i dunno what spurred me to post an entry. i'm supposed to do my assignment. once again, SUPPOSED. the mundanity of life. haha. wells. 17th of August is coming! yes... 17 is a good number =) the day of my birthday, and the Independence Day of Indonesia. yay!!! =D haha. i kind of think i'm mood-swinging again. but oh wells.
My beautiful beautiful homeland turns 62 this year!~ and the streets will light up with (lights), the red and white colours of the flag will spread throughout the country to welcome our Independece Day. Hari Kemerdekaan R.I ke 62! and my dad and grandpa and uncles will hoist the flag upon flagpoles, and let it stand proudly outside their homes. i've always loved watching my dad and grandpa do that when the day is around the corner. and i'll watch the flag with most admiration. and for some unknown reason, i remember looking at the flag in the breeze so much until my grandma would scold me and tell me to get back in the house (to eat roti). we don't hang our flags outside windows of apartments or outside HDB flats like they do here. know i risk getting my head chopped off when i say this, but flagpoles look waaaay cooler. it's just the way people live. we dun live in high rise buildings over here (Indonesia), so we have the full liberty of some ground and some gardening and a flagpole. (why am i harping about flagpoles?!)
okay. more more. the mayor of my city, Surabaya, would like totally go crazy decorating the city. decorative lights everywhere! as if they're not already enough, he would add some more. and boy, at night the streets look so alive! it's not like Orchard Road during xmas or anything, and to the eye of foreigners it may not look as nice. but i have no idea why i always find it desperately fascinating. they make trees out of lights, and the monuments erected in my City of Heroes looks even more grand, but mysterious, in the midst of impending celebrations.
and as we pass by these monuments, the Tugu Pahlawan (Heroe's monument, something like Civilian War memorial), the graveyard of the heroes who died in the battle for independence, and so many many more familiarly strange faces of those who fell to the Dutch army's, just to battle for the nation's freedom. we WANTED independence, we FOUGHT for it. the Bambu Runcing outside Hokky's, though deceivingly insignificant as erected in the middle of a busy road, signifies the blood that was shed, the tears that fell, the passion that burnt in all of hearts. sharpened bamboo will pale at the Dutch's advanced weaponry 62 years ago, but the bamboo with sharpened edge did not fail to convey the desire for freedom. i'm proud to be living in the City of Heroes! =D
and Indonesia is beautiful. BEAUTIFUL, i tell you! any word more beautiful will still be unable to encompass the beauty of my country. the beach of Bali. clearer than any diamond, any sapphire. i went there and immediately i wanted to plunge into the clear clear waters. so clear they were, i could see the baby fishes in the sea. we even caught some of them, with our bare hands! haha. my mom and i became experts quite quickly, and we caught lots and lots of baby fishes. goodness knows if they are some kind of exotic marine fishes. maybe the clownfish? but we eventually let them return to the sea. that's where they belong, right? and the waterfall, Coban Rondo waterfall at Malang, near Gunung Kawi! so high and so majestic it was, so so much waters cascading down the rocks, forming a light stream at our feet. the water so cool, so fresh, so so astounding. the pebbles were rounded too, like the pebbles of reflexology path, worn smooth by the water's path. and a flat stone lay at the bottom of the waterfall, and a myth has it that it was where a couple had hidden to avoid the murderous evil love rival. haha. long story, but i still vaguely remember the sweet love story =)
the paddy fields! miles and miles of paddy fields that stretched to eternity when we drove to the countryside. and at night the frogs and toads will sing songs. crickets and cicadas would join in the choir too. occasionally, an owl or two would hoot and sweep across the night sky. in the bright morning, my parents and i would take a walk, under the blanket of the warm rising sun. warm, not blazing hot. and we would see the rice shoots, little miracles of life that would eventually be part of the staple food we eat. orchards, apple orchards, mango orchards. little fruits hanging from trees, shining in the sun, so delicate and so pretty.
and the mountains. the place i love most in the whole wide world. open the windows in the morning, and air so crisp, crispier than any potato chips, air so clear, air so clean. always loved that air. always loved waking up to the bright chirps of morning songbirds. and at night, i could gaze all night, at all the stars above. so so so so so many stars, that i lost count of them. can no longer make out the constellations of them all. it feels so amazing. that u're only one single being beneath all those stars and planets. maybe i was looking into the Milky Way. and i'm part of it! haha.
though Indonesia might not be as developed as other countries, not as rich or as lavishly 'decorated', but through her many flaws, lies many many more beauty than anyone could behold. i've only been to a small fragment of my homeland. many more lie ahead of me. but this small piece of my country that i saw, is more than enough. who says a country has to be financially rich to be powerful? in my eyes, Indonesia is the most powerful of all. She's my home.
the day would come, 5 days from now, when the streets would take to celebrations through the night. with bands and artistes taking their fans and whole cities to the streets to celebrate. celebration in Jakarta, the capital, showcasing the rich diversity in culture and tradition that we have. whether it's the Balinese legong dancers, the Javanese Wayang, the Batik and many many more richness that we have. my, i wish i could go home right now. let me show u some pictures =)
