Hello from Sydney

-
This might be my last year in Sydney.

Which reminds me: I haven't written enough about this lovely city.
The beaches, the food, the neighborhood, the books, the sales, the all-year-round festivals.

So, now that I reclaimed my abandoned blog at blogspot, I'll write more.
Promise!

A.K.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Koala vs Komodo

-
Orang Aussie fanatik sekali dengan hewan-hewan khasnya. Mereka punya Koala, Kanguru, Wombat, dan Buaya. Sementara kita juga punya hewan-hewan khas yang unik: Orang Utan, Anoa, Badak Bercula Satu, Cendrawasih dan Komodo. Sayangnya, apresiasi kita terhadap mereka hanya sebatas nama-nama yang harus kita hafal dari buku pelajaran sekolah. Anindya pertama kali melihat Komodo di Taronga Zoo, Sydney. Dia takjub melihat ' extra big lizard '. Lebih takjub lagi ketika dia tahu Komodo berasal dari Indonesia. " Wow, they're from Indonesia ," teriaknya dengan nada bangga ketika membaca keterangan di depan kandang komodo. Lebih lanjut saya jelaskan kalau di Indonesia ada pulau bernama pulau Komodo, tempat tinggal para komodo. Anindya lebih ber-wow lagi. Anindya juga beberapa kali melihat film dokumenter tentang orang utan. Orang sini (dan juga Anindya) melafalkannya 'Oreng Uten'. Saya jelaskan kalau nama orang utan itu berasal dari kata Orang yang tinggal di...
Baca Selengkapnya »

Harness

-
Image
Siapa sih yang suka diikat-ikat? Orang (dan bayi) normal pasti enggak seneng kalau nggak bisa bebas bergerak. Begitu juga Ayesha. Di NSW, masalah keselamatan sangat diperhatikan. Makanya peraturan tentang safety benar-benar strict . Di mobil, semua penumpang wajib menggunakan sabuk pengaman, baik yang di depan maupun yang di belakang. Sementara untuk anak-anak, mulai dari bayi baru lahir sampai usia 6 tahun, wajib menggunakan kursi mobil khusus. Kursi ini didesain untuk menyesuaikan sabuk pengaman dengan ukuran tubuh anak-anak. Ketika pertama kali naik taksi dari bandara, kami menggunakan taksi khusus yang ada kursi bayinya. Ayesha (10 bulan) tidak suka duduk di kursi bayi dan menangis sepanjang perjalanan. Repotnya, saya tidak bisa menenangkannya dengan memangku atau menggendong. Di sini, rules are rules , daripada ditilang sama Ranger . Mungkin Ayesha merasa tidak nyaman karena di Indonesia terbiasa duduk dipangku, atau duduk sendiri atau malah berdiri sambil lihat pemandangan di b...
Baca Selengkapnya »

Barbie this arvo?

-
Seperti itulah kira-kira kalau teman Aussie anda mengajak barbekyuan nanti sore. Seperti orang Indonesia, Aussie juga suka membuat singkatan: barbekyu menjadi barbie , afternoon menjadi arvo . Akhiran -ie atau -y sering sekali digunakan untuk menyingkat. Mereka sendiri menyebut dirinya Aussie . Setiap pagi mereka makan brekky sambil ngobrolin tentang footy (australian rules football). Terus anak-anak kecil pergi ke kindie sementara anak yang sudah besar (atau malah Bapaknya) berangkat ke uni . Supermarket besar di sini nama resminya Woolworth, tapi orang-orang menyebutnya Woolie . Di sini anda bisa beli vegies , tapi tidak bisa membeli cossy (swimming costume). Ada lelucon di sini yang mengatakan agama mereka adalah mengambil sickie pada hari Senin. Sickie adalah waktu cuti/bolos kerja karena sakit atau pura-pura sakit. Sickie di hari Senin memang banyak pengikutnya, untuk memperpanjang akhir pekan. Bahkan setelah libur panjang Chrissie pun mereka banyak yang ngambil sickie. S...
Baca Selengkapnya »

Do You Speak Chinese?

-
Image
"Do you speak Chinese?" That's the top question somebody asks me (fyi, only the Chinese or Vietnamese that happens to say hi to me). Oh, yeah, I wish I could speak Chinese. [take a look at my pic a bit closer. do I look like a chinese girl? or maybe it's true that my grand grand grand grand grand father was from China.] A.K.
Baca Selengkapnya »

Melancholy

-
Closer to lebaran, I realize that I miss Lebaran atmosphere in Indonesia so much. This surprises me as I've never felt homesick before. To be honest, I enjoy living here. I can read as many books as I want. I breathe the fresher air. I eat better food, and I learn so many new things, inc. cooking, not only aussie's but also international meals. However, I really miss the hectic atmosphere of Lebaran, when people rush to get to the hometown, when people do unreasonable lebaran shopping.  Here, I just can't feel the atmosphere. I didn't know where to go for Eid Pray, until this afternoon. I hear no takbir. Plain. I did my best to make this lebaran a real lebaran. I did shopping spree for lebaran clothes (ehem, it's an excuse to buy new clothes actually, hehehe, but it worked). I cooked ketupat (not in coconut leaves, but in polyethylene plastics), gulai and cucumber pickles. Nino asked me, "Why bother?"  Well, I just wanted to. I just wanted this to be speci...
Baca Selengkapnya »

Irritating Question

-
"Hi, how are you?" That's a standard question when aussie meets each other. When somebody asks you this, you are expected to answer: either Good or Fine (even if you are not in that mood). Sometimes, saying "good, thanks" plus a smile is easy when I'm really in a good mood. But sometime I just say "ehm" to asnwer that robotic question from the tired supermarket cashiers, or ignorant takeaway waiters. They don't expect your answer anyway. In Indonesia, the most common question beside "apa kabar?" is "mau kemana?" (where are you going?). The western found this question very annoying. I read this fact in LonelyPlanet Indonesia book. Ugh, like they don't have those irritating ones. More about irritating questions: Basa-Basi by Niken 8 Pertanyaan Selama Anda Hidup by Hormon Pertanyaan Wajib untuk TwentySomething by Dian Ina A.K. ps: annoying questions in this very moment: 1. have you got the job yet? 2. when will Didi get ...
Baca Selengkapnya »

Paying A Ridiculously High Tax

-
I got my first salary this week. Yipeee! Yes, it is in dolar (double yipeee), and yes, it's my first salary ever. Well, I got money from writing book, but we call it a royalty. And I also got money from my previous business, and we call it a share. Mine is not that big compare to other worker, cause it is just as the award rate (or UMR* in our country). What surprised me is the tax rate. They cut almost 29% of my salary for the tax. Now I am a very generous person 'to donate' this wealthy country from one-third of my money. That's just great! Here, a temporary resident (or what we call it expat) pays higher tax than a citizen or a permanent resident. Argh, at least I know where the money goes. It goes to the comfy trains and buses. It goes to the parks (with the free barbecue stand) and playgrounds. It goes to the free education for my kid. It goes to the library with thousands books to read and hundreds DVDs to see. As a good citizen (of our beloved country), I also p...
Baca Selengkapnya »

Happy Library Lovers Day

-
Image
Do you still celebrate Valentine Day? That's so yesterday... In this new era, we'd like you to join us celebrating February 14th as Library Lovers Day . HAPPY LIBRARY LOVERS DAY to the bookworms everywhere... show your affection, visit the library! A.K. send me books, not flower nor chocolate
Baca Selengkapnya »

Bed Rest

-
I am a type of person who avoids to see a doctor. Not that I am afraid. I always wait until the pain became 'worth' to see  the doctor. I always say to myself that this is not bad, it will be better soon. Nino is another type of person. Yesterday I got a very bad headache when I woke up. Still I forced myself to work. My optimistic mind kept saying that it would get better soon I reached my store. Unfortunately, it wouldn't. I worked for eight hours in pain. I knew I should have told my manager that I was sick and I wanted to go home, but I just didn't. I was suffered from a fever last night and my temperature reached 39 celcius degrees. Thank God I have Nino. He took me to the doctor that was only one block form our apartment. The doctor was a nice lady, a Kualalumpur born Chinese that migrated to Australia 35 years ago. She loved to chat and tell stories. We spent almost 20 minutes in the doctor's room. Then we bought the medicine at the nearest chemist. It turned...
Baca Selengkapnya »