Europe in a glimpse

Westminster Abbey, London

When The Jakarta Post asked me to write an article about cities of Europe, I got a little nervous. While Paris, London and Berlin are cities that I have visited and love, I have never been to Italy, nor have I been to Austria and Switzerland.

After some research and thanks to my lovely friends Folke Kayser, Marleen Paeschke and my lovely cousin Renate Heru Utomo, I managed to put together a long article on lovely cities of Europe.

The short version of the article – there is only space for 800 words – will be published in The Jakarta Post (www.thejakartapost.com) on 8th June 2011. At the same time I will publish the full article on this blog. I hope this is useful for the reader.

along River Seine, Paris

A BIG THANK YOU TO RIVERSIDE

Thank you Riverside, for prohibiting the residents to store bicycles
     We now can drive our big engined cars to city centre in five minutes and polluting the Earth at the same time

Thank you Riverside for refusing to install secure bicycle storages
     Those who still stubbornly own bicycles can have extra exercise carrying them up to the second floor on small staircases. Hurrah, let’s ignore health and safety!

Thank you Riverside for butchering the beautiful lavender bushes along with the bird nests and baby birds in it
     For months and months, we enjoyed watching the homeless birds and dying chicks.

Thank you Riverside for leaving the soil on the flower beds empty and full of weeds
     For eight months, the front of our flats looked bare and deserted

Thank you very much Riverside, for prohibiting residents to plant beautiful organic vegetables on your deserted flower bed
     We enjoy your threat that you are going to kill our onions, beetroots, carrots and gooseberries and we love your anti-organic lifestyle

Thank you Riverside, for your “Environmental Policy” that is as good as a big fat lie (http://www.riverside.org.uk/corporate/about_us/corporate_information/policies/environmental_policy.aspx)
     Thank you for reminding us that companies tell bare faced lies, just as evil as corrupt politicians

Thank you ever so much Riverside, for refusing to speak to residents who are non-flat-owners
     You showed us that people who have no money to own a flat are second-class people and not worth listening to

Most of all, thank you so much Riverside for reminding us that evil, tyranny and oppression do not exclusively belong to third world dictators
     Thank you for the reminder that company with big money will triumph while people – especially those who cannot afford to buy your expensive flats – will always lose and suffer

Thank you Riverside. May Mother Earth bless you, your snobbish staff and your big environmentally unfriendly business

Riverside the murderer

Our building management Riverside is going to murder these lovely organic vegetables - in the name of power and capitalism.

They murdered lavender bushes and all the bird nests here before. Worse of all, Riverside personnel refused to talk to non-owners. It means that people who are not rich enough to OWN a flat witin their management are considered to be non-human and not worth talking to.

Award for Kindness

A photograph on facebook struck me. I saw it on the wall of my old friend from high school – we went to junior high school together over 20 years ago. The picture was his son with the teacher, holding a school award that written, “Certificate of Achievement for Caring/Kindness”

I commented on this, congratulating the boy and his parents who raised such a kind-hearted boy. What a very good idea from the teacher and the school. Instead of a gold star for every excellent work in homework, academic achievements or sports, they award children who do good deeds.

If only every school in the world give awards for kindness and good deeds. If then employers continue this tradition: using kindness as a measurement of achievement. Imagine a supervision session, or an appraisal at an office. The boss asked, “What good deed have you done in the past six months? How many times today have you made a customer smile?”

Imagine then all bonuses are based not on how much profit you made, but on how much you make a difference, on how many people’s lives became better because of your work. Imagine banks giving out their annual bonuses not to those who successfully gained huge accounts from the rich, but to employees who managed to support small businesses and help them thrive.

Imagine if politicians are competing against each other not to gain vote and a seat in the posh Parliament, but on how many small communities they made better off. Imagine that act of kindness and good deeds are considered the most profitable and beneficial for all. Passers-by would queue to buy a sandwich for a homeless person, and shopkeepers will smile beautifully while tending their happy customers.
I once asked for the manager in a small supermarket near my office. The manager looked like he was bracing for a complaint. I said to him, “Can I vote for your branch to be the best branch? I think you have an excellent team. Your staffs are friendly and very helpful. I think they all deserve a good bonus.” The surprised look on his face was funny and wonderful at the same time. I wish we have the courage to voice our commendation as often as – or even more often than – our complaints.

Back to my friend’s son with his achievement in kindness. If only we all learn from this tradition, schools give out gold stars for the good deeds their pupils do. Then when the pupils grow up as bosses, they will decide on bonuses based on kindness. Then because banks give out loans to people who wanted to make a difference, these clients will not have the heart to run away with the loan. Maybe if we share more kindness…. Then maybe, just maybe… We do not need to fight each other and be miserable.

Thank you Chris Peddijanto and his father Jeffry for reminding all their friends on facebook on the value of kindness.

Bruno the Dog

He was not my dog. Bruno was my dad’s dog, long time ago, in late 1930s when my dad was a young boy. I know Bruno from my dad’s bed time stories. Stories that he told me long time ago, when I was a very young girl.

My dad was born in a tiny island of Saparua, in the East of Indonesia. He lived in the old Dutch Fort Dursteede, overlooking the gorgeous blue sea and white sand beach. This is where the story started.

Growing up in the midst of nature’s wonder, my dad’s childhood was spent most of the time running around from home to the sea, swimming, diving, and fishing. His dog Bruno came along with him wherever he went. As my dad went free diving for pearls or just swimming around with his friends, Bruno the dog played in the water, jumping and running happily.

Bruno was not always happy and friendly though. According to my dad, he could be rather scary and intimidating to naughty kids and bullies. My dad had a special bond with Bruno, as if Bruno could read his mind. In fact, my dad has always had special relationships with animals and Mother Nature. Later in his life as an air crash investigator, he encountered a monkey that saved his life. He passed this belief to me that sometime, strange as it may sound, creatures big and small could be representing our guardian angels.

My dad never likes bullies and oppressors. So did Bruno the dog. In dad's childhood adventures, Bruno was his little sidekick. One day, naughty boys teased and bullied a sweet little girl called Sintje – she was my dad’s childhood sweetheart. My dad got into a fight, and Bruno joined in. Bruno did not bite. As my dad – my hero – scared off the bullies, Bruno growled and barked and the bullies ran away.

The best part of my dad’s bedtime story is this: Bruno chased the naughty boys, and as they ran, they fell face-down into a pile dog poo. Bruno saved the day.

I cannot remember the details, nor can I verify these bedtime stories, but I remember the laughter that my dad caused. I never know Bruno the dog, but I am glad that he filled my childhood with bed time stories that taught me about how bad people will always learn a hard lesson while the good will have the last laugh.