Eleventh January By the Beach

This year we start a new tradition in celebrating our birthday and anniversary. Prior to this 2014, we  celebrate the Eleventh January, my birthday and our wedding anniversary, with dinner and some party with friends and families. But this year, we just had it with the two of us! I guess the more older you are,  crowd is not longer important, but the quality and essences of the togetherness. 

So on January 11th this year, we took a tram and followed by a-50-minute train to the Black Rock beach in Sandringham. We explored the little beach town by walk, then took a bus to another nearby beach, and have our picnic in there! Facing the beautiful ocean. Had our lunch pack, cracked a bottle of wine, and have little nap time, and celebrate my birthday and nine years of our togetherness. I always love crowd and surround by friends and families, but sometimes just enjoy the moment in silence, is much more beautiful too! 

Happy nine years anniversary, love. I everyday grateful that I have you besides me and shares this life together. May God bless us and this marriage. Always. 

Damn! I Love Melbourne!

Living a year already here in Melbourne, Australia. It seems only yesterday we arrived in this beautiful city and start our new phase of life as international students. Another year to go. And I just realized I don't write a lots here, despite I actually do have more time to write. It just everyday when I wake up, I feel like don't like to loose time to explore and knowing more about this city. Oh! I guess this city is just to easy to be loved. 

Everything looks so beautiful and we can just have an easy and more quality of life here. We don't have to drive and stuck on heavy traffic everyday. We don't have to get stressed with bad transportation system and the air nor voice pollution. Definitely no yearly flooding which makes people crazy and stuck, like poor Jakartan! Even public transport schedules, such as departing and arriving time of train, trams and bus (including other information such as location and the number of the vehicles) are all easy to be access via online or through the application at our mobile phone. Not just put it in there, but it all almost always operate on time and we hardly experienced any delay! Well! There was one situation from my last journey by train from Canberra to Sydney. The train driver announced and apology for we will have a-5 minutes (!!!) delay than the scheduled time! I was smiled and almost laugh! So many times when I had to travel via various mode of transportation in my motherland, and I have to experienced delay for hours, never I heard the management of the company or the driver say something nice like this! It just an apology, but makes us feel appreciated! 

Back about this city, I believe one of the most thing I love about Melbourne, also known as the "Australia's most European city", other than the beautiful surrounding with lots of green parks and old architectures (I always always falling in love with old heritage buildings style!), I impressed with the diversity of the people coming from almost all over the places around the globe. Melbourne is so proud as one of the world's most multicultural nations, and as a home to people from all corners of the globe. I live in Carlton area which is a walking distance away from the Lygoon Street, known as Italian precinct or "Little Italy", the first place where Melbourne famous cafe and coffee cultures was born. Everyday when I walk (and I walk most of the time! :)) and crossing the street, I can hear people talking in different languages, from English, Italian, Germany, French, Japanese, Malay, Bahasa, Chinese, even to the language that I never heard before! A few minutes walk and just a-two-stop tram away, you can find China Town in surrounding the CBD area. You can also easily find the Middle Eastern area in Sydney Road, which is less than 15 minutes tram away from my place! Jewish community area is in another 30 minutes tram away! Aren't that awesome? 

(photo I captured during last Australia Day, Jan 26th 2014)

In this city, I also start expand my networks and friendship with friends from all around the world. It just beautiful to have many new good friends and learn more about their cultures! During last Sunday celebration of Australia Day, I witnessed the long parade which representing the diverse communities and cultures mingled and live together in this city. It just amazing to see all the diversity offer by this city, from the variety of foods, street performances, exhibitions, music, movies to the parade, like what I seen last Sunday. It all portrait about: YOURS, MINE and OURS. Yes! Differences are just too beautiful!

(While Ahmadiyyah Muslims can enjoy their freedom living in Australia, their fellow brothers and sisters in Indonesia haunt to death by the radical Muslims in the country, and minor protection to their rights from the Government!) 

After all, one says that "Journeys of a lifetime explores how no matter who we are or where we have come from, that we have all had a journey". And about myself, where tolerance and pluralism alive, I know I can survive and I can live well!

Seeing photos that I upload on my social media, my friends and families in Indonesia comment that I seems enjoy my new life a lot here. I used to response back "What can we not love about Melbourne?".

As I write earlier, this city is just so easy to be loved. Almost all the international students that I met, they just easily falling in love with this city, even to the day that they just landed to this city! Hah!

We then say, "Damn! I love Melbourne". :)) 

I Captured Spring

In my motherland, we don't have the four seasons. So last Spring 2013 here in Melbourne was my first Spring experience. Now I know why people talk about the beauty of the Spring.  Everything looks beautiful. Colorful. Glooming. After cold Winter days, I started seeing people smiling. Just like a new couple had their first loved, Spring is all about LOVE. 

Here some photos that I captured on last Spring. How blessed I am to witness this beauty. All were taken in my surrounding neighborhood. I dreamt to see Spring. I see Spring. 

It's 2014

(St. Kilda beach on my birthday, January 11th, 2014). 

It's 2014. The new year. The new look of me, I believe. A one year older, more mature (I hope so!), more experienced, with the new way of thinking and perspective in seeing and analyzing things. Hopefully I will also be more often writing and updating my blog home here :)

A year now living in Melbourne, Australia. Grateful always for the opportunity given by God to me. All that I hope and wish for, I'll learn more and more. And a door of opportunity to given back of what I learned to the people and the nation in my motherland. May God be with me. All the time.