My "Forced" Vacation

Pada tanggal 18 October 2010 saya terpaksa pulang ke Indonesia, karena visa saya sudah habis dan saya tidak bisa mengurus spouse visa saya di Adelaide. Meskipun "terpaksa", tapi ya senang juga, karena bisa menyelesaikan hal-hal yang terpending waktu July berangkat. Selama dua bulan di Jakarta rasanya saya sibuk sekali, rasanya ada saja yang harus dikerjakan. Mungkin kalian bingung ya, memangnya apa saja sih kegiatannya? Nah, ini dia.....
On October 18, 2010 I had to go back to Indonesia, because my visa had expired and I couldn't apply my spouse visa in Adelaide. Eventhough it is "forced", I also felt happy because it meant I could finish all the things I was unable to complete before l left in July. My two months in Jakarta were very busy, there was always something to do. Maybe you will be wondering what I had to do there...Well, here is what I did.... 


Seminggu dua kali saya mengajar mandarin di TK & KK Marie Joseph dan di Han  Mandarin.Sebelum ini saya belum pernah mengajar anak-anak yang sekecil-kecil ini, jadi ini satu tantangan untuk mengajar dengan kreatif agar anak-anak itu tidak bosan. Well, meskipun mengajar 8 kelas, dengan rata-rata murid 20-25 anak per kelas membuat saya stress, tapi saya cukup menikmati pengalaman ini.
Twice a week I taught Mandarin at Marie Joseph's Kindergarten and Playgroup. I've never taught kids that young before, so this was a challenge. How to teach creatively so the kids would not become bored. Well, even though taught 8 classes with 20-25 kids per class, it was very stressful, but I quite enjoy the experience.   

  

Tanggal 6-7 November, Ami dan Vanni datang dari Bandung, bergabung dengan Menik, Rosidah dan Fanny, kami jalan-jalan, makan, ngobrol dan menginap bersama di Sunlake hotel. Dua hari berkumpul dengan my travel-mate, my BFF - my best friend forever - memang tidak cukup, jadi terusin di Adelaide ya.......

On the 6th-7th November, Ami and Vanny came from Bandung, and met with Menik, Rosidah, Fanny and myself. We went to the mall where we ate and chatted before spending the night at the Sunlake hotel. Two days with my travel-mates, my BFFs - was not enough, so we'll have to continue when they visit Adelaide, ok? 

Saya juga bertemu dengan teman-teman eks UOBI Kelapa Gading. Saya sempat makan siang di kantor beberapa kali. Waktu Roryn ulang tahun, kita ditraktir makan malam di Grand Indonesia. Thanks ya........ Dan meskipun jadwal sangat padat, pada tanggal 22 Desember 2010 kami semua berkumpul di Nav Kelapa Gading untuk karaoke. Rasanya masih terus bersenandung nih.... persahabatan bagai kepompong....... 

I also hung around with my ex colleagues from UOBI Kelapa Gading. I had lunch there few times. On his birthday, Roryn invited us for dinner at the Grand Indonesia Mall. A month later on the 22nd of Dec,we managed to gather at Nav Kelapa Gading for a night of a karaoke. I still can hear the songs in my mind....  

  

Pada tanggal 28 November, saya ikut scrapbooking class, yang kali ini diadakan di Kartika Sari - Bandung. Projectnya membuat memory box dan mini album dengan menggunakan bahan kain. Sampai sekarang saya belum sempat menyelesaikan project ini, mudah-mudahan bisa segera diselesaikan ya..... 

On November 28th, I joined a scrapbooking class, which was held at Kartika Sari in Bandung. This time the project was to make a memory box and a mini album using cloth. Until now, I haven't had time to finish this project. Hope I can finish it soon. 

  

Selain bertemu dan kumpul dengan teman-teman, setiap tidak ada acara di Jakarta, sudah pasti saya pulang ke Bandung dan berkumpul dengan keluarga. Satu kali minggu saya makan siang di seberang, sukmeh masak dan masakannya pasti bikin ketagihan. Tanggal 26 Desember, kami dim sum di Eastern, makan-makan terakhir sebelum saya balik ke Adelaide.

Apart from going out with my friends, if I didn't have any plans in Jakarta, I would go back to Bandung to spend time with my family. One Sunday, I had lunch at my uncle's place across road from Dad's place. I will miss my Auntie and her cooking. On December 26, we had dim sum at the Eastern, it was the last gathering before I went back to Adelaide. 

Kalau Yi Poh - adiknya popoh saya tidak sedang tidur, saya menemani beliau mengobrol sebentar, kadang membantu menggunting kuku kaki dan tangannya. Yi Poh umurnya sudah 92 thn, tapi beliau sehat lho. Untuk jalan memang memerlukan bantuan tongkat, melihat dan mendengar sudah agak kurang tapi beliau sama sekali tidak pikun. Beliau sering bilang, "Jangan pulang lama-lama Yun, kasian si Bule ditinggalin." ^_^ 

When my grandma's sister, who stayed with my uncle, didn't sleep, I would sit up with her and talk with her or sometimes help her cut her nails. Yi Poh, that's what I call her, is 92 years old but very healthy. Despite that, she needs a walking stick to get around and she can't see or hear very clearly. Her memory is still very good though. She often said, "Don't stay too long here, pity your husband". 

Tanggal 12 December, reuni teman-teman yang sama-sama ikut study tour ke Taiwan 22thn yang lalu. Setelah 20th berlalu, ini kali kedua kami mengadakan reuni. Meskipun tidak banyak yang datang, tapi tetap berkesan. Next time diharapkan lebih banyak yang datang ya....

On December 12, I had a reunion with my friends who I had a study tour together 22 years ago in Taiwan. After 20 years, this was our second reunion. Even though there were not a lot of friends attending, we still had a good time. Hope there will be more coming to the next reunion.    

Saya juga beberapa kali bertemu Lulu, sahabat sejak kuliah dulu. Sejak saya pindah dari Bandung kami memang jarang bertemu, tapi kami selalu saling kontak. Tgl 24 Desember, kami bersama Lukman, En-En dan Axel makan nasi liwet di Rumah Joglo. 

I also met several times with Lulu, my best friend since university. We haven't met many times since I moved from Bandung, but we always stay in touch. On the 24 Dec, we went out for lunch with her kids and my nephew at Rumah Joglo. 

Oh... saya juga pernah mewakili Anning ke sekolah Glenn di SIS- Kelapa Gading. Pada waktu itu orang tua diundang untuk melihat proses belajar mengajar. Glenn tampaknya senang juga sih saya pergi ke sekolahnya, tapi melihat saya pakai celana panjang, dia bilang, " Ayi, next time you go to my school, can you wear more fashion?". Duh.... anak kecil kog tau fashion segala ya? 

On one occasion, I went to Glenn's school on behalf of Anning - his mother, my sister. The school invited parents to observe the teaching process at the school. Glenn looked happy that I would go to his school but when he saw me wearing a blouse and trousers, he said, "Auntie, next time you go to my school, can you wear more fashionably?". Oh.... so young, but he knows about fashion already .... 

Waktu Fanny Suhardi masuk rumah sakit Gading Pluit karena typhus, saya menengok dia bersama Menik. Meskipun sedang sakit tapi kita tetap foto-foto. ^_^.

When Fanny Suhardi was hospitalized at Gading Pluit, I went there with Menik. Even though she was in the hospital, we still took some photos. ^_^ 

Siung-siung dan keluarga pernah juga main ke Jakarta dan menginap semalam di Harris Hotel. Dan seperti biasa jalan-jalannya hanya sekitar Kelapa Gading saja. 

On one week end, Hero, my brother and his family came to Jakarta and stayed one night at the Harris Hotel and as usual, we only went around Kelapa Gading. 

Nah itulah sekilas kegiatan saya selama "berlibur terpaksa" di Indonesia sejak tanggal 19 Oct - 29 Dec 2010. Masih banyak kegiatan lain misalnya kursus persiapan IELTS di Specta, bertemu dengan teman-teman kost dulu, bertemu dengan eks teman-teman kantor lainnya. Dan ternyata meskipun sudah dua bulan lebih tetap saja ada yang belum selesai, so 3 bulan lagi saya teruskan ceritanya ya ...... ^_^.  

Well, that was a bit about what I did activity during my "enforced vacation" from 19th Oct to 29th Dec.  There was still so much more that I did, such as my IELTS preparation course at Specta, going out with my ex-room mate, having lunch with my other ex-colleagues and even after 2 months, there are still many thing left not done! So... I will continue this part of my story in 3 months when I return to collect my Spouse Visa. ^_^.