Anyway, just want to show you. The sky was absolutely beautiful today. It was pure blue, with thick glossy-looking clouds. This was the last afternoon sky of 2009, before, shortly after, it turned gray.
The post does look a lot like the 40 post, but what different here is, it is explained a bit more briefly and classified into months.
Well, this is also the last post of the year. So hope you'll enjoy it!
* Just wanna let you know that by posting this, I don't mean to boast anything about the trips I've been through. I'm kind of person who likes jotting down journals from my trip to keep them in mind and this blog is my only journal (I don't have something like diaries in real life or something like that, but probably soon I will). So, don't get me wrong guys. Just consider this as my diary free for you to read (no privacy at all, since I like to share all my stories with all of you guys)
** Bold means important/favorite event or point.
--------------------------------------------
2009 STORY RECAPS
- JANUARY
Late January: Went to US embassy to apply for a visa with my mom since we were going to the US on February. It was weekday. I don't remember exactly what date it was but it was on Thursday, and my school was having some sort of an event and due to that, all students would go home earlier at 11.30. Thinking I would make it to school after applying visa, I donned a normal school uniform and lined up with the others applicants. Maybe they would think "Does this girl ditch school?" Well, yes, ma'am or sir, I did DITCH school, but not really though, because soon after applying, I'll go back to school. Well, I was excited that my visa got accepted after the oh-so-tense interview (or interrogation, if I may say). Mom said that now it was my time to make up an excuse to go to the US. Shortly after my visa got accepted, I returned to school, with a fake letter on my hand saying that I just returned from the doctor. I made it back to school just half an hour before 11.30 and everybody was like "If I were you, I would really ditch school." - FEBRUARY
February 2: My visa's done! The embassy staff sent it to my mom's office. So glad to see that it was glued right on my passport!
Around February: Chinese New Year! I went out with my cousins and relatives to watch Red Cliff 2. It was very interesting of course, since I've never watched any foreign movies apart from English in cinemas, and seeing that it was Chinese New Year.
February 19-February 28: February US TripDay 1 (February 19): Departure from Jakarta to Los Angeles via Hong Kong. Arrival at LAX at 4.30 pm local time.
Day 2 (February 20): Disneyland trip part 1: with dad's friends
Day 3 (February 21): Hollywood tour: Downtown LA, Hollywood Boulevard (Kodak Theatre- thank God, I visited it on Oscar's eve, because I got to see all the decorations, and Mann Chinese Theatre), Sunset Boulevard, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica beach (and it got a mall that resembled Bandung's Paris Van Java I recently visited!), and Venice Beach (looked a look like Kuta Beach)
Day 4 (February 22): Disneyland trip part 2: with mom
Day 5 (February 23): Universal Studio tour
Day 6 (February 24): Anaheim Mall, got lost there while my mom was busy shopping. When my feet ached enough that they need some rest, I plopped down on a couch in one corner of this mall. Bored, I opened my bag and shoved to find my camera, which I quickly turned on only to find some random pictures I took yesterday and...pictures and videos of my friends. My thoughts wandered back to them instantly. Aw...
Day 7 (February 25): Walmart. Nothing really special though, just some shoppingshoppingshoppingshoppingshopping...BLAH, that place was huge just like Giant in Jakarta. You know huge supermarkets made me feel daze easily. Also, this was the day I FOUND JESSIE at Disney Downtown's store!!!! Finally, for 10 years since Toy Story 2 was released, I found you, cowgirl! Yeehaww!!!
Day 8 (February 26): Departure to Jakarta via Hong Kong late in the night.
Day 8 1/2 (February 27): Only passed this for three hours, onboard, and my dad's birthday was also celebrated for three hours before entering the 28th.
Day 9 (February 28): Arrival in Jakarta. Air sick, since the plane experienced a lot of turbulences due to the heavy storm currently happening in Jakarta.
- MARCH
March 2: Returned to school. "Carissa, you feel better already?" asked one teacher. "Never 'better' ma'am." Then another one who knew my intention of going to America came up. "How was the admission test? People've been wondering where you've been but I kept telling them you were sick." I answered. "The test was okay, it was just a 'prediction test', but indeed, I got sick for a moment." She asked again. "You did? What kind?" I answered. "Airsick." *GUILTYPLEASURE*
- APRIL
Around April: This month, there are lots of invitation coming up. Hey, everyone was turning seventeen this year! I was so excited about the parties. I'm not really into parties actually, but I was very impressed by Amanda's sweet seventeen party held in Wimo Kemang! The dress code was white, and coincidentally, I loved dressing up in black-white combination. - MAY
Still, invitations invitations!
May 23 (or so I thought): I attended this awesome birthday party of my best friend, Elda, held in Nikko Hotel. I never attended such a merry celebration like this before! It got band, games, and food! I even got to reunite with my friends from elementary school and junior high. At the end, we moved on to the dance floor and danced till we dropped. Dugem moment, anyone?
- JUNE
June 3:
--> "The Nightlurker" was done and printed
--> The Big Escapades blog was born
June 4: Live in!Day 1 (June 4th): Taking off from school at 3.30 pm. Dinner in Indramayu
June 10s: Last day of 2008-2009 term. Report card day. Got third rank in Language Department!
Day 2 (June 5th): Arrival in Sawangan, Banyu Temumpang. We were later divided into groups which would be taken to different regions or villages. Mine was Gantang 3, with my roommate Fifi or Fau and this extraordinary family called Sumprah. First day here, well, nothing much to do except helping hostauntie cooking ceriping (traditional crackers) and vegetable soup. In the night, we held a simple, small mass for neighbors
Day 3 (June 6th): Going to the forest to pick up some wild grass for the cows. Found an enormous wild spiders on the host mother's back. Fed the cows and watched TV with Anka, Fifi (another Fifi who lived with Anka next door), and Fau, while the families were off for mass in the church.
Day 4 (June 7th): Children's games today! We gathered in our base to wrap the presents for kids. It was a fun day, seeing how bright those kids' faces were :)
Day 5 (June 8th): Returning home to Jakarta. Before that Fau and I went to a market in the lower ground to buy something for our host family. Then, after taking off from Sawangan, we had a little shopping in Yogyakarta's famous market Malioboro, and then on the way to the restaurant for dinner (it was located in the middle of nowhere, just the small restaurant building, a railroad, and the empty, dark street), we watched TWILIGHT!
Day 6 (June 9th): Arriving at home. Jetlagged much?
HOLIDAY!!!
June 18: Senior graduation. Performed "Hymne Guru" and "If We Hold On Together" with violins, along with Clara, Tasya, and another freshman
June 27: TOEFL test and a fever.
Late June: Watched "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" with fellas.
June 20s: First introduced with Super Junior and instantly fell in love with them after watching "Explorers of the Human Body". - JULY
Early July: CHINA TRIP with Chan Brothers.Day 1: Gathering in Soekarno-Hatta airport, meeting up with fellas of Chan Brothers, getting to meet Akina, Jessica, Rio, Fanka, Dafa, and Dipo! Kak Yuli served as the Chan Brother's tour guide. Arrival at Nanjing Airport late in the night (via Singapore). We stayed in this luxurious hotel, but in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and please do introduce our tour guide: Ko Aping, a Chinese local guide who was - I'm telling you - really, really fluent in Bahasa.
Day 2: Traveling around Nanjing. We went to Pearl's factory, drank tea made out of pearl. Then to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, with thousands stairs but not too steep though. The place was quite high. That day, we also headed to Suzhou. Um, another moment with pearls, I presume.
Day 3: The next dayyyy....we went to Liu Yuan garden, and visited a tomb of a great Chinese general (my mom knows the name). After lunch, we were heading to...Hangzhou! Quite near from Suzhou though. Hangzhou is known as one of China's tourists' popular sites, best known for its legendary Song Dynasty. That day, we went up to a hill, towards a tea plantation where we drank this traditional green tea. Then we descended down to the city and watched The Song Dynasty musical show. It was a very awesome show, and the fact that it was widely known across the globe was even more surprising! The theatre is located in a some sort of a Chinese traditional amusement park/market, complete with Chinese decorations and stalls selling souvenirs. :)
Day 4: Taking off from Hang Zhou to...the famous city of Shanghai! Shanghai is yet the largest business district in China, filled with skycrapers all over the place, beating Beijing as China's capital city. We went around Nanjing Road (like a shopping district, complete with branded shops lining up in rows, just like Singapore's Orchard Road!) In the night, we had a dinner in a ship (a real ship, but no it didn't operate. Just like Queen Mary's). The ship was eventually a restaurant. But actually, this was the creepiest dinner ever, since the ship was slightly tilted to the other side, which was filled with more customers sitting on that side. I was kind of creeped out if the ship was going to flip over. TT_TT
Day 5: Visiting Yu Yuan garden and a famous unique looking tower. Then we took off to Beijing by China Airlines. See you soon, Ko Aping. We landed quite late at night in Beijing, around 9 o'clock and we were greeted by Vivian, our local guide in Beijing. Then after a brief introduction about Beijing, we arrived in a small restaurant to have dinner. i had a stomacache here. Well, woman thing is never a good thing, y'know.
Day 6: Forbidden City! Too...beautiful...to...describe...
Day 7: That day, we were going to go to one of the seven wonders of the world. No, it was not Taj Mahal of course, not Chichen Itza either. It was the GREAT WALL itself! Yes, your trip to China wouldn't be complete without visiting this place. Before going there, we dropped in a gemstone store for a second. Then we headed straightly to Great Wall! We only stayed there for no longer than an hour, because apparently the ladies were excited enough to go to Yashow market at the downtown. After going to the Great Wall, we went to have a lunch nearby in a place filled with vases. Kewl.
Day 8: Going back to Jakarta. Oh, I really am going to miss this trip so much.
July 13: First day of school. 12th grader already?? That's a bit too fast...
- AUGUST
Early August: Started writing paper "Observing Teenagers' Interests in Classic Novels" after handing out a number of rejected titles such as "Observing The Life and Culture of Mayans" and "The Use of Greek Mythology".
August 10s: FLOOOOOODDDD *howl*. School shut down for approximately four days. It all started on a day when one of the teachers' husband passed away and we all attended the funeral. The rain fell heavily before the procession was even done, and the students all scattered away, seeking for shelters (eventually, turned out the shelters themselves were the cars). After a moment, it still hadn't stopped raining and eventually, we could all go home.
August 17: 64th Independence Day ceremony
August 22: School's strike.
Late August: Started fasting!! - SEPTEMBER
September 2: Earthquake hit Jakarta, startling me from my seat as I was watching SpongeBob SquarePants at three o'clock after school.
September 4: 6C [++] Re-United Tarakanita 2004 (w/ Gadiz). Reunion with fellas from Tarakanita Elementary School year 2004, hosted by Gadis. You sure know her, don't you? She's the famous saxophonist who currently lives in Canada :)
September 7: Serigala Terakhir Movie Workshop at school
Around September: Watched Hee Ah Lee, a talented Korean pianist, with limited physical ability but extraordinary talent!
Around September TOO: School visit to Universitas Pelita Harapan
September 21-22: Idul Fitri. This was also my first time doing Idul Fitri prayer not in the mosque, but on the street near my house blocked specially for the occasion.
Late September: Bintan Trip with the Gunawans.Day 1: Went to the airport to take off to Batam by plane. From Batam airport, we took off to Punggur, a local port to quickly transfer to Tanjung Pinang, the capital or the largest city in Bintan island. We were picked up there by mom's old friend who turned out to be the owner of the hotel we were going to stay in. Had lunch at the downtown in this nice little Chinese restaurant. Then we went to the hotel. Quite unexpectedly, turned out we stayed in two fine suites (like a bungalow) in a small cottage located off the beach (so to go to the suite, we must pass through the bridge that connected the beach and the cottage). In the night, we went out to see some hotels under construction (still owned by my mom's friend). Then we had dinner.
Day 2:More "Hotels Under Construction" exploration
Day 3:We went to Tanjung Pinang...I think. Seriously, I completely forgot. I didn't write the journal about this trip, neither had the itinerary about it. >_< Day 4:Watched some people playing water sports off the beach, packed, and......went to the port, boarded into the small ferry, and...yadayada we arrived at Punggur, Batam, before going straight to Jakarta by plane. - OCTOBER
The best month in 2009 yet ">___<" October 6: Joined a ballet jazz class
October 10: Tarphrodite convoy. With cars lining up along the street, we shouted "TARPHRODITE, TARAKANITA'S PROHIBITION AGAINST THE DISCRIMINATION OF WOMEN'S RIGHT, OCTOBER 17, 2009, LAPANGAN D SENAYAN, RAN, SAYKOJI, SUPERMAN IS DEAD!!!". Don't worry, we weren't acting weird. Just for promotional purpose.
October 16: Tarphrodite D-1
October 17: TARPHRODITE!
October 23: MY SEVENTEENTH BIRTHDAY!
October 24: Birthday dinner with friends and family at Just Steak. Slight fever.
October 27: CITY TOURDay 1 (October 27): We started out going to Textile Museum and joined in a batik workshop, then we had lunch in ITC Kuningan, after that we headed to the next destination was Ruang Rupa - a contemporary art gallery, Kompas editorial, before returning to school. I went straightly to Ballet Jazz shortly after.
Day 2 (October 28): City tour's second day. Started out going to Bank Indonesia Museum, which was very very modernized, complete with technology and very cutting edge, then...the last destination of the day and to close all series of city tours...DUFAN!!! Got on some rides like the spinning tea cups thingy, ontang anting, Rumah Jail, mirror maze, Perang Bintang, mm...what else? Oh, Istana Boneka! It's like Indonesian version of It's a Small World. Returned to school at 5.00 pm but due to heavy traffic jam, we made it to school at 7.30 pm. O.O
- NOVEMBER
Around November: Attended Serigala Terakhir movie premiere, performed Boom Boom Pow in Ballet Jazz class, and watched Extravaganza in Trans TV studio. Movie, Performing Arts, and Television day.
November 26: English Club Farewell - DECEMBER
December 6: Violin recital, performing Canon in D in Rockestra style
December 14: Finished Le Papier!!
December 15: Turned in the paper and received three awards at school on the last day of school in 2009!!
December 25: Merry Christmas!!
December 27-29: Bandung trip with cousinsDay 1 (December 27): First, I went to my cousin's and took off at 9 to Bandung. Lunch at Sapu Lidi near Lembang, then went to Kampung Gajah to see that it was still under construction. Went to Paris Van Java to look for Purezento shop. Dinner at Bakmi Naripan
December 31: Writing this post...nearly...out of breath...and...haven't taken...a bath yet...
Day 2 (December 28): Woke up at 7.30 am, breakfast, and headed straight to Kawah Putih to see a spectacular turquoise sulphuric mud lake. Then we went to Situ Patenggang, whose surroundings bear striking resemblance with Twilight's Forks, and then we went to Cihampelas Walk, dinner at Suis Steak Setiabudi. Last destination...*the writer's kinda out of breath right now* Bandung Indah Plaza to buy some more Purezento keychains. Last but not least, TIMEZONE TIME!!!
Day 3 (December 29): Today, we checked out from our hotels, heading to Parahyangan University. It's one of the leading universities in West Java, where my cousin is interested in pursuing her higher education to. The housings were fine too. From Parahyangan, we had lunch (family lunch) in McD. Just so you know, that's the first time I had a heavy family meal in a junk food restaurant.
See you in 2010!!
^_^
^_^
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