Precious Bike, Lose Bike

I can’t believe … that I lost my bicycle, on Sunday evening in front of my church. It was Sunday last week 16^th March 2014. In the middle of mass, I felt I wanted to go home and I felt sad, with no reason. Then I went outside to find my bike. Only its chain neglected on the ground. That moment when I realize my bike has gone. I told two men who were there, they are member of the church. One of them said, he can give me a lift. But, I am not happy with what happened, I want to talk to the police.

I rang the police to report my lose … my eyes were full of tears. Parish priest stood beside me accompanied me. When it’s start to rain, I could not hold my tears. Father then asked me to come inside the secretariat room, so I don’t get rained. There are other church members there. Father knows that I am a migrant from Indonesia, trying to be settling in this country. Before this I have to sell my little scooter (50 cc) after I bought a car. I can’t afford to pay all the maintenance and registration both vehicles.

On the night when I lose my bike, I could not sleep. Later on Monday I put an advertisement (free) in a website, I mentioned what my bike made, colour etc. I also said, I am a migrant try to settle in Australia. I asked to those who stole it to return it to the church and for those who see my bike to contact me. Then on Monday evening, father came to offer his spare bike. In the same evening someone also contact me offered his bicycle if my missing bike does not come back.

On Tuesday I worked, I told my colleague about my bike and she also offered me her spare bike. “I hardly use it” She said. But of course I have to choose one and I have said yes to the father. From all of this, I can feel, people are easy to offer you help. Even in my own country, I don’t think the story will be like this. One thing I got from this country’s culture is honesty has to be respected. From 3 persons offered me bicycle,  have to choose one and can’t be wishy washy.

By the way, in my Suburban is a common thing for bike to be stolen. I can say every bike’s owner has lose their bike. I didn’t accuse, but the common assumption in this society is indigenous who do, stealing bike. Unfortunately this assumption is not far from reality. For example when my guitar teacher’s son lose his bike. He rode his bike to a shopping centre named Earlville. Then he needs to make a phone call and he left his bike not so far. I reckon it’s still in his sight. In a second, someone poke him and asked “Is that your bike?” All this boy sees was just someone riding his bike in a flash … he identified the thief as Indigenous person.

I often see a car park on the edge of the street near my complex. Inside the car there are 4-5 men. It’s seems they are waiting something. This is weird scenery, because what usually happen only one person in 1 car. Except if one family in the car, means there are children inside. Not some males adult. Sometime, the driver seems white, and then all the passengers are black. But from what I know, although a person look white, he/ she is counted as indigenous because he/ she is mixed race.

Anyway, when I lose my bike in the church there is an Aboriginal woman – I have known her since I started live in Australia – she pat my back tried to calm me down. She is a very nice person. It seems, this remind me not to discriminate Indigenous person of Australia. 

Sepeda Sayang Sepeda Hilang

Rasanya masih ngga percaya sepedaku hilang. Hari minggu lalu aku ke gereja parkir di depan gereja, aku kunci sepedaku di tiang listrik. Di tengah-tengah misa aku rasanya ingin pulang dan aku merasa sedih tanpa alasan. Lantas aku keluar gereja menuju tempat parkir sepedaku. Hanya rantai kunci sepeda tergeletak ditanah yang aku dapat. Saat itu aku tahu, sepedaku dicuri. Aku bilang ke anggota gereja yang kebetulan ada diluar menyiapkan panganan kecil “afternoon tea.” Salah satu dari mereka langsung menawarkan untuk mengantar aku pulang dengan mobilnya. Aku jawab: “Ya, … tapi aku merasa tidak sreg. Aku ingin lapor polisi”

Aku telpon polisi untuk melapor … mataku mulai berkaca-kaca. Pastor paroki (romo) berdiri menemani aku. Saat mulai gerimis, aku tidak lagi dapat menahan air mata. Romo mengajakku ke ruang sekretariat supaya aku tidak kehujanan. Ada pengurus gereja disana. Romo tahu aku pendatang (migrant) dari Indonesia, mencoba hidup di negara ini. Sebelumnya aku harus menjual scooter kecilku (50cc) setelah membeli mobil. Aku tidak sanggup membayar semua biaya pemeliharaan dan registrasi dua kendaraan.

Malam setelah kejadian aku ngga bisa tidur. Senin siang aku pasang iklan di sebuah website gratis, menyebutkan ciri-ciri sepedaku dan bahwa aku seorang migrant yang berusaha menyelenggarakan hidupku disini. Aku minta orang yang mencuri mengembalikan. Bagi yang melihat sepedaku aku minta menghubungi aku. Sore harinya romo datang menawarkan sepeda serepnya yang jarang dia pakai yang saat ini berada di Kooah 4 jam perjalanan dari kota tempatku. Malamnya ada seorang mengirimiku SMS menawarkan sepedanya. Katanya “Nothing special, but you can use it.”

    

Hari Selasa aku kerja, aku cerita ke teman kerja dan dia menawarkan sepedanya juga. Tapi tentunya aku hanya memilih salah satu. Dalam hal ini, aku sudah mengiyakan yang dari Romo. Dari semua ini, aku merasakan bagaimana di negeri ini orang sangat mudah membantu orang lain. Di negara ku sendiri belum tentu kejadiannya seperti ini. Tapi satu hal yang juga aku dapat dari budaya negeri ini adalah kejujuran harus dijunjung. Tiga orang menawari sepeda aku harus memilih salah satu dan tidak plin plan. Aku tidak mengiyakan pada semuanya dan serakah. Hal semacam ini sangat dijaga di Australia.

Ngomong-ngomong, di Sub urban ku, memang pencurian sepeda sangat marak. Boleh dibilang setiap orang yang memiliki sepeda pasti kehilangan sepeda. Aku tidak menuduh, tapi persepsi umum yang beredar adalah orang indigenous (pribumi) lah pelakunya. Sayangnya ya bo’k, hal ini tidak bisa dibantah. Guru gitarku misalnya, anaknya naik sepeda ke shopping centre di sub urban lain, tapi kurang lebih sama … disana juga terkenal banyak pencurian dilakukan oleh orang Aborigin. Si anak ini sedang telpon, dan meninggalkan sepedanya tidak jauh dari situ … dalam sekejap seorang dengan ciri-ciri fisik indigenous menunggangi sepedanya alias mencuri sepedanya.

Sering aku lihat di jalan raya depan kompleksku, sebuah mobil di tepi jalan berisi 4-5 laki-laki dewasa. Mereka kelihatan menunggu sesuatu. Pemandangan yang aneh, karena seringnya 1 mobil berisi 1 orang. Kecuali kalau keluarga di dalam mobil, dengan anak-anak didalamnya. Kadang, sopirnya kelihatan sebagai orang kulit putih, penumpangnya kulit hitam semua. Tapi boleh dibilang walau terlihat kulit putih, bisa jadi dia tergolong sebagai indigenous, artinya dia berdarah campuran tapi terlihat sebagai kulit putih.

Camping at Ravenshoe

It is a blessing, that North of Queensland is a green fertile land. An area where during winter the temperature can be dropped to 0° but in this summer, wow I think it is more than 32°. It is really hot! Maybe it’s because global warming.

By the way, in Cairns Regional … Tableland is tourists object. There are several sites in this area. What I visited this time is Ravenshoe, small town on highest land of Tableland.

Near this small town, there is a waterfall named Milla Milla, there are also several camping sites. Where we camped is Archer Creek. We camped near the creek. The creek has clear water and very pristine. The local council provide a public toile in this free camping site. When I was using the toilet, it has toilet paper :)) which amaze me hahaha Although the building looks old, this toilet is clean and is looked after well. It is free, after all. In the commercial caravan park perhaps, the facility is better.

Farm area in Australia is very large. A farmer can have 83 acre property. Which is equal to 335.901 m²

From all these scenery, windmill farm is my favorite hehehe 

Berkemah di Ravenshoe

Merupakan anugerah Tuhan yang Maha Baik, daerah utara Queensland adalah tanah subur nan hijau. Daerah dimana saat musim dingin, suhu bisa mencapai 0° tapi di musim panas ini … wow 32° lebih kalee. Panas sekali! Mungkin karena pemanasan global.

Ngomong-ngomong, di Cairns Regional daerah Tableland ini adalah daerah tujuan wisata. Ada banyak obyek wisata di daerah ini. Kebetulan yang aku kunjungi adalah Ravenshoe, kota kecil yang ada di bagian tertinggi Tableland.

Dekat kota kecil ini, ada air terjun Milla Milla dan beberapa tempat berkemah. Tempat kami berkemah adalah Archer Creek. Sungainya berair jernih dan segar. Dewan kota setempat menyediakan satu toilet umum di lokasi perkemahan gratis ini. Toilet tersebut masih lengkap dengan tisu toiletnya waktu aku kesitu :D walau ruangan toilet terkesan bangunan lama, toilet terjaga kebersihannya. Gratis gitu loh. Di lahan perkemahan atau disini lebih populer, Caravan Park yang berbayar fasilitas tentunya lebih terjamin.

Lahan pertanian di Tableland dan mungkin didaerah lain di Australia sangatlah luas. Seorang petani bisa memiliki lebih dari 83 acre lahan. Satu acre = 4.047 m² delapan puluh tiga acre = 335.901 m².

Dari semua pemandangan, ladang kincir angin adalah favorit saya hehehe

Twin

On the second day I work in a Childcare Centre near my house, there is a really easy to be directed child. For example when I asked her to go to toilet, so I can change her nappy, she go to toilet straight away. With her small steps she walked to the toilet. After a while since the children arrival, the group leader who worked with me in the room, talked about the different between Anne and Jody. I just realize, that the child I mentioned earlier, are an identical twin. It just, their parent does not put the same look clothes. Maybe they know that will put us into trouble hahaha. Unfortunately the childcare centre’s policy does not allowed to publish children photo in the internet, otherwise I will show you their photo. Anyway, the different between this two children is only a small dot (mole) under Jody’s right eye. Really – really small. But the rest of their body, exactly the same … just like copy – paste.

From total 8 children in the room … this twin really are, easy children to look after to. When come the time for packing up , they helped us to return toys to its place. What amazing is, Anne know exactly where to put the toy by seeing similar toy on the shelf. We didn’t even tell her. They also didn’t cry at all or whinge ask for something, or fight for a toy with others. Wow!

They also really cudly. Both of them are cute and sometime say words clearly. “Good bye , see you” for example. Although, once I asked Anne to say it again she put her gob face on. When it’s nearly evening, the centre’s bus came and one of the staff called the twin. Yup, they come and go with the bus! Their body is so small, I think they are about 18 months old? From distance I saw Anne pulling a bag, bigger than her body. They are just incredible. I imagined they arrive in their home and prepare their own dinner hahaha … but of course that is just my imagination. These two children are gift for Childcare Centre worker like me. You know what, their parents must be really proud of them, and they have 2 of this kind of child.

Si Kembar

Di hari ke-2 aku bekerja di Childcare Centre dekat rumah, ada seorang anak yang mudah diberitahu. Diminta untuk ke toilet misalnya, karena aku akan ganti popoknya, dia langsung mengerti. Dengan langkah-langkah kecilnya dia berjalan menuju toilet. Beberapa waktu setelah kedatangan mereka Group Leader yang saat itu bekerja bersama-sama aku di ruangan, berbicara soal beda si Anne dan Jody. Aku baru sadar kalau anak yang aku ceritakan di awal tadi, ternyata kembar identik. Hanya saja, orang tuanya tidak mengenakan pakaian yang sama. Tahu kali ya, bahwa itu akan menyulitkan kerja kami hahaha. Sayang peraturan Childcare Centre tidak mengijinkan untuk mengupload foto anak. Beda antara kembar ini hanyalah bahwa Jody punya tahi lalat kecil – sangat kecil di bawah mata kanannya. Selebihnya, kedua manusia kecil ini persis – plek. Copy – paste.

Dari total delapan anak usia toddler di ruangan … benar-benar terasa si kembar sangat mudah dimomong. Saat waktunya berbenah sebelum makan siang, mereka pun membantu kami untuk mengembalikan mainan ke tempatnya. Luarbiasanya, Anne tahu tempat mainan dengan melihat mainan yang sama di rak. Dia menaruh mainan yang sama disitu, tanpa ada yang memberitahu mereka. Mereka juga tidak pernah menangis karena merengek sesuatu atau pun berebut mainan dengan yang lain. Wow!

Mereka juga sangat menyenangkan untuk dipeluk. Dua-duanya lucu dan mereka kadang menyebut kata-kata dengan jelas. Good bye, see you misalnya. Walau ketika diminta mengulang dia “ngong.” Menjelang sore, ketika bus jemputan datang salah seorang pembimbing memanggil mereka. Ya, mereka datang dan pulang dengan bus! Badan mereka sangat kecil, sepertinya usianya baru 18 bulan? Di kejauhan aku lihat Anne menarik-narik tas yang bahkan lebih besar dari badannya. Luar biasa. Aku bahkan membayangkan mereka pulang dan menyiapkan makanan mereka sendiri hahaha … itu hanya imajinasiku. Tapi kedua anak ini adalah suatu “hadiah” bagi seorang pekerja Childcare centre seperti aku. Aku berpikir “orang tuanya pasti sangat bangga akan anak ini, dan mereka punya dua yang seperti ini.”

Brody (in English version)

As a casual worker in Childcare Centre, I get different children every time I have assignment. Last week, I got assignment not so far from my house. This is the first time I work there. They asked me to work in toddler’s room (1.5 – 2 years old)

In this level of age, children are still unadorned. They still want to listen and obey what the carer told. Although does not mean there is no disobeying children. On my first day, I started to understand one by one, character of the children. On my second day, when time to packing up all toys on the yard, including obstacle course, we the carer have to undo the obstacle course. A boy, just call him Brody in this writing, holding one of the obstacle course and didn’t allow me to pack up.

Actually, we childcare centre worker have code ethic which doesn’t allow us to share children’s details or problems happen in the centre. A policy called confidential. That is why I don’t mention the true identity of this boy and the centre.

Anyway, on my third day I worked I was packing up the obstacle course again. This time I have stored it inside the shed. Brody came to the shed and tried to climb the obstacle course. I took him from it and put him outside the shed and shut the shed. He cried, with his facedown on to carpeted ground. I tried to calm him by telling him he still able to play with it on Monday. But that doesn’t stop him. A carer shouted from the next yard called Brody to calm him … made me feel “I am the most mean carer in the world.” Another carer asked “ What happened to him?” I told her what was happened and she said “Oh, really?” Sound like she doesn’t believe me.

Do you know what happen next? I was sitting down on sofa reading story for another children, Brody came of no where, drop his face on my lap and crying. He doesn’t move although I pat him, and calm him … he keep on crying, made a big spot of wet and slubbery on my pants. It gave me an impression that: he was really sad because all toys has been packed up = the centre, where he have fun will soon be closed.

Brody is an Indigenous Australian (I am not sure whether he is aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander). From his clothes and lunch that his parent supplied for him, I reckon he is coming from a poor family. As most of Indigenous family are. If I may be honest, Indigenous children are typical stubborn and seem enjoy giving distress moment to adult, not to mention suerring attitude. But, Brody is not like that. I imagined he got home, and have to play with broken car toys. Or maybe he doesn’t has at all. By the way, not long time after the crying incident, Brody has to go home because the bus has came. He, less than 2 years old boy, come and go with bus to the centre. I feel really sorry to him, but as a carer there is nothing else I can do then give him the best care at the centre.