My hometown, the city of the heavy sun, it had been a long time since I last saw my family.
At first, it felt surreal. I never really thought I could finally go home it's strange. I was about to look for a bus to Bandung when I just arrived in Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta. But then, I saw my mother, with a simple chiffon dress and a matching veil, waiting for me at the exit gate. As if my mother's presence wasn't enough, my father was there too, he wore his usual vest, and I had a warm-welcoming hug from him - that is when I was fully convinced, I was really home.
"It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. Then you realize the only thing's changed is you" - Ale Meza (a friend of mine from Mexico)
The trip to bandung was such a bliss. I expected Jakarta to be more chaotic, uglier. But it was such a beautiful night, I spotted no street litter or traffic jam. The lights, the breezy air, ahh.
After a fast one-hour drive from Jakarta, I was finally home. My home looked really tidy and neat. I learned that my family just hired a new gardener, the tehtehan and the grass had been perfectly chopped. Then there was my living room. The same old living room, only it was prettier and more organized than what I had remembered. I was a little tired. I washed my face and went straight to bed. It was completely the same old bedroom feeling. I found myself looking at same old bed (the best bed in the house), the same old newspaper clippings, my tennis trophies, my racquets. It was weird, it was like, the house was magically frozen after I last left it.
The next morning I met my two sisters. I bestowed on Tannisa, one of my sisters, the Diana F+ "Garden of Eden" that I bought before I left Canada, she seemed delighted. And then I hugged Kannia, my other sister, she almost bursted into tears, that was so sweet of her. Well, they didn't seem to have changed at all, which is good. We were chit-chatting about a lot of things until the fleeting and familiar smell of Nasi Goreng paused our conversation, breakfast was ready. I ate my first home-made Nasi Goreng after such a long time, it was very well cooked, relishing my mouth cavity with all its milkish, fragrant graces, as it was bouncing on my tongue. The incessantly weird feeling suddenly struck back, clearly I had forgotten how heavenly it was at my home when it comes down to food provision.
I don't know if it's because the jet-lag, but it was kind of haze that lasted for a while. As I started overcoming it, I got my old life back. I cruised around the city with my old sublime motorbike. I had such a great time meeting my high school chumps and my cousins. And, I had this splurge of appetite for doing classic townie things I never had done before. Ahh.
I am glad I have four months here.
"It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. Then you realize the only thing's changed is you" - Ale Meza (a friend of mine from Mexico)
The trip to bandung was such a bliss. I expected Jakarta to be more chaotic, uglier. But it was such a beautiful night, I spotted no street litter or traffic jam. The lights, the breezy air, ahh.
After a fast one-hour drive from Jakarta, I was finally home. My home looked really tidy and neat. I learned that my family just hired a new gardener, the tehtehan and the grass had been perfectly chopped. Then there was my living room. The same old living room, only it was prettier and more organized than what I had remembered. I was a little tired. I washed my face and went straight to bed. It was completely the same old bedroom feeling. I found myself looking at same old bed (the best bed in the house), the same old newspaper clippings, my tennis trophies, my racquets. It was weird, it was like, the house was magically frozen after I last left it.
The next morning I met my two sisters. I bestowed on Tannisa, one of my sisters, the Diana F+ "Garden of Eden" that I bought before I left Canada, she seemed delighted. And then I hugged Kannia, my other sister, she almost bursted into tears, that was so sweet of her. Well, they didn't seem to have changed at all, which is good. We were chit-chatting about a lot of things until the fleeting and familiar smell of Nasi Goreng paused our conversation, breakfast was ready. I ate my first home-made Nasi Goreng after such a long time, it was very well cooked, relishing my mouth cavity with all its milkish, fragrant graces, as it was bouncing on my tongue. The incessantly weird feeling suddenly struck back, clearly I had forgotten how heavenly it was at my home when it comes down to food provision.
I don't know if it's because the jet-lag, but it was kind of haze that lasted for a while. As I started overcoming it, I got my old life back. I cruised around the city with my old sublime motorbike. I had such a great time meeting my high school chumps and my cousins. And, I had this splurge of appetite for doing classic townie things I never had done before. Ahh.
I am glad I have four months here.
