I Am Back

Wow.. it's been too long since the last time I wrote here. Too busy? Probably. Nothing really important to write about is probably the reason why.
Anyway, life has been usual. A couple of events did happen, though;

- Summer seemed to fly, and fly fast. Paul, Pilot, and I stayed in Madison, WI for 10 weeks. I taught Javanese on the first semester of SEASSI and Indonesian on the second. After SEASSI, we went to visit Brian, Kitty, Sabrina, and Liam in Hudsonville, MI. We stayed in their big and beautiful house for 2 nights. Sabrina and Liam were cute and fun to play with. From Hudsonville, we drove to Pike Lake.We stayed in a cabin there for 4 nights. With Paul's parents and our nieces and nephew I attended Royse reunion in Greenfield, OH. As always, there was a lot of people, about 150 this year, and food. Also, I went hiking up the hills that surround Lake Pike.

- In about late September I was recruited by ACTFL to become a Javanese oral interview proficiency tester. In doing so, I have to attend two training workshops. The first one was on the first week of November. The second one will be next week. I enjoyed the first workshop a lot. It was a four-day event in White Plains, New York. They bought me a round trip Acela ticket and reserved a room in Crowne Plaza Hotel. The sessions were held in the same hotel. They started at 9 am and finished at 5 pm, except for the last day, which was at 3 pm. Breakfast and lunch were provided by ACTFL at the hotel restaurant. There was so good food and plenty of it that I did not have to eat dinner. It also felt good to be like a student again. I was a diligent one this time. I read all the reading assingments; made notes, participated actively in the discussion. Another great thing was that i had the chance to meet and to work with the other participants. They are originally from different countries and, thus, speak different languages. It is so fascinating. I do hope next week I will learn more and have as much fun.

- On Dec. 15, 2012 I am flying to Jakarta via Turkey and Singapore. The last time I visited my family in Indonesia was in Dec. 2005 - Jan. 2006. I am very excited about this coming trip. I will have about 6 hour stop over in Istambul. I plan to venture out the airport to Sultan Ahmed Plaza. Hopefully, the visa does not cost too much. I have sent messages to some of my friends from ES, high school, and college in Indonesia. We plan to have reunions.

Lapor Diri

Sawijining dina ing KBRI Washington, DC. Mas Hari pegawai teladan KBRI bagian konsuler.

Nona: Sugeng enjang, mas Hari.
Hari: Sugeng enjang, mbak Nona. Wonten perlu menapa?
Nona: Menika, Mas, badhe lapor dhiri.
Hari: O, mekaten. Formulir Data Dirinipun sampun dipunisi?
Nona: Sampun. Menika, Mas.