Antara Pulang dan Tali-tali Cintaku

Honestly... Yah secara memang dalam menulis sebaiknya kita jujur, meski tidak membeberkan semua fakta, aku ngga yakin apa aku benar-benar ingin pulang.

Tanggal 27 aku akan meninggalkan kota kecil Califórnia ini. Naik bis malam ke São Paulo, di mana tanggal 28-nya Kak Sinta akan menjemputku, dan kami akan menghabiskan waktu beberapa hari di sana, di kotanya. Mengenal kotanya, katanya. Lalu tanggal 2 September aku akan terbang. Terbang tinggi, terbang jauh, sampai mendarat dan dipeluk ciuman sahabat-sahabat dan keluargaku di Soekarno-Hatta, tanggal 4 September. Rencana yang sempurna.

"Aku sudah bosan di sini, Ma." "Tidak ada lagi yang bisa kulakukan." "Aku merasa hidupku tersendat." "Brasil itu dalam beberapa segi sangatlah menyebalkan."

Dalam satu bulan ini seingatku hanya itulah yang kulaporkan ke rumah sebagai berita. Kemudian Mama mengkhawatirkan keberadaanku, Papa melonjak kegirangan karena berarti kepulanganku semakin dekat, dan adikku seperti biasa selalu biasa-biasa saja reaksinya.

Tapi anehnya, semakin dekat hariku pulang, tali-tali cinta yang kulemparkan di sana-sini kini tersambut, dan mengikatku di banyak tempat. Minggu lalu kuhadiri sebuah festival country di Apucarana. Ah, manisnya teman-temanku! Begitu banyak yang menanyakan kabarku, kembali memperhatikanku, memeluk dan melilitku dengan perhatian mereka. Kemarin aku ada di Apucarana, menonton Ratatouille bersama beberapa teman. Filmnya lucu, tapi bukan itu yang istimewa. Saat kami duduk bersama setelah film, menikmati sandwich dan bertukar kata-kata, kembali tali cinta itu menarik keras hatiku. Wajah-wajah sedih itu, rengutan manis dari teman-teman wanitaku... Ah Tuhan, sekarang aku mengerti apa yang Zulaika katakan ketika dia ingin "membawa orang-orang Brasil ini ke Indonesia"!

Friends. Amigos. Teman-teman. Aaaghh!!

Mengapa justru di hari-hari terakhir aku merasa dicintai? Mungkinkah karena aku lebih sering keluar rumah, bertemu lebih banyak orang di hari-hari terakhir ini, dan semakin banyak teman-teman yang "mencintaiku kembali"? Mungkinkah dalam pergaulan orang-orang Brasil ini, yang terpenting hanyalah kesan pertama dan kesan terakhir? Banyak "teman-teman"ku yang kukenal tidak lama, bahkan kami hanya pernah bertemu satu kali, dan ketika kuminta ia menandatangani bendera Brazilku, dituliskannya, "Samuka, grande amigo... meu irmão... uma pessoa super legal..." yang artinya, "Samuel, teman baikku... saudaraku... seorang yang sangat keren..." yang tentu gw baca dengan girang, tapi dalam hati, wadehel...

Kalau memang itu yang terjadi di tempat ini, tidak ada seorangpun di Brasil yang pernah merasakan persahabatan sejati! Bersahabat bagi mereka adalah kedekatan dengan kata-kata manis, yang dipererat dengan pesta-pesta dan berkaleng-kaleng bir. Oh ya, aku yakin ada saja yang benar-benar bersahabat sepertiku di Indonesia dengan sahabat-sahabatku, misalnya, tapi mungkin merekalah minoritasnya.

Teringat kembali juga hal lain, dua hari yang lalu, Ana Paula, saat kami baru keluar dari bioskop, ia bercerita pada kami semua. "Kalian tahu sejak kapan aku tahu Samuel itu orangnya keren?" Dalam hati aku tidak tahu jawabannya. Rasanya persahabatan dan "kekerenan" seorang teman itu tidak bisa dikatakan dengan "sejak kapan" deh. Tapi Ana melanjutkan. "Saat aku kehilangan anjingku, lalu kami ngobrol di Internet dan dia menghiburku dengan cerita lucu tentang anjingnya yang kutuan dan lalu dijual papanya... yang akhirnya dimasak sama yang beli." Well tentu saja tidak sevulgar itu dia berbicara. Kuterjemahkan bebas agar mudah dimengerti.

This is Ana. Ana and the King. Halah halah...

Nah, point-nya di sini... Betapa mudahnya membuat gadis-gadis kaukasian ini terkesan, bila demikian?! Lakukan sesuatu yang manis, hibur mereka di saat yang tepat, dan mereka akan katakan, "kau keren." Entah merekanya yang terlalu polos atau gadis-gadis Indonesia yang menuntut terlalu banyak.

Well, oke. Cukup cerita tentang "cara bersahabat" mereka yang unik di tempat ini. Kembali ke topik awal tadi... Di samping aku merasa berat hati untuk pulang, tapi aku juga tahu banyak tantangan dan hal-hal baru yang menantiku di Indonesia untuk kutaklukkan... Tapi meninggalkan mereka yang kucintai di sini benar-benar membuatku pusing kepala. Hmmm... Tapi tetap aku mesti pulang kan? Kursi di pesawat sudah ditandai, tiket bis ke São Paulo tinggal dibeli... Yah Sam, nikmatilah saja sisa hari ini. Sambil tetap membawa kasih Kristus tentunya. Carpe diem.

united.in.brazil.

About three weeks ago, on the 28th of July, Hillsong United began their tour in South America. Their first destination was Brazil, coming here the second time, according to what my friends said. Their first destination was Sao Paulo, a huge city which is kinda close to my city here in Brazil, about six hours by car.

I, as... Hmm... can I say "fans"? Well it is some Christian band, and we can't make idol out of anything except Christ. Hahaha... Well.. let's just say supporter. I have been listening Hillsong Church's music for a long time, since Darlene was still a young woman, she still jumped high, and United was still an embryo. So I kinda know a lot about this church and their growth, and of course, their quality of music.

Well I could talk about Hillsong this whole post, but it wasn't the purpose of my writing this time. I am doing a small, a little out dated report about the concert.

I got the ticket for this concert about like, a month before. Brazilian are, when they are crazy about something, they are really crazy about it. OBSESSED. About three or four months before the show, there were already an official website, bunch of fan communities in orkut, Brazil's myspace, where people talk and discuss fan matters, like, does Joel Houston really looks like He-Man and have eyes like fish, is Marty Sampson coming with the United team for this tour, and really many others insignificant (for me) fan matters. It just doesn't feel right for me, I mean, this United thing is not exactly a band, and they are touring around the world is not exactly looking for fans and popularity - although it helps them a lot - but they are traveling around the world to see God call His people back to Him. It's totally not about them, it's about Jesus Christ. I hope these crazy fans' eyes will be opened one day.

So anyway, day 27th, at night, we all went off for our journey to Sao Paulo. There were me, Marcio, Denise, Chico, Camila, and Camila's mother, that made six of us. We went with a van from Londrina, embarking about midnight.

In front of our van, before embarking.

The travel was bumpy in many places, was also cold and tiring, and we went resting in one or two places. Approaching Sao Paulo, about two o'clock in the morning, a police officer stopped us. We were all scared, thinking of the worst to happen, but funny thing was, the police only needed a ride. We agreed to take him to Sao Paulo. "Ajuda com sua segurança tambem," he said. "Helps with your safety too."

It was not because we gave the police officer a lift, of course, but our safety was secured. God was with us. Arrived safely and early in Anhembi Arena, about 7 o'clock in one really foggy and cold morning. To my disbelief, there were already people there, queuing for the line. We stopped and talk, and some even more shocking news, some told us that they've been there since 11 o'clock last night. That is so.. crazy. And it's not that they're crazy about Jesus, I'm sure. They're crazy about the band.

So, seeing there were yet no massive queue formed at the arena, we decided to clean up and freshen up at the mall. We went to Central Norte, a huge mall close to the Anhembi Arena. I had the video, if only the incident with my second host brother that involves the lost of my 1.5 GB of photos and videos didn't happen, I could've shown you the video. But well... What's lost it lost, right?

Well, everybody got freshened up, we went around the mall a little bit, did some shopping (I bought this cool red t-shirt for 25 R$), and finally at lunch time we ate at the foodcourt. It was super expensive. I wasted about 20 R$ for a plate of meal and a glass of sweet tea. Yeah, imagine Jakarta's mall, only with stronger money value.

After lunch, we went back to the arena at about two o'clock. The band was having a check-sound, and it animated me and Camila to be quickly stand on the line. But to my surprise again, there were already this huge line of people, forming about 300 meters. We walked so far from the gate to finally meet the end of the line.

At the line, many things happened. United we stood, united we thirsted, united we hungered, and got tired, from about 2 until 6 PM. The gate was to be opened at 4, but for some reasons, it wasn't opened until 6 PM. And standing there, we talked to many people, found people that are yet even crazier about the band rather than Jesus. They talked about Joel, Marty, and JD as if they were gods, and most of this disappoint me. If United said that the greatest crowd, the most animated ones they found in Brazil, I would say that probably this is because the people are animated about the band, not about Jesus. I didn't find any of these people standing in line maintaining their attitude, some even yell out in anger and frustration when the gate were not being opened, rubbish were being thrown to the ground and traffic are disturbed. No offense to Brazilian United fans, but their attitude is totally different than the polite attitude shown by Indonesian in the United concert last year.

I got to know a Bolivian family. The mother was a Bolivian, and the father (who wasn't there) was a Brazilian. They went to Singapore to study, and their children speaks amazing English. I made friend with Oneide, their oldest daughter, a very nice girl with a godly attitude. This family had this passion about building their own church, and is praying that God will provide everything they needed. It's always amazing to see people that are totally walking in faith.

I also talked to the security guy, through the wall bars. Commented about the members of the United band, he said Jad Gillies is the most annoying one. Putting on serious face all the time, not willing to sign autograph for him, the security guy was so disappointed. On the other hand, he said Joel Houston shown the most sympathy. They talked a lot, shared about church ministry and the band. But yeah, people are different. Maybe Jad is the serious one, and Joel is the happy one, and JD is the mad one, but all of them serve the same God and bear the same purpose.

Well... I'll just skip to the gate opening. As we began to walk into the arena, it started to rain. People bought rain caps, which were only 5 R$ for 2, now they sell it for 1 only. It's amazing how need and money contradicts at this point. We however, bought the cap long before the rain.

The arena was full, large, and open air. It was raining, really cold, and there were fog in the air. But when the band started to play, everything went fun, everyone got heated up and forgot all that.

United started again with the classic Introduction + The Time Has Come. This is cool but in the same time I guess it's disappointing, because it's been like two years must be now, and they should have find a new creative way to start a show. But it was still hip though. People were crazily animated.

We jumped from song to song, then Jad started the worship session with Take All Of Me. All of a sudden, singing this song and taking to heart, I felt a huge mass of presence of God. All of a sudden I felt so alone. Lose all the music, the fans screaming, and even the song, and it's all just me and God.

I think that is indeed the core of worship. It's not about the music, the band, a good song, or even singing itself. Worship is a life that glorifies God, no matter what happen in it. You could worship in the midst of happiness, you could worship in the rain of blessing, but you must more importantly worship through the storm of desperation.

Yeah, to say it short, the rest of the night was awesome, just like every United concert. The worship was marvelous. I felt that day like I found again the reason for living. Like I found again the braveness to stand up for Jesus, to be a difference in my community and daily life. To be a Christian is to be a brave generation, said Phil Dooley. I sure hope many Brazilian will receive the message too, as a brother from Indonesia I really want to see God's movement going on strong through the whole world.

Some shots from the night. It was raining heavily, yet amazing to see all these people gather together for Jesus.

So yeah, the night was great. The concert ended about 11 PM, with three encore songs and a guitar sorting. We didn't participate because we didn't have a pen to write the sorting ticket. Silly, huh. =)

Then we took off. I visited the United stand at the back of the auditorium, bought a T-Shirt, Phil Dooley's teaching CD, and got some information about the Hillsong College. About this last item, honestly, it really interest me a lot to get inside this Hillsong World... to learn from them, to serve with them, and then to bring the knowledge I would get there back to Indonesia. But it's still a thought. I really need to pray more about my future.

So then we go on the van. Another 6 hours journey through the night to get back to our cities. Honestly, I feel blessed, but in the same way I felt sad. I really know that if I go to this concert with my youth friends in Indonesia, in many ways we will reflect on our Christian lives, get something different for our youth group, and be more creative. No offense, but it seems like all that the people in my group paid attention to that day was why Marty Sampson wasn't coming.



But still, this concert was a 10. I really want to be a part of something big like this one day. Faithful, to say? Yeah, sort of. God, thank you for this heart-changing experience. I love You.

2&3 Agustus 2007 - Belajar Lagi

Hari sekolah berakhir seperti semua hari biasa. Pulang, lalu makan siang, kali ini tidak ditemani siapa-siapa. Sepertinya aku berada di rumah yang seisi keluarganya punya urusan sendiri-sendiri. Semua dimulai, seperti dari semua keluarga, dari si Bapak. Nivaldo suka sekali dengan komputer. Kalau tidak di komputer, di rumahnya, ia akan keluar rumah. Bahkan keluarga Itamar yang sering rusuhpun masih ada saat-saat "kebersamaan" keluarga di depan TV. Tapi di sini tidak, ah, belum kurasakan itu.

Pulang sekolah, José kecil ajak aku ke kantor Papanya dan ke toko neneknya. Seluruh keluarga ini bekerja keras! Sampai di kantor walikota, tempat Nivaldo bekerja, aku diperkenalkan pada orang-orang di sana. Semua antusias. Aku sampai diajak foto sang walikota (yang memang sudah kukenal lewat Rotary), duduk di meja kerjanya. Sekarang aku bisa juga bilang, "bapakku pegawai negeri."

"Duduk di kantor bapak."
Aduh... Kayak kalimat-kalimat di buku-buku PPKn jaman dulu aja...

Foto bareng walikota Califórnia.

Duduk di kursi walikota. Biarpun kota kecil juga...
Tapi waah, mimpi apa gw semalem?

Masih di kantor walikota, bersama beberapa warga yang berkunjung untuk ngobrol.
(Tuh, walikota bisa diajak ngobrol! Bang Yos, ayo kapan mau kayak begitu?)

Di rumah kakek & nenek (pasangan kakek nenekku yang ketiga tentunya), aku lihat toko & bagian dalam rumahnya, yang ternyata jauh lebih besar dari apa yang nampak dari luar. Semua tinggal di lantai dua (karena lantai satunya adalah sebuah toko serba ada), dan masih ada tanah kecil di belakang, tempat berkebun. Ketemu seorang tante baru di sana, yang ternyata seorang Kristen.

Lalu pulang. Di rumah, berita yang disampaikan Mãe Marilisa menyambarku seperti petir di siang bolong: Folder fotoku, file-file gambar pentingku dari awal tahun, yang sengaja kutinggalkan di komputer keluarga keduaku untuk kuambil nanti, dihapus oleh adikku dari keluarga kedua. Bukan main marahnya diriku saat itu. Mengapa harus dihapusnya? Mengapa dia tidak menungguku datang, atau paling tidak menanyakan dulu apakah file itu masih kuperlukan? Segitu penuhnya-kah hard disknya sehingga dia harus menghapus file-file pentingku yang hanya akan menyesakkan komputernya selama, paling tidak, dua atau tiga hari?

Yah, singkat cerita, siang itu dalam campuran perasaan marah, takut, dan sedih, aku berlari ke Orion Computer, satu-satunya toko komputer di Califórnia, dan memohon bantuan Juliano, sang pemilik toko, untuk menyelamatkan file-file yang hilang itu. Katanya, ada programnya, tapi besok. Jadi hari itu, aku menanti. Memang mustahil mendapatkan semuanya kembali, tapi setidaknya aku berharap aku tidak akan kehilangan semua gambarku.

Lalu yah, datang waktu marah, datang waktu perenungan. Kata Tuhan, "Nak, yang hilang kan fotomu, bukan kameramu? Untuk apa memusingkan beberapa potong masa lalu jika itu malah merusak hubunganmu dengan masa kini?"

Tapi tetap terasa kurang adil. Dalam dua hari kenyamananku di keluarga kedua direnggut, aku harus memulai hubungan keluarga dari awal lagi, dan sekarang foto-fotoku hilang. Ah, tapi aku yakin ada yang Tuhan ingin aku pelajari dari hal ini. Sebagai anak-anak Allah, masa lalu, masa kini, dan masa depan kita adalah milik-Nya. Serahkan hak. Tidak ada lagi yang boleh kita klaim, sebab semakin kita menyerahkan diri kita menjadi milik Kristus, semakin hilanglah diri kita, dan semakin bertambahlah diri-Nya. Segala yang tidak kekal tidak perlu kita perdebatkan dan perebutkan. Termasuk foto-foto masa laluku. Rebutkan foto dan kehilangan kesempatan memberitakan kasih Kristus pada keluarga ini? Iblis, aku tidak bisa kau tipu lagi. Bersama Tuhan aku benar-benar kuat menghadapi SEGALA SESUATU. Amin. Aku LEBIH DARI PEMENANG.

***
Tambahan:

Sore hari setelah aku mendapatkan kabar mengejutkan tentang hilangnya foto-fotoku, adik baruku José kecil berumur 9 tahun, ngotot mengajakku berjalan ke Bosque, sebuah taman kota di ujung California. Taman yang sebenarnya sudah tidak terawat lagi, tapi karena "cintanya akan alam", José ngotot ingin pergi ke sana.

Kata orang, anak kecil benar-benar egois. Tidak bisa mengerti kepentingan orang lain, dan hanya memikirkan keinginannya sendiri. Hari itu aku mengerti apa yang dimaksudkan kalimat itu. José kecil sama sekali tidak memikirkan bahwa aku sangat sedih, kehilangan begitu banyak foto dan video, dia tetap saja pasang tampang ceria dan menyebalkan (bagiku), dan meskipun aku jelas-jelas menunjukkan wajah merengut sepanjang kami berjalan di taman jelek itu, dia tetap ceria dan melompat-lompat ke sana kemari.

Puji Tuhan, akhirnya aku bisa membuka hati dan mencoba bersenang-senang. Kupikir tidak ada untungnya juga bila sore itu aku bersedih. Akhirnya kami mendapatkan beberapa foto bagus sore itu, dan acara jalan-jalan sore kami berakhir cukup menyenangkan.

Yeah, the great outdoors...

***

Dan yah, itu kemarin. Sekarang tanggal 4 Agustus, dan aku akan menambahkan apa yang terjadi tanggal 3 Agustus, sehari setelah file-file fotoku dihapus.

Pulang sekolah, makan siang, aku langsung pergi ke Orion Computer. Di sana Juliano sudah ada, tapi entah mengapa ia berlama-lama, meninggalkanku ngobrol dengan salah satu teknisinya. Seolah ia tidak tahu betapa banyaknya foto yang terhilang, seolah bukan sesuatu yang penting baginya. Aku menunggu setengah jam di tokonya untuk mendapatkan sebuah software kecil, dan pada akhirnya masih lagi membayar sekitar sepuluh ribu rupiah untuk software gratisan yang bisa aku download dari internet.

Tuhan mengajarku tentang kesabaran.

Setiba di rumah keluarga keduaku, terlihat sang tersangka, penghapus fileku terduduk tenang di depan komputer, menikmati sebuah game dan bahkan tidak menengok menyapaku ketika aku datang. Ia masih bisa menyuruhku menunggunya menyelesaikan permainannya. Setelah giliranku tiba, dan aku memasang software penyelamat itu, masih ia duduk di dekatku, nempel-nempel sok tahu, bahkan berani-beraninya mengajariku cara menggunakan software yang tidak pernah dilihatnya. Meskipun hari itu kudengar kata maaf keluar dari mulutnya, tetap sikapnya tidak menunjukkan penyesalan yang berarti. Ia bolak-balik dari dapur ke komputer, mengambil makanan dan lalu duduk, seolah-olah tidak sabar menantiku selesai. Sampai dalam hati aku bingung, keluarga macam apa yang bisa menghasilkan anak tidak tahu diri seperti ini?

Tuhan mengajarku tentang kesabaran.

File yang kucari tidak kunjung kutemukan. Program-program sudah dijalankan, bahkan ku-download program tambahan dari internet, tetap tidak ada tanda-tanda dari 1 GB lebih foto dan videoku, seolah-olah mereka tidak pernah ada di komputer itu. Frustrasi, dengan seorang anak tidak tahu diri terus-terusan duduk di dekatku dan tetap berusaha mengajariku apa yang mesti kulakukan, benar-benar hanya Tuhan saja yang memberiku kekuatan menghadapi situasi itu dan tidak marah.

Akhirnya hari semakin sore, dan sampai Juliano sendiri turun tangan membantu. Tidak juga kami temukan file-file yang hilang itu. Adikku, sang penghapus file, entah mengapa menarik diri dengan keberadaan Juliano. Mungkin malu karena Juliano jelas-jelas menyinggung namanya terus-terusan, mungkin juga ia ada urusan lain. Tapi sore itu ekspresi malu mulai terlihat di wajahnya. Ia segan denganku.

Dan tetap, file tidak bisa kutemukan. Foto-foto dan video-videoku, memori-memoriku akan hal-hal yang terjadi dalam hidupku dari awal tahun 2007 di Brazil ini, semua hilang.

Tuhan mengajarku tentang kesabaran.

Lalu Mãe datang. Benar-benar kekuatan dari Tuhan hari itu, aku bisa tetap tenang dan memilih bersukacita. Dengan wajah tenang dan tersenyum, aku bisa menghadapi kegugupan Mãe, dan membicarakan dengan kepala dingin bagaimana cara mendapatkan kembali foto-foto yang hilang tersebut dengan memintanya ke teman-temanku yang lain. Kami berbicara tentang file-file yang terhilang, foto-foto apa yang bisa diminta ke tempat lain, difoto ulang, dan yang benar-benar terhilang. Puji Tuhan, aku tetap tenang hari itu. Kami selesaikan pembicaraan itu dengan enak, Mama bahkan bikinkan aku mingãu (sup kental coklat manis dicampur tepung jagung), kami duduk ngobrol bersama, dan sukacitaku tetap ada di hatiku.

Sebelum aku pulang, aku bisa menutup dengan pesan pengampunan, "Pai, Mãe, tolong bilang ke adikku kalau aku sudah baik-baik saja, tidak perlu ia merasa tidak enak lagi." Mereka tersipu dan hanya bisa tersenyum.

Tuhan mengajarku tentang kesabaran dan kekuatan mengampuni.

Di awalnya, aku merasa tidak ada kerugian yang lebih parah daripada kehilangan foto-foto itu. Aku merasa aku akan sangat marah, tidak akan sanggup memaafkan, dan akan kecewa berat atas hilangnya foto-foto itu. Tapi, aku serahkan semua pergumulan hatiku, kecewaku, juga marahku kepada Tuhan. Meminta Ia memanggul-Nya. Dan yang kudapatkan adalah kekuatan. Bayangkan betapa sakitnya menanggung hilangnya 1,5 GB foto dan video, di tahun pertukaran siswamu, tanpa penghiburan dari Tuhan? Puji Tuhan, aku hanya kehilangan foto-foto itu, dan tidak perlu kehilangan simpati dan kasih dari keluarga keduaku.

Sekarang aku mengerti apa itu mengampuni. Apa itu kehilangan sesuatu yang berharga dan masih bisa tetap tersenyum dan berkata, "ya, tidak mengapa."

Terima kasih Tuhan. Aku benar-benar lebih dari pemenang bersama Engkau.

2 Agustus 2007 - Anti Conformity

Kemarin akhirnya aku pindah rumah ke keluarga ketiga. Malasnya bukan main, sesudah pulang sekolah, makan siang, aku harus membereskan barang-barangku, memasukkannya ke dalam kotak-kotak lagi, merapikan di sana-sini, tapi untungnya Mãe membantuku. Ah, kusadari barang-barangku banyak sekali! Kaos-kaos terutama, banyak yang tidak pernah kukenakan. Celana-celana kain tidak terpakai, celana dalam yang sepertinya terlalu banyak, rompi yang tidak tersentuh, dll.

Dan yang paling parah, buku-buku! Mungkin ada 5 kg sendiri satu dus buku-bukuku! Yah, pastinya aku akan jadi seorang pemberi yang baik di hari kepulanganku nanti.

Juga kubereskan file-file di komputer, ku-burn CD-CD berisi musik & foto-foto, yah, 'menghapuskan' jejakku dari rumah itu. Di tengah-tengah kesibukanku sore itu, Mãe Marilise (oh God, she's a really sweet woman!) masih menyempatkan mengajakku foto.

Beres-beres, berantakan, capek, dan dibongkar lagi nantinya. Ugh...

sama Isadora, tetanggaku.

Giovanna and Julia, the two sweetest sisters you can get!!

Casturina, my heroine. She washed my clothes, pants, shoes, and everything. I'd be 'kewalahan' without her.

"Mommy, I love you!!"

Dan akhirnya pukul 5.30 sore lebih 2 menit, keluarga ketigaku datang menjemput. Nivaldo dan Marilisa, orang tua terakhirku di negara berbendara hijau kuning biru ini.

Rumah mereka sangat kecil, tapi rapi. Aku akan tidur dengan José, adik kecilku. Tas-tas yang sudah kupak rapi-rapi, kubongkar kembali. Kaos-kaos kukeluarkan lagi, kardus-kardus dibuka lagi, dan jejak-jejak yang sudah kuhapuskan dari rumah kedua, kini kukuaskan lagi di rumah baru.

Terulang kembali pula proses pengenalan. Seperti apa Indonesia, cara kami makan di sana, dan yang belum tapi pasti akan ditanyakan, tentang keluargaku. Kalau dipikir-pikir bisa kesal dan lelah juga, tapi mengingat tugasku sebagai seorang duta muda negara, memang inilah yang harus kulakukan. Aku tidak di sini untuk kenyamananku. Satu kali aku mulai merasa nyaman di satu keluarga, aku harus pindah. Mungkin itu juga yang Rotary inginkan, supaya aku tidak pernah merasa aman dan lalu jadi kurang ajar, malas, bersantai, dan melupakan misiku.

Apa refleksinya tentang ini dengan kehidupan rohaniku ya? Yah, rasanya aku mengerti. Dalam menjadi seorang duta besar kerajaan Surga, kita seharusnya tidak pernah boleh merasa nyaman di dunia ini. Dunia yang bukanlah tanah air kita, karena kita berkebangsaan tanah surgawi. Sebelum semua orang tahu tentang kasih Kristus, tentang cinta-Nya yang besar untuk semua orang, kita tidak boleh beristirahat. Sebelum kita kembali kepada-Nya, jangan pernah merasa tenang, apalagi merasa sudah berbuat cukup. Terus berlari, dan kejar mahkota kemuliaan itu.

1 Agustus 2007

Kemarin malam, keluargaku mengajakku makan di sebuah churrascaria. Makan malam perpisahan, katanya. Churrascaria berasal dari kata churrasco = barbekyu, yang bila diterjemahkan bebas oleh Samuel dapat diartikan sebagai tempat makan barbekyu.

Sekitar jam 7 malam, sebelum berangkat, semua ngumpul di ruang keluarga, dan aku diberi kejutan. Ah, mereka membelikanku CD original Cesar Menotti & Fabiano! Senangnya.

Kami lalu berangkat, dan CD baruku disetel di stereo mobil. Entah mengapa mendengar kedua duet ini bernyanyi selalu membangkitkan semangatku. Rasanya yang lainnya di mobil malam itu juga berpikiran sama. Kami bernyanyi sepanjang jalan, dari Califórnia ke Arapongas.

Mãe Marilise, di tengah jalan berkata, harapannya bahwa aku akan mengenang keluargaku ini ketika kudengarkan ulang CD ini kelak. Oh ya, jelas aku akan ingat. Malahan di beberapa lagu tadi malam aku merasakan mataku panas membayangkan aku akan meninggalkan keluargaku yang kucintai di sini.

Terputar lagu Esperando na Janela (Menanti di Ambang Jendela). Liriknya cantik sekali! Langsung kukatakan, lagu ini akan kunyanyikan untuk istriku di pernikahanku kelak. Dengarkan lagunya di bar sebelah kanan blog ini.

Musik memang membawa perasaan. Apalagi kalau musik yang diputar adalah musik yang ceria dan punya roh yang benar. Kami benar-benar gembira malam itu.

Di churrascaria, makanannya tidak terlalu spesial. Tipikal semua makanan Brazil lainnya: Enak tapi bikin ngap. Hanya mengagumkan saja melihat betapa banyak daging dari berbagai jenis dan teknik mengasapi diedarkan. Yang mengesankan kemarin malam adalah betapa keluarga keduaku ini begitu ingin meninggalkan kesan yang baik di malam terakhir aku tinggal bersama mereka. Berapa kali kedua orang tua memisahkan kedua anaknya yang berantem kecil, mereka mengambil foto meskipun anak-anaknya tidak suka... Dan ah, pokoknya mereka bersikap manis sekali kepadaku malam itu. Semakin membuatku berat rasanya meninggalkan mereka. Tidak sekalipun mereka berantem, berdebat, ataupun marah-marah parah malam itu. Yah, keluarga ini benar-benar bisa jadi manis kalau mereka berusaha.

Di bawah ini beberapa foto-foto istimewa malam itu.

Tiba di Churrascaria Herança. Felipe di balik kamera.

Potong daging, potong daging. Ketika kukatakan, "daging beredar", aku benar-benar maksudkan daging-daging itu BEREDAR!!

Giovanna, adik kecilku.

United we stand, united we feast!!

Dan semuanya kenyang...

Dan ini beberapa yang tidak terlalu istimewa.

Tiada hari tanpa random pictures!!

Dan waw, tinggal satu bulan lagi waktuku di Brazil. Perpisahan kecil dengan keluarga keduaku yang manis ini saja sudah terasa pedih, bagaimana nanti aku berpisah dengan segala yang sudah kukenal di negara ini? Negara yang tadinya begitu ingin kutinggalkan, kini mulai terasa ikatan-ikatan cinta di banyak tempat yang telah kujalin menarikku kembali. Yah, kesedihan nanti biarlah untuk nanti saja. Aku sudah minta pada-Nya agar sisa ini bermakna. Mau mulai menghitung hari.

Hari ini... Bosan di kelas seperti biasa. Siap-siap pindah rumah juga nanti sore. Mesti sibuk. Sudah dulu deh.

Antara Menangis dan Menghitung Sisa

Sore ini, tiba-tiba terkenang tentang delapan bulan lalu. Ketika tanah yang kujejak masihlah tanah merah bumi pertiwi. Ketika Indonesia kutinggalkan, dan air mata bertaburan untuk dan olehku. Pelukan dibuat dan dilepaskan. Hati terkoyak.

Kembali ingat betapa tangisku pecah di pelukan Mama. Betapa adikku tak hentinya menangisiku dan meragukan keberaniannya melepasku berhari-hari sebelum keberangkatanku. Papa yang tetap tegar dan menjadi sandaran mereka berdua. Teman-teman, oh teman-temanku, kalian tidak pernah tahu betapa aku dikuatkan dan juga dikoyakkan oleh keberadaan kalian!

Di gerbang akhir airport, tempat aku berjalan menjauhi keluargaku yang mengantarku, oh, tahukah kalian betapa matinya kakiku, betapa mereka menolak digerakkan jauh dari pandangan-pandangan kasih dan air mata mereka? Namun kakiku melangkah juga. Langkah kecil menuju kedewasaan.

Terduduk di pesawat. Air mata kuhapus perlahan. Macbook kunyalakan. Tulisanku yang pertama di atas pesawat lahir. Say Goodbye dari S Club 7 berdengung berulang-ulang, mewakili suara hatiku.

Hari bersejarah itu, tanggal 27 November 2007, hari yang disertai malam panjang penuh kesepian dan pedihnya hati, tapi keyakinan bahwa kami akan bertemu lagi suatu hari sambil tertawa dan menyambut peluk.

Yah, sebut aku seorang perenung dan nostalgis. Hampir air mata menetes lagi, betapa hati teriris mengenang malam sedih itu, betapa jauhnya aku dari mereka sekarang.

Tadi waktu mandi sore, aku teringat dan menyenandungkan lagu ini di tengah air yang suam dan udara yang membeku.

ajar kami Tuhan, menghitung hari-hari
agar kami beroleh hati bijaksana

ajar kami Bapa, hidup dalam jalan-Mu
agar semua rencana-Mu digenapi

mulialah nama-Mu Tuhan, dan ajaib jalan-Mu
bimbing kami di setiap waktu

besar setia-Mu Tuhan, agunglah karya-Mu
Yesus kami bersyukur pada-Mu

Entah bagaimana, hinu klasik yang ditulis Robert & Lea terekam di memoriku beberapa tahun lalu dan terputar indah kembali hari ini. Hari-hari ini, di saat rasa kangenku sedang kuat-kuatnya. Di saat hari kepulanganku sudah bisa terhitung.

Ya, kata itu. Hitung.

Di Brazil, rasanya begitu lambat waktu berlalu pada awalnya. Aku yang jauh dari mana-mana, kesepian, bagaikan bisu karena tidak mengerti Portugis, dan patahnya semangatku di mana seolah-olah seorangpun tidak mengertinya.

Lalu datang hari-hari sekolah. Hari-hari aku mulai membuka mulut dan berbicara, dengan Portugisku yang terbata-bata, bagaikan anak kecil yang belajar melangkah. Aku bangkit, melangkah perlahan, lalu mulai berlari.

Saat mulai berlari, seakan aku lupa menghitung. Jauh, jauh dan semakin jauh, dari berjalan, berlari, akupun terbang. Dan akhirnya tibalah aku di hari ini. Hari di mana aku melihat kembali ke belakang, mengamati jejak-jejakku yang kutinggalkan. Baik dalam memori di ingatan orang-orang, dalam jurnal-jurnal kertas dan elektronikku.

Sudah delapan bulan sekarang. Rasanya baru kemarin aku kehilangan pasport dan 900 US$ di Guarulhos, São Paulo, dan menemukannya kembali. Rasanya belum lama aku belajar Portugis, sepertinya masih kemarin aku datang, sebagai seorang putra Indonesia yang tidak berpengalaman, sangat kanak-kanak, dan lugu. Seperti baru beberapa minggu lalu aku diajak menginjakkan kaki di Califórnia. Sudah delapan bulan.

Seorang sahabatku baru-baru ini pindah ke Australia. Higher education, katanya. Belum sebulan dari empat tahun ia di sana, ia kangen berat dengan kami, dengan Indonesia. Berapa kali kudengar aduan dan sakitnya di Friendster, rindunya dengan makanan, teman-teman, dan hidupnya di Indonesia.

Mengingatkanku akan diriku, di awal-awal bulanku di tempat ini. Dulu aku begitu takut, khawatir akan ini itu, tapi puji Tuhan aku punya Tuhan yang mengasihiku. Aku lewati hari demi hari, kadang dengan kebingungan akan tujuanku, dan akhirnya tibalah pada sekarang.

Dan kini, satu bulan lagi. Lima minggu tepatnya. Sudah berapa jauh aku bertumbuh, aku tidak tahu. Hari-hari sudah terhitung. Tuhan tahu betapa aku rindu Indonesia. Rindu pulang, mengembalikan pelukan-pelukan cinta yang kubawa pergi tahun lalu, menghapus air mata dan penantian mereka dengan senyuman.

Tapi kembali terefleksi, apakah tujuan Tuhan terpenuhi dalam hidupku di tempat ini? Dalam banyak hal aku bertumbuh, dalam banyak hal aku mengembangkan cabang. Terbuka mata, terbuka telinga dan juga mulut, terhadap dunia. Bagai tanaman kecil, aku menguatkan akar-akarku dan bersiap menjadi pohon. Ataukah aku masih sebutir benih yang menolak pecah dan mati, untuk lahirnya tanaman baru?

Tuhan, biarlah sisa ini bermakna.

My Brazilian Birthday Story

Okaayy!! Aku akan menulis dengan Bahasa Indonesia yang Baik dan Benar kali ini... Capek juga ngepost Inggris terus.

Sahabat-sahabat, Samuel Ray Limas baru saja ulang tahun. Tanggal 15 Juli 2007 lalu, memasuki usianya yang ke-18. Ulang tahun pertamanya di luar negara dan pelukan orang-orang tercintanya. Tapi puji Tuhan, karena pemeliharaan-Nya dia tetap bisa merasakan kasih sayang dari sahabat-sahabat barunya di Brasil, yang Tuhan kirimkan untuk mewarnai ulang tahunnya lebih indah.

Jadi, tanggal 15 Juli pagi hari, Rotary sudah menyiapkan satu barbecue besar di ranch-nya Diogo, salah satu member club. Barbecue yang sebenarnya tidak spesial diadakan untukku, tapi memang sudah merupakan tradisi keluarga Rotary Club Califórnia untuk bertemu dan mengadakan hari keluarga di barbecue itu setiap sekian bulan sekali. Tepat juga hari itu ulang tahunku. Jadi mereka siapkan tiga kue, bertumpuk-tumpuk daging dan sosis, soda dan bir dingin untuk pesta kami.

Dan hari itu benar-benar asyik dan seru. Kami pulang pesta lebih awal, karena keluarga inang pertamaku bilang mereka mau adakan pesta kecil lagi di rumah mereka untukku. Di rumah mereka aku dibuatkan "fundi", sejenis kudapan Italia terbuat dari buah-buahan dan keju yang dipotong kecil-kecil dan dimakan sambil dicelupkan ke dalam coklat yang dilelehkan. Enak! Banyak sepupu-sepupu Brasilku datang, dan kami berpesta kecil dengan makanan itu. Hari itu dingin, tapi jadi hangat dengan kedatangan sahabat-sahabat dan keluarga. Aku tinggal di sana hari itu, menginap satu malam. Hari diakhiri dengan turnamen Mario Party di Gamecube mereka.

Ulang tahun yang indah. Aku dapat hadiah dua pesta yang seru, dan celana jeans dari keluarga pertamaku. Hadiah lainnya adalah ucapan selamat dan dukungan tak terkira banyaknya dari teman-teman di orkut, friendster, dan pembaca-pembaca blog ini. Terima kasih semuanya! Kalian, meskipun jauh, telah mewarnai ulang tahunku lewat kepedulian kalian di dunia maya!

Untuk berbagi sedikit gambaran sukacita yang kunikmati hari itu, Di bawah ini kutampilkan slide foto dan beberapa foto penting di hari ulang tahunku. Maaf kalau terlalu banyak foto, aku tahu internet Indonesia yang lambat. Tapi memori ini terlalu indah untuk kusimpan sendiri.

Haha, ceritaku belum habis! Beberapa hari setelah aku ulang tahun, Mama dan aku bertukar cerita lewat Windows Live Messenger. Beliau, seperti semua Mama yang baik, mengucapkan selamat ulang tahun. Kami ngobrol dan bertukar cerita. Di akhir ceritaku tentang gemerlap dan indahnya ulang tahunku di negara orang ini, beliau bertanya, "Apa yang jadi perenunganmu di ulang tahun ini, Samuel?"

Aku tertegun merenung. Benar-benar merenungkan ulang tahunku adalah hal terakhir yang ada di dalam pikiranku. Ulang tahun di luar negeri, jauh dari rumah dan orang-orang yang kukasihi, membuatku lupa bahwa aku terus menua, dan harus seiringnya menjadi dewasa.

Kujawab jujur pada beliau, bahwa aku tidak memikirkan satupun perenungan kedewasaan dalam ulang tahunku hari ini. Dalam hati aku merasa sudah bertumbuh banyak, dan rasanya tidak perlu mengembangkan apapun lagi di usiaku yang kini 18 tahun. Beliau dengan bijak menjawab, "Setiap kali kamu semakin tua, harus ada yang menjadi perenunganmu. Jangan lupakan perenungan dan kerendahan hati di tengah-tengah gemerlapnya hidup yang kau jalani sekarang..."

Pagi ini aku berbincang-ketik dengan seorang mantan teman kostku. Aku bicara padanya tentang visi dan masa depan. Dia bicara padaku tentang orang tuanya yang tidak ingin dia mengejar mimpi keluar negeri. Takut, katanya. Aku bicara lagi tentang mempunyai mimpi. Dan bertanyalah dia dengan polos, "mimpi lu apa sih Sam?"

Sekali lagi aku tertegun. Setelah Brazil, mau kemana kamu? Bukan berarti pencapaian yang tinggi ini, berani ke luar negeri sendiri dan lain-lain, lalu dengan pujian dan sahutan kekaguman teman-temanmu, kamu bisa berhenti BERMIMPI!!

Kujawab temanku dengan tergagap, menceritakan sedikit rencana masa depanku. Mimpi, aku punya. Tapi jujur aku belum mengejarnya dengan sungguh-sungguh hari-hari ini. Kuhabiskan waktu di depan internet dan komputer, apa yang mesti kukerjakan tidak kupenuhi, dan meskipun aku ingin setengah mati dapat beasiswa ke Jepang, aku tidak membantu Mamaku melengkapi aplikasinya. Hanya setengah hati saja. Sampai beliau mesti marah dan mendesak-desakku bergerak. Maafkan aku ya Ma!

Kembali Tuhan menunjukkan kasih setia-Nya padaku. Ia terus memberikan arahan, cinta, dan dorongan-Nya lewat hal-hal yang tidak kusangka-sangka. Di saat aku malas dan tidak mau bergerak, Dia menegurku lewat orang-orang di sekitarku. Aku bersyukur punya Tuhan seperti-Nya.

Teman-teman, Tuhan itu ada. Tuhan hidup, Tuhan nyata, Tuhan itu sekarang, dan Dia rindu berbicara denganmu. Atau mungkin Dia sudah mulai berbicara dan mengetuk pintu hatimu, sejak lama. Tapi untuk mendengar-Nya, sulit bagimu, karena dunia ini terlalu berisik. Terlalu banyak suara. Tenangkan hati, kawan. Dengarkan Tuhan mengarahkan hidupmu.

randomness prevails

ok guys! here I am again.. writing in English.

well... these days I have been really focusing on working things out with my blogs. been re-learning HTML again, asking here and there about tricks and stuff... well I don't see anything better to do either, since the weather has been really cold these days.

speaking about the weather, have you guys seen those old wild west cowboys movie where there were two cowboy shooter who were gonna have a gun fight... and the ambient was so silent and motionless, that you can hear wind blowing? like wuuufhhhh... like that?
well last night, as I was sitting in front of the computer, listening to music and replying to messages, I could actually, literally, heard the wind blowing on the road, through the trees. isn't that scary in some way? not thinking of ghost myths and all, I'm talking about the coldness you might feel outside. with wind blowing that strong, wearing two jackets on top of the other wouldn't even help much. that was scary.

I'm posting some more pictures... I learnt recently that blogging without putting pictures would be dull... so now I will start off with this flick from a Rotary meeting I attended on Monday, in Cambira.


Okay. there is actually not much to see in this picture. the meeting we had that night was more boring than a golf game. what I liked from the room was the big rotary logo on the wall... showing that the place actually had its identity.

about the existence of this picture, there's a little work of boredom behind the scene... having nothing to do after the dinner, I took picture of this Guarana drink. Looks like it could be a part of a good commercial, yah? =)

And finally, this is a picture that I took last night, a picture of a gecko. this is the first time, after nearly 8 months staying in Brazil, that I see a gecko. it was small and really quiet, I found it staying motionless under the bathroom pot. even the poor animal kept motionless after three camera flashes.

here he is...


and there goes. total randomness. I'll think of a better post next time. sorry...

*disappointed to self**

oh dear kesemek...

This afternoon, as suddenly there was a burst of blog hopping desire in my blood, I decided to follow the links people left on my shout box, opening one blog to another... and finally I got this funny site about labeling here.

As I scrolled down, I found a fruit name that somehow sounded familiar to me, yet it hasn't been spoken in public for quite a long time. The fruit is KESEMEK. (well it is Indonesian, still I have to make this blog understandable for my fellow people)

Then as I read the Latin name for this fruit, the blog said that it was diospyros kaki. Suddenly I remembered the fruit I have been eating here in Brazil. The fruit looked like tomatoes from the outside, even when you bite it it would still have this tomato structure inside. Only, it was sweet. Not containing any sour taste like tomato.

I kept getting confused, not knowing if the fruit exist or not in my origin land, for I never heard of it mentioned. And today, I finally found out that diospyros kaki / kesemek / kaki (portuguese) is indeed the same fruit!!

Here it is! Picture linked from Wikipedia.

It is said in the Wikipedia Indonesian version that this fruit is actually tasted sepet. I don't know how to describe sepet in English, maybe it's like tasting the rubber of your sandals. Hahahaha. And this sepet taste unable it to be eaten directly. There is still a little process needed to eliminate the sepet. If you are an Indonesian speaking reader, read the complete information here.

But weirdly, the Brazilian kesemek (or kaki) that I have been eating never tasted sepet. All tasted sweet like, like... like sugar! And there were no processing at all needed for this fruit to be enjoyed.

So... this time it is, I guess. Some entry about a Brazilian fruit, Kaki, which indeed exist in Indonesia, with a different name, and a little different taste. Thanks for reading! =)

Campo Largo, Curitiba, and Back Again

Great! Another chance for me to show few snatches from my SP-350. So here's the story...

This weekend was the week I have been waiting for is finally there! The week I will take my IELTS test. To be honest, I wasn't preparing that much, considering my confidence in English and my everyday practice in English conversation and listening with my friends. Haha, confidence is a good thing!

So I went to a city called Campo Largo, at Friday (06/07/07) morning. I took a 10 o'clock bus from California, spent long entire day inside a not-so-cozy bus that kept stopping at places. It's not that it annoys me, but this whole stopping-from-town-to-town thing made my trip slower.

In-bus-view.
Watch the speed, listen to the coughing people, admire the beautiful view, then you'll understand my phrase of 'not-so-cozy'.

I finally got to Campo Largo at about 3-4 o'clock in the afternoon. I had to wait at a gas station, and seeing no one was there to pick me up, I initiated a call. Tried to call Itamar, my Brazilian dad, but without credit on my phone, I attempted a call on which the call cost will be placed on Itamar's tab. Without knowledge that I have called from the different area code, I called on Itamar's number without adding the areal code before, which brought me calling another person, that said I have called the wrong number. Unbelieving, because once Itamar had wrongly recognized my voice, I called three more times, which in the end the guy finally picked up and got terribly angry, saying, "por favor cara, estou trabalhando aqui, voce fica ligando e eu tem que paga na minha conta tambem!! eu nao tem filho chamado samuel, voce nao e meu filho cara!" (man, please, I am working here, while you kept calling and I'M the one that have to pay the call cost!! I don't have any son called samuel, you're not my son!)

Hahahahaha... pissed off but felt sorry about the guy, I turned off the call. Then I called Eunapio, the guy that's supposed to pick me up, and thank God, he was there. I am finally at his house. That afternoon I got to know the family better, they have three cool kids called Akson (19), Adrial (17), and Natani (11). Yes I know, Brazilian names are sometimes weird, but hey, what it is in a name, right?

Later that night, breaking my plans of staying home that night and studying, this family took me out to a family dinner with their friends. I got to know more people, talked a little, was admired being an exchange student, and finally we had dinner. It was fish, and I was meat fasting, so there wasn't much to eat. The fish looked good though. After dinner, I played with the kids there, helping them putting some things together on their computer.

(left to right) Natani, Adrial, Cassia, and Renan. Having good time with their computer.

So there we were all night, playing computer while the parents are having after-dinner talk. What I noticed from this family were their life were so simple and happy. Their house was not that big, their clothes and computer were simple, but they love life and God. And I think it was all that matters.

All they did that night were playing some poor imitation of Who Wants to be a Millionaire bible-version, DXBall (a modern version of "Pong"), and watched some biblical presentation. And they were (to my amazement) extremely happy! When you see how simple and humble people live, suddenly you would realize how God had really put great things in your life.

That day ended awesome. I went home exhausted and sleepy, but I slept well (even managed to read my bible and study a little before I sleep!) and woke up eight o'clock in the morning.
Took shower, made myself up, and finally got on the bus with Akson to face my big test day.

Curitiba was the most beautiful city I have seen so far. Sao Paulo was great, but it was too big and crowded. Curitiba was like in the middle. There was not that much car, the air was amazingly refreshing, there was huge tall apartments all over the place, making you feel small walking around the city. The only thing I remembered disliking from the city was the super strong wind.

We got to the Central Cultura Inglesa early. Way too early. We still had time for a few cup of coffee and tea, and even got to know some of the other IELTS candidates. Surprisingly, most of them were older and looked smarter than me! Which is nothing intimidating, because I know it wasn't a competition, it just surprised me how old these test-takers were.

Inside look of the Central Cultura Inglesa Curitiba.
Feel the vibe. Feel the silence. The place is amazing isn't it?

Finally at about 10.45, the test began. The first was a conversation test. The test was given by Marry, a woman from Holland that had been living in Brazil for quite some time. She was nice, and later I knew that she was the one that been responding my English e-mails to the test center. The fun thing happened when one of the interview question popped up as, "tell me your most wonderful experience attending one big event that bring many people together". I responded, the event was a youth crusade my church made, called Come Home, last year. She looked surprised, and later told me that she's a Presbyterian! She invited me to her church, asked me about my t-shirt (I was wearing a brown 'i'm addicted to purity' jesusbranded shirt), and in the end we had a nice goodbye. I felt so positive!

Then we had a break until 12.45. During the break I and Akson went out eating vegetarian pizza, take a walk around town, and I got to know Akson better with his passion about cars and life. He was a cool guy. We went back stomach-stuffed (I ate three big slices of pizza and Akson ate even more: five) to the test center and I finally faced the listening, reading, and writing test.

The whole remaining test took about four hours. It was not exhausting, the test was mostly easy, but you have to be really paying attention. Thank God I finished wonderfully. Let's just wait for the result in two weeks from now.

As we finished in 4 PM, I didn't have more time to go around town, because Akson had to go to church at 6. So we took a bus back home. Oh there is something cool about transportation in Curitiba, though. They have this beautiful long orange bus, a neat bus station, a similar-with-transjakarta in town transportation, and be said that Curitiba had the best transportation system in Brazil. Next time I will put some pictures here about the city.

We went back to Campo Largo, and Akson showed me this fun-looked-like-pasar-baru-alley, all lighted up and with all the stores open, there were even this one chinese food restaurant. Considering the alley looked exactly like Pasar Baru (minus the huge roof and wider alley Pasar Baru has), I was amazed and took a moment to memorize it.

There I was, posing happily next to a lamp stand in Brazilian Pasar Baru.

And here goes the video. You didn't think I would leave it out did you?

Continuing home, I passed a catholic church in the town center. There was this tall black cross with the writing "Unidos Em Cristo", meaning United in Christ. Loved the cross' prominent position and the brave sentence, I took a picture of it here:


A surprise waited for me at home. Akson's mother said that her sister-in-law and her family wanted to see me before I went home that night. It was Saturday, about five o'clock in the afternoon, and the family were preparing to go to church. Seeing no more reason to stay at their house, I gave the housewife a nice Indonesian scarf, left some souvenirs for the kids, and hopped in the car, where they then took me to their family's house. I found out that this next family were also a relative of Itamar. The head of the house (Clayton) was Itamar's oldest brother.

When I got there, they were having a little party, because it was someone's birthday three days ago. I jumped in the fun, had some cake, sodas, and chatted with people. Then we rented a movie and watched Superman Returns (it was a good movie, I will review it another day), then chatted again.

The photo I took few moments before I left Clayton's family home. Look at the smile at those faces... ^^

People there LOVED me! There was this sort of amusement of first-time-receiving-an-exchange-student-in-our-house, and they treated me so special! They sat with me, talked and explained about the city, about their kids, about their family life, and how difficult it is to survive life these days. Yes sir I know that! =)

And there was this little girl called Tatu, aged about 8, she and her friend kept following me that whole afternoon. I was watching TV, and she kept passing and running in front of me to get my attention. She would then giggle if I smile at her. She would then whistle, called me, gave me the TV remote control, and giggle and giggle again. When I had a talk with her dad, she would sat on her daddy's lap and just STARED blankly amazed at me, until I thought maybe there were something wrong with my face. Even when I took shower later that night, I heard whistles outside the bathroom window, and when I came out, these two girls were giggling and running away from me. Hmm... I was speechless.

Tatu (in orange) and her friend. Even they kept giggling when we took this picture.

After taking those pictures, I said goodbye and gave the kids my infamous 'I Love Indonesia' buttons. They were happy and put it instantly on their shirts! Still at the picture I took with Tatu and her friend, you can find my buttons on their shirts.

To my surprise, Clayton's wife gave me this beautiful Converse All-Star Miniature keychain, saying that she would have given me something more special and more 'Campo Largo' if only she knew I was coming. Isn't that sweet?

And here is the keychain now! Hanging beautifully on my Rotary Blazer.

And about 10.15 that night, Clayton and a friend took me to the bus station. People waved goodbye, Tatu and her giggle-all-the-time friend giggled and said "tchau!", and there I left, leaving smile on everyone's faces.

The bus got to Campo Largo at 10.45. A lot later than I thought it would, even I feared of not getting home that night and lost my ticket money, because the bus left me. But it was there finally.

Night trip was faster. I slept for about three hours, and finally got home. Arrived at California at 4 AM.

And my amazing weekend ended!! How great it is to be able to see two cities, to meet so many new people, to be loved and remembered, to finish one big test that determine my future, all only in two amazing days! I'm thankful to God for this chance, and I really will miss this people when I have left Brazil.

So I guess this will close my post for now. See you in more stories to come! Love you guys!

These Last Three Months in Brazil Through My Olympus SP-350

rotary blazer. for us the exchange students, this blazer is a sacred thing. but why does it make us look weird when we're wearing it? tell me about it.

a car plaque with my name on it. a present from Zequinha, my third Brazilian 'pai' (father). this awesome thing is now placed on the back side of my rotary blazer. and of course it kept becoming talk of the night each time I wear my blazer to parties.

I and felipe. hmm... nothing special in particular about this picture. actually I just love how my hair looked there. and well... we were eating at a food court in Centronorte, Apucarana. Felipe is my 14 years old Brazilian brother from my second host family.

I and andrey. we took this picture on one rotary president inauguration night. nothing special too... it just looked funny.

I and a cow. I came from a city populated with 8 million people, with high skyscrapers and cars everywhere. one day my rotary president took me to his family's ranch, and there was this really big cow there. amazed, I took a picture with her.

samuel, I, emily. at another rotary president inauguration night. emily has always been my sister since the first day I met her. an awesome girl with still so many to learn about life, but she's on her way on making it through. a wonderful year having her here in brazil. the little samuel, is emily's brazilian brother, from her third family.

I and Giovanna. yes, I know, my hair. it was a night before a 'juninha' party, an annual party celebrated each june in brazil, to commemorate and appreciate some brazilian saints. and that night suddenly giovanna decided to do something with my hair. look at the results... she even asked me to go to the party with hair. I, with full conscience, rejected immediately.

green rice. I don't know what gives it its color... but the salmon tasted awesome. I found this food in Apucarana, Centronorte Shopping Center.

I and my brazilian parents. as a rotary exchange student, you will always have more than one family. in my case, I have three families, so three pairs of parents, eight siblings, three pairs of grandparents, one pair of great-grandparents, and uncountable number of uncles and aunts. thank God, this far my first two brazilian families are the best! they love me, they really do care about me, and I love them too.
end.

for more pictures of my journey so far, check out my friendster account.