Thursday 30 December 2010

2010

Growing up in a family with Chinese values is not easy for me sometimes. I get this impression that the most important thing in life is money, money, money so I need to work, work, and work. Prosperity, insurance, and playing on the safe side, seem like the magic formula to get it right. My grandmother told me that after I am graduated, I need to earn money, find a good affluent husband, and have a happy life ever after. In addition my relatives said that the most important feature of a good life partner is the one who can work, and then surely he would be able to fulfil the family needs well. I also often have this stressful conversation with my parents about me arriving at the time to get a good job and of course making a considerable amount of money. Yes, I was graduated a month ago and I have not got an office to go to every day and a pay check to receive every month.

After all, I feel that I am one step behind of everyone else. Many friends of mine have been working even since they have not finished the study, my cousins who have got decent position in prestigious company, the children of my parents' friends who already have good monthly salary, and so on. What make things worse is that my parents sometimes say it to the world that they are proud of me, a master graduate, on the other hand underestimating me of not having proper job and earning my own money. It is not that I do not try to apply for a job, but yes I did not apply to many.

In my defence, I do not want to work with something I am not passionate about. Maybe there are persons who can work anything offered in front of their face as long as they could earn cash out of it. For example, my friends who were also graduated in mass communication end up with a job in bank, automotive business, airlines, and other things we did not learn at school. It is absolutely not a crime. I think that what makes things different between me and my “already-hired” friends, passion. I clearly know that I am passionate about movies, culture, sports, and music, things that in my country cannot guarantee you having prosperous life unless you do it for the industry, and they absolutely will not bring me big and fixed monthly income. Too bad am not passionate in business, trading, or investment, things that Chinese are well-known to be good at.

...

By the way, today is the last day of 2010. I keep on thinking about this, whether my idealism in those passions keeps me away from my parents' expectation. I clearly understand they want their daughter having assured life, but this rebellious lady keeps longing for uncertain things. At one point this year I might feel that I have done nothing and fail fulfilling the expectation. However, if I look back for the entire year, I wow myself that I was not that jobless. In fact, I think I have achieved many things although it might not sound as big as job promotion or winning awards.

In 2010, I step my foot for the first time in a movie set. I had my first movie production experience in February and I learned a lot from it. Having the responsibility as a script supervisor, editor assistant, and translator of the movie are new things for me. Although I had to work more than twelve hours a day under the intense sun until my skin was two levels darker, I did love enjoy the job. Moreover, the experience also brought me new friends with great mind and attitude. They have showed me integrity, and reminded me to be true to myself. These connections make me keep my commitment until now in preparing the film road show.

"Cendol" Movie Set
 
This year I also am convinced that I can be a good writer. In the same month, I had my first feature story published in national media, The Jakarta Post. Although I have not put other stories yet again there, the travel feature about Belitung was quite a masterpiece, I think. Once I searched it in web, it has been quoted by some other traveller writers. 

Feature Story: a personal achievement

Last year I could not ask somebody's name in Spanish. Right now I can have a long and nice Spanish chat with Spaniards or Latinos. In fact, I have several Spanish, Mexican, and Argentinean friends in facebook at the moment. Thanks to my little brother who inspired me to learn other foreign language than English. He studied German first, and I caught up a couple months later studying Spanish. Yet my initial goal of studying was to have a nice Spanish conversation with Fernando Torres, and now by also knowing some Hispanic culture, it turns me to be a fan of Spain and some countries in Latin America. Studying Spanish also meets me with several new and fantastic amigos (friends) in the class. I met new people with various background, interests, and behaviours, yet somehow we can laugh together every Saturday for a whole day. Also in this new community, I made my first directing debut. Hahaha...

Spanish Community of Usakti Jakarta

Another good thing was the opportunity to join Mia Patria. I love singing, I might not good at it, but I am grateful I can involve myself in such full of musician group. Mia Patria is a Catholic cultural music group which works at God's service. We perform mostly religious songs with traditional Indonesian touch, like Balinese, Javanese, Batak, and so on. Therefore, besides the members themselves, gamelan set, angklung, and some other musical instruments along with Indonesian traditional costumes are precious assets of the group. Sometimes I do feel shame of myself for ignoring Indonesian music and dances before joining Mia Patria Choir.

Right now I maybe am not attached to every one of them much as I have just joined recently for the last three months in 2010, while they have been together for two years. However, I did get many lessons from my three months involvement. My brain was trained to memorise lyrics so that I can sing from the heart. I can recognize the name of gamelan's part and some Indonesian traditional costumes. Finally, I can put up make-up and hair bun myself now.

Post Graduate Journalism and Media Studies Class of 2010

The final great moment happened in 2010 was my master degree graduation on 9th December. There are only seven graduated from my major. Thesis writing was not an easy process at all. I took four months constructing the concept, yet only four days only in writing. It was not recommended to follow, but I saw it as an achievement too. The whole process taught me that nothing or no one is more true than the others. In the end, what is counted is what you believe is true. Now I sound like a master, don't I? Hehehe... And thanks to the year 2010 too, now I know what discourse and framing mean, thus I can apply it in writing and editing stories for the Government's cultural magazine “Friends of Indonesia”. Yet again, I am doing it freelance with no big amount of money.

Parents and most people may not see I have done fast progress in 2010 in terms of getting a job and earning money. However, I am still amazed at things I have done this year. Maybe I cannot compete with the pace of others, but I am happy in working things I like. Quoting my friend here that maybe I am not really looking for coins, am looking for points.

Welcoming 2011, I am expecting other great and significant experiences come to my life. Hopefully I will learn many new things in a year ahead. Hopefully my idealism can be friend with family's expectation. Hopefully the points will lead me to coins.

Happy New Year!!!

Spanish Community of Usakti Jakarta's picture is taken from Efi Yanuar's facebook photo album
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=468777896630&set=a.468777786630.250684.664471630#!/photo.php?fbid=1561359311870&set=a.1561347711580.72716.1171933673

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Revisiting A Story of Forbidden Love

"Brideshead Revisited" Film Poster
Forbidden love has been a very popular topic of romance flicks, from Shakespeare's classic "Romeo and Juliet", awards winner "Titanic", to heart-rending "The Notebook". On the 8th November 2010, I was led to the notion again as I watched "Brideshead Revisited" in Jakarta's Europe on Screen 2010 (European Film Festival).

It is a British independent movie based on 1945 Evelyn Waugh's novel under the same title. Brideshead is an arty grand mansion owned by Marchmain, the family of Lord Sebastian Flyte. The main character, Charles Ryder is the mansion's adorer who makes friend with Sebastian Flyte in Oxford University. They have an awkward relationship as Sebastian falls in love with him. Ryder who is also a talented painter, by Sebastian's invitation has a chance to live his life in the dwelling and gets to know more about the family's Catholicism set up strictly by Lady Marchmain, the mother.

The Brideshead Dinner

The forbidden love issue raises as Ryder starts to have a crush on Sebastian's sister, Julia, and she replies. Sebastian's drinking habit gets worst, while Lady Marchmain does not let her daughter marry an atheist. Therefore, she couples Julia with a Catholic Canadian, Rex. Moreover, Ryder is also exiled from Brideshead.

Marchmain's Family Catholicism Puts Ryder in the Shadow

Several years later after the mother dies, married Charles Ryder meets married Julia and revisits Brideshead to take her away from Rex as Charles and Julia still keep the same feeling they had before. Their love is tested once again by the late mother's Catholicism family value which Ryder does not believe in.

Joining this film, Academy Award Winner Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain, Matthew Goode as Charles Ryder, Ben Whishaw as Sebastian Flyte, and Hayley Atwell as Julia Flyte. The film is a 2008 Miramax' production by Julian Jarrold, and nominated for some areas in Satelite Award. Elongate the nomination list is Thompson as best supporting actress in British Independent Film Award and London Film Critics' Circle.

For me personally, I miss this kind of tragic story film which loads much humanity and social issues. When I heard about Europe on Screen 2010, I was so ready to enjoy some European drama. "Brideshead Revisited" has given me a good starting touch to remind myself of my expectation on the festival.

Indonesian British Council Director, Keith Davies, in his short speech at Istituto Italiano di Cultura Jakarta believes that the film attracts not only a European indie cinema adorer like me, but also fashion society. The film's attire which is set to be British aristocrats' around 1925 has been influencing UK fashion designers even up to now.

"Brideshead Revisited" can be caught on 10th November 2010 in Goethe House at 19.30 for Jakarta's screening, and 29th November 2010 in Europe House at 19.00 for Banda Aceh's screening.

movie trailer:
http://www.miramax.com/bridesheadrevisited/?page=11140

source:
http://www.miramax.com/bridesheadrevisited
http://www.flickmagazine.net/feature/244-europe-on-screen-2010--jadwal-berdasarkan-negara.html

Monday 4 October 2010

A Barefoot Dream: A Glow from The Neighbor

Timor Leste, an ex Indonesia's province which was granted liberty in 2002, has been mostly exposed for its domestic political conflicts. Disagreement between pro-Indonesia and pro-independent triggers gun fight, riot, and chaos. Without eliminating the context, director Kim Tae-Gyun presents a glow of Timor Leste's young footballers in a based on true event film, "A Barefoot Dream".

The Film's Poster
The story follows Korean ex youth footballer, Kim Won-Kang, with his crocodile hunting plan in North Sumatra, Indonesia which turned out to be a disaster. For a hope of earning money, he flew to Timor Leste to find such opportunitiy. His business did not run well in the country, he was under debt to some Japanese and Korean fellows, and locals perceived him trickster. Nevertheless, he did a very good job training young barefoot footballers to be professional footballers who won Under-12 Rivelino Cup in Japan two years in a row (2004 and 2005). 

An involvement of Timor Leste's President Xanana Gusmão shows how the government supports the movie as the country's promotion media. It does not hide the upheavals of the country, poverty, chaos, and so on, yet it exposes a hope of unity through the youth football team achievements.

I never watched Korean film nor television series before, thus at first I doubted the movie would be a good flick. Somehow, the premise attracted me among the other Hollywood and Bollywood films played in a multiplex. As I had assumed, the movie was not selling well that day as there was only three persons watching in the theater. However, the movie gave me a very good first impression of Korean feature films. Was impressed by the actor Hie-sun Park's ability to converse in some different languages of Portuguese, Indonesian, and local language Tetum, though he still keeps his Korean accent. Moreover, the story is also simple with some dramatic and thank God, no dry jokes enrichment.

Although the movie is not a first-tier-festival style, it conveys lots of moral values. Therefore, I encourage people, especially Indonesian, to watch the film to gain an alternative story of our neighbor. So, 잘했어! (well done!)

From Nothing

To Something
pictures sources:
http://asianmediawiki.com/A_Barefoot_Dream
http://bicarafilm.com/baca/2010/09/30/a-barefoot-dream-sekali-lagi-kisah-nyata-tentang-kekuatan-mimpi.html

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Road Trip Between Two Volcanos

Four places in six days. We rode a car from Jakarta to Garut for ten hours on that special day. Normally, the trip would take only about four hours driving, but it seems like all Jakarta's citizens are transmigrating to their hometowns in Eid Mubarak (Idul Fitri, Islamic holiday). Traffic jams were unavoidable. However, it was paid off after bathing in sulfur water pool from the volcano while enjoying exotic mountain view of Garut.

Guntur Mountain View from Sumber Alam Hotel

Cool Garut's air can be balanced with Sundanese food and Garut's traditional tea. The best parts of the food are the local tasty liwet rice together with the hot spicy sambal (chili sauce). My empty stomach after bathing in the natural jacuzzi was then completed with vetiver tea; it tastes like ginger and herbs tea with floating strawberries.

Vetiver Tea of Garut
A Crater in Kamojang Craters area

On the next day, we visited beautiful yet mystical Kamojang Craters in Guntur Mountain. Garut is gifted with two volcanos, Guntur and Papandayan, and a green Putri Mountain.

The road trip continued as we were heading south and downhill to Pangandaran. It is very popular for its beach tourism, though I didn't enjoy the beach in Pangandaran. 30 kilometers west from Pangandaran there is Batu Karas Cove where people surf like crazy. Fifteen minutes from the beach, there is another extraordinary beauty called Green Canyon. Using a small boat of five persons, we cruised down the green river until we reached an open cave with stalactite-stalagmite. Fascinating! The journey should be continued by swimming to find a place called Pemandian Putri (bathing pool for the princess). I couldn't go on as I had my period, thus I'm keeping my huge curiosity until the next visit. Between the Green Canyon and Pangandaran, another eye charmer jazz up the trip. Big waves and offshore scenery are the special features of Batu Hiu (shark stone) beach. Cliffs stand firmly on the beach and a garden with gazebos and various trees on top reminds me of a Balinese beach view. 
The View from Batu Hiu's Garden
Batu Hiu
The Green Canyon
 The third and fourth day are spent in Purwokerto, a small city in the south of Slamet Mountain. It is a hometown of my mom, so we came to visit some relatives. Nothing special to be told about the city other than the food. A collection of Central Javanese cuisines, like lamb satay, soto, tahu kupat (tofu and rice), bakso jawa (Javanese meatballs) are available there, thus I called the trip as 'culinary tour' in my facebook account. 

Finally, we were back to the mountain again as we climbed the northern side of Slamet Mountain to a place called Guci. There were lots of cars heading up and down the volcano, while there is only a narrow lane available. Once again the traffic was horrible! According to the hotel owner, it has always been very bad every Eid, so better not to visit Guci at that moment. Just like Garut, Guci which is located south from a city of Tegal, is a nice place to indulge yourself with hot spring. My family and I were lucky to stay not in a five stars but nice hotel there. Yep! There were many people going up without a place to have them after a long tiring journey.
The view from Guci Indah Hotel
Once again I thank God for giving Indonesia such lovely natural beauties, mountains and beaches. It is our job now to preserve, not only treating it for commercial purpose only.