Day 5: Gratefulness

At night before our last day, we prepare sembako (groceries); rice, cooking oil, domestic chicken egg, sugar, milk, instant noodle, biscuit snack, powdered detergent, toothpaste, soap, and shampoo. This is a way to show our gratitude, as Ibu Mutijah and many moms in the community. I feel this is a great way to show how grateful I am, I could meet Ibu Mutijah and her family. I get to know how their family lives their life as we directly stay and go through day by day with them. We also prepare a performance for our closing.

Through preparing the performance, I realize that everyone wants give idea and we clash a lot. But, again we overcome the clash and come to a conclusion. We prepare Kecak dance and a poem, and to close us all sing “Bunda” (mom). Then the dawn came and we pack our bag and say a semi-good bye to our host moms and went to rumah karang for our las preparation for the performance. We really want to show our best as we can.

The performance is here. After several remarks, we performed. It went smoothly, but now it is the time for us to sing “Bunda”. At the first verse everyone seems to enjoy the song, but when the second verse comes some of the fellow finalist start to choked and cried. I couldn’t help myself as most of them triggered me to cry to. And everyone cried, bawling their heart out. The host announces us to come to our host moms. I went there.

I cried my heart out, I keep thinking, I can’t believe it they treat us well like their own kid. Even though they do not have enough money for them self, I keep repeating those thoughts. Why Ibu Mutijah being so nice to me? She’s really grateful for what she and her family have, and they don’t complain. They just keep working and working. I remember the struggle Ibu Mutijah been through, how hard to just take a shower. They need to buy water for 25,000 IDR per hour, which usually last for 3 days. Luckily, when I stayed and she fills the water it filled twice than usual. It hits me, if we do good thing, good thing will come to us. “What goes around comes around.”

At the last minute, while we both cried and bawling; she still asked me to go ate lunch at her place. She’s still being nice to me until this moment. We ate lunch together and when it’s time for me to go back home, she gives souvenirs. She wants me to have a little something from Cilincing, which are kijing chips and stir-fry kijing. Why is she being so nice to me? I love you, Ibu Mutijah. If I have extra profits, I would like to help her more. Thank you for having me, Ibu.