We CAN help, without money

So I watched Kick Andy a couple of weeks ago. The host was interviewing this very unconvincing man who said that he's a teacher. He was only an elementary school graduate, but he is determined to educate children in his village so they won't be poor like him. He said something like this:

"Back then, I dreamed to be rich so I would be able to build a school where children can learn for free. I am far from rich, but I have pursued my dream."

That sentence, which was said by an elementary school graduate, made me think.
Do I have to be rich?
If I had all the money I want, would I still be thinking about helping?
It seems that life with no money, in his case, seems so peaceful.

Oh Mr. heart-of-gold, I'm sorry I said you were unconvincing and underestimated you just because you're an elementary school graduate. I'm no better than you are.

O Ambassadors

Today, I nearly cried while watching two inspirational TV shows. The first one is Oprah and the second one is Kick Andy. I'll speak about the latter on my next post.

This episode highlights the journey of O Ambassadors.
Ten years ago, Oprah invited a 16 year old boy named Craig Kielburger to her show. In such a young age, he has volunteered to teach children who are living in poverty. Now, with Oprah's Angel Network, he has built around 60 schools in third world countries.

Based on this, Oprah decided to make a program called O Ambassadors. They have so many creative ways to raise money for the needy, like making kissing booths and festivals.
For the first project, Oprah chose 12 ambassadors who are students from across North America to build a school in Africa.
What amazes me is that these 12 teenagers, helped by a couple of African students, actually built the school from scratch. Literally. They dug dirt, mixed concrete, made windows, and everything you need to do to construct a building. With only a 2-hour course in construction work given by their mentor in Africa, they managed to build a 1-classroom school in 3 weeks.

Other than that, they also had an entire evening playing with local kids, visiting their houses, and visiting the river which is the only water source for that village. They bathe, take their cattle, wash their clothes, and drink on that same river. The ambassadors also saw how the local kids only have cereal for breakfast, corn and water porridge for lunch, and tea for dinner.
After seeing how they live, one of the ambassador said something like this:

"It made me more grateful with what I have right now. People here are still smiling even though they are living like this; they are fortunate they can live until this present day."

One thing Oprah and Craig Kielburger kept saying over and over again is that we are not too young to make a change.
It really touches my heart, and make me feel ashamed of myself at the same time, how someone voluntarily traveled halfway across the world to do social work for other people.

It makes me realize how my presence in this world hasn't make any significant difference for people who are in need.

Elementary School Reunion

Last Friday was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

I spent some quality time with M.S.

It was the first day of my GMAT prep class. I really like math and considering I'm a Psychology major, it's been a while since the last time I used my brain to count. I miss dealing with numbers and variables.
I sound like a math geek.

Other than that, what made my day superb was it was the day of my elementary school reunion. Thanks to facebook, Ilma, and Dela, after 10 years I finally get to meet my long lost friends at Thai Kitchen, Panglima Polim. I've been looking forward for this event, and when I finally arrived at the venue I was smiling from ear to ear and jumping and down. Literally (the jumping part, not the smiling part, hehe..).
There were about 80 people there. I can't remember all of them though, so I had to ask their names and introduced myself again.


Other than eating and taking pictures, we also reminisced those good old days in elementary school. The funny part was when we remembered the love stories and the humiliation we did back then. Here are the excerpts from the reunion:

Girl: Oh my god, I had a crush on you? Remember?
Boy: Oh yeah? Me too..!! That's why I always chose a seat next to you.
Girl: Then why weren't we together?
Boy: hahahah...

Boy: You were my ex right?
Girl1: Oh my goodness, yes, how humiliating.
Girl2: We had a fight, remember? Because I had a crush on him too.
Boy: Hahaha....

(Spoken with a non-flirting manner)
Girl: You're hot now, you used to be a total geek. No offense.
Boy: Haha... None taken.

A: Hey, you used to shit your pants right?
B: Hahaha.. How come you remember?
C: You're famous on our batch as the boy who likes to shit his pants.
A: Yeah, and you walked with your ass facing the wall so no one will see the stain on your shorts, but your shit was dripping.
C: Oh yeah? I don't remember that. Eeewww... I just lost my appetite.

After a lot of talking, laughing, and taking pictures, some of us went to one of the night clubs near Thai Kitchen. One of my elementary school friend is the marketing of that club so he gave us guestlists.



What makes this extraordinary is because we knew each other since we were still children. And at that day, we went to a club together and did what people at clubs usually do. Even the geeks.

People DO change.

Bali

Greetings from the Land of Gods

A Letter to God

Dear God,

Another year in my life has passed. The year 2008 has been magnificent. You gave me so many blessings since day 1, starting from my trip to Paris, my unforgettable 20th birthday, Abang None, meeting M.S, and other things which I cannot write one by one.

Thank You God for giving me such a beautiful life. It is true that my life has not been all ups. You have given the downsides of life for me this year, but I took that as a process for me to be more mature and realize that I should be more grateful for what I have right now.

I am sorry I still do things that You don't like. Despite all the kindness You've shown to me, I still don't touch my head to the floor 5 times everyday. I am also more afraid in making my parents sad than making You sad every time I do something wrong. I really am sorry dear God.

I hope next year will be better. I can not promise You anything, but I will be doing my best to not make You mad. I also hope that there will be peace on earth. I am sure You do not want people to suffer any longer with all the war in Palestine, Africa, and other places on earth. Please take care of my family, my loved ones, all of the good people, and the environment which I sometimes take for granted.

Last but not least,
Thank You God for being extremely nice to me. I am truly blessed.
I love You God, I really do.

Sincerely,


Deasy B. Priadi

Sentimental Day

At my French class, i learned a new word:

Coup de Foudre which means Love at First Sight.


When I went home, I continued reading twilight. I'm planning to finish the book before the movie is in theaters.
There's this part when Bella, the girl in the book, was going to sleep. Edward, her boyfriend, was also under the covers and his arms were wrapped around Bella and his lips were at Bella's ear.
The part that made me smile was when Edward did this to Bella:

He hummed a melody I didn't recognize; it sounded like a lullaby
He paused. "Should I sing you to sleep?"

Do I really have to have a vampire for a boyfriend? (FYI, Edward is a vampire).

Damn it, M.S. Where are you. Why do you have to be so far away for so long..
Ouwh.. what a sentimental day.

Maybe We Should Stop Expecting

I haven't met my sister for 8 months, and a couple of days ago she arrived at Jakarta. It's her first Lebaran here since the last 4 years.
When I found out she was coming home, I already thought about all the things I was going to ask her to buy for me. This is what I usually do everytime she comes home. I sometimes wonder whether I'm more excited to see my sister home or the things she bought for me.
This time, I planned to ask for a pair of ankle boots.

(Yeah.. yeah.. you can judge me all you want. I'm pretty much a fashion victim)








Eventually, I changed my mind and didn't ask for anything from her. I know how difficult it could be to look for random stuff.

I didn't pick her up at the airport, so by the time she landed she gave me a call. She said she bought me a pair of shoes. Since I wasn't expecting anything from her, I was pretty surprised.
When I arrived home, I was too excited to see my sister and completely forgot about the shoes. After all the euphoria, I went to my room and my sister showed me the shoes.



It was even better than I thought it would be. I've been looking for it obsessively on ebay a couple of months ago but I never found any. I never told my sister before, but somehow she bought it for me.





Maybe that's how it is with families and people who loves us unconditionally. Eventhough we don't expect much from them, the things they do for us are way beyond our expectations. I think that's proof of how big their love is towards us. We sometimes forget how lucky we are to be surrounded by people who love us. I sometimes forget.

Cheerio...