Up (Photos)

Yay I eventually made it to the hill, where JAYAPURA CITY giant letters set up!

The view from up there is sooooooooo prettyyyy I don't wanna go home.

The hill, reachacble by motorcycle and car. It's where most of TV broadcast towers are located

Away For A Day (Photos)

I visited the beach before on Idul Fitri Day.

Nobody  is sure about the beach’s name. Some say it’s called Harlem, some say it’s Arlem, Harlen, some even say it’s Arlen. I don’t know.

Hello Mr. Parker, It's Me (Photos)

Lagi-lagi Homesick

I really miss home. Seriously.

Tujuh bulan di Jayapura rupanya telah mengakumulasi rasa kangen gue yang siap meledus macam jerawat matang.

Beneran deh, udah ngga sabar banget ketemu sama keluarga dan kawan-kawan. Belum lagi kekangenan gue terhadap masakan nyokap dan makanan-makanan enak di Jakarta. 

To tell you the truth, makanan adalah salah satu problem terbesar gue di Jayapura. Harap maklum aja yeh, pilihan makanan di sini terbatas pisan dan rasanya ngga ada yang senikmat di Jakarta/Pulau Jawa. Kasarnya, gue makan di Jayapura hanya untuk sekedar fungsional biar ngga laper dan ngga sakit. 

Hmmm memang sih ada restoran Rempah-Rempah yang soal cita rasa sama enaknya kayak cabang Jakarta, atau ada beberapa restoran seafood, mie dan masakan Jawa yang lumayan oke, tapi kan gue ngga bisa tiap hari makan di situ nek. Mahal, plus lokasinya yang jauh dari kosan.

Akhirnya ya sehari-hari gue ngerantang sama orang kantor. Rasa lumayan. Menunya, masakan rumahan. Tapi tetep kalah duong sama masakan mamaku.

Ngomong-ngomong soal menu, terus terang jarang bener gue makan daging sapi di sini. Asli 7 bulan di Papua, kayaknya cuma 1 kali gue makan daging sapi. Alasannya? Daging sapi entah kenapa ngga terlalu banyak ditemui di menu warung makanan. Ngga tau karena orang sini lebih pilih daging babi dibandingkan daging sapi atau karena supply-nya yang sedikit sehingga mengakibatkan harga yang melambung. Rata-rata laukan di warung berkisar antara telur, daging ayam atau ikan, menjadikan pilihan menu gue ya di itu-itu doang, dengan tambahan variasi tempe/tahu. 

Dari daging ayam dan ikan pun, gue lebih sering makan ikan. Kalau ini lebih ke pertimbangan kesehatan. Ikan di sini biasanya fresh, karena Jayapura kan deket laut (walaupun di satu sisi, gue heran kenapa harga seafood mahal banget), sedangkan daging ayam, kalo mengutip housemate gue “Tuh ayam udah mati 3 bulan lalu kali, masa lu mau makan juga?”. Maksudnya dia, rata-rata daging ayam yang masuk ke Jayapura berasal dari Surabaya atau Makassar. Jadi harus dipetieskan, masuk kontainer dan menempuh perjalanan panjang dengan kapal ke Jayapura. Nah kebayang kan lu, betapa ngga freshnya daging ayam tersebut. 

Gue sebagai orang yang sok health conscious jadi agak parno dan berujung pada pembatasan konsumsi daging ayam, (walaupun kadang tetep aja doyan ke KFC hehehehe, abis too tempting deh).

Masih soal makanan, sebagai orang yang suka ngemil, gue tersiksa. Cobaan apalagi ini ya Alloh. 

Gorengan ngga ada yang terlalu enak. Cakwe ngga nemu. Martabak, ada tapi ya so so deh. Es campur so so juga. Bakso ya so so. Somay kurang ens. Pancake, doh ngarep banget lu ada yang jual pancake di sini. Jadilah si gue ngga terlalu ngemil. Kalaupun ngemil sebatas yang dijual di supermarket kayak Chacha, biscuit, dan pisang (yes, karena ngga ada pilihan, akhirnya ngemil pisang pakai susu coklat). Besar kemungkinan, gara-gara inilah gue kurus. Berat badan yang tadinya pas datang ke Jayapura sekitar 46-47kg, sekarang 44 kg saja. Kadang kalau lagi kurang waras, gue suka ngebayangin lagi jalan sore-sore ke Benhil trus jajan cemilan sampe bego. Benhil, aku padamu banget.

Kerinduan gue lainnya adalah soal hiburan. Gue sebenernya ngga terlalu masalah sama hal ini, karena soal nyari hiburan di weekend tuh tergantung sama masing-masing orang. Ada yang harus jalan-jalan dan beli-beli atau makan-makan. Ada yang seneng ngendon di rumah. Nah gue kebeneran ngga keberatan kalo weekend di kosan aja. I feel comfortable being by myself and have no problems at all when I have to spend the weekend by watching films endlessly (which is emang seringnya juga begitu sih). 

Buat 'beach person', di Jayapura, banyak pantai bagus, jadi pasti lu bakal senang sekali dan ngga bakalan matgay. Gue juga kadang pergi ke pantai pas weekend, tapi lama-lama agak bosan. Jadinya lebih sering jalan keliling kota. Jalan ngga penting liat apa kek gitu, beli roti tawar doang di Prima Garden, sekedar ke Gramedia liat alat tulis dan buku, atau duduk dengerin ipod ngeliatin anak-anak berenang di pantai dok 2 depan kantor Gubernur.

Tapi oh tapi, sepertinya gue sudah terconsumed sama gaya hidup metropolitan, sehingga ada kalanya gue kangen sama mall.

Iya, mall dengan hembusan angin sejuknya itu. Mall dengan ketersediaan koleksi toko di dalamnya sehingga jadi one-stop destination buat belanja ataupun sekedar cuci mata. Mall yang ada resto dan café-cafenya.  Mall yang ada…..BIOSKOPNYA ndro. Kangen bet gue nonton film pakai soundsystem yang proper stereo THX. 

Oia, ngga usah nanya deh ya yang dikategorikan mall atau plaza di Jayapura itu seperti apa.. Nanti sedih gue jelasinnya, karena beneran kagak ada apa-apanya.

Dulu  gue sempet seneng, karena di kota lagi dibangun mall yang ada Matahari-Hypermart-J.CO nya. Sempet optimis pula bahwa mall ini akan jadi sebelum gue cabut Februari 2012. Tapi, udah sebulan ini pembangunannya si mall terhenti karena dipalang (ada suku apa gitu bilang tanah ini adalah milik mereka. A friend said ini typical untuk kejadian di Jayapura. Nanti kalau udah beres juga palingan ada yang palang lagi). Pupuslah harapan gue. Sekarang udah Desember 2011. Bangunan baru setengah jadi. Mana mungkin kelar dalam 2 bulan.  

To make me miss Jakarta even more, gue harus menghadapi kenyataan pahit soal salon. Ok,lu pada tau lah ya, bagaimana buat cewe nyalon adalah satu hiburan pelipur lara kalo lagi sakit kepala atau bt. Nah, di Jayapura, jumlah salon sih cukup banyak, tapi yang bagus gue ngga tau  ada berapa dan yang mana aja. Daripada kecewa, di sini gue hanya ke salon Rudi Hadisuwarno. Itupun buat potong rambut tok.

Creambath? Mahal gila. Di salon biasa tuh sekitar 120-130ribuan. Hairspa juga segitu. Luluran 150ribuan. Buset. Shock gue, secara creambath di salon-salon seputaran Wolter Monginsidi masih dapet 50-75ribu. Terus sambil shock gue ketok-ketok meja supaya jangan sampe kejadian kayak seorang temen yang salah masuk salon (masuknya ke salon & spa-nya Martha Tilaar) dan kena 250ribu untuk creambath. Ampun.

Duh rasanya lebih baik disudahi aja ramblingan hari ini, daripada makin panjang, bikin gue makin rindu sama Jakarta.

27 Desember cepatlah datang. Plis. 

Momento

Happiness only real when shared -Into The Wild-

Only three months left in Papua, and I miss every inches of this land and its people already. 

Happy Weekend (Music Video)

The Neighbours (Photos)

Inside honai.

Mama and the Kittens (Photos)

Hello Mama Ucing!

Hello kids!

Family picture. (The kittens look exactly like mommy!)

Homesick

A: I don’t feel well today, my stomach feels awful. I was so hungry and then I ate like crazy, but now it doesn’t feel good.

B: So do I. I feel terrible. I had a shaky landing , I’m dehydrated, and had to wait for hours for ticket confirmation. I’m all exhausted.

A: And now suddenly I miss home. My first day of homesick after months of travelling.

B: Me too. I miss my mom. You know, being sick while you’re away is one of the worst thing.

A: (nodded) I miss my mom’s cooking.

B: Me too.

Dian Yang Tak Kunjung Padam*

Cendrawasih yang sayapnya patah. Itulah bagaimana Samuel menyebut dirinya.

Samuel dilahirkan 21 tahun yang lalu dari keluarga yang kondisinya pas-pasan. Untuk bertahan hidup, sejak umur 5 tahun ia telah menghabiskan sebagian besar waktunya di jalanan. Ia pun hanyabisa mencicipi bangku sekolah sampai dengan kelas 1 SMP.

Tahun 2005, pada usia 15 tahun, Samuel bergabung menjadi ABK (Anak Buah Kapal) di Kapal Gunung Dempo dan Kapal Sinabung. Hanya bertahan setahun, ia pulang ke Jayapura, dan  kembali ke jalanan.

Bulan Januari 2006, YPPM –salah satu LSM peduli HIV/AIDS di Jayapura- mengadakan kegiatan konseling dan informasi mengenai HIV/AIDS untuk anak jalanan. Samuel yang menyadari dirinya memiliki perilaku beresiko, memberanikan diri untuk tes HIV/AIDS.

Mulia part 3 (Photos)

Forget Nintendo DS and PSP, Pipo Is Way Cooler! (Photos)

Another I thing I notice when I was in Mulia, is how often I see kids (mostly boys) carrying water hose attached together into round shape and a stick.

I asked to my friend and he didn't know the name of it. I've asked several others and they didn't have the answer neither. But then I met one kid and he said it's called Pipo. I don't know whether it's the real name for the game, or he just said whatever that came into his mind.

Pipo is played by rolling the hose and then the stick is used to move it to whatever directions.
If I may say, it's probably, the most popular game for kids in Mulia 😃

Visiting The Neighbour (Video)

The neighbour's honai used to be located in our office's lawn. But several months ago, they decided to move out to a bigger yard next to the office.

During one weekend, I went to visit them and they invited me to come inside their house.

FYI, honai is a traditional house of Papua. Specifically, it’s the typical house of highland community.

It’s made of wood and the roof is covered by sago palm leaves. There’s no tile whatsoever, you can only find earth or dried grass covering the floor. A fireplace is built in the middle of honai for cooking and also to keep the occupants warm at night.

Each honai is usually inhabited by several people, probably around 6 – 12. Men and women live in separate honai, eventhough generally little boys sleep with their mom.

Bakar Batu (Photos)

Sea of people

Spotted Again! (Photos)

Now I'm getting convinced that this is definitely a must-have item for women in Puncak Jaya!

Pleated skirt pleated skirt pleated skirt!

Bakar Batu (Video)

I was so grateful being able to witness the ceremony of Bakar Batu (Stone Burnt Party) when I was in Mulia.

As I told you on the previous post, the week I visited Mulia was the week of Yamo District’s GIDI Klasis meeting. The 4 days meeting went thoroughly, and to express gratitude, a Bakar Batu ceremony was set on the closing day (Oct 21).

It was a big scale Bakar Batu, and was attended by thousands of people from different villages. 
People have come to Mulia the previous day bringing crops. They stay at their relative’s honai to participate in the Bakar Batu.

Bakiak Competition (Photos)

Happy little feet

 The excited spectators

Now let the competition began!

At The Klasis Meeting (Photos)

I Woof You My Pink Fella

Summer Is Here (Photos)

The sun was burning that day, some kiddos decided to chill............. at the culvert.

♥ (Music Video)

Happy Sunday, fellas. 

Going for Bakar Batu (Video)

I planned to go home to Jayapura on Friday (21/10), but things went longer than predicted, therefore I stayed for couple more days. 

Lucky me, because I had the chance to see Bakar Batu or Stone Burnt Party. The Bakar Batu was held on Friday, to commemorate the closing of Klasis Meeting. 

The day before, I met a group of villagers in Wandenggobak. They were carrying noken containing vegetables, hipere (sweet potatoes), leaves, and gourds. They said they have walked tens of kilos to reach Mulia and attend the event.

Ugurage Boy & Kiron (Video)

Two boys I met after my visit to Wandenggobak.
On my way, I also met a group of villagers who were heading to the city.

The Sermon and Gospel (Audio)

My recent trip to Mulia fell on the same week when GIDI (Gereja Injili Di Indonesia/The Evangelical Church of Indonesia) of Yamo district held an annual Klasis Meeting.

The 4 days meeting was attended by hundreds (or maybe thousands) of church representatives from different villages. 

GIDI gives sermon in traditional Lani language. The gospel hymns are also in Lani, considering most of the congregations are Dani and Lani tribe. 

Priest Preaching by petitedevotchka
People singing by petitedevotchka

Little Missy and The Piglet (Photos)

CDs

When was the last time you bought CD of your favorite musician?

Mine was long time ago. Hmm well, probably not that long, coz’ I remember I bought Dried Cassava’s Mind Thieves CD before I leave for Jayapura, which was 4 months ago.

I still buy CDs though, but only for local musicians.  I appreciate their works, and I know how merciless the industry will do to them if nobody’s  purchasing the CDs. I believe buying the original CDs will somehow help them to survive.

Miss Lemon part 2

After sucking up the bitter reality about Miss Lemon, I spent the rest of the day browsing on mp3 players.

Sadly, there weren't many choices that suited me. The current iPod Nano was soon ditched, because I don't like the shape. Seriously, the little-compact-touch screen thing didn't fascinate me. The iPod classic was way too expensive with such basic functions. While the Samsung YP something something has fulfilled all needs, but somehow my ego wanted an Apple.

Miss Lemon

I lost one of my fellow gadgets yesterday; Miss Lemon.

She was a second generation iPod Nano, and a graduation present from my parents.

I still remember the day I bought her. It was Saturday, I drove to JPC Kemang with my peep Eyi. Few weeks before, Apple just launched this thing and it was a hot item.

I recall that at first I wanted a green one. But the shop didn't have it that time. They only got grey and pink. I opted pink, and named her Miss Lemon.

The Weekend

I went to play tennis yesterday. It was Saturday morning, and I was awake at 5AM -thanks to my rooster fella-, and at 6, my neighbors invited me for a little exercise.

It  was years after the last time I grasped the tennis racket.

I never good at it, and apparently I have no talent. I played like a blind foolish kid who kept hitting the ball to unpredictable directions that made my partner panting. Thankfully, he was a patient bapak-bapak (well you can see most of my kosan folks are bapak-bapak) who stayed calm every time I screwed up. “Just stay focus and try to hit the ball”, he said.

The Beauty (Photos)

This and That (Photos)

The sky that afternoon. 

Dried up red streaks of spat-out pinang (areca nuts).

News of The Day

I remember we went to Bali on 2008. We shared room, ate a lot of good food, visited places, and had a great laugh together.

New Rooster In The House (Photos)

Now who needs alarm if you have this fella tied up near your room?

September the 30th

Fourty six years ago, a movement called G30S/PKI undertook a coup d'etat attempt and changed the lives of millions, including my mother's family.

Here's an article I found this morning, written by my uncle (mom's younger brother), that tells stories about the family's aka my family's brief history.

(Article taken from here)

Going Home

Couple of months ago, not long after I arrived in Papua, I browsed on Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air websites. I was expecting a good deal for my ‘holiday in Jakarta’ plan on December. 

However, I found no luck. One way Jayapura – Jakarta ticket was 2.4 mio. Return ticks were around 4.8 – 5 mio. 

Jayapura to Major Tom: Do You Copy That?

Hello. I was so glued to work I had no times to blog.

Well that’s probably a bit exaggerating, but really, I have so much things to prepare  for this National AIDS conference in Jogja –which I don't attend but got a whole bunch of works to focus on–.

Things have been kind of quiet. I spend my afternoons and weekends drinking coffee and reading books, I only go out to buy food. Here’s the thing: I’ve got piles of untouched books, that were brought from Jakarta all the way to Jayapura, because I thought I would have more spare times here.

Then  a month passed and still, they were  left untouched. One day my conscience decided to break in and speak the truth: read them or pack them back to Jakarta. I have no choice.

Couple of weeks ago, a small Susi Air plane crashed in the highlands of Papua (at Yakuhimo regency) and killed the pilot and co-pilot. People blamed it on the bad weather. The company’s owner, Ibu Susi  was shattered because this has never happened before. Susi Air has always good record, and they pay attention to safety. But god knows what happened up there. The accident has even made her reconsidered the business in Papua. She said that probably Susi Air will operate no more in Papua.

Sunday (Photos)

Total Hotness (Music Video)

Crazy lips. 

Reminiscing Egypt (Photos)

Hottest Fashion Item in Mulia (Photos)

After I while, I reckon that the hottest fashion item for mama-mama in Mulia is not the skirt made of fibres nor beaded necklaces.

It's pleated skirts.

Baliem Valley for a Day

Sometimes, getting yourself out of Mulia can be a difficult thing. I remember two weeks ago it was so hard to get a plane. My colleague was almost desperate, getting ‘Sorry, we don’t fly on that date’ response everytime she called aviation company. Our trusted Yajasi and Maf had their pilots -who are expatriates- taking summer holiday. Susi Air had its planes on maintenance check.

It took us two days of waiting impatiently before we had the news that within the week, there will be no direct flight available to Jayapura. The only way to get out is flying to Wamena (the main town of Baliem Valley)  with Merpati and, continue with Trigana to Jayapura.

Another Mighty Mama (Photos)

Mama-mama I met at Mulia airport. 

I tried to communicate with her but she only mumbled and nodded. It seems that she doesn't speak bahasa Indonesia. Anyway, if you notice, two joints of her finger got amputated, meaning that she has lost two close family members. People said that this practice is still ongoing, although not as frequent as it used to be. 

Kids at School (Photos)

One fine Saturday at SD Inpres Mulia.

Wandenggobak's Posyandu Day (Photos)

Posyandu, or Integrated Maternal & Child Health Post is a monthly activity helds to monitor growth of the babies, kids below 5 y.o, and pregnant mothers. During the session, health officials (usually midwife or doctor) will also give immunization service and consultation about food nutrition.