I remember when I was in primary school. It was to be Kartini Day in a week’s time and all the kids were told that we must wear something traditional. The girls were told to wear kebaya.
“Just like Kartini!” my teacher said.
On another occasion, I was told off for playing the drum in the music room because “drums are for boys”.
Read More »What a time to be alive right now!
I went to Singapore in January during Chinese New Year to visit my sister and I was a little worried about this virus that was going around in Wuhan. At that time Singapore didn’t have any significant cases yet.
I complained a little bit because all the shops were closed during the time I was there. Singapore was so quiet, it was unbelievable, I have never seen empty streets in this always bustling city. We opted for outdoor activities this time around and we were lucky to have been able to do some trails in the lush part of Singapore.
Little did I know that things would spiral down pretty quickly in the weeks to come.
Read More »I accidentally stumbled upon an Instagram post about TedxMlatiWomen some time ago (there is good in mindlessly scrolling my Instagram feed after all, although this is definitely not recommended on a daily basis!) with the theme “Rewrite the Rules”. The first ever Tedx event to be held in Yogyakarta. I wanted to be part of it.
I immediately signed up and after waiting for a few days, I finally got my ticket. I went alone, knowing that if I waited/asked for friends to come, I would end up not going. I was a little nervous going alone, but this opportunity doesn’t come twice so I just went with it.
Read More »Ever since I started working, weekends have been used solely for the purpose of lazing around and gathering up energy for the next week. It isn’t easy being back to work after years of being absence. Whenever I get too intense or tired at work, I just don’t have the energy to go out during the weekends which is why I prefer to stay at home, read books and watch my favourite series while sipping home brewed coffee.
While this is OK for some weekends, sometimes there is this urge to go out with a friend, simply sit at a cafe or at least do something (that doesn’t involve a lot of energy!). So last weekend, I found that there was going to a French Film Festival in my hometown.
You know those subscriptions e-mails that you hardly ever read? Well for some unknown reason I decided to open an e-mail from IFI, Institut Français d’Indonésie. And lo and behold! It was an information on this film festival. I immediately decided that I would go, whether someone would come with me or not.
Read More »In February I started working part-time at my university. It was a little frightening because I haven’t had much social interactions and “working” sounds like a daunting task especially since I was used to being at home. I was previously hired as a freelance staff so I already know the people I work with but coming to an actual working place is quite different than sitting at home. I was terrified of course, mostly because of my physical constraints (and I could not help but shudder at the thought of virus and bacteria running around the campus haha!). However, the people that I work with understand my condition and have been kind and helpful to me.
Up until now, I am still adjusting to working. I have flexible hours which is great but often I get extremely exhausted. While I know this is normal, sometimes it scares me and I start overthinking. However, the most important thing is that I enjoy it and being in a campus environment really helps me ignite my passion for learning again. So when I saw that CRCS (Centre for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies) of UGM opened two intercession courses for its students and the public in July, I was intrigued. I read that the programme was basically a “summer” programme so it only lasted 5 weeks with 10 meetings, twice a week.
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