Life in my Village Three

                                                         Challenges as Farmers

My parents and I are making images of
the Goddess of Rice and God of Money

             

"Sudah tiga kali kita tidak panen padi di sawah karena musim kemarau yang berkepanjangan. Sawah-sawah menjadi kering, ini tidak pernah terjadi sebelumnya", itu gerutu ayahku ketika aku pulang kampung karena aku dirumahkan oleh institusiku karena dunia dilanda pandemic Covid-19 yang bermula di Wuhan, China pertengahan tahun 2019. 

Ada lima (lima) subak di sekitar kampungku, dimana ayah punya sawah di tiga subak terbesar yaitu Subak Dalang, Subak Taman, dan Subak Timbul yang semuanya kekurangan air di musim kemarau 2018-2019. Sedangkan dua subak kecil: Subak Labak dan Subak Sidimara tetap bisa bertahan untuk menanam padi kerana arealnya di bawah aliran kali dimana airnya bisa mengairi dua subak tersebut. 

Pertama, aku tidak begitu peduli dengan keadaan subak-subak di sekitar kampung halamanku, tetapi kini sejak aku dirumahkan (furlough) aku menjadi rajin memantau situasi di kampungku. Aku sendiri kini terjun langsung di bidang pertanian. 

Aku mengolah lahan sawah ayah yang kering yang ditumbuhi alang-alang yang lebih tinggi dariku dengan memangkas dengan mesin lalu kami pakai cakar baja untuk menggemburkan tanahnya. Aku sepakat untuk menanam bibit baru selain padi, aku menanam Nilam (patchouli) serta jagung sebagai tanaman peneduh. 

Pertama kami hanya menanam 500 stek batang yang bibitnya berasal dari Bali, di sela-sela nilam kami menanam jagung Visi Dua sebagai tanaman sekunder/peneduh. Lima ratus (500) Nilam pertama tumbuh dengan subur dengan persentasi kematian hanya 25%. Kami sangat senang dan bersemangat untuk menambah tanaman Nilam di areal sawah yang telah kami siapkan. Kami datangkan 2500 stek batang yang didatangkan dari Jawa untuk ditanam di lahan seluas 80 are (8000 meter per segi), dari 2500 stek yang mati sekitar 90% yang mematahkan semangatku. 

 

Growing Nilam or Patchouli 

Setelah 3 bulan pertama, kami mulai panen jagung, sedangkan nilam kami rawat dengan menyiangi alang-alang yang bersaing dengan nilam. Aku sudah merasa betapa susahnya hidup sebagai petani. Aku menyiram tanaman yang kekeringan, menyiangi yang ditumbuhi alang-alang, sampai saat ini kami belum menikmati hasil dari nilam ini. Sedangkan jagung dimana pemeliharaannya sangat minim telah memberikan hasil payah kami. 

Maka tak mengherankan kalau dulu ayah, ibu, kakek, nenek serta anggota keluarga yang lain menyarankan aku untuk menuntut ilmu setinggi mungkin supaya bisa kerja di sektor lain, selain sektor pertanian. Ibu sangat menginginkan aku menjadi dokter, sedangkan aku paling ga tahan lihat darah. Aku berdoa supaya ga lulus ujian. Doaku terkabul, aku ga lulus test di kedokteran, akhirnya aku kuliah di Mahasaraswati mengambil jurusan pertanian. Kuliahnya malam-malam, aku sering bolos kuliah karena waktu ada film horor yang diputar di gedung-gedung bioskop dengan judul "Leak Ngakak", aku sangat takut pulang malam-malam. 

Dengan background pertanian yang hanya setahun, aku pikir akan bisa sukses untuk bertani Nilam, tetapi setelah pandemic berakhir, Nilam pun semua punah tanpa hasil yang memadai dengan pengeluaranku. Lalu aku beralih ke jahe merah, aku beli 3 paket dengan harga lumayan mahal, dan setelah beberapa tahun, juga gagal. 

Maka dari itu, para petani di kampungku menyarankan anak-anak mereka untuk mencari pekerjaan di luar dari sektor pertanian. 

Good luck young people, and say goodbye to our beautiful terraced rice-fields which have inherited them since a long time ago, they will disappear in just a few years.  

 

My Life in Jerusalem, Israel

A Year in Jerusalem, Israel

a picture of Farewell Party with our colleagues 

After working in India for two years (2001-2003), in the middle of 2003, we the entire family, spent a year in Jerusalem as Visiting Scholars at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I received full-time grant from the University of Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia, now is named Charles Darwin Australia. 

What do you think life in Israel? What I thought about life in Israel before we went there. As you all know that we did not have any diplomatic relation with Israel, therefore, the Indonesian went there with unique strategy to be allowed to enter that country. Absolutely, I wont get any permit/visa to visit Israel. Luckily, my son and I granted a visa to Israel in India. After finishing Spring 2003 in India, we applied for visiting Israel. We (my son and I) had no problem in getting visa which was stamped on one of the pages in our passports. 

We all got ready for departure from Indira Gandhi airport in New Delhi. My husband, Dr. Thomas Hunter, brought with him his favorite Indian music instrument called Sarod, an instrument with 35 strings similar to Sitar. He was interrogated for a while about that instrument, what it was, what inside it. My husband spoke Hindi to impressed people at the airport. We had to transit at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja International (BOM) airport in Mumbai before flying to Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv-Yapo, Israel. 

It took us about 14 hours 30 minutes to get to Tel Aviv. Then from there we took a taxi to Mevo Dakar, French Hill, Jerusalem. When we settled in, it was time for us to go shopping for our daily needs. To our surprise it was Friday, the Black Sabbath, where all stores were closed. We got panic because we had no food for our meals. The only way we could do was that we called one of our colleagues informing them our difficult situation. Dr. Shulman and his wife Irene sent a car right away to pick us up for having dinner in their house. One issue has solved.

Then we needed to send our children to schools, our son who was in grade one of Senior High School in Bali must go to the same level of school in Israel or Palestine area. Since, our son had the Indonesian passport, it was easier for us to register him in one of the Palestinian schools. While our daughter was in first grade of elementary school, since she was an American citizen, it was easier to register in JFK school where the expat kids went. 

School holidays between our son and our daughter, our son had holidays on Friday and Saturday while our daughter had holidays on Saturday and Sunday. Therefore, we only could do thing together on Saturday when both our children were having holidays. 

While in Jerusalem, we made friends with both Palestinians and Israelites, both communities had no problems with each other. They hang out together for meals in Abu Gosh restaurant. This restaurant was very neutral, all people could go there; either foreigners, Israelists, or Palestinians. The atmosphere was very relax, intimate, and no feelings of animosity. 

Now, that i read the news that they are in a severe war which makes me very sad because common people of both side are just human beings who want to live peacefully with each other. 

SIT Study Abroad Indonesia : Arts, Religion, and Social Change

Tips for travelling abroad

 

59 West, 21st Ave, Vancouver, BC, Canada

It is not easy travelling during this pandemic time, we all know that. But for some strong reason, we have to travel either domestically or internationally. 

I have planned to visit my husband and daughter in Vancouver, BC, Canada since my husband got stroke in October 2020. As we all know that the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in March 2020 officially announced. I intended to spend time with my husband and daughter during the summer 2020, but my visa to Canada has expired in June 2020. I applied to renew my visa online. It took me about 256 days to get the new visa after all the required documents sent online except the biometric test must be in person in the closest representative of the Canadian Embassy. 

After getting my visa there are another issues coming up which stopped us from travelling abroad. However, after all those troubles that we are facing to be safe and healthy, finally I have the chance to visit my family in Canada. 

Here is the list you need to do for travelling abroad:

• You have to have passport
• Visa to enter the country. I have a multiple entry visa which is good for 5 years.
• Round-trip tickets (I booked my from KAYAK app), reasonable price.
• Fully vaccinated with two doses of Astra Zeneca (Sinovac is not accepted in Canada)
• PCR test must be negative. This is very confusing. 

My advice for the PCR test in order that you won't get any trouble when you checking-in at the counter desk at the airport. When you checking-in at the airport, the officer at the airport ask you to show your passport, ticket, and now during this pandemic time, you need to show the following documents:

•  the Result of your PCR test which must be Negative. 
• the proof of your Vaccine written in your Vaccine Card (you can show them using the PeduliLindungi app within Indonesia only. You also can show them the hard-copy of your vaccines proofs. 
• for travelling to Canada you have to download the app called ArriveCan which will record all your personal details related to your eligibility to enter Canada. This app record your trip for 72 hours. If your PCR test result doesn't meet the requirement 72 hours before your arrival in Canada, you will be banned checking-in for your boarding pass. 

My personal experience with this PCR test which caused me a lot of troubles in Jakarta. 

PCR test must be done 72 hours before departure according to the rules that I read, therefore I took my test 3 days before my departure which was in November 22, so I took the PCR test in November 19 (3 days before 22, right?). The result was Negative, I was super happy with the result. "Wow...I am ready to go"

I packed my bags, put all the hard copy documents (passport, vaccine proofs in English, tickets, PCR proof, address of my family in Canada, invitation letter to visit Canada, and pictures of my husband and daughter). I was so anxious, worried, excited, and nervous travelling during this pandemic era. 

November 22nd, 2021

I checked-in at Domestic Departure at Ngurah Rai International airport, first my son dropped me at the International Departure area, but it was empty. One man came in informed us that there is no plane coming and going from the International terminal. Every passenger must go to Domestic terminal, so Putu took me to the Domestic terminal which is far from the International terminal. 

When we got to the Domestic terminal, we have to scan travel document in the machine available next to the entrance door. In the machine we have to put our name, and NIK (No. KTP), and destination city. Click the button then it will tick "Green" if you do it correctly, take a picture of the "tick Green" part, then you can enter the door. The airport security guys check your ID card, and the eligibility of your entrance. 

I went to the Garuda Counter to check in. I show my passport and soft-copy of my ticket in my HP, she did not ask for the PCR test. I was given my boarding pass with the seat No. 46 E aisle. Our Gate No. 1 C.

I waited there until we got call to board at 6:15 pm for taking off at 7:00 pm. It took one hour 30 minutes to get to Jakarta. My next flight was by Japan Airlines (JL 730) departed at 6:35 am, in November 23. I had a long layover at the airport Jakarta. I just had light meal, and slept on one of the long benches around the departure area. I slept okay there, I am an easy sleeper.

November 23rd, 2021

I woke up at 3:00 am to get ready to check in at 4:00 am at the JL 730 counter desk. I entered the line with full of confidence since I have filled in the ArriveCan app, and got the receipt of my summary of my arrival, PCR test result, vaccine proofs. However, when it was my turn to check in, they said that my PCR test result has expired, did meet the requirement for 72 hours before my arrival in Canada. I got panic, not knowing what to do. I tried to call Canada Airline to reschedule my departure, but only answering machine talked to me. 

Panic and out of normal sense, I booked and bought a new round-trip ticket via Kiwi app. I got Asiana Airlines for departure in November 24th at 10:30 pm. What a long wait. It was still morning, no coffee, no meals, i just could not think right. I wandered around the airport asking about where I could get the PCR test. I went to the Farmalab downstair in Terminal 3 Ground floor. I was expecting a modern lab, but it was just a make-shift lab from a theatre stage. 

Bisa Bahasa Inggris?

Selama pandemik Covid-19 ini, aku telah dirumahkan (furlough) secara resmi mulai 1 Juli s/d 31 Desember 2020. 

Tiap hari aku bangun pagi-pagi antara jam 3:00-5:00 am membuat air panas untuk bikin kopi, aku suka kopi hitam sedikit gula. Aku belum bisa berfungsi normal kalau belum minum kopi, kaya ketagihan gitu. Hanya setelah minum kopi, aku masak nasi pake rice-cooker, cek lemari makanan dan membersihkannya dari sisa-sisa makanan semalamnya. 

Kuambil tas kecil yang berisi uang serta HP ku lalu pergi ke Warung Bu Desi untuk membeli bahan-bahan makanan untuk dimasak. Tidak ada banyak pilihan untuk memasak sesuatu yang pancy. Aku suka membeli ayam potong, buncis, dan labu jepang untuk sayur kuah. Tahu-tempe, dan makanan jadi berupa gecok belimbing yang sangat disukai ayah dan ibuku.

Setelah semua masakan selesai, aku nyapu di dapur, di halaman rumah dan jalanan di depan rumah, lalu siap-siap berangkat ke ladang di ujung desa. 

Sesampai di ladang, aku taruh laptop di kamar tidurku, kumatikan lampu-lampu yang masih menyala, serta hidupkan listrik untuk menaikan air ke tower air dari sumur bor sebagai sumber air untuk masak di rumahku dan untuk nyuci pakaian, dan mandi. Ayahku sering memakai air dari sumur bor tersebut untuk memandikan sapi-sapinya di sawah yang berada di sebrang ladang kami. 

Ayam-ayam berkerumun di sekitarku untuk diberi makan, dimana kuambilkan segelas beras dan sebarkan di halaman untuk ayam-ayam tersebut. Biasanya ayam-ayam itu berkelahi dulu sebelum memakan biji-biji beras yang kusebarkan. Kenapa ya? Mereka akan berpencar kemana-mana setelah mendapat makan dariku. 

Aku ambil sapu lidi serta serok untuk menyapu halaman pondok, garase, serta pura yang ada di ladang kami. Hanya setelah towernya penuh dan halaman sekitar bersih, aku mulai membuka laptop, memeriksa email yang masuk. Pertama-tama yang kulihat adalah Horoskopku karena sangat penting bagiku untuk mengetahui apa yang mesti kulakukan tiap hari dan apa yang akan terjadi padaku setiap hari. Ramalan bintang tersebut sangat akurat, jarang sekali meleset dari apa yang tertulis dalam Horoskopku. Kadang aku malas membaca, lalu kuhidupkan tool "speaker" nya, aku tinggal dengerin aja. 

Terkadang aku juga masak nasi merah di ladang, karena kuubah bagian depan bekas kamar adikku menjadi dapur untuk masak, bikin kopi, serta menyimpan air minum. Tak jarang aku hanya tinggal di tegal seharian karena semua kebutuhanku tersedia di sana. Tempat tidur, meja kerja, listrik, Internet semuanya sudah kusiapkan, supaya bisa kerja online. 

Suatu pagi, aku pulang ke rumah membawa cetakan laklak (Balinese pancake), dalam perjalanan aku bertemu dengan beberapa anak muda yang bukan dari kampungku. Mereka menyapaku,

"Mau bikin apa, Buk?"

"Mau bikin laklak", jawabku sambil melanjutkan jalanku ke rumah. Sebenarnya aku belum pernah membuat laklak sengan benar, aku membawa cetakannya pulang karena ingin belajar dari Ibu Wawan, tetapi saat itu Ibu Wawan sibuk dengan upacara Odalan, jadi kutangguhkan pelajaranku untuk membuat laklak.

Aku duduk dengan ibuku di Bale Daja (meten) sambil membuat sesajen harian. Tiba-tiba anak muda yang kujumpai tadinya datang ke rumah bertanya,

"Apa laklaknya sudah selesai?" salah satu dari mereka bertanya

"Belum", aku jawab sambil keluar menemui mereka yang duduk di berandah rumah Bale Dangin. 

Kami pun bercakap-cakap tentang beberapa hal termasuk tujuan mereka pergi ke kampung yang jaun dari kota. Mereka bilang bahwa mereka memperkenalkan product obat alami/herbal untuk menyembuhkan berbagai macam penyakit. Ibuku sempat membeli sebotol dengan harga lumayan mahal ukuran pedesaan.

Saat itu aku mengenakan T-Shirt dengan tulisan "My Life, My Adventure", salah satu dari mereka dengan semangat menyatakan bahwa dirinya suka petualangan juga sesuai apa yang dia baca di bajuku. 

Aku beritahu dia bahwa baju itu kubeli di Jogjakarta waktu ikut tour Merapi Lava Tours dengan mahasiswa dari Minnesota, USA. 

Salah satu dari mereka bertanya tentang pekerjaanku, 

"Ibu kerja dimana?", tanyanya.

"Saya ngajar mahasiswa dari Amerika", jawabku jujur

"Bisa bahasa Inggris"?, tanyanya lagi. 

Aku kaget dan ga sempat menjawab karena aku kira dia bisa menghubungkan antara pekerjaanku dengan kemampuan yang mesti kumiliki sebagai pengajar mahasiswa Asing yang berbahasa Inggris sebagai alat komunikasi utama. 

Aku hanya tersenyum memandangnya. Tetapi ibuku tidak terima kalau anaknya diremehkan. 

"Ini dah ratunya Bahasa Inggris di kampung ini", teriak ibuku dengan nada marah. 

Oh well, mereka hanya tidak tahu dan aku hanyalah perempuan kampung yang jauh dari peradaban kota. 

Note: Furlough 2020-2021

Itu berarti aku tidak mengajar secara rutin seperti waktu-waktu normal sebelum pandemik yang melanda dunia sejak Maret sampai saat ini. Pandemik bermula di Wuhan, Cina tetapi menyebar dengan cepat ke seluruh dunia. Indonesia tidak ketinggalan, walau lambat diumumkan keberadaannya di Indonesia. Sampai kini, pemerintah Indonesia memberlakukan protokol kesehatan dengan ketat, namun masyarakat terkadang tidak peduli dengan imbauan pemerintah. Seperti memakai masker kalau keluar rumah, mencuci tangan secara teratur sesuai anjuran dokter, menjaga jarak dengan orang-orang, menghindari kerumunan orang banyak. 

Florence, 29 July 2014

What is free in Italy?

When you travel in Italy, make sure that you always have a one Euro coin with you, because anytime you need to use WC or toilet you have to pay one euro either to the keeper of the WC or to the machine that guard the door to the toilet. It is a good business indeed, because people can't hold their pee after a long trip, especially when we travel by a bus. We can pee in the train for free.

I just found out today that the cost/fee for using toilet are different depending on where you are. It cost 0,60 euro at the Santa Maria station. In that area next to Mc Donald, a lady with her machine charge those who want to use toilet. If we use one euro, she will give change. It is a fact that the line to the lady's room is always longer than to the men's room. (Insert a picture of toilet in McD)

Later on at Il David, I found out that the cost of using a toilet is 0,70 euro. In that place you need to use the exact change otherwise you won't get the change since no one is there for that. (Insert a picture of toilet at Il David)

While in Venice, we have to pay extra one euro if we want to drink or eat inside a cafe. The waitress will ask us, "to go or here?". If we say here, she would say,"you have to pay one euro extra for that!"

Being tired from walking around, of course we would say, "okay!"

So, things are expensive and nothing is free. By this time I wrote this, I have been tired translating the prices into my own rupiah currency because they all are very expensive. 

Apa Artinya Sebuah Nama

 

What's in a Name!

Apa Artinya Sebuah Nama!

                                                                Yes, I am a Balinese woman

My full name is Ni Wayan Pasek Aryati/Ariati Hunter. If you are familiar with Bali or if you are anthropologists working on Bali or Indonesian studies, you will be able to tell that I am a Balinese from my name. There are two ways of writing my name. First when I was in elementary school, my older cousin registered me as Ni Wayan Pasek. The teacher said that my name is a boy's name, therefore the teacher added "Aryati" in my name. However, when I was in Junior High School (SMP), in my certificate my name was written as "Ni Wayan Pasek Ariati" not "Aryati" 

Anthropologically my name has several meanings as follow:

"Ni" is the gender marker which means I am a woman as the opposite of "I", the gender marker for men.

"Wayan" is the birth-order name which means that I am the first child in my family. There are some variation of the first-born child in Bali. It can be Wayan, Putu, Gede, Luh Gede, or Gung Gede depending on the region of where we are from in Bali. 

The second-born child is called "Made, Kadek, Kade, or Nengah".  

The third-born child is called "Nyoman, Komang, or Keming"

The fourth-born is called "Ketut, or Kerut"

Those are names for four Balinese family planning for common Balinese families outside the three gentry groups which have more complicated name because they need to add their gentry title in front of those common birth-order names. 

"Pasek" can be my clan name or just given to me as my parents' teknonymy, where the community members called the newly wed couple like my parents as Pan Pasek and Men Pasek or Mr/s. Pasek, therefore the first child of that couple (my parents in this case) automatically will be name either "I"/"Ni" Wayan Pasek. Since Pasek is a boy's name, therefore people think that I need to have additional name after Pasek. 

According to the ancient belief as what my grand parents told me that having four children in our family is like a building with four pillars which make the building very strong. If we have only one child, when that only child die, s/he will be roasted by the demon in the hell. If a mother doesn't have any child during her life-time, when she dies she will be forced to nurse a caterpillar until that caterpillar transforms into a beautiful child either boy or girl. 

Anyway, what's in a name? 

                                                                        Am I a Chinese?

When first I had to fill in the form during my Junior High School (SMP), I did not know my parents' name because we are not allowed to mention/know older people's name. I just knew that my parents' name were Men and Pan Pasek or the mother and father of Pasek. My grand parents' name were Mbah and Kak Pasek or the Grandmother and Grandfather Pasek. Therefore, I went home to my village to ask my parents about their real name not their teknonymy's name. Then, after i got married and had my first baby boy, people started to call me Ibu Indra, or the mother of Indra since my boy's name is I Putu Indra Ari Mahayasa. 

When I travel abroad, when we have to fill in the arrival form, there are some questions that we need to fill in with our first name, middle name, and last name. I got confused on how I should fill in that form. I just put in the form that "Ni Wayan" is my first name, "Pasek" is my middle name, and "Ariati" is my last name. But this was not good enough, when i arrived in Hawaii in 1994, i was interrogated for two hours because they suspected me as an illegal worker because they found a fax of invitation to teach Bahasa Indonesia in one of the Universities in the USA. Those two officers at the interrogation room asked me my first, middle, and last name. They did not like the fact that i do not have any family name. They messed up my name in the form as "Ariati, Ni Wayan Pasek", which is not correct at all according to my given name. My ancestors will get confused about me. They will ask, "Where is my child Ni Luh Pasek?". 

When I work for a western company, they also messed up my name's order by writing Ariati, Ni Wayan Pasek. Oh well, what to do. As a woman from the third world country, i think that we should just follow what rules being set for us by the super power country. 

                                                                    Am I a Samoan?

In an International conference, someone addressed me as "Ni", she asked the audiences about the definition of "culture", she called out my name, "Ni, can you please inform us what culture is". Well, i was just stayed quiet, because I have no idea that she wanted me to respond to her question. 

In a snail mail, people address me as "Dear Ni" and the letter went to Belize first before reaching me in Bali. 

Thus, I have several names as follow:

Ni Luh Pasek (by most people in my village)

Yan Pasek (my school mates)

Luweng (female) (by my grandparents)

Bu Indra (most people in my village)

Bu Ary/Ari (by our students)

Bu Hunter (by our students)

Bu Tom (in Java people called my by my husband's name, Thomas Hunter or Tom Hunter). 

                               

Who am I? I am wearing a red hijab posed in front of a famous Islamic Boarding School in Ponorogo, East Java. Am I a Muslim woman? 

Now that I have my first grandchild's name is Mitha, people now call me Mbah Mitha, or the grand mother of Mitha.