How are you today? Reporting live from Goettingen, the weather is nice today, without snow but minus seven. And I'm still having a jetlag. Great.
So, yesterday was all the way sleeping day. I couldn't event remember the time I was awake or sleeping. After a long journey from Bogor to Goettingen (let me inform you, 3 hours bus riding from Bogor to SoeTa airport, 6 hours waiting in the airport, 8 hours flight from Cengkareng to Dubai, 5 hours transit, 7 hours flight from Dubai to Hamburg, and 2 hours in train to Goettingen), I can't feel my bones. So tired and cold, man. Imagine, 30 degree celcius to minus something. I believe my body is struggling to adapt this temperature, with the help of room heater, warm pants, double shirts and jacket, plus warm socks, and blanket.
Man, I am so starving. I don't have much food in my room (I kind of evacuated them before leaving for Bogor in early January), but good thing my friend invites me for lunch today. Thank you, Anju.
Sunday in Germany is gloomy day coz no stores open, so I couldn't do groceries. I have to wait till tomorrow. But at least I could shop online the jacket I want (Oh, my illness of consumerism. I really need to be cured. Help!).
Okay, let me tell you about the thing I did this last three weeks.
As you know, my class had a field project and it is in Gunung Walat, Sukabumi. This forest is an educational forest of Faculty of Forestry IPB. Since I was the only Indonesian in this group, so automatically I became sort of the "mother" of these 13 "adult" children. I was so happy and grateful that Koh Hun Bun helped me a lot in arranging some things (especially transportation stuff) while we were in Bogor. Otherwise, I was doomed. Love you, man!
In short, we had new year's eve in Dubai, hardly felt it. Just the chill of the air conditioned area and lack of sleep. So new year was just waiting for boarding. Then hours later we arrived in SoeTa airport, around 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Doing this and that (exchanging euro to rupiah, finding place to eat, helping people to find rest room ect), then we took DAMRI to Bogor. First, I thought everyone would (still) be excited to see the face of Jakarta in a glance, but everyone was sleeping until we reached Baranangsiang. We booked guesthouse Landhuis in IPB Dramaga campus and we went there by angkot. Oh yeah, those foreign people had to taste the delightful bumps and honks of angkot of Bogor. Not to mention the traffic. Marvelous.
Anyway, we "rented" 3 angkot (Koh Hun Bun kept the driver's phone number so anythime we wanted the service, we just made a call) and we went to the guesthouse. To tell you the truth, it was also my first time to IPB Dramaga, so I was as lost as them.
The next day, we went to Botanical Garden. Such a lovely day. My friends were becoming target of interview by the students there...hehe. They were surrounded and asked so many questions, and pictures of course. What a celebrity life.
January 3rd in the morning, we went to campus and made a presentation about what we would do in Gunung Walat forest for 3 weeks. In the afternoon, we moved to Gunung Walat, which theoritically only 2 hours from Bogor, but practically was 4 hours. The traffic was just hectic, man. After all these years, I now realize that some places in Indonesia is really, I mean really really, overpopulated. Dude, so many people and so many vehicles. Comparing it to Goettingen, it's like chess vs football game. Quiet vs Riot.
Anyway, when we arrived in Gunung Walat (the road to go the basecamp was just up and down, sharp), the staffs welcame us with a very nice dinner, music and luggage assistance. Really nice. Just from the first impression, I thought we would love to be in this place.
And you know what, we did loved staying there. The people in the management were really helpful, the students were always available to help and the food was magnificent. Good thing was, my friends, regardless their previous diet, they enjoyed the meal. Some were even too enjoying (four to six chicken per meal, that's wow...hehe).
To summarize the days we had in Gunung Walat, I'd tell you that it was full of works, fun, tiresome arguments (hey, living for 3 weeks with different characters could be a soap opera, man), and growing friendship. I had some hard time too, as the mother goose, meeting all demands was not easy and sometimes I reached my patience limit. Sorry about that. But all in all, we were all okay.
At least most of us got a chance to have vacations (Jakarta tour, Safari park trip and Pelabuhan Ratu beach). Oh, happy days.
Last January 27th, we were again in IPB campus to do a presentation about our results in Gunung Walat. It was a great presentation (I was one of the three presenters, eventhough my English was scattered, ahem) and everyone seemed so enthusiastic about it. Hopefully our works contribute something to the development of Gunung Walat Educational Forest, and let the coorperation continues in the future. Amin.
Well, that's all I can tell in general.
We will miss the moments of Gunung Walat (especially the farewel party when everyone shaked their bodies for the whole night, dangdutaaaaan...!)
Thank you for all who makes this field work runs really well.
Okay, now I am really starving. I will get ready to Anju's apartment (drooling already imagining food). See you again, my friends.
