Minioritas - Mayoritas

Aku sering baca perbandingan antara pemeluk agama minioritas di Indonesia dengan pemeluk agama minioritas di negara lain. Katanya pemeluk agama minioritas (Kristen, Katolik, Budha, Hindu) itu terlalu diistimewakan/dimanjakan di Indonesia yang mayoritas agamanya Islam. Padahal pemeluk agama Islam di negara yang mayoritas agama Kristen itu ngga seperti itu dan cenderung 'struggling'. Wait, perbandingan ini tuh ngga 'apple-to-apple'. 

Kita lihat dulu dasar negaranya. Negara Indonesia adalah negara yang beragama dan mengakui 5 agama besar. Sedangkan, misalnya Taiwan itu landasan negaranya tidak bawa-bawa agama dan mayoritas penduduknya juga tidak memiliki agama. Jadi kalau membandingkan agama minioritas yang diakui di Indonesia dengan agama minioritas yang tidak diakui di Taiwan, yaa itu ngga setara.

Pemeluk ke-lima agama di Indonesia mempunyai hak yang sama. Mereka berhak untuk beribadah di tempat ibadah dengan tenang. Maka dari itu negara pun meliburkan hari-hari besar agama tersebut. Ini semua wajar. Ngga ada yang mengistimewakan dan memanjakan.

Sedangkan di Taiwan, by default negara tidak perlu membangun rumah ibadah dan meliburkan hari raya agama. Dan memang, tidak ada hari libur agama satu pun di Taiwan. Tapi, di Taiwan ini ada beberapa rumah ibadah, termasuk Mesjid. Ini baru bisa dibilang mengistimewakan dan memanjakan orang yang beragama/minioritas. Dan misalnya di beberapa waktu umat Muslim struggling mencari tempat untuk solat atau mencari makanan halal di Taiwan, hal ini wajar.. kan lagi di negara yang tidak beragama, yaa pasti sulit. 

Kesimpulannya:

1. Jangan membandingkan negara yang mengakui agama minioritas dengan negara yang ngga mengakui agama minioritas. Kalau mau membandingkan, bandingkan kedua negara yang sama-sama mengakui agama minioritas, atau dua negara yang sama-sama ngga mengakui agama minioritas. Seperti US dan Taiwan, yang sama-sama ngga mengakui agama Islam. Bandingkan bagaimana perlakuan dan fasilitas untuk umat Muslim.

2. Kalau suatu negara tidak mengakui agama minioritas, adalah sikap yang wajar ketika ada perbedaan perlakuan dengan pemeluk agama mayoritas. Tapi, ketika negara tersebut mengakui agama minioritas juga, sudah seharusnya tidak ada perbedaan perlakuan.

Kesuksesan Tim

Dari sekian banyak organisasi dan kepanitiaan yang kamu ikuti, dari mana kamu tau atau merasa bahwa organisasi/kepanitiaan tersebut sukses? Bukan acaranya loh, tapi timnya. Yang dibahas disini organisasi/kepanitiaan non-profit. Jadi jelas, kita ngga bisa bicara tentang berhasilnya tim tersebut mendapatkan keuntungan sekian atau project bernilai sekian rupiah/dollar. Jadi kita harus punya cara evaluasi yang lain, dan setiap orang pasti punya versinya masing-masing. Menurutku ada 2 cara. Yang pertama, seberapa dekat orang-orang didalamnya setelah kepengurusan/acara tersebut dan yang kedua, seberapa besar/lama euphoria setelah kepengurusan/acara tersebut.

One thing for sure, there is no such thing as 'perfect' - let alone a 'perfect team'. Pastinya banyak tantangan-tantangan yang dihadapi dan setiap kepemimpinan punya style yang berbeda-beda. That is to say, each team is unique and non-comparable. Jadi walaupun disini aku membahas cara mengukur kesuksesan tim, hasil akhirnya itu bukan seberapa sukses, tapi hanya dua jawaban: sukses atau biasa aja. Menurutku, semua tim itu pasti berhasil melaksanakan kewajiban dan amanahnya, jadi at least mereka mencapai pada level standard, yaitu 'biasa aja'.

I'd like to believe that the success of a team relies on their teamwork. Kerja tim membutuhkan banyak komunikasi, pengertian, dan kesabaran. Komunikasi mungkin bisa hampir tiap hari/minggu, melaporkan, mendelegasikan, koordinasi, memastikan, dsb. Dengan intensitas yang sesering ini, pertemanan akan terjalin dengan sendirinya. Tiap orang di tim punya beban kerja nya masing-masing, not to mention, kesibukan lainnya, yang kadang tidak bisa dibayangkan. Disini tiap orang diharuskan untuk saling mengerti dan percaya bahwa mereka akan mengerjakan bagian kerjanya. Walaupun awalnya dipaksa untuk percaya, tapi perlahan kepercayaan itu nyata dan tumbuh dengan sendirinya dan semakin lama semakin kuat. Tiap orang di tim juga perlu bersabar dengan mengesampingkan ego pribadi dan memperjuangkan kepentingan bersama. Mereka belajar untuk menekan emosi dan berfikir hal-hal yang lebih penting. 

Dengan komunikasi yang intensif, kepercayaan yang perlahan tumbuh dan terbiasanya mengendalikan emosi, akan sulit untuk menghindari ikatan pertemanan yang dekat. Tapi kalau beberapa orang didalamnya ngga bisa berkomunikasi secara efektif, saling mengerti atau mengendalikan emosi, mereka ngga akan bisa kerja secara nyaman. Mungkin iya, mereka berhasil melaksanakan kewajibannya, seperti yang aku bilang diawal, tapi tidak akan adanya pertemanan dekat. 

Jadi, kalau setelah kepengurusan/acara mereka tetap atau semakin dekat, berarti bisa dipastikan mereka bisa dengan sukses kerja dalam tim, yang berarti organisasi/kepanitiaan tersebut sukses. Tapi apabila setelah kepengurusan/acara mereka malah ngga saling sapa atau jadi dingin, berarti mereka ngga bisa kerja bersama dalam tim, yang berarti organisasi/kepanitiaan tersebut mencapai standard 'biasa aja'.

Selain itu, bisa dilihat juga dari euphoria setelah kepengurusan/acara. Seberapa lama/besar euphoria yang mereka rasakan. Semakin lama/besar euphoria tersebut, semakin besar rasa saling memiliki dan pastinya semakin besar rasa kepercayaan yang ada diantara mereka. Seperti yang aku sebutkan diatas, kepercayaan menjadi salah satu dasar dari suksesnya kerja tim. Jadi kalau ada organisasi/kepanitiaan yang merasakan kebahagiaan euphoria yang cukup lama - ini relatif, tapi menurutku lebih dari 2 hari termasuk yang lama - berarti kerja timnya dan organisasi/kepanitiaan tersebut sukses. Kalau euphoria-nya lebih sebentar dari itu, berarti kerja timnya dan organisasi/kepanitiaan tersebut biasa aja.

Sekian.

Just my two cents.

Home

Most people would say "home is where the heart is".
But for Third Culture Kid (TCK), "home is everywhere and nowhere" - Ruth Van Reken, 2004

Some of you may have heard about TCK, but if you haven't I'll explain it briefly and you can read more about it from wikipedia (click here) or other sources.

Based on Wikipedia, 

"Third culture kid (TCK) is a term used to refer to children who were raised in a culture outside of their parents’ culture for a significant part of their development years. The experience of being a TCK is unique in that these individuals are moving between cultures before they have had the opportunity to fully develop their personal and cultural identity."

And yes, I'm one of TCK. I may not be as extreme as others who spent their childhood in more than three countries and their parents have different nationalities, but I experience the same feeling as most TCK do. And home is one of TCK's challenges.

"Home is everywhere and nowhere"

That is so TRUE!

Each places that I've lived in has special places in my life and heart. I feel that I belong to those places - all at once - because there were some bonds that we shared. Those places were my witness of all my best and worst times. No place can be replaced by the other.

At the same time, I feel rootless. Though I may have my nationality, but somehow I don't fit in perfectly there - nor anywhere that I've lived in. In fact, I could never perfectly fit in anywhere, as I didn't stay long enough to adopt all their attitudes, behaviors and languages.

So it's kinda in between.

I feel home wherever I go to Indonesia, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

I can't never decide which one is my first, second, third and fourth home.

These four will always be my home.

-Source: Google (the first two), my own (the last two) 

Dear Men..

Dear Men,
If you're not gonna stay, please don't make us happy..
If you're not gonna catch us, please don't make us fall..

Dear Men,
Please understand that women are sensitive..
Every little things you say, we'll remember..
and every little things you do, we'll expect it to happen again..

Dear Men,
Please don't leave us out of the blue..
Cut the drama and be transparent..
Tell us if you're interested or staying, so we know what to expect..

Dear Men,
Please spare us the heartache..
If you're not interested nor staying, just say it and leave..
It's so much better for us to know the bitter truth than to expect based on pretenses..

Dear Men,
Our heart has been broken and healed so many times..
So please don't underestimate us by saying that we cannot handle the truth..


Sincerely,
Women

Upside Down House Exhibition

 

I know it's only turning the furniture upside down and glued in to the wall. Some may think it's not worth the wait (queue) and money. But for some, it is an opportunity to get a fun picture. For me, it's another way to refresh my mind and take a break from research :))

The house was filled up by so many people, so for some spot, we couldn't get a clear and great photos. But the good thing about this exhibition are: they controlled the amount of people inside the house (1), they prepared a place for people to queue, so we can take photos without other people in it (2), there is no time limit, so people can take as many picture and as long as they like (3), once we moved to another room, we cannot go back to the previous ones, so we will not bump into each other (4).

What is love?

Is it when you feel a connection with someone?

... when you feel a whole and complete just by being together..

... when context matter less than moment..

... and when every moment has it own space in your heart..

Is it when you can't stop thinking about that person?

... when only that person stays on your mind and heart, although there are millions of others..

... when having a lot of admirer means nothing to you if you can't get that person's attention..

... and when everyday, you wish that person nothing but happiness..

Is it when you stop searching?

... when any other woman/men doesn't appeal to you as much as it used to..

... when you can't think of anyone else that's better than him/her..

... and when you're not interested in going on a date with someone new..

Is it when you put 'us' or 'him/her' before 'me'?

... when quality means so much more than quantity..

... when you're patiently waiting for the time being with him/her..

... and when you're willing to sacrifice your own happiness for him/her..

Conan Exhibition

CONAN!

I was super excited to go to the exhibition. Although I need to queue for about one hour, but it was worth it!

After the entrance, there was a wall full of all Conan comic series. 

Then, there was a pop-up picture of all characters in Conan complete with its descriptions, as shown below..

Before entrance, each visitor get one puzzle book and pencil. Visitor are required to solve the murder (the puzzle) inside the exhibition. Since the puzzle and instructions are all in Chinese, I didn't took any pictures. I tried to solve it using Google translate from my phone and a little logic to put it all together. Then, if we can solve it, we get the certification as shown below (the white paper in the middle). The right one is the stamp book that we can buy together with the entrance ticket. There is one free sticker (right one) inside the stamp book.

After solving the puzzle, there are lots and lots of photos, drawings and paintings on Conan. Lastly, there is a figure of Sinichi Kudo and Ran.