That was the topic for my presentation. Though I have prepared a draft to present, it turned out to be an open discussion, just ten minutes after I started. It was better that way, cause I felt a bit nervous if only we had one-way communication. I got many questions. We talked about labor welfare in Indonesia (especially for women), maternity leave rights, salary, general rights, education for girls, career, women production and reproduction functions, and public vs domestic issues. There were questions relating to the cost of education that I found difficult to answer. One of them asked the percentage of the school fee in comparison to the parents' monthly salary. Honestly, I didn't know, cause every province, even every school, had its own regulation. I had left my school years more than fifteen years ago. I am not involved in this issue and don't follow the latest news about it. The only way I can follow is through the discussion in mailing lists and blogs, and every time I got different information. One paid millions Rupiahs just to enroll in an elementary school plus a relatively high amount of money for monthly school fee, but many people can afford to send their children with much less amount than that. So how much is it actually the school fee nowadays?

We then ate the food I served; Ketan tabur kelapa parut (resep nyontek Ikaray. Makasih ya, Ka!), Lumpia goreng dan Lumpia basah, Bolu kukus (yang sebagian bantat, tapi baru sadar kalau bantat setelah dihidangkan he he he), dan Wedang Kembang Tahu (resep nyontek Bu Simple Kitchen. Makasih ya, Bu!). Special thanks for Tira, Atta, Alex, Hani, and May, who helped me in collecting pictures, and Ita plus Lina for the support (kayak pidato penghargaan Oscar yah!). Too bad, none of us in the room had a brillian idea to take even one single picture for the event! *sigh*

I got this award from, not only one, but two friends. Honestly, I don't really know what kind of achievement I gain that I deserve to have it. At the second thought, I think this is an award for the Ramadhan itself, for the friendship, and for the struggling to keep our faith alive. This is the way how my friends care about me, that they think of me. And I am very touched. Thank you, dears!

antownholic.com, dee-adp.blogspot.com, pencakarlangit.blogspot.com, questionquince.blogspot.com, dessycherrypone.blogspot.com, greicheanwar.blogspot.com, raygatrasadi.blogspot.com, keiraadzra.blogspot.com, nadhiramalena.blogspot.com, bundadanulya.blogspot.com, obrolanwanita.blogspot.com, yudhistira31.wordpress.com, kepak-kepik.blogspot.com, sisesu.wordpress.com. duaes.blogspot.com, sterneamhimmel.de, rukma.net, durin.pitas.com.

I don't know to whom I should forward this award. Too many to mention. Besides, it is the end of Ramadhan anyway. Nobody will spend time too much in the computer. So I give it to all my friends around the world. May our relationship lasts forever.

Welcoming Idul Fitri, I have made my mind that this time I will not play Taqbir too often. If listening Takbir makes me sadder and ruins my precious happy moments with my family, then I better save it for certain times at the night before Idul Fitri. We will listen it together, and then we will laugh again for any silly things happen at home before I fall in the deep sadness. Everybody has his/her own way to deal with his/her pain. And this is my way.

Selamat Idul Fitri, ya!

Dearest Friends, you're lovely! Thanks a bunch for your responses on my previous post. I feel blessed to have you all. I will do my best for the D-day, cause it involves you. It is about us, Indonesians.

I am not sure if I can write this page for the next two or three weeks. Just in case I can't, I want to wish you all a happy and blessed Ramadhan and Idul Fitri. Amen.

Dear friends, I need your help. Seperti tahun lalu dan dua tahun lalu, tahun ini saya diminta Deutsche Frauenring (German Women Organisation) untuk kembali menjadi referan (kostenlos sih, cuma ada ganti untuk hidangan Indonesianya :D) di salah satu agenda dalam kegiatan Ausländerwochen (freely translated as Immigrant-Integration Weeks). Jadi setiap tahun selalu ada satu program khusus tentang Indonesia. One man show, soalnya saya bener-bener sendirian cerita tentang dan ngomong tentang Indonesia di sana. Ngga banyak sih yang dateng awalnya. Ngga sampai lima belas orang, di tahun pertama. Waktu itu saya cerita tentang Indonesia, kulturnya, bahasanya, orang-orangnya, kemajemukannya, pendidikan, kebiasaan dan cerita cerita lucu yang jarang mereka baca di buku-buku. Saya cerita yang netral-netral saja. Topik-topik kritis memang saya hindari di forum perkenalan begitu.

Tahun kedua, saya pilih topik tentang Makanan Indonesia, dengan fokus Nasi Tumpeng Kuning. Saya masak nasi kuning semi komplit, lengkap dengan hiasan bunga cabe di atas puncak Tumpeng. Berhubung daun pisang cuma sedikit, akhirnya lauk-pauknya saya taruh di cekungan daun Wirzing. Lumayanlah. Waktu itu yang dateng lumayan banyak, ada 20-25 an, padahal saya masak ngga sebanyak itu. He he he

Tahun ini saya pilih topik tentang wanita bekerja di Indonesia. Yah namanya juga Deutsch Frauenring. Kan topik ginian lebih menarik bagi mereka. Mestinya mereka ingin tahu juga tentang rekannya di negara lain. Masa mau cerita tentang PJKA Indonesia?

Saya sudah siapkan makalahnya, beberapa materi penunjang (kebetulan saya punya --eh jualan-- lukisan batik yang salah tiganya bermuatan filososi tentang wanita, pria, dan breadwinner (bisa dicek di online shop--he he he promosi teteup!). Di kepala saya juga sudah tersusun protokolernya, hantaran musik yang mesti diputar, dan kue-kue khas Indonesia (dalam hal ini Jawa tentu saja). Nah the problem is: selain foto dari beberapa majalah wanita Indonesia yang nanti juga akan saya jentreng di sana, saya belum punya foto yang sesuai dengan tema. Antara lain foto wanita yang sedang menekuni pekerjaannya, tidak saja di kantor tapi juga pekerjaan non kantor: di rig kapal, di pabrik pesawat terbang, di pasar, ibu petani, penjahit, guru, dan sejenisnya. Rencananya foto-foto ini akan saya susun dalam bentuk video dan di putar di layar televisi di sana. Alasannya sederhana: saya ngga punya Beamer/proyektor yang bisa nampilin foto langsung dari laptop ke dinding. DFR juga ngga punya. Nah!

Jadi begitu intinya. Kalau sudah ada videonya sih lebih asyik ya. *nglunjak* Credit tentu saja akan saya cantumkan. Saya sudah browse di Youtube tapi ngga ada yang sesuai tema, soalnya sebagian besar (terutama untuk mendukung tahun kunjungan wisata Indonesia) lebih banyak menampilkan panorama dan kesenian Indonesia. Wanita yang lagi kerja ditampilin minim banget.

Oh iya, saya baru sadar kalau jadual saya itu bertepatan dengan hari pertama Idul Fitri. Tapi sore. Dungu juga sih saya. Dikasih jadual iya iya doang. Akhirnya repotnya jadi dobel.

Eh iya, kalau kasih referensi juga boleh. Nanti saya yang akan minta ijin yang bersangkutan. Tengkyuh ya!

Sorry for the delay, Tira, but lately I didn't touch computer once I got home. But this weekend I make it. So this was our fasting break menu yesterday. I also call it a rescue snack, cause it is our quick solution anytime we are hungry in the critical time. Critical time means the time we are not supposed to eat, such as around midnight. Relating to Ramadhan, critical time also means the time shortly before Iftar or Imsak. It is very quick to make, easy, and simple. We just need some slices of brown bread (here we call it 'black bread' though the color is brown), slices of sausage (I take turkey mostly), slices of apple, and slices of cheese (Gouda/Edamer, doesn't matter. It depends on which one is cheaper he he he). Then we arrange one slice over the others starting from a slice of butter-smeared bread, a slice of sausage, several thin slices of apple, a slice of cheese and above it we pour some paprika powder and sesame grains. Bake them in the oven for 10-5 minutes, 180 grade of temperature (until the cheese melts and crispy). We can eat it with Worcester Sauce (or Saos Inggris? :D)

Friday is mostly a cooling-down day. I can come home early so I can do more at home. The weather was good yesterday, so we grilled this turkey satay. But at the end I had to re-warmed them again in the oven, together with the cheese-apple-breads.

Talking about simplicity in cooking, I always remember what my colleague used to say to me back in Indonesia, "One of a simple way of life was less in taking ingredients by cooking. We should not take more than three (or five?) ingredients. More than that, we don't lead a simple way of life (or living in luxury). Wow! (jadi masak soto, rawon, dan sejenisnya sudah termasuk hidup mewah dunk).

Anyway, I got a call from my sister that she has received the magazine with my published children stories inside.Curios.

Update: quick note: terima kasih buat teman-teman yang sudah ngucapin selamat ulang tahun buat F dan selamat berpuasa. Maaf baru ngecek comment system, ternyata banyak komen baru yang telat daku baca. Terlanjur basi respon saya, jadi balesannya borongan di sini ya. Many thanks! Have a nice weekend!

Sahur hari pertama, menunya nasi, tumis buncis wortel dan telur dadar teri. Dan cabe tentu saja. Disantap berdua bareng Masé, dengan proporsi cabe yang lebih banyak di piringnya. Nggak méncrét, Mas?

Buat semua yang sedang menjalankan puasa, selamat berpuasa ya. Semoga ibadah kita diterima Alloh SWT. Maaf kalau ada salah dari saya.

Honestly saying (err---or writing, in this case), I have been loosing my interest in blogging. Temporarily, I am sure. I won't blame the causes on the daily activities, the lack of time, mood, endless overwhelming problems, and so on. It is just so.

Fab had three weeks holiday last July. Kindergartens had no official holiday actually. They were still open and took care children whose parents didn't have a leave. We just had to let the director know in time that our child didn't take a vacation. The number of available educators during these supposed-to-be-holiday weeks depended on the number of children who were registered as no-holiday-children.

I was a full-time mother until five months ago. It means, it didn't really matter if Fab stayed at home or not cause if he did, I was always available for almost 24 hours either in good or bad weather. Well, I have not been always available anymore since five months ago, and I forgot it. So I didn't register Fab as a no-holiday-kid until the deadline in May. This thing was out of thought until the date was approaching. Panic attacked. Who would be with him for three weeks? Fab's dad finally took a leave. Fab enjoyed a full-three-weeks-vacation at home with various activities. Swimming, either in the real swimming pool or just in a gummy pool. Visiting a Fairy-Tale cave. Visiting a water fall. Wandering in the forest. Private Firework Touring, thanked to a good friend of his dad. Helping his dad to renovate one room in our house. And more. Problem solved.

Change the subject.

This week is the last week of Gastronomy Module. An interesting Module with a great team to work with. We have good laugh a lot everyday. It is a kind of relieving to feel that way, cause as far as I can remember, I seldom laugh that way with local people here. We have the same sense of humour and the same topics of interest to talk about without one of us taking the part as the one who knows best. From this small group, I finally found someone whom I can call: a friend. She is the first local people of my age with whom I can talk almost anything comfortably.

Last week we cooked Indonesian food. I took the full control for the whole process. Ahem. We went shopping together, and when one of my colleague asked our lecturer if we needed Nectars, he answered, "Ask the Chéf!". He he he. I instructed them, including our lecturer, what to do. One of his taks was to crush peanuts with my stone 'cobek' (oh oh, I forgot what it calls in English).

Anyway, I chose Siomay (fish filled Wantan) with self made peanut sauce as Appetizer. I have offered my colleagues Wantan Soup as an alternative, but they decided that peanut sauce was more exotic to try. The main menu was Fried Rice, Thun fish with chillies, and pure veggie Capcay. The dessert was Rujak Manis, or fruits salad with Javanese Palm Sugar. I brought shrimps chips and Belinjo, and let my colleagues having fun in frying them in the wok. They liked watching the chips getting bigger in the hot oil. Everybody was having fun in cooking and enjoying the foods. Tasks completed.

(Sorry no pictures. My camera has been broken since July).

Chilly winds in Germany knocked my head that I FINALLY decided to activate my account in Wordpress. I have been having it for a long time but didn't give enough attention to maintain it. So, have a nice visit to my other playground!

This week culinary: Indonesian food.
Resource: Durin.

Waks! Masak apa yah yang Succes-proof?

Anyway, today I taught people in the class how to pronounce Sambal Ulek correctly. Do you know that most people here pronounce it "Sambal Olék" instead of "Sambal Ulek"?

Update: Indonesian food canceled. Resourcenya belum siap resep :D

Still about birthday, but in a different angle :D

Imagine this. Today is your birthday. You have been living in a new environment long enough to make friends, so your birthday may not be as quiet as the first year. You invite nobody, but you know some buddies may come to congrats you personally, not by phone, cards or emails. The problem is: you are not sure if someone DOES come, and when it happens, you are not sure how many and at what time exactly. You can either end up preparing too much food and cakes, or shaming yourself by serving rest food or cakes for your guests.

Those are the reasons why I always restless when one of our family members has Birthday. I have been thinking of snacks, cakes, or food I can prepare when unplanned guests come. Those kinds that don't need more than 10 minutes to prepare. If you have a problem like me (or at least if you consider it as a problem, like I do), this book may be the answer. It shows various snacks which we can serve cold and quickly for various chances. Big and clear pictures accompany every receipt, so you can let your imagine go further in decorations. It calls Cold Plate. Though the preparations take mostly between 10-30 minutes, the trip to shop doesn't include. It means, we should already have the ingredients you need to make cold plates (we can adjust them accordingly).

What you should have :
• Dried ingredients : noodle, rice, flavour, schoko streusel
• Sauces and friends: Senf, Tomato paste, Soya sauce, Worcestersauce, Tabasco, Mayonaise, Sahnemeerettich.
• Gewürze and Kräuter: Salt, fresh Pfeffer (not powdered), Curry, Paprika powder, Muskat nut, dried Thymian, Rosmarin, Oregano, Parsley, Schnittlauch.
• Konserven: Tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, Artischokenherzen, Kapern, Sardellen, Thunfisch, Heringsfilet, Bratheringe, Rotkohl, fruits.
• Fat and Oil: Butter, Kräuterbutter, Margarine, Olive oil, Sunflower-, Distel- or Raps oil, milk, sahne, Crème fraiche, fresh cheese, Quark.
• Meats/fish: Fish fillet, lachs fillet, chicken and chicken fillet.
• Fruits and Vegetables: Citrus, limes, berries, onion, potatoes, asparagus, baby corn.

Arrangements:
• every plate should have an inner logic. The center point should be clearly recognized. For example: we fill slices of tomatoes and cucumbers at the left and the right side of the plate, and then fried or smoked meats/fishes/chicken in between. This arrangement then was 'wrapped' with satays of cheese and fresh fruites around the plates. There is always possibility that guests will 'ruin' the arrangement after a while. So we should also think forward, how to prevent a chaos arrangement after that. It is important to build the clear line arrangement; either straigt, diagonal, oder v formed lines.
• Every piece should be presented in a way that the guests can take or cut it out without difficulty. The best choice is to present each piece in a small size.
• We can also decorate it with fresh fruits such as wine or strawberries (not small berries which may cause a chaotic arrangement.
• We can decorate the plates with fresh fruits such as wine or strawberries (not small berries which may cause a chaotic arrangement after a while). When we have enough time and more effort to create a beautiful arrangement, we can create flowers , baskets, leaves, etc made from fresh fruits and vegetables. Remember that every thing we serve on the plate should be eatable just as it is. And so are the decorations. Roses look wonderful on the plate, but we cannot eat them. Instead of putting roses, we can create roses from tomatoes, radieschen, or chillies. The bottom part of raw caisin may look like a beautiful green flower when we cut about 5-10 cm from the bottom, but I am not sure the guests can eat them that way.









With big and clear pictures, this book is a great guidance for me. It shows how to serve, and provide receipt for several events, from New Year until the end of the year. From Asian (represented by Japan and India), Kid Birthday, Grill Saison, Vegetarian Culinaire, and all. Recommended.

I feel blessed to find the book a few months ago. The bless is double because I get the chance to learn more about the arts of serving meals, decorating table, and table manners in the new Module I am taking now.

Yesterday, 1st July, F had the U8 - the 8th General Check-Up for children. Since they are born, babies, toddler and children have to go through this check-up several times in certain periode. We are happy with the results, so were the doctor and the nurse. I myself am astonished seeing him so cheerful, full of self confidence and firm during the test. I mean, he acts as usual. But seeing him sitting there, facing the desk to do all the tests and answered all questions without doubts, talked with them in logical meaning, I was astonished. He is doubtfull and tell stories in a strange logic sometimes; or the kind of stories which people understand when they know the whole context (things are not explained in F's stories). I was also relieved that he understood everything the nurse and the doctor said. He didn't understand too much on the last test two years ago. The bilingual conversation we applied on him gave that effect, and he had not enrolled in the KIndergarten yet.

Anyway, the tests consisted of noun recognition, drawing a human, a house, and a tree, hearing and eyes test, walking, and some questions I had to answer on his ability to fulfill daily tasks and needs. He still has difficulties in recognizing colors (though we have introduced him before he enrolled in the Kindergarten), and his 's' and 'sch' were not perfect yet. I also told them about his 'dreaming' habit. I mean, sometimes he looks like thinking something in his mind while people around him discussing or even talking to him. He looks like psychologicaly somewhere. The doctor could not assume anything on his dreaming habit because he could concentrate along the test and the result of his drawing was not bad. And about the colors, there is no other way than keep teaching him and training him to separate Lego or Halma based on the colors (without forcing him to mention the colors).

He is left-handed, by the way. I have noticed it since he was a baby. The nurse said that it was alright and we should not force him to use his right hand cause it could give a bad impact. I don't know. They are professional, aren't they? So they know what they are saying. We don't intend to force F to use his right hand of course, but we can train him to use both his hand, right? So he can interact well with people from the culture where giving and taking hands with right hand is regarded as politeness. Another reason: we don't need extra scissors and guitars for left-handed people. :D

And here is the four years old boy on his birthday. A garden party, with the Shaking Cake, Tofu Schottel, and a Fruit Mouse made by his dearest Mom, plus a chocolate birthday cake made by his dearest Pa.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 12:14 a.m. |

The Last Week in BWF

This week is my last week in BWF -Berufsfortbildungswerk- one of three learning centers in my town. I have spent three weeks here learning Excel and Access. These Modules are not really new for me, but at least now I know, that the requirement of having European Computer Driving License as stated in job vacancy is not so scary as I thought before. It is just ordinary computer knowledge many Indonesian can. :D

Being the only Indonesian (and Asian) in the class, I often surprise my classmates with the fact that I am familiar with PC; the programms, and all. They were surprised more when they knew that I had learned and used these Microsoft things since I was in Indonesia. Then I told them nastily and sarcasticaly, "Oh yes, we also have computers and Microsoft there!" Ha!

Monday, June 30, 2008 02:36 p.m. |

Life in bullets

Really sorry for this long absence. Though I sit in the front of computer and internet almost all through the day, I don't have enough time to write on this page or check friends' blog. The last thing I want to touch at home, especially in the weekends, is the computer. Enough is in the school.

Many things happened since the last entry when I wrote about F's birthday. I write about them later, not in detail, but the thought I come up with them. Lessons learned. Noted. For now, here are some quick updates in bullets:

• F's birthday and the scandal - we had a bit yadda yadda yadda in F's Kindergarten. And the effort I made to recover it failed. Nie wieder!
• This week is my second week in the new Learning Center. We are ten people. I sit down nearby the window so I can look out of the window anytime. But I don't do it too often because the view is just a block of old unfunctioned fabrics. Just when my eyes get tired. But it did reflect on the diagramm I am creating on Excel: I choose bricks most of the time. :D
• There was a job of the month in our small town. I got the chance and have ruined it. Still recovering from the pain, I have some thoughts to share. Especially if your situation is like mine: immigrant, and long stay at home wife/mom. I share my thought, you share yours. More about it later.
• Summer feast in F's Kindergarten. He sang, danced, and really liked his appearance on the stage (well, it is not really a stage, though). He even joined in a group of girls presenting an Indian belly dance! He was the only boy in the group. His teachers made a joke he should join a belly-dance course. Funny, for sure. Too bad, my pocket camera was broken, and I don't have any single pic of him yesterday. Oh, thinking about pics, the PC in F's Kindergarten was stolen a couple of weeks ago. The thief broke the window glass, and took only the PC without taking the printer and the loud speakers.
• Summer time is outdoor activities activities. Mostly in weekend, we give F many adventurial experiences. So, less in front of the computer.

Anyway, that's all for now. Have a nice Thursday!

Thursday, June 19, 2008 12:25 p.m. |

He is four years young now

Masih suka ikutan sibuk di dapur. Bantuin mama masak, bantuin papa bikin kue. Dari tabur-tabur coklat di muffin, sampai jilatin baskom sisa adonan kue dan pengocok di mixer sampe licin.

Masih suka main air.

Masih suka ketawa. Bahkan di saat tidur.

Dan hari ini, bersamaan dengan hari Bumi, bocah ini memasuki tahun kelima dalam hidupnya. Doa kami yang terbaik untukmu, Nak. Dan harapan kami yang terindah untuk hidup dan kebahagiaanmu. Amin.

Thursday, June 5, 2008 12:38 p.m. |

Feeling beautiful, being beautiful

There are people who can easily feel beautiful. So easy, that you have to close your ears tightly cause you are tired hearing their over-self-confidence. But there are also people who are difficult to feel that way. No, not because they never feel to be beautiful enough, but they don't even dare to feel it. The kind of people who need constant persuasions from others that they are and they can be beautiful.

Yesterday I brought my earring collection to the class and stole one and half hours of the (supposed) lesson hour for presenting them to my classmates and the teacher. It was under the permission of my lecturer of course. To make it short, they are interested. And it was like the hour of fashion session, cause we didn't just comment each other's look with different earrings, but also clothes, and all. And we succesfully made someone feel more beautiful and comfortable with the new look she never dared to try before. It was a good feeling to see her that way. It was a real good feeling to know that your creation can change someone's life, even just in a small part.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 12:56 a.m. |

Bureau Organization

The first day of my second week in the new Learning Center will be over in 30 minutes. This LC is called Akademie f�r Wirtschaft und Technologie. I learn Bureau Organization and Communication for four weeks here, or basically it is a secretarial module. The first week was about the latest rules of German Language which were quite confusing for my classmates who have been used to the old deutsch Rechtschreibung (the old rule of German). Lucky me, I am not so confused because I didn't even know the old version he he he. Just like a wise man said, "I learn a lot, I forget a lot. I learn nothing, I forget nothing." :D

What I am learning are not new things, but I have fun in creating letters, layers, working with images, and I can browse and blogwalking anytime while I am waiting for the lecturer coming back from making copies of our materials. Today is a self learning day, so I brought a novel, too.

Here are some photos I made today.

My class with two lecturers who teaches interchangably and four classmates. The building is located in an industrial but a relatively quiet area. If we were lucky, we could get a fabulous view out of the window, such as raps field, blueish village and the top of a church in the distance. We got it last week, before we move to this PC room which is one floor lower. Now we can only see raps field which is peeping under the trees.

And these are samples of web I use to peep during the session. Can you guess whose blogs are these? :D

Monday, May 19, 2008 02:12 p.m. |

BBQ till we drop

Long weekend, good weather. We spent days in the backyard; Hubby continued renovating the Heating Room. I washed shocks, hung them on the washing lines, moving baby plants (yeah yeah, including the spinat, Ma'am!) and played with Fab. He himself was busy with water, football, earth, soup and cacao milk made from dirty water, earth, and leaves, and served them all to us (and we had to consume them pretendly otherwise he would be angry). We ended the day with BBQ. Everyday. Until on Monday when no shops open, we ran out things to burn on the grill, so I made an emergency grilled fishes with any ingredients I could find (pic on the left before it was grilled). I didn't have a Kräuterbutter, so I took a normal butter, added with parsley and dill. Plus citrus, onion, salt and pepper. Served with grilled potatoes and salad. The taste of the fishes was not great, but not bad either.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:11 a.m. |