I'm all the controversy but most of all I'm nice, very nice!

Letters to C

Hi C,

Duila kenape sih musti pake tulisan tangan? Capek kalee… Gw mah pake komputer aja yak… Dan kenape juga musti par avion? Teknologi email di Perancis kemane neng?

Gw udah terima surat dan photo-photo tapi photo gw ama Ari kok kagak ade yee? Cuma photo nyokap bokap gw di kawinan sama elo di Eiffel (duuh turis amat sih neng hihihi…) Btw, lo inget khan kalau gw cerita dulu setiap sore jalan-jalan di taman sama mamanya Jalu? Naah gw jalan-jalannya di Parc de Sceaux tuh… Di tengah-tengah taman ada kolamnya khan? Hehehe dulu waktu Jalu masih SD, dese suka curang berenang nyebrangin kolam biar bisa sampe duluan kalo disuruh lari ama gurunya ngelilingin taman. Kata Jalu, banyak konser di gelar disitu termasuk Supertramp (jangan tanya group apa itu karena gw juga gak ngerti hihihi…) Gw sempet photo-photo disitu ama Jalu, lumayan banyak tapi males mintanya jadi lupakan sajalah…

Gimana kabar lo? Betah gak? Pasti sepi banget ya C…, gw aja tinggal less than a year aja udah monyong-monyong pengen pulang. Tapi seneng ya lihat keteraturan disana… Kotanya bersih, tertib, small but beautiful (Antony lho but I assume kalo Fresnes mungkin sama aja secara kita tetanggaan bukan?) Eh, ternyata kita juga pergi ke pasar yang sama. Disana setiap minggu gw belanja sayur ama buah-buahan. Langganan gw, tukang sayur Maroko di pojokan, barang-barangnya seger dan gw suka dikasih bonus cherry dari Senegal yumm… Tapi kalo beli daging, coba deh jalan dikit keluar pasar ke arah Stasiun Metro, ada boulangerie yang carrot rappe-nya enak banget. Trus disampingnya ada tukang roti yang pain et quiche-nya juga yumm… tapi halal kagaknya lillahi ta’ala ya neng…

Oh ya sebentar lagi khan musim dingin, Jalu biasanya udah nyetok belanjaan tuh di kulkas. Kita suka ke toko bahan makanan serba beku, agak keluar Antony, di jalan arteri menuju Paris. Tempatnya gede, agak terpencil tapi parkirannya segambreng-gambreng. Namanya lupa [Picard, gw inget sekarang] tapi logonya warna biru dan silver, bentuknya kayak daun maple, mungkin Marc tahu. Kalo beli baju, gw suka pergi ke Velizy 2 or Belle Epine. Di Velizy 2 ada Printemps-nya, aduuh barangnya lucu-lucu tapi muaaahal neng… Kalo lo mau yang bermerek di situ ada semua tapi kalo nyari sepatu gw lebih senang ke Belle Epine. Di sana banyak toko-toko kecil tapi boots dan sepatu kulitnya lucu-lucu. Kalo lagi musim soldes, duuh tu toko-toko penuh sesak deeh!!! Seminggu dua kali, pasti gw belanja groceries ke Cora (cuma 2 menit dari rumah gw hihihi…) Tapi menurut Jalu, Auchan harganya lebih murah.

Paris emang bagusnya waktu malam. Gw sama Jalu suka naik motor gede (parkiran mobil susye neng!) keliling kota kalo malam. Romantis deeh… Kalo cuaca cerah, kita ke Montmartre, liat Paris dari atas bukit. So wonderful! Biasanya kalo Jalu kerja, gw jalan-jalan sendiri di Champs-Ellysees, tapi kudu tabah ya neng, cowok yang bersliweran keceh-keceh!!! Biasanya gw lunch sendiri di bangku, liat merpati sambil ngutuk-ngutuk betapa dinginnya angin hehehe… Disana ada Zara (2 toko cing!), Morgan de Toi (2 lantai) and many more. Kalo lewat Benetton, jangan kecele, tokonya emang literately underground. Kalo mau beli underwear yang lucu-lucu tapi affordable, lo ke Monoprix aja C! Meeting point gw sama Jalu disana biasanya Virgin Megastore. Toko kaset 3 lantai yang guede banget!!! Make sure lo gak nyasar, malu-maluin khan kalo lo mesti dipanggil lewat information call hehehe… (yang jaga rak sama kasirnya ok-ok lho…) Itu semua di Rive Droite, kalo lo nyebrang ke Rive Gauche, ada Louis Vuitton (lo mesti liat waktu musim soldes dibuka! Busyeeet yang ngantri panjang banget!) dan FNAC (kalo lo demen elektronik hihihi…) Gw ketemu Andy Garcia di Sephora, toko parfum. Ck..ck..ck…tampan sekali pria Italia itu!!!

Di Jakarta udah mulai hujan tapi tetep panaaaaaas banget!!! Tapi karena gw lagi nyelesain thesis dan kebetulan dosen pembimbingnya berkantor di UI Depok, mau gak mau gw kudu rajin-rajin kesana. Macet, jauh, panas duuh sebel!!! Gw Idul Fitri gak kemana-mana, nenek gw yang di Bandung tahun lalu khan meninggal. Sedih deh… Bokap nyokap gw Insya Allah mau naik haji bulan Desember ini, mudah-mudahan mereka kembali dengan selamat dan menjadi haji mabrur. Amiin.

Ok C, ceritanya kita sambung next time ya, gw mau makan dulu. MINAL AIDIN WAL FAIDZIN. MOHON MAAF LAHIR DAN BATIN. Salam buat Marc. Oh ya, udah “isi” blom C? Atau masih diprogram? Btw, doain ya, mudah-mudahan within next year in 2007, gw udah nyusul lo ke Perancis. I really miss winter…

Cheers sista,

Dewi

What is luck to you?

Despite of newly-opened bars throughout Jakarta, I always enjoy my time at B.A.T.S. That night I arrived at the bar early by myself as Agnes, Emilia and Frida were still busy finishing their hairdo. Only one thing I hate about this place, “the chicks” which occupy mostly every corner of the room. So, instead of look like one, I decided to order a light meal while waiting for the girls. The Mai Tai and calamari I ordered hadn’t served yet while a girl (I assumed older than I am) approached me and asked permission to sit at a chair next to me. I reserved those chairs for the girls who would come by any minutes but never mind, Frida usually spends most of her time at the dance floor anyways…

I was kinda bored waiting so I started to stare at the girl next to me. She was a bit toned, dark skin and wore a supposedly sexy dress. We finally ended up chatting and somehow I found her alright. Her name was Marinah but she wanted to be called “Maria”. She said it’s easier for the bule. She came from a village in Central Java and hoped that she would find her luck in Jakarta. She never really finished her school but she really want to get out from the poverty. She told me how some of her friend are lucky as they finally ended up living with some bule and get their life well-financed. She then asked me what am I doing here alone. I said I’m waiting for my girl friends. She asked did I have a boyfriend and I said yes, my boyfriend lives in Paris. She gave me a tired smile and asked did I meet my fiancé in a place like this? I smiled and said to her that I’m a TV reporter and I met my fiancé during an interview. She looked so hopeless and threw me a sour smile.

“You are lucky Dewi. Since I sit here from the very first time, many bule have been looking at you. I think they like you, a lot. If I keep sitting here, I would never have my chance so I better move to other corner. Nice meeting you anyways…”

I saw her disappear among crowds just several minutes before the girls came.

Postscript:

I’m still a loyal B.A.T.S visitor but I never met Maria again. Many girls like Maria in Jakarta but we could never blame them. They take shelter from a bule to another bule to have their life better supported while keeping a slight dream that they will be espoused one day. That’s a mutual relationship I guess. The bule will have “maid” inside the house while the girl will have better supported life and maybe they’re lucky enough if they could convince the bule to have children with them as lifetime insurance though the contract might ended anytime. For some people it feels like “selling your dignity” but for people like Maria, it means they are lucky. It’s a relative perspective, depends on how you see it, and depends on which social values you are rose. For me, it’s a choice and you’ll choose it when it’s brighter than the others.

What is friendship to you?

Indonesian girls, when they have best friend, sometimes they tend to cross the line in the name of friendship of course. When I had a dispute with Jean-Luc, Angie sneaked on my cell phone and grabbed Jean-Luc’s email address from it. Behind me, she tried to do her best, writing an email to settle peace between us. I never knew that until one day Jeanny did the same thing. She sent an email but practically it was only my writing that she modified over here and over there before forward it to Jean-Luc.

I might never know about this if Jeanny didn’t call me that evening. I was about to go somewhere else when Jeanny asked me to meet her in Pasaraya. She gave me a reply from Jean-Luc and I almost dead reading it. Jean-Luc thought it was me behind the two letters from Angie and Jeanny. I was so sad, I don’t know what to say. Should I mad at Jenny? Should I mad at Angie or should I just hate Jean-Luc for being so narrow-minded about me? Jenny apologized but I just couldn’t talk to her any longer. I really didn’t know who to blame. Had Jeanny and Angie crossed the line? Or maybe they just tried to show both me and Jean-Luc that they were concern?

Postscript:

I didn’t talk to Jeanny for almost three months. I didn’t blame her for what she once did. What I knew she had tried to explain her best to Jean-Luc and she never had bad intention but helping me. I still talk with Angie but I keep my cell phone away from her. One week after Lebaran, Jeanny rang my home and sincerely asked for forgiveness. It’s Lebaran time when people forgive and forgiven.

“Sorry for the email incident Dewi.”
“It’s alright Jeanny. With or without your email, I guess Jean-Luc has determined his decision.”

Since the incident, I haven’t got chance to meet up Jeanny again. I miss her though…