Pada hari Sabtu, 19 Januari 2012 lalu saya berkesempatan untuk menjadi volunteer di posko banjir Sahabat Anak Manggarai.
Berbekal niat dan nekat karena lokasinya cukup jauh dari kos saya, sendirian saya berangkat menuju posko yang terletak di Jalan Manggarai Utara II, tepatnya di depan Stasiun Manggarai. Setelah hampir dua setengah jam perjalanan, akhirnya alhamdulillah saya tiba di lokasi dengan selamat. Di sana, saya langsung bergabung dengan volunteer lain untuk bermain bersama adik-adik yang tempat tinggalnya terkena musibah banjir.
Pada hari itu, kami kedatangan kakak-kakak dari @CountMeInID. Kami dibagi menjadi beberapa kelompok sesuai dengan kelompok usia. Saya bersama kak Ully bertugas untuk bermain bersama adik-adik yang berusia tujuh tahun. Kami bermain puzzle bersama. Ada yang bergambar Angry Bird, Cars, dan Winnie The Pooh. Adik-adik berlomba untuk menyelesaikan puzzle dengan cepat (jago-jago lho!). Setelah capek bermain puzzle, kami membaca buku dongeng bersama dan setelah itu bermain ABC Lima Dasar (hehehe). Tidak terasa, waktu kemudian sudah menunjukkan pukul 12 siang. Waktunya bagi adik-adik untuk pulang dan beristirahat.
Ini Alifah dan Kenny.
Salah satu posko banjir warga.
Saya kemudian menuju posko yang terletak di depan markas TNI AD. Di sana, saya berkenalan dengan kakak-kakak volunteer Sahabat Anak Manggarai lainnya. Kami makan siang dan beristirahat sejenak. Kemudian saya, kak Ully, dan kak Kharisma berjalan-jalan ke sekitar lokasi yang terkena banjir. Warga setempat sangat ramah dan terbuka. Kami juga sempat mengobrol dengan seorang ibu yang hingga saat itu air banjir di rumahnya belum juga surut. Selesai berbincang-bincang, kami kembali ke posko untuk membantu mengelompokkan barang-barang sumbangan dari donatur.
Rumah warga. Banjir masih belum surut sepenuhnya.
Barang-barang di posko @SAManggarai
Popok! Saya baru tahu kalau popok ternyata juga memiliki bermacam-macam corak dan motif.
Agak sore, kami kedatangan seorang wanita cantik yang membawa barang-barang untuk disumbangkan. Siapakah diaaa....
Mbak Cynthia ABThree
Ya, beliau adalah mbak Cynthia Lamusu (AB Three/Be3). Selain membawa sumbangan, mbak Cynthia ternyata juga membawa 'bingkisan' lain untuk adik-adik korban banjir. Mbak Cythia memasak Milu Siram alias sup jagung ala Gorontalo.
Makan sore. We are going to eat sup jagung Gorontalo buatan mbak Cynthia. Slurrrp. Yummy!
Milu Siram / Sup jagung ala Gorontalo buatan mbak Cynthia.
Hari sudah sore. Setelah kenyang, adik-adik pun akhirnya pulang. Dan karena saya masih ujian dan masih ada tugas kuliah yang harus diselesaikan, dengan sedih saya pun juga harus meninggalkan Manggarai dan kembali ke Bintaro. Saya pulang dengan kak Acil dan Rheza. Dari stasiun Manggarai, kami naik bemo ke terminal dan naik bus menuju Blok M. Saya dan kak Acil turun di Ratu Plaza. Kak Acil lanjut menunggu bus menuju Senayan karena ada acara di sana, dan saya naik TransBintaro. Tepat jam setengah delapan malam, saya tiba di kos dan langsung bercengkrama dengan laptop untuk mengerjakan tugas. Meskipun sangat lelah, saya sangat bahagia dapat bertemu dan bermain bersama adik-adik di sana. Dan saya bersyukur dapat bertemu dengan orang-orang luar biasa yang bersedia dan nyata bergerak berjuang bersama untuk saling membantu dan memperjuangkan kemanusiaan di ibukota yang konon kabarnya keras dan serba individualistik ini. Semoga saya dapat menjadi seperti mereka. Menjadi lebih bermanfaat bagi orang-orang di sekitar saya. Ya, saya akan berusaha :)
Scarborough Fair is one among famous classical-traditional ballads in the world. It comes from Great Britain - precisely Yorkshire, and been popular since 18th century. It was named after Scarborough, a small town on the coast of England. The "Scarborough Fair" was a popular gathering in Medieval times, attracting traders and entertainers from all over the country. The fair lasted 45 days and started every August 15th. In the 1600s, mineral waters were found in Scarborough and it became a resort town. Today, Scarborough is a quiet town with a rich history. In Medieval England, this became a popular folk song as Bards would sing it when they traveled from town to town. The song itself, had been rewritten, modified, and adapted for so many times that the original version is yet unknown.
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Remember me to one who lives there,
For once she was a true love of mine.
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Without a seam or needlework,
She will be a true love of mine.
Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Where never spring water or rain ever fell,
She will be a true love of mine.
Tell her to dry it on yonder grey thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
She will be a true love of mine.
Now he has asked me questions three,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
I hope he'll answer as many for me
Before he shall be a true love of mine.
Tell him to buy me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Betwixt the salt water and the sea sand,
Then he shall be a true love of mine.
Tell him to plough it with a ram's horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
And sow it all over with one pepper corn,
And he shall be a true love of mine.
Tell him to shear it with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
And bind it up with a peacock feather.
And he shall be a true love of mine.
Tell him to thrash it on yonder wall,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
And never let one corn of it fall,
Then he shall be a true love of mine.
When he has done and finished his work.
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme:
Oh, tell him to come and he'll have his shirt,
And he shall be a true love of mine.
(Scarborough Fair, 1889 - Modern version)
This song is often sung duet. It's a tale about a young man who asks his former love some impossible tasks, such as making him a cambric shirt without a seam and needlework; washing it in a dry spring where water or rain never fell; and dry it in yonder grey thorn where plants always blossom there, and he will take her back again once she completes these task in return.
And the woman answer his demands with some equally impossible tasks too: Buy her an acre of land between the salt water and sea sand (does that mean a beach?); plough it with ram's horn and sow it all over with one pepper corn; shear it with a sickle of leather and bind it up with a peacock feather; thrash it on yonder wall and never let any corn fall, and once he completes these task she will give him that shirt without a seam and needlework he asks her to make.
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme are famously known in myth as ingredients of the witches' love potion.
* Parsley : Parsley is still prescribed by phytotherapists today to people who suffer from bad digestion. Eating a leaf of parsley with a meal makes the digestion of heavy vegetables such as spinach a lot easier. It was said to take away the bitterness, and medieval doctors took this in a spiritual sense as well.
* Sage : Sage has been known to symbolize strength for thousands of years.
* Rosemary : Rosemary represents faithfulness, love and remembrance. Ancient Greek lovers used to give rosemary to their ladies, and the custom of a bride wearing twigs of rosemary in her hair is still practiced in England and several other European countries today. The herb also stands for sensibility and prudence. Ancient Roman doctors recommended putting a small bag of rosemary leaves under the pillow of someone who had to perform a difficult mental task, such as an exam. Rosemary is associated with feminine love, because it’s very strong and tough, although it grows slowly.
* Thyme : According to legend, the king of fairies dances in the wild thyme with all of the fairies on mid summer night; that’s the best known legendary appearance of the herb. But the reason Thyme is mentioned here is that it symbolizes courage. At the time this song was written, knights used to wear images of thyme in their shields when they went to combat, which their ladies embroidered in them as a symbol of their courage.
Or in simple way, parsley was comfort, sage was strength, rosemary was love, and thyme was courage.
Both man and woman in this ballad invoke said powers in naming these herbs: Mildness to soothe the bitterness of their relationship, spiritual strength to endure being apart from each other, faithfulness and lastly encouragement, to fulfill the impossible tasks given.
Some people also believe that this song and its story are actually represent the condition of Great Plague that happened on the late Middle Age (medieval); some take it as a riddle where in this song appears a big question like why does lovers who seem to be deeply in love give such impossible missions to do for each other where they can actually be together so easily? Or why parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme? Some answer that maybe the woman has died or leave him unexpectedly where he can't forget her until that time he sings the song or when he goes to the Scarborough Fair and always remembers her. Do he want her back from death?
Well, it's still a mystery. Anyhow, Scarborough Fair is one of the most beautiful songs ever.
Last weekend (16-17 November 2012 to be exact), I had a camp with my classmate. This event was held at Bumi Perkemahan Agro Mas Bogor as the part of KSPK (Kapita Selekta Pengembangan Kepribadian) course. We departed from campus on Friday morning and arrived about two hours later. We were divided into several groups for games. I was in team with Fitria, Sayuti, Dhimas, and Ridho.
The event was very great and cool although it was raining so hard at the time. We had a lot of fun for sure. We cooked the meals by ourselves, took a midnight walk for roasted corn, and singing together all the times. Our lecturer, Mr. Satria, was coming too. Well, not much that I can say. Pics will tell you everything ;)
A bit outdated news, but well.. Yep, it's about bullying case that happened few weeks ago in my high school.
In my high school, we have some extracurricular activities we can apply in freely, based on what we want and like. One of those excul, let's just call it 'SSC'.
Well, honestly until even now I don't really understand what this community moves on, or maybe I'm just forget. Things I know are they keep our school safe from outsider (you know, high school brawl and such), they always gather at Saturday night - Sunday morning, and they are so cool, especially because their family bond is so strong that put many people into jealousy, including me ;)
One of my bestfriends is a member of this community. So I know pretty much about it.
Back to the bullying case, so SSC have such kind of tradition for recruiting new members. And all of the applicants have to follow all rituals. Well, the problem, which lead us to the bullying case, is the rituals are all physical and, well, somewhat harsh. Mainly only running, sit up, push up, etc, and.. fighting. And skip skip skip, all members will surely come home with bruises all over their body. Please don't ask if I'm agree about this tradition or not. When my bestfriend was being in this recruitment processing, I couldn't sleep all night and checking my phone every single minute. I was all worried. He had told me not to worry though. In the end, he and his friends came home with bruises but they seem to be really happy so I thought it's okay.
Unfortunately, in this year, the procession didn't go really well. The seniors seems to get difficulty to hold their self, and.. well.. bullying case. Two applicants has to be hospitalized and his parents, of course, got so mad about it.
Finally, SSC is now officially disbanded. It really makes me sad. Because one, they are like real family; two, my bestfriend love it so much that he must be really sad..; three, although I'm not a member, SSC holds a little but special part of my high school memory.
I don't know all of them. But I'm sure they are all nice people. And I'm quite sure, even they are disbanded, they will never break up. They are not people who will give up easily.
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