"Dairy Queen and the Fake Butt"

Ini namanya “Peanut Buster Parfait”, lagi kangen banget makan ini. Es krim favorit Julie yang akhirnya jadi favorit saya juga. Hanya dijual di Dairy Queen.

 
Dairy Queen itu udah kayak istana impian saya waktu di AZ, sebuah rumah pondokan kecil yang gak terlalu mewah tapi yang dijual es krim semua. Aduh, ngangenin banget.
Tiap ke Dairy Queen saya dan Widia selalu barengan ama Julie and Carrie. Carrie itu temen akrabnya Julie. Beliau baik dan humoris banget. Jadi ingat satu kenangan memorable waktu perayaan ultah kami (Tia and Widia ultahnya deketan, jadi perayaannya dijadiin satu, waktu itu ngerayain ultah Mira yang kebetulan sleep over di rumah kami).
Di suatu sore kami lagi bakar marshmallow sama hotdog (bukan anjing panas ya, ini cuma sebutan buat makanan sejenis sosis yang dimakan sama roti), tiba- tiba kaget ngeliat Carrie turun dari rumah, celananya melorot n sorry, butt- nya keliatan.
Kontan aja saya panik, tapi mungkin karena masih naluri orang Indonesia, gak enak mau bilang langsung takut dia tersinggung. Terus saya noleh kanan kiri, Julie belum nyadar kayaknya, si Mira sama Widia lagi sibuk bakar hotdog. Duh, sumpah waktu itu bingung banget. Akhirnya setelah beberapa detik terpaku, saya bilang juga akhirnya,
"Eem, Carrie, sorry, but your pants didn’t fit well.."
"Oh, you mean this..?" (pointing at her butt, stared at Julie and together holding laugh)
"Carrie, your butt.."
Then Mira and Widia realized and started staring at Carrie either.
And then they laughed spontaneously!
"What happened? I don’t get it."
Julie answered, “Tia, this is a fake butt. She wanted to tease you. We bought it for fun. I also have one.”
And I couldn’t hold my laugh. We all laughed together until our stomach hurted.
Itu namanya fake- butt. Sumpah mirip banget sama butt beneran. Sore itu Carrie pake’ sengaja buat nunjukin ke kita (dalam hati mikir, gini- gini amat ya mainan orang Amerika).
Pada malam harinya Carrie ngasi kami kado ultah dan itu so sweet banget. Bukan sekedar so sweet tapi emang sweet karena kami dikasi cemilan2 yang sweet. Ada cokelat, permen, n yang paling sweet kartu Dairy Queen berharga $5 yang artinya bisa dipake buat ngembat es krim disana gratis. Itu. Sesuatu. :’)
Thanks Carrie and Julie! I’m missing you so bad right now.

USA.. I'm Coming.. (part 2)

There are a lot of preparations needed before leaving Indonesia. Passport, gifts, traditional clothes, school, permissions, and many things. Besides, I had to prepare myself physically and mentally. It was quite fantastic and I really enjoyed it yet this was the biggest dream of mine. I never exhausted to thankfully blessed my life. I knew Allah Swt was all behind this. I knew it : If we have DREAM, just BELIEVE that WE CAN ACHIEVE it, then our mind will BRINGS it TO REALITY. I always remembered I've said many times that someday I will go overseas. I always said it in front of my Mom and my brother the most. They are the ones who I wanna make proud of. And now, my dream comes true.

March 17th, 2011
I left Pontianak to approach Jakarta. At that day, all people that I love were there, in the airport. Cleptoners, that's how we named us (my best friends in university) gave me an early birthday present: a book that I can only open if I'm heading to United States in the airplane. I tried so hard to hold my tears. They were all crying over me, especially My Mom. It was the first time I separated from her for a quite long time, 2 months.

I met my other 17 Indonesian friends in Jakarta Airport Hotel; Rizma (Purwokerto), Widia (Cirebon), Abi (Balikpapan), Mira (Jambi), Fiqih (Tegal), Suci (Depok), Uun (Banyuwangi), Tika (Bangka), Zake (NTB), Fandi (Jombang), Sueb (Malang), Yunia (Palembang), Kiki (Pekalongan), Andre (Samarinda), Fery (Tulungagung), Ria (Salatiga), and Hadi (Banjarmasin). I was proud to be the representative from Pontianak, of course. ^^

We all have created the greatest memories in our lovely campus, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY. Besides, we are said to be the 18 first grantees of IELSP who studied there. They are like my brothers and sisters. I love you guys!

The routes of my departure --> Jakarta - Singapore - Hongkong - Chicago - Phoenix - Mesa (Arizona, USA)

It was a very looooooonnngg flight. We were accompanied by Bunda Wiati Rahayu from IIEF, she was really kind and mother- like. That's why we call her "Bunda" which means mother.

The first time I stepped on Singapore I felt like wanna screaming and yelling to the world, that "I'm in abroad!" (I know that sounds crazy and villagers- alike. Hahh! Whatever :p)

We spent 6 hours in Singapore, 2 hours in Hongkong, and 4 hours in Chicago before finally arrived in Phoenix, the capital city of Arizona. Since I was in Singapore until I reached United States, I was mesmerized by the TECHNOLOGY and the RESTROOMS.

TECHNOLOGY
They have a very sophisticated technology far different compared to Indonesia. In Singapore International Airport, there is an authomatic foot massager which allowed us to have a relaxation after our long trip. What we have to do is just sit on it and let the machine works. It was very comfortable. So as the water fountain which I found almost everywhere. Especially in Singapore, we only have to step on the certain part of the floor and the water will come by itself without pushing anything. It was really fresh. Then in every airport we found the flat escalator which named as "moving sidewalks or moving walkways" made us feel like walking on the rollerblade without worrying about "falling down".

RESTROOMS
First impression: CLEAN. Honestly, it was really awkward for me to use the dry toilet. For me, Indonesian, water is everything. Therefore, you have to give up on it if you're in abroad. You have to get used to with the dry toilet, translated ---> toilet paper. But later on, I realize that dry toilet is much healthier than the wet one. It keeps the restroom clean and comfortable. Besides, there is always a tap that we can adjust based on our need; hot, warm, or cold water. So after we use the toilet, we are obligated to wash our hands. And there's always the soap and the tissue. On the other hand, that's one of reasons why United States and other developed countries are responsible for the global warming. Imagine the trees for the toilet papers, tissue and napkins.

USA.. I'm Coming.. (part 1)

November 26th, 2010
It was the most beautiful day in my life. That day was the last day of my examination in university. I remembered exactly it was "Translation" examination. It was pretty easy and I with my friends (Rainy. Yuni, Nemi) went to the carboot sale soon afterwards. There's one thing called as "inkling" at that day. In the morning I decided to use my Dad's cellphone because I knew I had a problem with my cellphone, its speaker, so everytime I got a phone call, they couldn't hear my voice at all. But, something in my mind said that day I had to use my Dad's cellphone. It's kinda ridiculous because I was sure that I would get an important phone call from someone.

That day my biggest prayer was answered by Allah Swt.

When we were choosing some clothes, I checked my phone and there was one missed call. I saw the three first numbers were 021. My hands began shaking, I got a cold feet and my heart was beating faster than usual. I waited, waited, and a few minutes later, that number called again. I picked it up, I heard the voice of a woman,


"Is this Sistia Dinita?"

"Yes, it's me"

"I'm Vera from IIEF wants to say congratulations since you are chosen as one of IELSP grantees."

...............
"Really?"

"Yes! Congratulations, Sistia!"

........... "You're pulling my leg."

"I'm not kidding you. You're going to United States around February- March next year. Have you got your passport?"

Aa....
"No" (I must be dreaming, right? UNITED STATES????^%%#&%&%#^%#^&%)

"OK, tonight please check your email because we're gonna give you the instructions of what you should do next."

Aa.... (What the hell is happening here?)
"OK, Thank you so much.."

"Your passport must be ready before or on the day of December 6th. One thing you should remember, we will cover all the costs except for the passport. Are you sure you can afford this?"

"Yes, Miss. I know about that. I can afford this" (Passport????&^#&^#&^@&%&) ==> start being insane.

"OK, once again, congratulations Sistia. Don't forget to check your email. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, I don't know what to say, Thank you, Miss Vera."

"Assalamu'alaikum" "

"Wa'alaikumsalam"

My friends, who were standing next to me heard all those things. They suddenly hugged me crying, and screaming, as what I did. We didn't care about everything around us, just wanted to express How HAPPY I AM. I planned to tell my Mom soon after I reached home. The woman who sells the clothes and her husband gave me a present, a beautiful clothes which dazzled me since the first time I saw it, FOR FREE. They said, "Today is your day."

Thank you Allah Swt, Thank you my beloved Mom (who always prays for me), my brother (my handsome motivator), my sister in law (thank you for loving my handsome brother), my Dad (I love you so much), my boyfriend (thanks for loving me), and all my friends who support me a lot.

I LOVE YOU ALL