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The (Non)Fairy Godmother

Remember Silvia? The crazy “Italian” lady from my German class who I just figured out that she is actually a Swiss-Italian rather than an Italian, oh well, nothing is as straight as an arrow with her 😉

I wanted to go to her place for the weekend, this is the second time we tried to make it happened. First time it was cancelled due to Dortmund City found a potential bomb around her area so everyone living within the parameter got evacuated. Second time is this weekend, we finally made it happen…..wait for it…. We met up at the City Center, it has to be always there otherwise Silvia will lost!

But she carried another bags with her..hmm.. I know she was somewhere before so maybe she didn’t go back to her apartment yet. I told her “Let’s go to put your stuff and mine into your place and get out again” because her place is exactly in the City Center. She said “Actually there is something I would like to say, we don’t go to my place” I thought OK then she can stay in my place, then she added “I already booked a hotel for us, it’s around here” I was drop-dead shocked “Whattt?? what the hell do we need to stay in a Hotel in Dortmund? Where both of us live in Dortmund?” She told me that she tried to cook a steak on her new electrical stove however it caused an electrical splash on her socket, smokes comes up from the cable, activated her smoke detector, in the end power went off.

Long story short, she booked a hotel just 5 mins away which means still in the City Center and she can’t cancel it soooooo I’d got to stay in a hotel too! Wohoooo a surprise Staycation in Dortmund 😀 really not bad eeehhh!

The hotel were just right in front of the Football Museum and this was my first time staying in the hotel since forever I forgot that I need to insert the key to have power on…pfffff… don’t know how to behave haha!

After checking in, entered our room, got ourselves refreshed, we went out to…..the City Center duhhh and had dinner in Maximilian Cafe. I went there before and I sooooooo like the BBQ Chicken Wings, it’s an antipasti but more like a main dish because it’s big!! I feel something weird that night, something like really good to go out, eat in restaurant, not worry about not catching the bus back home, just chilled and enjoy the day! I think this forced or surprise Staycation is not a bad idea after all, perhaps I will do it too but ofc not in the City Center where my apartment is located haha somewhere else 🙂

The next day both of us woke up really late, already at brunch time haha and we did a lot of stuff on that day! what a productive day! We’ve done 15K steps! where and what did we do? Silvia bought me a mug due to I moved to a new apartment so this is the present for my not yet “housewarming” party. When I opened it I really like it because the mug is so me! the color etc, love it love it love it! Thank you Silvia!!! She also said that when she saw this mug it reminds her of me <3

As you can see, first stop is my place, then we went to IKEA due to I need to buy 3 drawers for my new Kleiderschrank that wasn’t available last week. I surely need help because one drawer is 6kg, I carried one hihi and Silvia carried 2 haha She had 5 kids before so for sure as hell she can manage 12kg 🙂 During our bus trip to IKEA we passed by my office and my old apartment that was our “sightseeing place”

Then we go back to my place to put the drawer and back to our hotel yes! one last Staycation day! We had dinner again in the City Center but this time I felt sore not only on my legs but also on my shoulders due to the “weight” that I carried. No weird feeling this time, just tired. Nevertheless, we had a nice dinner, Spaghetti! Italian dish is never wrong!

I brought my laptop because Silvia said she will study German and do her homework but she doesn’t have the age anymore (quote from her) so she just watched some series in German and went to bed #bloody woman!

All in all, it was a funny weekend, I like and enjoy it! We don’t have a terms of “Godmother or Godfather” in Indonesia but if we have it, it should be her. We talked a lot about each other during dinner and brunch time and I’m really lucky that she was one of my classmates who become my friends and again… if I can choose, I’d like her to be my Godmother, regardless fairy or non fairy 😉

Merci beaucoup Silvia!

P.S: Don’t be afraid if I tried to come to your place for the third time, I’m looking forward of what will happen next! haha #devils laugh

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Tribute To The Beatles

You say, “Goodbye”, and I say, “Hello, hello, hello” (hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye) That’s just a bit of lyrics from “Hello Goodbye” by The Beatles and this is exactly how I feel right now, every story has two sides, one side is a “Hello” and the other is a “Goodbye”.

On 28th of August I landed Germany, I was so nervous but not afraid-nervous, I was hyper-nervous, too happy to be here. When I accepted their offer back in May, I only informed sooooo few people, as few as my sister, my parents, Markus, Thorben and Marina. Because I don’t want to be too excited as the situation with Corona was still very absurd, the German Embassy closed until further notice, Germany still closed their border for international flight but I don’t lose hope, I put one foot in front the other and keep going. And fast forward to 27th of August as my last day in mother land and going to Vaterland haha!

Once I landed at Duesseldorf Airport, I’ve done my corona test there for frei! yuhuuuu! in love with this country already 😉 after that “Hello” to my two helpers that put a significant contribution on my relocation journey to Germany!

Little did I knew, they even prepared me welcome gift… I would like to say box but it is not a box so a welcome gift paperbag-sounds more environmental friendly too 😉

Then they put me in a hotel to wait until my corona test result came out which should be beginning of next week, after that I told Thorben and he said “it’s time to announce the Disturbed Family!” haha yes Thorben thank you for keeping the secrets away from them for so long 🙂 Haissshhh this is the hardest moment, the “Goodbye” part, they are more than just friends, they’re my family and even better they all are distrubed and (such an) ass-ociates 😀

It took me some time to write them and even some time to look my phone back after I pressed that send button. Thank you for all the messages, such a heartwarming one and I knew I will never have the balls to say goodbye to all of you.

However, since my goodbye is through text, I don’t think it is a proper goodbye and mostly you guys are European anyway 😉 I’ll come to your home invited or uninvited mwhaha to have my “Hello” moment with your parents, Hello Sir / Ma’am, I’m a friend of your son / daughter 🙂

Germany, you are such a whole new world, a hundred thousand things to see and I can’t wait to reveal it one by one 🙂

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Hoop Hoop (not yet) Hooray

Living in China for almost 7 years give you the advantage of having 2 times to set your New Year’s Resolution, just in case the first normal New Year didn’t go as you expected you can always make a new one on a Chinese New Year 😉

One of the resolution that I always have is: I need to have a routine exercise! On Zero Gravity pole dance studio, they had a new sport called “Aerial Hoop” I had that class once before Christmas but back then the instructor-Cleo went away for having Christmas and New Year’s holiday, but on the first day of the CNY I had another class with different instructor.

There was only 3 people that joined the first year of the rat class 🙂 Me, Joasia and Joy and ofc our teacher-Sia. Joy and Asia was much stronger than me so they already went to different moves while for me I kept practicing my own moves mwahaha they went from movement 1-6, I just kept “perfecting” my first 3 moves haha!

  • Joy
  • Asia

And mine! Well, for the purpose of taking pictures I will hold all my strength and hide the hurts with the smile 😉 Asia said “think for your instagram” 😉

I never had a class with Sia before because she only teach the instructor so imagine how dead I was when I got her as my teacher!

I hope the virus will be over soon so Zero Gravity can re-open and we can be hoop-hoop-hooray soon!

中国加油！

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Ready Player One?

The first month of this special year 2020 has been the longest January ever! Bombing in Iran, bush fire in Australia with a special hail that only last for 30 mins in Canberra yet successfully destroyed my sister’s car pffff, flood in Indonesia and Covid-19 in China… what a tough month indeed!

I witnessed the easiest order, within 15 mins we collected over 3000 pcs mask N95 but our lovely Taiwan factory only have 2080 pcs left and we took it all, delivered by air freight and the next day we got it. This was 1 day before the Chinese New Year so it is indeed the best present 🙂

It really strikes me when 24 hours before we all just had lunch together, drawing a mouse in the red paper to welcome CNY

and the next day it was mandatory to wear mask, the following days after that we were advised to not go out unless its necessary. How things can change within 24 hours?! #I may sound very dramatic now but it’s either I am over-react or the condition is really not good. I really wish that I was over-react and laugh about it later.

Few days after wasn’t bright either, restaurants started to closed mainly because they want to celebrate CNY and secondly because of the virus. So what did I do? I cooked! I managed myself to get back to the kitchen again #proud me! but I did what everybody else do which is stocked up some snacks! At that time it was still around 4-5 degree Celcius in Shanghai and quiet rainy so going out was kind of a hassle therefore snacks is definitely necessary!

Besides that we also need to equipped ourselves with mask, see my mask-volution 😉

However, with my new home, my stock of food, my mask and my laptop I think I’m ready for the situation. But…. one major issue that I still need to face is the IELTS test that I will take on 9th of February. On 27th January, I received the official news that they cancelled the IELTS test in China for the whole February and March but I need to do it in February therefore what should I do? I decided to fly back home and do the test in Indonesia. And yes, I am heading home the next day. It is indeed a very spontaneous decision.

Indonesian, my country mate, no need to worry, I declared myself as healthy because I did my self-quarantine for 14 days and I’m clean! Yeay!! Also thank you for my friends that texted me to make sure that I still alive (read: Eiman, Frida, Arana, Tabitha, Elle, Dennis, The Bejes- Revina, Erin, Marissa, Cecil, Memey) You guys can’t get rid of me yet 😉

How long will I be here? probably longer than I expected, my plan was no longer than 3 weeks but almost a month now and will still be here for another as the official cancelled flight to China until end of March.

I have a mix feeling, of course I am sad that I leave Shanghai unexpectedly but also gyms and restaurants are mostly closed until who knows when so I’m still glad that in here I can eat and still go out freely without anyone measuring my body temperature and so on.

Owh well, this is life I guess, we as the Player One of our live need to be ready to expect the unexpected.

Wish the very best for China to fight with this coronavirus, 中国加油!