Being thankful

Today, I woke up, as usual, feeling blue and discontent about my life in Indonesia umm.. that's why I wrote this blog even in the first place, right  - to help me count  my blessings in Jakarta since I hate the ugly mall lifestyle, ugly traffic, and so on and so on. The author of the blog JakartAss knows better ;) . Also, I usually like to write my blog according to the timeline, when each event happens. I already have 3 posts due to be written, but this one is an exception!... What I felt, or rather, learned today was beyond expectation.

I went to visit Pondok Si Boncel in Depok with fellow Lion's Club Monas Green members today. It's a place where they take care and raise neglected or abandoned kids, infants through elementary school age. I came in with a very low expectation of the place. If you read my very first blog about a similar activity, I was pretty uncomfortable and unhappy about the previous facility. However, Pondok Si Boncel is very different. The place is big, clean and organized. Most of the kids were surrendered by their parents due to poverty and unplanned pregnancy.



The first section that we went to was the section for infants - we were not allowed to enter the nursing room. I was also expecting poorly looking infants... but no! They were all pretty chubby, and they were very happy looking. They were able to play with their toys and they looked content all by themselves. One of the infants waved his hand to us too while smiling :) Very cute.


We then went to a section for the toddlers. The toddlers just kind of swarmed around us and they could say their names faintly. Kind of shy to us adults, which is common for kids of that age... But they were happy, gorgeous and very active! They were playing with their balloons, gifts from a person who had just celebrated their birthday there. One of them was really cute ugh, I really should stop playing favorites... His name is Adit. After he shook hands with me, he took my hand and cuddled it on his cheek. He also gave me his sandals for some reason... And I thanked him but gave them back *duh. :)
The kids were soon called to the dining room because dinner was served.








As I watched them running to the dining room cheerfully, tears started rolling down my eyes. I woke up with 1000 complaints about my life and yet, if compared to these kids , I consider myself lucky. These kids were neglected by their parents; they do not have a family, do not have a home and yet... they live the day with a smile and excitement. I was deeply embarassed and I felt guilty that I was not being thankful enough about my current life. And at times, it is very hard for me to count my blessings, like I actually have to make an effort to do it and most of the time I fail. But at that moment, I felt an instant gratification, as if a hole in my psyche or whatever you call it if  you have never taken phenomenological psychology class has just been filled.

We then moved to the playground where older kids were playing. One kid asked me to open up a candy wrapper for him. Other kids then came to ask for the candy, and I just watched them share. Funny how simple things like that can make my heart felt warm and fuzzy. As I was going to put the wrapper in the garbage, a kid came up to me and offered to do it for me! WOW... What a manner! He is so going to grow up as a gentleman :D

I highly recommend those who have never done any visits or volunteering for non profit organizations to go. In particular, this Pondok Si Boncel. It is VERY rewarding. At the end of the visit, I was the one who felt healed :) For more information you guys can go to their website : http://www.itpponline.biz/pondok_si_boncel.htm

The beauty of goodbye...

One Art (Elizabeth Bishop) The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster, Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn't hard to master. Then practice losing farther, losing faster: places, and names, and where it was you meant to travel. None of these will bring disaster. I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or next-to-last, of three beloved houses went. The art of losing isn't hard to master. I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster, some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent. I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster. -- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident the art of losing's not too hard to master though it may look like (Write it!) a disaster As some of you might know, my maternal grandmother just passed away a few weeks ago. After months of having had to lay on the hospital bed, weary, she is finally now gone. This loss was my third major bid of farewell within the past two months - the first farewell was in August; I had to kiss goodbye Seattle, my home, and its people, who were very much dear to me. Within this peculiar window of time, I am learning the beauty of goodbye. When we perceive something as eternal, whether it is our home, friendship, family bond, et cetera,... us humans start taking these things for granted. Day by day just passed without meaning. We might stay in a particular city but have never lived it. We might see a particular person everyday, but we do not know who s/he is. We might have a relationship with that special someone, but as time passes by the romance is gone, and that special person turns into a person of convenience and nothing more. Our family at home, whom we know will always stand by us, we never really spend quality time with.  Funny, right? The truth is... things will go away in a blink of an eye, the world might not even give you  the time to be surprised. I never want to look back with regrets, having not had spent enough quality time with people that I care for. I think the best relationships are the kinds that you realize will end. Thus you savor and enjoy each moment you have. People are usually saddened by death, and it is tearing them apart for a very unknown reason. I coped with my grandmother's death thinking and reflecting back on what she had done for us, the great person she had been. She had a good race and she was done. And yes, during her comatose period, I whispered my thank you to her for her cooking,.. her presence during my childhood... and I am sure she heard me saying goodbye.

Eco Friendly Vacation in Jakarta (yes, it exists!)

I didn't think there would be an eco friendly vacation spot in the big dumpster Oh Mighty Jakarta. Well, technically it's not on the mainland. The place is located on a remote island north of Jakarta - Pulau Macan, which is still considered a part of the DKI Jakarta district.

While it's 2 hours away by speedboat, the trip is totally worth it (Note: if you go to other Pulau Seribu islands located closer to Jakarta, you'll find the water is full of garbage) 

Getting there, you will find yourself surrounded by tranquil blue turquoise water of Pulau Macan, and you can find lots of sea creatures just steps away from your rooms! ( I found this uber cute blue starfish ). They use solar power on the island and they recycle. You can kayak and snorkel around the island too. Immerse yourself with the beauty of mother nature! 

However, one of the guides told me that the population of sea-cucumbers in this location is going extinct because the local people would over-harvest them in the wild and sell them (I am guessing via black market) to other countries such as Japan. Indeed, I barely saw any sea cucumbers.. sad~ Fella travelers if you guys ever decide to visit, help us preserve the beauty of Indo nature pleasee :D

ADAM...

The second week I got back to Indonesia, one of my friends took me to participate in this volunteering activity (oh, and of course I had recovered from my big ass jet-lag by then!). It was organized by The Lion's Club of Jakarta. It took place in Panti Sosial Bina Grahita Belaian Kasih Jakarta Barat, a place where poor children with disabilities were taken care of.

I had this mental image about how the place was going to be, because I have had my psychiatric and community health rotation too back when I was still in the nursing school. However, upon my arrival, I was terribly shocked due to : a) the physical condition of the kids and  b) the smell - seriously!

Okay, fine, I thought.... I'll be happy to help out, but please children, do not smear your body fluid on my hands by hugging me!!!! Since most of them were not toilet trained, they would urinate wherever and try to touch me afterwards. Some of them had exudates coming out from their ears...  I tried asking for gloves (nursing school rule #1, always put on your gloves when you  are at risk of being in contact with bodily fluid, otherwise you WILL fail the class) but they did not have any available. Fortunately some people stocked up a bunch of hand sanitizer, which I then used big time.

Partially disgusted, I tried to draw and interact with them though. However, most of them could not speak. I asked the workers whether most of the kids were mute. It turned out that most of them apparently could speak when they got in there, but since nobody really communicated with them, they eventually lost their ability to speak. What a pity! As I learnt that, I tried to keep encouraging them to communicate with me, but I guess more time was required for them to regain that skill.


There was one kid that stood out for me in particular. His name was Adam. He was one of the skinniest and the smallest kid seen in that facility. He could not speak. He grabbed my hand as he was coloring his sheet of paper with the crayons. He gave one of the crayons to me and gestured me to join him coloring. So I did. He was pretty cute, I thought.

Our coloring session was interrupted by the announcement for lunch. I was curious of what Adam would do, so I just kind of followed him as he was getting his lunch. I helped him with his eating utensils when I saw that he was having difficulty. Adam, as the food became available to him, probably took a spoon or two of his food, and then, to my surprise, gave to others his! (the type of food provided during this lunch was a rare treat for them). He would scoop his rice, and feed the rest to his friends later. No wonder he was so skinny! I discouraged that behavior since he was so skinny and he needed some nutrient himself, but he ran away from me and kept feeding others in his way. He loved to nurse others. Funny how a lesson on humanity came from the most unsophisticated place like this. He cared for others despite of his own condition.


*pictures courtesy of Edo Hokandar*