Episodes of The Chocolate Lover by Ria Tumimomor (cool books to read .txt) 📕

on checking it for almost an hour. They want to make sure the handphone still in good condition before they agree to buy it. I think is incredible that it did not went off like it used to be… Still sad to think about it.... (yeah, I know…ridiculous…)

FIRST TIMER

All my life I only has been in abroad twice… The first time was in Singapore and the second time ages after that was in Korea.

Since I have spending too much time in my own country, I seriously have no idea about living in another country. How they behave, or what kind of food that they eat daily, and anything like that…

When I was arriving in Singapore I was surprised to find that there is such thing as Chinese Tea… (oh dear… Now you must have given a big loud sigh). I was annoyed that every times I ordered to have tea, they always served me tea with milk! Come to think of it, why should I be annoyed? I should have just enjoyed because going to another place meaning to try something new, right? Well, not really…at that time… One of many things that I remember when we went to the restaurant that only serves Chinese tea and like an idiot I asked for sugar. The waitress looked at me as if I come from other planet and said shortly, “ Miss, that is a Chinese tea so no sugar needed…” And I looked back at her with disbelief look. I remembered complained that to my Mother, saying that tea feel so bitter. And it turn out, nowadays I enjoyed just fine…Chinese Tea, Japanese Tea, Korean Tea… all without sugar… Sighed…


Meal was another problem for us at first. Because names for several meals are the same with meals in Indonesia, I just assume the meal will exactly look the same, the taste will also not going to be the same… Which was of course not… All our imagination were completely crushed when the meal arrived and we ate in disappointment. Sometimes we lied to the owner saying that we already full and that’s why we were unable to finish the meal. But the actual reason, we dislike the taste but did not have the heart to tell it to them. I meant, well it was our fault thinking that everything would be the same like at home.


I also surprised that there are breakfast menu in Mc D. If we went there early in the morning, then they would not serve anything else beside the breakfast menu. Should I continue this tacky behavior of mine?

Additionally, I remembered my friend said that she and her family brought chilly sauces whenever they went on a trip out of our country. I thought she was being ridiculous. And yeah she was not being exaggerated. The taste of the chilly is so much different… I could not describe it because I dislike it very much. And yet, I managed to survive without chilly whenever we went out for a meal.

Another time, I ran out of tissue and looking around for street vendors… Thinking that they are there just like in Jakarta… Of course I could not find any and sighing I have to go to the mall and look for department store to buy a big pack of tissue… I learned that I have to remember bring anything that I might need before strolling around the city. I could not expect that there will street vendors or single sellers walking around offering their merchandise.

Of course I do realize now that the point of traveling is to find something new and just enjoy it… If you do not like it, then write it down why you do not like it and what is your expectation? And if we do not like surprises but due to our job we have to go abroad…then it will not kill us if we find information on the internet what we will face on the spot.

Last but not least, please do not ever expect that everything will be the same just like home… There are no such things!

I WANNA BE

What is the standard of being beautiful? Do we all have the same standard all every person have their own?

In South East Asian countries whereas the people usually have darker or tanned skin, having a lighter glowing skin are really to die for. Just take example from adds on local tv station here in Indonesia. The tag line were sort of saying : IF YOU ARE NOT YOUNG LOOKING WITH WHITE SKIN AND HAVE NO LONG SOFT GORGEOUS HAIR THEN NO MEN WOULD WANT TO DATE YOU.
Or
IF YOU LOOK DARK, OLD, TIRED, THEN YOUR HUSBAND WILL TURN TO ANOTHER WOMEN.


I still remember a former class mate of mine in the university. She is actually Chinese descendant however she has tan skin. And she lives in East Java for a long time and speaks with local accent. Obviously we thought she is an indigenous and surprise to find that she is not. She was probably tried to say that she is actually Chinese and when there was this add about whitening lotion she quickly bought it. I have no idea about that until one day she asked me whether she look brighter than usual. Sensing that she must be using a beauty product and need to know the result, I quickly lied and said yes. That was when she told me she has been using the whitening product and glad it has worked out for her. I really speechless because I was wondering whether she was embarrassed being known as a native Indonesian or she simply want her skin to become lighter than before. Of course none of us really buying that add. If the add probably emphasized that by using their product our skin will be healthier and we will look radiant…then probably we are going to buy it. But to change our dark skin into light smooth like Chinese or Korean or Japanese…, come on? Do you think we are really that idiot?


My friend and I once offered to buy cosmetic made from ginseng in Korea. Saying that is the secret recipe of Korean women for being beautiful. My friend and I both sniggered and whispering to each other, that we are sure Korean women look like that because it is in their genes. And yeah, if we take that ginseng powder ever since we are little…then healthy skin surely is something that we are going to get. But not changing the color of our skin…, right?


If most of us Indonesian are dying to have skin like people in the East Asian countries, then as far as I know people in Japan are dying to have tan skin. Sighed. You know, if I am God who created human I will surely have a headache. I read that they are going to beauty parlor to get their skin tanned regularly from time to time. I also read that women from East Asian countries dying to have eyelids and therefore most of them have plastic surgery to get that. I saw it myself when I was in high school. Two of my classmate went to have plastic surgery to have eyelids. One becoming more gorgeous…the other…well…nothing really changed…IMHO.


I could go on and making a list about what women in other countries wants. If you read EMBROIDERY by Marjane Satrapi then you will know what Iranian women want to make them more beautiful and not hesitate to get plastic surgery to get it. But, you get what I mean… Sometimes, we just let the dissatisfaction rule our life and we just never have enough with everything we have.


We can have every plastic surgery to boost our confidence but (like I also keep on reminding myself) if we feel confidence about ourselves then we could look attractive for others… Of course for me there is nothing wrong to find something to make us look beautiful. Just hopefully we all can be reasonable… And not forget to have our inner beauty glowing…

INITIATION PROCESS AKA HAZING

When I was a lot younger, I love corresponding and collecting stamps. Postal office often published a complete series of lovely stamps which were cool for collection. So, there I was with my mother asking one of the staff to provide me with the stamps. The staff seems a new guy as I have never seen him before. He seems agitated and nervous especially seeing me (a high school kid) looking at him as if he was a total moron. My Mom nudged me then she whispered that I need to be patient. After that guy went to the other room in that post office to get my stamps, my Mom told me that I should not be impatient with him.

“But why?” I asked my Mom not satisfied. “He works here in the post office …he should have known whatever I ask about…”


My Mom looking at the other staffs behind the counter,” Pay more attention… Look…, that gentleman usually the one who helped you, right? Now, he and the others seem to let that new guy to handle the entire requests… The senior staffs always do that to the new recruits… They love watching the newbie get snapped by the customers…”


I started to look more closely. Yeah, my Mom was right. Those people who just sit there were usually the one who handle my stamps order. Now, they were smirking at each other looking at the newbie sweat with me…a school girl. Who asked a lot of stamps series which he has no clue about? After a while, the new guy brought all the stamps series that I have asked…and looked so relieved when I bought them all. A month later, there was no trace of nervousness in that new staff. He looked calm listening to all my requests and spent few minutes only.


Starting from school until we entered working place, there unofficial thing called the initiation or if escalated into something worst, we know them as hazing process.

I remembered when I entered Junior and Senior High School up to the university. We have to bring vegetables in ridiculous form (like you have to bring a couple of bananas no longer than 35 centimeters or something crazy like that). We have to do whatever our senior told us to do. One time they told us to bring any kind of chocolates and they assure us that the chocolate will be eaten by all of us. It turn out they put all the chocolates under the blazing sun so all of them were melted. After that they told us to put blinds covering our eyes then we have to give the chocolate to each other. You can imagine what a mess all our faces were…covered with melted chocolates.

In the university, the initiation taken in two places, in the university’s building and previously we all have to go camping. Lots of newbie begged their parents to send sick letters to the university so they do not have to go. That was my first and last experience on camping, because…well…I am just not a camping-type of person. We have to get up early in the morning, joined the morning exercises. But the most torturing moment was the water so terribly dirty. Even though I took shower every after noon with my friends, I still got rash all over my body after finished that crazy camping trip.