Sweet Escape

An article of me and my friends few years ago in Media Indonesia. Wow. Memories :)

Old Guy from the Museum: You are Temple student right? You must be very smart. I have a question for you.

Elaine: What is it?

Old Guy from the Museum: You see that statue on the top of the dome? (pointing to the Capitol Hill miniature) Her name is Miss Freedom. She is always facing the East. Now my question is, why?

Elaine: Oh wow, her name is Miss Freedom? Interesting. But I don’t know why she’s facing to the East. Why is that?

Old Guy from the Museum: Because the Sun never sets on Freedom. :)

—January 2011, Museum of Independence, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

2nd Time in New York City: We Met GOSSIP GIRL’S CASTS!!!!

This is a story when we met Ed Westwick and Blake Lively on Gossip Girl Shooting Set. HAHA. Well written by @zevasudana. I still remember when I said “Hi Ed!” as he was escorted to the shooting place, and he said “Hi y’all” and smiled to meeee T.T T.T

Well I’ve told you that I’m in love with this city. And I proved my words, I FREAKING CAME BACK WOOOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!

Credits to http://www.onlocationvacations.com for posting the filming location: 62nd st between Madison and 5th :D

—Elaine

Hi everyone! New post from me! Haha so I went to New York for three days, it was so much fun. To re-cap, we went to the Statue of Liberty, WTC Tribute Center - Ground Zero, Islamic Cultural Center, Human Rights Watch at Empire State Building, Serendipity Restaurant (Yes, like in the Serendipity movie of John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale!!), United Nations Headquarters, Museum of Tolerance NY, New York Public Library, Broadway Musical, and Times Square. All in three days! It was supposed to be only 2 days but on the first night there we had this really bad snow storm and the 2nd day that the whole of Manhattan New York was covered in high thick snow that many places had to close down until noon and the UN had to cancel a conference and its tour. We whined and got upset but because of that our super lovely lecturers; Rochelle and Julia, extended our stay for 1 day and at the second night took us to watch BROADWAY! HAHAHA! We watched Phantom of the Opera and it was UBER COOL! It was splendid fantastic and high-tech. Too bad camera’s weren’t allowed throughout the play.

Anyways, this post is actually dedicated to Chuck Bass and Serena Van Der Woodsen, one of the 2 main characters of the ever famous teenage film: Gossip Girl, played by Ed Westwick and Blake Lively. And um, also dedicated to Gossip Girl fans all over Indonesia HAHA. Well, let me start to tell you how I met them in person at the Upper East Side of NYC, where the wealthy of Manhattan lives.

On the first night of our trip to NYC, we were told that we will be having an extension of 2 nights in NYC. Me and my dear friend Elaine, has always wished we could go visit the Gossip Girl Shooting sites because we were desperate to meet the cast haha! I’m not a die-hard fan of the film, but I really like watching it and I have the DVDs back in Indonesia. The cast is cool and I love all the guy characters: Chuck Bass, Nate Archibald, and Dan Humphrey. They are so hot and good looking haha.

So, Elaine, The Miss Compass out of all of us, decides to google where they will shoot next and voila! She found out the address where they will be shooting haha! It’s in one of the streets in New York, some blocks away, and it was their last outdoor shoot before they do it full in studios for the month. Our eyes sparkled and straight on we promised each other we are so totally going there before we go to the Broadway show and after we go to the biggest Apple Store in the world, located in the heart of New York (I bought a signature Kate Spade silicon cover for my baby Ipod Touch, Touche` haha. It’s the most chic silicon ever! According to me anyways).

Well, it wasn’t just the two of us. Iman, Jessica, Febe, Yuyu, and Awa decided to come along. They are not GG fans and even some of them haven’t heard of the GG series before, but they decided to come along anyway and as Iman said: “Doesn’t matter, at least I could get photos of the stars and make my friends jealous when they see me with them haha!” -___-“

So, we found the street and saw around 4 long trailers and a couple of cars on this small street. Me and Elaine were freaking out and it was around 6.30pm in the cold freezing nights of NYC. We walked to this guy with headphones carrying papers and asked him if these are trailers of the Gossip Girl film and he said yes. Me and Elaine were squealing and grinning and jumping and I asked whether we are allowed to take pictures of the cast and he said it all depends on them whether the cast wants to or not. So Elaine asked who are in the trailers and the guy said not all of them because the rest are shooting in a closed building not far from there and all we gotta do is wait. So we did. It was so chilly but we didn’t care! At least we have to take pictures of  Ed Westwick alias Chuck Bass!!! Here is a picture of him in the film:

Well, suddenly we met this Italian woman around her late 20s and she said she also was waiting for the cast to walk out their trailers and to have time for pictures. She said she already saw a couple of them but they walked from trailer to trailer really fast or straight to the shooting location and it was hard to make them stop for awhile. Me and Elaine prayed that we will get pictures with at least one of them. There were only the 7 SUSI kids and that Italian woman at the time. She told me that the trailers near to us are trailers of Chuck, Serena, and Dan!! AAAA!! So me and elaine decided to wait no matter what before the Broadway show starts and the rest of the guys felt our spirits and decided to stay too.

After all the patience for like half an hour which felt so long, at HOLY last, Ed Westwick a.k.a CHUCK BASS stepped out of his trailer to move towards Blake’s a.k.a Serena’s trailer. Me and Elaine didn’t freak out. We were in star struck mode! I couldn’t believe my eyes, CHUCK BASS is right infront of me. I know my face looked stupid in total awe, he was HANDSOME. He’s english you know and his face is soooo aristocratic. He wasn’t as tall as I imagined him to be, just 8cm taller than me and that’s with shoes on. I wanted to say something but I couldn’t and Elaine was squealing and jumping. She was the first to ask for a picture. I couldn’t even move, dang, he was so hot!! At last he said hi FIRST to all of us and said something like: “Ok, we can have photos one by one” (WE DIDN’T HEAR HIM SAY THAT ONE-BY-ONE PART because we were too hyperactive -except me because I got super nervous but couldn’t stop smiling- and we ended up having a group picture. Well we realized he said it after the photo) The Italian woman took our picture but what made me so pissed was it turned out blurry as shown below! She managed to get a personal picture just him and her, I so envy her to the bones! Grrr….. But at least I managed to say something to him before he went in his trailer. I said: “Nice to meet you, Ed..” and he said “Yes, thanks” and he smiled! Even though it’s just two words but it was so beautiful T_________T But, it didn’t stop there! Me and Elaine weren’t satisfied!! The picture was blurry.

It was already 7.30pm and the Broadway show was starting at 8pm. We were supposed to be at Broadway at 7.30pm haha! The rest of the 5 of our friends decided to leave and………………. me and Elaine decided to stay. HAHAHA. I mean, seriously it’s just one chance because we don’t know when we will be back to New York and actually be at their shooting place. In that trailer infront of us has Chuck Bass in it, the other had Dan, and we didn’t know if there are any of the others in it. So, after abit of arguing with the rest, me and Elaine decided to stay haha the rest thought we were crazy but well, we will be back to Broadway but just a little late. All for at least another picture with Chuck Bass / Ed Westwick and who knows Dan and Nate too T________T I dont really mind if I dont get one with Serena or Blair or Vanessa or Jenny. So, the night was getting colder and an additional of 6 girls came. Some were from Queens, Manhattan,or even New Jersey. In that area people come and go. I remember a man asked us who were shooting and when we said “The cast of gossip girl”, he rolled his eyes HAHA. Men won’t understand. Seriously I couldn’t feel my toes, it was as if it turned into blocks of ice. We were shivering cold but we had to….. we just had to *drama mode*. Well, it was a funny night, Elaine nearly forgot where she put her camera and phone for like, 4x and good thing shehad to go to the bathroom, we get to ask for permission to go inside this elite hotel (and I mean much more elite than Hilton or whatever) and the guards whom wore Russian wooly hats allowed us in. After that we went out in the blistering cold again.

Well, Blake Lively a.k.a Serena Van Der Woodsen came out of her trailer. She tried to look busy and went straight to another trailer. I guess I could understand that it was a very very cold night, but why can’t she just step aside to us or something. I mean, we waited for hours!! T___T But anyhow, she was so beautiful!! Her long wavy blonde hair and long parka coat. We only managed to take this picture of her:

As for Ed, he did went out of his trailer but was called for shooting and only said hi to us and fled to the secured building. AAAARGH this was all because of that Italian woman who took a blurry picture! T______________T But at least I got to see two of them in person.

Me and elaine didn’t feel silly though standing next to the trailers in the cold blistering night. It was 8.35 pm and we decided to go on the taxi to go to Broadway. We still can come in the play because we already bought tickets through Dr.Rochelle and Dr.Julie. Btw, the taxi driver was so weird, he was talking about marriage in the taxi and when I got off he gave me a wink. He was a Bangladeshi-American.

Anyways, we (me and elaine) still love you Chuck Bass / Ed Westwick! I still remember your smile to us (me especially HAAA), and when you said “”Ok, we can have photos one by one” and when you said “Hi” …

XOXO

What We Did…

“What we did in the past includes setting up camps for Israeli and Palestinian youths. These kids had been taught by their environment that they’re enemies ever since they were very young. So we brought them together, put them as room-mates, and see what would happen” -Juliet S

I think this initiative is very good indeed. Bringing the youths from two nations in war where they had been taught that the other party is dangerous is not an easy task to do. There must be this awkward moment at the beginning. A lot of prejudice. Thinking that the other party would bring harm to them. But as the time goes by, they learned about each other, they found the similarities, and realize that they could build a friendship and understanding among them.

—Elaine, 11th Jan 2011, Philadelphia.

Burnt Bread

• Febe: Hey Stuart, I'm sorry that u get a burnt bread. It'll taste awful :(
• Elaine: Yes, is that okay?
• Stuart: It's completely fine. You know what, I was once volunteering to a homeless woman. Then every morning, when we were preparing the toast, we would have the white, brown, and black (burnt) bread. The kids were always take the burnt one. When I ask them why, they said that they're used to it. Then I found out, it's because the mother was always busy, so that she couldn't watch the toast. Everytime she prepared the toast, it would get overcooked and burnt because she was always doing something else as the single mom. So I learn to be grateful for what I have.
• --Breakfast time, 9th Jan 2010, The Conwell Inn, Philadelphia.

Amish Mennonite Community—Sincere Smile, Local Delicacies and Modest Way of Life

Have you ever heard about Amish? If you’re Indonesian, you probably do not know or never heard about Amish before.

“The Amish, sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology.” —Wikipedia

Last February, I visited Amish Mennonites Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. What do I learn about Amish from my trip to Lancaster County? They practice Bible teachings in their daily life and live by the rules of Church:

• They wear modest clothing. For woman, they cover their hair.

• They don’t use electricity, telephone and car. They value their family relationships very much. Family is everything for them. They even have a big size of a family: parents with 4 or more kids.

Di hari minggu yang dingin itu, saya mengikuti kebaktian umat di Weavertown Amish Mennonites Church bersama 19 teman-teman saya dari Indonesia dan beberapa Staff SUSI. Ketika kebaktian dimulai, umat menyanyikan lagu pembuka. Pertama-tama, saya kira ada paduan suara yang bertugas menyanyikan lagu dalam 4 suara. Tetapi sungguh tidak saya kira, semua umat bernyanyi dan suara mereka terbagi atas 4 jenis suara. Ya, Sopran, Tenor, Alto dan Bass. Kebaktian berlangsung dengan hikmat. Ketika pendeta sedang membahas mengenai firman Tuhan, atau “Bible Readings” beliau menyampaikan selamat datang kepada kami, pengunjung dari Indonesia dengan latar belakang 3 agama berbeda: Kristen, Islam dan Buddha.

Setelah kebaktian selesai, kami mulai berbincang-bincang dengan mereka. Saya berkenalan dengan beberapa orang perempuan yang duduk di barisan saya. FYI, tempat duduk perempuan dan lakil-laki terpisah dalam gereja ini. Saya bertanya tentang mengapa mereka menggunakan penutup rambut? Apakah sama dengan ajaran Islam dimana Allah menganjurkan umatnya untuk menutup aurat? Kenapa dalam tradisi Amish tidak boleh menggunakan listrik, telepon dan mobil sebagai moda transportasi dan telekomunikasi? Dan berbagai pertanyaan lainnya. Lalu, perempuan yang duduk di depan saya menjawab, sebenarnya yang tidak menggunakan telepon dan listrik itu adalah Traditional Amish, lalu ia menjelaskan bahwa ada beberapa jenis komunitas Amish, nah, komunitas yang saya kunjungi ini adalah Amish Mennonites.

Dulu, terdapat peraturan-peraturan yang sangat strict dari gereja Amish. Jika para umat tidak mematuhi peraturan-peraturan tersebut, maka mereka mendapatkan hukuman dikeluarkan/dikucilkan dari komunitas. Nah ada beberapa kalangan yang menganggap bahwa hukuman ini terlalu jahat. Seseorang tidak akan mendapat bantuan apapun dari umat Amish yang lain jika mereka terkena hukuman ini. Misalnya nih, kita lagi butuh air untuk menyirami tanaman kita, kebetulan air dirumah kita lagi macet, lalu kita minta bantuan tetangga. Jika kita masih masuk dalam komunitas Amish, maka tetangga itu akan dengan senang hati menolong kita. Namun, jika kita termasuk dalam daftar orang yang dikucilkan dari gereja, tidak akan ada seorang pun yang menolong kita. Lalu, orang-orang yang tidak setuju dengan hal ini akhirnya keluar dari gereja dan membentuk komunitas baru, yaitu Mennonites. Komunitas Amish Mennonites ini tetap menggunakan pakaian yang sederhana, mereka juga mengadopsi pemakaian listrik dan telepon.

Mengenai edukasi, ternyata kebanyakan dari mereka berhenti sekolah setelah kelas 8. A small amount of Amish youth continue their studies until University. Lantas, apa yang mereka lakukan setelah selesai kelas 8? Mereka membantu orang tua mereka di peternakan dan sawah. Setelah beberapa tahun, mereka menikah dan mempunyai anak. Sepenglihatan saya, tidak ada keluarga yang hanya memiliki 1 anak. Semuanya memiliki banyak anak. Ketika saya tanya, seorang Ibu muda menjawab, “Ya, anak dan keluarga adalah hal yang paling penting dalam hidup kami. Bahkan, saking pentingnya, ketika musim dingin datang, ada keluarga yang sengaja mematikan pemanas ruangan di lantai 2 agar keluarga mereka selalu berkumpul di lantai 1 rumahnya.”

Setelah kebaktian selesai, kami diundang untuk makan siang bersama. Ketika kami menuju ruang makan, saya sangat senang. Hehehe. Kenapa ya? Tentu saja karena makanannya kelihatannya sangat enak. =P Makanan dibuat oleh Ibu-Ibu Weavertown Amish Mennonites Church. 

Ketika makan siang, saya berbincang-bincang dengan beberapa orang yang duduk satu meja dengan saya. Saya pun mengetahui bahwa salah satu keluarga yang ada di sana pernah ke Indonesia. Ya, mereka menjadi sukarelawan selama 1 tahun ketika terjadi tsunami di Aceh.

Sehabis makan siang, ada sesi dialog yang dibuka oleh Reverend. Yang dibahas ketika makan siang ditulis dan dijelaskan secara detail oleh teman saya Risqi:

On keeping the tradition vs. modernity

Television, film, fashion, music and all other worldly products are inevitable parts of the human life. However, the Amish Mennonite community I visited is able to limit themselves from exposing themselves to those worldly products. Unlike the older Amish community which rejects the modernity icons (electricity, television, film and etc), the Weavertown Amish Mennonite uses some part of it. Jacob, the young congregation member I talked to, had internet in his house although he had no television. He told me that internet is allowed to have because parents can restrict and control the amount of information that can be accessed. In a lunch conversation with one of the Reverend of the church, I asked how the Weavertown Amish Mennonite community retained its own distinctive culture while at the same they live in Western American culture. The Reverend said that it was never easy to keep their tradition because the influence of outside world was really strong. But still, I could feel the optimism within his tone to the young generation of the Weavertown Amish Mennonite community. And I thought that his optimism was very much true. The young generation of the Weavertown Amish Mennonite community might be exposed to the outside world more than their parents. However, they still felt comfortable with who they are. In fact, there was this young computer expert in the community. It shows that actually modernity and Weavertown Amish Mennonite tradition can walk hand in hand. What I observed there is that the community members were somehow able to know each own limitation and try not to crossover it. It might be stemming back from the teaching of Amish Mennonite about humility during the life in the world, and it is literally followed by the community.

On Gender

Another issue was brought up to my lunch table and it was about gender. From what I observed, the Weavertown Amish Mennonite community, as in other places, is a patriarchal society. The role of women are restricted to domestic area, while men play role in public area. However, the Weavertown Amish Mennonite women feel that they have no problem with this concept. They do not feel like there is a gender inequality in their community. They believe that women and men are equal but they occupy different sphere of equality. Thus, in this community, there is no woman leader. To this issue, I deeply appreciate how the Weavertown Amish Mennonite community views the concept of gender. They disagree with the concept of feminism which plays a great role in shaping the current American culture and society. It is amazing to see that these women are perfectly fine and demand no other recognition by society. They once even said that the Weavertown Amish Mennonite women are leaders in terms of being educator for their sons and daughters at home, being the moral patron of the family and this makes them equal with men who lead the society in public sphere.

On Challenges

As the other minority group, the Amish community in general got prejudice and discrimination from the larger member of society. A prejudice toward them is that they are less patriotic. It stems from Amish’s teaching about passivism. Amish do not go to war. Nor do they involve in violence. Thus, they are often being prejudiced for not being patriotic. However, it is less known that they never go to war, they often participate in humanitarian activities. There were at least three Amish members I met who were involved in helping Tsunami victims in Aceh, Indonesia in 2004. They also said that when it came to war, they did not go to the front line but they tended the wounded and cared for them. However, these humanitarian facts are covered by all prejudice.

Concluding Note

Living in this century, in a highly computerized society with all of worldly temptation is surely not easy for the Weavertown Amish Mennonite Community. But they have proven that they still can retain their tradition for hundred of years, and there are still more years to come. Meeting with them was really inspiring because they were so open. They welcomed visitors who wanted to learn about their tradition and culture. They knew that what they did would be a bridge to let others know about the real Amish Mennonite community. Their openness would help to dispell and untie prejudice attached on them gradually.

(visit Risqi’s blog here: http://rizqiarifuddin.blogspot.com/2011/02/weavertown-amish-mennonite-experience.html)

Pada perjalanan pulang, kami singgah ke tempat Traditional Amish. Benar saja, tidak ada kabel-kabel listrik ataupun telepon yang berjejer dari rumah ke rumah. Namun, the scenery is BREATHTAKING! 

August, 2010 @ Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn, New York City.

With Fandy, Okty and Ko Victor. 

Thanks for bringing us to see how beautiful it is to have a glimpse of Manhattan from Brooklyn, Ko Victor.