things i HATE and LOVE about jogja

Yes, Jogjakarta has captured my heart...but just like the concept of Yin and Yang, this city also has the bad side...

What i hate about Jogja are....

The traffic light... if the traffic light is in a crossroad, it takes about more than 60 seconds for the red light and only 20 seconds for the green light. At some special crossroad, the red light takes 106 seconds... and when the sun is high up there on the sky, i'm telling you IT IS FUCKIN HOT!!!!


People would stare at you oddly and awkwardly if you go out (e.g. to the mall or just to grab some food in a small resto, or cafe or even "warung") and use only short pant - almost hot pant like - and flip-flop... why would i want to use long pant if the weather is freaking hot and if i just want to go a few blocks away from my boarding house? *sigh*


Parking fee EVERYWHERE!!!!!! At the bank, at the mall, on the side of the street!!!!! and even WORST --> My own campus!!!!! I wouldn't complain if the public transportation is supportive. But it almost like if you don't have your own transportation, you can only do your activities until up to around 4 or 5 if you hold your life onto the public transportation...


CRUEZY STUDENTS WITH THEIR CRUEZY MOTORCYCLE!!!! Jogjakarta is the city of young people and old people. The young people represent the students and the youth who come to this city on the name of knowledge (just like me) and the old people are usually the people who are actually staying here in Jogjakarta for a long time... I don't know if it's because this is Indonesia, but the students here, they drive motorcycle CARELESSLY... I've been riding my motorcycle for almost 6 years now with only 3 accidents, all being hit or crashed by other rider. But in this city, i'm afraid i'll be the crasher any time soon that it makes me ride my scooter extra slowly... My speedometer never pass 50km/h...the comparison when i was in bali was like 70km/h... For God Sake...

Now what I LOVE ABOUT JOGJA are:

Exactly because it's THE CITY OF STUDENT. There are a lot of choices: amazingly affordable to amazingly expensive, all is available for you that you're free to make your choices. In Bali? everything is expensive. Even if you try to live a simple life like mine it's still expensive.

NEW AMAZING FRIENDS a.k.a FAMILY!!!! I've met amazing people thank's to Jogja. My new friends come from all over Indonesia and we have so many differences that it seems like the day has no ends when i spend my time with them. It's just that too many things i want to know about them, too many things we want to know about each other and too many things we want to find as answer of our very similar questions, though sometimes different. All of these people, despite the differences we have, we embrace one another as a family. I don't know exactly how I end up in this class with this amazing people. Should i just say, it's destiny? :)

SO MANY THINGS TO LEARN FROM THIS CITY. It offers dozens of youth community, workshop, seminars and library. All if not for free then it's very affordable. And then again, i have more chances to meet new people, to get to know more people who have different experience from me. I remember I always get excited every time i think about how thrilling those moment would be if i became part of it. To meet new people and to get to know them. If i was still in my old shelf, i wouldn't have this feeling i guess...

If i think about it again... moving to Jogja has a very profound meaning to me. It's so special and personal in many ways. I used to think i know myself, but when i move to Jogja it feels like i just discover myself, discover my world and more importantly i get to know my parents better. Living with them for 24 years does makes me familiar with my parents but i think i took it for granted just like the air that i breath everyday. As a daughter, i only thought from my shoes, never from their shoes. But when i move to Jogja, my father and my mother become someone new for me that i've became to understand them better...

Yes, Jogja has bad aspects but wouldn't it what we call as Perfection? To be perfect is to be imperfect, just like the concept of Yin and Yang... for something to be called good, then there is other thing need to be called bad. Whether you want to see only the bad side or the good side, it's all your choice. My choice is i want to enjoy every second i spend here in Jogja, the bad ones, the good ones because one day those seconds will mount up into stories that i can share not only to my (future) children but also to everyone. :)


With Love
Dee

Yogyakarta 2011: Sebuah Ikatan Yang Akhirnya Terwujud

Entah kenapa, sejak SMA saya merasakan ada ikatan batin dengan Yogyakarta...


Sewaktu kelas 3 dan sedang persiapan memilih universitas untuk melanjutkan ke S1, saya punya angan-angan ingin kuliah di UGM dengan konsentrasi Psikologi. Saya menceritakan angan-angan tersebut kepada guru BP saya dan dia sangat bersemangat sekali, bahkan jauh lebih bersemangat dari saya sendiri. Guru BP saya itu kemudian mengumpulkan semua informasi tentang ujian masuk di UGM dan hal-hal apa saja yang harus saya persiapkan. Semakin dekat dengan hari H, saya mencoba mengungkapkan keinginan itu kepada orangtua yaitu ibu saya. Yah...apa mau dikata...beliau tidak mengijinkan dengan alasan saya adalah anak perempuan satu-satunya dan beliau terlalu khawatir membiarkan saya kuliah jauh. Disamping itu mungkin juga karena pertimbangan kondisi keluarga yang agak labil waktu itu.

Singkat cerita, saya membatalkan niat saya kuliah di UGM dan akhirnya diterima di Universitas Udayana. jurusan sastra inggris. Tapi jauh dalam hati saya sudah tahu bahwa suatu hari, kaki saya ini akan berjalan dan berkelana di daerah Yogyakarta sambil menempa ilmu di UGM. Beberapa tahun kemudian, akhirnya keinginan itu terwujud.

Kota ini menjadi sangat spesial bagi saya, bukan karena saya akhirnya berhasil masuk UGM. Tapi lebih karena bagaimana Tuhan membuka banyak cerita selama masa transisi pindah ke Yogyakarta. Ada banyak cerita tersingkap dari sisi yang tidak pernah saya duga sebelumnya. Percakapan dua hari terakhir sebelum kepindahan dengan ibu saya, obrolan dengan ayah selama perjalanan bis 20 jam Bali-Yogyakarta, sms dengan kakak saya dan bahkan sebuah kalimat singkat meminta restu pindah ke Yogyakarta kepada kakak tertua saya menjadi begitu bermakna...

Dalam kesendirian berpetualang di Yogyakarta, saya malah menemukan diri saya sendiri dan belajar bagaimana caranya untuk benar-benar mencintai diri saya sendiri.

Well...from the beginning, i always know that moving to Yogyakarta was meant to be for me... :)


Selamat datang di Yogyakarta!!!!