Sabar

Antara sungguh-sungguh & sukses ada jarak. Jarak ini bisa hanya 1 cm, tapi bisa ribuan km. Jarak ini bisa ditempuh dalam hitungan detik tapi bisa juga puluhan tahun.

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Jarak antara sungguh-sungguh & sukses hanya bisa diisi dgn SABAR. Sabar yang aktif, sabar yang gigih, sabar yang tidak menyerah, sabar yang penuh dari pangkal sampai ujung yang paling ujung. Sabar yang bisa membuat sesuatu yang tak mungkin menjadi mungkin, bahkan seakan-akan itu sebuah keajaiban dan keberuntungan...

Padahal keberuntungan adalah hasilKERJA KERAS, DOA, & SABAR YANG BERLEBIH-LEBIH.

“Man jadda wa jada, Man shabara zhafira”

Siapa yang bersungguh2 akan berhasil,siapa yang sabar akan beruntung.

 (Dari temanku Loly Novita, dari Ranah 3 Warna dari trilogi NEGERI 5 MENARA)

A Letter from Julia

Hi Sabrie,

I am sorry that it takes me always a little bit longer to write back to you, although I am really thinking a lot about you and Alce and Asep! I miss you very much! But I needed some time to settle in.

Now, this is my forth week in Newcastle. It's such a nice city on the river Tyne and the view from the quayside is absolutely stunning. You have to see some pictures, there are seven bridges going over to the other side of the river. The city center is also quite lovely, with beautifully decorated buildings, lots of parks and the castle, where Newcastle got its name from.

I will be staying here for 2 months, working in the department of urology in the nearby hospital. I managed to find a flatshare where I am living with Matt, his girlfriend and Claire. They are nice, but like lots of english people, they are kind of "cold", not that relaxed and not so funny. So most of the time, I don't spend too much time with them, because we have not so much in common and not so much to talk about.... 

But it's cool, that I can live in a nice house in a typical english street, where all the houses look the same. =)

And I am walking about 35-40 minutes into the city center and 25 minutes to hospital. So I can do everything by walking.

Work in hospital is cool! Really! The doctors are so nice, always try to teach me a lot and explain everything they are doing to me. I told them that I want to become urologist myself and so they bother even more to show me the most important stuff. =)

I am quite happy about that!

I met another german student. We're getting on really well and already discovered the city and some nearby places together, like Durham (cute little town beside the river Wear with a castle and a lovely cathedral), Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter films have been shot there) and the coast. I made lots of cool photos, hopefully I can show them to you!

Next weekend, we're hiring a car to go to Edinburgh and hopefully the scotish highlands. And I also try to find a place to stay overnight via couchsurfing there.

Speaking about couchsurfing: when I came to the UK, I took the plane to Manchester and stayed there for 4 days at a nice guys place. We did a little pub tour together and hiked in the nearby Peak District National Park. It was very windy, but beautiful with blue sky, so many different shades of green hills and sheep with baby sheep! So cute! ; )

When I go out at night with my german friend, we always make fun of the english people. I can tell you, nearly everybody is overweight. You should see the girls: I am wearing a pullover and a raincoat and they are going out in a bikini!!! I don't lie! I already saw girls in bikinis at night. Or they're wearing really, really short skirts and too much make-up. In fact, most of them are looking like fat whores! ; ) Sorry about my language, but it's really like that!

And I can tell you that I am not exaggerating! We would have so much fun together here! =)

When you have time, just come and visit me!

Oh Sabrie, I am missing France and Angers and you! It's nice here as well, but I prefer France! And the french people are also funnier and much easier to talk to. Yes, english people are also nice, but I just fell in love with France and sometimes I am talking french in my head! ; )

It's so sad that I could not come and visit you before coming here! When will you be going back to Indonesia?

On the 31.5., I'll fly to Dublin and then I'll stay the next 2 months in Galway. You could also visit me there when you have time!

Did you do any trips so far! Alce tole me about Tours and the chateaux there and that she wants to go to Saint Malo and Mont Saint Michel. Will you be going with her?

Could you improve your french? Are your classes still that stressful?

I am dreaming about visiting you in Angers, but probably that's not possible as long as you are still here...we'll see!

But come here whenever you want!

I wish you a great time and enjoy the french spring!

I'll write you soon again!

Gros bisous

Julia

France in My Eyes

Sabrie Noer, Angers, Winter 2012

I was a small kid when the first time I saw trees without leaves in winter and white snow on the roof top of the houses somewhere in Europe. It was so wonderful. I was so fascinated. Of course ... it was all on TV; because at that time, I was just a small kid in a small tropical island somewhere in Indonesia. An island of some twelve thousand miles away from Europe that you can not even see it on the map. 

Recorded that image in my mind,  it has been always my “dream” to go to Europe. Yes! It was twenty five years ago. Now, here I am. Feeling so small in one of  great countries in the world. The country that produced democracy, country that created revolusi, country who gave birth to many philosophies and theories: the country called France.

As a student from a developing country, having a chance to study in France is always a precious gift. Not only to study the compulsory subject materials in the courses, but also to study the culture , the people,  the habits, the lives, to study the way the people work, the way they think - to study France and french. Here in Angers, an old city of about one and a half hours by train from Paris, I feel like a “life observer” in every single day of my walking.

Facilities (Public Services)

It is a big suprise to me to know how great attention that French government pays to the society. I mean, the government of France really cares about the rights of the people: the public service. Even, it doesn’t mean that the application of administration and bureaucracy is good enough if it is compared to those applied in other developed countries. I mean, we can see various policies made by the goverment to help people for their living, such as those related to school fees, accomodation, transportation, social scurity, etc.

There is always kinds of certain regulation (reductions) available for those who poor, handicaps, for the students or the young people. French people are very lucky to have these kind of government policies because there are many countries out there, especially in the  poor or developing countries, which never have these kind of facilities and policies for real.

As a foreign student with residence permit for just one year, here in Angers, I’ve received many facilities and good service. In campus, for example, I can borrow 5 to 7 books for 21 days and I can prolong them for the next couple of weeks without rushing myself to come back to the bibliothèque (library) but I can just do it via internet from my residence. Moreover, I can get internet access for 24 hours both in campus and at home (of course, it is not free, but it is also not really expensive and included in the residence rental payment). With CAF (such family allowance), I deserve to get reduction for more than fifty percent of the normal residence payment per month. Then, I just have to pay €19 instead of €38 (the normal price) for the tramway and bus’ ticket for one month since I have an attestation de long sejour (temporarily residence permit) from the OFII. I always wish we had also all of these facilities in our country.

Information & Information Technology (IT)

It is also wonderful to know how great the government of France in providing information to the people in every corner of this hexagonal country. The availability of data, the maps, the guidance brochures, phone booth in each tram station, free newspaper, web sites, etc. The utilization of information technology (IT) is very good, as well. For example, we can easily access any information related to anything through internet, even the information about a very small museum or event. As a comparison, there are about 200 museums in Indonesia, but only few of them have official web sites

Communication

Couple of months ago, I was surprised as I received a letter signed by Mr. Jean-Claude Antonini, the City Mayor. It was just to inform a new regulation related to plastic rubbish. However, it was a very exclusive and well-designed letter, joined by two other colorful brochures content the technical steps to handle the rubbish. I was very impressed. Even I never speak to this Mayor of Angers Loire Metropole directly, but I feel like the Mayor, himself, cares about me since, in my country, I never receive any letter from the City Mayor for whole my life times. The lesson I learned from this letter is how important to commit continuous “communication” between government and the society. Communication meaning care and care makes a country and nation stronger.

The People

People might be right when they say that french people are cold. That is right that we can hear Bonjour, Merci and Au revoir everywhere, everyday. But, it is also difficult to get too close to french people. It seems that they always put a line, keep a space to the strangers; probably among the french people too. That is right that French people keep smiling, but at the same time their face also say don’t touch me or mind your own business. However, once they open theirselves, they really make a friendship and it is even more than friendship we normally have between Asian people. To me, french people are just like the iceberg: cold and hard. But, once warm sun shine shining into it, it is easily melting into water. Furthermore, ofcourse, I can not make a generalization. Different person must have different character – just like other people whole around the world. Moreover, to me personally, that is not really problem. Having people who really want to get into other people’s business is also problem, isn’t it?  As long as we can respect to one another,  it is great enough. 

Things  I’m Worried about France in the Future

I think one of the problems will be faced by France in the future is related to human resources. It is not about the quality but quantity; since almost 20% of the population is now dominated by elderly people and it has a small number of birth rate, too. Moreover, France is not really good in production.  According to me, no matter how great a country is, if it is lack of human resources, it will be problem.  Another phenomenon that I’m worried about France in the future is the fact that 44% of the population are atheists. It was the data recorded in 2004. In the present, the number might be more than half of the population. I just can’t imagine how could people living without faith. According to me (it’s just my own opinion), people will have confident in lives and to face the future if they have a belief. A belief to believe that 80 years is not the only single episode of life that someone has. A belief that believes there is another life after this life.

The Dream Comes True

It was 9 o’clock in Monday morning, 30 January 2012, when I saw millions of white particles flying around, falling on the ground, out of my window. Then, I spreaded my sight further the horizone. Gray, white and blury! There, I saw trees without leaves in winter and white snow on the roof top of the houses. It was so wonderful. I was so fascinated. And the most important thing is, for this time, it was real.

WONDERFUL: Words for Julia

Sabrie Noer, Angers,  20 Dec 2011

It was raining when we first met in Ralliement,

 and it was also raining when the last time

we spent time together in Ralliement.

Seems like a perfect circle, doesn’t it?

Friend...

I’m happy you’re home safely

I heard you’ve started working in a new hospital.

I hope you enjoy working and living and having some new friends there.

All I want to say is...It’s WONDERFUL to have you as a friend;

With all the food...the chats...the laugh...the photos...

the funny faces...the laugh again...all the times we’ve spent together.

I see...

It was raining when we first met in Ralliement,

 and it was also raining when the last time

we spent time together in Ralliement.

Seems like a perfect circle...

like a song with certain intro and end with the same ending melody...

However....

I hope that isn’t a full circle of our friendship....yet...

I hope it will be a very very big circle...and so ain’t no end...

I hope this song is a lovely song

that keeps sounding and will never ending

forever...

Warm hugs from cold cloudy Angers,

Sabrie Noer

POTENSI:Bengkalis, Setelah Minyak Lalu Apa?

Sabrie Noer

Alkisah...

... Suatu hari seekor ikan berenang-renang hingga sampai ke perairan yang jauh. Tanpa sengaja ia mendengar pembicaraan seorang nelayan dengan anaknya. Sang anak bertanya, “Ayah, apakah hal yang paling penting dan menjadi sumber segala kehidupan di alam ini?”. Ayahnya menjawab, “air anak ku, AIR!...Air lah sumber segala kehidupan di jagat raya ini”. Seperti menangkap pembicaraan antara dewa, sang ikanpun bergegas pulang dan menyampaikan hal penting itu kepada anak-anaknya, “Anak-anak ku, ketahuilah bahwa hal yang paling penting dan menjadi sumber segala kehidupan di alam ini ialah AIR. Mulai saat ini kita harus menemukan air!”. Anak-anak ikanpun segera berenang kesana-kemari untuk menemukan AIR.

...........................

Sama seperti kisah ikan mencari air - padahal setiap saat mereka hidup dan berenang-renang didalamnya – demikian pula prihal POTENSI. Dekat, namun seringkali tidak kita sadari.

Bicara soal Pariwisata, barangkali kita boleh minder melihat Bali. Sebuah pulau memukau dengan keindahan yang eksotis, “Island of Paradise”. Namun bukan berarti Riau atau Bengkalis khususnya tidak memiliki hal yang layak di “jual” untuk pariwisata. Tujuh dari sepuluh wisatawan asing yang datang ke Indonesia dengan tujuan Pulau Dewata, barangkali merupakan gambaran belum suksesnya pemerintah meratakan pembangunan pariwisata di Indonesia. Sedih juga saya membaca buku Trilogi Jendela Pariwisata Indonesia yang ditulis seorang Anggota DPR RI. Di dalam buku itu dimuat situs wisata dari Sabang sampai Marauke. Namun, Pariwisata Riau dilewatkan begitu saja. Hanya ada Sumatera Barat, lalu Kepri.  ADA APA DENGAN PARIWISATA RIAU???

Bersama teman kampus, saya pernah berakhir pekan di salah satu desa wisata Sungai Ayung, daerah Ubud, Bali. Untuk berkeliling naik gajah 1 jam saja wisatawan asing rela merogoh kantong USD 65,- atau samadengan Rp. 590.000 per 1 orang dewasa kemudian Rp. 400.000 untuk anak-anak dan Rp. 200.000 untuk bayi. Padahal, gajah-gajahnya didatangkan dari Sumatera (barangkali termasuk gajah Duri). Kemudian, adalagi paket wisata bersampan menyusuri sungai hutan mangrove di Nusa Lembongan dengan tarif Rp. 250.000.

Bersampan menyusuri hutan bakau mungkin sama sekali bukan hal menarik bagi kita. Karena memang dari kecil kita sudah sebau (sudah akrab) dengan hutan bakau dan tanah lempung. Namun tidak begitu halnya bagi orang luar.

Pariwisata muncul dari keinginan orang untuk melihat dan mengetahui sesuatu yang berbeda. Kalau kita ingin melihat salju, orang Eropa ingin melihat matahari. Kita tertegun melihat dedaunan pohon willow saat musim gugur, sementara orang Barat antusias sekali melihat akar-akar bakau dan ikan tembakul.

Satu kali saya sempat bengong saat dosen saya, Madam Sylvine, berkata, “Kalau ke Indonesia saya ingin sekali melihat pohon mangga. Saya pernah melihat buahnya tapi penasaran ingin lihat pohonnya”. Haaa??? Pohon mangga? (dalam hati saya). Mungkin keinginan dosen saya melihat pohon mangga sama halnya dengan keinginan saya melihat kebun anggur. Begitulah pariwisata.

Sementara orang kita masih menganggap gelombang “Bono” di kuala sungai Kampar sebagai HANTU. Orang Amerika dan Eropah menganggapnya tempat surfing yang sungguh luar biasa dan menantang. Sejak tahun lalu sudah mondar-mandir turis penggemar olah raga air ekstrim itu datang untuk ber-surfing ria meniti gelombang unik (tidal wave) yang muncul akibat fenomena alam di kuala Kampar itu. Bahkan tim Rip Curl (Amerika) sudah merilis video clip yang mereka beri judul “Bono, The Seven Ghosts” sekaligus mempromosikannya di dunia maya lewat You Tube - sementara Pemerintah Daerah belum tahu harus berbuat apa.

BENGKALIS dengan segala keunikan alam dan kekhasan budaya serta adat istiadat tersendiri sudah barang tentu memiliki banyak hal (POTENSI) yang bisa dikembangkan untuk pariwisata. Oke lah... kita masih bisa berbangga dengan minyak bumi yang kita miliki ... untuk saat ini. Namun sampai kapan kita akan mengandalkan black gold yang tidak bisa diperbaharui itu?

Mungkin sudah saatnya pemerintah daerah Kabupaten Bengkalis lebih serius memikirkan Pariwisata sebagai salah satu alternatif pengembangan ekonomi masyarakat dan daerah untuk masa depan Bengkalis.

Referensi:

Cerita ikan dapat dari teman saya yang luar biasa - Pak Komar.

CULTURE SHOCK (Bahagian I)

Sabrie Noer

Membicarakan perbedaan Barat dan Timur bagai sebuah buku besar yang halaman demi halamannya tak kunjung selesai dibaca. Sementara, saya selalu merasa tertarik utk menjadi “Life Observer” dan tak pula bisa menahan diri untuk tidak berbagi ceritanya ke teman-teman.

Perbedaan yang saya maksud mulai dari perbedaan iklim, bahasa, postur tubuh, kehidupan sosial, budaya, adat kebiasaan, dan banyak lagi. Karena perbedaan-perbedaan ini pula tak jarang bagi ‘newcomers’ (para pendatang baru) dari Timur ke Barat atau sebaliknya merasakan pengalaman gegar budaya atau sering disebut ‘Culture Shock’.

Sebagai contoh, di budaya Western, KENTUT (asal tidak bau) tidaklah terlalu tabu, atau menghembus-hembuskan ingus ke saputangan meskipun sedang makan di restoran bukanlah hal yang buruk. Sebaliknya kalau bersin atau batuk (berkahak = bahasa Selatpanjang) dalam acara makan atau sekedar pertemuan bisa membuat banyak orang memandang heran. Apabila BERSIN mereka berusaha agak sedikit menahannya, sehingga bunyi bersin yang keluar tak ubahnya seperti bunyi anak tikus kejepit pintu. Lalu senyam-senyum seperti orang bersalah dan meminta maaf ke kita, “Je suis désolé” (I’m sorry). Sementara kita, selagi belum begego (bergoyang = skali lagi bahasa Selatpanjang) tiang rumah belum puas pulak rasanya bersin itu. Tak jarang sampai basah kuyup orang yang berada didepan.

Selain perihal bersin dan kentut tadi, tentu masih banyak cerita aneh, unik dan lucu ketika dua budaya ini bertemu sepanggung dalam pergaulan sosial.

CIPIKA-CIPIKI; Kebiasaan cium pipi kanan-cium pipi kiri ala Eropah (lebih tepatnya menempelkan pipi sambil membunyikan kecupan) tak jarang membuat kita shock. Apalagi bagi saya yang memang pembawaannya agak sedikit alim (eheeem...). Sudah menjadi budaya mereka ketika bertemu dengan teman khususnya laki-laki dan perempuan untuk saling cipika-cipiki tadi. Tiap daerah beda pula jumlahnya. Ada yang dua kali, empat, bahkan enam kali. Namun yang umumnya biasanya dua kali, kiri-kanan.

Contoh salah satu teman saya, Julia Utsching. Bila ketemu, setiap kali saya mengulurkan tangan, pasti anak Jerman calon dokter bedah itu menolak, “No...no...European, please!” katanya sembari tersenyum seolah-olah mau mengajarkan saya adat dan sopan santun peninggalan nenek moyangnya itu. Terus terang awalnya saya merasa kikuk dan serba salah. Tapi, mau bagaimana lagi. Kita sudah masuk di kandang orang. Saya pakai pepatah Melayu lama saja “Dimana bumi dipijak, disitu langit dijunjung”. Yang penting niat, pikir saya. Yaaa...sudahlah, saya akhirnya pasrah juga. Itung-itung lumayan juga buat penghangat di pagi hari...astagfirullaaaah.

MERCI & PPP ; Ucapan “Merci” atau terimakasih seringkali meluncur dari mulut orang Perancis. Untuk hal ini ‘politeness’ mereka sepertinya lebih hebat dari kita. Dalam satu hari barangkali tak terhitung berapa puluh kali kita akan mendengarkan ucapan merci. Bahkan untuk hal-hal kecil yang di negara kita orang tidak perlu mengucapkan kata terimakasih. Seperti saat membayar belanjaan di kasir, saat menunjukan paspor, saat memberi jalan dikeramaian, saat menahan daun pintu, dan lain-lain. Menahan pintu (agar tetap terbuka untuk org lain dibelakang kita) saat masuk atau keluar gedung sepertinya menjadi salah satu bentuk kesopanan (gentle) tersendiri di Perancis. Tak dapat tidak, jika kita melakukan itu, dijamin mereka berebut bilang “Merci...Merci..” layaknya kita sudah berkorban besar buat mereka. Tiga kali melewati pintu, tiga kali pula ucapan merci-nya. Saya paling suka bagian nahan pintu ini. Tiap kali ada kesempatan, pasti saya duluan yang membukakan pintu. Mendengarkan mereka bilang merci sambil tersenyum. Pokoknya benar-benar merasa jadi pahlawan - Pahlawan Penahan Pintu ... alias PPP...haaa (12x).

TOILET: Jangan berharap ada air untuk cuci (saat BAK atau BAB) di toilet-toilet baik di kampus atau di toilet umum lainya. Yang ada cuma tisu. Naaah...bagi kita yang tdk biasa, tentu terasa sangat tidak nyaman terutama setelah BAB. Pernah juga sekali saya, karena tak tahan lagi, terpaksa BAB di toilet kampus. Waduuuh...bukan main resah dan gelisah rasanya (seperti orang berdosa besar) menunggu sampai pulang ke asrama. Naseeeb!

To be continued ...

BALI-FRANCE IN MY EYES (For Someone I used to be Close to)

Sabrie Noer Paradise Island, Februari 2010

That’s weird! I thought you’ve stopped thinking about me.

BALI?
Bali stays Bali…”the last paradise, the island of Gods, the island of thousand temples”…everyday with their Pura & Puja and the fragrance from their Dupa...
While…I stay who I am…
Some say ‘people change’;
but I don’t totally believe that (Do you?).
I believe there’s a single ‘molecule’ in each
human’s heart which never changes forever.
Sometimes, I think I’m just the same person to
whom I was 10 or 20 years ago.
Sometimes, 1998 seems so fresh to me (Hopefully that’s normal).
You know, erasing a five-year-memory
equals to crashing 2.5 million cells in your brain.
That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

FRANCE?
Yes! That’s a ‘hope’ but I can’t say it’s a ‘sure’. Who are we to create the future? I believe life’s just flowing like a river;
It will finally find out its own way…
I always use this word: “Do the Best then Let God do the Rest”…

I’m sorry Na….maybe I’ve talked too much…
(long time not writing to you!)

Btw…thanks for listening!