Keep Spirited, Though Sleeping

on A Piece of Cement Paper

a travel note of my journey to Yogyakarta

  

Finally, the long-awaited day arrived. Monday, September 1st, at 5:00 a.m sharp, we departed from the port of Waingapu by KM Awu to Java island. I and five other participants, namely Ignasius Umbu Reda Anabuni, Feni Kaita Lepir, Ningsih Tamu Apu, Berhardyanto Lobo Mone and Jems Umbu Yiwa Ndapangadung are delegations of Stube-HEMAT Sumba to study in Yogyakarta for one month.

“Ouw ......., the ship is fully loaded with passengers”, I thought. As a result, we did not have any place to sleep. In the middle of our confusion because of nowhere to sleep, Abner, one of Stube-HEMAT Sumba activist who was on the same ship to accompany his sister to continue study in Java said, “Just sleep over there! There is no enough space any more!”.

“Really, just sleep there?” surprisingly I responsed his saying after he asked me to sleep under the stairs.  Since there was no better option,  we laid our body on a mat of cement paper to rest. At the moment I reflected that, I should be grateful for this condition as it is not for long, while a lot of people out there who do not have any place to stay, should live from one shop’s terace with cardboard mat.

Although sleeping under the stairs and make our body aching, we still enjoyed it. I found interesting experiences. In the beginning, we did not know each other, however as we came from the same island of Sumba and sailed on the same ship we became familiar. We shared stories and the atmosphere became alive throughout the days. Then slowly we could enjoy a good night sleep.

 After arriving in Benoa, Bali, we finally got a decent bed, because many passengers disembarked.

In Tanjung Perak port, Surabaya, from the deck of KM Awu, I saw a strange buildings. It was so different with the situation in Sumba. My heart pounded waiting for the first time I step my feet on the land of Java. "Thanks God, finally I step my feet on Java island”, I said. Soon I would be in Yogyakarta, even there was still a trip from Surabaya to Yogyakarta by car.

Yogyakarta, here I come! (YUMI)