My inspiring teacher

Akhirnya Jum'at, 23 Oktober 2009 tiba, saat penyerahan The Muse Award dari The Jakarta Post. Banyak banget pengalaman yang bisa kupetik, apalagi karena aku penerima award satu-satunya dari SMP Negeri. Para pemenang lain adalah dari International School, baik dari Jakarta juga dari Salatiga.

Selain itu, aku juga jadi mengenal lebih dekat dengan wali kelasku, Ibu Wastio, yang ternyata baik, baik dan baik banget...

Selama acara berlangsung, bertemu dengan The Jakarta Post Community, juga sepanjang perjalanan ulangalik Rambutan-Palmerah dengan Bu Wastio, Bu Uly dan Bapak, menyadarkan ku bahwa bagaimanapun juga english adalah mutlak.

Semoga aku bisa terus diingatkan.

The youngest winner

Tanggal 1 September 2009, tepatnya di Wisma Bumi PuteraLt.22 Pengumuman Resmi Pemenang Lomba Penulisan Cerpen dan Esai Asuransi Jiwa Bersama Bumiputera di umumkan, ( yang ini pengumuman versi Om Jo yang ini dari fb Tante Ana), yang ini dari Kompas.

Senang, jadi tambah pengalaman baru lagi. Bertemu dengan Dewan Direksi AJB Bumi Putera, tim panitia penyelenggara, mbak-mba dan mas-mas sesama pemenang dan juga para sastrawan penggiat Paguyuban Sastra Rabu Malam (PaSar MaLam) Bulungan, Jakarta. Om Johanes, Om Kurnia Efendi dan beberapa lain yang nyentrik-nyentrik, suka deh liatnya...

Yang lebih seru lagi ketika ternyata, dari tulisanku itu aku adalah The Youngest Winner!! Wah.... bangganya....

(buat Tante Ana dan Om Bamby, fotonya better than my mom's, boleh ku pake ya Tan, Om..., tq..)

Thanks God, I Won

Dedicated to my English teacher, Mam. Alder and Mrs.Wastio

I am proud of my school

Smart Inside, Happy Outside
(The Jakarta Post, Minggu 22 Maret 2009)


People spend a lot of time indoors every day. We spend about six hours in the classroom, after which we spend all our time at home - eating, playing, sleeping, and of course, staring at our computer monitors!

When do we take the time to enjoy the outdoors?

Getting out of doors can improve one’s health. The fresh air cleanses our lungs. We can begin to breathe more deeply, which in turn brings more oxygen to our cells. The increased oxygen produces more energy to do the things we need to do. More oxygen also brings greater clarity to the brain!

Thus we need fresh air. But wouldn’t you agree with me that the air around us is polluted? Among other things, it contains chemicals produced by cars, factories, malls, and also from many schools with their air conditioning.

Despite everything, believe it or not, I found fresh air in my school.

I study in a beautiful school - SMPN 103. Other schools may boast of tall buildings. Mine is surrounded by trees, various kinds of flowers, and a fish pond. We even have a coop of white chickens and small birds! The school has been built on the original land, and not on a cemented surface. So that is an aid in anti-flooding too.

We have taken our own steps to reduce global warming. When we are in the classroom, we study with the windows open. During recess, we play outside. Without air conditioning in our school, we let fresh air work its magic on us. We can chit-chat with the animals and plants around us. Now that’s what I call “smart inside, happy outside”. I am proud of my school.

We can freely take a deep breath of fresh air because the air around us is an essential ingredient to all life and our health.