Friday, April 05, 2013
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language
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Hampir 5 bulan tinggal di Belanda, belum banyak kemajuan dalam kemampuan berbahasa Belanda saya. Selain karena mungkin memang ga bakat bahasa dan belum terpaksa belajar karena hampir semua orang di sini bisa bahasa Inggris, ternyata di Maastricht yang termasuk daerah Limburg bahasa Belandanya beda. Bukan hanya beda dialek, orang Belanda utara dan selatan bisa saling tidak mengerti, lho. Nah, perbedaan inilah yang menambah malas untuk belajar bahasa Belanda (resmi), karena masih harus belajar Limburgian juga untuk percakapan sehari-hari (alasan :P).
Sebenarnya, 'paksaan' untuk belajar bahasa di selatan ini lebih banyak daripada untuk yang tinggal di kota-kota besar di utara seperti Amsterdam dan Den Haag. Di kota-kota metropolitan itu, biasanya pengumuman, penunjuk jalan, dll masih ada bahasa Inggrisnya. Kalau di selatan, jarang sekali ketemu bahasa Inggris. Bahasa tambahannya malah kemungkinan Perancis dan Jerman, berhubung dekat perbatasan dengan Jerman dan kota Liege (Luik), Belgia yang berbahasa Perancis. Untuk nama kota, biasanya dieja dalam bahasa Belanda dan Limburg.
Yang lucu, orang dari Jerman dan Belgia kalau berkunjung ke Maastricht bisa tetap berkomunikasi dengan orang lokal dengan bahasa mereka masing-masing. Misalnya di resto ada yang pesan makan dengan bahasa Perancis, lalu dijawab dengan bahasa Belanda. Saling mengerti, tapi keukeuh ngomong pakai bahasa sendiri. Apalagi harus kompromi sama-sama pakai bahasa Inggris, gengsi kali ya.
Ngomong-ngomong Belgia, dulu saya kira negara itu terbagi 2 bagian: 1 bagian yang dekat Belanda berbahasa Belanda dan 1 bagian yang dekat Perancis berbahasa Perancis. Ternyata pembagiannya tidak secara geografis, tapi tergantung kotanya dulu di bawah kekuasaan siapa. Jadi kalau naik transportasi umum melintasi Belgia, di saat mendekati kota yang berbahasa Belanda pengumumannya pakai Bahasa Belanda, begitu pula sebaliknya. Kalau cuma bisa bahasa Inggris? yah, bertanyalah atau nebak-nebak :P
Di Swiss lain lagi. Menurut Wikipedia, ada 2 bahasa utama yang dipakai di sana: Jerman dan Perancis. Kenyataannya, bahasa Jermannya beda dengan yang dipakai di Jerman. Cukup pusing? I think I'll stick to English for now...
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
, Posted in
carnaval
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europe
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holland
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maastricht
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It's not just Rio.
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| Taken by Arianto Catur Nugroho |
Though not as big, there are other parts of the world that make use the period before Lent as an excuse to throw festive occasions. Venice masquerade and Mardi Gras are top contenders for the samba madness. In my current surrounding region, which includes southern Netherlands and parts of Germany, the party started in November with several weekend events leading up to 5 days main event in February.
Everybody who loves the carneval (as the local language calls it) participates. They wear costumes, some groups in themes while playing in marching bands around the town center. It's winter here, so not so much bare butts although obnoxious fake boobs can be found occasionally. There's a major parade running through the city center during the last Sunday afternoon. There's also a stage in the Centrum with local performers blasting out boisterous tunes.
Most shops and restaurants close during the carnaval. Fast food joints and pubs stay open to entertain the crowd though.
Personally, it's quite entertaining to see the colorful mass. But I still wanna go to Rio ;)
Friday, December 28, 2012
, Posted in
europe
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france
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mom stuff
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paris
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walk
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Bonjour!
Based on the best holiday weather prediction, we chose Paris as our destination among several other tempting cities in the vicinity. We spent 3 nights at a hotel near the Louvre Museum, mainly exploring the surrounding area by foot.
Some say it's the most romantic cities in the world. My impression was more towards touristy metropolitan. The christmas time was quite nice... Not as crowded as in the summer, save for the christmas market, at least the one we visitted on Champs Élysées. Some shops & restaurants were open throughout the holidays, especially in tourist areas, so that's handy.
Unfortunately, the city was not very friendly with the little one. As far as our observation, only McD had high chairs. Metro stations were difficult to navigate with a stroller. Buses were better, check www.ratp.fr for routes & schedules. Plenty of playgrounds, though.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
, Posted in
muse
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In the wake of the tragedy recently occurred in Newton, there was an article shared on my timeline that saddened me even more. This article compared the killing of children in the US with that in the Palestine, how one should have more media coverage, implying more significance, than the others. Death of innocent children is a terrible thing. How could someone politicize this and expecting respect on the tragedy he/she wished to highlight?
This reminded me of another comparison related to genocides. One argued that there are more terrible genocides than the Holocaust which may have even been a conspiracy to attract sympathies to a certain population. Oh, where has humanity gone? Can't we just agree that all mass killings are terrible?
Terrible things happen in this world. That's just a fact of life. Some events attract more media coverage that others. That's also a fact of life. Just because one is closer to your heart, doesn't mean you can belittle others' grief. Death should not be a platform.
Monday, November 12, 2012
, Posted in
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holland
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maastricht
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walk
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After 25 long years, I finally set foot again on the European soil. The journey of getting here this time was not easy nor short... and long journey with a baby was definitely not a walk in the park. So it was quite surprising that I still had energy to walk around the city the day after we arrived. My legs were killing me the night after, but the excellent weather was certainly worth the walk.
Having been living in the tropics all my life, I thought I would hate the autumn weather welcoming us. On the contrary, with temperature below 10 degrees Celsius, going out was quite enjoyable. Of course, proper attire helped.
First impression of Maastricht: charming. Loving the old stone buildings. Spent the second day people watching, which was very interesting thanks to the mini carnival they had. People came from all over with costumes to gather and enjoy some music show which lasted way into the night.
Semoga betah, deh...
