My Views about Happiness

During these past few years, I’ve been wondering what happiness exactly means to me and where I have to look for it. There are a few thoughts I came up with, for example:

• I’ll be happy when I’m finally done with my research
•  I’ll be happy when I’ve graduated
• I’ll be happy when I get a job
• I’ll be happy when I finally find someone special to me
• I’ll be happy when I get married
• I’ll be happy when I become rich

and many other things starting with “I’ll be happy when/if _____________”.

Then suddenly, I realized that I was being foolish. I’ve defined my happiness with things that happen in the future and I didn’t even consider about things in the present. What about the current me? Am I living an unhappy life?

So instead of thinking about what WILL make me happy, I chose to list some of the current, small things that delight me:

• Waking up to a new day with no headache
• My family being in good health
• Family members to talk to
• Friends to joke around with
• Getting back in touch with old friends + meeting & keeping in touch with current ones
• Getting to know new people with pleasant characters
• A home to return to
• Electricity to power my home
• Internet connection to access web pages
• My hobbies
• My own issues/business to work on
• My laptop & handset functioning well
• Good food to enjoy
• Travelling
• Enough money to spend
• Seeing well-behaved kids & pets

In other words, I’ve actually been blessed with so many small things that bring me joy. To me, being happy is a matter of accepting my current condition, no matter how good or bad it is. It’s up to my mind to regard something I do as enjoyable or mind-exhausting, so why don’t I try to enjoy doing something that I didn’t enjoy before?

I’m currently working on my bachelor’s thesis and sometimes things just won’t go the way I want them to. It seems like before one problem is solved, another one comes in and I have to divide my brain to concentrate on so many things at a time. But well…I kind of enjoy being busy working on this project. Hopefully, I’ll be able to continuously motivate myself until the end of the project.

Transjakarta: My new way of travelling

Having selected a lecturer from the Marine & Fisheries research center in Slipi (Central Jakarta) as my thesis advisor, I had to switch my mode of transportation from private to public. I usually travel to the campus in BSD City with my Dad, who works in Tangerang. I don't drive, and I also can't imagine having to face a series of traffic jams from my home in Puri Indah all the way to Slipi. Taking a taxi won't be a wise option for travelling daily through traffic-prone areas during the rush hour.


Fortunately, Transjakarta (state-owned busway operator) launched the feeder bus systems which serve passengers with no direct access to its stops. I can take the feeder bus from a stop in front of Puri Indah market, then alight at the busway stop in Green Garden. The feeder bus is comfortable and the bus attendants can readily assist whenever we ask about how to reach our destinations. Upon transferring buses in Green Garden to travel to Grogol, however, the real busway experience begins.


It seems that Lebak Bulus-Harmoni buses are always, always full of passengers even after the rush hour. I don't remember ever getting any seat on my way from Green Garden to Grogol, where I am to transfer buses for the 2nd time. The bus was sometimes so full, that all the hand grips were already taken and I was left standing without anything to hold on to. If people were so closely packed with each other, then balancing wouldn't be such a big deal. But when the bus made a sudden brake, there's a chance of a domino effect of people stumbling onto the backs of those in front of them.


Stepping down from the bus at the Grogol stop, a little walk is required in order to reach the line serving Pluit-Pinang Ranti. Sometimes when I saw my bus coming while I was still on my way to the stop, I decided to dash for it if I saw no more bus coming up. But it all depends on the mood, if I feel too lazy to run then I'll just let the bus go and wait for another one. There are more buses operating on this line and there are also articulated buses to carry more passengers in a go, so rushing is unnecessary. Seats are often available, but not in the case of early morning rush hour. One experience of travelling during the peak hour was enough to tell me that there's actually not much difference between Lebak Bulus-Harmoni and Pluit-Pinang Ranti lines.


What I like about the busway system is the affordable ticket that allows the passengers to travel as far and as much as they want without exiting the shelter. Any questions regarding which bus line to take can be directed at the bus attendants standing guard by the bus doors. These bus attendants do their job well; they direct the flow of passengers boarding and alighting the bus, they assist the elderly and parents with kids so that they can get seats and they alert us of the upcoming bus stop. What I dislike about the ride is not the service, it's actually some of the passengers. Going back to the issue about hand grips, some people seem so inconsiderate of others. On my way to Grogol from Green Garden today, I didn't get a hand grip and saw a woman beside me holding two hand grips with both her hands. Oh man... Another hateful sight I experienced was a mother holding a baby and queuing to get on a bus, but always got left behind because no one cared about letting her get on the bus first.


Anyhow, I love travelling by Transjakarta bus. I can go wherever I want without having to rely on others, I can spend as much time as I want in a place without worrying about the hourly-based parking fee and one can also see and learn about many characters of the people.

Multilingualism, is it always advantageous?

For me, learning languages is fun and I find it easier to absorb new foreign words compared to memorizing history taught in school or understanding complex mathematical calculations. It seems like my brain was designed for a faster pace in picking up languages, although I don't have severe problems in remembering key ideas in Science textbooks or solving engineering calculations. At least when I push myself, I can manage to get my brain working for these two things.


Moving on to the main topic about languages, so far I've been taught to speak Chinese Hokkien (also known as Fujian), English, Indonesian, Mandarin Chinese and German. I thought it would be nice to be multilingual, but...it turns out a bit troublesome. Sometimes when I wanted to express something in Indonesian, the word that popped into my mind is the English or the German word. When I wanted to say something in English, the word that came into mind was the Indonesian or the German word. That happens to me quite often recently, and I hate it very much. It feels as if the mastery over a language is decreasing as I gained another new language. That's not good at all.


Our family uses Chinese Hokkien to communicate with each other at home or by phone. This is the reason why I can't forget the language even after spending my life for 6 months in Europe. When we send text messages to each other, English becomes our main language. Starting school at the age of 4, English was used as the medium of teaching along with Indonesian. The students spoke English with the teachers, while they chattered among themselves in Indonesian.


Mandarin Chinese was not taught in our school until my 5th year of primary school. Any public activities related to Chinese tradition or culture were forbidden before Indonesia elected a new president, who dropped the ban and allowed the language to be taught in schools. We started learning basic words for a period of 1 hour per week, but now I think it was a bit ineffective. Yes, we learned the words...but lacked speaking practices. I continued learning Mandarin, either at school or at tuition, until I graduated from high school. Learning how to speak the language proved to be more effective by attending tuition, where we were encouraged to build our own verbal sentences. But sadly, I had to quit the tuition to focus on my university studies. That was when I started losing the language, something that I didn't wish would happen.


I enrolled myself into a university which uses English as a medium of teaching, and teaches German to its students so that they would be able to speak the language during their 6th semester internship in Germany. At first, I found it quite difficult as I had never attended any preparation courses for German language. I can remember myself wanting to cry out loud when I couldn't work on my German homework several years ago. But as the time went by, I felt fortunate to have been able to catch up with the lessons. The internship in Germany last year actually went by without any major problem in language, something which I wouldn't have imagined when I first started university. What my German colleague said is really true, it is important to try speaking out even if the grammar is incorrect. At least people would appreciate your effort and try to understand you.


There were times when I unexpectedly encountered Chinese people during my time in Europe. Once, I met a Chinese man on my way to Frankfurt from Schöneck Kilianstädten, the small town where I lived during my internship. I was travelling to the city and had to transfer trains in Bad Vilbel when I met him. He was looking at me for a moment or two before he finally asked in Mandarin(Chinese) language whether I was a Chinese. When he asked me something else and I couldn't answer him in Chinese, I actually went the way of asking him whether I could speak German! Oh man...it was really embarrassing for a Chinese like me to ask another Chinese to speak a European language. I should try going back to my Chinese books. There was another encounter with 2 Chinese women who were on holiday in Holland. I was taking turns with my friend to take our pictures near the boats in Volendam, when I noticed one of them looking at us with much anticipation. When I asked her in Mandarin(Chinese) whether she would like me to take a picture of her, her face brightened up in an instant. She said we looked so happy and nice taking our pictures near the boats and so she would like to ask my favor to take their pictures with the same background. Later, I realized that I had used my Mandarin language more often in Europe than in Asia. That's kind of strange...


However, I feel thankful for having been given the chance to know a variety of languages. I hope this ability will be useful one day, either for me or maybe in assisting foreigners requiring language translations. :)

Remembering Germany

March is here and it reminds me of what I did and where I was last year. I started my internship in a German flour company situated near Frankfurt am Main, lived alone miles away from my family for the first time and had the chance to take short trips to other German cities or neighboring countries when the company was closed for public holidays.

At first, I was excited at the thought of living by myself in a small apartment provided by the company during my internship period. I imagined waking up everyday to make myself a German-style breakfast, savoring it while watching the morning shows on TV before finally heading to work. It would be fun and challenging to get to know new people and work in the QC laboratory. When I returned home from work, I would be switching on my laptop and signing in to Skype to talk with my family in Indonesia. The time between us differed by 6 hours, so by the time they went to bed, I would be preparing dinner.

However, there were times when I missed my family, friends and Asian cuisine at the beginning of the internship. I was grateful that I had learned  from my Mom how to cook at least some simple stir-fry dishes. Although I could not find the exact ingredients I wanted from the nearby grocery store, there were some replacements I could use and thank God the cooking turned out fine. I can still remember myself rejoicing when I spotted a bottle of sweet soy sauce sold in Rewe. It was named 'Ketjap Manis', as pronounced in Indonesian or Malaysian. I must admit that I love the taste of sweet soy sauce despite being a Chinese. It is multifunctional, I can use it for fried rice or noodles and also in other dishes. Recalling the first time I made my own fried rice, it turned out too sweet because I had put in too much soy sauce. But well, it somehow tasted like most Indonesian fried rice and I loved it.

As I worked in the main office and QC laboratory of the company, I constantly discovered many things. Working in the main office with a middle-aged lady provided me with the chance to accompany her whenever she went to the bank or the post office. As we traveled in the car, she showed me lots of things on the go. For example where I could shop for utensils, where I could get myself a roast chicken, where I could buy medicine and so on. When I was placed in the QC laboratory, a lady told me that I should shop for food in Lidl instead of Rewe where things are more expensive. Unfortunately, the walk is further from the apartment if I choose Lidl over Rewe. Even so, I regarded the extra walk as an exercise to keep my weight in check. I realized that living in Germany had increased my intake of food and that would be a problem for my Body Mass Index (BMI). For someone as small as me, keeping an eye on body weight is a crucial thing. When the Germans saw me, they would always think that I'm a 15-year-old, despite the fact that I was 20 that time.

What I loved the most about the internship period is travelling to Frankfurt every weekend. It is a nice city with a little touch of Asia and it reminds me so much of Jakarta. I could spot Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Myanmarese and even Indonesians there. Strolling down Konstablerwache was my favorite way of passing the time, where I could do some window shopping, take pictures with my camera phone and hunt for German delicacies in the Saturday market. If I had extra time, I'd take the underground train to Dom/Römer. Tourist shops line the place and the Main river is located nearby. A leisure walk over the famous bridge "Eiserner Steg" provides a spectacular view of Frankfurt and one can find many padlocks of love chained onto the railing of the bridge. Once, a group of friends came to stay over at my place and their friend living in Darmstadt knows the owner of Jade-Magic Wok Chinese restaurant in Frankfurt. The food was great, much much better than the one sold at Frankfurt train station. Another attraction not to be missed in Frankfurt is the large Euro sign in Willy-Brandt-Platz, where the European Central Bank is located.


The worst thing I experienced during the internship was suffering from abdominal pain and watery stool. The outbreak of EHEC was around that time, and I was left wondering whether I had contracted the bacteria from drinking tap water. I was lucky that the lady in the laboratory helped me with contacting a local doctor to make an appointment. I couldn't imagine if I had to speak my not-so-perfect German, not to mention being unable to understand what the other side said on the phone and asking them to slowly repeat their sentences. If I were the one speaking on the phone, I'd be saying "Bitte?" or "Noch einmal, bitte langsam" over and over again. Then the clinic staff would have gone nuts trying to make me understand what she was saying. Luckily, my problem was not that of diarrhea caused by EHEC. From my attempt to understand what the doctor said, it was a mild infection of the GI tract and I had to avoid wholemeal bread and milk products. Oh no....those two were my favorite food for breakfast! Yogurt is one of my favorite snacks! Later I found out that European dairy products tend to have higher lactose level and Asians may not be able to tolerate it.

Now that I'm struggling with thesis research, I wish I could return to Germany and relive the happy moments there. However, it really is home sweet home living in Asia where I grew up and where the food, the seasons and the languages are more familiar to me. I've had fun last year, so this year it's time to get serious and fight for the sake of graduating with a Bachelor's degree.

Willy-Brandt-Platz

Eiserner Steg bridge in a distance

An overview of Frankfurt from atop Eiserner Steg bridge

Konstablerwache - Zeil

Taxi Riding Experiences in Jakarta

Since our family's driver resigned 2 years ago, we've been travelling by taxis more often than ever. Well, at least until the time my brother finally got his driving license. Isn't it nice to simply pick up the phone and dial for a taxi, or wait by the roadside to be approached by 1 or 2 taxis that will take you wherever you want?

On the contrary, it's really not that convenient.

In Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, several taxi companies operate on the streets. Some adhere to the regulations, be it the traffic or the company's vision and mission. The driver greets you properly, responds politely to what we say (of course, we'll have to be polite as well) and does a job that earns the taxi company a good impression on the customers' mind. Some drivers may be exceptional in terms of being familiar with lots of places, that all we need to do is to sit back and relax without having to give them directions. Once, I've even met a taxi driver with a good sense of humor and a friendly attitude. I'd like to help nominate these kind of people as "the best employees of the year" if there's ever a feedback form which I can fill during my taxi rides.

However, some taxi drivers just don't seem to be appropriately suited to their jobs. My mother had once taken a taxi driven by someone who smelled like alcohol. How on earth can we trust our safety in the hands of a drunkard? Furthermore, it would be somehow uncomfortable when the driver suddenly asked you about your personal life or when he/she mentioned about some upcoming events that can get you to pay them extra money.  The worst thing to be happening just before getting off a taxi would be the driver telling you that he didn't have the change for the money you had paid and it was quite a sum of money to give up on. But what can you do apart from "donating" the money, when you don't have a small change either?

Earlier today, I took a taxi with my mom to get back home from an eye clinic in Jalan Panjang, West Jakarta. A taxi pulled up near our standpoint, and upon seeing that this taxi comes from a reputable company, we decided to ride it home. Oh my, how we regret choosing that wrong taxi. The driver was quite rude with his irritable responses and seemed to be so impatient in driving. His behavior really got on our nerves and so when we encountered a jam near our housing complex, we decided to stop him there and alight after paying. We just couldn't stand having to spend more of our money on such terrible service. It was a nice morning with a comfortable temperature, so walking home would worth more than dealing with this kind of person.

Overall, my experiences in riding taxis in Jakarta have been okay. It's not difficult at all to get a taxi here, I suppose the problem lies on our luck in getting one with good service.