Charity for Merapi

Merapi erupted around late October in 2010. Merapi is  one of the most active volcano in Java island, Indonesia. It is located between two cities, Magelang and Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is one of the city that located nearer the active volcano. One of the place that suffered from the eruption is Bulaksumur area where students of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) mostly lived. The thick volcanic dust covered all over the place, even the learning process was stopped for certain time as the campus’s policy.

Street covered by volcanic dust

Limited sight distance for vehicles

The cold lava flood river

Some of UGM’s student volunteered as social helper to help Merapi’s victims. Some of them helped the Merapi’s evacuation process and stayed in campus to help the victim in Gelanggang because it is one of the evacuation post in Yogyakarta. Some student also searching and collecting clothes, blankets, medicines, and foods for victims.

Other student preferred leaving the city and going back home for some safety reason. One of them is Agita Yuniar. She is English literature student from faculty of cultural science in UGM who choose going back to her hometown in Tasikmalaya, West Java. “My parent called me to come home because they afraid I will have some serious illness if I affected by volcanic dust as they know that I suffered from light asthma before,” she said.

Although she seemed running away from this critical situation but she didn’t just stay quiet and decided to arrange  charity event with her online community. She said that her online community which is consist of Japanese’s manga and anime lover decide to collect some money. The money came from the member who willing to help and then given it directly to the victim in some villages in Magelang.

She felt satisfied because she could helped the victim even she is not participated directly in the field. This is one of the example that charity can be done in any ways. It depends on one person’s willingness to help sincerely without any paid back because human are basically social beings who live to help each other in this world.


P.S: I took all the pictures by myself so I do mind about copyright. Ask first B^)

Letter to You (Re:Dina Oktaviani's letter)

Hello there~

I am fine. Thank you for asking and thank you for giving such as wonderful letter. It is really meaningful to me. Your letter gives inspiring story to learn about because there is an important lesson inside it. The lesson that you teach me through your letter about writing.

First,  I had my breakfast (at least now when my boarding owner kindly gives us rice to eat even with certain intention) and I am a happy girl (until now). I am young and I am not misled by my passions and pains (not yet). But did I learn what I am capable of now? No, I didn’t. I don’t know what I am capable of. People said that you are capable to do more than you can do, but how you can do more than you can when you don’t know what you can. Never mind, back to topic. In the case of capable to learn, I would say that I think I capable enough to learn writing. Writing is not my thing, and I started to write for the first time when these creative writing class started. However, I have my own reason why  I want to write so I willing to learn. The reason is secret (Only God knows why).

Second, about home, my family is my home. Where never my family gathering together is my home. I live and grown up in such as ordinary family but mine was extraordinary living peacefully in harmony (that’s what I believed). We are not rich but not so poor also. My father worked at home, selling kites and thread while my mother worked as cashier and never moved from her position for thirteen years but fortunately their income can pay our education (of three sisters) until university level.

Enough about home, I prefer talking about writing. My writing level is too low. I am not a social girl that used to write their diary daily or a diligent student that used to write their lesson’s notes tidily. Actually, I have such a determination and intention to write after getting inspired by film for example a Japanese romantic film about a husband who write a thousand sci-fi stories for his cancer survival’s wife entitled 1778 Stories of Me and My Wife. It was a boring melodramatic film but meaningful as it is based on true story then I’m inspired to write a story but not continued until the end as I getting bored of it. Then I read a story about a young Jewish girl who have to hide under the Nazis power who suppress her life entitle the diary of Anne Frank. It was really great and touching story and later I told myself to write a diary of daily life like her but again as I bored and having so much activity the diary became forgotten. Well, lazy and bored is part of my bad side (really bad). These two things prevented me to life as writer type.

I agreed about the statement that writing is not just about choosing the right word. Even Choosing the right word is important but there are more things considered as a writer. The things like strong will, ready to take a risk, experience of something, and perception building might as well as influence to write. The last thing as mentioned are good knowledge by understanding of grammar in building up a rich vocabulary also become the important part. Even I am bad in grammar (as you can see through my writing) but boldly I will always say that I really willing to learn writing no matter what and how. In conclusion, writing is considered as part of my life so the willingness to learn is in my must-to-do list. Even not for now, it might be useful for my future (who knows).

Yogyakarta, March 19, 2013

Me

Malioboro: Old and Now

Amazing Malioboro

I feel like a time traveler who has crossed the time border while writing this story. This is a little story about the most famous tourist destination in the city where I am temporarily living now, Yogyakarta. Most people who visit this city will never miss the chance to stop by and take a look of this place. Without any intention to let your curiosity guessing, then just as we know this place called Malioboro. Almost all Indonesian knew what Malioboro is, especially Javanese. Javanese culture has dominated nuances. However, it is not my point to discuss more about the detailed history of this place because honestly I'm not even a native of the city where Malioboro is. Here,  I just wanted to write a few stories based on the little research that our group has done a few days ago to find out what has the time changed to this place. Our simple method called little chit-chat from heart to heart (Sorry for the bad example of hyperbole) or usually known as a direct interview to a related informant. After a few minutes finding a target, finally we met one of the street vendors in Malioboro that so much older to witness the changes here and willing to answer all questions that being asked. This superbly kind and friendly old man named Trisno Wiyadi. A brief information, he was born in Sleman, on December 31, 1940, now his age is approximately 72 years old.

narcissistic with informant

According to him, the old Malioboro is a market with a fence made of thorns and tiles. Back then when the Dutch was invaded, the Indonesian people are not allowed to enter or walk around  Malioboro, although some people may hide and survive from the chase the Netherlands. However, those who caught in Malioboro is shot to death. Sometimes, many gunshots heard in every corner of Malioboro signifying that there are Indonesia who found by the Dutch were killed there. Old Malioboro is a market with tense and terrifying atmosphere because there is no free activities from many sellers and buyers. The existing vehicles used is only bicycle, car belong to the Dutch, as well as the dragonfly plane which was a most sophisticated transportation at that time. 

old look (source:Internet)

simple transportation (source:Internet)

That is a glimpse of old Malioboro. Malioboro now  is full of people and very crowded. If the old Malioboro has very wide and spacious place, it is now becomes narrower because of the division of roads and parking lots. If they only use bicycle as the main transportation, it is now being replaced by vehicle either publicly or privately owned which is passing by freely. So, no matter what time has changed, it still will not change the charm Malioboro to exist as a cultural tourism destination that became pride of Yogyakarta.

crowded indeed

parking lots (really "lot")

2nd Task of Creative Writing

 A Little Story of Mine

Life is never flat. That is the way one of the commercial film’s catchy phrase saying about their product but it also happens in my life. Our lives, even we often think or feel it is flat or boring but in fact it never that boring. You born to this life, I believe for some certain meaning but you just don’t find it yet. Well, it is your task to find it out later while enjoying living in his world. My life is just as ordinary as a person could be but later you still don’t know idea if it will be extraordinary life. Life is so unpredictable but you can choose to live in what life with what destiny. I born as the second daughter in my family which consist of three female siblings. It is a very special position because as the second of three people, you can have both one older and one younger sibling. I came from middle class family who living just in an average life. My parent is a religious person, my older sister and her husband also religious people but my younger sister and I are not really like that. However, I do believe in my religion and God. I hope to believe in this religion in the rest of my life as a loyal Moslem forever. 

with my late grandma

I originally came from Semarang, a city that called the capital of central Java, Indonesia. However, I felt so pity if I just lived in Semarang in the rest of my life so I challenge myself to try independent life as boarding house’s student even the city just about 3 hours from my hometown. Yogyakarta is my choice. It is a nice city with nice people. I applied as 2010’s new student in the most favorite university in this city, and I accepted after being rejected by around five universities in different cities before. As new student who lived almost 20 years under Parent’s guidance, it is difficult but later after you get used and quickly adapted, no problem at all. Meet new people, new place, new environment are the best thing that you can get from life’s experience. Yogyakarta has two main elements as far as I concern. They are youth and culturism thing. This city is full of youth atmosphere as it known for “City of Scholar”. And this city is the right place if you want to know more about Indonesian culture especially Javanese culture. Recently, I just joined a totally new activity that I never try before. It is an activity that you can do your mission to preserve our traditional music instrument, Gamelan. Well, I’m not a professional player but I enjoyed as an amateur playing Gamelan instrument as I join our beloved English Literature’s Gamelan club known as “Prasasti” short of “Pradangga Sastra Inggris”. Here, we learn to play the instrument with a different feeling. Our genre is to be exact are contemporary so we have different way to play Gamelan without being left by new era with the modern generation. It is really satisfying to be a part of a young generation that realize about our local culture. I have already tried at the first when I was still in first semester to join Saman dance club but due to my lacking ability in dance then I just drop out. I have this intention to learn more about our local culture because I have no feeling of patriotism because actually I'm a big fan of Korean culture (music, film, drama, etc.). After joining Prasasti, I think I felt less guilty about that culture matter. That’s all for now and my life still goes on…

with "Prasasti"