Winter Holiday

Now, in Japan we have a winter break for 2 weeks long. It'll be starting from tomorrow until January 6^th. I really don't have any idea about this holiday. I have planned before but I think it's kind of failed because nobody wants to go. The reason is only one; everybody who stays in apartment in winter holiday doesn't have much money to spend. Yeah it's like me also. I don't have cash now, it's sad and craps!

But ok, I'll make another plan for my crappy holiday. First, I'll do all my assignments and papers. Then, I'll cycle around like usually I do in Japan when I don't have cash to spend on weekend. After that, I'll start to organize all my photos which I took in Japan, maybe make some edit here and there with Photoshop. After that, upload it to face book and Friendster. Then, surfing in the internet to get some new downloads. And if my holiday is really crappy, I'll buy one day pass ticket at Nakamozu station and tour around Osaka once again with that ticket and without any intention to go somewhere. So, I'll call it "wherever your feet want to walk" tour. Hope I can find my favorite spot in that tour and I also hope the weather is not like now. I hope there's a day with more than 10 degree cold. So I won't be freezing. Hope it'll working fine now.

Keep that whole your life and never forget it!

It was another great weekend in Japan. I, once again, met with a great person here.

I was at Kobe, it's a bright sunny day and very cold, this trip was one of my host family's plans. There in Kobe, I met one of their friends from German. Yes, she's the great person I have mentioned before. Her name is Barbara. She is Germany and has been lived in Japan for 28 years long.

We were getting close in a short time. We did hiking together at Kobe Mountain which called Nunobiki area. There's a beautiful herb garden at the top of the mountain. I really enjoyed my time with her. We were talking a lot of things. Then, she told me about New Year ceremony in Japan, after that she asked me "Do you celebrate New Year in special way?" And I gave her answer, "No. Nothing special for New Year but I do have something special in Chinese New Year." And after that, of course she asked me what I usually do on that day. I told her everything I do and my family does on that day. She looks interested in my stories and keeps asking until she found the root of my family. After she knew that, she understood the reason and leaves me a special word. "Please keep that culture whole your life. It's your culture, it's your blood, and it makes you unique. So never forget it, you have to learn that culture more and pass it through generations." I didn't know why, but I felt amazed with her word and reply her suddenly, "Yes. I will."

It's like I have made a promise with her.

After that I felt cherished and happy. Her words like want to say you are interesting because you are different. I really like someone who think to be different is beautiful.

Thanks to you Barbara and of course my host family who met us up.

Kimi no Yume wa nan desu ka?

What's your dream?

That was a question asked by my Japanese friend. I was very surprised that time. Nobody asked me that question before. And when somebody asked me, I have no answer….

Oohh…what a shame! I even can't answer the question about myself. I felt very terrible that time.

Now, I'm thinking "what's my dream? Are there something that I aim for?", and I just realized that I never asked that question to myself. I don't have any target; I don't have any plan even it for myself. I also realized that I never be serious to everything I do because I don't have any specific goal. All my goals were short term goal only. Now, I'm thinking…. What will I do for my own future? What should I do to get it?

I should copy the Japanese that set their future and struggle to get it.

It's another note for me...(Thanks to Atsumi Komatsubara who asked me this question)

Exp. Increase!

Living in another country for some time can make me experience lots of things, bad and good. There are no countries that too good or too bad. Really! Now, I'll tell some good things to live in foreign country as foreigners.

1. New World

Of course! You'll experience a completely different world in foreign country because they have their own culture or language or habits. When I came here to Japan for the first time I wore 'honeymoon glasses' to saw everything. They call it honeymoon phase. It means, everything look so good in your eyes, nothing is bad in your eyes. Why? Because you have an image before you come and when you arrive to see that country, you only think the good things and in your imagination there's only good and great. I also have the same feeling when I came here for the first time ^^v.

2. Networking

An opportunity to study abroad is networking. It's very important. When you study abroad you will have different friends. Plus, I live in an international campus community. There are a lot of foreign student from different countries. It's an advantage to make a networking for your future life. Someday after graduated, I'll work (of course), and when I founded my own company (good dream eh?) or when I want to do something internationally, I can use this network to help me. So, I should make a good relationship with them within these 6 months. It's not a bad idea, isn't it?

3. Wider perspective

When you learn something new and experience that by yourself, you'll get a wider perspective to see something than others. It's like using wide angle lens in a camera. With that lens you can see lots of thing in your picture. For me, the perspective that I get is culture. Every single person here has a unique perspective and characteristics. Their cultures shape their perspective to see a case. Even from the same country but if they live in a different side, they'll have a different perspective too.

4. Add more culture to your life!

Yes! When we live in foreign country we will found some good things that maybe we already know. For example, before I came here I already knew that Japan separate their trash. What's the reason behind that? It's for environment itself. So because of this system, Japan never facing a crisis with trashes. Another one, don't make other people do something that you can do by yourself! It's 21^st century dude! We should stop slavery in this century! If you eat in a food corner or school cafeteria, you should not leave your trash on the table. Throw the waste to trash bin and bring the dirt plates to its place. Addition for my university top staff! Don't make a delivery call to the cafeteria! You can walk there and buy your own foods! You still have legs! So don't make cafeteria staff deliver your food to your room! We should stop this kind of slavery in our environment. Don't spoil your body too much!

5. Respect

We should respect one each other. Don't make yourself superior! Here, we always greet one and each other. There are no rules that say you must greet your senior but it'll be nice to greet them. It also mean, senior don't wait somebody young greet you first. You also can greet them first, it's not weird eh? In our university or in our life, we do greeting very rare. Why? Are Indonesians not friendly? So, let's change our habit. If there is a good habit, why we not add them to our life? It's also the reason why Japan still has a strong culture power. They never forget their culture; they just add new culture to their culture, interesting isn't it?

 

Last thing, I just want to write a sentence that sound good when I went shopping last week. "Someone who never fail, never try something new!"

Ah, plus one word again that I saw in a bench. "Impossible is nothing!"

Distance could make everything ordinary become precious...

5 ordinary things when I was in Indonesia and now it become precious for me:

1. Family

Before:

When I miss them, I could simply pick up my phone and call them. After that I'll rather cherished even I'm not meet them directly (because I think I can meet them anytime I want).

Now:

Even I could simply call them like before, there's still something different. The difference is the distance. I can hear their voice but I don't think I can meet them everytime I want because of the distance. Even they often call me...yet I still feel lonely.

2. Friends (In Indonesia of course)

Before:

I never think about the failed plan with them before because I just simply think, If we can't do that think together rite now we still have another day to do that plan.

Now:

I even can't make a plan to have fun together with them. I can't talk freely, I can't do every usual (or maybe silly) things that we did before, I also lost our lunch time. Again, it's because of the distance.

I do have lots of friends here, but the atmosphere is totally different. We aren't share the same perspective or language. Our humor is completely different. Sometime I can't understand them very well. We have a really different culture (sometime it's not bad though). Because of that, I can't really express the "real" I and it's kinda frustrating in some ways and time.

3. Foods

Before:

I really really like Japanese food, Chinese food, and Western food.

Now:

I miss Indonesian traditional foods very much. It's a pity for me because before I came here to Japan, I always thought that I won't miss that food because I ate it very rarely. But the reality now says something different.

4. Lunch and Dinner Time

Before:

I considered my lunch time everyday just like an ordinary thing that I'll repeat it every single day.

Now:

I miss the lunch time both with family and with friends. I usually talk lots of things while eating my lunch. Now, I always have a very silent lunch and dinner time.

5. My room

Before:

Someone always disturb me when I was in my room. Sometime I want to shout at them "Can you give me a privacy when I'm in my room!?"

Now:

My room consist only me myself and 4 walls plus 1 roof. Finally, I get my privacy but now it doesn't make me feel happy. I miss the sounds when someone knock on my door or shout my name from outside to call me.

Because of distance, now I feel a lil bit shocked. Even a small occasion that I always repeat every day before, now become a worth thing that I can't get by all means. It becomes precious… very precious…. The distance really can change every single things in my life.

浦島太郎―PART ６

太郎には、もう、うちがありません。お母さんもいません。太郎には、もう、何もありません．．．。

あ、ありませ。ひとつだけありました。箱があります。あのきれいな箱です。乙姫さまもらいました。

―――――箱の中は何でしょう？―――――

太郎は箱をあけました。

「わーっ！」

けむりです。

中から白けむりができました。太郎は、もう、わかくありません。白い髪のおじさんです。

 

それから、太郎はどこへいきましたか？

それは、だれもわかりません。

―FINISH―

浦島太郎―PART ５

「乙姫さま、ありがとうございました。さようなら。」

「さようなら」

太郎は亀にのりました。

 

太郎のうちのちかくです。太郎は亀からおりました。そして、言いました。

「亀さん、どうもありがとう。さようなら」

「さようなら」

亀は竜宮城にかえりました。

太郎は、うちのほうへいきました。でも、うちがありません。

「あれ？私のうちがありません」

太郎は、ちかくの人にききました。

「私のうちがありません。私の母もいません。私のうちはどこですか。母はどこですか。」

その人は言いました。

「わかりません。百年まえ、ここにうちがありました。でも、今はありません。」

太郎は言いました。

「えっ、百年まえ？．．．私は百年も竜宮城．．．。」