Archive for March, 2006

‘Nak’

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006

That was Radit’s word of the day yesterday. All day long he kept saying the word when he wants something. ‘Radit nak susu’ ‘Mah, Radit nak pipis’ ‘Radit nak makan’. Yes, ‘nak’ means ‘want’ in Malay. So, did we send him to the wrong school ? Because when we send him to school, our target was that he would learn English and socialize with his peers. Or it’s our fault for not practising English with him at home ? Well, just look at the bright side, he is learning something from school. He now can recognize simple words from his reading book. Yesterday he even got 3 stars from his teacher for being introduced and then recognize the word ‘ball’ on the same day.

A 3 years old being able to read ? I guess that’s how it is nowadays.

The world according to Radit

Tuesday, March 21st, 2006
Copied from my posting at vanalloy mailing list, 23 February 2006
100_1420a When we first arrived in KL, Radit seemed very excited with the new environment.. the first 2 weeks he never asked about his Mas & Mbak or anyone from back home, buat during the third week of our stay, probably getting bored with the hotel environment with limited things to do, he started to ask his usual environment and wanting to go back home ‘di rumah yang ada Mas Min  Mba Jum & sekolah yang ada Ibu Ida & temen2′..
Then he got excited again when we moved to the apartment & got a school for him. We got the school from an ad in the newspaper, maybe back home we could refer it to Tadika Puri, a school brand with many franchises everywhere. The main language used is English, but the teachers also speak Malay for those like Radit, who is still unfamiliar with the language. 
It went quite rough for him at the beginning, going to a new school with unfamiliar language (both English & Malay). On his first day at school I accompanied him, which was probably a big mistake because he didn’t want we out of his sight even for a second. The second day, I accompanied him to school but then left him to his teachers, who also asked me to leave. I left him there crying… but when I picked him after school he seemed to have enjoyed the day. Actually he really likes to meet and play with his peers, although with verbal communication difficulties. 
100_1466a_1Everyday Radit goes to school by a ’school bus’ that picks him up every morning and takes him back home in the afternoon. During the first few days he always cried when entering the bus, knowing his mother is not coming with him, but eventually he stopped crying and enjoys going to school with friends.
During the first few weeks at school, his teacher told me that Radit won’t speak at school, probably still having language shock. Then one day after school Radit said ‘tadi ngomong di sekolah’, meaning that he was willing to repeat what the teacher read in a book.

Now, after two months, he’s picking lots of English words from school and from the computer games he plays at home, but he mainly still speaks Indonesian, considering that he only spend 3 hours at school and the rest of the day home with his mom & dad who is still speaking Indonesian =)

As friends say, children are fast learner, they easily adapt new words. From school & his computer games, he absorbs English words. From us, he learns Indonesian words. From the tv & the environment, he learns Malay. So, sometimes he says he wants apple (English pronounciation) instead of apel, he can count from 1 to 10 in English while sometimes use ‘quatro’ instead of four (adapted from Dora the Explorer games), and once he said ‘tige’ (Malay accent) instead of ‘tiga’.   
One thing for sure, he is very talkative, given from his parents background it makes us wonder where he got it from =)

KBRI Malaysia

Tuesday, March 21st, 2006
Postingku di milis Vanalloy 22 Februari 2006
Ngomong2 tentang Indonesian consulate, last week I went to the Indonesian Embassy in KL. Actually it was my second visit, for my first visit was done about a month before. Dari jauh I could already recognize the place, lihat banyak orang nongkrong & berkerumum di depannya. Kirain ada demo, ternyata orang2 pada nongkrong, ada yang jualan minuman & banyak taksi parkir.
Inside, the view was somehow familiar, like seeing a bus terminal in Jakarta/Bandung several days before lebaran. Muka2 calo berseliweran, susah buat cari satpam/petugas & informasi di dinding kurang informatif. Ada sekitar 10 loket & banyak orang antri dgn antrian yang ga jelas, banyak yang duduk entah nunggu apa, ada semacem warteg yang rame juga & with familiar foods =)
Tujuanku ke KBRI mau minta surat ganti alamat supaya bisa dapat jatah 4 kali bebas fiskal kalo pulang kampung. Finally, aku dapat informasi kalo ada form yang harus diambil di loket 6, diisi trus diserahkan di loket 1 & 2. Tapi yang namanya loket 1 & 2 panjangnya minta ampun, krn bareng sama yang mau bikin paspor. Ngga sanggup deh, kalo harus antri saat itu & aku harus pulang utk menyambut Radit pulang sekolah.
Setelah tanya sana-sini sama yang udah pengalaman, aku pas lagi apes krn pas lagi rame. Biasanya ngga serame itu & urusan ganti alamat bisa selesai 1 - 3 hari.
So, I went back last week. The situation was somehow the same, sama ramenya. Mungkin setiap aku ke sana emang pas lagi rame2nya =( At least now I know what to do, which is queing for 1.5 hour at counter 1 utk nyerahin paspor & disuruh balik lagi dlm seminggu. Antrinya juga pake diserobot sana-sini & giving you no space to breath or even move your muscle. 
And yesterday, when I went back there to collect our pasports, aku langsung ke loket 6 yang nggada antrian. Tapi depan loket ada bapak2 yang langsung ambil receipt-ku & nanya apa orangnya ada semua + IC (Identity Card) & foto..lho, what for ? Aku bilang ini suami & anak trus si bapak bilang "oh, keluarga" trus receiptku disimpan dlm keranjang di loket 6. Five minutes later our names were called & I collected all three pasports without any questions asked from the lady behind the counter who handed our pasports.
At least now kami bisa pulang & balik lagi dgn bebas fiskal, although according to several friends, sometimes we still have to argue with the officers at Cengkareng.  Well, that will be another story to tell.

Ransel kuning

Tuesday, March 21st, 2006

Kemarin sore Nta pergi ke Ramunia di Johor untuk tugas kantor. Siang itu Radit lagi rewel & cengeng, sementara aku lagi pms. Top deh ! Sampe pas Nta pergi, Radit nangis kayaknya sedih banget ditinggal ayahnya, tapi ngga lama setelah itu dia bobo sore. Lama juga bobonya, sampe harus dibangunin & dimandiin dgn paksa karena lagi-lagi ngompol di kursi. Bangun tidur sih udah back to normal.

Malam itu Radit ngambil ransel kuning-nya yang dibeli di Mustafa Centre S’pore waktu CNY trus dia isi mainan mobil-mobilannya ‘buat dibawa ke Johor nanti’ katanya. Ranselnya itu dibawa-bawa terus, sampe mau tidur pun dibawa ke kamar. Sempet main-main di ranjang sebelum tidur, trus mainannya dimasukin lagi ke dalam ranselnya & dia pake sambil bobo. Jadinya sibuk grusak-grusuk bolak-balik & akhirnya pas mau tidur terlentang mungkin dia baru ngerasa kalo ranselnya mengganggu, jadi dia buka & disimpen di sebelahnya & bobolah dia dengan nyenyak sampe pagi.

Pagi ini Radit berangkat sekolah bawa ransel kuningnya itu, hampir semua mainannya mau dibawa tapi aku berhasil membujuknya supaya ditinggal di rumah. Isi buku dll dipindahain dari ransel hitamnya & berangkatlah dia ke sekolah.

2 hari ini tumben Radit bangun sendiri kalo pagi, biasanya harus dibangunin terus & dimandiin sambil masih merem.

demam F1

Monday, March 20th, 2006

100_2046aSebelum pergi nonton F1, sempet takut Radit ngga bakal betah di Sepang, karena akan panas & bising. Tapi ternyata dia enjoy banget nonton, sambil sekali2 nutup kuping kalo suaranya terlalu nyaring. Setelah nonton kualifikasi hari sabtu, sepanjang malam nagih terus pengen nonton lagi, untungnya emang besoknya kita mau nonton pertandingannya. Hari H, sebelum pertandingannya mulai, Radit nanyain terus ‘mana mobil balap yang kayak kemaren?’ & langsung excited pas mobil2nya lewat meskipun akhirnya ketiduran karena ngantuk.

Sekarang di rumah, dia masih seneng buka2 buku panduannya & nunjukin ‘ini mobil balap yang di Sepang’ atau minta diputerin klip yang kami rekam lewat digital kamera & hp. Mobil2an F1nya, yang udah lama belinya waktu masih di Jakarta, sekarang dibawa ke mana-mana sampe dibawa tidur. Ngga bosen-bosennya dia cerita ‘kemaren nonton mobil balap di Sepang yang bunyinya NGUEONNNGGG’

nonton F1 race di Sepang

Sunday, March 19th, 2006

Paginya Nta & Radit baru bangun jam 8. Siap-siap, sarapan, mandi, jam 9 lebih berangkatlah kami dengan route yang sama seperti kemarin. Putra LRT dari Setiawangsa turun di KL Sentral. Naik KLIA Transit dari KL Sentral ke KLIA. Naik shuttle bus dari KLIA ke drop off zone. Naik circuit shuttle dari drop off zone ke entry gate.

Hari ini lebih rame dari kemarin. Penumpang yang naik KLIA transit aja keliatannya 80% mau ke Sepang. Tapi salut untuk penyelenggara krn semuanya lancar & convenient, ngga desek2an, ngga perlu rebutan, asal antri & tertib semua lancar.

100_1983aSampai di Sepang mampir dulu ke mall area, liat-liat merchandise shops, stand-stand & yang paling menarik liat suasananya. Orang lalu-lalang dgn kostum tim favorit masing-masing. Nta sempet berfoto sama Michael Schumacher (or look alike ?) & beli topi McLaren.

Puas jalan-jalan di mall area, kami ke gate G1 tempat kami mau nonton. Wah, beda sekali sama kemarin, masih 3 jam sebelum pertandingan tapi orang udah rame duduk-duduk di rumput mencari posisi strategis utk nonton. Ada yang bawa tenda, kasur tiup, kursi plastik, macam-macam untuk kenyamanan menonton.

Sebelum pertandingan F1 ada Porsche Carrera Asia Cup dulu, lumayan ada hiburan daripada bosen. Ada hiburan lain yaitu nonton helikopter mondar-mandir bawa penumpang. It’s amazing to see the chopper land on such limited space, they have to be precise. Hiburan lainnya liat pembersihan circuit & liat safety car lewat beberapa kali. Pengen juga nyoba ikut naik safety car & feel the speed.

Jam 2 dimulai dgn parade semua driver F1 naik mobil antik keliling circuit. Dilanjutkan dengan pemanasan mobil, mulai lagi deh denger bunyi mesin-mesin jet yang nyaring itu. Setengah 3an muter 1 keliling trus ambil start position. Jam 3 dimulai dgn warm up lap lalu pertandingan dimulai. Semua penonton berdiri & nonton. Huhuhu.. Kimi Raikkonen kesenggol Christian Klien di lap pertama tepat di depan kami. Mobilnya muter-muter & nabrak ban2 penahan di pinggir dan hancur. Yah, padahal kan Kimi salah satu yang aku dukung. Ya udah, driver berikutnya yang aku dukung adalah Jenson Button yang start di posisi kedua.

Di tengah pertandingan nggada kejadian yang terlalu seru, posisi mobil pun ngga banyak berubah kecuali karena masuk pit. Radit pun tertidur di tengah-tengah pertandingan, tidak terganggu suara nyaring mobil-mobil yang lewat.Tapi ternyata nonton langsung di lapangan ngga bosen kayak kalo nonton ti tv, meskipun ngga bisa liat seluruh arena. Tau-tau udah lap terakhir & akhirnya Giancarlo Fisichella meraih posisi pertama, Fernando Alonso kedua & Jenson Button ketiga.

Kami buru2 keluar arena, takut harus antri untuk naik circuit shuttle seperti kemarin. Ternyata hari ini, selain karena kami cepat keluar dari gate, circuit shuttlenya pun lebih banyak, jadi kami bisa langsung naik tanpa harus antri untuk menuju ke drop off zone & naik bis ke klia & naik klia transit ke kl sentral.

It was a wonderful experience =)

nonton kualifikasi F1 di Sepang

Saturday, March 18th, 2006

kemarin siang kami ke Sepang nonton kualifikasi F1…seru, karena
pengalaman pertama liat international circuit, maklum, ke Sentul pun
belum pernah =)
Dari rumah kami naik public transport yang emang
udah disediain sama penyelenggara & ada beberapa pilihan. Kami
ambil naik kereta api KLIA transit dari stasiun KL Sentral ke KLIA
(airport), trus nyambung naik shuttle bus ke Sepang International
Circuit (SIC). Sampai SIC, turun di drop off zone trus naik shuttle bus
yang keliling circuit, trus turun sesuai gatenya. Very convenient. Jadi
kepikir, waktu penyelenggaraan A1 di Sentul ada public transport yang
disediain ngga ya, baca beritanya katanya kan macet banget sampe SBY
naek motor PM =)

Sejak naik kereta KLIA transit, udah keliatan penumpangnya
lebih banyak yang mau ke SIC daripada ke KLIA, paling keliatan dari
kostumnya. Sampai di SIC, suasananya makin kerasa, liat orang2
lalu-lalang pake kostum tim favoritnya, bawa bendera dll. Kami turun di
gate G, salah satu posisi hillstand, duduk di atas bukit di bawah pohon
sawit. Berhubung harga tiketnya lumayan mahal (juga buat kami yang
‘expat’, hehe..) kami pilih yang paling murah, RM 50 (sekitar Rp.
125.000) per orang untuk 3 hari. Kalo beli yang lebih mahal, bisa ngga
makan 2 minggu nanti…

100_1937aSo,
this is what an international circuit looks like… it was exciting
even just to see it from the hillstand. Waktu pertama denger mesin
mobilnya dinyalain & digerungin…wow…kayak gini toh
bunyinya..kayak denger mesin jet. sampe akhirnya liat satu persatu
mobilnya lewat dgn cepat & bising… we were very excited… even
Radit enjoyed watching the cars passing by =)

Unfortunately we couldn’t hear the announcement & there
was no sign whatsoever, so we couldn’t know who’s in what position.
Setelah satu jam & mobil2nya masuk pit lagi.. sms lah kami ke
teman2 yang kira2 nonton di tv utk tau siapa pole positionnya..hehe..
Ternyata pas baca di buku panduannya, kalo mau kita bisa dengerin
live reportnya lewat radio, so what we have to do is just bring a radio
(sayangnya hp kami berdua nggada fm radionya)
Well, at least udah
liat tempat & dapet suasananya, tinggal siap2 utk balik lagi &
nonton race-nya, yang pasti akan lebih seru & lebih rame penonton.
Dlm perjalanan pulang lebih kerasa lagi suasananya krn lebih rame orang
yang antri buat naik bus & train.. banyak bule2 yang saling meyapa
kalo liat orang pake kostum tim yang sama2 didukung.. paling banyak
keliatan justru penduking Kimi Raikkonen, pake kemeja atau kaos dgn
tulisan ‘Kimi’ di punggung, sementara yang lain lebih banyak mendukung
tim daripada mendukung drivernya.  Sempet nunggu lama utk naik shuttle
bus yang keliling SIC krn tiap yang lewat penuh terus.

Pulangnya kami mampir ke KLCC utk makan mlm, di sana baru
selesai BMW Heritage Cars Parade.. we missed that so we didn’t know how
it was. Waktu mau pulang ke rumah, naik taksi & ngobrol sama supir
taksinya, ternyata beliau pun besok mau nonton F1 sama anaknya (wow,
even a taxi driver in Malaysia could afford to see F1) & katanya
beliau tiap tahun pasti nonton..

Satu lagi yang kami baru tau juga, ternyata sebelum
pertandingan F1 akan ada pertandingan lainnya dulu, yaitu Porsche
Carrera Cup Asia & Formula BMW Asia, jadi kayak kalo mau nonton
tinju suka ada pertandingan kelas-kelas lainnya dulu, atau kalo nonton
GP Motor ada kelas 125cc & 250cc dulu sebelumnya.

children are reflection of their parents

Friday, March 17th, 2006

100_1858aTalking or writing or discussing about your child/children is like a neverending story, it just never ends. It even could be an icebreaking topic between two mothers who just met. Just ask about her children, and she could talk for hours. And I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’m one of them.  Being a newcomer in a new society, one topic I found to make a conversation last longer with newly met friends is talking about our children.

I guess that’s one of my reason of making this blog. Besides making a record of new things he learn, I also want to proudly share with everybody on Radit’s development, what he’s been doing, what he discovered, and what he is capable of doing. 

Being a new parent, not only I discover new things about Radit, I also learn and discover. People say that a child reflects his/her parents, a child likes to copy his/her parents words and behaviors and is a fast learner. I discovered that all of them are true.

This week, almost every day I find Radit copying things I previously said on another occasion. One day, we were walking up to our apartment when we saw a man trimming trees around the neighborhood. When we entered our apt, Radit walked to see the door to the terrace is closed and said "Pinter Mamah, pintunya ditutup supaya ngga ribut"..hey, that’s what I usually say to him when he does something good ! Today he wanted me to play train with him and he said "ayo Mah, cepet, Radit udah nunggu nih" which I usually say to him when he’s late in doing something.

Regarding his behavior, one thing I find about Radit’s & Frieza’s common behavior is in eating krupuk before bedtime.. like father like son =)

I learned that if I frequently hug & kiss & express my feelings to him, he would also do the same. When I get angry at him and hit or yell at him, one day he’d hit or yell back at me when he’s angry. I should be more patient and control my anger if I don’t want to turn my son into a temperamental person.

But up to present, looking at the person his is now, I believe that we have been doing a good job in raising Radit. He’s smart, cheerful, healthy, loveable, easy going, and occasionally independent for a boy his age.

what crosses my mind

Friday, March 17th, 2006

It’s always like this.. when I’m doing something else, I think of some topics I want to write here, but when I’m facing the computer with my hands on the keyboard, all the ideas just vaporated into thin air. Padahal kan susah mau nulis kalo lagi masak, atau cuci piring or doing something else where you couldn’t reach a pen and paper, apalagi computer.

Then again sometimes I know what I want to write, but just couldn’t find the write words and sentences to write it all down.

quote of the day

Thursday, March 9th, 2006

yang terbaru dari Radit hari ini..

ritual hariannya sebelum bobo malam yaitu minum susu trus bobo di kamarnya ditemenin Ayah & Mamahnya sambil meluk boneka dolphin kesayangannya (& satu-satu)nya ‘Beni’ (yang dia namain sendiri, we never know why he named it Beni). Ayahnya suka ngaheureuyan (aduh, apa istilah internasionalnya ya.. mungkin ‘becanda’) ngambil Beni & dipeluk (ini juga udah sering dilakukan) & Radit ngamuk & ngerampas Beni-nya. "Ayah peluk Beni-nya Ayah aja" (which refer’s to Ayah’s bolster/guling). Tapi mlm ini tanggapan Radit lain dari biasanya, comment-nya adalah "Ayah pake Beni-nya Radit dulu, Radit ambilin Beni-nya Ayah" sambil dia ke kamar ayahnya & bawain guling Ayahnya. Kami langsung terharu denger kata2 & tindakannya, di mana dia mau minjemin barangnya sambil pergi ngambilin guling untuk ayahnya.

There’s always something new about Radit everyday…