Summer In Beppu

Among the four seasons I've been through as I live in Japan, summer is one of the most unpleasant season, yet the best of all. I love winter and how I could wear all of those winter coats and stuffs that I couldn't wear in my home country, but summer has its own spell. Maybe it's because I am having my summer.. in Japan. Yes, Japan.


From the very first time I spent my summer days in Japan in 2009, I knew that I fell in love instantly with it. Began with Star Festival (Tanabata Matsuri) then Summer Festival. People wear Yukata every corner of the festival. The food stalls and Japanese Festival Game stalls are in one long row. And the best of all, the summer fireworks at night. I love fireworks.. like a lot. During summer, I feel so.. alive. 

Last year, I joined the Beppu Summer Festival for the first time. After practicing for three days in Oita International House, I experienced an more-than-one-hour dancing around the festival wearing Yukata. This year, I didn't join the dance even though I wanted to, but seeing the same old dance in front of my eyes for once more time, it cannot help but bringing back lots of memories from last year summer. And without I realized, I started to smile widely.

I remember a lot of things from last summer. How I spent a day with my Japanese share mate in Oita. How my sandal broken during the dance practice and I had to struggle walking to reach the nearest bus stop and ended up buying another sandal. How I just felt free with all the things. When I looked around during yesterday festival, I was amazed of the fact that another one year has passed. Time flew so fast, eh?

Anyway, it's really nice having summer festival after all those hectic days, final exams, and busyness searching for new place to live. I also wore the Yukata my Host Family gave me 3 years ago. Well, it's said, the best summer is if you spend watching fireworks with someone you like, but for me, I am there with my closest friends, that's enough. 

To think about it, I had choice to hate my life--disappointment, guilty, fed up--but, whatever the unpleasant things I faced on my daily life, I chose to be grateful of it. I came to realize that my life here is richer and more colorful than before I went here and I couldn't be happier than ever.

See you next summer, Beppu! 

Start All Over

It's like about another 16 days before I go back to Indonesia. Around two weeks before I close one of my chapters of my college life: second year student. Cannot believe that I've spent half of my university life. Two more years. Yes, two more years. Whenever I remember it, I'd start feel sad about it.

Anyway, I did lots of thing these two years. Last night, I went through all my photos in APU and I realize lots of things happened here. Especially, this semester, I was so busy with a lot of things. RA, Indonesian Week, SAS, etc. that it affected my body and mind. I felt pretty exhausted back then. And I realized it influenced the way I do my job. I couldn't focus as much as before (and I was known for my ability to stay focus!) . All I wanna do is sleeping, sleeping and do nothing. Pretty bad, at least for me. I learnt my lesson. It's not that I couldn't do it properly, I just couldn't do all the things in the same time. Valuable lesson for me to respect myself as well.

Anyhow, it's almost finish and summer vacation is approaching. I'll go back to Indonesia for a pretty long time, about more than a month. This time, I will go home for my own sake. I really want to take a real break and start to think slowly of what I wanna do next, of how I want to spend my remaining two years in Japan. And I wish I could go back to Japan with fresher image of Maya. Keeping back with my old work ethics (keep focus! organized! time management!), cut off this semester's bad habits (a little bit not being myself due to lots of circumstances) , keep things that really important for me, and not give up easily. Basically, I would like to try to return to my old self like one year ago but with more smile, more open with people, and keep being positive.

Kind of glad that I will move to downtown starting next semester. With new place and environment, it's kind of easier to start all over again. And I might cut my hair, this time, I will go for short. But not too short though. It's kind of great feeling. Next semester, I am going to be 3rd year student, and it will gonna be my fresh start. I can't wait. Even though things might going to get rough next semester, I will just need to remember that I only got two years left in this small lovely place called Beppu, so I'd better to enjoy every second of it!

Tanabata: Japanese Star Festival

In Japan, there's this star festival that the whole Japan would celebrated once a year called Tanabata. During this festival, you could see bamboo tree everywhere in Japan. And on its branches, you could see pieces of colorful papers, hanging on them freely. If you see it clearer, you will realize that those pieces of colorful papers are people's wishes. Yes, they hanging their wishes on bamboo during Tanabata Festival. So, what's this all about, actually?


So, behind this Tanabata Festival, there's one Japanese folk story that I really like that started it all. Long time ago, they believed that there was this God of Sky's daughter called Orihime who loved sewing and making new clothes. The Tenkou (God of Sky) worried his daughter worked too hard and will never make time to find love, so he introduced her to a guy who was his job to take care of cows and also a workaholic named Hikoboshi.


They met, and fell in love with each other. But, they were madly in love that they did not care with their works anymore, so the God of Sky got mad at them, so they separate them from each other and taking Orihime to the other side of Amanogawa or Milky Way. Orihime and Hikoboshi really sad for not being able to meet each other anymore and made the God of Sky felt sorry for them so they let them meet only once a year.


And it's only on July 7th. On the Tanabata day, people make wish that the sky will clear all day long so Orihime and Hikoboshi could meet up on the Milky Way. If it's rained, it means the two lover could not meet each other because the water level of the Amanogawa (Milky Way) is too high and they should wait for another year to meet. Somehow it's kind of sad story, a couple that only can meet once a year, isn't it?


I remember the first time I had my Tanabata Festival when I visited Japan for the first time in 2009. It's so interesting to see how people write their own wish in a piece of paper and hanging it on the bamboo. So, I decided to make a try. I wished for being able to come back to Japan someday, and I really did.


This year, I made a wish but not sure if it will granted or not. Well, at least I wrote something lol.


So, it's almost the end of semester and I am having my exam week right now. And also, I am so busy with finding new apartment to live from next semester. Cannot believe that I will move out from AP House in less of two weeks. Well, I've been living here for two years and lots of things happened here. 

And I'm sure I'll miss this place.

A Little Reminder

A little reminder for me..
That once I was wearing that orange polo shirt

Once I was wearing that RA strap
Once I had my schedule so screwed up and though

Once I through it all with my best friend.

From the Alchemist

" Fatima went back to her rent, and, when daylight came, she went out to do the chores she had done for years. But everything had changed. The boy was no longer at the oasis, and the oasis would never again have the same meaning it had had only yesterday. It would no longer be a place with fifty thousand palm trees and three hundred wells, where the pilgrims arrived, relieved at the end of their long journeys. From that day on, the oasis would be an empty place for her." - The Alchemist

How was my feeling that morning?
Yes, exactly the same.

Just a Little Bit More

Tic. Toc. Tic. Toc.


Hey, it's already 23:15 which means 45 minutes left before midnight, which means 45 minutes left before I am turning into 20. Twelve. Twelve! Finally I join my adulthood time. New journey begins from here. Well, I cannot wait!

This last one year was amazingly great! I remember last year I received bunch of greetings and prays from people around me. Remember that they said something about having an enjoyable last year my teenager years.. and I did. I had joy, laugh, smile, cry, tears, etc. I fell in love, I learnt valuable things about life, found out my passion and what I really want.. weren't that great?

And.. in this up-coming new age, I hope I will find more and more interesting thing that will become the start of my journey in adult world.

Last Glimpse of Seoul

It was mid-February when I went to Seoul for the first. The frozen temperature and Ginseng scent rose up in the air. Seoul is kind of the usual big city, just like New York or Tokyo. I remember taking this last photo at around 7:45 am before heading back to Busan. This view might be my favorite view in Seoul. Somehow whenever I see this picture, there's sorrow and loneliness in that silent morning which I couldn't explain..


..but surely one day I will come back to find the answer.