Travel #3: City Kids Down To a Village in Purwodadi - Anak Kota Turun Ke Desa di Purwodadi (Eng-Ina)

Having fun in the nice place for holidays is normal, but to take them to uncomfortable place is very different. This time, I took my kids to a village named Kedung Rejo, Grobogan District, Mid Java. It's a very hot place, no hotels, traditional toilet, difficult to get clean water, very hot dishes, and different culture. But, I want my kids to see the world from all over. They need to know that this world is totally different from the movie.

Membawa anak-anak liburan ke tempat yang enak tentunya sudah biasa. Kali ini saya membawa mereka ke tempat yang jauh dari kata nyama. Sekitar setahun lalu, saya membawa anak-anak pergi ke sebuah desa bernama Kedung Rejo, di kabupaten Grobogan, Jawa Tengah. Tempat ini sangat panas dengan makanan yang semuanya serba terlalu pedas, tidak ada penginapan, kamar mandi kampung, susah dapat air bersih, dan budaya yang berbeda. Namun, saya ingin anak-anak saya melihat dunia dari semua sisi. Mereka harus tahu bahwa dunia ini jauh berbeda dengan yang mereka tonton di televisi.

We took night bus from Bandung, West Java to Purwodadi. It took around 12 hours to arrive in the city, and we need to hired local transportation to get into the village for about another half an hour. We arrived early in the morning, we want to make sure that we met the farmers who used to go to their farms around 5am -6am in the morning.

Kami naik bus malam dari Bandung ke Purwodadi. Butuh waktu sekitar 12 jam untuk tiba di kota, dan kami harus menyewa lagi angkot untuk mengantar hingga ke desa sekitar setengah jam lagi. Kami tiba pagi sekali, mau memastikan bisa berjumpa dengan para petani yang hendak beraangkat ke sawah sekitar jam 5-6 pagi.

I thought my kids will feel uncomfortable with the bus and local transportation. It was so much different than the airplane and the cars they used to take for holidays. But, actually, they really enjoyed it! The first experience and perhaps it felt like a new adventure for them.

Tadinya saya pikir anak-anak akan merasa tidak nyaman dengan bus dan angkot. Soalnya, memang beda banget dengan pesawat atau mobil yang biasa kami gunakan untuk berlibur. Tahunya, mereka senang banget, tuh! Pengalaman pertama yang menantang barangkali.

When we arrived, a little accident happened. The kids did not want to get out from the local transportation. It was not because they felt comfortable but they saw a lot of chickens nearby! They were scared and screaming like they saw a ghost or something. Hahaha....

Setibanya di sana, sebuah insiden kecil terjadi. Anak-anak tidak mau turun dari angkot. Bukan karena mereka terrlalu nyaman, tapi karena mereka melihat banyak ayam di sekitar! Mereka ketakutan dan teriak seperti melihat hantu saja. Hahaha....

So, I had to comfort them for awhile and tried to be brave. Brave mom are not affraid of chicken, isn't it? It was only chicken! I am affraid as well. Hahaha....

Jadi sayapun harus menenangkan mereka dan mencoba berani. Ibu yang berani masa takut sama ayam doang?! Cuma ayam! Tapi, saya juga takut! Hahaha....

Lucky us, we got help from the driver of that local transporation. He drove away those chickens far away until we all were safe to get out. Pfffiuuuhhh! It was a big relief though.

Untung kami dibantu sopir angotnya. Dia mengusir ayam-ayam itu sampai kami turun dengan selamat. Duh leganya! Benar deh, lega banget!

Then my kids rushed to the street. They really wanted to meet the local and traditional farmers. They said hi and thank you to every farmers they met. It was funny, those farmers were confused. Perhaps, none ever did that to them, especially kids from the city. Or maybe they did not understand the languange. Most of them could not speak Indonesian while my children knew nothing about Javanese language.

Lalu anak-anak bergegas ke jalan. Mereka sangat ingin berjumpa petani lokal yang masih tradisional. Mereka menyapa dan berterima kasih kepada setiap petani yang lewat. Lucu, para petani itu kebingungan. Mungkin tidak ada yang pernah berterima kasih kepada mereka sebelumnya, apalagi anak kota. Atau mungkin karena mereka tidak mengerti bahasanya. Kebanyakan masih tidak bisa bahasa Indonesia, dan anak-anak saya mana paham bahasa Jawa?.

After that, I took them to my friend's house over there. He had some goats in his backyad. My kids were willing to see those goats, feed them, and even ready to clean them up. They already prepare all the "important things" they need, such as shampoo, soap, and perfumes for those goats.

Setelah itu, saya bawa mereka kee rumah seorang kawan di sana. Dia punya beberapa ekor kambing di halaman belakang rumahnya. Anak-anak ingin melihat, memberi makan, dan memandikan kambing-kambing itu. Semua peralatan penting disiapkan, seperti sabun, shampo, dan minyak wangi untuk kambing. Mereka pikir, kambing sama seperti kucing kali, ya?

When they looked at those goats, they stopped. They did not even dare to get close. It took a few minutes for them to collect their guts and ready to get into the cage. Very slowly they moved forward, and touched those goats. About cleaning them up? No doubt, they cancelled it.

Waktu mereka melihat kambing itu, mereka berhenti. Mereka tidak berani mendekat. Butuh waktu sebentar untuk mengumpulkan keberanian dan masuk ke kandang. Pelan-pelan mereka mendekat dan mau menyentuh. Mandiin? Sudah pasti nggak jadi!

In front of those goat's cage, there was a Balinese lemon tree. The lemon were so huge, even bigger than my children's head. My children loved it, and they climbed the tree. They picked up some lemon and tasted it. It was fresh, sweet, and juicy. Yummy!

Di depan kandang ada pohon jeruk Bali. Jeruknya besar-besar, lebih besar dari kepala anak saya. Mereka senang sekali dan memanjat pohon. Mereka memetik beberapa buah dan mencicipinya. Segar, manis, dan banyak airnya. Enak!

After that, I took them to walk along the village. It was not big, but very hot. The people were not aware of keeping the garbage in the garbage bin. They threw away everything everywhere. It looked dirty, especially with chickens and other animals who run here and there. Their poo were disgusting!

Setelah puas, saya mengajak mereka jalan-jalan keliling desa. Tidak besar, tapi panasnya minta ampun! Orang-orang juga sepertinya masih jorok, buang sampah sembarangan. Kelihatan kotor jadinya, apalagi ada banyak ayam dan binatang lain berkeliaran. Kotorannya itu menjijikkan!

We stopped at one farmer house. She was old and alone. Living in a small, dark, uncomfortable house. She was collecting some rice from the field, and picked up the good one, and threw away the bad one. She looked very poor, but she was happy. My children asked her so many questions just like journalists, while I had to translate for both sides.

Kami berhenti di sebuah rumah milik petani. Dia sudah tua dan sendirian. Tinggal di rumah kecil, gelap, sangat tidak nyaman. Dia sedang mengumpulkan beras dan memisahkan dari yang buruk. Dia nampak miskin tetapi bahagia. Anak-anak bertanya segala macam bak wartawan, sementara saya sibuk jadi penerjemah bagi kedua pihak.

This village is not a place for comfortable tourism, it is a place for my children to learn about real life. Working hard without knowledges, experiences, and proper educations will not help them too much. They also learn to see that there are people who still happy and enjoy their life even when they have nothing compare to what we have in the city. I hope, one day, they will find away to help others, people in the villages to get a better life and living. By having this experience, I do really hope, their heart and mind are opened up.

Desa ini bukan tempat yang nyaman untuk berlibur, tempat ini untuk anak-anak saya belajar kehidupan nyata. Kerja keras tapa pengetahuan, pengalaman, dan pendidikan layak tidak akan membantu banyak. Mereka juha bisa belajar bagaimana orang bisa tetap bahagia walaupun tidak punya apa-apa. Saya harap, ketika mereka besar nanti, mereka bisa membantu orang desa agar dapat memiliki kehidupan yang lebih baik. Dengan pengalaman seperti ini, saya benar-benar ingin agar hati dan pikiran mereka terbuka.

Thank you and I hope you all enjoy my story.

Terima kasih dan semoga bermanfaat.

Bandung, 16 Oktober 2017

Regards - Salam hangat

Mariska Lubis

Note: I wrote this journey with another story in my personal blog. Saya menuliskan perjalanan ini dengan cerita yang lain di blog pribadi saya. https://bilikml.wordpress.com/2016/06/19/anak-kota-anak-desa-anak-anakku-tersayang/#more-3017