Graduation Night

Last night I celebrated my Clemente Course graduation with my Clemente professors, sponsors (MassHumanities, UMASSD, etc), and the scholars with their significant others in Whaling Museum at downtown New Bedford.

Clemente Graduates 2012 with All the Professors

I actually don’t feel like I deserve the graduation night and the certificate given from Clemente Course. I certainly haven’t completed one semester of philosophy and American literature class -because I quit in the middle of the semester due my first trimester sickness. But, oh, well… I completed this Spring semester of Clemente with American History and Art History (+ writing and public speaking). So, a little celebration won’t hurt!

Congratulations!

Too bad for the graduation night Ara and Azka couldn’t accompany me Azka didn’t feeling well that day and Ara had a final exam presentation for the next day. I came alone, but didn’t feel lonely at all because I was too busy embrace my last moments with my Clemente classmates.

I‘m gonna miss these tough and wondrous women. They might not the most talented – most charming – most eloquent- or the coolest women I ever met..But, each of these women has given me inspirations for what they have done through their life. They (might have) faced the most difficult times of their lives – mental illness, loosing their significant others, teen pregnancy and no support from family, single moms, etc- , they faced much challenges in life than I what I have been through. They’re moving on now and I can see clearly they have changed to be a better person than they were before when I first met them last September 2011…

The class situated in small and humble meeting room in West End of New Bedford might not the greatest and comfortable class room I ever be in, not kind of a class I expected to be if I want to continue my study at all. But does it matter? As long as we could learn, study, discussing self-provoke questions, …does it matters what the class look like?

For this opportunity, I would really send my sincere thank yous to all devoted professors of Clemente Course in New Bedford: Dr. Mark Santow as the coordinator of the program – which showed me how a man could be so devoted to academics, family, and community so much.

Dr. Mark (in the middle)

To Dr. Memory Holloway – for a new pair of eyes she gave through the Art History she taught.

Dr. Memory (in green dress)

And the rest to all the staff and professors Noureen, Dr. Jen Riley, Dr. Cathy, Kathleen Torrens, and Susan. This experience, might not changed my life 180 degree, but I know I am a different person from what I am before.

Last but not least, thank you for my Clemente friends: Alda, Barbara, Jamilyn, Kristen, Jean, Jenna, Christina, Christie, Maricher, Justin, Esperanza, Anne, Jessica, Maggie and Lynne ; for the friendship and kindness for all these months, the chairs reserved only for pregnant lady, nice night-chat on the cab, and sharing valuable knowledge through our discussion and debate.

I certainly will miss our Clemente times

The Velveteen Rabbit

“Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”- The skin horse to the velveteen rabbit.

Yesterday we had an opportunity to watch a theater performance of The Velveteen Rabbit at Zeiterion Theater in downtown New Bedford. The ticket was $10, but we got it free as one of Zeiterion’s Art Access program for the low-income children and family in Temple Landing.

Z! Performing Art Center

The Velveteen Rabbit (or How Toys Become Real) is a children’s novel written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson. It chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit and his quest to become real through the love of his owner. The book was first published in 1922 and has been republished many times since (source: Wiki). I think it’s like an old version of Toy Story… Very touchy and beautifully written. You can hear (and watch) the storytelling of this book by Meryl Streep ini here.

Summary: Once there was a velveteen rabbit who longed to be Real. He was owned by a boy who loved him more and more every day, even when the rabbit’s velveteen coat grew old and shabby and worn. Then one day something magical happened, and the rabbit’s wish began to come true…

Anyway, this is the first time I took Azka to watch a theater performance. At first I’m not sure whether he would really enjoy the performance, with a low-light, and watch stay still  for an hour show. The worst thing that could happen he would cry when the light goes off, or he get bored and sleep, but….surprisingly he well-behaved along the show and seemed like had a great time watching three people on the stage doing “crazy” stuffs (yes, there were only three performers, they switched from one to another characters continuously along the show). Watching live music, theater, and stage performances like this are better alternatives than watching movies at cinema.

The popcorn effect

The actors and their minimal props encouraging audience’s imagination

About Zeiterion: the mission of Zeiterion Performing Arts Center is to provide New Bedford and the region with performing arts programming of excellence that inspires, educates, engages and entertains:

We seek to bring the community together in shared experience and imbue everything we do with positive energy.  We believe a performing arts center has the ability to galvanize and transform a community and are committed to serving as a catalyst that energizes the city, its citizens and the region.

There are many great upcoming programs coming to Z! Some only for adults, but if you’re looking for kids’ program, there are several ways to engage your kids to art performances: The School-Time Performance program. Check the upcoming events in here.

Piknik & Picnic

Minggu ini usia kandungan saya adalah 38 minggu (menurut babycenter atau 37 minggu menurut kalendar di women center). Tidak perlu hamil, manusia banyak kepengennya, tapi kalau saya…semakin matang usia kandungan, semakin banyaklah saya kepengen ini-itu. Dipikir-pikir saya ini suka ketakutan gak bisa laigi melakukan banyak hal kalau sudah punya anak (dan sekarang, dua anak! Yuk…). Dalam pikiran saya, pastilah bulan-bulan ke depan saya akan lebih banyak di rumah… Makanya, saya buat list “Things to do before Nako2 born”, beberapa diantaranya seperti: whale watching, traveling ke Nantucket, nonton ke bioskop (udah dua tahun ga ke bioskop!), konser, ini-itu, the list goes on… Gak semuanya terpenuhi, tentu.

Kehamilan kedua ini ada beberapa hal standar yang ingin saya lakukan -sebagaimana pas hamil Azka- salah satunya kepengen piknik! Mungkin juga karena Azka dan Nako2 lahirnya pas cuaca lagi hangat-hangatnya, menjelang musim panas. Jadilah disegerakan beberapa piknik. Tahun lalu bersama teman-teman LFM dan gang A – sama, pas usia kandungan 37-38 minggu. Seminggu setelah piknik saya sukses lahiran.

Lembang

Chop, chop!

Wanita LFM

Gang A

Liwet

Azka inside

Tahun ini bersama Dita dan temen-temen SMAST. Feeling saya? Minggu depan Nako 2 lahir Semoga segala sesuatunya dimudahkaaaan…..

Dita, Kabob, dan Falafel

College Hill – Brown University (Providence)

Piknik dipinggir jalan…

Coke,Chips and Clutters

Apponagansett Point Recreation Area – Dartmouth

SMAST Friends

With SMAST Chinese Friends

Piera and (SpongeBob) Pinata

Alhamdulillah for the super nice warm weather!

38 Weeks

Actually, 37 Weeks + 4 Days :p

Lowell

Discover the continuing revolution. Lowell’s water-powered textile mills catapulted the nation – including immigrant families and early female factory workers – into an uncertain new industrial era. Nearly 200 years later, the changes that began here still reverberate in our shifting global economy. Explore Lowell, a living monument to the dynamic human story of the Industrial Revolution

On May 5th I joined the annual volunteer field trip with New Bedford Whaling National Park volunteers to Lowell, Massachusetts. The trip was free and each volunteer could bring one guest to join the trip. I, of course, wanted the guest to be Ara and Azka, but unfortunately the trip coordinator (and volunteer association president), Diane, didn’t really suggest me to bring Azka – she said, “It won’t be interesting for him”. So I asked my friend from Clemente Course, Alda Freitas, to accompany me that day.

The trip to Lowell took 1.5 hour – with very smooth and no traffic at all-, usually takes 2 – 2.5 hour in weekdays from New Bedford to Lowell. Our first destination was Lowell National Historical Park – the Visitor Center. We watched a 20-minutes documentary movie about the history of the city that was well known as the cradle of the industrial revolution in the United States in 19th century.

Sketches of the people which make up the stories of Lowell

Alda at The Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center

After that we went to New England Quilt Museum which located only 10 minutes walk from the visitor center. The Quilt Museum had an exhibition of Fenway Park Centennial, Quilts by Rosemary Bawn (until July 8th 2012). I actually expected much more than 1 floor of exhibition, but that it is, the first floor is museum’s store and second floor is the exhibition.

New England Quilt Museum

The next destination was Boott Cotton Mills Museum and Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit. We went to both places by old electric trolley – which still in a very good condition. Ahhh…..I always amazed (and envy) of how this country really respect the historical values by preserving all the collections and documents from the past. I wish Indonesia has many museums and well-maintained national parks like in here. Wish, wish, wish….

The MIll

Fellow Volunteers +65 y.o. I respect all of them for their spirit and energy!

Lowell Yellow Trolley

The female workers worked 13hr a day, 7 days a week, paid $2.5/ month.

Mill Girls Exhibit

Immigrants Exhibit

Plan your visit before coming to Lowell National Park by visiting their Web. Totally recommended and worth visited!

Over In The Meadow

Since October last year, me and Azka routinely come to this playgroup by Artworks! and Temple Landing. It is called The Learning Studio. But I don’t know why, there are not so many parents and child participate for this program…Only 5 children (maximal) and sometimes even just 2 children (including the instructor’s son). Which is sad because this program is very different among all the playgroups, it is focus more to art.

This week, we do something different than the other meetings…Usually we stay at the studio and do creative projects by using different kind of art materials (there are many of paint supplies in different forms that I never seen or use before, so fun!). Last Tuesday, we went out for a StoryWalk to Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust’s (DNRT) Knowles Reserve. What is StoryWalk? Basically we do the tracking and enjoy the nature as well as reading the pages of the featured book that we found along the trail.

StoryWalk is the opportunity to share a book with your children as you wander from page to page down a nature trail. Celebrate the joy of reading and a taste of the great outdoors!

The featured book this time is Over In The Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats. I never read the book to Azka before, but we listened and watched the video from YouTube several times (I got it from Winda, again, haha). So this is very familiar for us and we enjoyed singing the counting-rhymes song all the way of the tracking…!

Entrance of The StoryWalk

Yasmin Feh Feh – The Instructor

The StoryWalk started on Friday, May 11 and run through Sunday, May 20. These are self-guided walks and participants can enjoy them anytime from dawn to dusk. For directions and more information, go to www.dnrt.org or call the DNRT at (508) 991-2289.

Oh, and if you live in New Bedford (and surrounding area) & have kids (or being a caregiver of) 0-3 years old, I suggest you to join this very good playgroup:

Learning Studio: Early Literacy 0-3 years old (Learning through the Arts)

Tuesdays: 9:30-11:00 am.

Temple Landing Community Center

370 Middle St. New  Bedford, MA.

Picture books, reading, songs, movement, role play and visual art engaging the natural curiosity of children. This program support parents and caregivers as their children’s first teachers and implement an arts based early learning experience with developmentally appropriate practices, building a foundation for future academic success. Totally Free.

Malik Azka 2nd Birthday

Can’t believe my little baby had just turning two year-old! Seems like it was just yesterday  I have him in my arms, so tiny and fragile. Now, look at him! He’s jumping, running, climbing, all by himself…! Alhamdulillah for the greatest gift Ya Rabb. Nothing makes me (as a mother) more grateful than having a healthy, active, curious, cooperative, good-looking, and smart child like Azka. Me, harus lebih banyak bersyukur…

< 1 week old

1 y.o

A little story from his birthday last week,

At the day of his birthday, which is May 7th, I felt kinda guilty because I didn’t pay much attention to him. I was too busy with the home-chores and preparing the last stuffs for Nako #2. But I tried to make him not crying that day (usually he cried 2 times a day when I push him to: brush his teeth and take a nap/ night sleep OR when I forbid him to not do what he wished to do). So that day I let him: eat what he wants, watch what he wants -with considerable amount of times-, play what he wants, read what he wants,…… and _________ -what he wants.

I also did a little surprise for him. I put a “Happy Birthday” banner in our dining room, bought some balloons of his favorite characters, and give a little gift to him; Trucks books. Nothing fancy about all of that, but he was very happy and surprised when see all of these things… -which makes me and Papa Ara happy. Especially the books, that since that day he never wanted to be apart from them (most of the times he sleeps by holding them).

Happy Birthday Kiddo! You are 2 y.o now!

Not really happy that day

About his birthday party,

For months before Azka turns 2 years old, I had been planning to make a special birthday party for him. I was thinking to throw a little party at Ocean Explorium (where I volunteer myself at as a front desk every Saturday for the past 6 months) with some of his playgroup friends. This place has been his favorite place all the time because of the ray and shark touch tank, as well as the small room of Discovery Bay which Azka loves very much because of the little sand box. And I want to make it special because this might be his last birthday to be celebrated alone, ‘coz next year’s (and so on) birthdays most likely he will shared with his little brother (or sister) -  they will be just one month apart and I’d like the idea of making one birthday for them.

But considering all the budget constraints (yeah, right) and the intimate of the party…. I change my mind and decided to throw a little party at home and celebrate it in not a party-like scene (more like just small gathering) with our (new) Indonesian friends – instead of his playgroup friends which not that close. Huee.

It was a beautiful day, everyone that was invited came along from New York, Providence, Boston, Newton, and Storrs. Azka seemed like enjoying his new friends and company that day – at first he was a little shocked when found out that our apartment was fulfill with strangers. But after a while, he had a great time -as well as myself and Ara. I hope that everybody had a great time with foods, chit-chat, and a little walk at the downtown New Bedford and Fort Taber.

Thank you all for coming all the way to New Bedford and the thoughtful gifts! Azka loves his new toys and apparel very much

Boston dan Pertemanan

Ketika akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk membeli tiket untuk menonton konser beberapa musisi dan band favorit saya, sejujurnya saya tidak terlalu memikirkan “Bagaimana saya akan pulang kembali ke New Bedford dari Boston?”. Bus terakhir dari Boston ke New Bedford adalah pukul 21.00, yang mana nampak terlalu mustahil bahwasanya konser sudah akan selesai jam segitu. Kebanyakan konser mulai jam 20.00 (itu baru opening act) dan berakhir kisaran 22.30 – 23.00. Berbagai kemungkinan berkelebat dipikiran saya; dari mulai nginep di airbnb, nebeng di apartemen temennya Ara, pulang ditengah-tengah konser, hingga kemungkinan terakhir yang paling nekat adalah tidur di terminal bus – menunggu hingga pagi hari keberangkatan pertama bus Boston – New Bedford pukul 7. 15 AM).

Namun Allah memang Maha Pengasih lagi Maha Penyayang, terutama sama Ibu Hamil nekat ini Dari perjalanan ke Boston dua minggu terakhir ini saya menemukan kemudahan-kemudahan dalam bentuk teman seperjalanan dan teman nebeng pulang. Hee…

Boston #1, Di bus menuju Boston saya bertemu Judith (teman Ara di UMASSD juga) yang ternyata akan bergabung dengan Gigy dan Piera di Boston untuk minum wine. Ketika sampai di Boston, saya dan Judith pergi ke Boston Common, menikmati sore hari yang indah (cuacanya enak banget) dan makan sore menjelang malam di Quincy Market. Kemudian Gigy menawarkan untuk menjemput saya di venue Wang Theater ketika konser Death Cab beres.

Judith

Boston #2, Titin -seorang sobat alumni GM 2001- mengabari bahwa adiknya yang bernama Hendra tinggal di Newton – kisaran 20 menit naik mobil ke Boston-. Singkat cerita akhirnya saya bertemu Hendra bersama istrinya Tika serta Danika (bayi perempuan mereka yang lucu berusia setahun). Saya terharu sekali karena selama hampir dua tahun tinggal di US baru kali ini saya bertemu dengan keluarga muda Indonesia….! Mereka sangat baik, Padang dan Indonesia sekalii, hehe, dan sesama keluarga “low income” yang berasa hemat-hematnya. Melalui mereka saya banyak mendapat info tentang kegiatan orang-orang Indonesia di MA (bukan tergabung dalam Permias saja).

Hendra & Tika

Boston #2, Masih dari perjalanan kedua ke Boston kemarin…Sesampainya saya di venue konser Yann Tiersen pukul 19.10 PM…Konser belum juga dimulai. Padahal di tiket dicantumkan jam “7 PM”. Sembari menunggu gak jelas, sayup-sayup saya mendengar percakapan orang berbahasa Indonesia tepat di belakang saya!! Dalam remangnya lampu Bowery Club, saya amati….Oh, anak muda dan bukan tipe anak-anak orang kaya-gaul ajeb-ajeb- bikin males. Saya tegur saja….Dan ternyata mereka baik dan unyu-unyu sekalii! hauhauhua. Satrio, cowo berusia 23 tahun sedang ditahun keduanya di Brown University (YES, that Ivy League) mengambil Climate Science. Sedangkan, Iput cewe berusia 24 tahun,  lulusan S1 Jepang, sekarang lagi mengambil S2 bidang Ekonomi di Hult International Business School. Minder saya jadinya. Singkat cerita, Satrio menawari menganter saya pulang (karena Providence dan New Bedford searah walau menyimpang cukup jauh juga sih kalo dari Boston, hihi). Sebelum pulang kami sempat makan di resto Malaysia bernaman “Penang”, menikmati kangkung balacan, rendang, dan martabak daging. Alhamdulillah.

Belacan dan Rendang

Boston #3, seharusnya minggu depan bersama Feist. Tapi saya ikhlaskan tiketnya saya kasih ke Hendra saja, karena bertepatan dengan hari ulang tahun Azka yang kedua tanggal 7 Mei nanti

Konklusi akhir: jalan-jalan sendiri (berdua Nako #2 deng) dalam dua minggu terakhir ini, walau hanya 6-7 jam sendiri…Tapi bener-bener menghibur untuk saya. Betapa me time itu penting untuk membangun mood positif ya? Walau sehari setelahnya saya memang pegel luar biasa sih karena banyak jalan dan berdiri… Tapi minor lah dibanding bahagianya bisa menikmati waktu dengan diri sendiri untuk beberapa saat -walau tetep kangen Azka sekali pisan kalau lebih dari 4 jam pisah!

Owell….Terima kasih banyak buat Gigy, Piera, Judith, Hendra, Tika, Danika, Satrio dan Iput telah menemani, berbagi cerita, dan rela ditebengi anter pulang   Semoga dibalas dengan nikmat yang berlipat olehNya.

Amin.

Goodnight iPad

Goodnight iPad is a parody for the next generation – a hilarious children’s book about irony of living in gadget-y era. Guess who’s the author name? Yep, Ann Droyd it is (not real name of course, a.k.a pseudonym of children’s book author David Milgrim).

You can see or watch full version inside the book in here.

The book is adapted based on the famous classic bedtime story “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown (author) and Clement Hurd (Illustrator):

Similar book like this (digital-inspired parody) I’ve read to Azka is: “It’s a Book” by Lane Smith.

See inside the book in here.

So….What can we learn from this books? …..Get rid all those sensory-dead gadgets and give our children the “real thing”. Read books, turn the pages, feel the books’ textures, sing lullabies, go outside and learn from nature.

A Visit To Fire Station

My little boy has a huge crush to buses and trucks lately. – just like any other boys I guess. Before he only paid much attention to school bus (because of Raffi’s Wheels on The Bus’ song) and fire truck (Ulz song that Winda shared through YouTube). He kept repeating those two songs over and over agaaaaaiinn….

His two favorites words nowadays are “Bussss” and “Truuuckkk”, every time he hears the engine or honk or siren of either school bus, garbage truck, or fire truck he runs to the window to see what he hears.

I never bought him any trucks toys, but luckily he got some of these toys for free from Gifts to Give and the homeschooling program he’s into. The rest we got it from yard sale and thrift store. We started to collect many kinds of trucks now! *Ibu excited to digging the yard sale*

Lately any kind of vehicles that he sees on the road/ air/ water got his attention; cars, trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, tractors, helicopter, boat, etc. So I have to make myself familiar with the type of these vehicles ( I just realized that for every each type of vehicle there are so many variants!). I borrowed him some books that we read religiously every day and night.

But amongst all the trucks, his favorite one still fire truck.Fire truck in here is so different from the ones in Indonesia. The condition of truck is always clean and polished. Every day we can hear the siren going through the streets…People keep them busy because 911 in here will connect: Fire station, Police station, and Ambulance. So even a little accident happens, those emergency vehicles will come to help you…!

Last Saturday we went to one fire station located in North End of New Bedford. Just want to take a closer look of the big fire engine and see what inside it. The firefighter on shift that day, named Kevin, was kind enough to took us for a short tour and explained about a little introduction of the firefighter tasks and fire trucks.

One of the question I asked the him was: “What if I’m about giving birth and panic, should I call 911?” , he answered “Yes!” and they will come with that BIG fire engine and make sure everything is okay with me – along with police and ambulance. Ck, ck,ck…. That’s why everyday the street is always busy with those sirens…

New Bedford Fire Department

I learned based on the short trip to the fire station, there are two general types of fire truck: fire engine the one with hoses (to pump the water and bring people for emergency purposes) and the one with ladder (the very big fire truck it is!!). The poles that usually used for sliding from second to the first floor is no longer been used because of the safety issue – Kevin said some firefighter got injured and had to rest for like a year to recovered from the injury.

Ladder Truck

In New Bedford, there’s actually a Fire Museum but it’s only open on Summer until early Fall. I (alone) visited the museum last year, the museum has a collection of old firefighting equipment and some old fire engines. Visitors can try on old uniforms and see complete archives & pictures about the fire station activities during 19th century.It is located in Old Station No. 4 at 51 Bedford St, New Bedford, MA 02740.

With The Firefighters (Kevin is far left)

Being a firefighter is one of the promising job in US. They “only work” 2 days per week (that is 24 hours full) and the salary is very good -they said. I have a neighbor that was in the middle of having his MBA course, and then he got accepted to be the firefighter…What he decided was stop his MBA and be a firefighter. Nah!