DAY 17 July 4, 2010
§ Back to Where We Belong to §
The most important thing a man can know is that, as he approaches his own door, someone on the other side is listening for the sound of his footsteps.
(Clark Gable; 1901-1960)
Wooaahhh….. I woke up lazily at 4.30. It’s so cold that I wanted to pull back the blanket. But….when I know that I must not be late to get to Hawthorn this morning, I went directly to the bathroom and took a shower.
The next thing I did was waking Yudi up and asked him to take a bath immediately. I went to the kitchen and made a plate of Indomie Goreng rasa sate and a glass of hot tea.
In short, We were ready and Annie was ready, too. This foggy morning was the sign of my last stay in Melbourne…at Annie’s house more specifically. Annie revved the engine and turned on the car heater. She drove like an F-1 driver…so fast… yes this morning the roads were still too quiet. She needed only 15 minutes to drive us from her house to Hawthorn which usually took for about 30 minutes…it meant that she doubled the speed.
We arrived safely…and it seemed we were the first. Couple minutes later some students arrived, the cars from TOGOTO that would take us to the airport were there, too. While loading the luggage, I kept on contacting those who haven’t showed up as the clock was ticking yet the flight wouldn’t wait for us. I also had a chance to meet and greet the host families (remember that I didn’t see them once we arrived two weeks ago). I just said thank and apologized for any inconvenience the students might make during their stay. Those families were nice, they kept on praising the students for being well-behaved and expect them to come again next year (God willing, Amin)
Well, the farewell was over, and it’s time for us to go to the airport. After unloading the luggage, I immediately contacted mBak Olga, Garuda Indonesia officer as recommended by Bu Ernayani, Wira’s mother. mBak Olga would give us any assistance as needed. And yes….we finally got special check in process through special counter…and as expected it took us less than 1.5 hour. As the group leader, I was the last to call with 4 other students…the rest… they have gone inside. We still had a chance to buy some duty-free goods. I bought a perfume with only $45, while some students bought Kangaroo meat and chocolate. In short, the process of customs and immigration was okay and we are at the waiting lounge. Unlike when we first time arrived with scary things here and there, the waiting room was quite cozy with the smell of coffee and bread from some cafes there. 20 minutes later, we were called to enter the gate as the flight was about to depart. And here we come……back to mother nature….some students said: Mama…..I am home!!!! Then I just called mBak Olga again expressing how grateful we were to get such help.
Everything was set, the flight was okay…and we hoped to taste the blow of tropical wind. We did enjoy the flight…with some plans in Bali…but that was only a plan…it could change, right? Finally, we arrived at Ngurah Rai International airport. The funny thing was…we forgot to change our cloth on the plane. We should put on some light T-shirt or shorts, but we still put on our winter outfit. Can you imagine that??? With hot wind, we still wore jacket, scarf…OMG?? Some people were looking at us. They might think…they’re so funny… I don’t care and I don’t give a d@%$!!
But…the nightmare came…do you know what??? As always…time management…we had to wait for about one or two hours just for the customs and immigration….Bu Emy, Almaz’ mother, was waiting for us outside the arrival gate. Some students said it’s longer that the flight itself…..yup…you’re right…
Finally, after some folded face and grumble…we’re done with the airport and stuff…..I met Bu Emy, and surprisingly, I also met Bu Mira, Aya’s mother…. (I thought, she must have missed her daughter soooo much that she willingly went to Bali just to “see” and pick her daughter up.) CMIIW – Correct Me If I am Wrong.
The plan was: The Jakartans would have a half-day trip to Bali as the flight was in the evening, while the Surabayans and Jogjakartans would go immediately to the domestic departure gates. Unfortunately, some Jakartan boys had already gone with the wind…but I told them: Once we arrived in Bali, it’s going to be your own responsibilities…we have provided some help..use it or you take your own risk…fair enough, right? Bu Emy had provided us with 5 cars but only some were used….(To Bu Emy, I am so sorry for this…). Then we separated and we, the Surabayan and Jogjakartan had to prepare for our next flight. We (Syuhudi, Danang, Dea, and I) had lunch at KFC…the real KFC. Then, we prayed and started to the process of check in. All was done and we waited for the flight.
In short, I arrived at Adisucipto airport, said good bye to the students and grabbed a cab to take me to Magelang. I wanted to sleep…but these eyes couldn’t be closed…so I just enjoyed my Jogja – Magelang journey. Entering TN gate, I said to myself….Home Sweet Home. Thank God, the journey was over, the adventure was recorded and the memories were kept.
18.3.11
My Australian Journey (Part 16)
DAY 16 July 3, 2010
§ Another Nowhere-to-go Day §
If we are not enthusiastic, we can’t get things done. If we are over-enthusiastic, we run into the danger of being fanatical.
(Woodrow Wyatt; 1918)
For the students, today might be the best day for them during their Aussie visit, while for me, it’s going to be horrible. The students would spend the day in every single corner of the city, while I myself would walk back and forth at Swanston Street.
So, I told Annie that today I would be away till evening so no need to bother for cooking dinner. I asked myself: Where would you go? And I answered it: I don’t know, I don’t want to know, and I don’t care where I am going.
Then, this “lone ranger” commanded his feet to Ormond station. Of course, I had to stop at the bakeshop for a cup of cappuccino and free doughnut, and I told them that today was my last day in Melbourne. They were pretty nice, I reckoned.
Then, the Frankston train took me to Melbourne Central station. I entered the State Library. I saw some students were there, too. Some of them were updating their Facebook status, while some of them played game in the recreation room to the left of the entrance. I tried to enter the recreation area and played soccer with someone that I don’t know the name. I, of course, loss the game. Then, I went out the building and moved toward Es Teller 77 to have lunch.
Basically, the whole day I was wandering around the city with no exact destination. That was so silly, I thought. I went home and felt so tired. Once I reached home, I prepared everything for my next day’s flight. Everything seemed okay, and I am ready to go to bed as tomorrow I had to wake up early in the morning. I should be arriving at Hawthorn at 6.00, which meant that I had to depart from Annie’s house at 5.30. Ohhh…I just could imagine the taste of a real Indonesian cuisine the next day because I would be on different continent. Good night everybody…have a nice dream.
§ Another Nowhere-to-go Day §
If we are not enthusiastic, we can’t get things done. If we are over-enthusiastic, we run into the danger of being fanatical.
(Woodrow Wyatt; 1918)
For the students, today might be the best day for them during their Aussie visit, while for me, it’s going to be horrible. The students would spend the day in every single corner of the city, while I myself would walk back and forth at Swanston Street.
So, I told Annie that today I would be away till evening so no need to bother for cooking dinner. I asked myself: Where would you go? And I answered it: I don’t know, I don’t want to know, and I don’t care where I am going.
Then, this “lone ranger” commanded his feet to Ormond station. Of course, I had to stop at the bakeshop for a cup of cappuccino and free doughnut, and I told them that today was my last day in Melbourne. They were pretty nice, I reckoned.
Then, the Frankston train took me to Melbourne Central station. I entered the State Library. I saw some students were there, too. Some of them were updating their Facebook status, while some of them played game in the recreation room to the left of the entrance. I tried to enter the recreation area and played soccer with someone that I don’t know the name. I, of course, loss the game. Then, I went out the building and moved toward Es Teller 77 to have lunch.
Basically, the whole day I was wandering around the city with no exact destination. That was so silly, I thought. I went home and felt so tired. Once I reached home, I prepared everything for my next day’s flight. Everything seemed okay, and I am ready to go to bed as tomorrow I had to wake up early in the morning. I should be arriving at Hawthorn at 6.00, which meant that I had to depart from Annie’s house at 5.30. Ohhh…I just could imagine the taste of a real Indonesian cuisine the next day because I would be on different continent. Good night everybody…have a nice dream.
My Australian Journey (Part 15)
DAY 15 July 2, 2010
§ Is It Over or It is Not? §
It is not necessary that I live, but it is necessary that I perform my duty.
(Frederick II; 1712-1786)
Going out from Annie’s house, I didn’t go directly to Hawthorn, instead I went to the City. As always, with a cup of cappuccino and a doughnut, I got on Frankston train to Flinders Street.
Why the city?? It’s because Wiratmika’s mother informed me that I needed to confirm about students’ flight at the Garuda HQ. It was not difficult to find the street. It’s just crossing Flinders Station and went up and that’s Collins Street. What made me interested in this street was: The stores!!! Prada, Chanel, Armani, Bvlgari, and still so many first class stores along the street. What I could do was just one: WINDOW SHOPPING as I might not be able to buy even the button or the zipper of those clothes.
After walking for a while (I intentionally did that as I wanted to enjoy the street), I reached Collins 30. I went to the 1st floor and when I opened the lift, I saw a very familiar sign: Garuda Indonesia. The office was not too big yet little bit cozy…with two LCD monitors displaying the Garuda advertisement (as seen on our local TV) hanging on its right and left sides. Then a young lady greeted me and offered help. I just told her that I needed to confirm our flight and let her know everything about Wira’s mom effort to get the excess baggage. We wanted to have 10 kgs for each of us, but unfortunately the GM only gave us 100 kilos for all passengers. I started to calculate….it meant that each student could only have two kilos of excess baggage….. did it make any sense? I thought considering that they were shopping freaks!!!
In the meantime, the students were studying future plans and program evaluation. By the time I got to Hawthorn campus, the students were practicing for their final performance during the certificate presentation. One class brought a topic of global warming in a form of mini drama, then the next class had a short skit of play telling the cultural differences, while the last class practiced singing for their last performance.
And here comes the certificate presentation, exactly at 1:30 because at 12:30 there was still another certificate presentation for students from Alfalink group. We moved to the theater and with less formality, Louis Brooth open the session and the students started to perform.
These students were “crazy” as their performance was beyond my expectation. Indeed, I knew that their self-confidence improved a lot, their speaking skill was progressive, and the most importantly, they were sooo entertaining showing that they have “broadway” capacity and made us burst into laugh!! No doubt at all.
In short, the certificate presentation was a success and it’s time for us to have afternoon tea at the cafeteria. After having some cakes and soft drink, it’s time for us to say good bye to the teachers because we might not see them again the next day. Because the weather was pretty good, the students decided to spend the last day to go to city central….but what made me surprised…some of them wanted to watch the AFL (Australian Football League)… I was wondering how could they get the ticket…and they responded that they had got the ticket three days earlier. Oh my God…..okay guys….just be careful because today was Friday.
§ Is It Over or It is Not? §
It is not necessary that I live, but it is necessary that I perform my duty.
(Frederick II; 1712-1786)
Going out from Annie’s house, I didn’t go directly to Hawthorn, instead I went to the City. As always, with a cup of cappuccino and a doughnut, I got on Frankston train to Flinders Street.
Why the city?? It’s because Wiratmika’s mother informed me that I needed to confirm about students’ flight at the Garuda HQ. It was not difficult to find the street. It’s just crossing Flinders Station and went up and that’s Collins Street. What made me interested in this street was: The stores!!! Prada, Chanel, Armani, Bvlgari, and still so many first class stores along the street. What I could do was just one: WINDOW SHOPPING as I might not be able to buy even the button or the zipper of those clothes.
After walking for a while (I intentionally did that as I wanted to enjoy the street), I reached Collins 30. I went to the 1st floor and when I opened the lift, I saw a very familiar sign: Garuda Indonesia. The office was not too big yet little bit cozy…with two LCD monitors displaying the Garuda advertisement (as seen on our local TV) hanging on its right and left sides. Then a young lady greeted me and offered help. I just told her that I needed to confirm our flight and let her know everything about Wira’s mom effort to get the excess baggage. We wanted to have 10 kgs for each of us, but unfortunately the GM only gave us 100 kilos for all passengers. I started to calculate….it meant that each student could only have two kilos of excess baggage….. did it make any sense? I thought considering that they were shopping freaks!!!
In the meantime, the students were studying future plans and program evaluation. By the time I got to Hawthorn campus, the students were practicing for their final performance during the certificate presentation. One class brought a topic of global warming in a form of mini drama, then the next class had a short skit of play telling the cultural differences, while the last class practiced singing for their last performance.
And here comes the certificate presentation, exactly at 1:30 because at 12:30 there was still another certificate presentation for students from Alfalink group. We moved to the theater and with less formality, Louis Brooth open the session and the students started to perform.
These students were “crazy” as their performance was beyond my expectation. Indeed, I knew that their self-confidence improved a lot, their speaking skill was progressive, and the most importantly, they were sooo entertaining showing that they have “broadway” capacity and made us burst into laugh!! No doubt at all.
In short, the certificate presentation was a success and it’s time for us to have afternoon tea at the cafeteria. After having some cakes and soft drink, it’s time for us to say good bye to the teachers because we might not see them again the next day. Because the weather was pretty good, the students decided to spend the last day to go to city central….but what made me surprised…some of them wanted to watch the AFL (Australian Football League)… I was wondering how could they get the ticket…and they responded that they had got the ticket three days earlier. Oh my God…..okay guys….just be careful because today was Friday.
My Australian Journey (Part 14)
DAY 14 July 1, 2010
§ Visit it or You’ll Regret It §
Dreams or illusions, call them what you will. They lift us from the commonplace of life to better things.
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; 1807-1882)
Today, we would have a visit to Melbourne Museum. I thought it’s gonna be like any other ordinary museums. But, from what I heard from so many people I met, Melbourne Museum was worth seeing and we would regret if we hadn’t visited it. So, yes….Melbourne Museum…here I come.
However, I still had a “homework”, that is buying souvenir for my beloved fellow teachers. Again, I dragged the trolley to Victoria market hoping that today, unlike yesterday, I was fortunate enough to get what I wanted. Here comes again the warrior of trolley, ready for a battle with folded trolley on my right hand, backpack and folded umbrella, hot cappuccino on my left hand, and of course the shopping list inside the pocket!
In short, I reached Victoria market, and yes…. Thank God that the market was open but it was a bit quiet as I arrived too early. I moved directly to where the cheapest souvenirs were. I tried to bargain with the shopkeeper because I wanted to buy almost “all” souvenirs displayed there. Indeed, the prices were quite reasonable and he still gave me bonus. As all the things in the shopping list fit into the trolley and my backpack, I hurriedly moved to the tram station in front of the market. Oh man…. It’s just like dragging a house full of its furniture…it’ so heavy…it’s about 25 kilos if I am not mistaken.
The strunggle was not over yet. I needed to walk from the last stop of the tram to Flinders….then stopped at Kooyong station…and of course I had to walk through Kooyong Park and Kooyong Lawn Tennis court…going up to Hawthorn for about 1.5 km. Thank God the weather was friendly so I was not sweating but these hands and arms felt like chopstick…. I could even bend it.
Arriving at the campus, I moved to the cafeteria because I knew it was the time for the students to have a break. After ordering some food and drink and waiting for a while, I saw the students entering the cafeteria. So I called one of them to distribute the souvenir to them to give to their class advisors (wali kelas) and dormitory advisor (wali graha). Well, I considered this done and all souvenirs were well-distributed! And it’s time for us to have Melbourne Museum visit.
The group moved and walked to Kooyong station as the departure place. This time we didn’t stop at Flinders or Melbourne Central, instead we stopped at Parliament station. Going up through a long elevator, we finally came in front of Victoria Parliament building. I was so astonished with this Roman building, depicting the grace and power all at once. What made me more astonished was that students talked about this building and their experiences there. Wait a minute….. hey guys….have you been there??? Oh man, I was thousands steps behind them….they have explored this city….I said once again…they have EXPLORED the city…. Even some of them took pictures with the guard…couple days before.
Then, we walked to the museum. Before entering the museum, we took picture in front of a majestic fountain with some statues on it. That was so beautiful. When we got to the museum, there was a Titanic artefact exhibition… but of course we wouldn’t see that as the ticket was costly.
Bret Powell and his friends guided us to enter the museum. As we explored the museum, our eyes couldn’t blink due to the beauty of this museum. This museum was equipped with some multimedia, audio and video, and some touchscreen monitors. I was with Dananjaya, who brought his camera while mine was left at Annie’s house. (What a pity). It took us one hour to explore the museum when finally we had to go home. Some students (Noni and her gang) asked permission to watch Eclipse 3D the movie. Seeing their droopy eyes hoping me to grant their request, I said yes with one condition: Call or sms once you got home!!
Some students (Singgih, Syuhudi, Dananjaya, Briston, Danang, Reynaldi) and I went back to Hawthorn campus to practice for Poco-poco because most of the students had gone with the wind! We planned to perform the dance at the closing ceremony. After we had finished practicing we went home. It was around 5.00 pm. Today was a bit tiring but surely…I enjoyed it.
§ Visit it or You’ll Regret It §
Dreams or illusions, call them what you will. They lift us from the commonplace of life to better things.
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; 1807-1882)
Today, we would have a visit to Melbourne Museum. I thought it’s gonna be like any other ordinary museums. But, from what I heard from so many people I met, Melbourne Museum was worth seeing and we would regret if we hadn’t visited it. So, yes….Melbourne Museum…here I come.
However, I still had a “homework”, that is buying souvenir for my beloved fellow teachers. Again, I dragged the trolley to Victoria market hoping that today, unlike yesterday, I was fortunate enough to get what I wanted. Here comes again the warrior of trolley, ready for a battle with folded trolley on my right hand, backpack and folded umbrella, hot cappuccino on my left hand, and of course the shopping list inside the pocket!
In short, I reached Victoria market, and yes…. Thank God that the market was open but it was a bit quiet as I arrived too early. I moved directly to where the cheapest souvenirs were. I tried to bargain with the shopkeeper because I wanted to buy almost “all” souvenirs displayed there. Indeed, the prices were quite reasonable and he still gave me bonus. As all the things in the shopping list fit into the trolley and my backpack, I hurriedly moved to the tram station in front of the market. Oh man…. It’s just like dragging a house full of its furniture…it’ so heavy…it’s about 25 kilos if I am not mistaken.
The strunggle was not over yet. I needed to walk from the last stop of the tram to Flinders….then stopped at Kooyong station…and of course I had to walk through Kooyong Park and Kooyong Lawn Tennis court…going up to Hawthorn for about 1.5 km. Thank God the weather was friendly so I was not sweating but these hands and arms felt like chopstick…. I could even bend it.
Arriving at the campus, I moved to the cafeteria because I knew it was the time for the students to have a break. After ordering some food and drink and waiting for a while, I saw the students entering the cafeteria. So I called one of them to distribute the souvenir to them to give to their class advisors (wali kelas) and dormitory advisor (wali graha). Well, I considered this done and all souvenirs were well-distributed! And it’s time for us to have Melbourne Museum visit.
The group moved and walked to Kooyong station as the departure place. This time we didn’t stop at Flinders or Melbourne Central, instead we stopped at Parliament station. Going up through a long elevator, we finally came in front of Victoria Parliament building. I was so astonished with this Roman building, depicting the grace and power all at once. What made me more astonished was that students talked about this building and their experiences there. Wait a minute….. hey guys….have you been there??? Oh man, I was thousands steps behind them….they have explored this city….I said once again…they have EXPLORED the city…. Even some of them took pictures with the guard…couple days before.
Then, we walked to the museum. Before entering the museum, we took picture in front of a majestic fountain with some statues on it. That was so beautiful. When we got to the museum, there was a Titanic artefact exhibition… but of course we wouldn’t see that as the ticket was costly.
Bret Powell and his friends guided us to enter the museum. As we explored the museum, our eyes couldn’t blink due to the beauty of this museum. This museum was equipped with some multimedia, audio and video, and some touchscreen monitors. I was with Dananjaya, who brought his camera while mine was left at Annie’s house. (What a pity). It took us one hour to explore the museum when finally we had to go home. Some students (Noni and her gang) asked permission to watch Eclipse 3D the movie. Seeing their droopy eyes hoping me to grant their request, I said yes with one condition: Call or sms once you got home!!
Some students (Singgih, Syuhudi, Dananjaya, Briston, Danang, Reynaldi) and I went back to Hawthorn campus to practice for Poco-poco because most of the students had gone with the wind! We planned to perform the dance at the closing ceremony. After we had finished practicing we went home. It was around 5.00 pm. Today was a bit tiring but surely…I enjoyed it.
My Australian Journey (Part 13)
DAY 13 June 30, 2010
§ Pasar Rebo vs Victoria Market §
Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.
(Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi; 1962)
Today might be one of the silliest days in my life yet I liked it very much. In the morning, as usual, after having a cup of hot chocolate and free doughnut at the bake shop I went to Ormond station. But this time I went there a bit late. I took my backpack, an umbrella, and on my right hand side there was something that I might think as something funny for a man: Annie’s foldable trolley. A trolley? Yes, sure it was….. My plan was going shopping to Vic mart. Going shopping again??? Wait a minute, this was just an extraordinary shopping coz I had to buy things for my fellow teachers at Tarnus …. No..I mean I wanted to help the students buy the souvenirs for their teachers. As listed, there should be 50 souvenirs not to mention the ones bought by Sarah Akip on weekend.
Confidently, I dragged the trolley with its cracking sound to Victoria market. Along the way, some people stared at me, but I didn’t give a d@#$. Finally, I arrived at Victoria market… but there was something strange there…it’s so quiet..not as hectic as when we were here couple days ago. I kept on walking through Mac Donald resto and headed to the souvenir section. Then…the nightmare came… I stopped from distance and saw the section was empty. No people at all..just covered stalls, public cleaners, and some rubbish trucks. Then, I asked someone who cleaned the market if Wednesday was holiday for Victoria market. He told me that Monday and Wednesday were the day offs for Victoria market. I just laughed at myself…So far away I came and here what I got… NOTHING!!! Now, I know why the market was called Victoria market and not Pasar Rebo, because if it’s called Pasar Rebo, then it will remain open on Wednesday.
I went back …. and I moved directly to Flinders… and again..many people stared at me with this empty trolley. Catch the train to Kooyong on platform 7 and I was sure that I had to go back the next day. I wish I could be like Spongebob’s friend, Squidward who has more than two legs…so that I can used them in turn because these legs felt so tired.
Arriving at Hawthorn, some students asked me what I have been doing with the trolley and I told them the history…but still I had to keep on dragging it throughout the campus.
Now, we had a question: Why did we go to Aussie? Of course we wanted to have a vacation. Okay…you want it, we give it. Today’s lesson was, of course, travel and tourism. Students were given new knowledge about tourism in Australia but…you know…they know more about that by exploring Melbourne… exactly like Dora the Explorer…
Then..it’s time for us to “taste” what a big bus was like. We went to Robinson Road (at the back part of Hawthorn campus) and there waited for us a big bus that would take us to St. Kilda. St. Kilda??? That’s one of the most interesting places in Melbourne.
St Kilda was a harbor with some luxurious houses along its way. It has some fancy and expensive restaurants. Yachts and some surfing equipment became very common things there. By using Panorama Coach, the big bus, we parked the car near one of the most popular parks: Luna Park. The students were free to explore the harbor and beach..but still with the assignment from their teachers….
This beach should have been very beautiful, but the freezing wind made us uncomfortable. Summer should be the best time to go there. However, we still tried to explore it. As any other beaches, it has soft and white sand. The pelican became inseparable creatures there. As we walk along the path, we came to a wooden – structured area which was beautifully arranged. There were also some parks and benches around the area.
I myself walked along with four or five students, while the rest were gone exploring the place by themselves. Then, we came to St. Kilda Pier. It’s around 200 meters long concrete structure which went out from the beach. I walked through it and the wind’s blow got stronger and stronger. I finally reached the end of the pier. It’s an old restaurant…but of course the menu was quite expensive.
I took a left turn and walked along the rocks behind the restaurant and I was surprised because there were some people gathered on a rumble of rocks taking pictures of something. As I approached, they were taking pictures of Rakali, water rat. I was so curious, but I was unfortunate as the Rakali has already gone when I tried to push the button of my camera.
Then, I went back to the pier where I still saw some students there and of course some fisherman with their boats. Finally, I stopped at a bench next to the pier and took out my packed lunch: Doubled Size Fried Indomie. I ate there with birds flying around my head, hoping I shared mine to them. Sorry…. I was hungry, so this was just for me…just for me!!
Then, some boys came and we continued the journey to the upper part of the area. We crossed a bridge flying over a road. From this bridge, we could see St. Kilda’s beauty. That was awesome!!! As we continued walking, we finally reached Luna Park (one of the most recommended POI). It’s basically like an amusement part with some rides there. But, I decided not to enter coz the entrance fee was quite costly.
Feeling tired, I went directly to where the bus was parked. The driver opened the door and I slept inside while listening some oldies songs from the radio. Soon, some students showed up and this was the first time we were on time.
There’s funny thing, some students had to go back to McDonald as they felt very hungry. I was wondering what was in their belly, was it worm… or dragon??? Then, the group was complete and we headed back to campus.
For me, this was one of the most interesting places in Melbourne I have ever visited. Everyone got off on campus. The next journey was up to them, while I myself, I thought it’s better for me to just go home and have a rest. And still, with the folded trolley, I moved toward Kooyong Station to Richmond, and then to Ormond. Trolley… oh trolley…
§ Pasar Rebo vs Victoria Market §
Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.
(Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi; 1962)
Today might be one of the silliest days in my life yet I liked it very much. In the morning, as usual, after having a cup of hot chocolate and free doughnut at the bake shop I went to Ormond station. But this time I went there a bit late. I took my backpack, an umbrella, and on my right hand side there was something that I might think as something funny for a man: Annie’s foldable trolley. A trolley? Yes, sure it was….. My plan was going shopping to Vic mart. Going shopping again??? Wait a minute, this was just an extraordinary shopping coz I had to buy things for my fellow teachers at Tarnus …. No..I mean I wanted to help the students buy the souvenirs for their teachers. As listed, there should be 50 souvenirs not to mention the ones bought by Sarah Akip on weekend.
Confidently, I dragged the trolley with its cracking sound to Victoria market. Along the way, some people stared at me, but I didn’t give a d@#$. Finally, I arrived at Victoria market… but there was something strange there…it’s so quiet..not as hectic as when we were here couple days ago. I kept on walking through Mac Donald resto and headed to the souvenir section. Then…the nightmare came… I stopped from distance and saw the section was empty. No people at all..just covered stalls, public cleaners, and some rubbish trucks. Then, I asked someone who cleaned the market if Wednesday was holiday for Victoria market. He told me that Monday and Wednesday were the day offs for Victoria market. I just laughed at myself…So far away I came and here what I got… NOTHING!!! Now, I know why the market was called Victoria market and not Pasar Rebo, because if it’s called Pasar Rebo, then it will remain open on Wednesday.
I went back …. and I moved directly to Flinders… and again..many people stared at me with this empty trolley. Catch the train to Kooyong on platform 7 and I was sure that I had to go back the next day. I wish I could be like Spongebob’s friend, Squidward who has more than two legs…so that I can used them in turn because these legs felt so tired.
Arriving at Hawthorn, some students asked me what I have been doing with the trolley and I told them the history…but still I had to keep on dragging it throughout the campus.
Now, we had a question: Why did we go to Aussie? Of course we wanted to have a vacation. Okay…you want it, we give it. Today’s lesson was, of course, travel and tourism. Students were given new knowledge about tourism in Australia but…you know…they know more about that by exploring Melbourne… exactly like Dora the Explorer…
Then..it’s time for us to “taste” what a big bus was like. We went to Robinson Road (at the back part of Hawthorn campus) and there waited for us a big bus that would take us to St. Kilda. St. Kilda??? That’s one of the most interesting places in Melbourne.
St Kilda was a harbor with some luxurious houses along its way. It has some fancy and expensive restaurants. Yachts and some surfing equipment became very common things there. By using Panorama Coach, the big bus, we parked the car near one of the most popular parks: Luna Park. The students were free to explore the harbor and beach..but still with the assignment from their teachers….
This beach should have been very beautiful, but the freezing wind made us uncomfortable. Summer should be the best time to go there. However, we still tried to explore it. As any other beaches, it has soft and white sand. The pelican became inseparable creatures there. As we walk along the path, we came to a wooden – structured area which was beautifully arranged. There were also some parks and benches around the area.
I myself walked along with four or five students, while the rest were gone exploring the place by themselves. Then, we came to St. Kilda Pier. It’s around 200 meters long concrete structure which went out from the beach. I walked through it and the wind’s blow got stronger and stronger. I finally reached the end of the pier. It’s an old restaurant…but of course the menu was quite expensive.
I took a left turn and walked along the rocks behind the restaurant and I was surprised because there were some people gathered on a rumble of rocks taking pictures of something. As I approached, they were taking pictures of Rakali, water rat. I was so curious, but I was unfortunate as the Rakali has already gone when I tried to push the button of my camera.
Then, I went back to the pier where I still saw some students there and of course some fisherman with their boats. Finally, I stopped at a bench next to the pier and took out my packed lunch: Doubled Size Fried Indomie. I ate there with birds flying around my head, hoping I shared mine to them. Sorry…. I was hungry, so this was just for me…just for me!!
Then, some boys came and we continued the journey to the upper part of the area. We crossed a bridge flying over a road. From this bridge, we could see St. Kilda’s beauty. That was awesome!!! As we continued walking, we finally reached Luna Park (one of the most recommended POI). It’s basically like an amusement part with some rides there. But, I decided not to enter coz the entrance fee was quite costly.
Feeling tired, I went directly to where the bus was parked. The driver opened the door and I slept inside while listening some oldies songs from the radio. Soon, some students showed up and this was the first time we were on time.
There’s funny thing, some students had to go back to McDonald as they felt very hungry. I was wondering what was in their belly, was it worm… or dragon??? Then, the group was complete and we headed back to campus.
For me, this was one of the most interesting places in Melbourne I have ever visited. Everyone got off on campus. The next journey was up to them, while I myself, I thought it’s better for me to just go home and have a rest. And still, with the folded trolley, I moved toward Kooyong Station to Richmond, and then to Ormond. Trolley… oh trolley…
My Australian Journey (Part 12)
DAY 12 June 29, 2010
§ In the Middle of Nowhere §
Everything on earth (is) beautiful, everything, except what we ourselves think and do when we forget the higher purpose of life and our own human dignity.
(Anton Checkhov; 1860-1904)
This morning, I went to the campus a bit early…I didn’t know why…it’s just I wanted it. Crossing the road to Ormond Station, I stopped at the bake house. As usual, the shopkeepers (I guess they were Thai) greeted me so nicely…oh ya I almost forgot to tell that for the past 4 days I always went to this bake house just to have a cup of hot cappuccino…and of course a free doughnut. (So…Indonesian, right?). Arriving at the campus I went straight to the first floor where the computer library was. Today, I promised to give update to the parents whose kids joined the program. The parents were very anxious about their sons or daughter…but they were also happy because the kids were doing well. They could also communicate with them by phone or their own FB account. But what I told them was a bit different from those told by the kids. I rather told them about things behind the program and so on and so forth.
Today I was also scheduled to have a meeting with Liana and Louis to talk about the future program possibility. I went to Louis’ office and we had talked a lot about our family before Liana came. Basically, the talk was about how we would organize and set the plan on the program. I proposed that students were given more chance to interact with other students in the buddy class. Besides, we might focus on language for presentation and writing skills. Why is that so? It’s just because the visit to the city was an easy thing to do even the students could explore more than expected. Liana and Louis agreed to the plan and I asked to send me the proposal as quickly as possible along with the report about our students (which I haven’t received by the time I write this book)
Then, it’s time for the girls to re-perform the Saman Dance. This time, they would perform in the cafeteria …Daniel had already prepared for the place…why cafeteria??? It’s just because that’s the place where almost all students gathered during the break time…..And yes…that’s totally true…While the girls were preparing the dance..so many students came and wondered with what was going to happen. They asked each other…then Bret told everybody in that room that we were going to perform a dance. They were very enthusiastic with this…they took their cameras and recorded or just captured the picts of the dancers. They were amazed…I could see it from their eyes and opening mouth!!! They just couldn’t believe how the girls could make such quick and simultaneous movements.
This happy moment was destroyed by the boys, especially the XI graders. They refused to prepare the art performance. I was very upset with them..so, there was no other way to do but express my anger to them.
In the afternoon, we had additional lesson but I decided to stay in the students’ lounge until the class was over. At around 3, we went home. I tried the new route: Using tram, hoping that it would save my time. So I took tram from Kooyong Park. The driver told me that I had to get off at Caulfield Park and took the tram number 64. I did that…I took tram number 64. Unfortunately, when I asked the driver that I wanted to stop at Glenthuntly road, he was so sorry that the road was five or six blocks behind. What the…. I got lost!! Oh man….I had to get off…and what made me scared was…the place was soooo quiet…there was nobody even the clock still showed at 4.30. And finally, after 15 minutes wait, the tram which led me to Glenthuntly came. Not wanting to make the second mistake, I told the driver that I wanted to stop at Glenthuntly Road.
At last, I arrived at Glenthuntly Road. The second silly thing happened. I should turn right on the intersection, but I walked and turned left where I could hear the puff of the train coming (as I thought that might be the station). The worst thing was…even there were many stores there, I couldn’t find any single person…Was this a dead city or something, I thought? Until finally I found an old lady walking towards me…then I asked her where Glenthuntly station was…She was surprised and told me that I had to turn around and suggested me that I should take tram. Instead of taking tram, I walked. I thought it was a stone throw distance. I should have listened to the lady. It’s a long way walk….How could I be so stupid!!! Even finally I arrived at Glenthuntly….of man…these legs felt swollen and soooo tired.
After waiting for 10 minutes, the Frankston train came and I immediately got on the train and headed to Ormond. When I arrived at home, it was so quiet. It seemed nobody was there. Annie’s room was also dark, the kitchen was the same..and in front of the bathroom, there was a big sign, Annie’s hand writing “DON’T USE THE TOILET. GO UPSTAIRS”. Oh come on…what else, this time????
I was wondering whether there would be dinner or no because up to 7.00 Annie didn’t show up. I was so starving…..but thank God finally Annie went home with her brother, David with some take aways: Chips and Chickens. Then, here comes the old saying : “I was so hungry that I could eat a horse” the we had a big feast.
We really had a nice dinner. Kay told us that she would be leaving for China the following day as she would have a 3-week holiday. Therefore, I asked Yudi to take his camera and Annie offered herself to be the photographer. The four of us: Kay, Yudi, Febri, and I sat on the couch with Annie’s cat Fatsy, then Annie took our pictures.
§ In the Middle of Nowhere §
Everything on earth (is) beautiful, everything, except what we ourselves think and do when we forget the higher purpose of life and our own human dignity.
(Anton Checkhov; 1860-1904)
This morning, I went to the campus a bit early…I didn’t know why…it’s just I wanted it. Crossing the road to Ormond Station, I stopped at the bake house. As usual, the shopkeepers (I guess they were Thai) greeted me so nicely…oh ya I almost forgot to tell that for the past 4 days I always went to this bake house just to have a cup of hot cappuccino…and of course a free doughnut. (So…Indonesian, right?). Arriving at the campus I went straight to the first floor where the computer library was. Today, I promised to give update to the parents whose kids joined the program. The parents were very anxious about their sons or daughter…but they were also happy because the kids were doing well. They could also communicate with them by phone or their own FB account. But what I told them was a bit different from those told by the kids. I rather told them about things behind the program and so on and so forth.
Today I was also scheduled to have a meeting with Liana and Louis to talk about the future program possibility. I went to Louis’ office and we had talked a lot about our family before Liana came. Basically, the talk was about how we would organize and set the plan on the program. I proposed that students were given more chance to interact with other students in the buddy class. Besides, we might focus on language for presentation and writing skills. Why is that so? It’s just because the visit to the city was an easy thing to do even the students could explore more than expected. Liana and Louis agreed to the plan and I asked to send me the proposal as quickly as possible along with the report about our students (which I haven’t received by the time I write this book)
Then, it’s time for the girls to re-perform the Saman Dance. This time, they would perform in the cafeteria …Daniel had already prepared for the place…why cafeteria??? It’s just because that’s the place where almost all students gathered during the break time…..And yes…that’s totally true…While the girls were preparing the dance..so many students came and wondered with what was going to happen. They asked each other…then Bret told everybody in that room that we were going to perform a dance. They were very enthusiastic with this…they took their cameras and recorded or just captured the picts of the dancers. They were amazed…I could see it from their eyes and opening mouth!!! They just couldn’t believe how the girls could make such quick and simultaneous movements.
This happy moment was destroyed by the boys, especially the XI graders. They refused to prepare the art performance. I was very upset with them..so, there was no other way to do but express my anger to them.
In the afternoon, we had additional lesson but I decided to stay in the students’ lounge until the class was over. At around 3, we went home. I tried the new route: Using tram, hoping that it would save my time. So I took tram from Kooyong Park. The driver told me that I had to get off at Caulfield Park and took the tram number 64. I did that…I took tram number 64. Unfortunately, when I asked the driver that I wanted to stop at Glenthuntly road, he was so sorry that the road was five or six blocks behind. What the…. I got lost!! Oh man….I had to get off…and what made me scared was…the place was soooo quiet…there was nobody even the clock still showed at 4.30. And finally, after 15 minutes wait, the tram which led me to Glenthuntly came. Not wanting to make the second mistake, I told the driver that I wanted to stop at Glenthuntly Road.
At last, I arrived at Glenthuntly Road. The second silly thing happened. I should turn right on the intersection, but I walked and turned left where I could hear the puff of the train coming (as I thought that might be the station). The worst thing was…even there were many stores there, I couldn’t find any single person…Was this a dead city or something, I thought? Until finally I found an old lady walking towards me…then I asked her where Glenthuntly station was…She was surprised and told me that I had to turn around and suggested me that I should take tram. Instead of taking tram, I walked. I thought it was a stone throw distance. I should have listened to the lady. It’s a long way walk….How could I be so stupid!!! Even finally I arrived at Glenthuntly….of man…these legs felt swollen and soooo tired.
After waiting for 10 minutes, the Frankston train came and I immediately got on the train and headed to Ormond. When I arrived at home, it was so quiet. It seemed nobody was there. Annie’s room was also dark, the kitchen was the same..and in front of the bathroom, there was a big sign, Annie’s hand writing “DON’T USE THE TOILET. GO UPSTAIRS”. Oh come on…what else, this time????
I was wondering whether there would be dinner or no because up to 7.00 Annie didn’t show up. I was so starving…..but thank God finally Annie went home with her brother, David with some take aways: Chips and Chickens. Then, here comes the old saying : “I was so hungry that I could eat a horse” the we had a big feast.
We really had a nice dinner. Kay told us that she would be leaving for China the following day as she would have a 3-week holiday. Therefore, I asked Yudi to take his camera and Annie offered herself to be the photographer. The four of us: Kay, Yudi, Febri, and I sat on the couch with Annie’s cat Fatsy, then Annie took our pictures.
My Australian Journey (Part 11)
DAY 11 June 28, 2010
§ The Coldest of the Decade §
A university education should equip one to entertain three things: a friend, an idea ad one’s self (Thomas Ehrlich with Juliet Frey)
“I Love Mondays” or “I Hate Mondays” syndrome woke me up from my sleep. Today I planned to go to campus a bit late because I didn’t have something special to do at campus. I let Yudi went early as he would get a lesson on Australian Education followed by a visit to Melbourne University. Dragging my feet in cold, I moved toward the bathroom and get some warm water to refresh this body.
When I made breakfast, Annie told me that last night and maybe today would be the coldest of the decade. What??? Is it a gift or is it a disaster? I said to myself. Last night’s temperature reached 2o C. Thank God I went home early…but what about today??? Nobody knows….just enjoy it!!
Then, as always I got on the Frankston train, got off at Caulfield, and waited for the 624 bus to Hawthorn. Indeed, it’s bloody cold down there, seemed I could not move or bend my fingers even just to take something out from my nostrils.
Arriving at Hawthorn, Liana told me that there would be a photo session for our group. I went to the computer laboratory just to satisfy the hunger of my fingers touching the key pad and update the status of my FB. Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied in the lab that I missed the group photo, but it’s okay.
Next, the groups were ready to go to Melbourne University. The next challenge was how to beat the monster called : COLD WEATHER. Okay guys, put on your jacket, gloves, hat, and scarf…and we’re ready to gooooooo…… In short, we finally arrived at Melbourne University. The weather was not only cold, but also blew so strongly that it almost lifted us up… This university visit was not an ordinary visit because the students were required to have building hunt. They had to find some specific places and asked information about those places. Surprisingly, despite the cold weather some students dared to put off their jacket and pretended that they were in a tropical country. They’re just crazy….
Overall, the Melbourne University visit was not so exciting as we thought we would also have a meeting with the staff, but that was the examination period, so…we just browsed around the campus and was continued with free program. Some students preferred going home while some others preferred having fun in the city. The best place to hang around was State Library…that’s why some students went there just to play games or just to relax…besides, it’s just close to any Indonesian restos. I thought that I had to secure myself from this bloody cold weather. So, I decided to go home…but I had something to do, that is buying another bottle of Saos ABC at Glenthuntly.
At home, Annie had already prepared the prawn for dinner. She was inspired by the “Master Chef” show. I didn’t know what she was thinking at that time, but it’s okay for me as long as it could make the worms in my belly quiet.
Well, Annie…thank you for this nice dinner but I am so sorry that I had to go back to the bedroom…I just could not hold these eyelids any longer. Full + sleepy = perfect combination.
§ The Coldest of the Decade §
A university education should equip one to entertain three things: a friend, an idea ad one’s self (Thomas Ehrlich with Juliet Frey)
“I Love Mondays” or “I Hate Mondays” syndrome woke me up from my sleep. Today I planned to go to campus a bit late because I didn’t have something special to do at campus. I let Yudi went early as he would get a lesson on Australian Education followed by a visit to Melbourne University. Dragging my feet in cold, I moved toward the bathroom and get some warm water to refresh this body.
When I made breakfast, Annie told me that last night and maybe today would be the coldest of the decade. What??? Is it a gift or is it a disaster? I said to myself. Last night’s temperature reached 2o C. Thank God I went home early…but what about today??? Nobody knows….just enjoy it!!
Then, as always I got on the Frankston train, got off at Caulfield, and waited for the 624 bus to Hawthorn. Indeed, it’s bloody cold down there, seemed I could not move or bend my fingers even just to take something out from my nostrils.
Arriving at Hawthorn, Liana told me that there would be a photo session for our group. I went to the computer laboratory just to satisfy the hunger of my fingers touching the key pad and update the status of my FB. Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied in the lab that I missed the group photo, but it’s okay.
Next, the groups were ready to go to Melbourne University. The next challenge was how to beat the monster called : COLD WEATHER. Okay guys, put on your jacket, gloves, hat, and scarf…and we’re ready to gooooooo…… In short, we finally arrived at Melbourne University. The weather was not only cold, but also blew so strongly that it almost lifted us up… This university visit was not an ordinary visit because the students were required to have building hunt. They had to find some specific places and asked information about those places. Surprisingly, despite the cold weather some students dared to put off their jacket and pretended that they were in a tropical country. They’re just crazy….
Overall, the Melbourne University visit was not so exciting as we thought we would also have a meeting with the staff, but that was the examination period, so…we just browsed around the campus and was continued with free program. Some students preferred going home while some others preferred having fun in the city. The best place to hang around was State Library…that’s why some students went there just to play games or just to relax…besides, it’s just close to any Indonesian restos. I thought that I had to secure myself from this bloody cold weather. So, I decided to go home…but I had something to do, that is buying another bottle of Saos ABC at Glenthuntly.
At home, Annie had already prepared the prawn for dinner. She was inspired by the “Master Chef” show. I didn’t know what she was thinking at that time, but it’s okay for me as long as it could make the worms in my belly quiet.
Well, Annie…thank you for this nice dinner but I am so sorry that I had to go back to the bedroom…I just could not hold these eyelids any longer. Full + sleepy = perfect combination.
My Australian Journey (Part 10)
DAY 10 June 27, 2010
§ Edward Stone §
The artist is not a reporter, but a Great Teacher. It is not his business to depict the world as it is, but as it ought to be.
(H. I. Menchken; 1880-1956)
I didn’t have specific plan for today. But still I wanted to make the most of my time in Melbourne an adventure and unforgettable. Like yesterday, I cooked noodle for my breakfast and ready for the unknown adventure. I let my feet guide me. What I had in mind was going to city. On the way there, I decided to GO BACK to Vic mart. Hei…what do you want to buy?? I dunno..I said to myself. Just wait and see.
Arriving at Flinders station, I directly went upstairs to the place where the tram was waiting. Before getting on the tram, I saw two Indonesian-like families. Yes..that’s right..they spoke in Bahasa Indonesia. In the tram, I asked them and had a small talk with one of them. The world is not enough….that’s the title of James Bond movie because the one whom I talked to was Mr. Puji Santoso, an army officer. He happened to know the husband of my colleague at TN. What made this more interesting was that he asked me to follow him because I would get discount if I went shopping with him. Thank you, Sir!!! Why hadn’t we met the day before? I said to myself, so that I could get MORE discount!!
At Vic mart, we came to a T-shirt stall whose keeper was Indonesian and I bought some with discount….even it was not too much…but..it’s okay. After saying thanks to Mr. Santoso, I was off to the city. That was the plan…but I thought for a moment that I need to go to the zoo as some students had been there couple days ago.
The journey to the zoo took about 20 minutes. I had to go there with tram passing through some woods and silent and hilly places. Finally, I arrived at the zoo..but….it’s impossible to enter because I was running out of money. I had spent the money in Vic Mart yet the entrance fee stated AU$ 24 for adult. So, what could I do??? Of course asked someone who wanted to enter the zoo to take my picture…hehehe..at least I had been to Melbourne zoo, even only in front of its gate.
I went back to the city and planned to have lunch at Nelayan resto. On the way there, I met “Edward stone”, an art performer. He was someone who was standing on a small box and his outfit was designed to resemble stone…so he was just like a “moving” statue. He moved his body so slowly and his right hand held a bubble blower. Once a visitor came, he would blow the bubble and smiled. If he were silent, nobody realized that he was a real living man. In front of him, there was a box full of coins. So many people gathered around him and observed his action. Giving him 1 dollar, I asked somebody to take my picture with Edward stone. Walking in a rush (just like most Australian) my feet led me to one of the most adorable places in Melbourne: Nelayan Resto. Again, some students were around there…they were like real Australian…conquering every single inch of the city!!!
As always, the Tidar-like portion was ready to serve and this time was Gado-gado. Being full I decided to just quickly go home and have some rest, even the clock still showed 3.00 or 4.00 pm. I caught the Frankston train through Flinders station. Then I had to stop at Glenthuntly and went straight to the Asian grocery to buy two bottles of Saos Pedas ABC. As I have got what I needed, then the journey continued to Ormond station where I ended my today’s journey. After dinner, again I tried to mix and match for the luggage. After making sure that everything was okay, then I went sleeping. What a tiring day it was. Okay…see you tomorrow!!! Then I hid myself under the warm bed cover with Celine Dion’s songs in my ears through my iPod.
§ Edward Stone §
The artist is not a reporter, but a Great Teacher. It is not his business to depict the world as it is, but as it ought to be.
(H. I. Menchken; 1880-1956)
I didn’t have specific plan for today. But still I wanted to make the most of my time in Melbourne an adventure and unforgettable. Like yesterday, I cooked noodle for my breakfast and ready for the unknown adventure. I let my feet guide me. What I had in mind was going to city. On the way there, I decided to GO BACK to Vic mart. Hei…what do you want to buy?? I dunno..I said to myself. Just wait and see.
Arriving at Flinders station, I directly went upstairs to the place where the tram was waiting. Before getting on the tram, I saw two Indonesian-like families. Yes..that’s right..they spoke in Bahasa Indonesia. In the tram, I asked them and had a small talk with one of them. The world is not enough….that’s the title of James Bond movie because the one whom I talked to was Mr. Puji Santoso, an army officer. He happened to know the husband of my colleague at TN. What made this more interesting was that he asked me to follow him because I would get discount if I went shopping with him. Thank you, Sir!!! Why hadn’t we met the day before? I said to myself, so that I could get MORE discount!!
At Vic mart, we came to a T-shirt stall whose keeper was Indonesian and I bought some with discount….even it was not too much…but..it’s okay. After saying thanks to Mr. Santoso, I was off to the city. That was the plan…but I thought for a moment that I need to go to the zoo as some students had been there couple days ago.
The journey to the zoo took about 20 minutes. I had to go there with tram passing through some woods and silent and hilly places. Finally, I arrived at the zoo..but….it’s impossible to enter because I was running out of money. I had spent the money in Vic Mart yet the entrance fee stated AU$ 24 for adult. So, what could I do??? Of course asked someone who wanted to enter the zoo to take my picture…hehehe..at least I had been to Melbourne zoo, even only in front of its gate.
I went back to the city and planned to have lunch at Nelayan resto. On the way there, I met “Edward stone”, an art performer. He was someone who was standing on a small box and his outfit was designed to resemble stone…so he was just like a “moving” statue. He moved his body so slowly and his right hand held a bubble blower. Once a visitor came, he would blow the bubble and smiled. If he were silent, nobody realized that he was a real living man. In front of him, there was a box full of coins. So many people gathered around him and observed his action. Giving him 1 dollar, I asked somebody to take my picture with Edward stone. Walking in a rush (just like most Australian) my feet led me to one of the most adorable places in Melbourne: Nelayan Resto. Again, some students were around there…they were like real Australian…conquering every single inch of the city!!!
As always, the Tidar-like portion was ready to serve and this time was Gado-gado. Being full I decided to just quickly go home and have some rest, even the clock still showed 3.00 or 4.00 pm. I caught the Frankston train through Flinders station. Then I had to stop at Glenthuntly and went straight to the Asian grocery to buy two bottles of Saos Pedas ABC. As I have got what I needed, then the journey continued to Ormond station where I ended my today’s journey. After dinner, again I tried to mix and match for the luggage. After making sure that everything was okay, then I went sleeping. What a tiring day it was. Okay…see you tomorrow!!! Then I hid myself under the warm bed cover with Celine Dion’s songs in my ears through my iPod.
My Australian Journey (Part 9)
DAY 9 June 26, 2010
§ Waiting in Vain §
We generally learn how to wait when there is nothing more to wait for
(Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach; 1830-1916)
This morning I woke up a little bit late. I woke up lazily as today was Saturday. I took a bath and reluctantly, I went to the kitchen and made a bowl of noodle. My today’s plan was going to Victoria market again to buy some souvenirs because the previous day was my observation. I bet that some students would also be there.
Finally, I reached Vic Market and spent almost AU$ 100 just for the souvenirs. As I have thought, I met some students there; Noni, Dhira, Dea, Via..and still some others. Then, it’s time to feed the worms in the belly. Carrying two plastic bags of jumpers and a backpack full of souvenirs, I went to the City Center and went directly to Es Teler 77 and ordered Nasi goreng kambing for AU$ 8.50. It’s jumbo portion, Mate!!! Some students were having lunch on the 2nd floor. Since there was nothing more to do, I went home and still reminded the students to be careful and text me once they reached home.
When I arrived home, I went to the room and packed the souvenir to fit the luggage. It seemed that there’s still a room for more souvenirs. So, Sunday would be the best day to go shopping. Hooaahhh…it’s time to go to the dreamland. Good Night!!
§ Waiting in Vain §
We generally learn how to wait when there is nothing more to wait for
(Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach; 1830-1916)
This morning I woke up a little bit late. I woke up lazily as today was Saturday. I took a bath and reluctantly, I went to the kitchen and made a bowl of noodle. My today’s plan was going to Victoria market again to buy some souvenirs because the previous day was my observation. I bet that some students would also be there.
Finally, I reached Vic Market and spent almost AU$ 100 just for the souvenirs. As I have thought, I met some students there; Noni, Dhira, Dea, Via..and still some others. Then, it’s time to feed the worms in the belly. Carrying two plastic bags of jumpers and a backpack full of souvenirs, I went to the City Center and went directly to Es Teler 77 and ordered Nasi goreng kambing for AU$ 8.50. It’s jumbo portion, Mate!!! Some students were having lunch on the 2nd floor. Since there was nothing more to do, I went home and still reminded the students to be careful and text me once they reached home.
When I arrived home, I went to the room and packed the souvenir to fit the luggage. It seemed that there’s still a room for more souvenirs. So, Sunday would be the best day to go shopping. Hooaahhh…it’s time to go to the dreamland. Good Night!!
My Australian Journey (Part 8)
DAY 8 June 25, 2010
§ Shop Till You Drop §
This is the use of money: it enables us to get what we want instead of what other people think we want.
(George Bernard Shaw; 1856-1950)
I didn’t start this morning quite well. I could say I had bad morning today. How come??? Here’s the story. At around 7 a.m. Yudi and I were about to leave for campus. We made breakfast in the kitchen. Suddenly Annie came out from her room and expressed her disappointment to us because we didn’t tell Annie that we had dinner outside. She had cooked a lot yet only two or three people had dinner. I was actually very disappointed to Yudi because I have told him about this but he didn’t tell Annie at all. We were sorry. But still, I felt bad to Annie and since then, I didn’t feel comfortable at all at home.
Okay, enough for that bad morning story as it’s an endless story to talk about. Now, ladies and gentlemen…it’s time for us to go shopping ‘till you drop!!! Yes, today’s English lesson was about shopping and continued with going “real” shopping to Victoria Market. I just couldn’t wait for that. After Friday prayer at campus, we went to Kooyong station and got the train to Flinders. Once we reached there we got on the tram taking us directly to Victoria market.
Victoria market was actually and ordinary market. It has butchers, groceries, delicatessen, souvenirs shops and so on. What made this special was that we could bargain, something that we hardly find in Australia as most stores had fixed price. When we arrived there, we had light rain and thank God the market was in a covered area, so need to worry about the rain. Unfortunately, we only had 1.5 hours to go shopping as most stall were closed. It’s already 4 o’clock. We decided to gather at the meeting point and by the time we were there, heavy rain fell. So, we just stayed there and enjoyed the American doughnut for 99 cents each. However, the “shop ‘till you drop” program MUST be continued. When??? Of course the next morning because Saturday we had no class a.k.a. HOLIDAY.
Oh ya..I forget to tell you that Intan had an appointment with some students to meet in the market. And there she was with another lady known as Cece, the alumni of TN 7 batch (1st girl’s batch) We were so confused about what to do in the middle of the rain. Then, Intan and Cece asked us to have meal…so we took the tram back to the city. They took me to a I-dunno-the-name place through small alleys, and so sorry for us…it’s all fully booked and reserved. Then, the eight of us (Intan, Cece, Singgih, Riani, Danan, Sarah, Syuhudi, and I) decided to go to San Churro Chocolate café. It’s located exactly to the south of State Library. It’s so warm inside considering that it’s 5 or 6o C outside. They offered many kinds of chocolate and of course I tried to taste something different: Hot and Cold chocolate. It’s one of the best beverages I have ever had. This café is so cozy and fancy yet the price was not too expensive, I guess. Only $6 for a cup of chocolate. Haaahhh ONLY $6…come on man…get real..it’s like 45.000 rupiah. I could buy 10 glasses of chocolate in Indonesia…but wait…this is Aussie..you know..do not always convert the money. Only $6……yeah….only $6 a cup!! Period.
We had an interesting chit chat there…these two girls motivated their younger brothers and sister to be good students as Taruna Nusantara is one of the best schools in Indonesia. They also told us their stories, the good and the bad ones. It’s just like recalling their memory. We were happy at that time. However, it’s time to go home. Before going home I warned them that today is Friday…so be careful with TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) because usually people got drunk and did some crazy things. I also sent sms to almost all students about this. I was so afraid for this. Just imagine: 46 students, foreign country, big city, single fighter…dear Lord..please help me.
I moved quickly to Melbourne Central station. It’s just the opposite of San Churro café. At the alley to the station, I stopped at “Lord of the Fries” where I bought a box of chips with Australian sauce. The chips were so hot and a lot that they were just like a plate of rice. On the station, I didn’t wait too long as the Frankston train arrived exactly 1 minute after I was on the platform. On the train, I still remembered Annie’s disappointment… and..urrghhh ….I didn’t want to go home…but where else could I stay?? Hehehhehe… come on Isna… you don’t live forever in Aussie… next week you will be back to your hometown…be patient, I told myself!!!
When I was home, everybody was sleeping. Yudi hadn’t been home yet, soI called and sent him sms but there was no reply. I started wondering where he was. Then at around 11 he texted me to call him back. I was so shock when he told me that he was in a police station. Oh no…this is a REAL problem. Then he told me that Bonardo lost his wallet in the tram and Yudi accompanied him to the police. I asked if everything was going to be okay…he said yes..but he had to spend the night at Bonardo’s host family. Pheeww…then I could sleep…while some girls have texted me that they were home already.
§ Shop Till You Drop §
This is the use of money: it enables us to get what we want instead of what other people think we want.
(George Bernard Shaw; 1856-1950)
I didn’t start this morning quite well. I could say I had bad morning today. How come??? Here’s the story. At around 7 a.m. Yudi and I were about to leave for campus. We made breakfast in the kitchen. Suddenly Annie came out from her room and expressed her disappointment to us because we didn’t tell Annie that we had dinner outside. She had cooked a lot yet only two or three people had dinner. I was actually very disappointed to Yudi because I have told him about this but he didn’t tell Annie at all. We were sorry. But still, I felt bad to Annie and since then, I didn’t feel comfortable at all at home.
Okay, enough for that bad morning story as it’s an endless story to talk about. Now, ladies and gentlemen…it’s time for us to go shopping ‘till you drop!!! Yes, today’s English lesson was about shopping and continued with going “real” shopping to Victoria Market. I just couldn’t wait for that. After Friday prayer at campus, we went to Kooyong station and got the train to Flinders. Once we reached there we got on the tram taking us directly to Victoria market.
Victoria market was actually and ordinary market. It has butchers, groceries, delicatessen, souvenirs shops and so on. What made this special was that we could bargain, something that we hardly find in Australia as most stores had fixed price. When we arrived there, we had light rain and thank God the market was in a covered area, so need to worry about the rain. Unfortunately, we only had 1.5 hours to go shopping as most stall were closed. It’s already 4 o’clock. We decided to gather at the meeting point and by the time we were there, heavy rain fell. So, we just stayed there and enjoyed the American doughnut for 99 cents each. However, the “shop ‘till you drop” program MUST be continued. When??? Of course the next morning because Saturday we had no class a.k.a. HOLIDAY.
Oh ya..I forget to tell you that Intan had an appointment with some students to meet in the market. And there she was with another lady known as Cece, the alumni of TN 7 batch (1st girl’s batch) We were so confused about what to do in the middle of the rain. Then, Intan and Cece asked us to have meal…so we took the tram back to the city. They took me to a I-dunno-the-name place through small alleys, and so sorry for us…it’s all fully booked and reserved. Then, the eight of us (Intan, Cece, Singgih, Riani, Danan, Sarah, Syuhudi, and I) decided to go to San Churro Chocolate café. It’s located exactly to the south of State Library. It’s so warm inside considering that it’s 5 or 6o C outside. They offered many kinds of chocolate and of course I tried to taste something different: Hot and Cold chocolate. It’s one of the best beverages I have ever had. This café is so cozy and fancy yet the price was not too expensive, I guess. Only $6 for a cup of chocolate. Haaahhh ONLY $6…come on man…get real..it’s like 45.000 rupiah. I could buy 10 glasses of chocolate in Indonesia…but wait…this is Aussie..you know..do not always convert the money. Only $6……yeah….only $6 a cup!! Period.
We had an interesting chit chat there…these two girls motivated their younger brothers and sister to be good students as Taruna Nusantara is one of the best schools in Indonesia. They also told us their stories, the good and the bad ones. It’s just like recalling their memory. We were happy at that time. However, it’s time to go home. Before going home I warned them that today is Friday…so be careful with TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) because usually people got drunk and did some crazy things. I also sent sms to almost all students about this. I was so afraid for this. Just imagine: 46 students, foreign country, big city, single fighter…dear Lord..please help me.
I moved quickly to Melbourne Central station. It’s just the opposite of San Churro café. At the alley to the station, I stopped at “Lord of the Fries” where I bought a box of chips with Australian sauce. The chips were so hot and a lot that they were just like a plate of rice. On the station, I didn’t wait too long as the Frankston train arrived exactly 1 minute after I was on the platform. On the train, I still remembered Annie’s disappointment… and..urrghhh ….I didn’t want to go home…but where else could I stay?? Hehehhehe… come on Isna… you don’t live forever in Aussie… next week you will be back to your hometown…be patient, I told myself!!!
When I was home, everybody was sleeping. Yudi hadn’t been home yet, soI called and sent him sms but there was no reply. I started wondering where he was. Then at around 11 he texted me to call him back. I was so shock when he told me that he was in a police station. Oh no…this is a REAL problem. Then he told me that Bonardo lost his wallet in the tram and Yudi accompanied him to the police. I asked if everything was going to be okay…he said yes..but he had to spend the night at Bonardo’s host family. Pheeww…then I could sleep…while some girls have texted me that they were home already.
My Australian Journey (Part 7)
DAY 7 June 24, 2010
§ His Story or History? §
All human history from the earliest times to our own day may be considered as a movement of consciousness both of individuals and of homogenous groups from lower ideas to higher ones.
(Leo Tolstoy; 1828-1910)
Today we had an English class on Australian History, specifically we talked about Ned Kelly, the bushranger, or the Australian Robin Hood. At 11.30 we all went to Melbourne Gaol (read: jail) where Ned Kelly was jailed. Melbourne Gaol was located in the middle of the city, just two blocks away east of the Melbourne Central station.
We were divided into three groups and each group we had a guide. My group had a young energetic lady guide who explained A to Z of the jail. Before entering the jail, she told us some true and even creepy stories behind the history of the jail. It dated back to the 18th century of the gold rush period. Many people from all over the world came to Australia for gold. Crimes increased as there were more people yet limited opportunity for a living. Killing, theft, burglary, and other types of crimes became the government’s concern. So, they decided to build a jail just to house those increasing and dangerous criminals. What made the jail famous was that it’s “inhuman” rules. The criminals only had sunlight for one hour out of 24 hours they had a day. This “precious” one hour was basically used to take a bath and throw their urine and feces they had in their own cabin. More surprisingly, they wore a special uniform where their head was covered with metal like hat and only their eyes could open, so nobody knew who.
The youngest criminal ever recorded was a three-year old boy…(I forget his name). He was jailed not because he committed a crime but because he was found out standing on the street without his parents. Can you imagine that?? What made this more touching was that the boy must obey the rules of the jail without exception despite his young age. This was just crazy, I guess. He was released after serving in jail for six months and was put outside the jail with nobody. Since then, there was no news about him, whether he died because of cold weather or survived.
Then, it’s time for us to enter the jail. Oh man….I never imagined to enter this spooky old jail. Once we passed through the “enter” door we were fascinated with the jail. It’s like a long hall with some small cabins on each side. The cabin was just 1 x 2 meter. That’s the jail for each prisoner. Inside the cabin, there was wax-made head of the prisoner when they died. It’s completed with some explanation about what crime he committed, the year, and also the process of giving them death penalty.
As I strolled down the hall, the guide kept on explaining us every single detail of the jail that made us Goosebumps. The wood used to hang people, the torture table, and of course the famous Ned Kelly’s wax-made head were there, which was placed at the end of the hall. For the government at that time, Kelly was a criminal, while for the civil people he was like a hero. Frankly speaking, Melbourne gaol is recommended and a worth seeing object. We won’t regret it at all.
We had spent around 1.5 hours at the jail before we finally went on to the State Library. We went there on foot as it’s only four blocks away from the jail. The first thing to do in the State Library was putting our belonging into the locker. Then we entered this huge domed-shaped roof top with thousands of books and rows of computers placed beautifully with a librarian desk in the middle of the room. On the right side of the Entrance, there is a wide room specifically for playing. It had two 40-inch LCD TVs for playing games, some Nintendo, giant chess, and still so many other games and toys.
We moved to the third floor where we could see clearly the library. Besides, there was almost no sound at all here as people kept quiet. On the second floor was basically used as the museum. This was also where the original Ned Kelly’s armor clothes were exhibited. This museum was also equipped with some audio and video information so that we could understand anything there better. Overall, it needed more than thousands of words to describe this place, so I was speechless. The visit took place for about one hour, and after that was a free program for all students. As always, students spent most of their evening at the City central, exploring the city and its unique life. In the meantime, I had a dinner appointment with Steven, a representative of Alfalink Indonesia. He took me to Lygon Street or known as Little Italy. It’s only 15 minutes walk from State Library. Along the street there were Italian restos offering many kinds of Italian food: Pasta, Spaghetti, Pizza
Being tired, I decided to go home and let Yudi hang around with his friends as long as he could go home safely. What I liked from the students was that some of them always sent me sms telling that they were home. That made me feel relieved.
§ His Story or History? §
All human history from the earliest times to our own day may be considered as a movement of consciousness both of individuals and of homogenous groups from lower ideas to higher ones.
(Leo Tolstoy; 1828-1910)
Today we had an English class on Australian History, specifically we talked about Ned Kelly, the bushranger, or the Australian Robin Hood. At 11.30 we all went to Melbourne Gaol (read: jail) where Ned Kelly was jailed. Melbourne Gaol was located in the middle of the city, just two blocks away east of the Melbourne Central station.
We were divided into three groups and each group we had a guide. My group had a young energetic lady guide who explained A to Z of the jail. Before entering the jail, she told us some true and even creepy stories behind the history of the jail. It dated back to the 18th century of the gold rush period. Many people from all over the world came to Australia for gold. Crimes increased as there were more people yet limited opportunity for a living. Killing, theft, burglary, and other types of crimes became the government’s concern. So, they decided to build a jail just to house those increasing and dangerous criminals. What made the jail famous was that it’s “inhuman” rules. The criminals only had sunlight for one hour out of 24 hours they had a day. This “precious” one hour was basically used to take a bath and throw their urine and feces they had in their own cabin. More surprisingly, they wore a special uniform where their head was covered with metal like hat and only their eyes could open, so nobody knew who.
The youngest criminal ever recorded was a three-year old boy…(I forget his name). He was jailed not because he committed a crime but because he was found out standing on the street without his parents. Can you imagine that?? What made this more touching was that the boy must obey the rules of the jail without exception despite his young age. This was just crazy, I guess. He was released after serving in jail for six months and was put outside the jail with nobody. Since then, there was no news about him, whether he died because of cold weather or survived.
Then, it’s time for us to enter the jail. Oh man….I never imagined to enter this spooky old jail. Once we passed through the “enter” door we were fascinated with the jail. It’s like a long hall with some small cabins on each side. The cabin was just 1 x 2 meter. That’s the jail for each prisoner. Inside the cabin, there was wax-made head of the prisoner when they died. It’s completed with some explanation about what crime he committed, the year, and also the process of giving them death penalty.
As I strolled down the hall, the guide kept on explaining us every single detail of the jail that made us Goosebumps. The wood used to hang people, the torture table, and of course the famous Ned Kelly’s wax-made head were there, which was placed at the end of the hall. For the government at that time, Kelly was a criminal, while for the civil people he was like a hero. Frankly speaking, Melbourne gaol is recommended and a worth seeing object. We won’t regret it at all.
We had spent around 1.5 hours at the jail before we finally went on to the State Library. We went there on foot as it’s only four blocks away from the jail. The first thing to do in the State Library was putting our belonging into the locker. Then we entered this huge domed-shaped roof top with thousands of books and rows of computers placed beautifully with a librarian desk in the middle of the room. On the right side of the Entrance, there is a wide room specifically for playing. It had two 40-inch LCD TVs for playing games, some Nintendo, giant chess, and still so many other games and toys.
We moved to the third floor where we could see clearly the library. Besides, there was almost no sound at all here as people kept quiet. On the second floor was basically used as the museum. This was also where the original Ned Kelly’s armor clothes were exhibited. This museum was also equipped with some audio and video information so that we could understand anything there better. Overall, it needed more than thousands of words to describe this place, so I was speechless. The visit took place for about one hour, and after that was a free program for all students. As always, students spent most of their evening at the City central, exploring the city and its unique life. In the meantime, I had a dinner appointment with Steven, a representative of Alfalink Indonesia. He took me to Lygon Street or known as Little Italy. It’s only 15 minutes walk from State Library. Along the street there were Italian restos offering many kinds of Italian food: Pasta, Spaghetti, Pizza
Being tired, I decided to go home and let Yudi hang around with his friends as long as he could go home safely. What I liked from the students was that some of them always sent me sms telling that they were home. That made me feel relieved.
My Australian Journey (Part 6)
DAY 6 June 23, 2010
§ We Are the Country of Thousands Cultures §
The value of culture is its effect on character. It avails nothing unless it ennobles and strengthens that. Its use if for life. Its aim is not beauty but goodness. (W. Somerset Maugham 1874-1965)
Today’s English class was about Australian Lifestyles: living with host family. It’s more like sharing culture. The teachers taught them the differences between Indonesian culture and Australian culture and also ways to solve the problem of cultural shock. Using paper for toilet and no water was the biggest problem for most Indonesian students.
The next session was Buddy class, where the students met and greeted other students from all over the world who were studying at Hawthorn. This opportunity was used by the students to tell what Indonesia was like and also for them to gather info about their culture. This interaction was undoubtedly important especially when it was designed in the program. The students seemed to enjoy it and asked for more time. However, due to limited time, the request couldn’t be granted.
Then….the big moment for students finally came. Yes…today they were scheduled to have an art performance. The info about the show was broadcasted throughout the campus by Daniel through all LCD TV in all campus floors even though there were some protests from the students as Daniel mistype Nusantara into Nasuatra. The girls were about to perform SAMAN DANCE, the one they have prepared prior to the departure to Australia. They put on some colorful dancing apparel, but from the face I could see that they got bees in their belly a.k.a. very nervous. Chill out, ladies!!!! Calm down….give us your big shot and let their jaw drop watching your show!!!
Then all of us went to the cinema. I thought it would be around 50 people coming, but what made me surprised was that more people to come. The theater was almost full. It was around 150 – 200 people. Then…now I,..yes I, who began to feel nervous. Before the performace had started, I came to the lower stage telling the audience that we were going to perform one of Indonesian’s traditional dances, hoping they would enjoy it and let them now that we practiced it only 3 days in the middle of our final test. Then, Golda came forward to explain what the dance meant.
The applause shook the cinema as the lauder they clapped their hands the merrier the cinema. Next, the first motion of the dance started from the slow-mo to the brisk-mo. Once the first style of dance was over….again they give their big hands..and it happened until the dance was over. They still couldn’t believe how the girls could collaborate and dance in such quick way. In short…they were AMAZED!!!! Some of them congratulated the girls and didn’t stop praising them, while some others came to me asking what about the boys???? Would they perform another dance?? And I said yes we would. Some lecturers just said that the students were wonderful…and they wanted more. Okay, enough with the dance performance, it’s time to end today’s lesson. The show ended at 2.30 and the students were free to go. And the destination was……where else…City Center. What about me??? As the shepherd, I had to make sure that they were okay. So…yes..I went to City Center as well.
In the city, we just walked on our own direction because almost all of us were already familiar with Melbourne… Vini..Vidi…Vici… I happened to be with Dananjaya, Sarah Akip, and Riani. The plan was we would go to Shrine of Remembrance. I asked Danan what that was and he explained a lot. He always brought his mini map. Before going there, we had a change to Seven Eleven down the Southbank to buy some snacks and batteries.
We took the tram and got of in front of the Shrine’s gate. The Shrine was more like an old temple in the middle of the city. It looked like Roman Empire castle, but it’s clean enough as a public place. Unfortunately, when we got there the Shrine was about to close..so we just stood outside while taking pictures of the eternal flame outside the Shrine. At the same time, three soldiers lowered three different flags in front of the place accompanied by siren.
Despite my excitement, my legs seemed didn’t want to compromise. Yes… I felt ache all over my legs and feet. So..we were off from there and went to Flinders Station. We stopped there and I still saw some students were hanging around the street. I myself continued the journey to Melbourne Central station to go home and I still had a chance to have dinner at Nelayan Resto. I called Yudi’s cell phone telling him that I wouldn’t have dinner at home. He said yes, he would tell Annie about that.
§ We Are the Country of Thousands Cultures §
The value of culture is its effect on character. It avails nothing unless it ennobles and strengthens that. Its use if for life. Its aim is not beauty but goodness. (W. Somerset Maugham 1874-1965)
Today’s English class was about Australian Lifestyles: living with host family. It’s more like sharing culture. The teachers taught them the differences between Indonesian culture and Australian culture and also ways to solve the problem of cultural shock. Using paper for toilet and no water was the biggest problem for most Indonesian students.
The next session was Buddy class, where the students met and greeted other students from all over the world who were studying at Hawthorn. This opportunity was used by the students to tell what Indonesia was like and also for them to gather info about their culture. This interaction was undoubtedly important especially when it was designed in the program. The students seemed to enjoy it and asked for more time. However, due to limited time, the request couldn’t be granted.
Then….the big moment for students finally came. Yes…today they were scheduled to have an art performance. The info about the show was broadcasted throughout the campus by Daniel through all LCD TV in all campus floors even though there were some protests from the students as Daniel mistype Nusantara into Nasuatra. The girls were about to perform SAMAN DANCE, the one they have prepared prior to the departure to Australia. They put on some colorful dancing apparel, but from the face I could see that they got bees in their belly a.k.a. very nervous. Chill out, ladies!!!! Calm down….give us your big shot and let their jaw drop watching your show!!!
Then all of us went to the cinema. I thought it would be around 50 people coming, but what made me surprised was that more people to come. The theater was almost full. It was around 150 – 200 people. Then…now I,..yes I, who began to feel nervous. Before the performace had started, I came to the lower stage telling the audience that we were going to perform one of Indonesian’s traditional dances, hoping they would enjoy it and let them now that we practiced it only 3 days in the middle of our final test. Then, Golda came forward to explain what the dance meant.
The applause shook the cinema as the lauder they clapped their hands the merrier the cinema. Next, the first motion of the dance started from the slow-mo to the brisk-mo. Once the first style of dance was over….again they give their big hands..and it happened until the dance was over. They still couldn’t believe how the girls could collaborate and dance in such quick way. In short…they were AMAZED!!!! Some of them congratulated the girls and didn’t stop praising them, while some others came to me asking what about the boys???? Would they perform another dance?? And I said yes we would. Some lecturers just said that the students were wonderful…and they wanted more. Okay, enough with the dance performance, it’s time to end today’s lesson. The show ended at 2.30 and the students were free to go. And the destination was……where else…City Center. What about me??? As the shepherd, I had to make sure that they were okay. So…yes..I went to City Center as well.
In the city, we just walked on our own direction because almost all of us were already familiar with Melbourne… Vini..Vidi…Vici… I happened to be with Dananjaya, Sarah Akip, and Riani. The plan was we would go to Shrine of Remembrance. I asked Danan what that was and he explained a lot. He always brought his mini map. Before going there, we had a change to Seven Eleven down the Southbank to buy some snacks and batteries.
We took the tram and got of in front of the Shrine’s gate. The Shrine was more like an old temple in the middle of the city. It looked like Roman Empire castle, but it’s clean enough as a public place. Unfortunately, when we got there the Shrine was about to close..so we just stood outside while taking pictures of the eternal flame outside the Shrine. At the same time, three soldiers lowered three different flags in front of the place accompanied by siren.
Despite my excitement, my legs seemed didn’t want to compromise. Yes… I felt ache all over my legs and feet. So..we were off from there and went to Flinders Station. We stopped there and I still saw some students were hanging around the street. I myself continued the journey to Melbourne Central station to go home and I still had a chance to have dinner at Nelayan Resto. I called Yudi’s cell phone telling him that I wouldn’t have dinner at home. He said yes, he would tell Annie about that.
My Australian Journey (Part 5)
DAY 5 June 22, 2010
§ The World is Just not Enough §
This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle; wonderful, inscrutable, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it.
(Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881)
As usual….it seemed that I got used to having breakfast with toasted bread and a glass of orange juice (sound so Australian, huh?). We went to campus and dropped off at Caulfield Station to catch the 624 bus to Hawthorn. I met some other students; Aulia Rahman, Andhika, Sarah Akip, Riani, Noni, Dhira, Aya, and Golda.
When the students had their English class, I met Gillian (Hawthorn personnel) to talk about students’ art performance and the praying time. At 10.30, students finished their class and it’s the time for the group to take picture for their ID and internet access, including me.
Today’s special program was a city tour…(I said to myself…the city had been “conquered” by the students…there were no more place to see…hehehhehe) All of us went straight to Kooyong station and got on Flinders train. It was so fun, though, as one coach was full of Indonesian students.
As expected…the places we’re going to see were the ones the students visited the previous two days. But it’s okay, at least this time we didn’t only see the place but also learn more about the history and the story of those places. The first stop was the Cathedral church, we went inside and saw some 100-year old furniture. Going out the church, I took the pictures of Flinders station and the tram. This was the best spot to do that as it’s exactly in the corner of the busy street. Felt like a real pro photographer. Then, we crossed the road to the Federation Square and I intentionally went back to the visitor information center as some students were wondering if they could go to Phillip Island to see the penguin parade. Unfortunately, the cost to go there was so expensive…so mmmm we have to re-consider going there. In the middle of bustle and hustle of Melbourne, our groups explored the city to the very small alleys. As I told before…the destinations were the ones exactly like what we … no… I meant what the students had on Sunday morning….but this time we had it from different direction.
On the way to the meeting point, Dhira asked me to take her to the bank for changing the money, meanwhile, Intan (TN alumni 13 batch who was pursuing her Master’s degree in Human Resource at Melbourne University) was waiting for me in the Federation square. Then, we gathered at Federation Square and spread out as the next program was free activity. We finally met Intan. She didn’t change a lot since the last time I met her when she was still studying at Nanyang Technological University couple years ago. Intan, then took us (the English team) to the State Library…but I preferred staying outside to entering it as I have been there before. It’s about 20 minutes when finally they were out and continued our journey to Melbourne University.
It’s nice, though, walking down the street to Melb. Uni passing through MRIT and public bath. We arrived at Melb Uni 30 minutes before Maghrib prayer, so we decided to stay in the Moslem hall/ praying room waiting for the Maghrib prayer. Once we did that, we went back to Swanston Street in the city to have dinner. Finally, we got another place to hang out: Nando Chicken..this is a Portuguese resto with chicken as the main menu…but most importantly…it’s halal.
Here came some hungry creatures…we ordered two jumbo packages for everything….then I took out my magic stuff….SAOS PEDAS ABC!!!...and I told the waiter that my sauce was much hotter than theirs. Surprisingly, he spoke in Bahasa Indonesia…and said that all waiters were Indonesian. Oalaahhh…mas…mas…sampeyan ni dari Indonesia juga to??? Mbok ya dikasih bonus apa gitu….sesama Indonesia. Then we asked one of them to take our photos with bunch of chicken and chips filling out our table. Then, suddenly…the waiter came to us bringing 7 cups of cold chocolate..and said…karena sama2 dari Indonesia…dikasih bonus coklat.
Since we’re full, we decided to go home and each spent $11 for those chickens. I went straight to Melbourne Central as this is only a stone throw from Nando Resto. I quickly run to the ground floor of the station to platform 2 to catch Frankston train as the sign showed 2 more minutes. The train came and it run off to Ormond where I got off and walked down the road to Annie’s house. Before going sleeping, I sent SMS to my wife asking how was everything in Indonesia…and thank God they were fine.
§ The World is Just not Enough §
This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle; wonderful, inscrutable, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it.
(Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881)
As usual….it seemed that I got used to having breakfast with toasted bread and a glass of orange juice (sound so Australian, huh?). We went to campus and dropped off at Caulfield Station to catch the 624 bus to Hawthorn. I met some other students; Aulia Rahman, Andhika, Sarah Akip, Riani, Noni, Dhira, Aya, and Golda.
When the students had their English class, I met Gillian (Hawthorn personnel) to talk about students’ art performance and the praying time. At 10.30, students finished their class and it’s the time for the group to take picture for their ID and internet access, including me.
Today’s special program was a city tour…(I said to myself…the city had been “conquered” by the students…there were no more place to see…hehehhehe) All of us went straight to Kooyong station and got on Flinders train. It was so fun, though, as one coach was full of Indonesian students.
As expected…the places we’re going to see were the ones the students visited the previous two days. But it’s okay, at least this time we didn’t only see the place but also learn more about the history and the story of those places. The first stop was the Cathedral church, we went inside and saw some 100-year old furniture. Going out the church, I took the pictures of Flinders station and the tram. This was the best spot to do that as it’s exactly in the corner of the busy street. Felt like a real pro photographer. Then, we crossed the road to the Federation Square and I intentionally went back to the visitor information center as some students were wondering if they could go to Phillip Island to see the penguin parade. Unfortunately, the cost to go there was so expensive…so mmmm we have to re-consider going there. In the middle of bustle and hustle of Melbourne, our groups explored the city to the very small alleys. As I told before…the destinations were the ones exactly like what we … no… I meant what the students had on Sunday morning….but this time we had it from different direction.
On the way to the meeting point, Dhira asked me to take her to the bank for changing the money, meanwhile, Intan (TN alumni 13 batch who was pursuing her Master’s degree in Human Resource at Melbourne University) was waiting for me in the Federation square. Then, we gathered at Federation Square and spread out as the next program was free activity. We finally met Intan. She didn’t change a lot since the last time I met her when she was still studying at Nanyang Technological University couple years ago. Intan, then took us (the English team) to the State Library…but I preferred staying outside to entering it as I have been there before. It’s about 20 minutes when finally they were out and continued our journey to Melbourne University.
It’s nice, though, walking down the street to Melb. Uni passing through MRIT and public bath. We arrived at Melb Uni 30 minutes before Maghrib prayer, so we decided to stay in the Moslem hall/ praying room waiting for the Maghrib prayer. Once we did that, we went back to Swanston Street in the city to have dinner. Finally, we got another place to hang out: Nando Chicken..this is a Portuguese resto with chicken as the main menu…but most importantly…it’s halal.
Here came some hungry creatures…we ordered two jumbo packages for everything….then I took out my magic stuff….SAOS PEDAS ABC!!!...and I told the waiter that my sauce was much hotter than theirs. Surprisingly, he spoke in Bahasa Indonesia…and said that all waiters were Indonesian. Oalaahhh…mas…mas…sampeyan ni dari Indonesia juga to??? Mbok ya dikasih bonus apa gitu….sesama Indonesia. Then we asked one of them to take our photos with bunch of chicken and chips filling out our table. Then, suddenly…the waiter came to us bringing 7 cups of cold chocolate..and said…karena sama2 dari Indonesia…dikasih bonus coklat.
Since we’re full, we decided to go home and each spent $11 for those chickens. I went straight to Melbourne Central as this is only a stone throw from Nando Resto. I quickly run to the ground floor of the station to platform 2 to catch Frankston train as the sign showed 2 more minutes. The train came and it run off to Ormond where I got off and walked down the road to Annie’s house. Before going sleeping, I sent SMS to my wife asking how was everything in Indonesia…and thank God they were fine.
My Australian Journey (Part 4)
DAY 4 June 21, 2010
§ How’s the Food? §
Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are
(Anthelme Brillat-Savarin 1775-1826)
Today was the first day of the program. Yudi and I went to Hawthorn exactly like what Annie told us to do. We felt that the weather was so cold and foggy, not to mention that we had to wait for the bus little bit longer. It was around 30 minutes, I guess. Imagine that no shelter or booth at all on the bus stop. When the bus came, we were convinced that we would be late for the first meeting.
When we arrived at Hawthorn, it was already quiet…which meant that the class had already begun. While we were browsing around the building, Liana called me from the cafeteria on the second floor and she took me to the cinema where almost all students gathered. We missed 4 students: Haikal, Iqbal, Almaz, and Baba. The first two finally showed up but Almaz and Baba didn’t.
The program was basically the introduction and orientation. We had Ms. Kerry Arlington as the acting principal and Jim Morrison as the accommodation officer. We were also introduced to the teachers; they are Bret Powell, Paramesh, and Carolyn. Once this was over, we had campus hunt when students were asked to find the rooms and facilities inside Hawthorn building. This activity was good as the students were paired and given a sheet of question and a map where they had to find out. This was used to familiarize them with their new surroundings. Then, it’s time to have a break…but still..Almaz and Baba didn’t show up. I tried to call them and their host family but there was no reply at all. Then…I thought…this is gonna be serious…and I started being nervous.
The teachers then put us into the Green Theater where we would have a language assessment and risk management. It’s more like a placement test…and when it finished, we talked about risk management as the next day we are going to have a city tour.
At 1.00 pm we had a lunch break. All students gathered at the students lounge and cafeteria. For some of them, this was the first time to see and taste strange food, while some others have already got packed lunch provided by their nice host family.
The students were very enthusiastic in tasting the food and I could see their faces…surprised ..shocked…because the food they ordered was not like their expectation. I strolled down the tables and observed what they ate. Sandwich…salad…chips…chicken..but I was wondering why they went back and forth to the cashier? Oh my God…the food was not enough for them…they kept on buying…and I thought that they spent more than $ 10 for the meal, not to mention the drink and snacks.
In the middle of that observation, I asked some of them about their activities for the last two days. My eyes open wider as I listened to their stories of going to some places in Melbourne. Unbelievable…they have explored Melbourne better than I have. Then I was curious how many places would they have explored in two weeks if they could explore so many places just in two days? Suddenly, Almaz and Baba showed up. I was very relieved and I asked them why they had been late. The answer was predictable: WE GOT LOST, SIR! It’s okay, at least they’re here safely.
After the break, students had their first English class while I had a meeting with Louis Brooth, the director for Study Tour Program at Hawthorn. Louis was a middle-aged man with around 165 cm tall (not too tall for an Australian, I think), and he spoke so softly…he was basically nice guy. We discussed the plan to have a meeting to talk next year’s program, and we agreed to have a talk on Wednesday the following week.
When the class was over at around 3.00 pm I decided to go home, while some students (especially the boys) decided to go to the city center. What I could do was just telling them to be careful and let me know when they’re home (most of them have bought the Australian number and saved mine). I went straight to Kooyong station by walking through Kooyong park. I was confused what train should I take, then a lady told me that I should go to Richmond and change train to Ormond. Woow it’s that easy….
It took about 30 minutes to get me home, while Yudi was away with their buddies. Then, we had dinner and maybe this was the best dinner I have ever had in Annie’s house because the food was strange to my tongue yet delicious: Chicken Pie, Quish (it’s chopped spinach with cheese put into some layers and each layer had a kind of flour and was cooked in Microwave), and Salad. This dinner was also used to share our culture and some chit chat. Once the dinner was over, we watch “Master Chef Australia in London”. This was Annie and Kay’s favorite TV show. However, since I didn’t really like it, then I left them and went to bed. This was the third day of more challenging adventure.
§ How’s the Food? §
Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are
(Anthelme Brillat-Savarin 1775-1826)
Today was the first day of the program. Yudi and I went to Hawthorn exactly like what Annie told us to do. We felt that the weather was so cold and foggy, not to mention that we had to wait for the bus little bit longer. It was around 30 minutes, I guess. Imagine that no shelter or booth at all on the bus stop. When the bus came, we were convinced that we would be late for the first meeting.
When we arrived at Hawthorn, it was already quiet…which meant that the class had already begun. While we were browsing around the building, Liana called me from the cafeteria on the second floor and she took me to the cinema where almost all students gathered. We missed 4 students: Haikal, Iqbal, Almaz, and Baba. The first two finally showed up but Almaz and Baba didn’t.
The program was basically the introduction and orientation. We had Ms. Kerry Arlington as the acting principal and Jim Morrison as the accommodation officer. We were also introduced to the teachers; they are Bret Powell, Paramesh, and Carolyn. Once this was over, we had campus hunt when students were asked to find the rooms and facilities inside Hawthorn building. This activity was good as the students were paired and given a sheet of question and a map where they had to find out. This was used to familiarize them with their new surroundings. Then, it’s time to have a break…but still..Almaz and Baba didn’t show up. I tried to call them and their host family but there was no reply at all. Then…I thought…this is gonna be serious…and I started being nervous.
The teachers then put us into the Green Theater where we would have a language assessment and risk management. It’s more like a placement test…and when it finished, we talked about risk management as the next day we are going to have a city tour.
At 1.00 pm we had a lunch break. All students gathered at the students lounge and cafeteria. For some of them, this was the first time to see and taste strange food, while some others have already got packed lunch provided by their nice host family.
The students were very enthusiastic in tasting the food and I could see their faces…surprised ..shocked…because the food they ordered was not like their expectation. I strolled down the tables and observed what they ate. Sandwich…salad…chips…chicken..but I was wondering why they went back and forth to the cashier? Oh my God…the food was not enough for them…they kept on buying…and I thought that they spent more than $ 10 for the meal, not to mention the drink and snacks.
In the middle of that observation, I asked some of them about their activities for the last two days. My eyes open wider as I listened to their stories of going to some places in Melbourne. Unbelievable…they have explored Melbourne better than I have. Then I was curious how many places would they have explored in two weeks if they could explore so many places just in two days? Suddenly, Almaz and Baba showed up. I was very relieved and I asked them why they had been late. The answer was predictable: WE GOT LOST, SIR! It’s okay, at least they’re here safely.
After the break, students had their first English class while I had a meeting with Louis Brooth, the director for Study Tour Program at Hawthorn. Louis was a middle-aged man with around 165 cm tall (not too tall for an Australian, I think), and he spoke so softly…he was basically nice guy. We discussed the plan to have a meeting to talk next year’s program, and we agreed to have a talk on Wednesday the following week.
When the class was over at around 3.00 pm I decided to go home, while some students (especially the boys) decided to go to the city center. What I could do was just telling them to be careful and let me know when they’re home (most of them have bought the Australian number and saved mine). I went straight to Kooyong station by walking through Kooyong park. I was confused what train should I take, then a lady told me that I should go to Richmond and change train to Ormond. Woow it’s that easy….
It took about 30 minutes to get me home, while Yudi was away with their buddies. Then, we had dinner and maybe this was the best dinner I have ever had in Annie’s house because the food was strange to my tongue yet delicious: Chicken Pie, Quish (it’s chopped spinach with cheese put into some layers and each layer had a kind of flour and was cooked in Microwave), and Salad. This dinner was also used to share our culture and some chit chat. Once the dinner was over, we watch “Master Chef Australia in London”. This was Annie and Kay’s favorite TV show. However, since I didn’t really like it, then I left them and went to bed. This was the third day of more challenging adventure.
My Australian Journey (Part 3)
DAY 3 June 20, 2010
§ Southbank, Flinders…We Call it City Central §
This is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question and you are on the way to a pertinent answer.
(Jacob Bronowski 1908-1974)
I woke up at 12.30……I was wondering how that could be…I thought I would wake up at 6 or 7 in the morning. I took a bath directly and planned to have a “late breakfast”. When I entered the kitchen, Annie was there with Kay. She said that my body needed to take a rest, that’s why I could sleep that long. I made four slices of toasted bread with strawberry jam and a glass of Apple juice (Annie’s favorite).
Then, Annie took us to Hawthorn and showed us the route we are going to take the next morning. Ormond – Caulfield – Hawthorn. I got it!! Thanks Annie. Then, we arrived at Hawthorn campus…it’s soooo quiet (of course as today was Sunday). After that, Annie dropped us at Kooyong station (the closest station from Hawthorn) and let us begin our adventure. While waiting for the train, I tried to activate my Optus number. Oh man…it’s so complicated. Unlike in Indonesia, I had to talk DIRECTLY to the operator and she asked me a lot of questions. But thank God..it’s all done and I can use my new Australian number. The first thing I did was testing it by sending an sms to Liana, the coordinator of our group in Hawthorn. She replied, which meant I could use it.
In a few minutes later, the train arrived at the station, so Yudi and I got on the train and went straight forward to Flinders street station. I kept explaining to Yudi how to use the public transport just exactly like what Annie told me to do the previous day. Yudi seemed understand…I hope so!
Finally, we got off at Flinders Street station..and the exit led us directly to Southbank. We were so amazed…Yarra river was so clean and beautiful not to mention the bridge. The bridge was designed like a parabola and made of white solid metal. The wood became the main material of the lower part of the bridge. So we used that opportunity to take pictures each other. We crossed the bridge to the Sunday market. On the way to Sunday market, we passed through a long beautiful path with cozy restaurants on our right side and Yarra river on our left reflecting golden color of that afternoon sun. The wind was soo cold..but it didn’t bother us as we were dozed up with the beauty of Southbank. We can see some people sitting on the bench feeding the pelicans that flew over the river. Some cyclists were also enjoying that afternoon atmosphere, while some others were having meals on the restaurants.
Then we got to the market. Frankly speaking there was nothing special on this market but since we’re stranger, and were curious about that, we explored that 20-meter long market, until we reached a way to go upstairs which took us to another side of Yarra river. We kept on walking until we reached Victoria Gallery. Then, we turned around and have a cup of coffee to make our body warm. With the cup on our hand, we crossed the upper bridge of Yarra river. This bridge was in line with Swanston Street so it’s so crowded with people and trams moving back and forth. I took Yudi to the Federation Square and showed him that a lot of youngsters gathered there. We passed the square and came to ACMI (the Australian Centre for Moving Images).
Through the escalator, we went down this antique building as it has no shaped at all, I guess! Suddenly…..my jaws dropped as I saw something right in front of my bare eyes!! Do you want to know what that was??? That’s BATMAN’S CAR exhibited on the ground floor of the building. I just couldn’t believe it. Oh man…Batman’s Car!!!! We took some pictures there and continued to the Multimedia room. Here we were shown more eye catching scenes….the multimedia of any movies and games. We explored this wide and dark but sparkling room. We tried almost every single things there until we came to a huge ball-shaped room where there were some touchscreen TVs outside. I was wondering what that was, so I asked the person in charge there. He told me to enter this big ball, and when the beep sounded, I could do anything I wanted to do like jumping, kicking, or punching. What surprised me was that there were tens of cameras inside the ball. When I went out, I saw in the touchscreen TV that I was recorded. Amazingly, it’s just like MATRIX movie in slow motion. Unbelievable!! Moreover, my “movie” can be sent directly to my email. So I did hoping that I could see that again in my email. Check it out at http://www.acmi.net.au/timeslice/Timeslice.htm?file=ts-20100620-9ec12c16952764358e326b4ea81c4072.flv
Satisfied with this strange adventure, we went out to have something to eat. We walked along Swanston street as I knew exactly our destination: NELAYAN Resto! On the way there, I called Annie telling her that we would not have dinner at home.
Nelayan Resto!!!...I love it because this is one of the options to satisfy the worms in our belly with Indonesian halal food. We ordered some rendang, and we were surprised because the portion is jumbo…then I thought that it resembled TIDAR hill…sooo big!! Eat it up Isna..eat it up…until there was nothing left on the plate. Both of us were full and ready to continue the journey back to Annie’s house.
We walked to Melbourne Central station to catch the Frankston train on Platform 2. Without waiting too long, the train came and we were off to Ormond station. It took us about 30 minutes to get to Ormond and we walked to Annie’s house. When we got there, some people were sitting on the dining room to have their dinner, but feeling tired, we just said hello and then took a bath and went sleeping. That was the adventure of the second day. MARVELOUS!!
§ Southbank, Flinders…We Call it City Central §
This is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question and you are on the way to a pertinent answer.
(Jacob Bronowski 1908-1974)
I woke up at 12.30……I was wondering how that could be…I thought I would wake up at 6 or 7 in the morning. I took a bath directly and planned to have a “late breakfast”. When I entered the kitchen, Annie was there with Kay. She said that my body needed to take a rest, that’s why I could sleep that long. I made four slices of toasted bread with strawberry jam and a glass of Apple juice (Annie’s favorite).
Then, Annie took us to Hawthorn and showed us the route we are going to take the next morning. Ormond – Caulfield – Hawthorn. I got it!! Thanks Annie. Then, we arrived at Hawthorn campus…it’s soooo quiet (of course as today was Sunday). After that, Annie dropped us at Kooyong station (the closest station from Hawthorn) and let us begin our adventure. While waiting for the train, I tried to activate my Optus number. Oh man…it’s so complicated. Unlike in Indonesia, I had to talk DIRECTLY to the operator and she asked me a lot of questions. But thank God..it’s all done and I can use my new Australian number. The first thing I did was testing it by sending an sms to Liana, the coordinator of our group in Hawthorn. She replied, which meant I could use it.
In a few minutes later, the train arrived at the station, so Yudi and I got on the train and went straight forward to Flinders street station. I kept explaining to Yudi how to use the public transport just exactly like what Annie told me to do the previous day. Yudi seemed understand…I hope so!
Finally, we got off at Flinders Street station..and the exit led us directly to Southbank. We were so amazed…Yarra river was so clean and beautiful not to mention the bridge. The bridge was designed like a parabola and made of white solid metal. The wood became the main material of the lower part of the bridge. So we used that opportunity to take pictures each other. We crossed the bridge to the Sunday market. On the way to Sunday market, we passed through a long beautiful path with cozy restaurants on our right side and Yarra river on our left reflecting golden color of that afternoon sun. The wind was soo cold..but it didn’t bother us as we were dozed up with the beauty of Southbank. We can see some people sitting on the bench feeding the pelicans that flew over the river. Some cyclists were also enjoying that afternoon atmosphere, while some others were having meals on the restaurants.
Then we got to the market. Frankly speaking there was nothing special on this market but since we’re stranger, and were curious about that, we explored that 20-meter long market, until we reached a way to go upstairs which took us to another side of Yarra river. We kept on walking until we reached Victoria Gallery. Then, we turned around and have a cup of coffee to make our body warm. With the cup on our hand, we crossed the upper bridge of Yarra river. This bridge was in line with Swanston Street so it’s so crowded with people and trams moving back and forth. I took Yudi to the Federation Square and showed him that a lot of youngsters gathered there. We passed the square and came to ACMI (the Australian Centre for Moving Images).
Through the escalator, we went down this antique building as it has no shaped at all, I guess! Suddenly…..my jaws dropped as I saw something right in front of my bare eyes!! Do you want to know what that was??? That’s BATMAN’S CAR exhibited on the ground floor of the building. I just couldn’t believe it. Oh man…Batman’s Car!!!! We took some pictures there and continued to the Multimedia room. Here we were shown more eye catching scenes….the multimedia of any movies and games. We explored this wide and dark but sparkling room. We tried almost every single things there until we came to a huge ball-shaped room where there were some touchscreen TVs outside. I was wondering what that was, so I asked the person in charge there. He told me to enter this big ball, and when the beep sounded, I could do anything I wanted to do like jumping, kicking, or punching. What surprised me was that there were tens of cameras inside the ball. When I went out, I saw in the touchscreen TV that I was recorded. Amazingly, it’s just like MATRIX movie in slow motion. Unbelievable!! Moreover, my “movie” can be sent directly to my email. So I did hoping that I could see that again in my email. Check it out at http://www.acmi.net.au/timeslice/Timeslice.htm?file=ts-20100620-9ec12c16952764358e326b4ea81c4072.flv
Satisfied with this strange adventure, we went out to have something to eat. We walked along Swanston street as I knew exactly our destination: NELAYAN Resto! On the way there, I called Annie telling her that we would not have dinner at home.
Nelayan Resto!!!...I love it because this is one of the options to satisfy the worms in our belly with Indonesian halal food. We ordered some rendang, and we were surprised because the portion is jumbo…then I thought that it resembled TIDAR hill…sooo big!! Eat it up Isna..eat it up…until there was nothing left on the plate. Both of us were full and ready to continue the journey back to Annie’s house.
We walked to Melbourne Central station to catch the Frankston train on Platform 2. Without waiting too long, the train came and we were off to Ormond station. It took us about 30 minutes to get to Ormond and we walked to Annie’s house. When we got there, some people were sitting on the dining room to have their dinner, but feeling tired, we just said hello and then took a bath and went sleeping. That was the adventure of the second day. MARVELOUS!!
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