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! 🥰🥰🥰

Another Weekend Together with My Nephew 💕

I missed my nephew and nieces so much. And it was such a surprise when I came home last Saturday, there they were, welcoming me in front of the house excitedly. "Ammah.. Ammah..." They called me loudly as if I couldn't hear them. 😅

I was fantastically happy seeing them, I entered the house and hugged them very tightly. But it was only my nieces. My nephew stayed inside the room. He was playing hard to get 😏 

He's that kind of kid. Sometimes, he's excited to meet me. Other times, he's pretending that nothing's happening 😴 

I will do the same too.. 😌 Sometimes, I will immediately hug and kiss him. But there are times that I will tease and annoy him first 😌

But you know, it's always him who will always stay in the house when his parents and siblings leave our house. It's always him who will beg to his dad to come home with me -- when I am in their house -- and have a sleepover at our home. 

We have a special bond. He's my second date after my little brother 😄 So, we had a fun date again this weekend haha, we had a great time together (again). 

After, his father and siblings left the house. He already had asked my dad to take him to the nearest shop to buy some snacks. Afterwards, I bathed him, fed him, and then, we had a nap. 🛌

In the late afternoon, we went outside to find something to eat. I was starving. I was kinda confused what should we eat. But then, we saw Pao bread. And omg, the Pao was delicious, the chocolate was melting. Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic of it. We bought also satay of shell as side dish that we ate with white rice and vegetables; that my mom cooked. And it was superb. We really enjoyed the food and ate a lot 😂

But, at night, he was hungry again 😅 maybe because after magrib, we went outside to fill up the gas of my motorbike. Then, we went wandering from one road to another. So, I asked my dad to buy him fried rice. In Indonesia, there's a saying, if you get hit by the wind from riding the motorbike, you will get hungry easily after it. 

        (We were taking a picture on the motorbike 😁)

Not a long from that, we went to bed. Yeah, we slept earlier. I told him that tomorrow we were gonna go for a walk. He was excited. 

I woke up early before fajr. I didn't expect that he woke up too. So he followed me to take wudhu. Then, we prayed fajr together. Afterwards, I slept back but he stayed awake watching Doraemon. 

He woke me up a few times since he couldn't wait to go outside. I just answered, "Just wait a little a while. It's still dark outside." Then I got back to sleep 😴🛌😂

Eventually, we went outside for a walk. We didn't go too far. But it was exciting. We talked about anything along the way. One thing that I love about our bonding. I can talk about anything to my nephew and I feel that he understands what I say. It's like talking to my best friend. We've been doing the talk since he was four. He's a such good listener. ✨

I took pictures of him when he was kicking something on the road. And the photos looked so natural. I captured the pictures in the good shot. 

We stopped by the shop and bought some food. When we arrived at home, I cooked our breakfast. It was noodles and eggs. Haha do not get shocked, in Indonesia we breakfast noodles --with or without eggs-- and white rice. So, it's something common. The noodles with broth was kinda spicy. But, he's already able to handle spiciness. Also, in Indonesia, it's an achievement if a kid is finally able to eat spicy. Weird huh? But yeah it is what it is 😅 

I spoon-fed my nephew when I was eating too. I don't know why, he actually can eat by himself. But, I just want to spoil him. It's one of my favorite things when I am with him. I am so happy if I know that he eats well. 

Theeeeen, this was the most exciting moment we did together. It was when we washed my motorbike 😆🛵 He really gladly helped me doing some chores at home. Before, he helped to fold the clothes. Now, he was feeling so fun playing and working with water. 🌊 He even really enjoyed cleaning the mess after washing the motorbike was finished. I praised him in front of my mom, "He's such a nice kid. He has helped me a lot." I said that when I was doing the laundry outside of the house and my mom was cooking in the kitchen and he was just sitting there watching me. 😁

Before he was just sitting there watching me, I'd bathed him after he got so wet from washing the motorbike. I know that he can take a shower by himself too. But, again I just want to spoil him. Before I can't do those things anymore. 

Andddd one thing that I love the most after bathing him. After I dry his body with towel, I will apply some oil and baby powder all over his body. And it will be the best scent ever and I will kiss him as much I want 😆🤣 It's like the compensation of me bathing him. Because you know, it's not always easy to bath him. He's an active kid. He jumps around and does all sorts of things in the bathroom and it makes me overwhelmed. So, kissing him repeatedly at one time is my revenge 😏😁🤍 and I know he loves it. We will fight after it with pillows or tickles. 😌

(This is eucalyptus oil and the baby powder. Perfect combination!)

My chores in that morning were not finished yet. My nephew was suddenly quiet. And turned out, he was so sleepy. Yeah, he was tired after doing a lot of things, waking up so early, walking, washing motorbike and watching me do the laundry 😂 So, I let him asleep peacefully while I was cleaning the house.  

Woooohhh, it' already a very long story, although we still had other things that we did before he went back home. So, I am just gonna finish the story. 

Well, he slept very long during that day. When actually, I couldn't wait to feed him with the best cooking in the world; my mom's cooking. She cooked shrimp soup and bakwan. I definitely fed my nephew a lot and felt happily satisfied. 

And the coming home time had arrived, my little brother was gonna escort him home. And this was the hardest moment;when we were gonna say goodbye. 

In my room, I asked him to hug me. We hugged quite long and tightly. I asked him, "Will you miss me? 'Cause I will miss you so much." He answered, "Yes, I will". I know he was sad to leave. He kept saying repeatedly, "Bye, bye, Ammah.. Bye, bye grandma. I will come again later." 

It was such a wonderful weekend with him. He's made me to be a good aunty and he's been a wholesome nephew too. And we've created good memories in each heart. 

🌸🌸 And in the future, I want him to read this, to make him know more, how much I love him 🌸🌸

🫠 It's Hard Being A Foodie

This week, I have been craving food. A few days ago, I craved chocolate bread. Then I bought it yesterday. Today, I am craving savoury food. I want "tempura". It's fish with flour. And it's sooooo good. But I just went to the canteen. No tempura left. I headed back to the office disappointedly. So, I just wanna write this and am hoping that I can solve this craving without buying the food. 

I wish I was not a foodie 🥲

🌚 Boys are Naive 🌚

Yesterday, I brought my phone to the class. So, my boy students saw it and they asked to me about a picture on my phone's wallpaper. 

"Umi, is that your son?"

I answered yes. 

"Really?" They all looked shocked. 

"I thought you were not married yet." said one of them still surprised.

"Yeah, you look like you're not married yet." added another.

And then I opened an album on my phone and I showed them more pictures.

"Wow, you have a lot of kids." 

"Yeah, I do. This is the first one, he's 6 years old. This is the second one, she's five. And the little one is almost three." 

"Wow, how old are you, Umi?" They still couldn't believe it. 

"I'm 30." 

"Really? You look like you're still in your 20s."

I smirked. 

"Where's your husband?"

"Yesssss, where's your husband???????"

They still were so curious.

"My husband is still travelling." I said, smiling wider. hahahahha....


I didn't mean to lie to them. I just didn't expect them to actually believe me.

Because, in the other classes, my students didn't believe me when I said that I was married and had kids. They knew that I was lying. 

But, this one class, that they all are boy students and their ages are around 11-12 years old. They were still so naive. Haha, sorry guys!  

The other classes, they even kept asking me when do I get married and they forced me to invite them to my wedding hahaha, students!

Actually, my aunty who's a teacher too ever did the same to me. That time, I was still a small kid. She took me on her school trip. At home, she said to me, "If later my students ask who you are, answer that you are my daughter." I don't know why, but I didn't do like she wanted me to. I was an angle. I coulnd't lie hahahaha 

So, back home, she was upset at me and asking me disappointly in front of our family, "Why did you not tell them that you are my child?" I don't remember what I said to her. But, after that, she ended up laughing with everyone. 

And yeah, here I am now.. doing the same every time my students asked me about who's on my phone wallpaper. But, fortunately, the pictures on my phone can't talk. Otherwise, my nephew and nieces will disappoint me and tell my students the truth.... 😁
 

The Differences of Living in Medan and Riyadh (Part 2)

 Hi.. Hi..

Good Afternoon, 

I hope everyone is having a good day..

I wanna continue sharing about the differences of living in Medan, my city and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I am gonna talk about two things again in this part. 

1. Transportation

Riyadh is the largest city in Saudi Arabia based on its population, while Medan is the third largest. So, you'll come across busy streets full of vehicles in both cities. The most widely used vehicle in Riyadh is the car, while in Medan, the most commonly used are not only the car but the motorbike too.   

I ever saw motorbikes in Riyadh quite many times. However, it's mostly for delivering food or people who have a hobby of it. In Saudi, riding motorcyle is a fancy and dangerous hobby, in my city, we ride motorbike everywhere we go. Even if it's just to a very near place. Yeah, most people are not into walking, the same like in Saudi. 

One of the things that I loved when living in Riyadh was the metro. It's not only wonderfully cheap, especially for students, only 2 riyals -- normal price : 4 riyals --. It's also because I had to walk to get the station -- I love walking -- and also it's not too tired when we just sit on a vehicle and we can do another beneficial thing while we're on it. 

It's surely different when we ride a motorbike. We will get hot when it's a hot weather and we will get soaked and cold if it's a rainy season, and we can't do anything else while riding it. I wish there was such metro in my city, with very affordable price hehe... 

My friends and I were lucky because the metro was launced in Riyadh when we were still living there. Otherwise, it would be so expensive for us as students taking an uber. But, still there was a place that we wanted to visit and the metro couldn't reach it. So, we needed to take an uber. Since I went together with my friends, we could split the fare. 

2. Hospitality

When the first time, I arrived in Riyadh. I greeted the driver --that picked me up at the airport-- when we met in the dorm in another time. And you know what was the response? He might were confused why I greeted him 😭😭😂😂. Because in Indonesia, we must greet everyone, if we don't want people to call us arrogant or unfriendly person.

So, it's not something common to greet or smile to the opposite gender to people in Saudi. It even could be something that misunderstood. But, you can greet people the same gender with you. They will reply your salam so friendly. 

Okay, I guess that's all for now. I will edit or continue if I have time. I need to check my students eating lunch right now. See you. Hope you guys found something useful in my writing. 

Again, I guess you can easily know which pictures are in Medan and which ones are in Riyadh 😁

🌷🤍🪲

Do you still remember the story of a bloom and a dragonfly? 

It was one of my favorite analogies. I never liked animals -- except dragonflies. I used to play outside with my childhood friends in the late afternoon. Before the sun went down. 

I liked pretending to be a veterinarian, curing the dragonflies that perched on trees. Funnily, years later, I caught many dragonflies for my science assignment. It was such a fun experience.

Then, years later, I met a unique dragonfly. I broke its wings because it fell for me. The dragonfly with broken wings couldn't fly anymore and it loved alighting on my hand. 

But, suddenly, the dragonfly wanted to fly back. I was devastated. I chose to sit still. Afterwards, a bunch of flower beetles flew towards me. I didn't care how many wanted to stay. I only wanted my dragonfly. 

And time keeps flying too. I no longer feel anything toward that dragonfly. It's been ages. I know now -- a dragonfly alights on a bloom only to rest.  

But a flower beetle, it's different; it can have a connection with a bloom. Funnily lately, I've been wistfully wanting a flower beetle. It alighted on my hand for one night. And then, it went away. 

No matter how many dragonflies or other flower beetles came, wanting to perch on my hand. I still want only that flower beetle. 

Both of my hands are closed now to anything that wants to land on them. I have no clue when I'll open them again for another flower beetle. I surrender to time..

Can Colleagues Become Friends?

In the old days, I didn't believe my friend when he once said, "Colleagues are not friends." How could he think like that? 

How could we not be friends with the people we work, eat, and even pray with every single day? It didn't make sense to me. 

Then, a year later, I started to realize that he might have been right. I was moved to another unit, and everything changed. Everything was so different. 

They transferred me to a new office with a higher position, a new boss and new colleagues. It turned out, when I was in that position, not all people wanted to be my friend. I was totally naive. 

I knew maybe that was their way of respecting me -keeping a certain distance-. But, still it wasn't easy. It made me feel lonely. 

I began to realize how great my old workplace had been and how amazing my old colleagues were. And also, that place was my first school. So, that's why I was so naive back then.

In the first two weeks, when l started working at the old unit. It felt like home already. Everything felt familiar, because of the warmth of my old colleagues. 

They did annoy me sometimes and teased me many times. But, they were warm-hearted people. They would never let a newcomer in the office just sit in silence. 

At the new unit, even after two months, I still felt strange walking to those corridors every day. The office wasn't as fun or alive as the old one. 

Now I know, what I had in the first place was something so rare that not every workplace has that. We laughed every day, joked around, or even argued openly, never talked bad behind someone's back. We didn't hold grudges. We felt safe and comfortable. 

I still remember, how lonely and stressed I was at the new unit. Then, my closest colleague from old unit came to visit me at the new office and brought me some ice cream. That was such a thoughtful gesture from her.

She knew exactly what I was going through. When I finally resigned and some people started to slander me. She cried and defended me. 

Alhamdulillah, I have her in my life. She was the colleague who welcomed me warmly. She was the one who guided me when I was new and we did many things together for almost five years at the school. 

And she was the colleague that I still met yesterday, bought me a bowl of delicious bakso and fresh young coconuts. The funny thing is we never went out like eating outside or went shopping together when we were still working at the same unit. After I resigned we've begun to do that. And the friendship has lasted for almost seven years now. 

She was not a mere colleague. She has been my friend and sister, hopefully forever.

✨ Reflection

A healthy work place -- or a healthy friendship --  can only exist when people don't gossip or talk behind each other's back. As the saying goes: don't be friends with people who gossip about others with you. Because when you are not around, you'll be the next topic.

Colleagues can become friends or not. It 

depends on how healthy the workplace environment is :)

 

The Differences of Living in Medan and Riyadh (Part 1)

Hi..

I hope everyone is doing well..

I wanna talk about the differences between living in Medan, my hometown and living in Riyadh. I know these cities are not really compatible to be compared to since Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia, and Medan is not the capital of Indonesia. I also have lived in Medan my whole life and I lived in Riyadh for only 8 months. However, I could still explain a little about the comparisons.

Okay, let’s start..

1.     The Weather

Why do I put this matter at the first? Because, it’s amazingly different. In Medan, we just have two seasons, rainy and dry season. Rainy season starts in the middle of August then lasts until December. It can rain for almost a full week. The water could be so cold or even you can still feel hot or get sweat eventhough it’s raining or in a cloudy day. Does that sound weird? The weather is even like a girl’s mood. It can change rapidly. You just checked the weather and it was hot, in a second it could change to rain suddenly. So, we as Indonesians that ride a motorbike. We bring a rain coat everywhere we go. Otherwise, we will get soaked and get cold.

All right, I will tell my experience in Riyadh now about the weather. In Riyadh, you will see grown ups are so happy taking shower under the rain. In Indonesia, I think, it’s kinda embarrassing. But, you can’t say that when you are living in Riyadh. You definitely will miss rain so much. It’s because how rare the rain is. Even, I was thrilled just to hear the thunder there. And how great the feeling was when I saw drops of the rain on the windows. Even if it was just drizzle that came down. I ever saw my story’s classmate that it was raining ice in Riyadh. Unfortunately, that time I was in another city. But, I have seen heavy rain for some times in Riyadh.

Riyadh also has winter while Medan does not. The temperature could go 1 degree Celcius. I ever went out in 12 degree and I was freezing outside hahaha. But I loved winter in Riyadh. It was soooooo nice walking during the day outside. And for the summer, I guess most people know how hot Arab country is hehe.

But here the differences of hot weather in Riyadh with my city. Honestly, the heat of both cities is the same, funnily unbearable. You can cook an egg or boil water outside. But, in Riyadh, I walked for 30 minutes outside in summer during the day (I know this sounds crazy. But yeah I did walk in summer outside with my friends in Riyadh. We were only students you know hehe) but nothing happened wit my skin. And, it doesn’t happen the same in my city. I just stand for one second under the sun, I will get tanned right away.

Yet, in Riyadh, I felt something in my nose, it was quite hard to breathe when I was walking outside in the summer. But, one thing you have to know about summer in Saudi. It’s just hot outside. Because, every place turns on ACs. We even sometimes felt so cold in the class or in the dorm. You will feel cool also in a small bus stop. In Saudi, they take the heat in summer very seriously.

2.     The Skin and Other Parts of Body

This second part is actually a warning. If you live in Riyadh. Do not ever be lazy to always put lip balm on your lips and apply body lotion very often. As the weather is very dry. The humidity is so low. I experienced blood nose, chapped lips and hands, as well as wrinkled skin. I ever got sick for 4 days. So, I isolated my self in the room. It made me lazy to apply body lotion. Then boom, both of my hands got chapped and injured. My friend thought I scratched my hands until got injured. When actually, I did nothing and it got like that its self. When I wanted to smile or greet my friends, sometimes, I had to pause for a while, and said to them, “Wait..wait.. my lips are hurt to smile.” That was really something. 

So, I guess it’s already a long writing with only 2 things. I will continue again later. I hope this information is useful for everyone.

I reckon that you could guess easily which one is in Medan and which one is in Riyadh from the pictures above. 

I Spent The Hot Afternoon with My Students

Good evening, 

I feel so tired today and my right hand is sore because I played basket ball and other sports with my girl students. Yep, I became a PE teacher this afternoon, -fulfilling duty of my absent colleague-. 

I had no idea what to do with the girls and I was frankly afraid of the sun since it was hot today. Do not judge me, in Indonesia, the most scary thing for the girls is the sun 🌞 We are not willing to get tanned. Although, the sun is something that we can't avoid from on a daily basis 😌

Here, look how hot the weather was! However, it was cloudy and windy as well! 😁

So, I can say, it was a crazy day today. Whyyyyy? I'll explain it 😊

At first, I decided to just sit and watch them to play any sport they wanted to. As it turned out, I couldn't help my self. I played. Yes. I played. 🫠 All of a sudden, that basket ball was very tempting. I no longer cared with the hot weather. 🤷

I guess, because it reminded me of my junior high time. When I was at the age of my girl students. I played basket ball for 3 years. My junior high school time was full of playing it, crazy with it. Maybe, because of that much jumping I grew up not too short (?) 😅  And at that beautiful times, who cares with the hot sun 😎

Then, yeah it was nice. Doing sport is always nice,....and fun. Moreover, we did something else too 🤣 Taking photos and videos? oh yes. Of course we did. Not only was being a PE teacher. I became my students' photographer as well 🌝 

So here the pictures are.. 

And that actually was not the "something" else I meant..

....

....

....

They climbed 😭 They climbed mango and water apples trees 😭 Oh my..!

Look, how they made an effort to get the water apples 🤏, with a broom 🌚

I think it's better for me to stay being a language teacher. Otherwise, I will follow them to climb the trees as well 🫠

Okay. Have a good night! 🏃