.000+02:00

Lately, I have been experiencing a minor breakdown, partly due to
my starting new life in Europe. OK, not that awful, but it's quite
miserable for me as I have been acting not like me. 
When life is out of your control , when you deny your own faith that
your God actually control your life, life seems not treat you kindly 
(sorry, if this not the case for non believers:-)).
Well, Im sort of losing grip and huffy all the times and it confused others.

The phases of this condition are:
1.  getting pessimistic and thinking as loser
2   feeling continuous unhappiness and "badluck"
3.  perceiving others' lives better than ours
4.  jealousy
5.  easily offended and being grumpy
6.  self centred and self pity
7.  creating high expectations towards others.
8.  losing life spirit and feeling emptiness
9.  creating halucinations and evil thoughts
10. planning a murder and hurting your beloved ones
11. experiencing deeper sorrow and regret
12. incredibly losing your senses and heart
13. deciding to end your life
14. someone finds your diary and makes movie out of that
15. someone else earns fortune from your life story and your family
still suffer from your leaving and shameful acts.

Horror isnt it:-)?  Luckily I have only reached level 8
and in the process of manipulating the rest:-).

What I want to share is that in the midst of my struggling, a good friend
sent me this story of the day, which encourages me over and over again.

Life is about efforts,never ending one.Wthout struggles,life isnt worth a living. 


"At the age of seven, a young boy and his family were forced out of
their home. The boy had to work to support his family.
 At the age of nine, his mother passed away. When he grew up,
the young man was keen to go to law school, but had no education.
At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk.
At 23, he ran for state legislature and lost.
The same year, he went into business. It failed, leaving him with
a debt that took him 17 years to repay.
At 27, he had a nervous breakdown.
Two years later, he tried for the post of speaker in his state legislature.
He lost.
At 31, he was defeated in his attempt to become an elector.
By 35, he had been defeated twice while running for Congress.
Finally, he did manage to secure a brief term in Congress,
but at 39 he lost his re-election bid.
At 41, his four-year-old son died.
At 42, he was rejected as a prospective land officer.
At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost.
Two years later, he
lost the vice presidential nomination.
 At 49, he ran for Senate and lost again.
At 51, he was elected the President of the United States of America.
The man in question: Abraham Lincoln."

(courtesy of Yudith M Boroh)

Remember honey?

2005-05-04T12:33:00.000+02:00

DO YOU REMEMBER, the first time we met we argued whether committing one's life to someone is worthy or not and since then often argued on all things?
DO YOU REMEMBER that I had wrong impression about you when you were being simply honest to me?
DO YOU REMEMBER that we always met in campus' computer lab and got "bored" of each other but always missed if one wasnt there?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you desperately thought you couldnt understand Asian woman, or even woman?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you were the nice guy in building D who always shared his food with people, especially throughout long and tiring day in computer lab?
DO YOU REMEMBER I said that you have taken me to fabulous trips which have made my staying in the Down Under interesting and memorable?
DO YOU REMEMBER that we both fell in love with each other definitely not at the first sight:-)?
DO YOU REMEMBER that we had often failed making our outdoor trip together but at least one has destined our lives since?
DO YOU REMEMBER that in the Island of sand, I started to trust you as a very good friend and felt comfortable near you?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you said an indicator of true soulmates is comfortable silent togetherness?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you said that I am the one:-)?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you were my gentleman in all trip we've been by treating me like princess?
DO YOU REMEMBER that we used to spend time by the riverbank, saw ferry passing by and stars glowing?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you gently asked me whether you could embrace me after few dates (and I was surprised of your politeness, even though i believed you desperately wanna kiss me:-))?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you patiently massaged my tired feet after my badminton play?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you held and warmed my hands everytime they turned to cold as always?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you "motherly" took care of my dried lips and face with your magic Bolivian cream?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you believed that you love me when u were on Sydney's highest tower and promised your heart to me?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you always had suprised me with your unsual gifts?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you brought me honey all the way from New Zealand just because you said that I am your honey?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you hugged me so tight at the airport and promised me that we will meet again and be together forever, no matter what, no matter when (all that cliche thing which is not that cliche at all)?
DO YOU REMEMBER that you have taught me about facing my own demons, persevering other's weaknesses, and cherishing good and awful moments?
DO YOU REMEMBER proposing me in the high church tower because you thought that was a romantic place?
DO YOU REMEMBER that we have never refrained from debating as well as we have never refrained from loving and accepting each other?

and the list goes on......

HERE WE ARE IN THE SAME PLACE AND WILL BE IN THE SAME "LOVE BOAT" TOGETHER SINCE 21 MAY. YOUR LOVE HAVE NOT FAILED (hopefully not:-))

I ALMOST FORGET ALL THESE THINGS AND SELDOM APPRECIATE YOU ANYMORE FOR YOUR KINDNESS
I ONLY WANNA SAY : GOOD LORD! I CANT ASK MORE. I HAVE YOU.

TREE, LEAF, AND WIND

2005-04-29T09:37:00.000+02:00

"Jika Kau menginginkan cinta dari seseorang, tunjukkan cintamu.

Cinta tidak membutuhkan keraguan, Tunjukkan saja !!

POHON

Alasan mengapa orang2 memanggilku "Pohon" karena aku sangat baik dalam menggambar pohon. Setelah itu, aku selalu menggunakan gambar pohon pada sisi kanan sebagai trademark pada semua lukisanku. Aku telah berpacaran sebanyak 5 orang wanita ketika aku masih di SMA. Ada satu wanita yang aku sangat aku cintai, tapi aku tidak punya keberanian untuk mengatakannya.

Dia tidak memiliki wajah yang cantik, tubuh yang sexy, dsb, dia sangat peduli dengan orang lain dan religius tapi dia hanya wanita biasa saja.

Aku menyukainya, sangat menyukainya, menyukai gayanya yang innocent dan apa adanya, kemandiriannya, aku menyukai kepandaiannya dan kekuatannya.

Alasan aku tidak mengajaknya kencan karena aku merasa dia yang sangat biasa dan tidak serasi untukku. Aku juga takut, jika kami bersama semua perasaan yang indah ini akan hilang. Aku juga takut kalau gosip2 yang ada akan menyakitinya. Aku merasa dia adalah "sahabatku" dan aku akan memilikinya tiada batasnya dan aku tidak harus memberikan semuanya hanya untuk dia.

Alasan yang terakhir, membuat dia menemaniku dalam berbagai pergumulan selama 3 tahun ini. Dia tau aku mengejar gadis2 lain, dan aku telah membuatnya menangis selama 3 tahun.

Ketika aku mencium pacarku yan kedua, dan terlihat olehnya. Dia hanya tersenyum dengan berwajah merah dan berkata "lanjutkan saja" dan setelah itu pergi meninggalkan kami. Esoknya, matanya bengkak ..

dan merah.

Aku sengaja tidak mau memikirkan apa yang ,menyebabkannya menangis, but aku tertawa dengannya seharian. Ketika semuanya telah pulang, dia sendirian di kelas untuk menangis. Dia tidak tau bahwa aku kembali dari latihan sepakbola untuk mengambil sesuatu di kelas, dan aku melihatnya menangis selama sejam-an.

Pacarku yang ke-4 tidak menyukainya. Pernah sekali mereka berdua perang dingin, aku tau bukan sifatnya untuk memulai perang dingin. Tapi aku masih tetap bersama pacarku. Aku berteriak padanya dan matanya penuh dengan air mata sedih dan kaget. Aku tidak memikirkan perasaannya dan pergi meninggalkannya bersama pacarku. Esoknya masih tertawa dan bercanda denganku seperti tidak ada yang terjadi sebelumnya.

Aku tau bahwa dia sangat sedih dan kecewa tapi dia tidak tau bahwa sakit hatiku sama buruknya dengan dia, aku juga sedih.

Ketika aku putus dengan pacarku yang ke 5, aku mengajaknya pergi. Setelah kencan satu hari itu, aku mengatakan bahwa ada sesuatu yang ingin kukatakan padanya. Dia mengatakan bahwa kebetulan sekali bahwa dia juga ada sesuatu yang ingi dia katakan pada ku.

Aku cerita padanya tentang putusnya aku dengan pacarku dan dia berkata tentang dia sedang memulai suatu hubungan dengan seseorang. Aku tau pria itu. Dia sering mengejarnya selama ini. Pria yang baik, penuh energi dan menarik.

Aku tak bisa memperlihatkan betapa sakit hatinya aku, tapi hanya bisa tersenyum dan mengucapkan selamat padanya. Ketika aku sampai di rumah, sakit hatiku bertambah kuat dan aku tidak dapat menahannya. Seperti ada batu yang sangat berat didadaku. Aku tak bisa bernapas dan ingin berteriak namun tidak bisa.

Air mata mengalir dan aku jatuh menangis. Sudah sering aku melihatnya menangis untuk pria yang mengacuhkan kehadirannya. Ketika upacara kelulusan, aku membaca SMS di Handphoneku. SMS itu dikirim 10 hari yang lalu ketika aku sedih dan menangis.

SMS itu berbunyi, "Daun terbang karena Angin bertiup atau karena Pohon tidak memintanya untuk tinggal ?".

DAUN

Selama SMA, aku suka mengoleksi daun2, kenapa? Karena aku merasa bahwa daun untuk meninggalkan pohon yang selama ini ditinggali selama ini membutuhkan banyak kekuatan.

Selama 3 thn di SMA, aku dekat dengan seorang pria, bukan sebagai pacar tapi "Sahabat". Tapi ketika dia mempunyai pacar untuk yang pertama kalinya, Aku mempelajari sebuah perasaan yang belum pernah aku pelajari sebelumnya - CEMBURU. Perasaan di hati ini tidak bisa digambarkan dengan menggunakan Lemon. Hal itu seperti 100 butir lemon busuk. Mereka hanya bersama selama 2 bulan. Ketika mereka putus, aku menyembunyikan perasaan yang luar biasa gembiranya.

Tapi sebulan kemudian dia bersama seorang gadis lagi.

Aku menyukainya dan aku tau bahwa dia juga menyukaiku, but mengapa dia tidak mau mengatakannya? Sejak dia mencintaiku, mengapa dia tidak yang memulainya dulu untuk melangkah?

Ketika dia punya pacar baru lagi, hatiku selalu sakit.

Waktu berjalan dan berjalan, hatiku sakit.

Aku mulai mengira bahwa ini adalah cinta yang bertepuk sebelah tangan, tapi mengapa dia memperlakukanku dengan sangat baik diluar perlakuannya hanya untuk seorang teman?

Persevere and be peaceful

2005-04-13T08:28:00.000+02:00

I've found serenity from below piece of thoughts. I wanna share it with you:

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind any way.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone may destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is all between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
(Mother Teresa, Calcutta)

Wedding

2005-04-12T11:41:00.000+02:00

email signature/+1/1" alt="Daisypath Ticker" border="0" / />

PASS OVER: GOD'S SACRIFICE FOR HUMAN'S DELIVERANCE

2005-03-28T17:39:00.000+02:00

Easter Day by Oscar Wilde

The silver trumpets rang across the Dome:
The people knelt upon the ground with awe:
And borne upon the necks of men I saw,
Like some great God, the Holy Lord of Rome.
Priest-like, he wore a robe more white than foam,
And, king-like, swathed himself in royal red,
Three crowns of gold rose high upon his head:
In splendour and in light the Pope passed home.
My heart stole back across wide wastes of years
To One who wandered by a lonely sea,
And sought in vain for any place of rest:
'Foxes have holes, and every bird its nest.
I, only I, must wander wearily,
And bruise my feet, and drink wine salt with tears.'

(COURTESY OF SARMAULI)

Son of God became Son of Man so that sons of men become sons of God

HAPPY EASTER, SELAMAT PASKAH, GOD PAASKE, VROLIJK PASEN, MALIGAYANG PASKO NG PAGKABUHAY, VESELE VELIKONOCE.

Imelda's newly revealed identity: an outdoor girl and skier!

2005-03-23T21:32:00.000+01:00

Maybe back home in Indonesia people will not believe, but Imelda has a great talent for skiing and outdoor activities. It only needs to be given a slight chance:-)

Imel in outdoor outfit

Cute small goat we saw on the way

Okay, show me the snow!

Watch oooooooout!!!

Dobrou Chut' (Bon Appetite)

2005-03-22T10:39:00.000+01:00

"Can I have the vegetarian menu please"
" Here you are "

Vegetarian
Slovak sheep cheese dumplings with bacon 80,-
Slovak dumplings with cabbage and bacon 60,-
Fried mushrooms, boiled potatoes, tartar sauce 90,-
Brinza patties 130,-
Apricot dumplings with quark and whipped cream 90,- ˇ

"Whaaatt?? there is bacon here?"
"Hmm... so you dont eat meat? at all?"

That's what might happen to my vegetarian friend. She cant really find peace. A "normal" vegetarian meal becomes a hard adventure. And somehow being a vegetarian is an "abnormality". I am afraid that vegetarians and pork-restricted eaters will face hard times here coz it seems everything involves meat, meat, and meat while pork is the main contributor:-). Although I hate to say that .. bacon and its "colleagues" are such gifts from "heaven" hehe...darn!!! so yummy..

Anyway, it still worths to state that food and Czech are the right combination- such a good chemistry:-). the meals include scrumptious bramborak (yummy potato pancake), eye popping souvicka and stuffed dumpling and mouthwatering pizza..
oh yes, mate. Czech pizza is broadly famous and becomes trademark in Europe...
You can find tasty food from nice and cheap jidelna (kantin) to a classy and romantic restaurace (restaurant) everywhere.

But chinese food and czech? Ne... it's nightmare!!!! Finding a decent chinese food in Czech Rep? What a mission impossible... suspicions vary from the incompetent chinese cook, the scarcity of the materials, to modified Chinese food due to an awfully different taste belong to Czech.
and somehow I believe the latter one:-).

nevertheless:-), mission is unaccomplished... searching the precious eastern magic food and other ever-growing international food in Czech are unending tasks which I have gladly taken, my lord....

Mluvit Cesky?

2005-03-21T19:50:00.000+01:00

Mr. See owned a saw
and Mr. Soar owned a seesaw
now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw
Before Soar saw See,
which made Soar sore,
Had Soar seen See's saw before See sawed Soar's seesaw,
See's saw would not have sawed Soar's seesaw
so See saw Soar's seesaw
but it was sad to see Soar so sore
Just because See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw!

What a mess.. I thought English would be the only thing I needed to learn to tune in with the HBO, then I started learning Spanish, .... but never really developed, coz all telenovela in Indonesia is dubbed, hihi.. And here I am in Praha, my heart tried to manipulate my mind that Czech is one of the most intricate and not human friendly language in the world...besides Russian (sorry kamerad:-))
I always believe that language is the threshold of one's culture... so many interesting things in Czech's lifestyles and mindsets which intrigue you to know them more...
the old histories, the reformation process, the family-bound people, the exclusivity ...

But It is just sooo...hard to master it, dont know yet, till when I will be one's speaker.
Psst..SOme said that: the more difficult the language is, the more intelligent the nation is,
but some also said: the more complicated verbal expression is, the less developed the people are ?????

guys, také my advice: you better learn the language if being a Praguer occurs to your mind. coz english is not wellspread and even the TV and cinemas dubbed almost all program... Ouch...what a pain...POMOC..POMOC...(help..help..)

Prosim??? (Phlleeaassee...)

2005-03-21T19:34:00.000+01:00

Human Reaction is an interesting thing to research..
from oldies Candid Camera to new reality shows such as Big Brother, humans always love to observe other humans...
But what if you become the object of observation? It's been few months now I am in Praha but the feelings of being overly stared is still sticking ....I am not saying that I am extraordinarily beautiful or strikingly tall and sexy (although I dont mind, hihi) but being in packed metro and cramped tram and being stared give you strange thrill. You dont know how to react and dont know how not to react...
SOme looks are completely outrageous!!! Without any manner, these so-called cultured Europeans (:-)) glue their eyes on me without any friendly expressions for ages. PROSIM?? This belongs to middle up level and middle aged honorable people. Some looks pose no expressions at all.. sort of in a long pause and gives you no clue or whatsoever about what do they have in mind. This one belongs to old people. They might not frequent Asian visitors lately and they are amazed of how Asians turn to sophisticated, charming people... hehehe...
Last but not the least, some looks that you recognise as....nothing-but- coincidence-I-glance-toward-you, hahaha...

Dobry Den!

2005-03-21T18:32:00.000+01:00

Dobry Den! (Good day),

is a keyword which will take you anywhere and join the public sphere in Praha.. By Dobry Den, I earn not only very bright smile but also hate-to-see-you-mate-better-dissapear-from-my-face-you-stranger stare:-).
Speaking as a stranger, strolling around Praha in winter... I am totally lost, completely like a stranger...(hey, come on, you are a stranger:-)).
Remember " Lost in Translation"? Somehow I feel in that zone. All impression materializes in Loving and Hating Praha at the same time...From The freezing air in metro tunnel and the artificial warmth of touristic Vaclavske Namesti to the gorgeous, silent Old Town and Mala Strana and the bugging locals' indifferences, all just creates curiosity, what's up with you Praha? and what's up with you?

One hope: I can be lost again in Praha but experience a hezky dobry den (great good day) :-)

Praha here i come!

2005-03-07T20:44:00.000+01:00

I am leaving on a jet plane, dont know when I'll be back again...
Hmm.. not quite true yet I was flying from Jakarta via Singapore and transit at Schiphol in early 2005 in order to start a brand new life, i supposed.. that song and memories back home "haunted" me throughout my journey to Czech Rep. I dont know whether I will make it or not here... or whether I would regret it whole my life... I guess nobody knows... together with other expats in Czech Rep, I am about to kick in and get some air... air of freedom and change...
Praha can you afford me? or vice versa:-)?
"Have you finished with this bread roll? Cofee or tea?" The stewardess' question brought me back to reality... On the plane, passing the Schengen countries' areas, I was reconfirming that life gives you options... in either timely or untimely moments. All you have to do is pick one or some or even nothing sometime. I surrender myself to one option only... for the sake of old times and future ones - be with him, mi corazon.

Stepping back at Ruzyne airport in winter 2005. It was sort of a deja vu... Last year, exactly here a breath-taking farewell took place, now a heart capturing moment is about to happen... meeting the love of my life again... i wonder why sorrow and happiness are always siblings.

The highlight of almost 20 hr flight was paid completely... embracing him again was the best breakfast for my first morning in Praha. Winter brightness seemed to engulf us with its paradoxical nature... sparkly shining yet coldly stabbing your bones with its merciless wind.

Life itself is a grand paradox...