Andalusia, Catalonia and the Basque Country

It has just occurred to me that I have chosen the most interesting places in Spain to visit, with all due respect to the other regions. I went to Andalusia, Catalonia, the Basque Country and Madrid.

Madrid of course, is the capital of Spain. Enough said.

Andalusia, Seville in particular, has practically been my home in Spain. I met most of my closed friends there. I spent enough time there to have a strong emotional link with the region. The beauty of the region, the festive atmosphere, the passion, the informality, the familiarity and warmth of the people (plus the extreme cold (with few proper heating) and the extreme heat even in Spring (sigh)) will be in my heart forever. It was a perfect place for me to loosen up and to get more relaxed about life (my boss would love reading this).

Catalonia and the Basque country have been... – how do I say this without being too political and without touching the sensitive issue? Impossible. Ok, Catalonia and Basque are the two regions in Spain who have openly been stating that they want more independence. Sounds familiar if I tie it back to Indonesia. Yet I was there in both regions and I loved the place. The people, the scenery and the atmosphere were just as welcoming and glorious as any other places.

I wonder why I had the urge to go to those regions. There has to be a lesson in tact. The only thing I can think of is that I should be able to draw a parallel line with what has happened in my country and its restless regions. The people and the region are just as beautiful as any other regions. Nobody wants war or problems. If only we try to understand each other better, if only we can find a way to solve the problem and live peacefully hand in hand.

[Many stories. This is what happens if I am allowed too much free time while, for instance, waiting for my mom and sis to arrive]

PS: Just incase you want to travel to San Sebastian, the Basque Country, the Pension that I stayed in is to die for. It is called Pension Amaiur.

Adios to the Lonely Planet

Today I said goodbye to my travel bible, Lonely Planet (LP) for Spain. I have left it (not deliberately of course) at the Madrid Airport.

What a timing, though. Having spent almost the whole six months together, he (book is masculine in Spanish) has decided that it is time to part with me.

Perhaps he thinks I am a big girl now. That I can go about on my own. Or he thought that I would not need him any longer and he would only be an extra burden in my over-packed luggage (oh that is where you are wrong, LP – sorry, yes, I do talk to non-humans – animals, book, car, and stuffed animals)

Hope he will find a new travel companion and will be just as helpful as he was to me. Snif.

More on the visa extension

Additional note to the story regarding the extension of my visa.
(Written at the Barcelona Airport, 23 May 2006, 11.00am)

I have been traveling a lot lately within Spain and the statement that I will not get into trouble with the airport’s immigration has turned out to be an understatement.

Let us just say that I have had more opportunities (1) to practice my Spanish with the immigration officers on more than one (or a thousand) occasion(s). (2) to keep smiling and being calm despite of the situation (3) to still get away with it! Hey hey, woo hoo! Looks like I am really a “Spanish” now.

The immigration officer in the Barcelona airport earlier today told me that it turned out that I do have my residential card in Seville, despite the fact that I have told them I have moved to Barcelona. Life would have been much easier if I had known that before.

I can hear my heart saying “I told you that you should have tried your luck going to the foreigner office again when you returned to Seville”. (She did actually, I just did not listen and went about doing other things). All the should-have, would-have, could-have – which has always been among my least favorite terms in the world.

No matter. Not important. I can get away with it :) And I am about to meet my beloved mom and sis in an hour. The thing with the immigration – so not important now.

PS: I still have two phases to go though: from Barcelona to Madrid, and Madrid to home. We shall see what will happen then.

Beware of Rattlesnakes

My friend forwarded this official internal e-mail from his company. Just to show me how interesting life can be at his office.

SVLers,

Please keep your eyes open these days as you walk around the site, especially the more rural areas - like the par course - as this is the time of season when we tend to see more rattlesnakes around the site grounds.

Fortunately, rattlesnakes try to avoid people. However, sometimes people get in the rattlesnake's way and the snake's reflex is to warn with the trademark rattle and sometimes strike. You should always give snakes the right of way.

Trying to determine if a snake is a rattlesnake is not always the best solution. (Eva - I love this part best :)) Baby rattlesnakes often have not developed their rattles yet; and baby rattlesnakes are also not in control of the amount of venom they release, thereby making their bites much more dangerous.

Encounters: If you encounter a rattlesnake on site, please call Security at (this number – deleted).

Bites: If you are bit by a rattlesnake onsite, please call the Emergency number at (this number – deleted).

Nice, uh? Take care, pal.

Appreciation and pride

A small and rather ridiculous example – but it is true, which makes it even more ridiculous. I was made the Indonesian blogger of the week by A Fatih Syuhud. Thanks. It feels nice to be appreciated and acknowledged. I feel, well, proud.

Then I thought, my God, if this ‘small’ thing can make me feel proud (with all due respect to Fatih and his much appreciated blogger of the week column), no wonder I have not won any Academy awards or Noble prize yet. I do not think I can handle it just yet – not to mention I have not done anything to deserve them but that ‘small detail’ is beside the point.

I cannot imagine how those people must have felt – either indifferent because of their humbleness or their ego has blown up bigger than the world plus heaven and hell combined together.

Someone (I think it was the Prophet) said that praises and appreciation is a double edge sword that can be much more lethal than criticism and hurt. With criticism and hurt, it is ‘easier’ to feel humble, to feel small and to remind ourselves of the greatness of God – you know, when people are in a deep sh*t, there is a good chance they go to God to ask for guidance and strength.

But not many remember God and ask for His guidance when all goes well, when they are successful, and when all works the way they want it to be. At these, times, we would say, “Yeah, that is me, all me, nothing but me.”

What a deceitful and dangerous place to be. Forgive me Lord. All praises should go only to You and nobody, or even nothing, else.

Mom, I am coming home

Saving the best for last. One ultimate thought before I leave Spain. Just want to say this. I am coming home.

- Always mom’s and daddy’s little girl –

That other lesson I have learned

That is the lesson of life. I cannot begin to tell you how well worth the trip to Spain have been for me spiritually. I hope I am not being vain but I do believe God has blessed me with the time for myself to rethink of my life, to rediscover myself and more importantly, to discover Him.

I am a lot more in peace with myself. I have learned to accept myself more. I have traced-back my life. I have learned to accept, to forgive and to learn what I need to learn from my personality and my life.

I believe that we are living a “parallel” life in a sense.

On one hand, I have my personal ‘mission’. I want to understand life. I want to know what my purpose is. I want to always walk towards Him– the true meaning of Islam – to completely surrender to God. I will continue searching and learning. My objective is God – not out of fear of being punished in hell, not even for heaven, but for He Himself.

On the other hand, this does not mean I will live life as a hermit. I have my life to live. I love my work – public relations. I will continue to work on it professionally and sometimes personally for friends. I will continue to be a friend to my friends, a sister to my brothers and sisters, a daughter to my parents and all of those roles I have in my life. I might even continue to be a b*tch to some (There, Dit, I have said it. Happy?).

To me, to walk in the path of God is to live a life of compassion, of helping other people, or of seeing this world as one, while maintaining our focus on and only on God. My pursuit of God can and will go hand in hand with my ‘normal’ life. The essence of Sufism.

You see, there is more to Islam than just prayers, fasting and whispering the name of Lord with our lips. Religion is just a guideline along with some examples to reach a higher purpose. We need to know the story behind it, need to read between the lines and feel it with our hearts. We need to go beyond believing, to even go beyond knowing, and to actually experience it.

Until we have grabbed the essence and implemented the true meaning of what has been written in the Book, it is just lip service and we have not really practiced the religion.

Unfortunately my experience in the last couple of weeks have reminded me that I have yet a long way to go. My mood still swings from east to west as always. Small unimportant things still bother me. I still want, desire and expect too much. I still have a long way to go. But I am trying to improve myself each day - so help me God.

I am speaking of Islam because it is my way of life. But I think it applies to all religions. Please see the term religion in its widest sense possible, that is – according to my beloved online dictionary of Merriam-Webster – “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith”. Whatever cause, whatever principle we hold so dear within us that governs our lives, that is our religion.

What a lesson I have been blessed with under the Spanish sun. Now one class is over. On to the next class and back to my old school: Indonesia.

On questions about boyfriends

To the thousands of people (well ok, not that many, but you know what I mean) who have persistently and relentlessly been asking me whether I have found myself a Spanish man, I will bluntly answer: no, at least not that I know of.

“In the middle of all those Spanish guys? Impossible that you have not encountered one.” It depends on what your criteria of a boyfriend are. Mine is not limited to just physical appearance – or as the Spanish say, that body of the firemen. Yum ;)

“Oh well, you are too picky.” Not sure about that. Well, yes, maybe, please allow me to do so. I want it to be once in a lifetime.

“Oh you have not opened your eyes enough.” A bit wider then how they are now, then everybody will think I am a sl*t.

“Oh you are too focus on your career.” Hello, I have not been working for almost one year. I have spent this last year for travelling and doing a lot of things but working. What career?

“Oh you want too much in life.” Don’t we all? You are just jealous ;)

Seriously, this is what I believe. I believe what is mine is mine. If I continue to walk His way, all others will come to me at their own time, and not the other way around.

In the meantime, I will use whatever is left of my lifetime to give my best to life, to God and to other people who cross path with me.

But thank you for your concerns. Pray for me as I shall pray for you that God will give what is best for us, according to His standard. He knows best.

Hm, I think these are the bluntest words I have ever said about me finding a boyfriend.

So you want to study Spanish in Spain?

Woo-hoo! Twenty-four weeks of studying Spanish have passed. Though I must admit that it has been a bit of a stretch for me, I do not regret it one bit. It has been a once in a lifetime precious experience for me. I still have about two weeks left in Spain but I will mostly be travelling. Not sure if I will access Internet during those times (yeah, right).

Anyway, if you want to put yourself in a similar boat of travelling to Spain and learning Spanish, here are some tips:

Pick the time. I personally like May – not too cold, not too warm.

Learn it all the way, if you can. Stay several months and get into the language and the culture.

Those who cannot stay that long, better learn something first in your own country and use your time in Spain to practice it.

If you do stay for several months, break your study into several phases and in between have a ‘travelling-only’ break.

Try different cities. Depending on what you want. I prefer to stay in one city for at least two months. Browse the Internet and pick yours.

Practice your Spanish. Of course, you say. But you would be surprise how many students do not speak Spanish outside of the class. So speak it, even to your English-speaking friends.

Do the tourist bits first. Do not leave it until the last minute (like me)

Ensure you have the proper visa. If you need to extend, do it as soon as you can and put the school adress instead of your flat. Long story.

Get yourself in touch with the locals. For instance, take a dance class outside of school with the locals (me, I took flamenco and yoga), get a job in a bar or horse stable (like my friend)

If you like a bit more 'challenge' than ordinary people (like me), take the DELE exam – is the only formal certificate of the language by the Spanish government

Discover yourself. It is a rare opportunity for us to be out of our ‘natural environment’. Learn something about yourself. Take time for yourself. For once, get to know yourself.

Be yourself. If you like partying, party on (keep a close watch on your money - it goes down pretty fast sometimes). If you like travelling, plenty of chance here. If you like to stay in the city and be alone, it is ok as well. Darling, you are in Spain. You can do what you want to do and you can be whoever you want to be.

Above all, enjoy your time. You will love Spain and the Spanish, I promise.

Pues, nada mas. Vuelvo a mi pais. Me alegre poder hablar Español (aunque no perfectamente) despues de estar aquí seis meses. Hasta siempre, España. Muchas gracias por todo. Era una experiencia inolvidable. Siempre te recordaré. Siempre te querré.

(That is it. I am returning to my country. I am happy to be able to speak Spanish (though not perfectly) after staying here for six months. Until later, Spain. Thanks for everything. It has been an unforgetable experience. I will always remember you. I will always love you.)

Ps: A bit of advertisement for my school Don Quijote, which is not bad at all. Recommended :), except for the taxi pickup reservation service – be a bit adventurous and grab yourself a cab or a bus when you have arrived at your city.

A dream of a better future - III

On my way home I could not stop thinking about this. Such an ignorant person I have been, living in the lap of luxury but still not giving not even a single cent to those children.

What good will this comfort of mine do if there are people or children around me – including the children of my maids and driver – have to drop out of school because their parents do not have enough money? What good is all these blessings that God has given to me – money, knowledge, experience, talent, social network – if I do not use them to help others, to help those who are not as ‘lucky’ as I am?

Another thing that was stuck in my mind is our tendency to stay in our current situation (people often blame it on ‘destiny'). It is a disease to us all. We busy ourselves with small things in life, we complain about many things in life but then we say “well, this is who I am, this is my condition, nothing I can do about it, it will not change that much.” My comment: Oh, I beg to differ. Stop whining and start doing something about it.

My friend kept telling me about her dreams. “Imagine if we can develop this system in our society. If we can apply this to many schools in many locations. The future generation will be much better than us.”

There are still a lot to be done. But at least that friend of mine has started to think that there is no use just blaming other people – be it the government, the senate, the rich business people, the NGOs -, while we ourselves have not done anything much. It is time to ask ourselves “Have I done anything? Is this the best I can do or can I go further? What else can I help with?"

The system and management of my friend’s organization is far from perfect. But I can also, vividly, see the happiness in the eyes of the children. She has helped bring that happiness in their eyes. I truly appreciate and respect her idea and passion. I am certain that her dream will one day turn into reality.

I would love to be part of that effort to turn the dream into reality. To be involved in the process, to make myself more useful and meaningful. Perhaps this is my way of answering the big questions of “So why am I put here in the face of the earth? For what purpose? Is this the best I can give to life? There must be more to life than this. If so, what's more?” Sorry if I am being a bit philosophical.

What is even better is the fact that she and her husband are successful business people. They have the capital (financial and non-financial) to do something for the community. A perfect balance. A true application of what Islam called – to belief in God and to do good for others. If only there are more people like my friend. Proficiat.

A dream of a better future - II

We arrived there at noon. The ‘class’ started at 1pm but there were already two girls there. One of the facilitators told me, “They cannot continue their education to junior high. The minimum entrance fee is Rp750,000 (USD75 - which is probably more than the monthly salary of the parents). How can their parents pay such amount of money?”. It was so sad. I cannot imagine me being a parent and needing to say to my child, “I am sorry, son, I cannot afford your education. You have to drop out of school.” Luckily there is a free open school in the village that provides classes once or twice a week. Much better than nothing.

At 12.30, the place was already filled with children of 4-12 years old. Some actually walked more than half an hour from their homes to participate in the class. Today the class was about singing and playing a traditional instrument named Angklung. For the thousandth time, the curiosity and the spirit to learn of the children amazed me. I cannot imagine needing to cut that off them.

The facilitator said, “Who wants to save their money?” Apparently they have a simple form of savings at the school. They saved some of their allowance. At the end of the year, they will collaboratively decide where they will donate the money. Some actually save up to Rp200 thousands. (USD20). The facilitator said that the idea came from the children.

"The last time we donated the money to a Christian-based orphanage, which was in need because the government has cut off their subsidy. We always choose to help those around us because God tells us to help our neighbors," he added.

The lesson continued. There was no explicit teaching of the so called “religion of Islam” in the class. What existed was the practical application of the values: that we need to get to know one another, that we need to help each other, that we need to act kindly, that we need to have self confidence and the belief in God, that we cannot give up and that we cannot stop learning. That God will not change the destiny of a person until that person changes it himself.

These values were also apparent in the facilitators. From the first time the children arrived, they greeted them warmly, full of smile. They played with them, they carried the children in their arms, put the children on their laps - all kinds of love that a child should receive. This helps build a child into a person of love and confidence.

A dream of a better future - I

This is a story I sent to my friends months ago. Now I want to share it with you. It is about my friend and her dream of a better generation. A long story divided into three parts.

Earlier today I went to Puncak, a resort area that is about one or two hours away from Jakarta, Indonesia. I wanted to visit an informal school for needy children that my friend organizes. That friend was with me in the car.

Along the way, she passionately talked about this five years old project. It started with the thought that not all children are able to go to school due to economic reason and that not all things can be taught in school. There are a lot of values that need to be planted from early years if we want to have better generations in the future.

‘We cannot change a child 100% right away. But perhaps they could be 30% better than their parents. Their children will be 50% better. Their grandchildren will be 75% better and so on. By the end of the fifth generation, they will be 100% better than our generation,” she said. “This is a long term project, but it needs to start now.”

We passed by a group small simple houses that basically did not have any space in between them. My friend continued, “Look at this. Right to left, front to the end, all we can see are houses. Where can the children play? There are gardens but they are private property of the city people and very few children can play there. Where can they play?”

Then we passed by a bunch of street hawkers and motor-taxi. She said. “We cannot expect those people to think far. Their thoughts are limited to what my family can eat today, what they can eat tomorrow. They simply think that their children are going to take over their work someday. Not more than that. The children are shaped to take over their job. (Without any meaning to undermine their job at all). How can the children develop themselves? I told the children, you can be somebody who sell simple things as fried tofu, but be a business owner of the fried tofu like Yun Yi (a famous tofu brand in Indonesia).”

“So not only they are poor economically, they also lack of information, they do not have a wider view of life. If they come face to face with ‘us’ the city people, we tend to undermine them. They too think of themselves as ‘lower’ than us. A status quo.”

Through a narrow street, my car came face to face with another car. I could not get through because there was a motorcycle parked in the middle of the street. The owner just sat by the street, indifferent to what happened. My friend commented, “You see, they do not feel the need or are not aware that they should move their motorcycle. Can we be angry at them? Not really, right? It is rooted within them. Nobody has taught them that it is not appropriate to do that.”

She continued, “That is why we should not teach them just science. We should also teach them how to socialize and to develop their self confidence, so that they will be respected. But respect is earned. We cannot respect another person just because we are fellow human. We should, but it does not work that way. We have to prove that we are worth respecting.”

700 million Rupiah a day

“Palestine has been boycotted. The people are hungry. The children cannot drink milk. We shall demo today, Sunday 7 May, 8.30am at HI. Prepare your donation. Please distribute.” I received this message through SMS today from a good friend.

Being away from Jakarta, I was curious about the result of the demo – or they call it: the act of peace: solidarity for Palestine.

It turned out that the demo has managed to gather Rp700 million (USD 70,000) in a day. A relatively large amount of money in such a short span of time, especially for Indonesia. Wow. Hats off to the organizer, hats off to the generous Indonesians.

In addition, the demo, which was attended by tens of thousands of people, was done in a complete peace. Wow. How cool is that.

I was also curious about the issue: the boycott of Palestine. I am sorry if I have been so out of touch. Anyway, so I searched in Google, CNN and BBC. Interestingly, I had a hard time finding the explanation of the issue. Perhaps I searched for the wrong term. “Boycott” may be too strong of a word. Perhaps 'they' are using a more politically correct word (and justification) for this. This is another issue, but still, wow.

I do not know enough about Israel-Palestine world debate to comment about it. That is not why I wrote this. I was just wondering: how can Indonesian people gather such a large sum of money in such a short day for Palestine? We seem to have a harder time helping our own country and our fellow countrymen. Wow.

Big city or small town?

I was living in Seville since 2 December last year until 15 April 2006 when I moved to Barcelona. I do not know the statistics but needless to say Barcelona is much bigger than Seville.

I was relieved when I moved to Barcelona. No offence to Seville, I love the city and the people – even my family in Barcelona said that I am in love with Seville (I am). Nevertheless, somehow I felt like I was breathing fresh air when I arrived in Barcelona. I supposed my friend was right when he said you can take the girl out of a city but you cannot take the city out of a girl.

True, until this long weekend. I went to a village where my family had a small hut. There was practically nothing to do except to read, to chat with one another or to work in the garden or on the new house. Almost all of the family members were there. We had a barbeque. I sat with the family’s dog watching the sun set.

I stayed there for four days and I felt fine. In fact, I think this has been my best time in Barcelona – closely matched by the dinner I had with a friend. So simple. So not “big city”.

So which do I like most? I am puzzled. My temporary conclusion: I need the liberty to move between city and smaller town or nature. It is like when we swim, we need to take our head out of the water to breathe.

This leads me to wonder: Why do I need to move so often? Why do I need to move to take a deep breath? Why can I not be comfortable in just one place? When will I settle down? Will I ever? Do I need to?

Who am I kidding? I guess deep down I must admit that I am still far from the true peace that I have been searching for.


PS: And I miss my country – my family, my friends and the FOOD.