Foodies Doodies

Hi guys!

Well it's 00:33 am in the morning but I don't quite feel like sleeping, probably because I literally slept all day today. Yes it's holiday time already! I received my report card and I'm quite satisfied with my score, alhamdulillah :) I'll have days off until 9th of January so I have plenty of time! Don't have any plan yet so feel free to hit me up!

So what I'm going to write on my page today (tonight?) is......food! Lol yeah I'm going to write all-about the food that I miss in America and how I overcome that in my lovely homeland.

It's always been one of the common question in my exchange-student's life; either people in my host community ask about what do I eat in Indonesia or people in Indonesia ask how I eat in America. For the first question mostly I would just say Indonesian eat a lot of rice. My host family happened to love trying new food so yeah I cooked them some Indonesian food. Of course, with adjusted taste and recipe. So in a year, I managed to cook 'em soto ayam, nasi goreng, bihun goreng, gado-gado, tempe mendoan, perkedel jagung, kerupuk udang, kerupuk bawang aaand kerupuk ikan :D

My host family they love to cook and to eat (well we all most do right) but it's true that we have tons of food at home because my host mom likes to stock on stuff...so we never run out of anything. well, rarely :p but yeah the food is quite different from us. My host mom always cooks for dinner, we usually would have whether Italian (pasta of many different kind; ravioli, spaghetti, lasagna, manicotti, farfalle mostly with tomato based sauce or pesto) Mexican (burritos(!!), quesadilla, chili) Asian (noodle with peanut sauce, thai curry, stir-fry, tofu, spring roll, couscous) American (home made burger, grilled cheese, omelettes, grilled chicken, pizza(?)) Indian (curry, lentils with lots and lots of condiments) always accompanied by a yummy bowl of fresh garden salad (we had a chef salad for dinner one day it was daaamn good) with vinegar/ranch/russian/goddess dressing, my mom's famous homemade bread (or sometimes replaced with challah, jewish bread for shabbat night). And sometimes Jewish food during holiday times like charoset, challah, gilte fish, latkes, matzos, hamantashen, kugel(!!), etc etc. 

Because my mom cooks a lot, we always have leftover for the next day that my host sisters would usually bring as lunch to school (me sometimes :p) but besides we always have something to eat. like, always :) love you mom :* (reminds me of how often she went grocery shopping)

I've been missing some american food since I came back home! This is a list of food I miss the most (but I manage to fulfill it, thank God I live in Jakarta) :

1. Granola!

For God's sake I miss granola sooo bad! At first I really dislike it; I thought its texture was weird and way way too sweet. But the fact is...I love granola. I haven't found any decent granola anywhere so far but I did find granola bars :') exactly the one I always ate in the US. Nature Valley crunchy granola bar (still looking for the chewy ones!) Got it at Food Hall for about $6 for 6.

2. PB&J sandwich

I was pretty disappointed when I bought Jif peanut butter at Carrefour (it wasn't cheap!) it didn't taste like the one I used to eat. Then I saw the ingredients...that's why. The peanut butter that I love is the one that only has peanut and oil in the ingredients..so yummy. For the jelly, naah just used regular fruit jam, they're just as good :)

3. Salad!

Uh-oh. Salad! I found perfect salad at Food Hall (again!) with a lot of dressing choices (honey mustard until vinaigrette). Tamani has decent caesar salad, too. I miss light vinegar dressing so bad so when I found Hellmann's light vinaigrette dressing I instantly bought it. I ate only apple, cucumber, and lettuce salad for a while. Recipe : take half an apple, cut into cubes. a cup of lettuce (but lately I don't use it again, dislike Indonesian lettuce), shredded. Half a cucumber, cubed. 2 tablespoons of dressing (14 calories!), mix well. then add cheddar cheese, either grated or cubed. mix well. (raisins and/or wonton strips goes well with them too). Refrigerate for 10 mins before serving. Enjoy :)

4. Apple pie!!

I am extremely fond of pies. Apple, pumpkin, pecan, name it. But mostly is apple! Love it love it. I made it once (with help, of course) and it turned so yummy! Apple pie and vanilla ice cream is sooo American. I haven't found any ready-to-use pie crust (I'm sure Jakarta has it somewhere) so I just baked some apples instead! Taste just like the filling. Recipe : take an apple, remove the core then cut into thin slices. Put in a bowl. Pour some cinnamon powder (around a teaspoon) mix well until apple slices well-coated. sprinkle some sugar. place alumunium foil on the pan. preheat oven to 170-ish. put it in for about 15-20 mins. enjoy your warm juicy baked apple!

5. Frozen bananas and grapes.

One of my favorite snack. Just peeled the bananas, cut into two. put into freezer. grapes; just put into freezer.

6. Cookies

I baked chocolate chip cookies and it tasted just yumm :) for christmas I baked gingerbread cookies and oatmeal raisin along with American YES students in Indonesia; Amy Andrew and Nathan. Was a lot of fun :) :) find the recipe online!

7. Grilled cheese sandwich

Obviously one of the easiest lunch choice. I miss grilled cheese with tomato soup! I made some grilled cheese lately. Sooo easy. Just take two slices of bread, smear it with butter. every side. then put a slice of cheddar cheese (or any cheese) in the middle. put in an oven 170 for about 15 minutes.

8. Pretzels :(

So pretzel is officially my favorite snack of all time. The small baked one not the hot pretzel in NYC's side street (well they are also good actually). Haven't found it anywhere, but I just bought Snyder's of Hanover pretzel pieces honey mustard and onion flavor..was so good. Can't recall where to find Auntie Anne's besides Taman Anggrek. Anyone?

Pheww!

Well, yeah, in short, I miss American food :( but well I guess I just have to be more creative to find any way to taste it again! :)

P.S : If anyone ever wonder how big is the portion of food in typical American restaurant, please try Chili's (Sarinah building). Enjoy! :D

bye for now, hope I didn't make you hungry reading this!

Cheers,

Nadia

Moving On

it takes courage
it takes strength
it takes true will
and it takes............time.

It's been a long four years since I met you.
I've never been in love before.
Yet, I might. But not the same like what I had with you.

You actually gave me butterflies.

You gave me pink blushes on my cheeks.

You made me secretly smile behind my book.

You made me doodling your name in every little spot in my notes.

You made me giggle like a little girl.

You made me spend more time in front of the mirror making sure my hair looks right.

You made me smile more than anyone ever did.

You made me whisper your name in my prayer.

You made me check my phone every few seconds, hoping for some updates :)

You made me feel so........alive.

Don't forget on how you made me cry.

How you made me shedding tears.

How you made me hate you.

How you made me feel so miserable.

How you trapped me to love you.

How you made me realize, none of those

was ever your fault.

We never had anything really.

We didn't talk. We didn't text. We didn't hang. We did nothing. We had nothing.

If we ever had anything....that probably only exists in my head.

But there is something that I keep from days to days.
From years to years.
Something special that always makes a smile drawn in my face.

I miss you.
I don't miss you everyday. Honestly, not even every weeks.
I admit that when I'm busy I don't remember you.
I don't actually think about you all the time.
I don't actually dream of you every night.
Just from time to time I knoe it's still there.

Yet I know you never think of me either.
Which is fine, since we never had anything, right? :)
We were just friends.
We were just classmates.
We were just acquaintance.

But you're more than that inside my heart.

You were special.

............And you still are :)

I've been trying to remove you.
I don't know why is it so hard.

Is it possible to love you when we're not even close?

It's been a long four years. And in three years, we haven't seen each other.

I have enough. I have waited too long. I've been crying too much. I've been wondering so much things that never gonna happen. I gotta move on.

It's gonna be tough.
It's gonna be hard.
It's gonna be painful.
But I assume, it'll be worth it.

:)

Remember me, will you?

Just a girl. Not even pretty. Not even attractive in any way.

Remember me as a friend of yours, will you?

Who used to love you. Who still has love for you. Who used to doodle your name in her wrist. Who used to whisper your name in her prayer.

"Sekarang aku tersadar,
Cinta yang kutunggu tak kunjung datang
Apalah arti aku menunggu bila kamu tak cinta lagi...."
- Raisa

A Midsummer Night's Dream

YAY! HALO!

After we're done with the musical play The Sound of Music last October, for winter play finally Mr. Foley decided to do Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. We started working since December and this week during January 26th until January 29th, we've successfully performed A Midsummer Night's Dream for 6 times.

Oke, jadi pas pertama dikasih tau winter play tahun ini bakalan Shakespeare's, gue bengong karna gue ga ngerti ceritanya. Akhirnya gue audisi dan makasih untuk lidah yang masih berantakan, gue cuman dapet peran sebagai attendantnya Hippolyta. Bodo amat sih tapi hehe. Pas pertama kali rehearsal dan dapet script, gue bengong. WOI SHAKESPEARE KOK KALIMATNYA ANEH-ANEH SIH? Tapi untungnya bukan cuman gue yang ga ngerti rata-rata pada ga ngerti juga kok haha. Akhirnya kita rehearsal tiap hari dan Mr Foley nerangin makna dari tiap lines supaya masuk akal kalo diomongin.

Oke, jadi A Midsummer Night's Dream itu sendiri bergenre komedi. Dengan setting dalam hutan dan di Athena, ada 3 bagian penting dalam cerita ini. Oke. Pertama, the lovers. Alkisah di Athena ada 2 sahabat Hermia dan Helena. Hermia punya pacar namanya Lysander, tapi bokapnya Hermia si Egeus gak setuju dan lebih pengen ngejodohin Hermia sama Demetrius, yang tak lain dan tak bukan adalah pujaan hati Helena. Raja dan ratu di Athena saat itu, Theseus dan Hippolyta, gak mendukung Hermia dan Lysander juga.Demetrius sendiri lebih suka sama Hermia daripada Helena. Karena cinta ga direstui, Hermia dan Lysander memilih kabur ke hutan. Demetrius, gak terima Hermia pergi sama Lysander, memutuskan untuk ngikutin mereka ke hutan. Helena yang agak obsesif sama Demetrius pun ngekor dibelakang. Oke, the lovers kita simpan disini dulu.

Kedua, adalah the mechanicals. Jadi ada sekelompok pria-pria yang mendengar pengumuman bahwa Theseus dan Hippolyta membuka audisi buat pertunjukan di istana. Mereka adalah Peter Quince, Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, and Snug. Mereka memutuskan bakal ngelakuin pertunjukan drama. Quince bertindak sebagai director. Bottom, yang paling kocak diantara mereka semua, bakal menjadi Pyramus. Flute menjadi Thisby, seorang wanita. Starveling jadi Moonshine, Snout jadi The Wall, dan Snug jadi lion. Nah, mereka memutuskan untuk latihan dalam hutan. Kita simpan lagi.

Ketiga, adalah the fairies. Oberon, si Fairy king, lagi berantem sama Titania si fairy queen rebutan anak ajaib. Oberon, dibantu asistennya yang jail bernama Puck, berusaha membuat Titania tunduk dengan cara menaruh cairan dari bunga ajaib di mata Titania ketika dia tidur, dan dia bakal jatuh cinta sama siapapun orang pertama yang dia liat. Oiya, kerajaan fairy ini letaknya di dalam hutan yang sama dimana the lovers tersesat dan the mechanicals latihan. Kita simpan disini ya.

Oke, jadi suatu hari, Titania ceritanya lagi tidur di hutan ketika Puck menemukan bunganya dan Oberon mengusapkan bunganya di mata Titania, kemudian mereka pergi. Di saat yang sama, Lysander dan Hermia tiba di tempat itu (mereka gabisa liat the fairies) dan mereka tertidur di tempat terpisah. Pas mereka tidur, Puck dateng dan melihat pasangan ini dan secara dia masih punya bunga yang sama, dengan jailnya dia usapin bunga itu dimata Lysander dan dia pergi. Ga berapa lama muncullah Demetrius sama Helena lagi berantem, dimana Helena tergila-gila sama Demetrius sampe bilang "I'm your spaniel" Tapi sayangnya Demetrius ga peduli dan dia pergi. Helena yang kesel, ngeliat Lysander tidur dan dia ngebangunin Lysander. Walhasil Lysander jatuh cinta sama Helena. Helena yang bingung akhirnya kabur dan Lysander ngikut, ninggalin Hermia sendirian di hutan, kebingungan dan akhirnya doi pergi untuk nyari Lysander.

Pada saat yang sama, the mechanicals baru tiba. Mereka latihan buat drama play mereka. Nah lagi lagi si jail Puck beraksi, dia ngubah Bottom jadi keledai. Ngeliat Bottom berubah, temen-temennya cabut ketakutan. Jadilah Bottom sendiri di hutan. Supaya ga takut, doi nyanyi nyanyi dan nyanyiannya ngebangunin Titania. NAH LOH! Jatuh cinta deh Titania sama Bottom si keledai. Dibantu peri perinya, jadilah Bottom pergi sama para peri. Nah kemudian Oberon bertanya-tanya kenapa Titania belom jatuh hati juga sama dia, dan saat Oberon dan Puck lagi ngobrol, datenglah the lovers dan mereka berantem, antara Helena dan Hermia. Kebongkarlah kejailan si Puck dan Oberon nyuruh Puck buat ngebenerin semuanya. Jadinya, Puck bikin the lovers tidur bareng di tengah kabut (mereka ga nyadar kalo mereka bareng) dan ngusapin bunga lain ke mata mereka. Sementara itu, Titania yg lagi asik bobo bareng Bottom di "sembuhin" sama Oberon dan walhasil Titania heboh sendiri kenapa doi tidur sama keledai. Dan kemudian Puck ngubah Bottom jadi manusia lagi. Bottom pun reunian kembali sama teman-temannya. Selanjutnya, diadakan pesta besar-besaran di istana di Athena, dimana the mechanical menjadi pengisi acaranya. It was my favorite part! Play yg dimainin the mechanicals juga khas Shakespeare banget, ujung-ujungnya mati semua tapi yaampun ini lucunya bukan main. Akhirnya semua idup bahagia :)

Jadi kurang lebih begitulah isi cerita Midsummer Night's Dream. Sehabis kita kelar malam terakhir, seperti biasa dooong, CAST PARTY!! Kali ini di rumah Ashley Holley. Gue nebeng Hannah (lagi!) bareng Alexis dan Rachelle, sempet berenti di Cumby's buat beli slushee (padahal malem buta) trus di rumah Ashley ya gitu nongkrang nongkrong aja ketawa-tawa haha akhir nya gue tidur di kamar Ashley (yang ukurannya normal) bersama 9 orang lain : Heather Miles Ashley Moiz Laci Shay Michelle Kyle Josalyn dan Sienna. Kebayang gak seseknya kayak apa haha walaupun belom seheboh cast party The Sound of Music sih. Keesokan paginya kita sarapan segala junkfood yg ada lalu nonton Black Swan (dimana nyokapnya Ashley selalu masuk di saat yg salah, semua orang jejeritan) dilanjutkan Star Wars (semua orang semangat parah ngejelasin ke gw) lalu pulangnya nebeng Ana. Yah, begitulah....another memorable things here :)

The lovers. Emily as Helena, Brendan as Demetrius, Erin as Hermia and Madison as Lysander.

Pasangan favorit; Heather as Puck and Miles as Oberon

The fairies!! Loving their pretty outfit, wings and fabulous makeup! Alexis, Sienna, Rachelle, Alaina, Hannah, Zoe, Sara, Ashley dan yg duduk itu Jillian as Titania.

My costume as attendant wahaha. Love the wreath, tho!

The mechanicals. (ki-ka) Peter Quince, Francis Flute, Bottom, Snug, Starveling, Snout.

All the castttt on final night! It was fun guys <3 div="">

Spring play kali ini kita bakal mainin The Arabian Night!! SUPER PUMPED!!

xoxo,

Nadia

This I Believe

"This I Believe is an international organization engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. More than 90,000 of these essays, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here on our website, heard on public radio, chronicled through our books, and featured in weekly podcasts. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow"

(This following essay is my personal "This I Believe" that I submitted to my English class with Mrs. Amy Thivierge as the teacher)

I believe in trying.

Before I’m applying to my exchange students program, it took me a long time to decide whether to apply or not. I spent so much time thinking about it; all I did was busy counting the consequences, calculating chances, and wondering every possibilities. What will happen if I fail? If I get accepted and need to leave my life, am I ready for it? All those things floated in my mind for weeks until I came up with absolute decision: Why don’t I just try?

Then here I am, sitting in my room, where I can see the snow from my window and listening to my host family’s conversation out in the kitchen. Now I’m wondering what would it be if I didn’t try? I wouldn’t be here, in the United States, and met all the amazing people and got all the unbelievably great experiences. I realized that my worries before I decided are normal, but still, it shouldn’t let the fear interfere my decision.

Taking decision to finally try to do something is like the moment when you’re standing in the edge of the pool and thinking: Should I jump or not? Some people will take a moment to think, and some other will just jump. Some will refuse to jump; some will finally jump after thinking for hours. And they end up the same; just in the same pool, but only the matter of time. So why do we want to waste our time to worrying so much?

Now I realized that worrying so much isn’t worth my time. It is a part of me, it’s natural to worry about things, but I’ve learned that I will never know if I never try. Besides, chances won’t come twice; I will never know when I will get another chance to do this thing again. Failure and mistakes; I decided not to let them have too much space inside my brain. Failure and making mistakes is humane. Nothing to be ashamed for; at least I’ve tried. I took one step forward than them who didn’t try at all. The first time I made mistake is a fault, but the second time is a choice. I believe in trying.

(Feel free to check the official website; thisibelieve.org)

Cheers!

First Night Burlington!

Walaupun sangat telat, saya mengucapkan selamat tahun baru 2011 buat siapapun pengunjung blog ini :)

Oke sekarang mau cerita tentang "gimana sih taun baru di Amerika?"

Kalo taun lalu gue gegilaan sama anak-anak ke Bandung, taun ini gue "nyasar" cukup jauh (hehe) ke Burlington, VT, yang diklaim sama host family gue sebagai kota terbesar di Vermont. Sempet debat dikit apakah Burlington bisa dipanggil "city" soalnya well, emang ga gede gede banget sih. Imut malah, cuman jelas punya lebih banyak toko daripada Bennington. Jadilah setelah acara natal yang gagal di Boston (yang berakhir ngendon di rumah), kita cabs ke Burlington tanggal 30.

Oke. Selama perjalanan, gue nulis di diary pemberian Aunt Linda yang cutie abis sambil dengerin musik, dan cengar cengir kaya orang gila mengingat masa lalu. Eh terus kita berhenti di Darkin Farm, jadi kayak toko makanan gitu yg home made dibuat di tempat itu juga. Kenapa kita berhenti disitu? Karena kita mau nyobain sample!!! Haha mereka punya banyak free sample dan semuanya yummmyyyy :D kesukaan gue mungkin spicy jelly, gue ampe bolak balik kesitu :) tapi honey butter nya juga mantap aduh gue ngiler kan jadinya. Pulang dari situ nyokap beliin maple covered popcorn yang enak banget dan adiktif dan sekeluarga comot comotan sepanjang perjalanan huahaha. Lalu sebelum berhenti ke hotel, kita mampir ke toko tanaman yang cukup besar dimana gue Zoe dan Kati malah foto-foto. Terus kita cabs ke hotel yang imut sederhana tapi kamarnya besar coy. Gak mewah, tapi memadai.I got my own couch! Yay. Terus tiduran bentar, gue nulis di laptop bentar, lalu cabs untuk makan malam di sebuah restoran bernama American Flatbread. Mereka punya homemade beer dimana bokap gue adalah penggemar berat beer jadi kita kesitu deh dan sukses nunggu antrian sampe 45 menit. Keren sih sistemnya kita dikasih kayak remote bentuk pizza ada lampunya, kalo lampunya nyala berarti kita dapet tempat yay. Trus karna bosen gue Kati dan Zoe dan Dad malah main game, game dari novel Stargirl dimana kita bikin cerita tentang orang-orang disekitar kita yang sumpah kocak parah. Trus datanglah si American Flatbread yang, hmm, biasa aja sih buat gue wakaka gak special special banget. Oke. Trus abis puas makan kita jalan kaki ke deretan toko-toko. Berhenti di toko buku bekas. Trus berhenti lagi di Ben and Jerry's. Gue mesen strawberry cheesecake flavor ice cream dan nyummm enyaaak :9 alhamdulillah. Abis itu cabut pulang bobo.

Tanggal 31!

Hari terakhir di 2010. Gue bangun, mandi, sarapan, bla bla bla sampe akhirnya cabut jam 9-an. Berhasil nelpon Gori Ncek Lucky Dira. Pertama cabs ke Barnes & Noble soalnya Kati punya segudang gift card yang pengen doi pake jadi kesana deh. Selama disana gue malah baca bukunya Lauren Conrad yang Style gratisan hahaha. Lumayan dapet ilmu. Oke trus kita cabs dan ngedrop Mom buat beli "button" (wujudnya bukan kancing tapi pin) buat ikutan event bernama First Night Burlington, atraksi utama di Burlington. Jadi ada banyak event tersebar sepanjang hari sampe tengah malem, dan button nya itu semacem tiket terusan jadi tinggal nunjukin button lo. Kecuali beberapa atraksi macam sirkus dan taiko, mereka butuh tiket terpisah yang cuman $2-$3 aja. Oke, disini suasana mulai gaje soalnya bokap ngiter-ngiter nyari parkiran dan nyokap gue panik takut nyasar....eng ing eng. Tapi akhirnya berakhir baik, kita makan di foodcourt bekal yg kita bawa berupa sisa flatbread, pretzel,hummus, celery, dan beberapa random food tapi alhamdulillah tetep. Trus abis makan event pertama yang kita kunjungi adalah Show Choir! A la Glee gitu sih, mayan lah not bad. Gak amazing tapi gak jelek juga. Trus abis itu kita cabs buat nonton dance tapi gagal karna udah penuh, jadi kita jalan balik dan nongkrongin jazz music yang errr, ngebosenin haha.. Setelah dari situ, kita buru buru cabut ke tempat sirkus biar dapet tempat. DAN SIRKUSNYA KEREN COY. mantap lah, lumayan bikin nganga dan ada cowok imuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut banget di group sirkusnya haha maaf genit. Abis nonton sirkus kita balik lagi ke tempat dance dan alhamdulillah dapet tempat, walaupun dancenya sendiri biasa aja hahah. Trus kan gue sama Kati dan Mom turun ke basement mau pipis, EEEH ADA GOVERNORNYA VERMONT AJA GITULOH DIBAWAH. jadi nyokap memperkenalkan gue dan kita foto bareng dan gue dikasih kartu nama hahaha makasih :) (later on, minggu depannya doi lengser wuakaka tapi kan tetep) lalu lalu kita keluar buat nonton parade yang lumayan laaah keren. Trus makan malem di restoran yang lelet minta ampun tapi makanannya enak alhamdulillah. Trus abis dari situ kita nonton Taiko ( seni dari Jepang mukul mukul gendang) dan selama di antrian kita ngomongin cowok sambil makanin rice krispies treat hehe. Trus nonton taiko yang keren meskipun agak membosankan, trus kita ke event Sambatucada! alias dance ala Brazilian. Secara bokap gue gila dance, jadi kita stay disana. Gue sempet joget ampe capek trus akhirnya duduk diem soalnya baru nyadar lagi dapet dan joget joget hasilnya perut keram. Trus kita jalan keluar ke danau yang gue lupa namanya apa buat liat kembang api dan sayangnya hujan wooo penonton kecewa. Tapi tetep keren alhamdulilaah lagi lagi. Trus kita capek dan pulang, tidur.

HARI PERTAMA 2011!

Bangun,mandi, sarapan, pulang dan tiba dengan selamat di rumah. Liburan berakhir, ucapkan Alhamdulillah :D HAPPY NEW YEAR!

the parade

taiko performance

with (former) governor jim douglas :)

the circus. See the guy in grey shirt? THAT'S HIM!

Circus Smirkus :D

the button

strawberry cheesecake ice cream @ Ben & Jerry's

Homemade beer list

at the botanical shop

maple kettle corn :9

maaf fotonya ngacak, males nyusun hehhe :)

I'll see ya soon!