LAUGH :D

Laugh makes you live longer...

is that true? True or not, I don't care, I love to laugh anyway...
Like today at school...I laughed A LOT!
:D

It began in Chemistry class...
I sat with 4 other people in that class, just say they are T, J, D, and E
J was next to me and T was in front of me.
In the middle of the class, T whispered to J, but it was loud enough for me to hear what he was saying.
T (a boy) : hey J, I can see your nipples!
J (a girl) : what the heck T!!
T : hey D (a boy too), I can see her nipples!
D : *nodding*
J : Stop it!!! (grabbed a notebook and cover her chest with it)
E (a girl) : you guys are so mean!
D : Hmm...(looking at E's boobs)

HUAHAHAHAHA
Thank God I was not involved in the conversation, LOL
PS: they were jus kidding. I could not see anyone's nipples. Hahaha

In the same class, my teacher talked about how alcoholic drink affect your body and the process till you get drunk. He made up a story about party and he made himself a model of a drunk young girl who dance on table. Oh gosh...I couldn't explain exactly what he did, but it was wicked funny :p

In the next class, IMP (Interactive Math Program), the laughter continued. We were talking about artblocks that we take, and one of my friend explained how stupid his artblock is -- just watching a movie about Mother Teresa. And then, one of my other friend asked innocently, "What's the difference between Mother Teresa and Hellen Keller?"
HUAHAHAHAHA
All of us burst in laughter. After we're done laughing, we explained to him how Mother Teresa and Hellen Keller has nothing to do with each other.
My friend said, "Oh, I've always thought that Mother Teresa is blind and has a relationship with Hellen Keller. I'm glad I asked."
Oh my Gosh, that was so adorable...hahaha

In the same class, JP (my teacher) asked about one mathematical term. He always do hangman game everytime he wants us to come up with a math term. It begins with D. Here are some guesses:
My friend : Distribution
My other fried : Distributive
My other other friend : Dammit!

LMAO :D

Situ Gintung

Innalillahi wainnailaihi roji'un....

hari Jumat kemarin, Jade bilang kalo dia baru baca di BBC.com yang meliput musibah banjir di Indonesia. Langsung aku buka internet buat ngecek. BAM! Bendungan jebol di Tangerang. Waduh, deg-degan nih jadinya. Pasalnya, aku punya sodara yang tinggal di Tangerang. Aku langsung kirim email ke mama buat nanyain kabar sodara di Tangerang itu.
Hari berikutnya, mama ngebales, katanya sodara2 di sana alhamdulillah nggak kena musibah. Fffiiuh...

Kemarin aku iseng2 baca Kompas.com dan menemukan banyak artikel tentang musibah ini. Salah satu artikel yang bikin aku merinding itu berjudul "Semoga Mama masuk surga ya?"
T.T
Hiks...aku gak tau gimana rasanya kehilangan orang2 tersayang, apalagi orang tua. Dan aku belum mau tahu. Keluarga adalah satu hal yang worth dying for. Kalo aku bisa milih kapan aku bisa mati, aku mungkin bakalan milih mati sebelum orangtuaku dipanggil Allah SWT.

Anyway, aku turut berduka cita atas musibah yang menimpa sodara2 di Tangerang. Semoga arwah mereka diterima di sisi Allah SWT..... dan bagi keluarga yang ditinggalkan, semoga mereka mendapatkan ketabahan....

"Sesungguhnya kita ini adalah kepunyaan Allah dan kepadaNyalah kita akan dikembalikan"

Postponed Posting = Random Stuff

Hi there!!
.....................
.....................
....................
haha...I forgot what I wanna say :p

What I clearly remember now is the fact that my limbs are so sore, down from my butt until above my ankles. Track practice is killing me slowly, but I'm thrilled cuz I seemed to survive these first 4 days' torment.

O yeah...I started to remember what I wanted to write...

1. Shiori's back to Japan T.T. Yeah...last Friday was her last day in school. She went to my hostfam's house on Saturday but I wasn't there. So, Friday afternoon on the bus was the last time I saw her. This past seven months, we had good times together. Ice cream time, gossip time, shopping time, biking and golfing in Florida, and many other stuff we did together. Some other time she also annoyed me and I annoyed her, but it doesn't matter at all, cuz every relationship has that 'sour' part. Anyway, I'm gonna miss her so much. She said that she's gonna come to Bali this August. I really want to see her there...I hope I'll have time to go since my school will start in August.
By the way, she just sent me a message in Facebook that said there was an airplane accident in Narita Airport right before the plane she was in landed. I'm glad she's okay...
Oh, by the way, before Shiori left, she had a presentation about kimono in Concord. She was planning to show how to wear a kimono. And she made me a model when she was practicing. Here is me in Japanese style:

I realized how short I am -_-!

Shiori and I in 3D theatre, Busch Gardens

2. I had a ski trip to Waterville Valley, NH last weekend. I expected the snow would be so icy and hard to ski on. But, it seems that Waterville's people have got a techineque to keep their customer happy during the last weeks of the season :)
However, I was not very lucky that day. When I tried to warm up and and recall how I usually ski downhill, I fell down so hard because I was going too fast. BAM! My ski fell off. And whoops! there's something wrong about it. The thingy that keeps my feet on the ski dangled hopelessly. It's screws must have been fallen off and gone when I fell down. Darn it!

A crew that happened to be next to me at that moment suggested that I should go to the repair shop. In the shop, I figured out that I need 20 bucks to fix my ski! Yeah...20 bucks to screw back my ski! -_-
The thing was...I only had 7 bucks with me. I went out of the shop and tried to find Linda (my friend's hostmom). But I couldn't find her. I had no choice, so I interrupted Ferdaous who was having a ski lesson to lend 20 bucks. 20 minutes later...I had my skis back. Fffiuuh -_-! I don't know what my hostmom gonna say if I came back with broken skis. She's not gonna kill me or make me pay for that, but she'll be ticked for sure.
Anyhow...skiing was pretty good that day. Even though I didn't get to go up to the top of the mountain (because I didn't have guts for that ;p), I was quite satisfied of myself ;)

After dinner on the same day, Dolores announced that scholarship students had to stay to watch a movie. It was mandatory. Our agency wanted us to watch that movie because we didn't pay for our trip, they paid for us. Well, the movie was probably the thing that they want us to pay back. Anyhow, it was just a movie, no big deal. There were 3 choices of movies: Hotel Rwanda, Osama, and I forget the other one. Hmm...they want us too watch THIS KIND of movie...lol
Dolores told us the duration of each movie, and we picked the shortest one, which happened to be Osama. It was not about Osama bin Ladden, but it has something to do with him since the setting in Afghanistan. The story was about a little girl that was in disguised of being a boy in order to get a job. At that time in Afghanistan (probably ot is right now), women can't work. The girl's father had died, and she only had her mother and grandmother left. Her mother forced her to conceal herself in boy's outfit so she can work for her family. The story was all about her struggle to keep the secret. It was so depressing so I wouldn't tell you what it was. The point is, she ended up being sold to an oldman.
After we watched the movie, Dolores brought up a topic to discuss. My friends from mid-east started to explain how untrue the movie in reality was. There is nothing like that in their country, they said. Yeah..it's true, because this movie is about Afghanistan, and it doesn't represent other Moslem country at all. And then, they started to discuss stereotypes about Moslem. I'm sorry I didn't participate as I was supposed to, cuz I was not in the mood to talk about religion and stuff. You know, talking about it is not comfortable at all. I already got many chance to talk about those stuff in English class and in Senior's religion class. So, yeah, I wouldn't recommend that movie to anybody.

OSAMA: the movie we watched

Back to my ski trip... Waterville Valley is a really cool place to stay during winter time. It reminds me of villages in England, which are so peaceful for me (hahaha...I'm saying it as if I've been to England, which I have not).

On Sunday we're supposed to go skiing again, but I couldn't, cuz the person who gave me a ride needed to go home early. It's ok for me, cuz I didn't lose any money to go home earlier :p
When Kunzang and I loaded the car with our stuff, it was snowing. It was in the parking lot when I saw snowflakes on Kunzang's hair. Waw!! I was soo thrilled to be able to see those pretty flakes again. It could be the last time I saw snowflakes before I go home, that's why I urged Kunzang to stay still while I observe the flakes. Hahha...what a nerd! lol

Before I broke my ski xp



Moosin' around in Waterville Valley: that's exactly what we were doin'

I felt like I'm in an English Village...hahaha *sotoy

Snowflake on my sleeve >.<

3. This week is the first week of track and field. Bwah...it's killing me! If I list what we did in practice, it may not seem that hard, but doing it non-stop without a break can really tear my lungs apart (hyperbole, haha). On the first day we did 10 minutes running without walking, and we raised the time each day, and tomorrow we're gonna run for 20 minutes. I wonder how long we're gonna run in the end of the season.

4. My friends back home are working on their (technically, our) yearbook. The theme is a crowd. So, they would stand in the crowd and someone will take a picture of them. Then, they edit the picture, they will wash out the backgroudn (or probably make it black and white) so the person will be the one in color. My friends took pictures in railway station, downtown Malang, in the middle of an avenue, stadium, etc. Since I can't be there to take picture for yearbook, then I have to take a picture by myself and send it to one of my friend. Even though the result is not as good as my friends', at least I will be on the yearbook :p. I also need to send my baby picture, which happened to be this one:

ain't I cute? :D

5. Pato broke his wrist when he went snowboarding. Gosh, that's what I'm afraid of when I go skiing. Moreover, jade told me that Liam Neeson's (Bryan's cast in Taken the movie) wife has died because she hit her head when she went skiing. She did not wear a helmet at that time. Once, I fell on my head really badly, but --thanks to helmet's inventor -- I'm okay :)

Anyway...Pato is going to have a surgery tomorrow. He said that he wants to see the surgery process, that means he wants to stay awake during the process. Urgh...I wonder how it fells to see someone dig on your flesh, fix your bones, and sew your skin. Gross...

However, get well soon, Pato!

Mud and snow

Wow...there are many things to catch up with...

There's been a lot happening these three days and I didn't have any time to record them here. And I won't have any time this weekend either. After school today, I will go to a ski trip with NH exchangies to Waterville Valley. I don't know how is it like in the mountain. It's been so warm this week, and I bet the surface's gonna be so icy and not fun to ski on. Oh, well...

Anyway, spring is coming...

and I'm not excited -_-!

The picture of spring in my head before I came to NH is a land full of fresh green grass and colorful flowers; the bird will come out from its winter nest and the bears will come back from their hibernation. Shortly, the picture is nice and pretty.

But...what I found so far is mud, mud, and mud. The melting snow mixed with dirt and sand created yucky mud, especially in my school that is located in the middle of nowhere. Hhh...it's been frustrating.

And, honestly...I want more snow...

It might sound crazy because all the people around me are already sick of snow. But, you know...I'm a 'tropical kid', and snow is a greatest thing I've ever seen. I don't know when I'll be able to see snow again. Not anytime soon, for sure... But, I hope this is not the last time...

Please let it snow more...

><

30 DAYS of Being Stereotyped

Last night when I wanted to go to sleep after watching some cute reality show on TV, I was tempted to go through all channels to see what's on. Zip! I got on the right channel. On that channel, I saw a white man wearing an islamic dress plus the hat. It got my attention, so, instead of going to bed, I watched TV for one more hour.

This show is called 30 Days. It's basically giving someone 30 days to try something new, in this case, the show was giving a chance for a Christian man from West Virginia to live as a Moslem with Moslem host family in Michigan. That man, David, wanted to see how is it like to be a Moslem, to learn about the religion, and to prove that the stereotype is wrong.

His journey began in his home state. On his departure day, he wore an Islamic suit to the airport. He confessed that it was the first time he got stares from people. Moreover, he was stopped by the airport security, and they opened and checked his carry-on bags. Again, it was his first time.

In Michigan, he lived with young Pakistani family in an area called Dearborn. One third of the population in that city are Moslem. No wonder if there are 30 mosques in that area.

In the meantime, there was a crew who was walking on the street asking people some question. He asked people about what they have in mind when he say a word. Here are some result from different person:

"Terrorist?" --> "Moslem"

"Moslem?" --> "Terrorist"

"Islam?" --> "Scared"

not impressive...

Anyhow, during David's stay in Michigan, he learned a lot about Islam. An Imam taught him how Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are from the same root; and how Islam believe that Jesus and Abraham are prophets, but not Son of God.

He also learned about some basic custom about politeness, and also basic restriction. He had a small argument with the imam about the prohibition of alcoholic drink. David said that people think that once you drink beer than you'll get drunk rightaway, which is wrong in his opinion. He also said that by drinking alcoholic drinks you cannot harm yourself and other people; so why is it restricted?

The Imam answered that alcoholic drink is addictive; it might leads you from the first glass to the second, from the second to the third, and so on. By the time you're drunk, you don't know what you're doing and you can harm other people without knowing what you do. He also said that you can harm yourself because you break the law of God. I don't agree in that point. You can't say that it's harmful to break God's law to people who doesn't believe in your God or faith. He could have said that alcohol is dangerous for our body if it's consumed in a big amount. It is actually.

David also learned how to pray. He read a praying guide . However, he never really prayed in a correct way. He confessed, "Everytime I tried to pray in Islamic way, I always feel that I betray my religion and family. I feel like praying to another God and turning my back to my God." I think he's a very good Christian.

In the same time, there was another crew walking on the street asking people's opinion. This time it's about prayer calls or adzan. Since there are many mosque in that area, when the pray times come, there would be many praying calls baing broadcasted. The crew wanted to know how non-moslem residents response about this issue.

There is this angry-looking lady who said, "I'm pissed. Our Church's bell doesn't put words to our ears, unlike this praying calls."

They also showed a graffiti in a wall that says, "Religion is a fraud."

Hmm...

David got a chance to have a party with his new Moslem friends. He admitted that he was surprised how these people defined party. David defines party as music, people, food, and beers. But that Moslem community defines party as an activity to get together, in David's case, there was no women and beer. They were just playing basketball together, eating, and also praying.

In David's last days, he got a final project. He had to go to the street and ask people to sign a petition. I didn't get what was the petition about, but I guess it was about a promise not to stereotype certain people, not only Moslem. It was the hardest time for David because people kept reject his petition. He even had an argument with a man on the street about stereotyping people. David tried to explain how you can't stereoptype a big amount of people just because of a few people's action. That man on the street ended his argument with, "Ok, who are the terrorist today? Moslem."

However, the whole 30 days of experiencing a new life makes David have a better idea about Islam and Moslem. The people he met during his stay is far from the stereotype. Thus, in the end of the show, he said, "You can't stereotype 1.5 billion of people for an action of five."

I hope for those who still see things from one single perspective can get an enlightment about how things really are.

Courts, Lawyer, and Cold Weather

Hey, what's up people?

I'm hungry....

anyway...

I've got tons to write. Yesterday I came home at about 4 o'clock, and then I did stuff I don't remember until 10.30 pm, worked on US History homework, took a shower, and took off to my dream, so I didn't have time to write anything about what had happened on the day.

I skipped school today (yay!) because I had a field trip to NH Supreme Court with scholarship exchangies. I stayed over Mariya's house the night before because my hostmom couldn't take me to Concord in the morning. In Thursday morning, Debra (Mariya's cool host aunt) dropped us off in the supreme court. The thing is, there are 2 supreme courts in Concord, Federal Supreme Court and non-federal one. We didn't know which one we were supposed to be cuz Dolores didn't give us any clue about that. There we are, in a wicked cold morning that could stab your throat, without any shelter, and no one was coming. We asked the security guy but he didn't have any idea about the field trip we mentioned. We panicked. I insisted that we should wait a little bit more but Mariya wanted to go to her high school to call Dolore (both of us don't have cell phone). Since no one showed up, I agreed to go to the high school. It was a 15 minutes walk. It would no be bad at all if there was no freezing wind that peel your skin off. Ugh, it was terrible!

So, we called Dolores multiple times but she didn't pick it up. We assumed that she was already in the court session. Then, Mariya called her hostmom and she gave Mariya the court's phone number. I happened to call the court and ask if I can talk to Dolores. And yes I could. Hhh...I was so relieved to find out that Dolores is gonna pick us up after the session is over. But when is it exactly gonna be? She was not sure.

We were supposed to meet her in a pizzeria in front of the school, but the sign says that it is closed until 1o am. We waited inside the school and walked around the school.

At 10.05 we came back to the pizzeria but it was still closed. We waited for about 10 minutes until a man came to us and said that it opens at 11. Dammit!! Why the hell did you write that it opens at 10 when it opens at 11???

I was so pissed. I wanna come back to the school but Mariya said we'd better not because we're gonna miss Dolores otherwise.

After 15 minutes waiting in Artic, somebody (Dolores' friend) came and took us away from that condemned pizzeria. Thank God, she's the woman of the day!

Inside the court

In front of New Hampshire Supreme Court

With the judges

Well, today was pretty fun and boring in some part (in the session ;P)

If I can pick something that I learned today, I will say:

I don't wanna be a lawyer, hahaha

:D

a little announcement

Today, we're having an additional family member: Teresia from Germany!
She's 25 years old and is joining a teacher internship...

Wish you having a great time here with us =)

MyPersonality.info Badge

I'm Saving My Day

SAVE THE DAY - David Archuleta

Tied to the tracks and I hear you call

Your voice is shaking

The train is coming faster than you thought

and there's no escaping it

And you think that you know

How the end of the story goes

That's the page I re-wrote

And I've taken away the ropes

There's more hope than you'll ever know

So keep breathing, I say that I'd always be there

Now I mean it more than ever before

There's a future worth fighting for

So don't be scared

I know how you must be feeling

With no one to help you carry the pain

I'm coming to save the day

Hands on the clock are standing still

But your heart is racing

You're loosing your grip on the window sill

Going down by the weight of it

And you pray for belief

As you lie on the bathroom floor

As you wait you can see

There's a light underneath it all

This is the day you've been waiting for

So keep breathing, I say that I'd always be there

Now I mean it more than ever before

There's a future worth fighting for

So don't be scared

I know how you must be feeling

With no one to help you carry the pain

We're finally breaking into the daylight

In the warmth of the sun

I will stand by your side

Till your fear passes on

So just look in my eyes

And baby try to hold on

And you find it won't be long

So keep breathing, I say that I'd always be there

Now I mean it more than ever before

There's a future worth fighting for

So don't be scared

I know how you must be feeling

With no one to help you carry the pain

I'm coming to save the day

Coming to save the day

There's a future worth fighting for

So don't be scared

I know how you must be feeling

With no one to help you carry the pain

It won't be long

Tied to the tracks and I hear you call

Your voice is shaking ..

Eki is Home and Upset

Finally I'm back in New Hampsha...

I was surprised to see how much snow fell down while we're gone...it's a lot!!

The path to our front door is now narrower and the snow in both sides are now in the same height of my hip.

Btw, I am so upset right now. I walked into my room and found a messy and dirty room that I did not leave the other day. I left my room clean and the bed was made, but now the blanket is all over the place and the pillows are on the floor and there are many dirt on my carpet. Who the hell did this???

My hostmom said that it could be her assisstants daugthers who did this. She was not sure about that, but who else could it be? She is gonna find it out tomorrow...

Let's see who is the asshole...

Florida Day 13: Time to go :(

This is the last night of our vacation in Florida...
I'm so saaaaad :(
It's time to go back to snow and cloudy mood of New Hampsha...
It's time to get a back sore after shoveling snow...
It's time to go back to school (Nooooo!!!!)

By the way, I really want to go swimming for the last time in Florida...
but Zhanar is still talking to her boyfriend on skype and I don't want to go by myself.
Hiks...
T.T

this is the song of the day:
Mcfly- The Last Song

Another Awkward and Confusing Conversation

Duh, lagi-lagi aku terjebak dalam percakapan yang canggung dan membingungkan. Bukannya aku nggak suka, cuma rasanya awkward aja, apalagi kalo ngomongin sesuatu yang sensitive dengan seseorang yang punya opposite argument. Seperti malam ini...
Aku dan Zhanar jalan-jalan kayak biasanya, menikmati hari-hari terakhir di Florida. Setelah selesai keliling-keliling dan foto-foto, kita mampir ke hot tub, nyamperin Pato and Jade. Kita ngobrol-ngobrol nggak jelas di pinggir hot tub sampe akhirnya para cowok pindah ke hot tub sebelah buat nyamperin cewek-cewek berbikini. Tinggal kita berdua...
Kita ngomongin macem2 sampe akhirnya nyenggol masalah pacaran. Dia nanya gimana pacaran di Indonesia. Ya aku bilang kalo kita punya value-value yang membatasi kita dari pre-marital sex. Trus dia nanya, kalo cium bibir sama pelukan boleh nggak. Aku bilang kalo itu semua berdasarkan pada personal limitation aja. Berdasarkan agama dan budaya kita nggak seharusnya ngelakuin hal-hal yang menjurus ke adultery, nah, soal hal-hal apa sajakah yang masuk kategori itu, semuanya tergantung pada diri masing-masing. Personally, aku mikir kalo aku meluk cowok, itu nggak bakal bikin kita langsung horny dsb. For me, it's fine. Kalo di Indonesia, aku emang nggak sembarangan meluk2 cowok. Tapi, kalo disini ada temen cowok yang mau meluk, aku nggak terlalu keberatan, asal meluknya ringan-ringan aja, nggak yang serem-serem gitu. Asalkan kita tau sikon, menurutku itu nggak masalah. Lagian, arti sebuah pelukan kan berbeda di setiap budaya.
Nah, setelah ada sedikit argumen tentang mengategorikan hal-hal fisik itu baik atau enggak, dia (aku emang menghindari untuk menyebut nama) nanya lagi, gimana bisa kamu pacaran tapi nggak pernah ciuman atau pelukan?
Nah, pertanyaan ini juga pernah dilontarkan hostsisterku yang masih berumur 12 tahun.
Aku bilang...well, di Indonesia juga banyak kok anak-anak muda yang pacaran trus ciuman dan pelukan,, tapi nggak di depan publik. yang perlu digarisbawahi adalah: berdasarkan agama kita nggak seharusnya melakukan itu.
Dia nanya lagi, "ya itulah yang aku pengen tau, gimana caranya kamu bisa pacaran kalo kamu dilarang ciuman en pelukan sama agamamu. Sebenernya pacaran itu boleh nggak sih?"
Aku bilang, "Jujur aku nggak pernah denger ada hukum pasti soal pacaran yang seketat hukum nggak boleh mabok atau makan babi. Asalkan kamu jauh-jauh dari zina sih menurutku oke-oke aja. Soal ciuman dan pelukan, kamu pacaran nggak cuma buat ngedapetin kontak fisik kan?"
Dia nanya lagi, "Lha terus kamu kalo pacaran ngapain aja dong kalo nggak boleh ciuman ma pelukan ma having sex? Terus, apa bedanya dong kamu jalan bareng temen cowokmu sama jalan bareng cowokmu?"
Hmm...aku bingung deh sama cara pikir orang-orang...
"Ya beda lahh...kalo sama temen, kamu kan nggak ada feeling apa-apa...kalo sama pacar kan kamu punya perasaan sayang..."
Dia nambahin, "Tapi sayang itu kan juga bisa tumbuh kalo km pelukan...bisa gandengan tangan. Kalo kamu nggak ngapa-ngapain, gimana kamu bisa suka dan sayang?"
Aku njawab, "Ya kan kamu bisa suka dari personality-nya..."
Aku rada speechless di bagian ini... Sebelum bisa nambahin, dia nanya lagi...
"Trus, kamu kok bisa married sebelum kamu having sex sama dia?"
Nah, lo... Rasanya aku pengen tereak "YA BISA LAAAAH!!!!"
Hh...sabar...sabar...
Aku akhirnya njawab, "Ya kan kamu married karena kamu cinta sama dia, toh pas malam pertama akhirnya kamu bisa berhubungan seks juga kan."
Dia nambahin, "Gimana kalo dia nggak enak diajakin having sex?"
Jreeeeeng....
Mak Erot masi idup kan??

Dia nambahin sebelum aku bisa njawab apa-apa, "Itu kan penting banget..."
Aku bilang, "Masalah begitu kan masi bisa diperbaiki..."
Dia ketawa...
-_-!

Dia nanya lagi, "Trus kalo kamu punya pilihan antara dua cowok buat jadi suamimu, gimana milihnya dong kalo kamu nggak boleh having sex?"
"Ya kan bisa diliat dari personalitynya, penghasilannya, tampangnya, dll. Nggak mesti harus 'nyobain' dulu kan?"
Duh...sumpah deh...masa ya mau milih yang mana yang lebih gede? ckckckck
Aku nambahin, "Back home, seks itu nggak sepenting disini."

What's so wrong about this damn world? Aku-nya yang konservatif atau orang-orang yang berpikiran dangkal?

Temen-temenku di skolah pernah ngomongin siapa aja yang masi virgin, aku cuma mesem-mesem aja. Trus, waktu kita ngisi quiz di internet, ada pertanyaan "Apakah anda berniat untuk berhubungan seks sebelum menikah?", kebanyakan temenku njawab, "Berniat? Oh...sure"

Anybody can give me an answer for these whole damn things?

Florida Day 11: LMAO

Today when Florian practiced his Bahasa Indonesia for our presentation, he said "Selamat pagi bapak-bapak dan ibu-ibu" (which means 'Good morning ladies and gentlemen').
Hearing those words, Zhanar who was lying down on her bed laughed so bad. "Hihihihihi" was her naughty laugh.
We asked, "What's so funny?"
She replied, "Do you know what 'ibu' means in Russian?"
"What? What?" Florian and I asked.
She continued laughing for several minutes and added, "It's so dirty..."
"In Russian, ibu means 'I'm f*cking".....HUAHAHAHAHAHA
All of us burst in laughter.

Then, if you say Ibu Siti (which means Mrs. Siti in Indonesian), that means "I'm f*cking Siti" in Russian....
Oh, dear...
:p

Masalah Persholatan

Sholat adalah kebutuhan, bukan kewajiban... Tapi apa jadinya kalo sholatmu itu cuma sebuah kebiasaan?

Sholat di negeri orang emang rada susah, apalagi kalau penduduknya bukan mayoritas Islam. Nggak ada masjid, musholla, ataupun adzan. Kalau lagi nggak pergi kemana-mana sih tinggal ngecek jadwal sholat di islamicfinder.org trus sholat di kamar deh. Tapi kalo lagi travelling seharian mau sholat dimana? Kalo travellingnya sendirian, kita bisa ngecek masjid terdekat lewat internet trus mampir deh. Kalo travellingnya bareng-bareng dan udah dijadwal ketat gimana dong? Mau permisi ke masjid juga nggak enak rasanya, mau nyari tempat yang bisa dipake sholat juga susah, apalagi kalo nggak di kota besar. Hhmm...kalo gitu sih masalah kreativitas aja. Tapi, kira2 Allah maklum gak ya?

Yap, banyak banget pertanyaan2 yang muncul di kepala kalo udah nyangkut masalah persholatan. "Gimana", "dimana", "kapan", dan "boleh gak ya" langsung berlompatan di pikiran kita. Keterbatasan ilmu agama yang kita punya sangat mempengaruhi hal-hal seperti ini. Seperti diriku yang dangkal banget ilmu agamanya ini, selalu diserang pertanyaan2 macam itu, tapi selalu berakhir dengan jawaban "Insya Allah gak papa deh, yang penting niatnya baik" Hahaha. Mau gimana lagi dong? -_-!

Aku sering banget dapet masalah persholatan ini selama homestay-ku di Amrik sejauh ini. Hostfam-ku yang non-muslim dan komunitas sekitar yang jarang banget ada orang muslimnya menjadi salah satu alasan. Kalau lagi ada acara bareng Exchangies yang lain, awalnya aku agak lega, kan banyak siswa muslimnya tuh. Tapi, setelah aku mencari tahu, berawal dengan iseng2 nanya ke beberapa siswa muslim, "Eh, kamu sholat gak?" atau langsung to the point, "Eh, sholat yuk!", I finally found out...ternyata mereka gak sholat! Or...not that I know of. Aku juga pernah nginep sama temen muslimku selama 3 hari dan aku gak pernah liat dia sholat.
Malahan, ada temen muslimku yang bilang, "Aku nggak sholat soalnya aku nggak ngerasa pengen dan butuh sholat. Ntar kalo aku udah dewasa dan ngerasa pengen sholat, ya udah aku sholat deh." Well, dia ngomongnya gak persis kayak gitu sih, tapi berdasarkan English comprehensionku ya artinya semacam itu. Aku jadi mikir, jreeng...ada ya hukum kayak gitu?

Anyhow, balik lagi ke masalah persholatanku. Karena susahnya sholat dengan tetap memperhatikan jadwal kegiatan orang-orang sekitar dan keadaan fisik ruangan, aku kadang-kadang memperbolehkan diriku sendiri untuk merangkap sholat walaupun nggak lagi bepergian jauh dan tayammum karena di kamar mandi lagi banyak orang jadi nggak mungkin kalo mau nyelup2in kaki di wastafel. Well...aku list aja deh apa aja yang pernah aku lakuin...

1. Hostfamku kadang2 suka ngajakin makan di luar. Kita berangkat sebelum maghrib dan pulang pas isya. Akhirnya, aku menjamak sholat padahal jarak rumah-restoran cuma 20 menit perjalanan.
   
2. Waktu ikutan high ropes course bareng exchangies yang lain, aku terjebak dalam perlengkapan security yang susah banget makenya. Kegiatan itu dimulai sekitar waktu dhuhur dan berakhir sampe maghrib. Karena aku udah bundled up di tali temali security plus winter jacket, akhirnya aku tayamum deh. Apalagi waktu itu aku baru selesai coursenya pas udah hampir gelap. Jarak antara tempat kita menginap dan tempat course-nya agak jauh. Akhirnya, aku lari-lari di salju yang cukup dalem dan nyamperin lodge kosong terdekat di tengah hutan dan sholat di situ deh...
3. Christmas party-nya exchangies diadakan di sebuah high school cafetaria. Ketika tiba waktu dhuhur, aku sholat di ruangan penyimpanan bahan makanan (karena kita nggak boleh masuk ke area high school-nya). Sholat dengan dikelilingi tumpukan boks2 berisi tepung dan beras...hahaha, sounds exciting.
4. Aku sempat diundang ke party-nya temenku, di rumah dia aja sih. Kita nonton film, sledding, sama makan-makan gitu ceritanya. Waktu sholat pun tiba. Aku minta ijin buat sholat di kamarnya. Tapi...aduuh, kamarnya kotor banget buk. Ceritanya, dia animal-lover gitu, jadi di kamarnya ada banyak kandang burung dan kadal. Jadilah banyak pup burung di lantai. Akhirnya aku sholat di kasur deh...karena ngerasa nggak sopan kalo berdiri di kasur, jadilah aku sholat sambil duduk.
5. Sepulang sekolah, aku selalu naik bus sekolah. Perjalanan yang ditempuh adalah satu jam. Bulan Desember-Januari sempat membawa masalah. Pasalnya, aku sampai di rumah pada jam 4.30 pm, nah...pada bulan Desember-Januari, waktu maghrib adalah sebelum jam 4.30. Aku nggak sempet sholat ashar di sekolah karena sepulang sekolah aku harus ngejar bus. Jadilah, aku sholat di bus.
6. Hari pertama di Busch Garden aku habiskan tanpa ada halangan, all day fun, karena aku lagi dapet, jadinya gak perlu susah2 nyari tempat sholat. Tapi seminggu kemudian ketika kami semua kembali ke Busch Garden karena dapet tiket gratis, aku udah suci. Jadi, di tengah hari, aku misah sama temen2ku buat nyari tempat sholat. Dan aku berakhir sholat di ruang first aid. Hihihi...untung ibu susternya baik hati. Yah, itulah tips buat temen2 yang mau pergi ke amusement park yang nggak punya musholla: sholat di first aid room aja...nyaman dan sepi, hehehe.

Yah, itulah sebagian cerita yang aku punya. Kadang-kadang aku ngerasa seneng banget setelah melalui berbagai halangan (lebay) sebelum akhirnya bisa sholat, soalnya berasa lega banget. Tapi, masih ada yang mengganjal di hati; sebenernya aku ini sholat karena kebutuhan, kewajiban, atau cuma kebiasaan ya?
Papaku pernah bilang, "Jadikan sholat itu kebutuhanmu" Tapi, sejauh ini aku ngerasa sholat itu kewajiban. Kalo aku nggak sholat, emang merasa berdosa dan ngerasa ada yang ilang, tapi kalo aku mau sholat, aku masih mikir "Aduuh, ntar nggak enak diliatin orang-orang" atau "Aduh, aku males njelasin ke ibu suster itu kalo aku harus sholat 5 kali sehari" atau "Aduh, kalo sholat sekarang, ntar nggak bisa naik roller coaster bareng temen-temen" or so on.
Rasanya susaaaah banget buat mengubah feeling itu. Duh, gimana ya buk? Kasi hidayah dong...
Tapi kata papa hidayah itu untuk dicari, bukan untuk ditunggu...
What should I do?

Florida Day 10: There's nothing better than free stuff ;p

O yeah...we got free tickets to Busch Garden! The last time we went to Busch Gardens, we found out that we can get a free pass that is valid within 6 days. We took them and used it today. We paid 80 bucks for 2 days...good deal, huh? They also have a non-sense deal though... Their one day pass is 80 bucks but their one YEAR pass is 100 bucks! Whatt?? doesn't make sense at all. If I were a Florida resident, I would buy the year pass in the first place.
Anyway...today was pretty awesome. We went on the roller coasters, the good ones. My favorite is still the 90-degrees-straight-down Sheikra. It was just so awesome. I think I got used to the rides. The last time I went on roller coaster, I screamed so bad. But today, I didn't scream at all, I just laughed loudly (hahaha...it's different, isn't it?)

After that, we went to a water ride. We got soaked (of course). The last time I went on this ride without the boys, I didn't get wet very much, but I don't know why this time the water splashed all over us and we got wet so much. That's so unfortunate, because today is so chilly. It feels like fall in New Hampshire, haha. Speaking about chilly weather, I saw people in the amusement park wearing winter jacket...here, in Florida! Hahaha...it was chilly, but not that cold that it's necessary to wear a heavy jacket ;p
Hahaha...I was like that as well. In fall, I always wear sweatshirt when some other people just wear T-shirt :)

*Before*

*after*

so chilly.... ><

After that, Zhanar, Pato, and I took a ride of Rhino Rally. We went on this truck and get closer to the animals. I would say it was worth waiting, because the rally track is kinda unpredictable. We floated on an artificial river (pretending to be lost) and went on a bumpy road.

In the gorilla preservation.


This is the ending scene of Jungle Musical, Katonga.


Group Picture!!!

I actually still have things to write, but I'm so tired right now...
I'll catch up with the writing later...
*Have a nice sleep, eki!*

Florida Day 9: A lil bit of Childhood Nostalgia

Last night I went to bed at 2.30 after I watched Crayon Shinchan in Cartoon Network. It's strange to hear Shinchan and all the characters speak English. Moreover, they pronounce Shin like Shane. That's not cute anymore. In Indonesia, the trade mark of Shinchan is when he calls his mom with a deep voice, "Mama mama...". In English when it becomes "Mommy...mommy" in a child voice, it doesn't sound as great. I just looked up Shinchan versions in many languages from youtube. I watched the Indonesian, Malay, Spanish, French, and Hindi versions. In Malay, Hindi, and Spanish versions, Shinchan's voice sounds really like a child, a normal one. In Indonesian version, Shinchan's voice is deep and it sounds like an abnormal child, and it is so great because he is a little bit extraordinary (in a bad way). The one that always makes me laugh so bad is his voice, honestly.

Well, we cannot really decide which version is the best because it all depends on the viewers and their preferred language. I would say that the best version is the original one, which is Japanese. But, I still say that Indonesian version is really good, hahaha. It doesn't matter, anyway...

Anyway, back to Shinchan...although this anime is known as a bad effect for children because of its vulgar scenes and conversations, I still have it in my favorite cartoon list ;)
Until my junior high years, I always watched Shinchan every Sunday morning. I sometimes rent its videos. Watching it last night was kind of a nostalgia of my childhood :)
I have the opening soundtrack video of the show posted, for those who used to watch Shinchan every Sunday morning in their childhood :)
Enjoy!

Mid-Night Bike Riding

I just came back from midnight bike riding with Zhanar. It was pretty cool to have the whole street for our own, but it's kinda creepy also. I kept thinking about pocong that is hiding behind the palm trees (well, palm trees are too good for pocong, though; and if you don't know what pocong is, google it ;p)

Back home, I would never ever go biking at midnight. I don't know why the atmosphere back home is much creepier than any other place in the world. Here, I don't mind walking around at night, but back home, I get scared really easily. Oh, well....I'm such a pussy...