Back to Cibubur

 

Well...I'm back to Cibubur again.  Back to "teach" the kids English again.

Ada yang beda kali ini.  Bokap sakit, jadi enggak bisa ikut. Tapi ya itu, jadinya baweeelllll banget. Susah deh, biasa apa-apa dikerjakan sendiri, kali ini terpaksa didelegasikan ke gue dan yang lainnya. 

Jam 6 pagi udah berangkat dari rumah, mampir Sanmar dulu untuk jemput Tia, anak dari Pasuruan, dan bawa terpal. Nyampe Buper untung aja baru beberapa yang dateng dan udah ada Kak Pur.  Jadi setelah nuraninya barang, pasang meja,  gue cabut cari makan. Beli makan pagi di McD!!! Terus mampir beli Starbucks hahahaha...demi cap dan juga supaya gue enggak ngantuk. Terus buru-buru balik.

Jadwal mundur 30 menit, karena masih menunggu beberapa anak, tapi mulai juga sih upacara bendera jam setengah 9. Baru abis itu tante Elly dateng, mobilnya mogok bo di tengah tol, tapi jadinya malah pas. 

Kak Pur yang isi acara pertama.  Mendirikan tenda dan merapikan tenda. Abis itu tali-temali.  Seru juga ngeliatin mereka belajar tali-temali. Salah satu kelemahan gue di Pramuka hahaha. 

Berhubung udah jam makan siang, jadi sesudah acara Kak Pur, kita makan siang dulu, baru abis itu conversation sama gue.  Kali ini gue merasa lebih siap dan lebih tau mau ngapain.  Mungkin karena kemaren belum lama ini ke Philippines, dan sebelumnya ngajarin Bahasa Inggris juga buat mereka yang mau ke Jepang. Sampe sempet bingung tadi, karena ternyata yang ke Korea merupakan kegiatan taun lalu dan ke Jepang dan NZ taun ini.  Tadi conversation cuma sebentar, karena gue liat mereka udah pada bisa semua. Dan abis itu sempt ngebahas kegiatan dan situasi di Jambore. 

Sekarang mereka lagi jalan, itung-itung belajar jalan hahaha. 

Di sini panas sekaliiii. Semoga nanti malam adem. 

The Girl You Left Behind - Jojo Moyes

 

France, 1916:  Artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything—her family, her reputation, and her life—to see her husband again.

Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. A chance encounter reveals the painting’s true worth, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is—putting Liv’s belief in what is right to the ultimate test.

I just finished reading this book on my ebook reader.  Since I read it on my ebook, and it doesn't have any brief synopsis about this story, I just read it.  To tell you the truth, if I've known the synopsis, I don't think I'll read this book.  This definitely not my kind of book.

The story divided into two parts.  Part  1 set at a little town in France around 1916, where the town was occupied by the Germans.  It tell about the town, about the people, and about the sisters, Helene and Sophie, both are married and their husbands are away at war.  And it tell about the painting that Sophie's husband made for her.  

Part 2 set in London year 2006, about Liv whose husband has been dead for 4 years and yet she doesn't seem can move on, and she own the painting of Sophie, that bought by her husband, David, as a wedding gift on their honeymoon.  And suddenly, the Lefevre demand that the painting, "The Girl You Left Behind" is returned to the rightfull owner, the Lefevre family.  And through this second part, we learned what happened to Sophie, to Eduard, and the painting.

As I said before, this is not my kind of book I read.  I never liked the story with war as a background. especially when the war is still going on.  I find it too depressing.  Even if in the end they have a happy ending, I tend to avoid any story with war in it.  And the truth, I don't even know why I keep on reading this book.

The pace is slow, maybe because I can almost feel, see, and sense the depressing mood or atmosphere of the story.  Everyday seems like a dread, waiting something bad to happen, and you have to be extra careful.

At the beginning, I admire Sophie, for her courage, her positive attitude, her hope.  She's never give up, and when she found out that her husband has been captured and send to reprisal camp, she'll do anything to keep her husband alive.  And that's when I started to dislike her hahahaha....

There are points where I really think that Sophie was stupid, too naive, too trusting, but I have to admit that she's really...really perseverance.  And sorry to say but I kinda expected to read about Sophie's death before the book was end. 

When I reached the second part, I feel sooo relieved! Oh finally! We arrived at 2006! But what do you know...it still depressed hahaha....Liv still can't move on after 4 years her husband died, she has no money, she mortgaged her house (it was designed by her husband), and when she finally start to move on, she found out that the guy she's been seeing is the guy whose job is looking and returning the stolen painting, and the painting was Liv's.  Suddenly she has to fight for her painting in court that will cost a fortune. 

If you ever read Heist Society (and the sequels) you know that during WW2, lots of painting (and sculpture) were taken by the Nazi, just because its beauty (and they wanted it).  After the war, lots of the painting and the sculpture were returned to the original owner.  Sometimes the process take a lot of time, because first the painting must be found and the owner has to proof that they really are the owner.

The painting "The Girl You Left Behind" was rumored to be stolen while WW1 and since it was stolen, according to the law, the painting must be returned to the rightful owner.  The Lefevre.  Liv, who doesn't want to part with the painting, start to look for the story behind the painting.  She's began to look about Sophie's family.

And in second part, we also begin to know what happened to Sophie, and later about Eduard.

Oh wow...for not my kind of book, I wrote a lot about the book :D

I really don't know why I keep on reading this book.  Maybe because I want to know what will happen to Sophie.  I want to know if her sacrifice will fruitful. And in the end, I want to know what happen to the painting, to Liv.

Thanks God it has a happy end, so I'm quite happy with the result hahaha.

While I read this book, I can't keep myself from comparing the sensation I felt, and one book come to mind.  The Gargoyle.  The story is definitely not the same, but both books are drama, with slow pace, quite lots of descriptive, and have a somber mood. 

I don't know if I'll buy her books, but at least I know I enjoyed reading this book.

 

Frozen

 

Frozen is finally here!

Seneng akhirnya bisa nonton ini film, hari Sabtu kemaren, bareng Ingrid's family.  Kita nonton yang jam setengah 8 malem di Blitz Grand Indonesia, karena di PI adanya yang 3D (Nicole belum betah nonton 3D), dan harga tiket di Studio XXI @75rb...lebih murah di Blitz yang cuma 55rb.

So...Frozen.

Frozen merupakan animasi karya Walt Disney Animation Studio.  Frozen adalah saduran bebas "Snow Queen" karya Hans Christian Andersen.  Sadurannya bebas banget, karena enggak ada mirip-miripnya sama sekali dengan Snow Queen hahahaha.

Seperti cerita karya Disney lainnya, terutama yang animasi dan ada Princesses nya, pasti ada lagu-lagunya.  Kali ini pun juga sama, film dilengkapi dengan lagu-lagu yang ikut ambil bagian dalam cerita. Gue suka banget lagu yang dinyanyiin Olaf "In Summer"...OMG it's so hilarious!! Dan lagunya Kristoff "Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People" juga lucu, meskipun pendek.  Terakhir, yang mungkin menjadi 'gong' nya adalah "Let It Go", dinyanyikan Elsa.  Tapi setelah gue pikir-pikir, gue lebih demen lagu opening scene-nya hahaha...enggak ada liriknya, cuma semacam hymn, tapi dari pertama kali gue denger gue udah langsung suka. 

Frozen bercerita tentang dua kakak beradik Elsa dan Anna yang merupakan putri Kerajaan Arendelle.  Elsa, sang kakak, ternyata punya kemampuan sihir, bisa mengeluarkan es melalui sihirnya.  Sampai suatu ketika tanpa sengaja Anna terluka karena sihirnya Elsa.  Sejak saat itu, Elsa jadi takut dengan kemampuannya dan atas desakan kedua orangtuanya, mengurung diri.  Pada saat Elsa naik tahta menjadi Ratu, kemampuan Elsa yang selama ini ia sembunyikan tiba-tiba muncul karena emosi.  Elsa semakin panik, semakin tidak terkontrol kemampuan sihirnya, hingga menenggelamkan Kerajaan Arendelle dalam salju, dan Elsa melarikan diri tanpa tahu apa yang telah ia lakukan.  Anna, merasa bersalah, segera mengejar Elsa.  Dalam perjalanan, Anna bertemu dengan Kristoff, Sven, dan Olaf, yang kemudian menemani Anna mencari Elsa.

Kristen Bell mengisi suara sebagai Anna, Idina Menzel sebagai Elsa, dan Jonathan Groff sebagai Kristoff.  Dari ketiganya, gue paling terkesan sama Idina Menzel.  Sejak di Wicked, gue udah terkesima sama dia dan di Frozen, tetep terkesima hahaha. Malah ada beberapa bagian yang gue ngerasa jadi mirip Wicked, terutama pada bagian Elsa dan Anna nyanyi bareng, di saat yang sama, tapi masing-masing dengan kalimatnya sendiri-sendiri.  Jadi mirip sama Les Miserables juga sih. Vokalnya Idina Menzel di lagu ini memang keren, apalagi bagian terakhir.  Gue bener-bener kebayang Wicked.  Suer demen banget gue sama lagunya.

Yang membuat Frozen berbeda dari cerita Disney yang lain adalah...kali ini Elsa dan Anna bisa dibilang tidak membutuhkan pangeran atau para cowok untuk membebaskan mereka dari kesulitan.  Oke, Anna membutuhkan bantuan Kristoff dan Kristoff memiliki peranan yang cukup besar dalam membantu Anna, tapi pada akhirnya Anna sendiri yang menyelesaikan semua permasalahan. Dan adegan terakhir dengan sukses membuat gue berkaca-kaca.  Juga adegan awal waktu Anna masih kecil dan dia ngetuk pintu kamar Elsa sambil ngomong "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" dengan ending yang...sedih...

Sejak Rapunzel (Tangled), Disney Princesses agak berbeda, lebih punya girl power, lebih independen dan lebih berani.  Mungkin sesudah  Frozen, Disney Princesses nya bisa lebih independen lagi hahaha.  Sebenernya ada satu kejutan lagi sih di film ini, yang membuat gue sampe kaget dan agak tidak percaya, karena menurut gue tumben gitu lho Disney buat cerita seperti ini, tapi ya ternyata memang iya hahaha...so better see it for yourself.  Bukan sesuatu yang besar, tapi yah cukup mengejutkan.

Buat gue sendiri, gue lebih seneng Tangled, karena ceritanya lebih romantis dan ada lagu "I See The Light" yang menyentuh banget.  Sedangkan Frozen lebih ke sisterhood dan courage yang diselipin roman.  Tapi biar begitu, gue tetep suka Frozen.  Satu lagi film Disney yang masuk daftar film favorit.