One day I was walking along Far Rockaway Beach. Suddenly, someone (may be a homeless) passed me and gave a piece of paper on which a poem was written. I took a minute for reading it and then I asked him whether the poem was his own hand-writing or not. He looked frankly to speak that it was his creativity. Giving $ 2, the man looked so happy and said thank you. The poem he gave the title on “Individual” was written like this:
Individual
For as the wind may blow,
Only my spirit knows,
What life has in store,
For my eyes see,
What’s in front of me,
But only my heart and mind know,
What would truly be,
What shall I say,
O Heart of mine,
Can you feel the way?
And what Shall I say,
O mind of mine,
Do you know the way?
Which is what I do not know,
But what I have found,
My spirit shows,
That my trust in God,
There where He follows.
Gus Bryant
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Just a Story
A Lucky Broken Motorcycle
Two years ago, I have lost a motorcycle in a garage. It happened at night, when all my family was sleeping soundly. At least two thieves have broken the lock of my house gate and then took my motorcycle. No body knew the incident, except the thieves themselves.
In the early morning, I was in a hurry to go to my work so I had no time to check the motorcycle. My wife called me to let me know that the motorcycle was not in the garage. Feeling surprise, she asked me whether I knew where it was. I said that the motorcycle was stored in the garage after I rode it two days ago. She then checked again in the garage, but again she didn’t find it.
We were sure that the motorcycle was lost since the night before. There were some traces of the thieves before they took the motorcycle. The lock of the garage was broken and a strange screw-driver was laid down near the gate.
Knowing that the motorcycle was lost, my wife wanted to call the police, but I told her not to do that. At that time, I really wanted to kiss my motorcycle goodbye. But, at 3.00 pm my wife called me again to inform me that the motorcycle was at the police office. A policeman, said my wife, has found it in the yard of someone’s house where another motorcycle was stolen by the same thieves.
Perhaps, the thieves wanted to steal two motorcycles at the same times in one night, but unfortunately my motorcycle was broken. Maybe it could not be driven after taking and stealing another motorcycle. That is why, the thieves seemed to delay to steal it and left it in someone’s yard. “It was a lucky broken motorcycle,” I said at the time.**
Traveling around the World
Next month, I am going to go to some countries. Starting from United States of America, I will make a series of traveling to some countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The first country I am going to visit is Germany where my relative, Thomas, lives for twenty years. I have called him to arrange with him to pick me up when I arrive at Berlin Tegel International Air Port. He said that he will be at the air port 15 minutes before my arrival. I will stay in Berlin for one week and spend the night at Thomas’s apartment. Some interesting places hopefully can be visited such as Castel Neuschwanstein and Prince-Bishops of Wurzburz.
The next country is Netherland. I am going to travel to this country for a specific purpose. Visiting this country, I am going to meet my colleagues who are attending Leiden University for studying Islamic studies. Besides, I want to visit a library in the central city of Leiden that keeps some old important documents of the previous Indonesian government. My friend said that it would be very valuable for me to visit the library. All the important nation history of Indonesia will be available there, especially the documents of the Dutch Colonialism in Indonesia in 350 years ago.
After five days’ stay in Leiden I am going to go to Egypt. Different from visiting Germany and Netherland, in this country I will make a great tour to visit the historical places like the Pyramids, Tutankhamun, the Statues of the Pharaos, the Court of Amenhotep, Sand and White Rocks, etc. I will be staying in Cairo for one week until the end of January 2007. I hope I will also be able to meet some Indonesian scholars who are attending Al-Azhar University.
From Cairo I am going to fly to Singapore. There I will buy some souvenirs for my relatives in Indonesia. Many beautiful souvenirs might be bought in the trade center of Singapore, for instance, watches, accessories, ties, and electronics. The price of the souvenirs is various, but most of them are cheap enough. Visiting the country, I also have a plan to visit Nanyang Technological University where I attended an international Conference on Education one year ago. There I am going to stay for three days and spend the night at Changi Hotel.
The last destination is my home country, Indonesia. I hope, I will arrive in my home-country at the beginning of February 2007 and start to do my routine work at the School of Islamic Education after that long traveling. For the travel, I have to save money approximately $15 thousands of my annual salary. Wow, I will really drop a bundle if the dream comes true. Fortunately, it is just an imaginary planning written for taking the advantage of my leasure time, he..he..**
Acupuncture and Magic Needles
One day I got headache. I tried to cure the pain by drinking generic medicine but I didn’t get better. After three days curing, the headache became more and more painful and it most likely became a migraine. I really couldn’t stand the pain so that I decided to go to an acupuncture center near my house. My son called a front officer of the acupuncture center to arrange appointment for meeting acupuncturist in the afternoon. The front officers then suggested me to come there at 5.00 pm.
I came on time in the afternoon. After 10 minutes waiting for having treatment, the acupuncturist let me to enter his room. His room was very large. In the room there are many compartments that one and another separated by white clothes. Each compartment is used for treating a patient and then it in turn is used by another patient every 30 minutes. Therefore, when the acupuncturist called me to enter the room, at the same time, one of the patients went out the room after his treatment was completed.
The acupuncturist then asked me to lie down on a bed. He asked me about what I often felt with my headache. Just given him a little explanation about symptom and pain in my head, he inserted four needles into my head, shoulder, right hand, and right leg calf. When the needles were inserted, I didn’t feel pain al all. But, after about 5 minutes later, the needles like having electric energy. The spots at which the needles were inserted were felt rather rigid and sometimes liked activating neuron system to other parts of my body. But after the acupuncturist removed the needles, I felt my body better than before.
As long as one week I felt better and then I went again to the acupuncture center for the same treatment. But unfortunately, the headache was more painful so that I decided to get another alternative of cure. My friend then took me to someone who knew the mystical cause of unusual disease. Although I felt so doubt for the successful treatment of such way, my friend always persuaded me to check whether or not there is magic thing in my head. I said to him that it was just a physical sickness, but he remained in his opinion to take me to the place. Actually the place was far from my house and it would take about 3 hours to get there.
After arriving at the place, we took a rest for a moment before getting the mystical treatment. Ten minutes later I was treated by a magician through different method from what acupuncturist did. The magician cured me by putting his hand on my head while he said something that I did not understand at all. Maybe he was praying to God or rejecting devil. Suddenly, on part of my head there was something likely being pulled by the magician. He then said that someone put two short needles in my head by using his magic power. He took them out. And, it was obviously surprised that the headache was totally disappeared after getting the magic treatment. Now I always feel better with my head. Thanks God! **
Anomali di Sudut NYC
Anjing Ceria
Banyak penduduk NYC yang menyukai binatang peliharaan terutama anjing dengan berbagai rasnya yang cukup unik. Ajing di NYC sangat berbeda dari anjing di Indonesia. Di NYC anjing secara rutin dibawa jalan-jalan oleh pemiliknya atau oleh orang yang dibayar untuk membawa bermain mereka. Yang lebih hebat lagi, di sudut Union Square ada area untuk Run Dogs. Setiap pemilik anjing masuk bersama anjing peliharaannya ke area tersebut. Sementera pemiliknya menunggu sambil baca buku, anjing yang talinya dilepas bebas oleh pemiliknya bermain bersama sahabat anjing lainnya. Di sini berbagai ras anjing bermain ceria dari yang muda sampai yang tua, dari yang berbulu gundul sampai yang jabrig. **
Kutu Ketiak
Suatu ketika, aku melihat orang yang sudah berumur duduk di salah satu kursi Subway Train. Pakaiannya kelihatan cukup rapih, tapi dia tidur melulu. Aku ngak tahu kenapa orang-orang tidak berani duduk disampingnya dan hanya aku yang mendekat dan duduk bersebelahan dengannya. Sesekali orang itu bangun dari tidurnya dan menggaruk-garuk tanganya yang kelihatannya gatal-gatal. Saat orang tersebut menggaruk ketiaknya, ia seperti menemukan sesuatu dari ketiaknya. Tangannya seperti memungut benda, tapi setelah jari tanganya keluar dari selipan jasnya ia menjatuhkan empat ekor kutu dari ketiaknya. Kutunya besar-besar, sampai akhirnya aku pindah tempat duduk dan aku sadar orang tersebut adalah seorang homeless. **
Orang Stress
Mungkin agak sulit dibayangkan kalau di NYC banyak orang stress. Kehidupan kota yang sangat makmur dan hingar bingar, ternyata menyimpan banyak orang stres. Hampir setiap perjalananku ketika naik subway dan bus ada saja orang yang berperilaku aneh. Ada orang yang berparas cakep, tapi tatapannya mengarah ke atas terus. Dia duduk di sampingku saat aku naik Bis menuju Flushing. Eh… tiba-tiba ia berbicara sendiri dengan amat keras seperti sedang berdialog dengan orang lain. Semua orang yang ada di Bis terkejut tapi mereka acuh tak acuh dengan kejadian tersebut.**
Ada lagi orang tak waras saat aku sedang menunggu subway menuju Hillside. Orang itu bertanya padaku tentang arah subway yang sedang ditunggu apakah menuju ke Downtown atau Uptown. Aku jelaskan bahwa kereta menuju ke Uptown. Dia mengerti dengan penjelasanku. Tapi setelah sekitar lima menit kemudian dia bicara sendiri dan memegang pundaku sambil mengatakan; “I Like You”. Kontan saja aku merasa takut dan pindah ke tempat lain sebelum train datang. Saat train datang ia mengikutiku dan duduk di gerbong yang sama bahkan duduk berhadapan. Ia menatapku tapi aku seolah tak memperhatikannya. Untungnya ia turun duluan di Stainway, sekitar 6 stops dari tujuanku.**
Rizki Orang Subcontinent
Untuk menemukan majalah porno di NYC sungguh sangat mudah sekali. Betapa tidak hampir di setiap stasiun kereta, baik di bawah tanah maupun di atas stasiun tersebut pasti ditemukan toko yang menyajakan majalah porno. Kalau anda keluar dari stasiun bawah tanah dan naik tangga menuju keluar, di pintu keluar pasti ada toko seperti itu. Coba anda masuk ke toko itu, penjualnya pasti orang subcontinent, khususnya orang Bangladesh. Aku pernah bertanya kepada salah seorang pedagang barang tersebut tentang mengapa ia menjual majalah-majalah itu. Ia menjawab sederhana: “Earning money, guy, I need money!” Memang berjualan barang seperti itu di NYC tidak dilarang sehingga menjadi salah satu mata pencaharian bagi mereka yang berani melakukannya. **
Ciuman Terbuka
Kalau di Indonesia, ciuman di muka umum menjadi sesuatu yang tabu dilakukan. Tapi apa yang terjadi di sudut kota NYC, tontonan ciuman memang benar-benar diobral dan terjadi hampir di setiap titik. Paling seru ciuman antar dua insan yang tengah memadu kasih itu terjadi pada malamWeekend. Anda dapat menemukan ciuman yang diobral dihadapan umum di subway, di Bus, di pinggir jalan, di restoran, dll. Mereka merasa tidak terganggu olleh orang di sekitarnya. Dan hebatnya lagi, -- karena sudah menjadi budaya – orang-orang yang melihatnya acuh saja. Paling banter, mereka hanya tersenyum dan melihat keadaan tersebut hanya sekilas. Karena itu bagi kaula muda Amrik yang sedang mabuk cinta boleh memiliki setiap jengkal tanah yang sedang mereka injak seperti ruang tertutup, walau mereka tengah berdesakan dengan orang lain. **
HP yang Beruntung
Suatu ketika saat aku turun dari bus di daerah Flushing HP-ku jatuh. Padahal Hp itu diikat oleh ikat pinggang. Tapi ngak tahu kenapa saat itu HP terjatuh dari pinggangku. Aku ngak sadar kalau HP itu jatuh. Tapi setelah berjalan sekitar 10 meter aku merasakan HP itu sudah mngak dipinggang lagi. Aku terkejut kemudian berbalik arah untuk mencari HP tersebut. Saat aku berbalik ada orang yang berlari ke arahku sambil menyodorkan HP tersebut. Dia menyatakan bahwa HP ku jatuh saat aku turun dari bis. Aku percaya saja dan say thank kepada dia. Kalau kejadian itu terjadi di Bandung… apa jadinya, ya?**
Merawat Kuku
Hampir di setiap deretan pertokoan di NYC pasti ada NAIL, yakni tempat untuk merawat kuku. Di tempat tersebut selalu banyak pengunjungnya yang mereka itu adalah gadis-gadis dan ibu-ibu. Kuku tampaknya menjadi sebuah lahan bisnis yang cukup menjanjikan di NYC. Padahal di negara kita mengurusi kuku hanya cukup dengan dipelihara dan dipotong sediri.**
Beras Pulen
Mungkin anda tidak sempat membayangkan kalau di NYC ada beras pulen. Kualitas beras tersebut lebih baik dibandingkan dengan besar di negara kita. Ya kalau dibandingkan, mungkin beras tersebut setara dengan beras Cianjur. Beras itu didatangkan dari Thailand dan dijual di toko-tokok terutama di toko orang Asia khususnya orang Cina dan orang Timur Tengah. Harganya cukup murah jika dibandingkan dengan beras lainnya yang tidak pulen dan tidak harum. Ternyata di NYC beras IR46 yang di negara kita dianggap beras murah menjadi beras mahal dan disukai banyak orang.**
Korma Kalifornia
Korma ternyata tidak lagi milik daratan Arab. Saat orang menunaikan Haji di Mekah dan Madinah banyak buah korma yang bagus-bagus. Eh tahunya buah korma itu tidak saja ada di Arab Saudi tapi ada juga yang ditanam di California. Buahnya cukup bagus meski agak basah. Rasanya… ya sama seperti korma yang Arab Saudi, namun harganya relatif murah dibandingkan dengan korma yang didatangkan dari dunia Arab.**
Mobil Tanpa Garasi
Kehidupan orang di NYC memang sangat makmur, terutama mereka yang memperoleh pekerjaan bagus. UPM di NYC sekitar $ 6.00 perjam, namun ada juga yang sampai ratusan dollar perjam. Kehidupan yang mapan salah satunya dapat dilihat dari fasilitas kendaraan yang mereka miliki. Mobil di NYC kualitasnya sangat bagus dan CC-nya besar-besar. Soal harga, tampaknya lebih murah dari harga mobil di Indonesia. Setiap keluarga rata-rata punya lebih dari satu mobil dan mereka menyimpan mobilnya dipinggir jalan. Mereka tidak khawatir akan dicuri orang atau tertimpa pohon saat ada angin besar karena segalanya sudah diasuransikan. **
Gaji Pemadam Kebaran
Mungkin anda ingin tahu apa pekerjaan yang paling besar gajinya? Jawabannya adalah pemadam kebakaran. Mereka digaji ribuan dolar pertahun dan diberi fasilitas kehidupan yang sangat menjamin masa depannya. Namun dibalik gajinya yang besar, pemadam kebakaran memang menjadi pekerjaan yang penuh resiko dan sangat sibuk. Hampir pada setiap peristiwa perjalannanku di NYC mendengar bunyi alarm dari mobil-mobil pemadam kebakaran. Aku sempat merasa aneh karena dikira selalu ada kebakan dimana-mana. Eh tahunya bukan hanya kebakaran yang dikejar oleh mobil pemadam kebakaran, tapi boleh jadi ada kucing naik pohon ngak bisa turun dan yang empunya memanggil 911. Karena kesibukan seperti itu dan tanggung jawab mereka untuk menyelamatkan nyawa orang dan binatang, mereka digaji paling besar dibanding pekerjaan sejenis lainnya.**
Buku $ 1 Dollar
Ilmu memang menjadi bagian kehidupan sehari-hari di NYC. Bukti dari keadaan tersebut dapat dilihat dari publikasi ilmu pengetahuan baik dalam bentuk buku fiksi, nonfiksi, maupun referensi. Jumlah buku yang diterbitkan di USA khususnya di NYC, tampaknya tak akan tertandingi oleh kota-kota lain di dunia. Buku-buku itu ada di perpustakaan berbagai lembaga pendidikan dan di toko buku yang dijual bebas. Yang menarik, buku-buku yang sudah dianggap kurang laku dijual merata seharga $ 1 dollar di sebuah toko yang bernama Strand Book Store di bilangan Union Square. Buku itu ternyata banyak yang tahun 2000-an dan berkualitas bagus. Isinya pun banyak yang menarik. Aku ngak habis pikir, mengapa buku itu dijual dengan harga yang dipukul rata.**
Sulitnya Berpakain
Aku memang tinggal NYC saat Fall dan Winter. Aku merasakan betapa sulitnya berpakaian di kota ini. Tidak seperti di kampung sendiri soal kapaian sangat simple. Kalau mau pakai baju cukup dengan kaus dalam dan kemeja. Begitu juga kalau mau mengenakan celana cukup celana dalam dan celana panjang. Tapi cara itu ternyata tidak bisa aku lakukan saat Winter. Cuaca yang sangat dingin memaksaku untuk menggunakan pakaian berlapis-lapis. Hampir semua tubuh harus terbalus dengan berlapis kain yang tahan dingin. Aku sempat berpikir betapa mudah berpakaian di Bandung dan betapa sulitnya berpakaian di NYC. Makanya bagi orang Bandung patut bersyukur dengan kondisi iklim yang panas dan sejuk.**
Two years ago, I have lost a motorcycle in a garage. It happened at night, when all my family was sleeping soundly. At least two thieves have broken the lock of my house gate and then took my motorcycle. No body knew the incident, except the thieves themselves.
In the early morning, I was in a hurry to go to my work so I had no time to check the motorcycle. My wife called me to let me know that the motorcycle was not in the garage. Feeling surprise, she asked me whether I knew where it was. I said that the motorcycle was stored in the garage after I rode it two days ago. She then checked again in the garage, but again she didn’t find it.
We were sure that the motorcycle was lost since the night before. There were some traces of the thieves before they took the motorcycle. The lock of the garage was broken and a strange screw-driver was laid down near the gate.
Knowing that the motorcycle was lost, my wife wanted to call the police, but I told her not to do that. At that time, I really wanted to kiss my motorcycle goodbye. But, at 3.00 pm my wife called me again to inform me that the motorcycle was at the police office. A policeman, said my wife, has found it in the yard of someone’s house where another motorcycle was stolen by the same thieves.
Perhaps, the thieves wanted to steal two motorcycles at the same times in one night, but unfortunately my motorcycle was broken. Maybe it could not be driven after taking and stealing another motorcycle. That is why, the thieves seemed to delay to steal it and left it in someone’s yard. “It was a lucky broken motorcycle,” I said at the time.**
Traveling around the World
Next month, I am going to go to some countries. Starting from United States of America, I will make a series of traveling to some countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The first country I am going to visit is Germany where my relative, Thomas, lives for twenty years. I have called him to arrange with him to pick me up when I arrive at Berlin Tegel International Air Port. He said that he will be at the air port 15 minutes before my arrival. I will stay in Berlin for one week and spend the night at Thomas’s apartment. Some interesting places hopefully can be visited such as Castel Neuschwanstein and Prince-Bishops of Wurzburz.
The next country is Netherland. I am going to travel to this country for a specific purpose. Visiting this country, I am going to meet my colleagues who are attending Leiden University for studying Islamic studies. Besides, I want to visit a library in the central city of Leiden that keeps some old important documents of the previous Indonesian government. My friend said that it would be very valuable for me to visit the library. All the important nation history of Indonesia will be available there, especially the documents of the Dutch Colonialism in Indonesia in 350 years ago.
After five days’ stay in Leiden I am going to go to Egypt. Different from visiting Germany and Netherland, in this country I will make a great tour to visit the historical places like the Pyramids, Tutankhamun, the Statues of the Pharaos, the Court of Amenhotep, Sand and White Rocks, etc. I will be staying in Cairo for one week until the end of January 2007. I hope I will also be able to meet some Indonesian scholars who are attending Al-Azhar University.
From Cairo I am going to fly to Singapore. There I will buy some souvenirs for my relatives in Indonesia. Many beautiful souvenirs might be bought in the trade center of Singapore, for instance, watches, accessories, ties, and electronics. The price of the souvenirs is various, but most of them are cheap enough. Visiting the country, I also have a plan to visit Nanyang Technological University where I attended an international Conference on Education one year ago. There I am going to stay for three days and spend the night at Changi Hotel.
The last destination is my home country, Indonesia. I hope, I will arrive in my home-country at the beginning of February 2007 and start to do my routine work at the School of Islamic Education after that long traveling. For the travel, I have to save money approximately $15 thousands of my annual salary. Wow, I will really drop a bundle if the dream comes true. Fortunately, it is just an imaginary planning written for taking the advantage of my leasure time, he..he..**
Acupuncture and Magic Needles
One day I got headache. I tried to cure the pain by drinking generic medicine but I didn’t get better. After three days curing, the headache became more and more painful and it most likely became a migraine. I really couldn’t stand the pain so that I decided to go to an acupuncture center near my house. My son called a front officer of the acupuncture center to arrange appointment for meeting acupuncturist in the afternoon. The front officers then suggested me to come there at 5.00 pm.
I came on time in the afternoon. After 10 minutes waiting for having treatment, the acupuncturist let me to enter his room. His room was very large. In the room there are many compartments that one and another separated by white clothes. Each compartment is used for treating a patient and then it in turn is used by another patient every 30 minutes. Therefore, when the acupuncturist called me to enter the room, at the same time, one of the patients went out the room after his treatment was completed.
The acupuncturist then asked me to lie down on a bed. He asked me about what I often felt with my headache. Just given him a little explanation about symptom and pain in my head, he inserted four needles into my head, shoulder, right hand, and right leg calf. When the needles were inserted, I didn’t feel pain al all. But, after about 5 minutes later, the needles like having electric energy. The spots at which the needles were inserted were felt rather rigid and sometimes liked activating neuron system to other parts of my body. But after the acupuncturist removed the needles, I felt my body better than before.
As long as one week I felt better and then I went again to the acupuncture center for the same treatment. But unfortunately, the headache was more painful so that I decided to get another alternative of cure. My friend then took me to someone who knew the mystical cause of unusual disease. Although I felt so doubt for the successful treatment of such way, my friend always persuaded me to check whether or not there is magic thing in my head. I said to him that it was just a physical sickness, but he remained in his opinion to take me to the place. Actually the place was far from my house and it would take about 3 hours to get there.
After arriving at the place, we took a rest for a moment before getting the mystical treatment. Ten minutes later I was treated by a magician through different method from what acupuncturist did. The magician cured me by putting his hand on my head while he said something that I did not understand at all. Maybe he was praying to God or rejecting devil. Suddenly, on part of my head there was something likely being pulled by the magician. He then said that someone put two short needles in my head by using his magic power. He took them out. And, it was obviously surprised that the headache was totally disappeared after getting the magic treatment. Now I always feel better with my head. Thanks God! **
Anomali di Sudut NYC
Anjing Ceria
Banyak penduduk NYC yang menyukai binatang peliharaan terutama anjing dengan berbagai rasnya yang cukup unik. Ajing di NYC sangat berbeda dari anjing di Indonesia. Di NYC anjing secara rutin dibawa jalan-jalan oleh pemiliknya atau oleh orang yang dibayar untuk membawa bermain mereka. Yang lebih hebat lagi, di sudut Union Square ada area untuk Run Dogs. Setiap pemilik anjing masuk bersama anjing peliharaannya ke area tersebut. Sementera pemiliknya menunggu sambil baca buku, anjing yang talinya dilepas bebas oleh pemiliknya bermain bersama sahabat anjing lainnya. Di sini berbagai ras anjing bermain ceria dari yang muda sampai yang tua, dari yang berbulu gundul sampai yang jabrig. **
Kutu Ketiak
Suatu ketika, aku melihat orang yang sudah berumur duduk di salah satu kursi Subway Train. Pakaiannya kelihatan cukup rapih, tapi dia tidur melulu. Aku ngak tahu kenapa orang-orang tidak berani duduk disampingnya dan hanya aku yang mendekat dan duduk bersebelahan dengannya. Sesekali orang itu bangun dari tidurnya dan menggaruk-garuk tanganya yang kelihatannya gatal-gatal. Saat orang tersebut menggaruk ketiaknya, ia seperti menemukan sesuatu dari ketiaknya. Tangannya seperti memungut benda, tapi setelah jari tanganya keluar dari selipan jasnya ia menjatuhkan empat ekor kutu dari ketiaknya. Kutunya besar-besar, sampai akhirnya aku pindah tempat duduk dan aku sadar orang tersebut adalah seorang homeless. **
Orang Stress
Mungkin agak sulit dibayangkan kalau di NYC banyak orang stress. Kehidupan kota yang sangat makmur dan hingar bingar, ternyata menyimpan banyak orang stres. Hampir setiap perjalananku ketika naik subway dan bus ada saja orang yang berperilaku aneh. Ada orang yang berparas cakep, tapi tatapannya mengarah ke atas terus. Dia duduk di sampingku saat aku naik Bis menuju Flushing. Eh… tiba-tiba ia berbicara sendiri dengan amat keras seperti sedang berdialog dengan orang lain. Semua orang yang ada di Bis terkejut tapi mereka acuh tak acuh dengan kejadian tersebut.**
Ada lagi orang tak waras saat aku sedang menunggu subway menuju Hillside. Orang itu bertanya padaku tentang arah subway yang sedang ditunggu apakah menuju ke Downtown atau Uptown. Aku jelaskan bahwa kereta menuju ke Uptown. Dia mengerti dengan penjelasanku. Tapi setelah sekitar lima menit kemudian dia bicara sendiri dan memegang pundaku sambil mengatakan; “I Like You”. Kontan saja aku merasa takut dan pindah ke tempat lain sebelum train datang. Saat train datang ia mengikutiku dan duduk di gerbong yang sama bahkan duduk berhadapan. Ia menatapku tapi aku seolah tak memperhatikannya. Untungnya ia turun duluan di Stainway, sekitar 6 stops dari tujuanku.**
Rizki Orang Subcontinent
Untuk menemukan majalah porno di NYC sungguh sangat mudah sekali. Betapa tidak hampir di setiap stasiun kereta, baik di bawah tanah maupun di atas stasiun tersebut pasti ditemukan toko yang menyajakan majalah porno. Kalau anda keluar dari stasiun bawah tanah dan naik tangga menuju keluar, di pintu keluar pasti ada toko seperti itu. Coba anda masuk ke toko itu, penjualnya pasti orang subcontinent, khususnya orang Bangladesh. Aku pernah bertanya kepada salah seorang pedagang barang tersebut tentang mengapa ia menjual majalah-majalah itu. Ia menjawab sederhana: “Earning money, guy, I need money!” Memang berjualan barang seperti itu di NYC tidak dilarang sehingga menjadi salah satu mata pencaharian bagi mereka yang berani melakukannya. **
Ciuman Terbuka
Kalau di Indonesia, ciuman di muka umum menjadi sesuatu yang tabu dilakukan. Tapi apa yang terjadi di sudut kota NYC, tontonan ciuman memang benar-benar diobral dan terjadi hampir di setiap titik. Paling seru ciuman antar dua insan yang tengah memadu kasih itu terjadi pada malamWeekend. Anda dapat menemukan ciuman yang diobral dihadapan umum di subway, di Bus, di pinggir jalan, di restoran, dll. Mereka merasa tidak terganggu olleh orang di sekitarnya. Dan hebatnya lagi, -- karena sudah menjadi budaya – orang-orang yang melihatnya acuh saja. Paling banter, mereka hanya tersenyum dan melihat keadaan tersebut hanya sekilas. Karena itu bagi kaula muda Amrik yang sedang mabuk cinta boleh memiliki setiap jengkal tanah yang sedang mereka injak seperti ruang tertutup, walau mereka tengah berdesakan dengan orang lain. **
HP yang Beruntung
Suatu ketika saat aku turun dari bus di daerah Flushing HP-ku jatuh. Padahal Hp itu diikat oleh ikat pinggang. Tapi ngak tahu kenapa saat itu HP terjatuh dari pinggangku. Aku ngak sadar kalau HP itu jatuh. Tapi setelah berjalan sekitar 10 meter aku merasakan HP itu sudah mngak dipinggang lagi. Aku terkejut kemudian berbalik arah untuk mencari HP tersebut. Saat aku berbalik ada orang yang berlari ke arahku sambil menyodorkan HP tersebut. Dia menyatakan bahwa HP ku jatuh saat aku turun dari bis. Aku percaya saja dan say thank kepada dia. Kalau kejadian itu terjadi di Bandung… apa jadinya, ya?**
Merawat Kuku
Hampir di setiap deretan pertokoan di NYC pasti ada NAIL, yakni tempat untuk merawat kuku. Di tempat tersebut selalu banyak pengunjungnya yang mereka itu adalah gadis-gadis dan ibu-ibu. Kuku tampaknya menjadi sebuah lahan bisnis yang cukup menjanjikan di NYC. Padahal di negara kita mengurusi kuku hanya cukup dengan dipelihara dan dipotong sediri.**
Beras Pulen
Mungkin anda tidak sempat membayangkan kalau di NYC ada beras pulen. Kualitas beras tersebut lebih baik dibandingkan dengan besar di negara kita. Ya kalau dibandingkan, mungkin beras tersebut setara dengan beras Cianjur. Beras itu didatangkan dari Thailand dan dijual di toko-tokok terutama di toko orang Asia khususnya orang Cina dan orang Timur Tengah. Harganya cukup murah jika dibandingkan dengan beras lainnya yang tidak pulen dan tidak harum. Ternyata di NYC beras IR46 yang di negara kita dianggap beras murah menjadi beras mahal dan disukai banyak orang.**
Korma Kalifornia
Korma ternyata tidak lagi milik daratan Arab. Saat orang menunaikan Haji di Mekah dan Madinah banyak buah korma yang bagus-bagus. Eh tahunya buah korma itu tidak saja ada di Arab Saudi tapi ada juga yang ditanam di California. Buahnya cukup bagus meski agak basah. Rasanya… ya sama seperti korma yang Arab Saudi, namun harganya relatif murah dibandingkan dengan korma yang didatangkan dari dunia Arab.**
Mobil Tanpa Garasi
Kehidupan orang di NYC memang sangat makmur, terutama mereka yang memperoleh pekerjaan bagus. UPM di NYC sekitar $ 6.00 perjam, namun ada juga yang sampai ratusan dollar perjam. Kehidupan yang mapan salah satunya dapat dilihat dari fasilitas kendaraan yang mereka miliki. Mobil di NYC kualitasnya sangat bagus dan CC-nya besar-besar. Soal harga, tampaknya lebih murah dari harga mobil di Indonesia. Setiap keluarga rata-rata punya lebih dari satu mobil dan mereka menyimpan mobilnya dipinggir jalan. Mereka tidak khawatir akan dicuri orang atau tertimpa pohon saat ada angin besar karena segalanya sudah diasuransikan. **
Gaji Pemadam Kebaran
Mungkin anda ingin tahu apa pekerjaan yang paling besar gajinya? Jawabannya adalah pemadam kebakaran. Mereka digaji ribuan dolar pertahun dan diberi fasilitas kehidupan yang sangat menjamin masa depannya. Namun dibalik gajinya yang besar, pemadam kebakaran memang menjadi pekerjaan yang penuh resiko dan sangat sibuk. Hampir pada setiap peristiwa perjalannanku di NYC mendengar bunyi alarm dari mobil-mobil pemadam kebakaran. Aku sempat merasa aneh karena dikira selalu ada kebakan dimana-mana. Eh tahunya bukan hanya kebakaran yang dikejar oleh mobil pemadam kebakaran, tapi boleh jadi ada kucing naik pohon ngak bisa turun dan yang empunya memanggil 911. Karena kesibukan seperti itu dan tanggung jawab mereka untuk menyelamatkan nyawa orang dan binatang, mereka digaji paling besar dibanding pekerjaan sejenis lainnya.**
Buku $ 1 Dollar
Ilmu memang menjadi bagian kehidupan sehari-hari di NYC. Bukti dari keadaan tersebut dapat dilihat dari publikasi ilmu pengetahuan baik dalam bentuk buku fiksi, nonfiksi, maupun referensi. Jumlah buku yang diterbitkan di USA khususnya di NYC, tampaknya tak akan tertandingi oleh kota-kota lain di dunia. Buku-buku itu ada di perpustakaan berbagai lembaga pendidikan dan di toko buku yang dijual bebas. Yang menarik, buku-buku yang sudah dianggap kurang laku dijual merata seharga $ 1 dollar di sebuah toko yang bernama Strand Book Store di bilangan Union Square. Buku itu ternyata banyak yang tahun 2000-an dan berkualitas bagus. Isinya pun banyak yang menarik. Aku ngak habis pikir, mengapa buku itu dijual dengan harga yang dipukul rata.**
Sulitnya Berpakain
Aku memang tinggal NYC saat Fall dan Winter. Aku merasakan betapa sulitnya berpakaian di kota ini. Tidak seperti di kampung sendiri soal kapaian sangat simple. Kalau mau pakai baju cukup dengan kaus dalam dan kemeja. Begitu juga kalau mau mengenakan celana cukup celana dalam dan celana panjang. Tapi cara itu ternyata tidak bisa aku lakukan saat Winter. Cuaca yang sangat dingin memaksaku untuk menggunakan pakaian berlapis-lapis. Hampir semua tubuh harus terbalus dengan berlapis kain yang tahan dingin. Aku sempat berpikir betapa mudah berpakaian di Bandung dan betapa sulitnya berpakaian di NYC. Makanya bagi orang Bandung patut bersyukur dengan kondisi iklim yang panas dan sejuk.**
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Lessons From American Islamic Schools
Rohmat Mulyana
State Islamic University – Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung
Learning religion through formalized education like schools is always interesting to discuss. Many regard that school are very strategic place to introduce religious values to students, but others look schools have no responsibility at all for transferring religious values since students learn with their teachers. Both standpoints virtually emerge from two strongly different philosophical roots. When the people advocate the role of schools for enhancing religious spirituality of students, they perhaps hold the path of perennialism view as their way of thinking.
On the contrary, the people who agree with withdrawing religious education from school involvement supposed they follow the path of liberalism philosophy. The two philosophical roots are quite distinct and opposite each other, and then it can bring about two kinds of school policies concerning the consideration of religious education in curriculum. In perennialism view, a school must accommodate religious curriculum as integral part of school curriculum, but in liberalism there is no such an obligation for a school to take account religious education into curriculum.
When education formalized, it means that government has authority to take control over school curriculum. The authority of government toward schools, of course, appears in different levels of involvement depending on internal policy of a country and more importantly depend on its ideology. For the reason, it can be said that the existence of schools can not be partially considered as form of educational system wholly separated from an ideal of majority people of the country. In Indonesia, for example, where religious belief is acknowledged as the first pillar of Pancasila (a nation ideology), religious teaching has become important subject matter taught in schools. The government tends to control curriculum development for the subject matter, although in some cases, the authority of schools to develop creative learning has been extended much larger then before.
The role of Indonesia government on religious education in school differs from what US. government does. In US, religion has been strongly recognized as one of central elements of nation identity, but religious properties is quite personal and no responsibility for government to interference it. Schools in US, therefore, do not teach religion except in private schools initiated on behalf of certain community of religion. Public schools are isolated from formal learning of religion and the government has no obligation to determine religious curriculum for school. Even though, religious tolerance and respect for those who hold different belief become a common social recognition.
Comparing the position of government as cited above, it is easy to understand that ideology of a country makes up a primary cause of difference role of government upon religious existence in formalized education. But it does not means that religious education, particularly for Islamic education in the two countries, will be meaningless to analyze. American Islamic schools that have been founded by Muslim as minority in US look interesting to compare with the relief of madrasahs that have been initiated by Muslim as majority in Indonesia. As center of Muslim education, American Islamic Schools and Indonesian madrasahs are supposed to be similar as well as different.
The analysis is based on research findings in two Islamic Schools (al-Noor School and al-Ihsan Academy) that is located around New York City. According to the findings, the following lessons can be imply for improving quality of madrasahs in Indonesia, particularly for promoting social values in religious education.
Firstly, a curriculum of multi-faith that promotes both similarities and differences of the world’s religion need to be introduced to madrasah in order students have strong religious tolerance. Through the curriculum students can be guided to know why the people in all over the world vary in their belief and how the students should have correct attitude and behavior toward the differences. Practically, the efforts toward the curriculum must firstly be facilitated and accommodated in macro educational policy that states the important of multi-faith education in madrasah curriculum. Second, the curriculum of multi-faith education has to be prepared by a qualified team recruited from different religious experts or theologicians. Third, an implementation is needed after completing the first two steps by piloting project toward a number of madrasahs and then gradually the curriculum is implemented in many madrasahs in Indonesia. For holding on the teaching learning process, government of Indonesia can recruit some prospective teachers from Islamic university graduates, particularly the graduates of religious comparative study. Such effort is important to carry out at madrasahs because promoting cultural and religious differences at American Islamic schools (al-Noor Schools and al-Ihsan Academy) has become one of significant factors influencing positive attitude of students toward diversity of religion.
Secondly, some multicultural aspects of nation have to be expanded in curriculum of social studies for madrasahs. What occurs today, social studies for madrasah tends to explore more conceptual and theoretical matter than experiential. Therefore, comprehensive multicultural aspects should be incorporated in social studies by promoting a broad range of experiences within the study of any group. The curriculum should include present culture, historical experiences, sociopolitical realities, contributions to the nation's development, problems faced in everyday living, and conditions of existence in society. Through such curriculum, students of madrasah can be guided to the experiences of persons from widely varying backgrounds. Although the study of heroes and success stories of famous people can help students of an ethnic group develop pride in their own group, the curriculum social studies for madrasah should include study of ethnic peoples in general. For this reason, optimum study of ethnic and cultural group experiences must be interwoven into the total curriculum. It should not be reserved for special occasions, units, or courses of social studies for madrasah nor should it be considered supplementary to the existing curriculum. Such multicultural observances above is regularly applied in social studies of American Islamic Schools (al-Noor School and al-Ihsan Academy) that in turns makes students have more broadly perspective in looking differences.
Thirdly, narrative approaches for learning social values need to be extended through Islamic studies in madrasah. By applying such approach many stories that provide rich inner construct of value in Islamic teachings and socio-religious issues can be taken the advantages by teachers of Islamic studies. The story of holy prophet, wise people, successful person, and brilliant leader can be organized for teaching materials but in addition telling story about something unexpected as life failure, social conflict, discrimination, prejudice, and natural disaster also important for enhancing critical analysis of student. For creative and broad-minded teachers, therefore, some inner constructs of moral and value learning will be very precious alternative for their classroom interaction and for creating novel insight of learning Islamic studies. The process of learning Islamic studies by constructing both positive and negative story of a social event and relate it to the stage of one’s religious consciousness will emerge problem solving skill from students’ perspective. According to the research at al-Noor School and al-Ihsan Academy, the story telling is one of powerful teaching-learning approach commonly used by teachers of Islamic studies in both school. Statistically, the approach has significant correlation toward tolerance attitude ( r = .222, p < .01) and respect for the school rule ( r = .215, p < .01). It means that the more often the teachers tell story about social and multicultural issues the higher the students’ tolerance and their respect for the school rules.
Fourthly, internet program for supporting Islamic studies needs to be applied in madrasahs. Through high technology, students will be able to extent their physical and intellectual ability. They will know how to operate computer device and use it for not only typing assignment but also for searching information. In American Islamic Schools, particularly at al-Noor School and al-Ihsan Academy, internet-based program for Islamic studies has become one of the excellences of the schools’ program. Home works are always sent by internet and some contents of Islamic studies are available in a web site of the schools. For this reason, the next madrasahs’ program in Islamic studies should take the advantages of cyber technology of internet. In every madrasah, at least twenty unit computers that directly connected to internet website should be available. Through the computer program, the students can be guided to explore much intellectual landscapes from any web site. Even the staff of madrasah can create madrasah’s web site or blog spot to provide information about any school’s program that is completed by some related links for learning Islamic studies. In more specific idea, the staff of madrasah needs to provide creative Islamic studies material and method as what has been developed in a web site of al-Noor School as well as al-Ihsan Academy.
Beside the four lessons above, perhaps there are still many general aspects of American Islamic Schools that can be adopted for improving quality of madrasah in Indonesia. The aspects of American Islamic Schools such as financial management, school leadership, and ability of teachers are supposed to be higher quality than those of what madrasahs have. But unfortunately, all the aspects were not being the focus of the research.
We hope our government, particularly Ministry of Religious affairs (MORA) and Ministry of National Education (MONE) will be more serious in giving much attention on the need for development of social values. Next we hope madrasahs will be centers of excellent for developing Islamic studies, applying modern facilities, and enhancing students’ tolerance. Therefore, what have to take in action by government concerns with taking advantage of four lesson above and put them on a decision of formal curriculum of value education for madrasahs.**
State Islamic University – Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung
Learning religion through formalized education like schools is always interesting to discuss. Many regard that school are very strategic place to introduce religious values to students, but others look schools have no responsibility at all for transferring religious values since students learn with their teachers. Both standpoints virtually emerge from two strongly different philosophical roots. When the people advocate the role of schools for enhancing religious spirituality of students, they perhaps hold the path of perennialism view as their way of thinking.
On the contrary, the people who agree with withdrawing religious education from school involvement supposed they follow the path of liberalism philosophy. The two philosophical roots are quite distinct and opposite each other, and then it can bring about two kinds of school policies concerning the consideration of religious education in curriculum. In perennialism view, a school must accommodate religious curriculum as integral part of school curriculum, but in liberalism there is no such an obligation for a school to take account religious education into curriculum.
When education formalized, it means that government has authority to take control over school curriculum. The authority of government toward schools, of course, appears in different levels of involvement depending on internal policy of a country and more importantly depend on its ideology. For the reason, it can be said that the existence of schools can not be partially considered as form of educational system wholly separated from an ideal of majority people of the country. In Indonesia, for example, where religious belief is acknowledged as the first pillar of Pancasila (a nation ideology), religious teaching has become important subject matter taught in schools. The government tends to control curriculum development for the subject matter, although in some cases, the authority of schools to develop creative learning has been extended much larger then before.
The role of Indonesia government on religious education in school differs from what US. government does. In US, religion has been strongly recognized as one of central elements of nation identity, but religious properties is quite personal and no responsibility for government to interference it. Schools in US, therefore, do not teach religion except in private schools initiated on behalf of certain community of religion. Public schools are isolated from formal learning of religion and the government has no obligation to determine religious curriculum for school. Even though, religious tolerance and respect for those who hold different belief become a common social recognition.
Comparing the position of government as cited above, it is easy to understand that ideology of a country makes up a primary cause of difference role of government upon religious existence in formalized education. But it does not means that religious education, particularly for Islamic education in the two countries, will be meaningless to analyze. American Islamic schools that have been founded by Muslim as minority in US look interesting to compare with the relief of madrasahs that have been initiated by Muslim as majority in Indonesia. As center of Muslim education, American Islamic Schools and Indonesian madrasahs are supposed to be similar as well as different.
The analysis is based on research findings in two Islamic Schools (al-Noor School and al-Ihsan Academy) that is located around New York City. According to the findings, the following lessons can be imply for improving quality of madrasahs in Indonesia, particularly for promoting social values in religious education.
Firstly, a curriculum of multi-faith that promotes both similarities and differences of the world’s religion need to be introduced to madrasah in order students have strong religious tolerance. Through the curriculum students can be guided to know why the people in all over the world vary in their belief and how the students should have correct attitude and behavior toward the differences. Practically, the efforts toward the curriculum must firstly be facilitated and accommodated in macro educational policy that states the important of multi-faith education in madrasah curriculum. Second, the curriculum of multi-faith education has to be prepared by a qualified team recruited from different religious experts or theologicians. Third, an implementation is needed after completing the first two steps by piloting project toward a number of madrasahs and then gradually the curriculum is implemented in many madrasahs in Indonesia. For holding on the teaching learning process, government of Indonesia can recruit some prospective teachers from Islamic university graduates, particularly the graduates of religious comparative study. Such effort is important to carry out at madrasahs because promoting cultural and religious differences at American Islamic schools (al-Noor Schools and al-Ihsan Academy) has become one of significant factors influencing positive attitude of students toward diversity of religion.
Secondly, some multicultural aspects of nation have to be expanded in curriculum of social studies for madrasahs. What occurs today, social studies for madrasah tends to explore more conceptual and theoretical matter than experiential. Therefore, comprehensive multicultural aspects should be incorporated in social studies by promoting a broad range of experiences within the study of any group. The curriculum should include present culture, historical experiences, sociopolitical realities, contributions to the nation's development, problems faced in everyday living, and conditions of existence in society. Through such curriculum, students of madrasah can be guided to the experiences of persons from widely varying backgrounds. Although the study of heroes and success stories of famous people can help students of an ethnic group develop pride in their own group, the curriculum social studies for madrasah should include study of ethnic peoples in general. For this reason, optimum study of ethnic and cultural group experiences must be interwoven into the total curriculum. It should not be reserved for special occasions, units, or courses of social studies for madrasah nor should it be considered supplementary to the existing curriculum. Such multicultural observances above is regularly applied in social studies of American Islamic Schools (al-Noor School and al-Ihsan Academy) that in turns makes students have more broadly perspective in looking differences.
Thirdly, narrative approaches for learning social values need to be extended through Islamic studies in madrasah. By applying such approach many stories that provide rich inner construct of value in Islamic teachings and socio-religious issues can be taken the advantages by teachers of Islamic studies. The story of holy prophet, wise people, successful person, and brilliant leader can be organized for teaching materials but in addition telling story about something unexpected as life failure, social conflict, discrimination, prejudice, and natural disaster also important for enhancing critical analysis of student. For creative and broad-minded teachers, therefore, some inner constructs of moral and value learning will be very precious alternative for their classroom interaction and for creating novel insight of learning Islamic studies. The process of learning Islamic studies by constructing both positive and negative story of a social event and relate it to the stage of one’s religious consciousness will emerge problem solving skill from students’ perspective. According to the research at al-Noor School and al-Ihsan Academy, the story telling is one of powerful teaching-learning approach commonly used by teachers of Islamic studies in both school. Statistically, the approach has significant correlation toward tolerance attitude ( r = .222, p < .01) and respect for the school rule ( r = .215, p < .01). It means that the more often the teachers tell story about social and multicultural issues the higher the students’ tolerance and their respect for the school rules.
Fourthly, internet program for supporting Islamic studies needs to be applied in madrasahs. Through high technology, students will be able to extent their physical and intellectual ability. They will know how to operate computer device and use it for not only typing assignment but also for searching information. In American Islamic Schools, particularly at al-Noor School and al-Ihsan Academy, internet-based program for Islamic studies has become one of the excellences of the schools’ program. Home works are always sent by internet and some contents of Islamic studies are available in a web site of the schools. For this reason, the next madrasahs’ program in Islamic studies should take the advantages of cyber technology of internet. In every madrasah, at least twenty unit computers that directly connected to internet website should be available. Through the computer program, the students can be guided to explore much intellectual landscapes from any web site. Even the staff of madrasah can create madrasah’s web site or blog spot to provide information about any school’s program that is completed by some related links for learning Islamic studies. In more specific idea, the staff of madrasah needs to provide creative Islamic studies material and method as what has been developed in a web site of al-Noor School as well as al-Ihsan Academy.
Beside the four lessons above, perhaps there are still many general aspects of American Islamic Schools that can be adopted for improving quality of madrasah in Indonesia. The aspects of American Islamic Schools such as financial management, school leadership, and ability of teachers are supposed to be higher quality than those of what madrasahs have. But unfortunately, all the aspects were not being the focus of the research.
We hope our government, particularly Ministry of Religious affairs (MORA) and Ministry of National Education (MONE) will be more serious in giving much attention on the need for development of social values. Next we hope madrasahs will be centers of excellent for developing Islamic studies, applying modern facilities, and enhancing students’ tolerance. Therefore, what have to take in action by government concerns with taking advantage of four lesson above and put them on a decision of formal curriculum of value education for madrasahs.**
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