Letting Ramadhan go this year..
Letting Ramadhan go this year.. I am still waiting for the announcement from the Consulate about the exact date of the end of Ramadan. I hope it will be on Thursday, November the 3rd so I can celebrate it together with my husband; Andri. He is scheduled to fly from New York to Hamburg on Wednesday, November the 2nd. I am letting Ramadan go, but I hope the sprit and the values will stay. Happy Eid! Happy Eid! Taqobalallahu minna wa minkum..
May the spirit and values of humanity, love, peace, sincerity, tolerance, and patience this Ramadan will keep enlightening our days until the next Ramadan and bring our life in harmony. 
Ladybugs (aka. Marien Kaefer / Kepik)
Last Saturday was bright and the sun shine relatively warmed and brightened Hamburgers weekend. 
I was about rushing to a workshop at the university when coincidently met Marcus, a law school student who happened to be my neighbour. He greeted me cheerfully with positive comment about the weather and asking how my day was before finally mentioned an article in a local newspaper, which stated that we have unusual amount of ladybugs this year and drop a question whether I also notice the lady bugs booming in Hamburg.
Ladybugs ?!?
I was astonished. I thought I was the only one who senses extraordinary amount of ladybugs presence around me. I thought I was just being sensitive and exaggerating. I thought it must be a coincidence that lately, I’ve met more than five ladybugs everyday. I thought this phenomenon was not a special phenomenon that significant to be observed further. I was stupidly wrong.
It is a special phenomenon. Someone had even written over that phenomenon in a newspaper. It is just too bad that Marcus lost the article already, so I can’t copy it and re-type it here (no matter in what language it’s written. hmm well,… in German, I suppose).
Although it is clear that something unusual is going with the ecosystem, I’m still hoping that it is not a symptom that the ecosystem in Hamburg is dangerously unbalanced. I prefer to take it as a wish that this "ladybugs booming" bring us luck, brings luck to Hamburg**.
(** In Germany, the Ladybug is the symbol of Good luck. While in Indonesia we called it “Kepik”, Germans called this tiny beetle as “Marien Kaefer”. The Legend tells that they received their name centuries ago in Europe when farmers found Aphids invading their grapevines. Prayers to the Virgin Mary were answered when thousands of these tiny beetles appeared and ate the aphids. Farmers named the helpful beetles in the honor of Mary, also known as “Our Lady”)
Last week (part two)
Still have some other stories left about last week? aha ja.. ich habe twei mehr. Spice museum plus Asiatische Tage fur Nada and Sweet Dreams.
On Wednesday Nada and I went to Spice museum in Hamburg. Spicy’s, Gewurzmuseum GmbH is located at Sandtorkai 32. 20457 Hamburg. In case you are interesting to take a pick you can go to www.spicys.de. The admission was 3 euro each person and instead of tickets we have got small packages of spices. I’ve got 20-gram package of whole black paper, Pfeffer schwartz ganz. When I was there, I sneezed many times as the consequences of wildly snuffing and smelling all those spices there. For loud sneezer, this little information might useful to prepare something, a handkerchief, for instance.
That day was really fun. We went to several Asian markets and I enjoyed Nada’s expression when she saw many kind of new vegetables that she had never seen before. Then she gave my petite wohnung a visit. She tried some Indonesian snacks, tea and let me cooked something for her. While I was cooking eine Asiatische suppe for her, we’ve talked over many things including exchange stories about our religious experience (Gott sei Dank, having different believes was not a burden for us).. and of course, Girls talk ( hoho..though we are not girls anymore).
I will be happy if we can do this again sometimes. Perhaps, next time you can teach me how to make the famous Slovakians bread with cumins?
Miss you Nada!
On Friday, I went to several places with Diyah, Elom, Migo and Yen and the remarkable place of the day was “Sweet Dreams confiserie”. I bought a jar of lemon curd and it was incredibly good. Can’t describe with othe words but “yummy!” You can check it here if you are interested: www.4chocoholics.de
Uncategorized | Comment (0)last week (part one)
Having not so many times to wrote these days, my blog has been abandoned and some of interesting experience has been forgotten. Ah, schade.
Unlike my friend Migo, who diligently took notes on her past journeys, I never taking notes about my journey in an agenda and marked the maps then use them as reference in re-write them in a blog. Dazu, ich bin zu faul, Go!. Therefore now, when I started to write about what I did last week and coming to the detail, amnesia strokes me. A very light one, I suppose, since I still can re-call some highlighted.
First remark is about my last long weekend (Saturday, Sunday, plus German National Holiday: Monday 3rd October) when I visited Groningen via Leer.
It was cool; I stayed at De Jong-Waworuntu Family enjoy the warmth and the hospitality, celebrated Bob’s (who has been like a brother to me this past 5 years) Birthday, and also had a chance to met Mbak Naniek. Gezelig. Gemutlich.
For sure I didn’t forget to see my "little" brother in law who is persuading his PhD there; Buyung. I brought my homemade Daging Balado and Buyung said it was good, a bit surprising for him that I could cook Daging balado that good while I have no Minang’s blood. Three years marrying his brother is a good enough reason why West Sumatran food recipes well invited in my life.
On my way back to Hamburg from Leer, the ICE train was full-filled with weekend travelers back home, seriously full enough that made me seat improperly at the train’s corridor. But it was not as boring and torturing as what I thought at the beginning.
Few minutes after I started reading my book (International Law, written by JG Starke which is translated into Indonesian language), I saw part of a finger pointed out at my book then a heavy Josh Grobanish tone followed: “ist das Buch von JG Starke in Indonesisch?”
Roughly I translate that as: “ Is that JG Starke Book in Indonesian?”
Spontaneously with high nosiness ( as I almost always let my self fals-leaded by my own imagination, with in no time, my mind wildly questioning in panic…what?!.. Josh speaking German? Josh knowing this book? how come I never heard that he could read "Indonesian" language? he studied law??) I moved my head and looked at the owner of that Josh Grobanish voice. oh nein, He was not Josh Groban.
Then I stared at him with my eyes wide opened (imagine a big big windows in an old brick castle) and answered:
“Entschuldigen Sie bitte, tut mir leid, ich kann nicht gut Deutsch sprechen, konnten Sie mit mir bitte Englisch sprechen?”
That is a very important phrase I memorized and use all the time when a German started talking with me in their language which I translated freely as: “ "Excuse me, it’s a pity that I can not speak German, will you please be so kind to speak English with me?”
Then like a river, his explanation about his question and his curiosity flew in English. a very good one.
In summary, he read the same JG Starke book in English; he visited South East Asia quite intensively; he is a German investigating police officer who works in Narcotics Department in Kiel; and he is a very friendly open-minded German officer.
So, during my 2 hours trip to Hamburg in a full-filled ICE train, my head have been loaded with some knowledge about how pollice officer in Germany dealing with drugs trafficking, some knowledge about non-verbal communication that an investigator need in order to investigating the suspect, and some other knowledge about Police in Germany and this officer individual comparation about Drugs, mafias, and people in East Europe, America, Israel, India (as an example of south asia country), and south east asia countries.
The corridor of the train was not a conducive place to held a conversation, comfortably. We have to talked loudly and squeezing our bodies among other passagers and their luggage. However, I enjoyed the experience.
That was a very interesting, having conversation with very interesting topic, which eventually has to be ended when the train arrived at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof.
what’s more about last weekend?
Spice museum with Nada? Sweet dreams confiserie with Diyah, Elom, Migo and Yen?.. Breakingfast and Taraweh at KJRI? ugh..’m in a rush right now..I need to go asap…next time I will write about it.
Uncategorized | Comment (0)sebuah permohonan
Kepada sobat tercinta .. sungguh kepada semuanya, tanpa terkecuali..
Sebagai manusia yang banyak melakukan kekhilafan, dalam diam saya dan keterbatasan saya, dalam memilah perkataan saya maupun perbuatan saya serta tingkah laku saya, yang tidak berkenan atau bahkan menimbulkan luka di hati: maka sebagai wujud harapan agar Ramadhan ini dapat diawali dengan hati bersih dan damai, izinkan saya beserta keluarga memohon dengan segala kesungguhan hati agar dibukakan pintu maaf yang sebesar-besarnya.. Lahir dan Batin..
permadani maaf dibentangkan seluas samudra kehidupan.. mari bentangkan cinta dan kasih dan kalahkan kebencian agar tak punah damai di bumi ini.. di jagat raya semesta ini
ya sobat,
kedamaian .. 