Santos Symphony Under the Stars

Few months ago, David's friend Maria, told me about the Symphony Under the Stars which is usually held at the end of February or early March every year at Elder Park. After I browsed the internet and found out the date, I marked my calendar and keep reminding David to take me there.   


So, after cancelled their performance last year due to a heat wave, on Saturday, the 26th of February 2011, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra hosted its biggest annual performance, the Santos Symphony Under the Stars, which marked the 75th year of music making for the ASO.

The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1936. and currently consists of 74 permanent members. Each year, the orchestra undertakes over 100 performances across a diverse musical spectrum. The ASO provides the orchestral support for all productions of the State Opera of South Australia, for Adelaide performances of the Australian Ballet and Opera Australia, and is the most prolific contributor to the Adelaide Festival. The popular annual tradition of Symphony Under the Stars, the outdoor Alfresco series, the innovative Education Program, ASO on Tour, the East End Rush Hour chamber series, and the entertaining Showtime Series are just some concerts bringing live orchestral music to South Australians each year.


The performance was due to start at 8pm, but we went early because we were afraid we wouldn't be able to find a good seat, so we took the 5.34pm train to the city. We arrived at around 6pm and found Elder Park already full of music lovers. They brought chairs, picnic baskets, blankets and many of them had their dinner while waiting for the concert to start. 

While waiting for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, we were entertained by the Adelaide Youth Orchestra whose members are  South Australia’s best emerging musicians aged 14-25. They performed classical, folk and popular music as the curtain-raiser the Adelaide’s biggest outdoor annual orchestral concert.

For this occasion, I went with David, my father in law, Bertie and Maria. Bertie wore the  Batik that I bought for him during my last visit to Indonesia, he likes it so much. 

At the venue, there were a lot of stalls which sold variety of food and beverages. As we didn't bring our picnic basket, we bought fried rice with chicken satay and spring rolls for dinner and for dessert, we had strawberry Pavlova, which is made from egg white blended with castor sugar and baked, then served with whipped cream and fresh strawberries....very Australian.

  
While we were there, we met a new friend, a Vietnamese lady with her baby, Emily. Her name is Jumi........weird right. Juni and Jumi..... 

As night fell, the Orchestra entered the stage to begin their performance. Unfortunately, the evening was interrupted by a few light showers of rain, so Maria and I hurriedly went to the front of the stage to take some more pictures. 

Their performance really fantastic, with Nick Davies as the conductor. The program consisted of: Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man and Rodeo: Hoe Down, Ravel's Bolero and so much more. Sitting there with the beautiful music and the ever changing light show which gave a marvelous view made me love Adelaide even more. 

Finally, at around 10pm, the concert came to a stunning climax with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture played during the amazing fireworks display. This was really a beautiful night. 

Happy Valentine

Do you wait until Valentine's Day to say I love you to your loved one? For me, I don`t need a special day to tell my darling that I love him. Maybe because my husband is from western country, I hear "I love you" every day of the week. Occasionally David buys me some flowers or chocolates for me even when there is nothing to celebrate. However, as our 3 years relationship was a long distance between Jakarta and Adelaide, we found this Valentine's was a special one because it was the first time we celebrated it together.  


I thought for few weeks, what should I buy for David as this was our first Valentine's as husband and wife, but he kept saying that he needed nothing, just to see me happy, so I only bought a card for him. On the other hand, David also didn't buy a Valentine gift for me, but he planned to dedicate this day to pampering me and let me choose my own gift. :). 


So, the day started with the exchange of Valentine's cards. 

Around 10am, we started our one day trip to the Adelaide Hills. Our first stop was at a town called Lobethal. In this small town, I bought some cute stickers for my scrapbooking projects and then we continued to the Lobethal Bakery for a cup of coffee and an Apricot Strudel. 

   
From Lobethal, we traveled to Woodside to visit Melba's chocolate factory. David said I can spend $30 on chocolates for my gift. Hmmm... I could buy a lot with $30, maybe he wants to make me fat :p. However, after almost 1 hour wandering up and down at the factory, finally I had all the chocolate I wanted. ^_^.  

Just 5 minutes drive from Melba's, there was Baylies, a cake and biscuit shop. We tried some cakes and crackers here before deciding to buy 2 kinds of crackers. 

Then we continued our journey to Mount Baker, the largest town in Adelaide Hills. This city is close enough to Adelaide that many people commute there on daily basis, although it's far enough from the city to be called "The country". Here we walked around the town, went into some shops, bought some more books and as I was getting tired, we had lunch at one of the award winning bakeries. 

Well, that was our first Valentine's day together! 

Kadina - Moonta one day tour

This month, David's father went to Port Victoria for a fishing trip. This time he would be staying there for 3 weeks. As usual, in the middle of his trip we would visit him. So, on Tuesday, the 8th of February 2011, we planned to meet Dad and his friends and have lunch together at Kadina.
Bulan ini, papanya David pergi memancing lagi ke Port Victoria, kali ini untuk 3 minggu. Seperti biasanya ditengah-tengah liburannya, kami akan pergi menengok dia. Jadi pada hari Selasa, 8 February 2011, kami pergi mengunjungi papanya David. Kami membuat janji untuk bertemu di Kadina untuk makan siang bersama. 

Kadina is a town between Adelaide and Port Victoria. Only 148 kilometres from Adelaide, Kadina is the largest town on the Yorke Peninsula, with a population of around 4,000. Kadina has great walks around the town with many old buildings such as the Royal Exchange and Wombat Hotels (originally a boarding house for new miners), the Kadina Hotel and a number of the churches.
Kadina adalah sebuah kota di antara Adelaide dan Port Victoria. Sekitar 148km dari Adelaide, Kadina adalah kota terbesar di York Peninsula, dengan populasi sekitar 4000 jiwa. Kita bisa berjalan-jalan di kota yang memiliki banyak bangunan tua ini seperti Hotel Royal Exchange dan Hotel Wombats, Hotel Kadina, toko-toko dan gereja. 

We arrived at Kadina around 11am, so we had some time to look around the town centre and take some pictures before our lunch appointment.
Kami tiba di Kadina pukul 11 siang, jadi kami masih punya waktu untuk melihat-lihat di pusat kota dan berfoto-foto sebelum waktu makan siang tiba. 

We had lunch at The Royal Exchange hotel with David's father and friends, Ian and Ellen and Pat and Brian. We ordered buttered fish, roast beef and beef schnitzel. However the size of the meals was so very big, so I couldn't finish mine.
Kami makan siang di Hotel Royal Exchange bersama papanya David dan teman-temannya. Ada yang memesan ikan goreng mentega dengan kentang goreng, saya pesan roast beef dan ada juga yang memesan beef schnitzel, tetapi porsinya besar sekali dan seperti biasa, saya tidak bisa menghabiskan makanan saya.  

From Kadina, we drove to Sims Cove at Moonta Bay where Ian and Ellen were staying for one week's holiday. Moonta is about 20km from Kadina, which according to 2006 cencus has population of around 3,350. The place Ian and Ellen were staying has 4 bedrooms, and living room and kitchen with balcony facing the ocean. The scenery was a beautiful.
Dari Kadina kami meneruskan perjalanan ke Sims Cove di Moonta Bay dimana Ian dan Ellen berlibur. Moonta terletak sekitar 20km dari Kadina. Menurut sensus tahun 2006, penduduk Moonta sekitar 3,350 jiwa. Tempat Ian dan Ellen menginap memiliki 4 kamar tidur,  ruang keluarga dan dapur yang memiliki balkon menghadap ke laut. Pemandangannya bagus sekali. 

    

After spending couple of hours with them, we went to Moonta's city center. We walked around the city, stopped by for a cup of coffee and then bought some chocolates for Mia and Dat.
Setelah mengobrol beberapa jam di tempat Ian dan Ellen, kami pergi ke pusat kota. Kami melihat-lihat disana, minum kopi dan membeli coklat untuk Mia dan Dat, temannya David. 

From Moonta, we went to Port Wakefield to visit Auntie Ros, David's auntie. She has a peach tree in her backyard and it was full of fruit! I was so happy when I saw it, so I asked her could I climb the tree and picked up some peaches.
Dalam perjalanan pulang kami mampir di tempat tantenya David, Auntie Ros, di Port Wakefield. Auntie Ros mempunyai pohon peach di pekarangan belakang rumahnya yang penuh dengan peach. Saya senang sekali melihatnya dan langsung minta ijin Auntie Ros untuk memanjat pohon dan memetik peach sendiri. 

Hmmm...... I had another happy day. 

Happy Chinese New Year 2011

Tahun Baru Imlek adalah perayaan yang paling penting dalam kalender China. Tahun baru dimulai setiap tanggal 1 penanggalan China, yang pada tahun ini jatuh pada tanggal 3 February.
Chinese New Year is the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The new year begins on the first day of the Chinese calendar, which this year falls on the 3rd of February.

Pada perayaan ini, biasanya orang-orang memakai baju merah, memberi ang pao dan menyalakan kembang api. Merah melambangkan api yang dipercaya dapat mengusir nasib buruk. 
During Chinese New Year celebrations, people wear red clothes, give children 'lucky money' in red envelopes and set off firecrackers. Red symbolises fire, which the Chinese believe drives away bad luck. 

Pada malam tahun baru, keluarga akan berkumpul untuk makan malam bersama. Saya ingat pada saat seperti ini, sukmeh pasti sudah memasak untuk kita. Biasanya akan ada 8-10 macam makanan lezat yang dimasak sendiri olehnya. Asuk Isen akan menyediakan berbotol-botol bir, mengeluarkan koleksi anggurnya dan menyediakan minuman ringan untuk anak-anak. 
On Chinese New Year's Eve, Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner. I remember my 4th Auntie, Jenny Famiaty, always cooked a lot of extravagant meals for all of us. Usually it was around 8-10 kind of dishes for this event and she prepared it all herself. For this occasion, my 4th uncle would prepare bottles of beer, take bottles of wine from his collection and prepare soft drinks for the kids. 

Tahun ini saya merayakan Imlek jauh dari keluarga karena saya sekarang sudah menikah dan tinggal di Adelaide. Saya jadi ingat beberapa tahun terakhir, pada saat menerima angpao dari popoh, asuk, sukmeh, kukuh, saya selalu bilang, "Ini kali terakhir saya menerima angpao!" dengan harapan tahun berikutnya saya akan menikah. Dan tahun ini saya resmi tidak menerima angpao lagi, tetapi saya harus memberi angpao kepada keponakan-keponakan saya. Kalau popoh bisa melihat saya hari ini, semoga dia akan bahagia. 
This year I will celebrate Chinese New Year far away from my family as I am now married and live in Adelaide. This makes me remember that for the last few years, whenever I received the red pocket from my grandma, uncle or auntie, I always used to say, "This is the last time I will receive the red pocket!", meaning that hoped I would get married within the next year.  This year, finally, I am officially not entitled to receive the red pocket, however I should give a red pocket to all my nieces and nephews. How I wish my grandma Lee could see me, I hope she will happy for me. 

Ini tahun ketiga kami merayakan Imlek tanpa popoh. Ada satu kebiasaan yang selalu popoh lakukan setiap Imlek. Beliau akan menyediakan 2-3 kotak coklat Silverqueen untuk dibagikan kepada anak-anak yang mengucapkan selamat tahun baru untuknya. Kenangan yang sangat manis sekali. 
This is the 3rd year we have celebrated Chinese New Year without grandma Lee. There was one tradition that only she did every year. She would stock 2 or 3 boxes of Silverqueen chocolate and give it to every kid who greeted her, wishing her a healthy and happy new year. It is such a sweet memory.

Tahun Baru Imlek dirayakan di negara-negara dimana populasi chinese cukup besar, seperti di China, Hongkong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan dan di berbagai Chinatown di dunia. Meskipun Imlek bukan merupakan hari libur nasional di negara-negara seperti Australia, Canada dan Amerika, tapi biasanya keluarga-keluarga Chinese tetap akan mengadakan perayaan sendiri. Malahan kantor pos Austalia, Canada dan Amerika biasanya mengeluarkan perangko edisi khusus tahun baru Imlek, seperti yang dibelikan oleh papa mertua saya disini. 

Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries with significant Chinese populations, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and also in Chinatowns elsewhere, in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States. Although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday in these countries, Australia Post, Canada Post, and the US Postal Service issue Chinese New Year themed stamps, like the one's my father in law bought for me. 

Di banyak kota-kota di Australia, keluarga-keluarga Chinese juga merayakan Imlek. Di banyak tempat diadakan acara-acara seperti, parade, festival dan juga barongsai. Di Adelaide perayaan akan diadakan pada hari Sabtu, 5 Feb mulai jam 10 pagi sampai jam 4 sore di Chinatown. Pada saat ini Chinatown sudah dihias dengan lentera-lentera merah. 
In many cities in Australia, Chinese families also will celebrate the Chinese New Year. There are some events and activities, such as street festivals, parades, dragon and lion dances performances and many more. In Adelaide, the celebration will be held at Chinatown in the Central Market on Saturday, the of 5th Feb. from 10am - 4pm. Right now,  Chinatown is decorated with many red lanterns. 

Well, Gong Xi Fa Chai. Wishing you a wonderful and prosperous new year with lots of happiness. 

And I just received a very sweet present from all my family in Indonesia. I miss you.....