The Past and The Upcoming

"Bye 2010, Thank you for all the good stuff!"

2010 has been incredible. Many good and bad things happened. Started in January when I met this acquaintance from England-Vicky Moore. She spent January in my place as a school guess. I kept her company for the whole month, including the journey to Mount Bromo, Jogjakarta, and some other great places. So glad I make one extraordinary friendship this year.

I'm back to the studio after a while. I have always loved the broadcasting world. I used to have my very own radio show at Pro 2 FM Jember along with a friend of mine. When I left the city I guess it was one of those things I miss so much. Now I've got the chance to do it all over again. It is way so fun.
I've got two classes to teach at school started in July 2010 which is great. I could explore more and more teaching techniques and of course my teaching skill. I love when my pupils love my class. It makes me so proud of what kind of teacher I am.

I've finished three mini documentary videos for our school project. I wrote the script, helped the players read their lines, directed the scenes. So it was like 80% my work. If only I could do the camera thing, I would probably be the cameraman as well :-)

My favourite moto GP rider, Jorge Lorenzo made The 2010 World Champion. I was ecstatic. He is young, talented and a very smart rider. The best of it is he is gorgeous!! LOL. Other wise, my favourite F1 driver, Fernando Alonso didn't make it. He ended the championship finishing second. Sebastian Vettel beat him by four points at the end of the season. I was a bit upset, but we still have next season.
I did a couple of hosting at the school events such as speech contest and the fire-camp. Really a challenge for me as it has been a while since I last hosted. A bit awkward for the first couples of minutes, but I finally hit it. Public speaking really isn't that hard after all.

I spent the last couples of days in 2010 supporting our national football team which was competing against the other teams in the AFF Cup-kind of the world cup for South east Asia countries. We did perfectly in the preliminary round-three wins out of three matches, did perfectly again in the semifinal-we beat Philippine twice by two goals, BUT unfortunately we lost in the final which was really disappointing. Those Malaysian beat us by two goals-4:2. I guess all Indonesian was upset but I could see how supportive they are. We still love Firman Utina and friends whatsoever and this so called motto-Garuda Di Dadaku is really famous.
Now at the end of 2010, there are quite many on my mind. I badly want to take my master degree next year. I guess this would be my major new year resolution. Hopefully I will start the new term in September 2011. Fingers crossed!

Happy New Year everybody! Have a super duper 2011!

One of A Kind

It was really heartbreaking when I saw her cry the other day. She hugged me as if she would never let me go. As I told her all the things I expected her to achieve in the future, the tear could not stop dropping. I was surprised at how much I love that little girl whom I’ve known only for a year. It was like giving away your own little sister.

Last night I received a text message from the little girl’s mum. She said she had heard her daughter made a wish-a wish to be able to turn back time to my birthday. She must miss me. And so we made this plan to give her a little surprise.

I woke up very early this morning, around 4. I had decided to go to the little girl’s house and shock her by my showing up. It took me about an hour to reach the house. And there she was having her breakfast. I can’t tell how happy I was to see her smile. Then we talked and talked. I knew straight away how sincere her love for me, her English teacher. And I knew exactly that I feel the same.

To ADA,Thank you so much for being so nice and sweet. I know you're going to find a lot more happiness in your new place. Fingers crossed! I love you, little girl! xxx

Good Saturday

Thank God it's Saturday!

It feels like ages since the last time I woke up on Saturday without having to take a bath at once and get ready for school. Normally I should teach the conversation club and be at the radio club afterward, but today is totally off!

The kids have just finished their final tests and soon will get the report on December 23. Then comes the holiday. Everybody is excited about it, so am I. It means I am going to have a week to totally function my "me time".

It's the off-Saturday and I think I should read the whole day. I have two books in my book shelf which I haven't touched at all. It would be really good to just lie down and finish them.

And I guess I am also too excited to close my eyes. I haven't been in good sleep for couples of nights which is a bit annoying. Now that I have the chance, I will absolutely just do. Great to be at home on Saturday for once.

And Yet...

These are from my best friend, Vida. Thank you dear. You have been such a reliable and a kind companion-someone whom I find very very interesting to talk to almost about everything! We should be like this forever. By the way, it's your birthday tomorrow. I think it is so funny that we were born in the same month though on different date-10 and 13 and year-don't want to say it out loud as I am much older than you are hahaha.

Birthday Presents.... ^_^

"It is so very lovely to know how much my pupils enjoy having me as their teacher!"


Kids can be like monsters, but they can be very sweet sometimes! Indeed I find my pupils in ABC very nice and sweet. After all that surprise thing on my birthday, they got me these lovely presents-some of which is hand-made.


I don't know what to say anymore. I just think this has been really amazing.

Thank you again.

Thank You

Doa yang tulus ikhlas dari murid-muridku...
Terima kasih!

doesn't necessarily buy a birthday cake to celebrate..

"Finally it's 26-can't believe I have lived on this earth that long. There are so many things I have been through, good and bad. But it is the future that matters most now. I am so glad and grateful for everything I've got in my life, but of course I would like to achieve a lot more different things in the future."

10 Desember 2010: The Best Birthday I've Ever Had

Jam menunjukkan tepat pukul 10:30 WIB, saatnya anak-anak pulang sekolah. Akupun bergegas menuju ruang guru karena harus segera memindah nilai review murid kelas 3. Tidak lama, Ada dan Ajeng (muridku di kelas 4) masuk, mereka bilang harus menutup mataku karena mereka memepersiapkan "sesuatu". Merekapun menutup mataku dengan hasduk.

Dengan bantuan Ada aku pun dipandu keluar ruangan menuju halaman belakang sekolah. Rasa penasaran seketika muncul dan meluap. Sesampainya di tempat tujuan, aku didudukkan di sebuah bangku. Dalam hitungan ketiga, Ada melepas ikatan dimataku. Dan....

Didepanku sudah berbaris rapi anak-anak dari kelas 4 dengan menyanyikan lagu Selamat Ulang Tahun". Dan disebelahku sudah tersedia sebuah kue tart coklat beserta kado-kado yang sudah terbungkus rapi, diantaranya adalah sebuah boneka Teddy Bear yang besar sekali. Tapi yang paling membuatku terharu adalah ketika murid-murid itu menyanyikan lagu Hymne Guru. Bener-bener merasa bangga menjadi seoarang pengajar.

Setelah itu mereka memintaku memotong kue dan kitapun makan bersama dan dilanjutkan dengan acara membuka kado. Sungguh benar-benar momen yang tidak akan pernah terlupakan.

Terima kasihku buat Windy, Ada, Putri, Ajeng, Vio, Ilma, Dede, Hendy, Divan, Sanca, Maria, Tiara dan Daffa yang sudah dengan sangat sempurna menciptakan momen ulang tahun yang sempurna. Terima kasih buat Raras, Yolanda, Rara, Fany, Ifa, dan Syeva di grade five. Terima kasih juga buat Niken, Ayu, Popy, Elyn, Prananda, Raihan dan Daffa SP yang sudah menghiasi duniaku dengan canda tawanya, serta buat semua murid-muridku yang menyayangiku. I LOVE YOU ALL, KIDS!

The Kids Overseas...

Here is one out of loads of letters from our pen pals in England.

Punya sahabat pena dari luar negeri saat masih duduk di bangku sekolah dasar?? WOW..must be exciting! I wish I had had the chance. Itulah keuntungan jadi anak jaman sekarang. Banyak kesempatan yang bisa didapat dengan mudah.

Gambar diatas adalah salah satu surat yang ditujukan untuk muridku oleh salah seorang murid di Hardwick Middle School, England-sister school sekolah kami. Surat menyurat ini sangat bagus sebagai ajang belajar bahasa Inggris dan tentunya membuka wawasan anak tentang negeri lain.

Love letter from some good looking guys in England? Hmm..gonna be A LOT exciting! LOL!

Her Name is Vicky

Both Vicky and me love reading!

January 2010 was incredible! We had this special guest from England at school. She spent three weeks in Pandaan and stayed in a villa provided by our head teacher. I found out that we were just at the same age-25 at that time. I kept her company almost every night. We talked about music, films, books and even boyfriends. We share a lot in common making us good friends ever since.

The picture above was taken in a chilly rainy afternoon. There were only both of us in the villa. Vicky was a bit tired after a visit from colleagues at school. I arrived at about 3 and brought a book with me. So we didn't actually do anything that afternoon but read and it felt way much comfortable.

Miss you a lot, Vicky! xxx

A Forgotten Letter

My dearest,

It takes me months to write this letter. Yet you have no idea how hard I found it since that means I have to bring all our memories back. The only thing I want to say in this message is how terribly sorry I am for all the unhappiness I’ve caused you, but there are also many things I want to share, probably for the last time. So thank you if you manage to keep reading.

You’re happy now. You seem to get everything you want and I know you’re much convinced now that anything happened between us was just a big fat mistake from start to finish.

When I first realized I love you, I knew it’s a mistake. It was just not right, but the happiness at our being together kept sweeping it away. I was just an insanely happy girl, so high by your intense love and tenderness that I didn’t really care about the future.

But would you believe if I told you that you had made my life better? How you had extraordinarily defined me? Every single thing we did had made me what I am now. They mean a lot to me, trust me. Perhaps that’s the reason why I just can’t let them go.

The choice I had to make-between you and my family-was a terrible one. When you came to my house that very day, I knew we wouldn’t make it. I was stupid back then I suppose. I wish I hadn’t put you in that position. And so I would like to apologize. Words are ridiculously inadequate at conveying the guilt.

I couldn’t believe my luck that I had spent so many nights together with you. I couldn’t even believe how strong my feeling for you. But I believe you and me are through.

I bitterly regret all the misery I caused you but I will never regret our time together. When I’m fifty and looking back on my life, I’ll know that there was someone who used to be the most important. Most people don’t have in a lifetime what we had in the past five years and I will always be grateful for that. Now that you’ve moved on and met someone else, I am so glad. I know I am just a chapter in your story, but you were, you are and you will always be the whole.

I miss you!

Sebuah Tulisan di Buku Diariku

Seolah bumiku tidak pernah ada atau kau rasa. Seperti itulah sekarang tampakmu olehku. Entah apa yang telah bumiku perbuat salah sehingga kau menjejakkan jauh kakimu dan tidak pernah menoleh ke belakang. Tidakkah kau dengar suara itu? Suara dedaunan di musim panas yang memanggil namamu? Suara rintik hujan yang meneriakkan rasa rindunya padamu? Bumiku kini lebih indah dari sebelumnya, ada lebih banyak malaikat kecil yang bermain di taman, berlari bekejar-kejaran dengan tawanya yang begitu nyaring namun damai kurasa. Kejamkah kau bagiku? Tidak. Aku tidak pernah dan tidak akan pernah menganggapmu kejam. Karena aku tahu semua ini juga menyakitimu. Aku tahu kau merasakan sakit yang sama seperti yang aku rasa saat ini.

Yang membuat kita berbeda adalah kau mampu menutupi rasa sakitmu dengan bahagiamu yang baru, sedangkan aku tidak

.

Tapi bumiku berkata lain. Dia membenci ketiadaanmu. Membenci setiap kepura-puraan yang aku tunjukkan padanya hampir setiap hari dalam hidupku. Bumiku teramat membencimu sehingga tidak pernah mengijinkanku menjejakkan langkahku tidak bahkan sedetik dalam kenanganmu. Dan aku tidak berdaya. Aku hanya mampu mengikuti pola yang sudah digambarkan untukku. Suatu pola yang begitu rumit untuk kurubah. Garis-garisnya begitu membingungkan, membuat mataku selalu letih bahkan saat baru saja melihatnya. Setiap hari aku terima pola yang sama. Tahukah kau betapa membosankan itu semua? Begitu membosankan sampai membuatku ingin memuntahkan semua yang telah dijejalkan padaku oleh bumiku.

Tapi aku sadari, semua ini semakin membuatku imun. Imun terhadap rasa sakit, sedih, benci dan marah. Kini perasaan itu seolah tiada artinya dalam hidupku. Sekeras apapun mereka berusaha untuk menghancurkan dinding imunitasku, aku tahu mereka tidak akan pernah berhasil. Haruskah aku berterima kasih padamu untuk itu? Tidak. Karena aku membenci diriku yang baru. Membuatku seperti bukan seorang manusia. Bukankah manusia seharusnya memiliki emosi? Kenapa aku semakin kehilangan emosi itu? Apakah aku akan menjadi seorang zombie? Dan iya, aku menyalahkanmu karena itu. Aku amat membencimu karena itu. Selepas hari itu, aku membencimu.

Yes, We Play The games!

One morning-a week after the first mini documentary video's filming, my headteacher called me to come into her office and told me that I should make another one. Together we figured out what topic we should pick this time. It was Indonesian traditional games.

I made the script as soon as I reach my computer that afternoon and finished it in probably two hours. I had only a week to help the kids with their lines and luckily I have very bright students. We have different casts here so you won't be able to find any of them in the previous one.

There are five scenes in the video which makes it a bit longer. So to make it easier to upload I have picked one scene for you. It was all about the Indonesian traditional games we still play at school.

Lunch Time

We made this mini documentary video in May 2010 for our sister schools in Australia and England. The idea is simply to introduce Indonesian culture and tradition to its pupils. Lunch has been picked as the topic. As the food we have here in Indonesia are quite different, I thought it would be good to introduce the kind of food we normally have for lunch. And yet, kind of like giving our sister schools a challenge on what they do.

I made the script in not more that one day and shortly helped the kids practise their lines-probably for a week. Kartika, a fifth grader at that time, had done a fantastic job as a host. The cameraman had to reshoot some scenes over and over again as some of the kids were too nervous to be able to speak fluently and naturally. However everyone was so excited and definitely enjoying their cast. Well done, kids!