My Story of Stunning North Sumatera ✨

It's been ages I didn't sit to move my fingers on the keyboard to write about a story hehe.. 

So here I am tonight, I am gonna share about wonderful and beautiful places in my province, North Sumatera, which I actually have been wanting to share them since November..

All right, deng deng dengggggg...

1. Tangke Tabuh 

We took around more than 2 hours from the school by a big bus to reach this place. Yes, I went to this place with my colleagues and my students as part of an outing class in November this year, so it was like two months ago and we went from Medan, the capital of North Sumatera.

This place is located in Berastagi, Kabupaten Karo, North Sumatera. It was drizzle when we arrived. It made the weather was nicely colder than usual. As well as, Berastagi is known as a town that colder that Medan. Many people deliberately come to this town as their "healing" or "a perfect escape place" from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

I have attached a picture below. As you can see the entrance ticket is very affordable. It's only 5k rupiah for all ages and parking is free. 

This is the picture of the street in front of Tangke Tabuh. My phone camera was not capable of capturing the place well. But, I think there is no one will regret to come to this place. Since, the place and its surrounding are amazing and so is the weather. 

Yep, we can see many trees, leaves, or green views, and mountain panoramas along the way to get this place. Then, when we arrive at this Tangke Tabuh, we can get more than the beauty of nature. I felt like I didn't wanna go home. I wanted to sit at this place all day while drinking a cup of hot chocolate and watching the panorama endlessly. But, yeah, what I could do, we had a hundred of students to be taken care of 😂..

There are so many sitting areas at this place. So, you actually can enjoy this place in any kind of seats you like. 

I will tell you the most challenging part of our trip, it was when we entered the forest. We kinda had a forest trekking activity. We were divided into 4 groups. Each group consisted of one local guide, two teachers and twenty five students. So, my grup was the first group who went entering inside the forest. It was tense for me not gonna lie. But, as long as we remember Allah and be cautious while trekking the forest, it would be fine. 

So, yes, we walked into the forest for over one hour. The local guide explained many things to my students. But because I was guarding the back of the line, I didn't really know what they talking about, just my students told me that this leaf is poisonous, or don't touch that leaf because it will cause itchy if it hits the skin. They even tried eating a fruit. I guess, it's kind of berry fruit. I was even not brave enough to touch the fruit 😂

And then here it comes.. The most exciting part of the trekking. We had to slide down a steep, slippery, and muddy slope at the last part of the trekking. We were shock and surprised, we had no idea that we would face this kind of activity. So, there was a rope that we would hold to go down. But it turned out not long enough, we had to slide down with just our body. Can you imagine that?! 😵‍💫 Of course, some of my students started to panic. But, we didn't have any other choice. We. Had. To. Slide. Down. 

I took this picture from the bottom of the slope after I slid down. You can see a lot of my students waiting for their turn to deal with their fear 😬😁

This dirt was proof of our courage! 😆 If you were there with us, you would have some panics and laughters at the same time 😂 If you are not afraid of heights, this activity is so much fun! 😁  

2. Maulana Cafe 

All right, the second place I wanted to talk about is Maulana Cafe. This place is not like the name. It's just not a cafe. It's more than that. So, we went there just a week ago. We went without our students 😁 The owners of the school provide a family gathering for the teachers annually. So, this time, the trip went to this place and the teachers could have some fun together without thinking about work hehe.. 

It's different place with Tangke Tabuh but still one regency, which is Karo Regency. We went by a big bus too and it took more than 3 hours to reach this place. Yes, we travelled further. The weather was still nicely cold too. But, it was no rain when we were there. 

We spent two days and one night there. We rented 3 villas and one hall. It was such a complete villa. We had a small kitchen as well inside the villa. So, we cooked inside the villa, I mean, mostly my colleagues who cooked hehe.. We had a barbecue, grilling corn, chicken, and meatballs as well at the hall.

When we just arrived at this place, I was so fascinated by the scenery. It has a lake Toba view. Did you know lake Toba? Toba lake is one of the largest lakes in Southest Asia. I don't have any word but saying Masha Allah when watching the scenery. 

There are many kind of villas that you can choose to stay and a cafe of course, a swimming pool with a lake Toba background, and a glass brigde which is a bit scary hehe.. 

And there are many sitting areas as well and the surrounding views are stunning too. It is such a good place to reflect on our lives here 😂 or clear the mind. Maybe you need a place to escape for a while from the exhaustion of life, this place is definitely the right place to do that 😁✌🏻 

I still have many good pictures actually but I can't really share 🤪 since I am a writer not a model or a celebgram 😂 and I honestly can't give you the information of the price of staying here or the entrance ticket. Since everything was paid by the owners of the school hehe thanks to them! 🧡 May Allah always ease everything for them 🤲🏻

Well, I think that's all. I frankly didn't see any international tourists when I went to these two places. I know Medan or North Sumatera is not as famous as Bali, Bandung, or Bogor in the eye of the world. But, that's all right. Indonesia is very big. I my self even haven't explored many stunning and beautiful places in my own country. So, my last words, I hope you enjoy this writing of mine! 🥰


Hold on, before I really wrap up this piece of writing, I am gonna show you some pictures of the place. I know, I'm such a kind-hearted person 🤣🥰

Bye-bye, see you in the next writing! 

Typical Mom Every Time The Kids Craving This Food

I wanted to cook some instant noodles tonight. But my mom snapped at me 😭 

"Look at our neighbour, she got an operation because of that!"  

I whined, "When was the last time I had it?" (It means, I've forgotten about it, since it's been so long)

"STOP EATING IT! Don't eat it anymore!" Mom said firmly 🤨

I was upset and went back to my room 🙂‍↔️

Then, all of a sudden, I remembered the last time I ate it! 🤣🤣🤣

It was 11 days ago when I was in the trip of outing class from my school work 😂

🌬️🌬️🌬️🌬️🌬️🌬️

The cold weather and calming moment and having hot noodles are the perfect match there! 👀

But, my mom doesn't know about this 🤫🙏🙏🙏🙏

Don't rat me on her!

🏃🏃🏃🏃

---

I wish, I could write about you without analogy. 

I wish, I could send my letters to your address. 

I wish, I could tease you when I was eating your favorite food. 

I wish, I could confront you when I was upset at you

I wish..

I have a lot of I wish.. 

But I can't even say them out loud.. 

Rain is A Mercy from Allah 🌧️

It's been raining for the past four days. I don't think I've seen the sunlight since. It's such a good weather actually, cold and windy. But, it's gotten out of hand now. 

This morning with the swift drizzle, I went to work and when I reached the street that has a river beside it. I saw the river has risen to ground level, made me terrified. The funny thing, I just realized that was a river just recently. 

Since yesterday night, one by one I've heard houses hit by the flood. My relatives', my colleague's, my students', my friends'. Everyone's status on Whatsapp is about the flood. The flood has spread to many places in my city. 

We couldn't study as usual today. More than 50% of the students didn't come. But alhamdullillah, we still were able to do the morning routines ; reading Quran and praying sholatu Dhuha. 

We stayed in the mosque until lunch break. After having lunch together, finally the owner of the school allowed the students to come home. But, there were my students who were difficult to come home since the house has hit by the flood or the roads were blocked due to the flood. But, Alhamdulillah, biidznillah, we helped each other to make them home. 

For the first time, I was terrified to come home but I really wanted to come home. Because, I heard many streets have been blocked and not able to pass through. But, yeah we helped each other to make us home. So, one of my colleagues led us to pass through the streets which were safe.

And.. when we were passing through the bridge, I looked at my left side, I saw there the river has overflowed. It broke my heart 💔 I sobbed immediately. 

That river, on that bridge, that I usually love to see. I always make a glimpse to look at it. I always imagine that I sit on the bank of the river, must be so calming and relieving. But, today, the river was like getting angry. It flowed very rapidly and terrified me. 💔

Many people were on the streets, police, rescue teams, there were even a lot of people who were begging. The situation was sadly horrible.  

But, Alhamdulilah, the thing that I was terrified of, it didn't happen. The streets which I was passing through were safe. My colleagues were so worried since my house is the farthest. But, ya Allah, Alhamdulillah I was safe coming home. 

I've got used to get wet on the streets when it's raining heavily. I think, all Indonesian motorcycle riders have. But we still are human beings. This nature belongs to Allah. Allah who orders it to do anything. Our duty is to humble ourselves before Allah, to repent for our sins and beg to Him for safety and anything in our lives. 

May Allah always protect us, our families, friends, teachers, relatives, and neighbors 🤲

😊 الحمدلله على كل حال

Hooooo....

Finally, all the work is done. This month has been amazingly wonderful --so many things have happened. 

I had a lot of things to do at work, a lot of struggles, a lot of tears, a lot of pain, but the good thing is I can smile with a sigh of relief for it all now. 

What I'm truly grateful is... 
I've gained valuable lessons from all that have happened this month. That's priceless. I will not find those lessons in any school. I found them in the school of life. Exactly, yeah.

Because an achievement is not always when we win a prize. But, also when we become a better person. 

So, my future achievements, I want to be stronger and more patient. For now, thank you to my self, 

O, my self..

I know, you complained. You wondered. You wanted to give up. You hurt. 

However, you kept going and facing all those. You didn't run away. You tried so hard to be strong.

--🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸--

May Allah always guide my life on the right path.

I will give my back a pat, --many times and always calm it down softly. 

I am not alone in this world because my Creator is always with me.  

--✨✨✨✨✨--

Pain is The Cure

Sometimes, we find ourselves back after a huge accident or a great lose;whether we lose our job, our best friends, our family, or even someone we love very much. 

Sometimes, we know our selves better after we go far away from home, or from where we belonged to. 

It's okay if we ever lost ourselves. Our world doesn't end when we are dealing with something painful. It's not also God is turning His back on us.

I know, it is hard to "accept".

Why does this thing happen to me? 

Why do I have to bear this problem. 

How long will I be like this?

We must ever wonder like that. But, we must learn to "accept" the bad taqdeer/destiny as well, not only we accept the good ones. 

We will not learn anything if we are not in pain. We will be stupid if we never learn. We will be happy and our eyes will be brighter after we have accepted and learned the pain that has happened in our beautiful life.  

I hope this picture will entertain your eyes... 💚💚💚💚

The Differences of Living in Medan and Riyadh (Part 3 -- The Last Part)

Omg, omg..
It's been a week I didn't write anything.
This month, it's been a lot to do at school.

So, I am right now trying to make time to write something, eventhough I just have one hour fifteen minutes before going to the class. 

Okay, I wanna talk about the differences of living in Riyadh and my city--Medan--, one more time or I think this is the last part of it. I am gonna write two things again this time. 

1. Getting on A Bus 

Honestly, in this section, I am gonna tell about my unpleasant experiece that I experienced when I was living in Saudi. Of course, something bad could always happen in our life wherever we are. And I never expected getting on a bus in Saudi (to go to another city) would be something I disliked. Since the culture is so different like in Indonesia or in my city. 

I know, it's good actually because in any places, in Saudi, they usually divide the sections between men, women, and family. Like on a train, at a restaurant, or a cafe, even in a line, including on a bus. I truly admire this division. 

But at that time, I was going to Madinah for the first time with my friends. So, we thought, who was earlier to come to the bus, they could sit in every seat they wanted. But, it didn't work that way. The driver or the worker on the bus will arrange the seat, whether it was a request from the local people or the driver himself. But, as it seemed that moment, it was a request from the people. They were a family so they wanted to sit close to each other. 

I frankly felt uncomfortable that moment. Because, I thought it was just not fair. Then, my Thai friends also asked us to stay in the seat. So, some of us stayed, some didn't. It triggered an argument between my Thai friends and the driver. It was surely not a good moment. 

Another experience, when I was going to Dammam, the same thing happened again. I'd chosen my seat. But then, I was moved to another one. The driver who arranged the seat. So, I felt discomfort. But, yeah what I can do, right?

The culture is so different like in Indonesia especially in my city. First come, first get. That's the culture in my city. People can literally have an argument if there is anyone who takes their seat 😂 


Well, yeah, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Like this saying, we must honour the culture where we live. Moreover we are a comer. Sometimes, it takes time to accept the difference, which is even the opposite of what we used to live with. We can learn here that we can't be a stubborn person and learn to respect the culture from different places. This is one of the beauties of living in a different country. We will learn so many things so much.

But, one thing that I know. Sometimes, we might have an argument with Saudis. But, they actually have a gentle heart. They will easily forget the arguing, no grudges or hard feelings. It is something that we can learn from them as well.

2. Places to Pray

There are so many mosques in Indonesia. Especially in my city, you can easily find mosques to pray. While in Saudi, especially in Riyadh, I think the same too. But, the difference is in Saudi, we can pray everywhere. Literally everwhere, even on the streets. They even provide sajadah / carpet on the street. Something that we don't do in Indonesia or in my city.

You will not find people pray on the street or in the park in Indonesia. Indonesians will think it's weird. They will say, "It's like there is no mosque. Why people pray on the street." This is something I very like about Saudi, able to pray in every place . I've ever prayed outside and in the park. But, yeah, we have to prepare sajadah wherever we go. 

What I admire also, the awareness of local people with prayer times. It's beautiful. When the adthan comes, most of people will go right away to pray. No matter where they are, even when it's in a fancy mall or in a tradional market. That is just so cool. 

(My friends and I were praying outside after we saw a camel race. No idea who took the picture 😅)

I know these two last things of the differences do not only happen in Medan or Riyadh. I brought up common ones that are familiar in the whole countries.  

Okay, I guess that is all. Actually, there are still a lot of the differences between the two cities. But I made it finish until this part. Insya Allah, I will write about living in Saudi in another chapter next time. See ya. Have a good day everyone! 🥰🥰🥰