ANISSA RATNA PUTRI: Juni 2017

Libur Lebaran at Imperial Aryaduta

By Anissa Ratna Putri - Juni 30, 2017

Do you have a place where you regularly spend your holiday to? I do.

It was started when my brother was an infant and I was around 6 years old. My parents took us to a place farther west from our house, to an area that I always know as Karawaci. The place was called Imperial Century at that time, but then it changed its name to Imperial Aryaduta. Since our initial visit 20 years ago, we have came to this place once a year at a very least. Located in an urban area, people might wonder what do we look for in such hotel without natural scenery (i.e. mountains or beaches) to be enjoyed. But a closer look into the hotel will easily give an explanation on why we always end up to this place.

Imperial Aryaduta is not just a hotel, it's also a sports club. The hotel visitors are free to use the sports club facilities, other than the sports club member. I admit I am not a sports fan, but with my family, I learned to enjoy sports as a leisure activity - something that we always do every time we visit Imperial Aryaduta. When we were having our time in the hotel, the next morning after our arrival, we used to walk around the walking path inside the hotel area, then having some kick-and-catch moment in a soccer field. We went to the badminton field afterward, playing as a duo - I and mom versus my brother and dad. Sometimes, we then played basketball. Finished burning some calories on the ground, our next target is the swimming pool. Imperial Aryaduta has a large beautiful swimming pool: the kind that perfect for relaxation, yet also available to have fun. Anyone who sees the picture of Imperial Aryaduta's swimming pool often mistaken the place as a hotel in Bali. Nope, this is in the sub-urban of Jakarta, in the middle of a modern city of Karawaci. Turns out, no mountains and no beaches is not a big problem, isn't it?

This Lebaran, I really feel like I need to go away from Jakarta. However, my family doesn't have 'kampung' to where everyone goes back to in this Lebaran season. I actually expect to go to natural surroundings, yet given the fact of the lebaran traffic, I finally agreed with my mom to pay a visit to our regular place: Imperial Aryaduta. After all, it's been almost 3 years.

In Aryaduta, I barely see any changes. I met some familiar faces who greeted us happily like a long-lost family. The hotel and the facilities - my family have experienced all the changes that they did during the past 20 years - nothing different in particular from the last time I went here three years ago. Instead, we are the one who changed.

Now, we didn't spend much time burning calories on the ground. We still walked around the walking path, but then our path was separated. I went to the gym having my treadmill session, my brother and my mom went to the table tennis court, and my dad went straight to the swimming pool. We are not that fit anymore to have a series of sports, but we still enjoying some sports during our leisure time.

Thank you for a nice stay, as always. Hopefully you will still feels like home in my next visit.
See you next time.

Love,

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English

Where to go this summer: Experience Wakayama, Japan

By Anissa Ratna Putri - Juni 19, 2017

Being a master student in a faculty that has lots of field trip, I got a chance to experience local activity while visiting Japan's most underrated area: a beach. Japan has not many beaches - at least a proper beach like we have here in Indonesia. Most of the Japanese beaches are covered with seawall and such, to prevent tsunami and other disasters coming to the land. It quite makes sense since Japan lies above four tectonic plate that can bring you an earthquake or tsunami anytime. Beautiful beaches of Japan are usually located in small islands. Rarely you will find a pleasant beach on the coast of the big Honshu Island.

Having said that, I managed to go to the coastal area of Wakayama as well as Shirahama beach - one of the famous leisure area in Kansai. The first place we went to was a fishermen village. Just like common fishermen in Indonesia, fishermen in Japan caught fish and some of them dried the fish under the sun. Since it was the beginning of summer, we also had the chance to taste 'kakigori' or shredded ice or es serut in Indonesia. It was my first Japanese kakigori, and it tasted really refreshing!

After we went to fishermen village, the teachers told us that we have to cook our own dinner and breakfast. Thus, we were sent to a fish market named 'Tore Tore Ichiba'. The market sells lots variety of seafood as well as local vegetables. You can even find a whale meat here! I also found a shrimp that came from Indonesia. Not only as a grocery store, Tore Tore Ichiba also provides a space for family barbecue experience in their restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to do the barbecue. We went straight to our lodging soon after we finished shopping.

We arrived late afternoon at our lodging: Shirahama House of Kyoto University. The first thing that came to my mind when entering the place: what a well-designed house! It was square, mainly constructed of wood, looks neat and comfortable. But before we got to enjoy living in the wooden house, our teacher brought us to Shirahama Aquarium of Kyoto University, the marine life research laboratory that also open for the public to visit.

Since the beach on our side was a sunrise beach instead of sunset, we skipped playing at the beach in the late afternoon and went straight to the kitchen - preparing our dinner. Since we were international students, we had a fantastic fusion of food: Japanese meet Vietnamese and Indonesian. We took a rest afterward in a classic room full of Japanese bed named futon. Even for someone who hates the complicated process of using futon, I did enjoy the experience staying like a local - as long as I don't have to do it every day :p

The next morning, the sunrise that we waited for finally came. The entire sky was turned into beautiful pinkish with a mix of orange. Unfortunately, soon after watching the sunrise and had our breakfast, we had to leave the house. Even though it was a short stay, we were still excited as we had another interesting experience coming: picking plums.

For some people, plum does not sounds familiar - even my Indonesian friends barely know what is it. Plum, or "ume" in Japanese, is a fruit that quite common to be used as a cooking ingredient in Japan. A salty plum often placed in the middle of the rice in a Japanese bento box, or inside an onigiri. It can also be enjoyed as a sweet juice or a sweet sake "umeshu". Wakayama apparently is one of the main plum producer areas in Japan. Our teacher sent us to the field to help plum farmer taking off the plum that was ready to be picked. At first, I thought it's going to be an easy task, but then I found it quite challenging since the plum tree is planted in a sloppy area! We had to climb and slide to pick the plums while bringing a bucket with us to fill it in with the fruits. Sometimes we also had to climb a tree to reach a wider area. Challenging yet exciting!

Finished picking the plums, we went to the processing plant to see how the farmers treat the plum afterward. We also got some plums to be taken home - teacher said we will make plum juice! Then, it was a wrap for 2 days faculty field trip. Definitely a good start for my first summer in Japan. Looking forward to more adventures to come!

Love,

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Bahasa

Hidup di Indonesia vs Hidup di Jepang #2: Bulan Ramadhan

By Anissa Ratna Putri - Juni 09, 2017

Ini adalah bulan Ramadhan saya di Indonesia setelah dua tahun mengalami bulan Ramadhan di Jepang. Tidak banyak yang berubah dari pola berpuasa di Indonesia - namun saya kini jadi bisa membandingkannya dengan pengalaman saya ketika berpuasa di Jepang. Gimana sih rasanya puasa di negara orang dan apa bedanya sama di Indonesia?

Waktu berpuasa: 14 jam VS 16 jam

Di Indonesia, sahur biasanya dilakukan jam setengah 4 pagi, subuh sekitar jam setengah 5 pagi, dan maghrib jam 6 sore. Di Jepang, saya biasa sahur pukul 2 pagi, subuh jam 3 pagi, dan maghrib jam 7 malam. Kira-kira, di Jepang saya berpuasa lebih lama dua jam dibanding di Indonesia.

Dibanding dengan di Indonesia, jeda waktu antara burbuka dan sahur lebih dekat. Hal ini kadang jadi membuat saya begadang menunggu sahur kalau sedang ada kerjaan. Berbeda dengan di Indonesia di mana selarut-larutnya saya bekerja, biasanya masih punya 2-3 jam untuk tidur sebelum sahur. Selain itu, jeda waktu yang cukup dekat ini juga berpengaruh pada urusan perut. Kadang perut masih kenyang setelah berbuka, eh tiba-tiba sudah waktunya sahur. Karena itu dua tahun saya di sana nggak ada tuh jadi kurus setelah puasa, mungkin karena penumpukan makanan di malam hari (?).

Masjid Kobe, masjid pertama di Jepang. Di Kyoto nggak ada adzan yang mengingatkan waktu mulai dan berakhir puasa.

Toleransi: restauran ditutup gorden/buka sore VS restauran terbuka

Atas nama toleransi, di Indonesia banyak restauran yang mendadak pasang gorden di bulan puasa. Beberapa restauran dan warung malah tutup di siang hari dan baru buka sekitar jam 4 sore. Ketika saya sedang tidak berpuasa di bulan Ramadhan, saya merasakan betapa sulitnya mencari makan di daerah yang memang bukan pusat kota, di daerah yang untuk makan biasanya mengandalkan warung-warung kecil. Saya jadi berpikir ulang makna toleransi. Di satu sisi, nggak bisa dipungkiri juga kalau jualan di bulan Ramadhan hampir pasti penjualan menurun di siang hari.

Menjadi minoritas di Jepang, di bulan Ramadhan saya terbiasa melewati restauran-restauran yang terbuka sebagaimana biasa. Kesimpulan: saya baik-baik saja tuh melihat orang makan. Teman-teman saya yang orang Jepang pun biasanya minta maaf (atau meledek, untuk beberapa kasus) kalau mau makan di depan kami yang sedang berpuasa. Tapi setelah itu ya, santai saja. Toh saya sudah niat, nggak mungkin juga saya tiba-tiba menghampiri teman saya minta cobain makanannya dan membatalkan puasa hanya karena menonton dia makan. Entah kenapa, saya merasa arti toleransi lebih mengena ketika saya berpuasa di Jepang. Karena kami yang berpuasa bisa menjalani ibadah kami dengan tenang, sementara yang nggak puasa nggak menderita kesulitan mencari makan.

Pusat jajanan di Osaka, puasa nggak puasa tetap ramai

Jajanan ngabuburit: beli di ibu2 pinggir jalan/homemade VS homemade/beli di convenience store

Waktu ngabuburit menunggu buka puasa adalah momen paling ramai di jalanan kota-kota Indonesia. Bukan hanya karena banyak orang bermacet-macet mengejar buka puasa di rumah/restauran, tapi juga karena banyak ibu-ibu berjualan di pinggir jalan, menjajakan berbagai cemilan khas berbuka: kolak, kolang kaling, kurma, dan lain-lain. Di rumah saya, kami biasa membuat es buah dengan racikan mama yang super segar.

Di Jepang, nggak ada tuh yang namanya macet ataupun keramaian akibat waktu berbuka. Mau bikin es buah, buahnya mahal bok di supermarket (anak kuliahan penuh perhitungan). Jadi biasanya menu berbuka saya adalah cemilan-cemilan dari convenience store: aneka olahan cokelat dan makanan manis. Beberapa kali saya mencoba juga membuat es buah mama versi simpelnya, terus buahnya dihemat-hemat selama beberapa hari haha. Oh iya, saya juga punya kebiasaan memasang adzan maghrib dari Youtube setiap jam berbuka di Kyoto karena sepi nggak ada suara bedug.

Menu berbuka saya dan Rizky edisi mewah: lengkap dengan kurma dan es buah sebagai ta'jil

Buka bersama: rangkaian seri buka bareng per geng VS seIndonesia atau lintas negara

Bulan Ramadhan di Indonesia bisa dikatakan semacam bulan reunian berbagai jenis geng yang dimiliki. Hari ini buka sama geng sd, besok sama geng smp, lusa sama geng kuliah, dsb, dsb. Weekend mendadak jadwalnya sudah penuh semua sama janji kesana-kesini. Pulang kantor kadang ada panggilan juga untuk buka bareng. Nggak jarang bulan Ramadhan jadi salah satu bulan paling boros karena banyak momen makan di luar.

Momen buka bersama di Jepang biasanya dilakukan dalam skala akbar. Selain yang kecil-kecil kasual sehari-hari sama teman (berhubung ketemunya sama teman saja nggak ada keluarga), ada acara buka bersama PPI (Perkumpulan Pelajar Indonesia) dan yang paling dinanti: ifthar party KMA (Kyoto Muslim Association) yang menaungi muslim dari berbagai negara yang sedang bedomisili di Kyoto. Buka puasa KMA adalah pesta makanan dari berbagai negara, setiap negara punya standnya sendiri dan menyajikan makanan khas negaranya. Di acara ini setiap muslim yang hadir boleh mengajak satu orang Jepang untuk hadir dan menikmati buka puasa bersama. Tahun pertama saya menikmati makanan saja tanpa menyumbang masakan apa-apa. Alhamdulillah tahun kedua saya bersama Dea Muthi dan Rika berhasil memasak 20 loyang martabak manis! Walau bentuknya sudah agak-agak tidak jelas sesampainya di tempat acara (akibat dibawa naik sepeda) namun tetap ludes juga di akhir acara. Senang!

Berbagai makanan di ifthar party KMA

Homemade martabak - ready to pack *maaf gak cantik fotonya*

Lebaran: libur panjang VS tidak libur

Di Indonesia libur lebaran biasanya sekitar satu minggu, dimanfaatkan untuk bersilaturahmi dan untuk mudik. Selama satu minggu tersebut, biasanya pindah-pindah lokasi dari satu rumah ke rumah lain, saling mengunjungi dan saling minta maaf. Pekerjaan, sekolah, dan segala hal duniawi lainnya ditinggalkan untuk sementara, untuk menyucikan diri dan melahirkan diri yang baru.

Kalau di Jepang? Nggak usah ditanya, tentunya nggak ada tuh yang namanya libur, secara orang Jepang tidak merayakan Idul Fitri. Nggak jarang hari lebaran jatuh di hari ujian akhir semester atau hari presentasi tugas akhir mata kuliah. Ritual lebaran yang saya alami selama dua tahun kemarin adalah shalat Ied di Miyako Messe (semacam alun-alun kota) bersama berbagai muslim dari seluruh dunia, kemudian setelah itu menjalani hari seperti biasa. Tahun pertama malah hari saya sangat tidak biasa karena di hari lebaran tersebut ada taifun yang menyerang Kyoto dan menyebabkan Sungai Kamo meluap. Tahun kedua, lebaran saya lebih santai dan lebih terasa Indonesia karena ada undangan makan dari relasi Indonesia. Namun meski hari berjalan sebagaimana biasa, di pagi hari setelah shalat Ied tetap ada salam-salaman silaturahmi yang membuat Idul Fitri di Kyoto lebih terasa.

Suasana Idul Fitri di Kyoto (Foto: Aria Sungsang)

Suasana Idul Fitri - edisi singles

Closing Remarks

Sedih nggak, mengalami bulan Ramadhan dan Idul Fitri di negara orang tanpa keluarga? Pastinya saya ada masanya kangen sama es buah rumah, sama suara adzan dan bedug maghrib, sama ayam opor dan sayur labu siam di hari Idul Fitri. Tapi mengalami bulan Ramadhan dan Idul Fitri di negara orang juga membuka mata saya tentang bentuk lain dari toleransi: bahwa meskipun mayoritas bukan berarti kita harus selalu diutamakan kemudian membuat yang lain kesulitan. Selain itu juga memberikan rasa senasib-sepenanggungan dengan muslim-muslim dari berbagai negara: misalnya dengan Mahzoon dari Iran dan Fatimah-san dari Malaysia, teman lab yang sama-sama berpuasa dan mengalami suka duka jauh dari rumah selama bulan Ramadhan.

Untuk kalian yang sedang berniat untuk kuliah atau kerja di negara orang khususnya Jepang, jangan takut - insya Allah bulan Ramadhan kalian di sini akan baik-baik saja. Justru ketika berada di negara orang, banyak orang Indonesia dan orang muslim lainnya yang dengan senang hati berbagi suka duka (juga makanan) dengan kalian. Selamat berpuasa!

Love,

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ANISSA RATNA PUTRI

Libur Lebaran at Imperial Aryaduta

Where to go this summer: Experience Wakayama, Japan

Hidup di Indonesia vs Hidup di Jepang #2: Bulan Ramadhan

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