Life is Hard, Here and There , Part 1

I was one of person who believe that live in a big city is a huge advantage for its facility, connection and working opportunity. But, I start to doubt my own perception because life is hard here. It beats you everyday and in th

at everyday you have to get up and keep move on for tomorrow is still coming. You will need to at least feed yourself to stay alive -if saying fight back is too much. Life is hard here becuase the availability of facility does not necessarily mean that you can access the facility or you dont need it. Here, facility does not feel like privilege, it is just a daily need. And to build connection, you need time (you have to admit, your time is very limited) and (most of time) you need money to be connected with many. Not to mention, you dont always get the job that you like. 

Therefore recently I started to question if life could be better if I live in a different place, if I am having different job, is there a better thing I can do for myself but not here. I start seeing living in rural area as an option. 

This weekend I am forced to take a detour from my holiday plan, from hiking to go home (to Lampung) because my foster grandpa passed away. Sad indeed, but I also try to take the opportunity to get input from my family and neighbour about my plan. I would like to know "how is life in rural place like this?". I drawn myself into their daily conversation. As you may imagine it is an anywhere opportunity to get. In a village, you can get the talk about life anywhere and anytime. Take time to visit them in their house- join them in the afternoon talk after naaping time or in the evening after dinner, they will tell you all the story you missed from the village. 

The stories flow. In the village where my parent live, *Life is Hard, Dear*. People get sick. The same illness suffer by people in big city. Stroke, heart attach, diabete, leukimia, breast cancer and many more. Health facility is very basic here. The nearest hospital is 70 km away. For light illness people go to "Puskesmas" or community health center.  Private doctor is another option. Life is hard  here in my village, for "to live in village is a healthier life" is just a myth. 

A man just came back from his farm. The background is the empty market . The activivy stop at apptoximately 10.00 am. Many tenant just get enough money to eat for that day because they do not sell alot. 

Another fact is that people are trapped in loan. It is a common practice for civil servant. They will hypothecate their civil servant certificate to be in debt to bank.  People talked about Mr. A have a huge bank loan for his child school in Germany and failed to pay because here in the country the child cannot get a job that cover his study expense. Mr. B took loan to buy car. People was shocked knowing that Mr. And  Mrs. C got divorce and Mr. C refuses to split their loan to build house and buy car. Now Mrs. C should pay those choking debt by herself. 

Right Pict: Tradisional house of Lampung. Left Pict: Typical contemporer house built by society nowadys

Once again, I thought only people in big city would take this risky lifestyle. I, myself, is trying hard to avoid debt especially to entity like bank. I do not take any offer to have credit card for I am affraid I cannot control my shopping appetite. I thought people in the village would realize it better that economic situation in the area do not give them much opportunity to invest and multiple their money moreover if civil servant salary is the only source of income they have. Life is hard here for the expensive lifestyle

Talking about economic situation, farming is no more a potential source of income. For example, 3 years ago cassava and corn have a huge profit potential, but now the price is going down and farmers are loosing their profit. Other commodity like durian, papaya, chilli etc are affected by bad weather. The price is high but they can only harvest a few. It is pretty different in the city. People are still going to work despite bad weather. They still get monthly salary regardless their productivity. 

In the village, it gets worse by security concern. Robbery is daily news for society and install terror in their head. It limits society mobilization and willingness to buy valuable things for they are affraid it will endangered themselves. Security is almost not a concern in the city, especially Jakarta. Government wants to make investor feel safe. Their money is save. Their investment is safe. While, it is totally different here in the village. The robbery is an old news but seems government has no power over the criminal. Society live in terror. But who cares, maybe because there is no investor money to be protected. Who cares that it affects economic activity of the villagers. People are affraid or  do not have money to buy things. Market is empty. Money circulates very slowly. This district is dying. 

Sadly, I have to conclude  that, *life is hard here for economic activity does not work properly*. 

I have not given up to find a comparison. I decided to visit my uncle in Cianjur, a district on West Java. 

(to be continued)

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Pusara Waktu

Aneh rasanya, benar-benar berada dalam petuah *semuanya diciptakan berpasangan*. Eits.. aku nggak lagi mau bahas tentang jodoh. Ini tentang hidup dan mati.

Beberapa hari lalu,  aku dapat kabar bahwa kakekku (Mbah Awi) meninggal - kakek angkat ayah, tapi beliau sungguh sayang kepada kami cucu-cucu bukan kandungnya. Beliau selalu mengingatkanku pada mbah kakung dalam hal fisik, namun benar-benar dalam versi yang berbeda dalam hal karakter. Mbah kakung orang yang tegas ceplas ceplos dan cenderung kejawen. Mbah Awi lembut sekali, tutur bahasanya terucap rapi ciri khas cendikiawan dan memegang teguh islam dalam kesehariannya. Yang pasti keduanya baik dan aku ingin mengamalkan teladan-teladan kebaikan mereka. Semoga keduanya diberi tempat yang indah di sisi Alloh.

Ada mati dan ada hidup. Keesokan harinya di jam makan siang, seorang teman kantor bercerita riang di tangah kantor " hore, garis dua... garis dua*. Akhirnya istrinya hamil. Terdengar ada getaran haru, bahagia dan cemas dalam teriakan itu. Semua orang menyelamati.

Aku sendiri lalu memikirkan tentang betapa manusia dengan sangat mudah digantikan. Hari ini aku kehilangan, di hari yang sama seorang teman menerima kehadiran kehidupan baru. Sangat urgent rasanya untuk segera menyadari dan menjelang tujuan hidup sebelum Tuhan memutuskan sudah saatnya aku digantikan oleh nyawa lainnya.

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