Tuesday, January 3, 2017

One Birthday Letter

Dear Pap,
Hey! Happy birthday, Papa!!! Haha how was the party there? Much better than here I guess…

Argh! So many things I want to tell you now, ahh! Do you realize, I have been living in Wamena for 2 years already? Haha. Cool huh? I went to Habema lake several times! Do you know this place? It’s the highest lake in Indonesia, yeaah I have to admit that Toba Lake is more famous, the one that make you proud being a Bataknese, but your daughter has been to the highest lake in Indonesia, you have to proud about that either. Haha. I walked to one village also, named Hitugi.  It’s in Yahukimo, I’m sure you never heard about these names, ahah.  I walked for 5 hours, nonstop climbing up, no trees, then I stayed one night in Hitugi before going home on the next day, by walking also.  It’s a beautiful village, no regret at all.  Worth to fight for.  I went to ‘batas batu’, a place in Nduga district, about 3 hours from Wamena, by car.  Um, I visited Bokondini, stayed there for one day.  No signal, no electricity, but you can definitely see milky way there.  The most beautiful phenomenon I’ve ever seen!! It’s effortless beautiful!  Now you’re realized that your daughter is cool huh? HAHA!

Beside that I’ve met many good people in 2016, mostly in Wamena.  I came there with had no one I knew, but now I already have many relatives there.  Everyone knows me there (haha no, I’m not that famous).  I thank God for them, obviously! So don’t worry about me being alone there, I’m not lonely, I have many friends to visit, to talk, to being crazy together like friends that I have in Bandung since I was 12, friends that always made me late to come home and made you angry about that, but in the end you always allowed me to go with them because you know them well and you believe us won’t do anything besides talking for hours in cafĂ© with a cup of coffee and one nasi goreng.

And I was a coordinator for Sunday school in Church last year, haha! Been grateful to know the children there, as you know I love children that much, not only because they are funny, but also because I love teasing children and making them crying haha… they did something great on our Christmas celebration, they sang a song and light the candle to everyone.  I’m very proud of them.  You have to watch the video, it’s touchy. 

I already get used to in Wamena.  Last month, I got someone with a long spear (a sharp stick) stopped me while I was on my way to work, asking for money.  I wasn’t afraid he would kill me, but I didn’t know what I have to do, I was confusing not afraid, after that I explained to him that I’m a teacher in the nearest school there, so he let me go.  Does it weird, doesn’t it?  Just don’t tell mom, she won’t let me go back to Wamena haha..

We moved into a new home, what a heartbreaking moment to leave our house, but mom is happier with the small house, that's the most important thing.  

Ah this holiday, I went to Ijen and Bromo with your lovely son.  He never been anywhere and mom never allows him to go far from her, so I took him with me on a short holiday.  And he’s been to Ijen Crater now, he saw blue fire there, climbed up for 2 hours then climbed down to see the blue fire, it was so foggy and dark there, a quite dangerous honestly, but I took care of him, hahah no worries.  He’s safe! I think he’s proud of himself also. Haha.  That’s good for him huh?

Anything else? Hem, some of my friends in Wamena said greetings to you.  Everytime they said greeting for you, I always answered, ‘ah that’s hard for me to say your greeting to my dad’, they would look so confused, and to clear their question mark on their forehead, I continued saying, “my dad already passed away, that’s why it’s hard for me to say your greetings for him, haha”, they would become more confusing than before, because I’m laughing after explaining the reason. 

I still have no boyfriend, hooray! And mom keeps asking me the question, when I will get married? And I will always be mad to her for asking me that –“

I’m not in hurry, Pap, I am focusing to get a scholarship now rather than get a spouse to be married with.  You know, your daughter, who just had her first boyfriend when she was turning 22.  Hopefully, I’ll get a scholarship this year, after that I’ll try to think about marriage, ok?

So many stories, right? Haha..

It’s been 4 years already we don’t celebrate your birthday together.  4 Christmases, 4 New Years.  It’s quite different without you, Pap.  No staying up all night on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, no ‘ketupat’, no ‘rendang’, no ‘mandok hatta’ haha.  Ah we change a lot without you here.  It’s sad of course, but do you know, I realized something.  You have a big role in this family.  You are the leader of this family (after God absolutely), you are the man.  That’s why it won’t be the same anymore, you leave this world with warmhearted memories to remember (at least for us).  You loved people around you and you are loved as well! Your kindness to other is not easy to forget.

Today, on your birthday, I want to say it out loud that I’m a proud daughter of you! No one is better than you to be my dad. And it’s still a heartbreaking to me to lose you, because you are one of lovely men that ever lived in this world, I’m so blessed to have you as my dad.

Happy birthday there, Pap!

Love,


Your daughter who always pretends be tough enough HAHA! 

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