banjir oh banjir

Aaah....udah lama nih nggak nge-blog. Musim dingin ini penuh dengan kejadian yang unik! Dari SMP dulu aku udah langganan banjir. Sekolah di SMP Tarakanita I, wolter monginsidi, yang sebelahnya kali...langganan banjir. Terus lanjut ke SMUN 8 Bukit Duri yang lokasinya lebih rendah dari daerah sekitarnya, kalau hujan jadi seperti baskom yang menampung air...hiks...terus menikah dengan suami yang tinggalnya di kompleks LAN Pejompongan...yang selalu banjir juga kalau lagi musim hujan. Terus pindah ke Sharjah, UAE....kirain bebas banjir. Eeeh...ternyata kira-kira 2 minggu yang lalu tanah padang pasir ini diguyur hujan deras...non-stop selama beberapa hari. Alhasil kota Sharjah yang nggak punya selokan ini (karena mungkin city-planner-nya mikir 'aaah...kota padang pasir ini kan jarang hujan') banjir!!!! Waduuuh....nggak kebayang! Setelah 2 hari nggak berani kemana-mana, ingin deh jalan-jalan ke mall. Perjalanan ke Sharjah city centre Alhamdulillah lancar-lancar aja. Nggak kena macet sama sekali. Eeeh...pulangnya ternyata harus melewati banjir di industrial area. Begitu melihat jalanan tergenang air sebatas paha orang dewasa, jantungku rasanya mau copot. Eh si Akram malah teriak-teriak kegirangan. "Water...water, Ibu...kayak di pejompongan". Aduh, perasaanku udah nggak keruan. Mana si supir taksi cuek bebek, lagi. Dia berdarah dingin, nggak menunjukkan kekhawatiran sama sekali!!! My Gosh...and I don't think he understood a word I said....ya sudahlah...jalanin aja. Akram ketawa-ketawa...ibunya sport jantung sambil komat-kamit baca doa supaya taksi nggak mogok. Mobil di depan kita knalpot-nya mengeluarkan air, terus suara mesinnya meraung-raung. Aduuuuh...semakin stress deh aku. Terus penumpang yang duduk di belakang udah membuang-buang air yang merembes ke dalam mobil mereka. Pas taksi kita melewati mobil itu, eeeh...penumpangnya malah ketawa-ketawa. Aku jadi ikutan ketawa juga deh. Hehehe...ternyata walaupun situasi mereka lebih parah masih bisa happy. Alhamdulillah....akhirnya daerah banjir itu terlewati juga. Sampai di Al Yasmeen building dengan selamat nggak kurang suatu apa. Sekarang setiap ada genangan air pasti Akram senang sekali. Anak-anak memang ruarrrr biasaaa....mereka nggak pernah kesusahan. Dalam situasi seburuk apa pun masih bisa aja menemukan kebahagiaan :)

Au revoir l'ete, bienvenue l'hiver!

How nice to finally say goodbye to summer, here in the UAE. I've been waiting for winter ever since I got here. It's really nice. The weather is perfect for spending the morning or afternoon out in the park or corniche. I walked alongside the buhaira corniche this morning and was really happy to see the seagulls flying above me (but they're not as noisy...I don't know why...Remember 'finding nemo'? The seagulls shout 'mine..mine..mine' trying to steal other birds' food, hehehe...). I must admit I've been a couch potato this past few months to avoid the heat. I dozed off in front of the TV every morning, no wonder I gain 2 kgs!! I'm so ashamed of myself :P

So i'm switching to 'winter lifestyle' now....let's see if I can shed those 2 kgs in the next 3 or 4 months...

My best friend's wedding

My best friend's wedding is coming and sadly I can't come.
She's the one person that stood by me throughout high school years.
Though we grew apart since, she remains special in my heart.
We laugh and cry together, and never run out of story when we meet up.
How happy I am that she finally found love in the arms of someone who's crazy about her!


Congratulations Tria and Pasha...
May God showers His Love to both of you...

Big Boy

Alhamdulillah, my son is making a lot of progress since we moved to Dubai/Sharjah. I'm very happy that everyday he's growing, physically and mentally. Here are some of his 'little' achievements;

AKRAM:

1. Clearly states and informs his mom/dad when he needs to use the bathroom

2. Insists going through the bathroom process by himself

3. Sleeps in his own room (though occasionally moves to his parents' bed when he has a nightmare or scared of something)

4. Learns english everyday with some new words or phrases every week
His vocabulary at the time:
sleep, eat, sit, stand, pee, toilet, wash, hand, nose, tongue, eyes, ear, names of colour, numbers from 1-10, etc.
I consider this quite a development since Akram is a fluent Bahasa Indonesia speaker (mastering difficult and uncommon words, mainly because of his friendship with adults (my mom in law's boutique employees, my mom's gardener, the security guards...) also his interest in the medical world (my dad's an anesthesiologist and often shows Akram his doctor's tools..hehe)
He used to refuse learning other languages. He sometimes gets frustrated when people don't
understand what he's trying to say...oh my poor boy.. :P
But now he's more open...thank God.

5. Uses the car seat everytime we ride in his dad's car, but of course complains about it the first 10 minutes of the journey :)

6. Holds his pencil correctly.

7. Finally gains weight (only 1 kg though). Ever since Akram was weaned two years ago, he became a picky eater and didn't want to shift to cow's milk. He's still allergic when consuming pure cow's milk, but able to enjoy the flavored ones made from powdered cow's milk.

* picture: Akram in his school uniform

Ramadhan di Rantau

Ini kedua kalinya kami sekeluarga ber-Ramadhan di negeri orang. Tahun lalu di Onex, Geneve, tapi kurang berkesan karena lagi musim dingin :( Nah yang sekarang di Sharjah baru deh dapat 'the whole experience'. Ternyata kebiasaan orang Arab itu lain sekali dengan di Jakarta. Disini saat Ramadhan jam kehidupan langsung berubah. Baik dewasa maupun anak-anak semuanya jadi 'kalong' alias hidup di malam hari, tidur di pagi/siang hari. Mall-mall tutup dan baru buka jam 7 malam setelah iftar (buka puasa), jadi di sini nggak ada nggak kebiasaan ngabuburit dan buka puasa di luar. Beda banget ya sama di Jakarta, bayangin kalau menjelang berbuka susah sekali dapat tempat duduk di food court Plaza Senayan!!

Di televisi lokal Sharjah, setiap menjelang iftar selalu ada acara baca doa bareng dengan latar belakang orang-orang melambai-lambaikan tangan numpang masuk TV :) Saat maghrib tiba, tentara menembakkan meriam, baru deh Azan. Akram selalu menunggu-nunggu siaran menjelang iftar ini, sambil membalas melambaikan tangan (dia pikir orang-orang di TV bisa melihat dia 'dadah-dadah'...hehehe)

Yang unik juga, setiap Ramadhan ada semacam taman ria dadakan di beberapa lokasi seperti al majaz park, qanat al qasba dan taawun road. Aku setuju banget sama taman ria ini karena sangat mendukung physical activity untuk anak-anak. Jadi permainannya itu macam-macam, ada perosotan, ada trampolin...tapi semuanya terbuat dari balon. Anak-anak suka sekali, mereka lari-lari, loncat-loncat, sampai baju basah berkeringat. Hampir tiap minggu Akram minta ke taman ria ini. Aku sih senang-senang aja, soalnya jadi sehat dan tidurnya lebih nyenyak :)

Lebaran datang juga akhirnya. Kami sekeluarga diajak ke Abu Dhabi sama keluarganya pak Ari-mba Andia. Kebetulan mobil mereka 8 seaters, jadi kita pergi satu mobil rame-rame. Sangat menyenangkan. Abu Dhabi is very different from Sharjah or Dubai. Teduh banget!!! Banyak sekali pohon-pohon di tengah maupun sisi jalan. Hijau sejauh mata memandang, nggak melulu padang pasir seperti di Sharjah. Kami diajak bersilaturahmi dengan keluarga mba Andia dari Palembang. Hmm.. ada roti jala pakai Kari. Sedaaap! Tadinya kita mau ngopi2 di hotel Emirates Palace,bagus banget hotelnya!! Sayang saat itu mereka lagi kedatangan VIP jadi selain tamu hotel nggak boleh masuk :( Akhirnya kita duduk-duduk di coffee shop di pinggir Corniche Abu Dhabi. So lovely! Airnya warna biru turquoise, ada orang-orang naik jet ski, speed boat, terus banyak yang terbang dengan light weight aircraft...wow...pemandangannyaoke deh, pokoknya!

Nggak sabar menunggu Ramadhan datang lagi tahun depan. Pastinya Insya Allah lebih berkesan. Tapi setelah dipikir-pikir...we're going to fast in summer. Mudah-mudahan nggak masalah, yang penting keep the spirit up!

Mother's Cooking

Is there anyone out there who doesn't love her mom's cooking? I bet the answer is 'NO'. Every mom is like a domestic goddess to her children. So is mine. Everything she cooks is just amazing. Now that I'm a mom myself, I try to practice her everyday recipes. Believe me, her recipes are all so easy to follow, use common ingredients, and taste so delicious. But of course they all come with one very important secret ingredient. L-O-V-E!!!

I'd like to share one with you. It' s nothing fancy, but it's my all time favorite. My mom doesn't have a name for this particular recipe, so I invented one. I call it 'Shrimp Sensation'. Nice, huh? :)

SHRIMP SENSATION

Ingredients:

10 pieces of mid-size shrimp
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 cm of ginger, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
3 tbsp margarine
cooking oil

How to make:

* Clean the shrimps and cut their heads off
* Prepare the wok. Deep fry the shrimps in a lot of oil until golden, put aside when cooked
* Heat the margarine in a frying pan, stir fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant
* Add the chopped onion
* Add 1 tbsp cooking oil, put the cooked shrimps
* Stir well until all the ingredients are mixed
* Put the oyster sauce and the sweet soy sauce
* Toss the ingredients thoroughly for 1 minute and serve immediately

ps: cook only when you're in the mood. Do it with the utmost sincerity. Don't forget to add some TLC...

How to eat:

* Prepare lots of jasmine rice
* Sambal terasi (traditional Indonesian chili paste) is a must
* Ice cold drinks (preferably tea with sugar) could help ease your burning tongue
* Gather all family member in one big table and enjoy!

Kisah-kisah Akram

Anak-anak itu selalu penuh kejutan, ya. Akram sering cerita soal kejadian-kejadian di sekolahnya, tapi aku sering bertanya dalam hati, "bener nggak sih yang dia ceritain?" Setelah aku cek ke gurunya, ternyata kisah-kisahnya itu benar terjadi lho. Anak-anak memang nggak boleh di-underestimate ya. Walaupun sepertinya mereka bicara nggak serius, sambil lalu aja...

Kisah I

A: "Bu, di sekolah aku punya teman namanya marupa. Dia sering dimarahin sama maryam (nama gurunya, red.)"
I: : "Kenapa Marupa (dalam hati aku bilang, "marupa ini nama macam apa pula? kok rada-rada aneh ya?") dimarahin? Emangnya dia nakal?"
A: "Dia maunya digendong nama Marika (nama teacher's assistant) terus. Nggak mau turun-turun."

Besoknya pas mau naik bis sekolah, aku tanya sama gurunya Akram. "Do you have a student named Marupa?" Terus dia jawab, "Oh you mean Marufa. Yes, she's from Bangladesh."
Oooh...ternyata bener tokh! :)

Kisah II

A: "Bu, tadi aku di sekolah pipis sembarangan."
I: "Hah? Kok bisa? Kenapa Akram nggak bilang dulu sama teacher?" (sambil aku pegang celana-nya basah atau nggak. Agak basah sedikit, sih.)
A: "Aku bilang 'please', tapi teacher-nya nggak dengar."
I: "Ya udah, besok-besok jangan ngompol lagi ya. Bilang sama teacher, jangan ditahan-tahan kalau udah kebelet pipis, nanti bisa kena penyakit batu ginjal."
A: "Oh iya ya ya, aku nggak mau kena batu ginjal."

Beberapa hari kemudian aku bikin appointment sama gurunya Akram untuk membahas soal progress dia di sekolah. Setelah ngobrol-ngobrol panjang lebar, aku tanya soal insiden pipis sembarangan itu.
The teacher replied, "Oh yes, Akram had an accident a couple of days ago."
I: "Did he try to inform you? He told me that he said 'please' to you."
T: "Yes, he did say please, but only after the accident happened."
OOPS! :)

Kisah III

Aku dan Akram lagi ngobrol soal temannya yang nakal di sekolah, namanya Usama (hmm..coba ya, ada apa dengan nama Usama???).
I: "Akram, kata teacher teman Akram ada yang nakal, namanya Usama, benar? Nakalnya gimana, sih?"
A: "Iya, dia suka nendang-nendang. Tadi dia nendang-nendang aku, lho."
I: "Masa, sih?"
A: "Iya. bener. Aku balas aja...."
Tinggal ibunya deh speechless......