Travel Update Year 2014

Eventually, we're arriving at the end of 2014. How time flies very quickly! 

I traveled to many places to work, to meet, to gather, to attend a workshop, to network and to learn about so many things from different people and officials. 

These are some places that I've been visited in 2014:

Bandung (May 2014)

It was a very first time I enjoy Braga City Walk (Braga Ciwalk) over the weekend with mommy, brother, sister in-law and nieces. Mom and me took a chance to buy things,  street vendors, compared prices, tried different snacks. Apparently both of us love two things in common: sightseeing and eating. I was really enjoy my short visit in Bandung and hope I could come with hubby to enjoy Braga City Walk culinary night.





Kuala Lumpur (May 2014)

Straight from Bandung, we were heading to Kuala Lumpur after 2 hours landing in Pekanbaru. Mommy and I went to another our lifetime hang out. We tried the new KLIA2 and the train. It was very convenient transportation mode. I accompanied mommy to visit Suria KLCC and enjoyed our little secret: a visit to a traditional snack restaurant at Suria KLCC, where I tried dim sum, various kue lapis and steam cakes. I attended a symposium and met many new friends. 



Jakarta (July 2014)
I went twice, first to make a visa to Germany, and second to celebrate Eid with the in-laws. It was a new experience for me to make a Schengen visa in German's Embassy. 


Yogyakarta (August 2014)

It is always nice to visit Yogyakarta and to experience its cultural atmosphere again. This time I was stuck in a hotel and had to attend a workshop regarding my job. I enjoyed the workshop, especially when I met some famous in my job area, those people who are prominent in their research area and at International Office, so I could exchange views and inspirations. It was a very first time I visited UGM Headquarter Office and I was proud because I came to UGM as a guest. It was thrilled to know that my University (Universitas Riau) became a case study at Focus Discussion Group. I got a chance to meet two friends at undergraduate level separately. It was a good silaturahmi and everyone was happy to see each other again after 15 years:) 

Bandung (September 2014)
Related to the internationalization task, I spent another three days in Bandung to learn on how the ITB manages its internationalization. I was grateful to take a chance as a team leader to design a Student Exchange Summer Program together with a colleague from Petra, Surabaya during the Focus Discussion Group. I learned so much from her view and experiences in organizing the Summer Programs. Instead of that, Bandung is really jaw dropping for apparel shopping experience in Indonesia. 

Frankfurt (September 2014)
On my way to Oldenburg, I must transit in Frankfurt for 6 hours. The Frankfurt International Airport was no 12 on the busiest airport in the world (58 million passengers in 2013). But, bandara Soekarno-Hatta was no 10 (59.7 million passengers), so I could imagine now which one is the busiest ever. Anyway, I've learned that I must be very patience and keep calm since I must walk for a very long distance (perhaps 1km) to go from international gate to the domestic gate and, in reverse, from domestic to international gate on my way back home. This is not even to mention the crowd of passengers and a very old fashion airport with exposed-ceiling waiting rooms of the airport.

Oldenburg (September 2014)
I think this could be another hometown for me. Being in Oldenburg for three weeks made me realize that I always feel @home for a middle-sized city or a very quiet city, such Pekanbaru, Perth and Oldenburg. Everything is so reachable and people rely on bicycles for transportation. What I really like about Oldenburg is, it always reminds me about life in Perth. The streets are clean, the gardens are beautiful, the public transportation is reliable, the city center is quite small but nice, the architecture is splendid and the air is so healthy. People go to the traditional market almost on daily basis (Pferdemarkt) to buy fresh vegies, fruits, etc or to see horses. The course was held at Univ of Oldenburg. I was glad that I've been granted this scholarships to enhance my knowledge in leadership and management training at the University. The most unforgettable experience was to meet and greet Mayor of Oldenburg!

Bremen (September 2014)

We went to Bremen on a nice Saturday morning to experience this city together. There was a guided tour around Bremen, which I admitted, so interesting but not enough time to hear the guide because everything was so appealing to be photographed. I spent more time to absorb the views, the atmosphere, the architecture, the city path and the history. We took a time to walk the Bremen riverside where so many people selling second-hand things like in car-boot sale (UK) or Sunday market (Australia). I took a chance to experience free ride of Bremen tram to one suburb and did our shopping there. Then we got back to Oldenburg together with the Vietnamese and Sudanese girlfriends. 





Bonn (September 2014)

On a rainy Sunday, we took a ride of a bus to Bonn. I was too excited because I'm going to see Bonn (a capital city of West Germany) and Berlin (a capital city of East Germany) in this program. Bonn is around 5-6 hours drive from Oldenburg, so we spent more time to chat or to sleep in our bus. We arrived at 1pm then we went to the city center to follow a tour. I could not imagine that I've crossed the Rheine River and actually had a lunch at the Rheineland Restaurant. The city center is really big. We visited Beethoven's house and listened to the story of his life. We took a time to have coffee and tea together at the city center. We went to DAAD Headquarters in Bonn and learned about DAAD policy in internationalization.  




Medan (October 2014)
What I love about Medan, is its culinary and a new train line: they are absolutely gorgeous and convenient! I just strolled to the train station from the airport and, the next hour I arrived at the train station. It was just like in Japan or Malaysia. Just to bring your luggage directly to the city center without hesitation about the mode of transportation. Wish Bandara Soetta will have such a nice train station very soon!

Manado and North Sulawesi (November 2014)
It was like a dream come true for me when I got a chance to visit Manado eventually. It is absolutely a different atmosphere and not to mention that I must spend 5 hours flying from hometown. I saw so many coconut trees, looked over a gorgeous seaside and experienced a nice city surrounded by mountains. I didn't come only for a conference, but also to meet my mentor/seniors at Curtin, and to develop a network with friends from different institutions. We also had a chance to visit waruga, a beautiful Lake Tondano, and geothermal site Lahendong at Tomohon. I really enjoyed lunch at Lake Tondano and wished I could return one day with hubby to enjoy the beautiful North Sulawesi.

Jakarta (December 2014)
This time I came to meet Australia Awards Alumni Reference Group annual meeting 2014. I learned about how to develop network and to work in a group with friends from different institutions/offices from all over Indonesia. There was an inspiring speech from Prof Mari Elka Pangestu (our former Minister of Trade) about knowledge based economy. This is certainly something to be developed for Indonesian people. I was pleased with this meeting and, certainly promised to work hard in this division. Insya Allah. Amin.

The photo is courtesy of ARG (http://australiaawardsindonesia.org/index.php/en/arg-news/377-arg-annual-meeting-2014)


Pekanbaru, 

Late Summer: Serba Hijau

Akhir musim panas tahun ini aku menikmati keindahan alam di Jerman. Kebiasaanku berjalan-jalan di Botanical Garden juga kulakukan di Oldenburg, kota kecil di Utara Jerman. Seperti biasa, pada akhir musim panas tidak banyak yang bisa kulihat karena bunga-bunga musim semi sudah tidak ada lagi. Berbagai jenis pohon-pohon besar dengan batang lebar dan daun hijau meneduhkan, serta tanaman merambat yang akan berubah warna di musim gugur lebih banyak mendominasi pemandangan di Botanical Garden.

Pemandangan serupa juga kunikmati di Botanical Garden, Sapporo, sebuah kota besar di pulau Hokkaido Jepang akhir musim panas tahun lalu. Serasa ingin menangis karena membayangkan keindahan kebun besar itu di musim semi, karena saat itu aku hanya bisa menikmati pohon-pohon besar dan beberapa jenis tanaman liar di padang rumput. Tetapi pengalaman mengunjungi BG di akhir musim panas memang berbeda. Keindahan alam terasa lebih 'mature', tenang, 'gentle' dan tidak semeriah musim semi. Semua spesies tanaman di BG juga bersiap-siap menghadapi perubahan musim yang memberi warna lain pada semua elemen mereka.

Subhanallah, betapa banyaknya keindahan ciptaan Allah...

Pekanbaru,

IQ to understand, EQ to manage

I read about this interesting summary "IQ to understand, EQ to manage" a few days ago under this post. 

It's been a serious debate between two gurus (Adam Grant vs Daniel Goleman) about the importance of having IQ (Intelligence Quotient) or EQ (Emotional Quotient). You could read about the debate in the link. 

After I have been working for several years as an educator, I have learned that I cannot rely solely on IQ. It is not about being talented only, but everyone needs this EQ to have a sustainable career. Some of my bosses with high EQ were successful in managing people and limited resources at the university to reach the university goals. However, some other talented line managers with numerous achievements were rarely remembered for their accomplishments but more likely from their particular behaviour to peer colleagues, staffs and students. They were efficient managers, but quite unpleasant to work within the long term.

The post has also pointed out a research on how EQ works as a strong predictor of success or performance at work. The managers with high IQ and experience but low EQ had a failure rate of as high as 25% on their projects, on the other hand, the managers with high EQ but high IQ or experience showed a less failure rate of 3-4%. It seems that a combination of high IQ and EQ is potent to get a high standard of success in any project. 

When I took a survey about my current project (internationalization), which is involving several line managers at different levels (university, Faculty, Department and Study Program), I've found that most of the managers were friendly and intelligent people. Most of them had pleasant countenances and friendly gestures to other people from different background. They like to help and collaborate, providing useful answers to my list of questions. 

I noticed that most of them were successful in other areas, such as research, management, or community empowerment, but don't like to talk about those achievements, unless they were related with my project. The managers were enthusiastic about this area (internationalization) and showed their point of views independently based on their excellent understanding of our workplace management style. They shared their best strategies and practices on how to handle a problematic situation or resentment from academic and administrative staffs regarding the introduction of new policies. I've found most of their advice was logical and adaptable to our current university situation.

All in all, now I could see why IQ is essential to understand the current situation (and provide a solution), but EQ is needed to manage a complex situation in the workplace. 

Pekanbaru,

A Paradox of Being Busy

This is a great thought. How many of us do like to tell other people that we're busy?

I am in the first row, of course, always bragging about how busy I am etc. A very much annoying attitude, to be honest.

Some people who don't say directly about how busy they are, also tend to look busy. It could be a sign when they don't focus on what you say or look frequently to their watches and always agree about everything we have said. This is quite ridiculous, but that's one tactic to stop people brag about something irrelevant to their attention at that moment.

We are giving an impression that being busy means we're in demand, more significant or important, and automatically (perhaps) more successful. So, if you are not busy, means either you are not efficient enough, doing something dull (uninspiring) or even don't know exactly what to do.

A paradox of being busy is obvious in my work environment. We could absolutely look very busy and pretend of being busy. This is because the fact that 'the more busy, the more productive the individual' mind set in some managers. The line managers tend to give tasks for certain people who already have so many things in their plate, with an assumption: the individual is more effective (doing the right things) and efficient (doing things right), so he/she could accomplish more tasks. They even have a mental list of some productive people just in case these people could contribute to their new projects in the future. Certainly, this is unhealthy because it could lead to an exhausted employee producing low quality output and causing delay. However, it is another problem when the employee agree with such arrangement.

There is another notion that to pretend of being busy could save us from being a victim of a new task or a new project. When we say we don't have time, then we know actually where our time is, and what shall we do with it, but we are not just interested to add more load, so we tell the manager that we're very busy with other issues. This could be a polite way to say that you're not interested, but then we must be careful with our frequent refusal, because in the future our chance to get some challenging offers is pretty slim. It could harm our long term career development and not to mention about our personal motivation at work.

I think this paradox of busy or pretend to be busy, is much more related to our attitude of complaining about how busy we are. If we don't have any problem about looking busy but still don't say a word about it (which is annoying to some people), then it is considered healthy. Meredith Finemann (2014) in her post has highlighted about using tactics to work smarter to avoid complaining about how busy we are all the time. These tactics are 'constraint the time': focus on the tasks at hand for certain time, 'use scheduler': to use time wisely and always in control of time, and 'cut the fat': cut all unproductive time at work.  

It really depends on how we place ourselves in this situation, but our attitude towards this issue is a big matter.

Pekanbaru,

There is always a room for improvement (leadership)

It is a very sudden change in life. You're there everyday, do your work, read, write, keep busy about everything, and suddenly you're in a situation to know what is the meaning of your life and the meaning of your struggle. It is always amazing how Allah always give me a way to learn about it.

So, welcome to my current event to get know myself better. 

It is nearly autumn somewhere in North Germany. I've been here practically for a week. The classes have been finished for 5 days. There were very hectic and full time classes. We've just been lectured and involved in many activities for Project Management course. The most beautiful thing about the class, that we've never bored with the lectures. The topic was very interesting and very close to our hearts.

The Project Management is a way to finish a project effectively and efficiently. However, another aspect of PM, which is, people and its dynamic, is much more interesting to be learned. This is the area where most of us don't have enough knowledge as a Project Leader. The people, they are our precious assets that moves the project forward towards our goals. The importance of having people in the project and how to manage them is determined by the way we treat them. This is where a leadership is taking a big role.

The idea of our leadership style involves perception, vision, decision making, negotiation, empowerment, delegation, legitimation, communication, etc. The practical way to teach leadership is to understand our own power, leadership style, leadership competencies (skill, attitude, knowledge) and how we could use it to make projects are more successful. We also have to identify if we are servant leadership (servant-follower relationship), authentic (genuine), transformational (visionary and legitimacy), or transactional (reward-punishment). The most important thing about leadership is our power in empowerment and negotiation.

There is always a room for improvement for everyone who wants to lead or become a great leader. We just cannot take the leadership role, but we must learn how to lead effectively and efficiently in any situation. Focus on our competencies, limitation and existing power to improve our leadership style. 

Oldenburg,

The Art of Juggling

Juggling within many tasks need a very strong nerve. For an academic like me, although I have a very flexible time to work, I have never thought that I must deal with multiple challenges. The exact tasks are teaching, researching and community empowering. Instead of it, we also need to contribute our time to help administrative jobs at department/faculty/university levels. This is a way to develop our leaderships and management skills in the university. However, this could add more workload to our existing tasks and unpleasantly, we must learn to juggle in order to keep everything in its place. 

The idea of taking additional responsibility is a major decision in my career. I didn't think this become a burden in life, but a way to develop my abilities and competencies at work. When I'm thinking about the consequence, it needs a very huge responsibility and time allocation, but it match the opportunities offered by the position. The solutions to juggle with so many focuses are a good time and workload management.

Considering the time management and manageable workload could help us to spacing time for that many tasks, I agree we need an art/skill to do them. It needs a frugal planning or it does not? I believe I am a person who loves flexibility than rigid plan to do my work, but I love them to be finished. So, how will I finish my workload, but in the same time could achieve my objectives in career? Again, the answer is the art of controlling my time and resources. 

This is not a new method, it will never be, because a project management means to allocate appropriate money and resources to achieve the aims under projected time frame. By having a plan, work in increment and stay focus under a block of time, I finally could resolve my problem. This is how I juggle with my work:

a) I manage my work by finding a solitary office (mostly at home) and work there full time at least two days a week. This is the time when I could read, write and review manuscripts or prepare lectures. 

b) At those quiet time, I also invest on my administrative responsibility by managing staffs from home. I answer emails, take notes and send notices to them so they still could proceed without me. We then could sign the final draft of formal letters or financial report when I come to the office on the following day. 

c) I also used to send many emails to my final year project students and make them send me their research log book weekly. This gives them a sense of progress, while I could control my supervision on them and let them work on the right track. I set time for the students to meet me by adjusting my schedule, and send the notice to administrative staff at the department. 

d) Most of the time, I communicate with the students with email. I don't take phone calls and teach them how to contact lecturers with appropriate language and attitude through this way. I teach the students to be well prepared and planned their activities in advanced through email communication. There will never be on the spot activities, since I won't be available whenever they need me. 

e) I use various apps to help me at work. I have Evernote in my laptop and sync the information to the ipad. The Evernote app is very useful for storing ideas, keeping comments, planning tasks and sending information to everyone by email. I also use Mendeley for working efficiently towards finding references. This is a highly recommended app to track back all my papers in the library because I could use the key words sparingly. I love my scanner pro for ipad to instantly scan documents everywhere.

f) I try to deal with deadlines by submitting work at least a day before. I don't want any extension, because I know how dangerous the extension for my final progress. If I can't do it, then I will leave the work by communicating the person in charge that I need assistance or delegate it to somebody else. 

g) I see my task as a sequence of steps that need to be pursued. There should be no hesitation to do it, because it will make me more knowledgeable and grow as a person. I learn to find a 'fun' on it and don't think soo much about its financial benefit or I will destroy my noble intention. I must do perform work because I want to work for Allah, the Almighty.

In short, I just want to emphasis that the art of juggling is important to be mastered. Just focus on good time management and workload management. Find our own style which best fit on job condition and practice it regularly. 

Pekanbaru,

Buah Anggur, Rainbow Lorikeet dan Dolma

Musim panas tahun 2011 kami tidak bisa menikmati panen buah anggur di depan kantor dengan nyaman.

Tidak seperti tahun lalu saat buah anggur tidak bisa diambil karena sangat berbahaya untuk berjalan di bawah pergola lapuk sarat dahan-dahan pohon anggur. Akan tetapi tahun berikutnya, buah anggur masak sudah mulai berkurang dari biasanya. Selain pengurangan pohon-pohon tua sehingga hasil panen menyusut, juga ada serbuan dari burung-burung pemakan buah seperti lorikeet. Burung-burung tersebut selalu datang lebih awal untuk menghabiskan buah-buah ungu kecoklatan dan hanya meninggalkan buah-buah hijau masam berukuran kecil di tangkainya. 

Jika ingin mencicipi anggur, kami harus memilih butir yang akan dimakan dengan hati-hati. Setangkai buah yang biasanya penuh butir-butir masak sekarang hanya tinggal sepertiganya saja bisa dimakan manusia.

Setelah beberapa lama berebut anggur masak dan tidak pernah sukses, aku memutuskan untuk berhenti memetik buah dan lebih banyak berdiri di bawah pohon untuk mengamati kedatangan lorikeet untuk makan.

Lantas, tibalah kesempatan itu. Di suatu hari yang sangat indah, aku beruntung bisa melihat dengan jelas kedatangan dua ekor rainbow lorikeet penyuka buah-buahan lunak seperti berri dan anggur. Subhanallah! Mereka benar-benar cantik dengan kepala berwarna ungu dan badan dengan warna oranye, merah, kuning dan hijau. Demi mendapatkan gambar terbaik, aku berdiri diam-diam seperti sebuah patung di bawah sepasang lorikeet yang terlihat ragu-ragu untuk makan anggur di hadapannya. Aku harus rela bertahan beberapa lama supaya keduanya tidak terbang karena mereka sangat mempesona. Alhamdulillah aku berhasil mengambil beberapa video dan foto lorikeet makan anggur.

Setelah melihat sendiri lorikeet makan buah-buah anggur, aku memutuskan untuk tidak mengincar buah-buah anggur masak lagi. Kali ini aku hanya akan mengambil daun-daun anggurnya saja. Biarlah aku makan daun anggur dan panen buah yang sedikit dihabiskan oleh lorikeet lucu-lucu tadi.


Sebentar, makan daun? Yakin?

Well, bagi yang pernah membaca post ini, pasti ingat tentang si mbak dari Abu Dhabi. Dalam curhatnya padaku ia mengaku paling malas jika disuruh majikannya untuk membuat sejenis makanan terbungkus daun anggur atau dolma. Dolma merupakan sejenis hidangan dengan isi berupa nasi, daging cincang atau keju yang dibungkus daun dan dikukus sampai padat. Agak menyerupai lontong daun anggur. Rasanya sendiri sedikit kecut, segar, dan sering menjadi hidangan penyeimbang rasa yang cocok untuk masakan daging kambing/sapi  penuh bumbu. 

So, siang itu aku berhasil memilih beberapa buah daun anggur berukuran besar yang bisa diisi untuk membuat dolma. 

Daun-daun itu hanya perlu direbus sebentar supaya layu, lalu ditiriskan hingga dingin. Daun diisi dengan beras dicampur daging cincang, bawang, garam, merica, dan lemon, lalu dilipat. Proses melipatnya sendiri cukup ribet tetapi menyenangkan. Kemudian dolma direbus paling kurang dua jam dalam air diberi sedikit minyak/mentega sampai isiannya matang. Dolma siap dihidangkan dengan makanan matang lain.

Untuk melihat teknik pembuatan dolma secara rinci, silakan mengunjungi link berikut.

Selamat mencoba,

Pekanbaru,

Maaf

Hati bisa terluka saat seseorang menzalimi kita. Tetapi, apakah kita akan sakit hati tanpa ada penyelesaiannya? Kita bisa berlari kepada Allah, memintaNya untuk membalaskan rasa sakit hati ini secara langsung. Kita juga bisa menunggu saat Hari Pembalasan tiba, tempat kita meminta pertanggung jawaban dari orang yang menzalimi dahulu. Sayangnya, semua itu ternyata tidak sebaik perbuatan berikut, yakni 'memaafkan' orang tersebut. 

Memaafkan seseorang yang pernah menyakiti hati kita karena perbuatan dan perkataannya ternyata sebuah pekerjaan sulit. Apalagi kita dapat merasakan bahwa 'hati' adalah area paling sensitif yang tidak suka bersedih atau berduka karena disakiti. Sampai-sampai seseorang diyakini dapat mengidap sindrom 'patah hati' karena jantungnya membesar akibat sering sakit hati. 

Ada pula orang yang bisa mengatasi sindrom patah hati, tetapi secara tidak bijak malah menjadi sindrom 'balas dendam'. Mereka mencoba menghakimi sendiri orang yang mereka anggap sebagai sumber rasa sakit hati. Pembalasan-pembalasan kecil berupa kezaliman-kezaliman mini sampai ekstrim bisa mereka lakukan. Padahal setelah melakukan pembalasan tersebut, yakinlah, bukannya hati akan bertambah lega, tetapi malah akan resah karena telah melakukan dosa dan sedih akibat tidak bisa menahan diri.

Hal terindah yang bisa dilakukan seseorang agar hatinya tidak bertambah sakit adalah dengan 'memaafkan'. Alasannya, memaafkan secara tulus dan ikhlas dari dalam diri akan mendapatkan pengampunan dan kecintaan dari Allah SWT. 

Tidak percaya? 

Anda bisa membaca firman Allah dalam surat An-Nur (surat 24) ayat 22. 
"Dan janganlah orang-orang yang mempunyai kelebihan dan kelapangan di antara kamu bersumpah bahawa mereka (tidak) akan memberi (bantuan) kepada kerabat(nya), orang-orang miskin, dan orang-orang yang berhijrah di jalan Allah, dan hendaklah mereka memaafkan dan berlapang dada. Apakah kamu tidak suka bahwa Allah mengampunimu? Dan Allah Maha Pengampun, Maha Penyayang. (QS An-Nur 24:22)

Insya Allah, meski hati panas membara akibat perlakuan zalim orang lain, mudah-mudahan kita masih bisa berpikir dengan penuh kesadaran bahwa memaafkan mendatangkan pengampunan dan cinta dari Allah SWT. 

Serahkan saja semua urusan kepada Allah dan jangan tempatkan urusan dunia ini di hatimu untuk seterusnya.

Pekanbaru, 
Selamat Idul Fitri 1435H. Mohon maaf lahir dan bathin.

Salam Idul Fitri

Book: The Signature of All Things

When you are a heiress of a big fortune wealth, a pioneer scientist of a small world like moss, an adventurer of your own life, and an inventor of goodness in your family, then you must be very lucky. But life was certainly not a linear thing for Alma Whittaker despite all positive qualities she might have. She had a lonely life, a loveless marriage and a problem with her appearance. She had tried to move out from her comfort zone, only to find the 'real life' and 'truth' for herself. 

This is what I call a process of balancing and reinventing a wheel. I experienced my own journey many years ago with geopolymer issue on hand. However, this erratic and antic material has given me many opportunities to improve myself and find my own strength. I, eventually has a courage to tell myself that I have grown as a person and become a strong minded person, but resilient in the same time. Have I found my own positive qualities through the hard process? I hope, so!

So, a book of The Signature of All Things, is another magnificent story about Alma's adventure to find herself. In my opinion, this book is more engaging than Eat, Love, and Pray by the same author, Elizabeth Gilbert. Perhaps, because I like to be a botanist myself, or perhaps Alma's thirst for knowledge is more admirable. 

I recommend this 700 hundred pages book for anyone who loves adventure, science and and history in a fiction genre.

Pekanbaru,

Courage vs Confidence

I was quite shocked to hear the way two young women answer my question about their plan after their final year examination. 

The question itself is not that special, like "Are you interested in continuing your study?"

"Oh yes, we want to study abroad, I want to go to Australia, and she wants to go to Japan." 

My answer: "That's fantastic. Have you prepared your English qualification?"

The way they answered to my question perhaps has worried me.

"No, we haven't. How do we must prepare it?"

I gave them several hints and told them to contact me whenever they need help in this matter. 

I didn't realize that they were too overconfident to answer my question. The ugly truth is, perhaps they have never prepared actually. 

So, how could they be so confident to answer the question?

This fact that I've mostly seen from my students. 

Some of them were overconfident with their options. They thought they knew the answer once they've finished their final year project. Those who did over confident didn't have enough information about their preferences and the actual risks. When they know the difference between overconfident and courage, they might be conscientious in answering my question about their future. 

Courage is like knowing the actual risks but prepare to take action. In another way, overconfident is like "will do it without thinking'. When they are facing distress and hurdles in the process, later they will realize their lack of preparation, and they are overconfidence. Eventually, they've learned that things must not be underestimated. 

Though I was quite happy with their plan, I want them to understand that it is essential to know well about the demand of their dreams, the qualifications needed and the appropriate attitude.

Pekanbaru,

Makanan halal saat di Jepang

Dalam perjalanan ke luar negeri kali ini kami putuskan untuk tidak membawa travel cooker kesayangan. Konon, di Jepang tidak sulit menemukan onigiri dan sushi dengan isian seafood yang halal dan tidak mahal!

Hampir seperti biasa, aku dan hubby selalu berpikir kami adalah postgrad student dan koperpacker. Berkat mind set demikian, setiap perjalanan ke luar negeri bisa dilakukan dengan dana minim tanpa komplain. Tinggal di hotel khusus untuk anak-anak muda (di atas level hostel) yang tidak cocok untuk keluarga, makan di tempat-tempat keramaian atau cukup beli di 7/11, jalan-jalan muter seharian pakai kaki naik-turun kendaraan umum, sampai nyasar tidak karuan di beberapa suburb atau district~ selalu bisa diterima dengan lapang dada.

Persoalannya, fast food di Jepang banyak, tetapi kehalalannya tidak dijamin untuk muslim. Jadilah, sehari-hari kami makan onigiri, nasi kepal sebesar kepalan tinju orang dewasa dengan beraneka macam isian. Tetapi sayangnya, tidak ada keterangan berbahasa Inggris. Apalagi kalau gambarnya seperti ini, apakah itu onigiri halal sudah jelas tidak ada labelnya. Jadi mesti tanya-tanya dulu supaya yakin. Soalnya hubby pernah tidak yakin dengan isiannya yang terasa berserat dan agak aneh, so onigiri sekantung tanpa pikir panjang disumbangkan hubby kepada gelandangan di dekat stasiun Akihabara. Ternyata setelah kami agak pintar membaca kanji (abis sudah sering beli), barulah kami sadar yang disumbangkan itu onigiri isi udang! Gimana sih, hubby ga bisa bedain udang ma ayam!

Berhubung orang Jepang agak susah bicara bahasa Inggris, sebelum membayar aku harus tanya-tanya dulu seperti ini kepada pelayan/kasir:
"is it chicken? is it meat" --- kadang yang jawab ngangguk, tapi ngecek lagi, terus angguk lagi.
"is it meat" --- yang jawab menggeleng, "no meat"
besoknya, nanyanya gini, "no meat?" --- yang ditanya mengangguk. Beres, berarti bisa dimakan. 
Yang lebih asyik lagi, sebelum menjawab si pelayan menggambar bentuk segitiga onigiri, lalu diberi bulatan yang diarsir di tengahnya, kemudian mengajakku ke bagian pendingin lain sambil menunjukkan sketsa itu dan sekotak udang/salmon. Oo, maksudnya isinya salmon/udang!

Lama-lama karena suka beli di 7/11, aku foto saja onigiri rasa salmon, rasa rumput laut, rasa udang dan rasa kepiting pakai ipod. Setelah itu, mau beli onigiri tidak pernah tanya-tanya lagi, tinggal mencocokkan bentuk kanjinya saja.

Sewaktu di Sapporo, teman kita pak FH membawa kami makan malam di restoran sushi otentik JR Tower. Antrinya hampir satu jam, tetapi diakui suasana dan makanannya well worth the effort! Konon lama, karena kami ingin duduk bareng di satu meja bersama-sama ketimbang duduk di depan sushi bar. 

Tetapi penantian itu tidak sia-sia, karena setelah duduk makan sushi salmon, sup kepiting, makan calamari, makan aneka sushi lagi, minum teh hijau, sambil ngobrol tentang kehidupan di Sapporo, hidup rasanya cerah seketika. Aku akui kuliner Jepang memang berbeda!

Ternyata di Jepang bisa ditemukan juga makanan khas Timur Tengah, seperti kebab dan kari. Cerita ketemu kebab seharga 500 Yen (cukup mahal: Rp 50000 seporsi) ini agak dramatis. Singkat cerita, kami tiba-tiba terdampar di sebuah pasar dekat stasiun kereta Ueno Park, Tokyo. Di pasar ala tenda tersebut banyak orang menjual aneka barang-barang baik branded maupun non-branded. Sedang asyik jalan, aku bertemu mahasiswi Malaysia yang sepertinya sedang shopping. Setelah tanya-tanya, mereka menunjukkan gerai tempat barang yang ingin kami beli serta mengatakan kalau kebab di warung depan halal untuk dimakan. Mendengar kebab halal, terbayang kebab di Harbour Town, Perth (Rp 99000 sebuah). Apalagi setelah capek-capek nyasar begini, pasti tidak mengecewakan. Meski rasanya tidak semantap kebab di Perth, aku cukup menikmati pengalaman baru makan kebab yang dijual orang Turki jago bahasa Jepang! 

Turkish kebab, menjamur di Tokyo

Aku juga excited soal kari di Jepang. Rasanya mirip kari India/Pakistan. Soal ketemu makanan halal di kantin Hokkaido University memang bukan khayalanku saja. Ternyata kantin dekat Ono Pond memiliki bagian halal yang khusus menjual kari ayam. Rupanya gerai halal demikian tengah menjamur di beberapa kantin universitas di Jepang. Tujuannya untuk memudahkan para pelajar muslim mendapatkan makanan. Satu porsi makanan seperti ini harganya 420 Yen, dan kocaknya ada tiga tipe: S, M, XL. Maksudnya? Tipe S, M, XL menunjukkan jumlah nasi/karbohidrat yang diberikan kepada kita. Isi karinya sih sama aja, tetap 3 sendok. Tapi porsinya emang generous banget, sampe kekenyangan sendiri kalau ambil nasi porsi XL!

Sekarang tidak sulit lagi mendapatkan informasi restoran halal di Jepang. Sejak tahun lalu pemerintah Jepang mulai proaktif mendorong gerai-gerai halal dan delivery makanan halal untuk meningkatkan minat kunjungan turis muslim. Informasinya bisa dilihat pada link 'For Muslim Visitor' berikut. 

Kuakui, banyak turis muslim puas dengan kemudahan mendapatkan makanan halal. Bikin jalan-jalan saat berlibur di Jepang semakin seru, tanpa harus mikir mau makan indomie setiap hari! 



Pekanbaru,
oishi!

Mengunjungi Otaru

Post ini adalah bagian dari perjalanan di Jepang yang kami lakukan September 2013 lalu.

Berhubung aku dan hubby tiba lebih awal satu hari di Sapporo, Hokkaido, kami ingin melakukan perjalanan ke tempat wisata yang tidak jauh dari kota besar Sapporo. Kami mengunjungi Otaru, sebuah kota kecil di barat daya Sapporo yang terkenal dengan kanalnya. Cerita tentang Otaru Canal secara singkat sudah kutulis di sini.

Pagi-pagi aku dan hubby sudah berangkat berjalan kaki menuju Sapporo Train Station. Stasiunnya tidak jauh dari rumah pak FH, tempat kami menginap sementara di Sapporo, sehingga berjalan kakipun masih tetap nyaman. Apalagi di tepi-tepi trotoar bunga-bunga musim panas banyak bertebaran mempercantik pemandangan.

Bunga-bunga musim panas di Sapporo

Kami ke kantor informasi turis untuk mendapatkan rute paling murah. Ternyata naik bus masih jauh lebih murah daripada naik kereta api. Stasiun bus terletak di samping stasiun kereta api, jadi masih bisa mengejar bus waktu tertentu. Tentu saja kami berdua ingin naik bus meski agak was-was apakah petunjuk tulisan pakai kanji, bayarnya di mana dan berapa farenya, atau supirnya tidak tahu bahasa Inggris samasekali! Sayang sekali dugaan kami salah. Petunjuk di stasiun sangat jelas dan hubby dengan cepat bisa mengetahui bus mana yang harus kami pilih. Tugasku hanya mengatakan ingin turun di dekat Otaru Canal dalam bahasa Inggris, lalu duduk manis di bus tanpa perlu memusingkan farenya terlebih dahulu. Ongkosnya dibayar pada saat akan turun bus. Mengapa? Karena ada alat penunjuk fare vs nama stasiun berikut:

Alat ini benar-benar praktis. Kalau kita naik dari stasiun 1, begitu turun di Otaru (misalnya stasiun 6), maka farenya akan terbaca, misalnya 590 yen.

Dua orang yang masih excited ini, berusaha menikmati pemandangan sebaik-baiknya. Apalagi aku yang suka tanaman, pohon, bunga, sangat menikmati sekali aneka tanaman negara empat musim dengan salju tebal di musim dingin ini. Paling banyak pohon Ginkgo Biloba, pohon maple dan bunga-bunga musim semi. Ketika melewati hutan di luar kota Sapporo, aku dan hubby langsung bernostalgia tentang pemandangan alam di film-film Voltus atau film-film kartun Jepang masa kecil kami. Semuanya sangat tepat menggambarkan suasana alam di film, termasuk kota di teluk Ishikary ini. Aku tidak bisa membayangkan keadaannya di musim dingin. Pasti penuh salju tebal dan suhu minus.

Ishikari Bay, kota teluk tempat seorang Profesor Beton dari Hokkaido melakukan tes long term perendaman beton di air laut.

Tidak sulit sebenarnya mencari Otaru Canal. Begitu masuk kota Otaru, sudah terdapat papan penunjuk Otaru Canal yang cukup besar. Kami memilih turun satu bus stop sebelum stasiun Otaru berhubung ada jembatan penyeberangan yang langsung mengarah ke Canal. Jalan ke Canal sendiri penuh dengan nuansa khas Jepang. Ada warung makan, rumah, toko, dan trotoar lebar. Kesannya bersih dan asri karena banyak bunga-bunga musim panas yang hanya bisa tumbuh di daerah dingin, misalnya hollylock dan morning glory biru muda!

Otaru kanal bukan satu-satunya atraksi menarik di kota Otaru. Tempat ini terkenal dengan industri kotak musik, pusat perdagangan dan restoran/kafe di bekas gudang penyimpanan barang yang telah direnovasi. Sebenarnya ada banyak museum menarik, tetapi kami hanya sempat mengunjungi Museum Keuangan untuk melihat sejarah perbankan dan keuangan di Jepang. 

Otaru Canal nan asri

Kanal yang terkenal ini telah dikurangi lebarnya dari ukuran semula. Fungsi kanal pada tahun 1920an adalah untuk transportasi batu bara dan produk laut untuk diekspor ke luar negeri. Gudang-gudang di tepi kanal merupakan tempat penyimpanan barang-barang perdagangan. Sejak pelabuhan Otaru dibuka, kanal tersebut tidak digunakan lagi. 

Pemerintah kota memutuskan untuk menutup kanal dan menjadikannya jalan raya, tetapi ditolak oleh masyarakat Otaru karena kanal tersebut merupakan 'heritage landmark', dan sudah menjadi bagian dari kehidupan mereka. Pemerintah hanya mengurangi lebarnya dan membersihkan kanal sehingga bisa digunakan untuk pariwisata. Turis juga bisa naik gondola atau boat untuk menyusuri kanal sambil menikmati pemandangan kota. 

Sama seperti turis lain, kami berdua sibuk memotret, berjalan kaki menyusuri bagian depan dan belakang kanal. Bagi turis yang malas berjalan kaki keliling, ada persewaan rickshaw ditarik oleh manusia. Para penarik rickshaw tersebut mengenakan tarif lumayan untuk waktu tertentu. Sedangkan kami berdua memutuskan untuk berjalan kaki saja karena tiap tempat jaraknya tidak terlalu jauh. Kami melihat museum music box dari jauh, memperhatikan warung makan sushi tanpa berani mencicipi (takut tidak halal), lalu mencari toilet dekat toko milik Japan Post. Ternyata toko itu menjual aneka souvenir seperti music box hasil karya perajin di Otaru. Cantik-cantik bentuk kotaknya, dan lagu-lagunya juga bagus-bagus. Agak aneh juga karena orang Jepang sepertinya suka sekali dengan musik sederhana dari music box.

Jenis-jenis music box yang dijual. Kecil-kecil tapi lucu dan harganya lumayan juga.

Oh well, setelah beberapa jam melihat tempat lain seperti museum perbankan dan rel kereta api historis, serta berbelanja buah-buahan musim panas seperti aprikot, kami berdua memutuskan untuk pulang ke Sapporo. Kali ini kami melewati jalan berbeda dari tempat kami datang dan langsung menuju stasiun bus Otaru. 

We do love our visit in Otaru:)

Pekanbaru,