Differences in Language and Nation

Banished friendship is never ever being the intention I choose

At the end of winter in Erfurt, I met some other friends. They were quite funny and “nuts”. Ines who guided me during my stayed in Erfurt introduced me to her friends. They are Jochen, Mathias, and so other whose I can’t even remember their name. Yes, it’s not right. I shouldn’t forget their name and truely I do felt wrong and want to apologize. But no matter what, I will alwas remember them.

I searched through social networks and search engines just to get contact with them but…sadly and unfatefully I was losing track of them. Only Ines, I have her e-mail address fortunately and still keep it safely in my contact list. Even I send her e-mails hundred times, she just have one in a million chance just to reply it to me. She’s got a job, she said. Therefore, she can’t check her inbox intensely nor send some replies. Still, I felt so happy when her reply came to my inbox although it’s just a paragraph of talking nonsense.

Ines, she was a student guide during my stay in Erfurt, especially my guide. She picked me up at the Frankfurt (am Main) international airport. She’s waited of me for about more than two hours. Sitting on the bench and waiting for a novice student came from Indonesia, Me as a matter of fact. Then, after I claimed my luggage, I found her recognize my face and style. An extraordinary foreigner, she said, coz I wear sock together with typically slipper for climber on winter! It has shocked her coz people should shoes on winter, spring, and autumn.

I relied on her as my guide during my stay. She is just like a friend to me, then I started to start a friendship to her from that weeks after my arrival. She responsed it pleasurely, I felt so happy. She invited me to her boyfriend’s birthday party. Bratwurst in all favours offered to me, appetizers laid on the table, drinks, banquettes, and more. They introduced me to their friends and…we went down to the park and…grilled bratwursts. Ines offered me a kind of fillet to grill, she bought it especially for me coz she knows that I suppose not to eat bacon nor ham. And yes, cigarretes and drinks accompanied us till midnight. I went home early with a peacefully day.

Attend at birthday party, having lunch, attend some events, or just sitting at the ice cream cafe just to watch urban activities, had led this friendship more close coz we have these intention. Our intentions to do all those activities together and had lots of fun. Differences in language and nation doesn’t affect our friendship. Language is just one of the tools to communicate the ideas. I speak Denglish (Deutsch-English.red) and Ines speaks Deutsch or sometimes English. We can combine it with body language too. Miss communication could be happened sometimes, but hasn’t it to happen as it for our efforts to show? Language…language…and language…oneway or another, I have to be expert on their language coz I realized that I lived in their land so I supposed to show them some respects for their language and culture. It has normally applied in another country, I guess.

The last news about Ines is she has already broke up with Jochen, and getting a good job since two years ago. She is busy, of course. Therefore, she cannot send me e-mails very often. I have to take her condition lightly and still do correspondencies to her.

Revolved in The Mind

Seekor tikus remaja berlari kecil menelusuri lorong-lorong gelap, basah, dan bau. Hidungnya aktif mengendus setiap saat mencari sumber makanan penggugah nafsu. Tikus itu tidak peduli apakah jalur yang ia lewati basah penuh dengan darah benci, gelap seperti kehilangan cahaya, bau karena penuh dengan dendam kesumat, atau terang seterang-terangnya hingga musuh pun bisa melihat dirinya berlari ketakutan, atau bila ia harus melewati jalur terang yang penuh dengan tempat persembunyian, tikus itu tetap tidak peduli. Lapar dan dahaga ini perlu dipenuhi atau ia tidak dapat bertahan hidup di dunia yang penuh dengan sandiwara.

Di sudut kanan sana ada keju, di sudut kiri sana ada roti keju, dan di tengah-tengah ada gundukan tepung gandum. Semua itu akhirnya ia temukan dalam waktu yang bersamaan. Aroma tepung gandum mengiringi hidungnya untuk mendekat ke tengah. Gundukan tepung gandum ini bisa membuatnya bertahan hidup selama-lamanya sebab hingga ia mati pun tepung gandum ini tidak akan habis termakan. Tetapi ketika ia mendekat untuk menikmati tepung gandum ini, ia melihat ada seekor tikus dewasa lain yang sedang menyantap tepung gandum. Tikus remaja ini menjadi takut kemudian ia berlari ke arah sudut kanan di mana ia bisa menemukan keju. Keju itu sangat sedap dan menggiurkan di lidah, namun hanya sepotong dan akan habis dalam waktu satu hari saja. Si tikus tidak peduli, ia malah bergegas untuk melahap keju itu. Belum lagi ia menggigit keju itu, aroma roti keju dari kiri lebih menggiurkan hingga ia pun tergoda. Roti keju dipanggang hingga mengeluarkan aroma yang tidak terlupakan.

Lama ia berpikir dan menimbang-nimbang hingga akhirnya ia memutuskan untuk mendekati sumber aroma roti keju. Perjalanan sedikit berbahaya sebab ia harus melewati genangan air di hadapannya, melewati seekor tikus dewasa yang sedang melahap tepung gandum di tengah-tengah ruangan itu, dan tak jauh dari roti keju ada seekor kucing dewasa yang sedang hanyut dalam mimpinya .

Tikus itu berpikir kembali, menimbang-nimbang makanan apa yang harus ia santap. Keju kah? Roti keju kah? atau tepung gandum? Ia tidak begitu suka tepung gandum sebab itu adalah makanan murah dan kurang terkenal. Lama ia berpikir dan merenung, mondar-mandir dalam keheningan hingga akhirnya ia mengambil keputusan untuk memilih keju saja sebab ia takut dengan tikus lain yang sedang menggerogoti gundukan tepung gandum itu, dan tentu saja kucing adalah pembunuh ulung. Ia berbalik arah menuju keju yang terletak di sudut kanan dan itu artinya ia harus melewati genangan air, berjinjit kaku supaya tidak ada yang sadar akan kehadiran dirinya di tempat itu.

Dengan sabar ia berjalan melewati semua rintangan itu hingga akhirnya ia menemukan keju itu. Ia akan segera melahapnya, sejengkal lagi keju itu akan diraihnya, namun…ternyata sepotong keju itu berada di atas perangkap. Tikus remaja yang belum berpengalaman ini pun merintih kesakitan,meminta tolong kepada siapa saja yang bersimpatik terhadap deritanya.

Tikus Dewasa berhenti melahap gundukan tepung gandum dan kemudian berkata, “Kau telah curiga kepadaku wahai Teman. Aku ini temanmu, mengapa kau tidak memilih makan bersamaku di sini sejak awal? Apakah kau mengira bahwa aku ini musuhmu?”

Tikus remaja itu menjawab sambil merintih kesakitan, “Di dunia ini penuh dengan musuh dan jebakan. Lagipula tepung gandum itu tidak begitu enak bagiku.”

Tikus dewasa menghela nafas kemudian berkata, “Dari awal kau sudah tahu jawabannya, bahwa yang paling aman adalah memilih tepung gandum. Tapi ketahuilah bahwa, kau perlu kejernihan hati untuk membuat suatu keputusan.”

Tikus dewasa itu telah pergi dengan perut yang kenyang, sementara ia masih dalam perangkap. Ia menatapi gundukan tepung gandum itu dengan air liur yang tidak terbendung dan dengan rasa kesal menyadari bahwa gundukan tepung gandum itu tidak akan habis termakan meskipun ajal menjemput dirinya dan si tikus dewasa.

Note: A story to all my friends in this world.

Toast for a Good Life

Toast for a good life

It’s been more than two years since we were apart. I went back to my land, Raikhan and Talgat went back to Kazakhstan, Alice and Christian originally lived in Germany, Mitra moved to Jena continuing her study, and Zhenyong went back to China to do a business. Every persons do conversions in their life whether heading for a good or bad pathway; getting a good job, continuing study, traveling around the world, intensely hang out with friends, or just trapped in psychotropic. I believe, my friends will choose the best way to get a good life.

The day before I departed from Erfurt, we went to Schmalkalden at the early morning by train. It’s about three hours from Erfurt and one of the hills in Thueringen. Considering my days in Erfurt will came to an end, they planned this trip. Raikhan and Talgat was already in Kazakhstan. Zhenyong said that he’ll bring a couple that is Astrid and Ibo to get on together with us, the rest of us agreed.  Zhenyong cooked pasta, Mitra brought pfirschestee, Christian brought bottles of beer and blanket, Astrid and Ibo cooked cherry jam and brought whole wheat bread for us.

We walked to the hill of Schmalkalden. About two hours away from our start point, we felt hungry so we stoped at the foot hill just to have lunch together. There has a lawn which had been our spot to get a rest on. Just a while after the blanket spreaded out by Christian, a tractor came near to us. Then we’ve got waved away by the farmer. He said, “this isn’t a place to get picnic. Get your ass out of here.” hahhaha…what a funny moment I have. We’ve just laughed and easily found a new spot to take a pause. It’s just a few steps away from the border. Then we continued our peaceably lunch. On the way to the peak, they collected a basket of mushrooms which will be Zhenyong’s ingredient for our dinner. He said that he’ll cook something for us coz those night was our last gathering. Of course, we didn’t skipped the song we always sing. Christian is my best partner to sing a song with.

The trip to Schmalkalden ended with peaceably mind. We our self didn’t do much conversations along our way back to Erfurt. Perhaps we were physically tired and the bed was just our next destination. I remembered that Raikhan often mumbled, “naechste Haltestelle, wohnheim 6…naechste Haltestelle, zimmer…”

Deep in side my heart, I sadly accepted these bitten tongue situation. Even after Zhenyong had cooked us dinner, we had dinner in Mitra’s flat, we still kept this motionless. Not much conversation, was okay. No, we did not spent the whole night together coz I’d got to go at the morning, exactly at 9 am. They choosed not to seen me off in the morning, it was alright. They surely didn’t seen me off upon my leaving.

I ungrudgingly leave Erfurt and they. The past is a past, I shouldn’t look back. I’ve met the bestfriends ever and won’t let them go even they can probably choose to break this friendship for their own goodness. I can probably do it for my sake too. But, I realized that whether the worst or good situation I’ve got in my life, to banish our friendship is never ever being my intention I choose for. Ask me, then I can’t even answer it.