Friday, August 28, 2009

Hard days to come

I'm coming to another tough days that I need to study more and more. I'm heading to a class test that is really making me quite nervous because of its lots of materials to read and learn by heart. Another urgent preparation I need to work in is my mini lecture. I'm volunteering for a class mini lecture with a given topic. I have read the textx but seems don't get to the essential part yet. I thin I need to reread and reread as I ever heard someone saying how to read and understand is to read and reread and reread again until you understand. What a simple hard work to do.

Oh, I have another coming assignment that needs lots of attention which is my group work presentation. Actually this is quite unburdening me at the moment because this is a group work. There are five of us in the group. I hope with five heads we can result in good work and presentation.

I better keep moving because I need to understand my reading texts. It's hard for me to keep focus when reading, hope this time I can.


Monday, August 24, 2009

Athens burning

This is 'when the flames united' and ate up a big part of Athens. The flames were just so huge that there was a very unbreakable strong union among the flames.

Athens is burning, thousands of people rushed to a safer place, but the strong united flames kept chasing them. That's really a night mare for Athens. It started last Sunday and is still in red.

Athens was another country that faced the fire after the black saturday fire disaster in January to Australia; Melbourne.

This could happen in any country, so people need to be aware of this very mean killer. It's time to regenerate what old people told the young before. It was that don't play with the flame.

The fire in Melbourne last January and in Athens this July, could be a man's mistake, but when it's getting this huge, the most important thing to do is not to blame each other but to find the way to distinguish the fire.

Hope the fire can be stopped in a short time and may Athens unite to fight the fire.



Beware of dogs!

Before I listened to the night news yesterday, I wouldn't be so afraid of dogs. But the news was really shocking me. There was a cute little girl, between 1-2 years young, bitten by a dog. It's the dog of her neighbor which seemed to be her playing friends beforehand.

What a misery that the dog bit her face, half of her face to be precise. This afternoon the news reported the progress and the little girl was shown on screen holding by her mother. It was really terrible, one of her eyes was bandaged and her mouth was torn. There're many sewing on her face.

The bad news was the dog's owner said the dog had disappeared. What a terrible fate the little girl had to pas through.

I remembered that in my country, when someone was bitten by a dog, both the bitten person and the dog needed to be put under special care. If the dog died, then the person bitten could die too, and before dying the bitten person would howl like a dog. What a serious illness dog could spread.

So, though people around had so many wonderful and tamed like dogs, I'd never get closer to any of them. They're just all frightening to me since listening to the news. Moreover, from the history, there're thousands of dog bite cases had happened in this country every year and at least one bitten person died every year. What a miserable story.

So, better be aware of dogs every time I meet any of them.

Thank you Neere

I wanna thanks one of my good classmates who kindly drove me home this afternoon. She was a mother of three daughters. She always rushed to pick her baby from a child care center every after classes.

She was a good person and I'd like to thank her. It was windy and rainy this afternoon but being offered to sit in her car, I didn't feel the cold outside.

Thanks Neere



Thursday, August 20, 2009

A frightening friendly man

I was at Coles yesterday that a man came towards me. I was standing, looking at the the chicken because I already ran out of meat. I compared the price and the expiry date. The man who seemed to be very friendly greeted me saying 'how're you?' I didn't know the man.

I simply said 'fine, thanks,' and looked back to the meat. I pretended not to look at him but I knew he was still there beside me looking at me. I was quite uncomfortable and looked at him. He said 'see you' to me and I just smiled. I wish I would not see him again. He passed and probably bought other stuff. He was not buying any meat at all. He just came to greet me.

After finishing my shopping, I stopped a while on a desk and made sure that I had put my purse on my bag. It was there and then I was ready to walk home. Suddenly the man came towards me again and greeted me. I was suspicious of what this man did, what was he? I pretended to be busy and taking my bags, ready to leave. He kept talking saying I shopped a lot. I smiled and said yes, he said something else and I just answered yes. Oh, I remembered the last one he asked me before he really left me. He said 'do you have family?' and I said 'yes.' I hope by saying that he would go away. It was great the man went away because I said yes. He finally said yeah, cooking for your family?

Thanks God that he went away after that, if not maybe I would be very much in trouble and still didn't prepare of what to do in that situation. How could I escape from that frightening friendly man.


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

'Language, Identity and Culture'...How are you related?

Reading two of Stuart Hall's article recently, I find it difficult to see the link of how language, identity and cultural difference are connected. Actually I get some already in my mind, but not so sure if it is how Hall relates them.

Well, I come to an example of hundreds I can find in my background reality. I take one which is so obvious what I represent for and will always do. It's 'batak toba,' one of the ethnics found in my region back to North Sumatera.

Well, I'm a very typical batak woman. I do speak, work, think, and feel like what batak really do. Batak people speak loudly, yet it's not necessarily I'm in a bad temper or anger. I work fast and do some hard work such as lifting and fixing stuff. It is what Batak always do, never be afraid of doing hard work but do that for good, not depending oneself to others, hard to find 'fed up' in his mind. Thinking and feeling are sometimes quite mixed for they've very thin difference. Your feeling will influence your your way of thinking. Batak is not good at hiding their feeling and usually it is clearly seen from the face. I'm quite that way.

I inherit my batak culture from my parents. Firstly I'm born with my surename then I am raised in the culture. I see many of the culture as I grow up. I see how batak dress, how they speak their dialect, how they dance at parties, how they quarrel, even how they swim in a lake. They're just some that I can recall now.

Since I'm well educated in batak environment in which the people speak the dialect, use and apply the ethnical norms in every angles of their life, I can recognize any one of them if I find one at other place.

I am able to do so because the batak already have their identity. What I see to recognize them is their identity. The identity is performed through their language and culture. I know they belong to batak because of the language they use and the culture they show in dressing, speaking, acting, etc. I know that because they're different from the rest I may find them with.

So, is that all? Is that an appropriate way to interpret the interrelation happens in language, idenity and culture?

I'm still thinking.



Sunday, August 16, 2009

Holy Communion

Sunday will never I spend without going to your home my Lord
Seeking for comfort, peace, and love is what my life thirst for
I know that you're there waiting for me coming to your home

Oh Lord how I feel safe in all your guidance

Sunday is time for Holy Communion
God please forgive me for all I have done wrong
so that I am worthy to receive You

Right here in my heart I always want You be
Please remind me always that You are in me

Oh Lord how I miss You all times

Dear Lord thank you for giving me everything
Dear Lord thank you for making me worthy be your daughter
Dear Lord thank you for always be my Saviour

What a miracle that you've healed me today
I thought I would suffer some more days from this fever
But you really know that I must do so much work
I just need to be strong to pass through

Oh Lord how I am grateful for all this miracle

Thank you my dear Lord

I believe in You and your presence in the Holy Communion

I love you my Lord


Saturday, August 15, 2009

Winter will you end soon?

I am so glad that I am here again just to begin a new start for a quite long journey to handle. This is all I want since I know what difference it can make to me and how I really want it my way. At least I can say I want it for all good things I can think of.

Yet, I must say I really have hard times dealing with this one season, the winter time. It's sometimes very freezing that I hide under my donas. I soon fall asleep, sound and warm. But it's a sign of a not good one 'cos I will leave all my work. It may take me hours to really aware of getting of the bed right then.

I keep counting days and weeks, and keep my eyes closely to the weather forecast just to make myself happy when there's at least a day warm in a week.

Oh, winter, will you end soon? I need to get out of this bed and start doing things right. Though I know it's your time still but I'm hoping there's miracle. If you can't leave in this time of my asking, would you at least not too cold every single day I need to get out?


My sweet Reyhan


I am so happy that I have my Reyhan just right beside me anytime I am at my bed. He is so loyal that I can't help hugging him. He is so cute.

He is here by my side at all times and will always be. He is so special and the only one.

Thanks my Reyhan for always be there when hard times come and try to strike me hard to the ground.

Love you much.