Jalan Braga/ Braga Street

Sampai aku umur 8 tahun, keluargaku tinggal di Ujung Berung, kota kecil di luar Bandung, ibu kota propinsi Jawa Barat, Indonesia. Setiap hari Minggu kami pergi ke gereja di tengah kota Bandung naik "honda" (sebutan untuk angkot yang saat itu kebanyakan merknya Honda) untuk mengikuti kebaktian paling awal yaitu kebaktian jam 7 pagi. Setelah kebaktian selesai jam 8 pagi, kami jalan kaki ke terminal kebon kelapa yang jaraknya lumayan jauh sebelum naik "honda" lagi untuk menuju rumah. Sebenarnya kita bisa aja naik bis ke terminal, tetapi ibu dan bapakku lebih suka jalan kaki bersama melewati jalan Braga ke terminal Kebon kelapa. Di jalan Braga ini berderet-deret toko-toko mewah dari ujung ke ujung. Karena masih pagi toko tokonya masih tutup dan nggak banyak orang lalu lalang di sana. Tetapi hampir semua etalase toko-toko itu terbuka sehingga kita bisa cuci mata melihat barang barang yang di pajang di etalase toko. Barang-barang yang dipajang unik-unik, bagus bagus dan so pasti, mahal-mahal ! Aku (dan anggota keluargaku) sangat menikmati jalan kaki bersama di pagi hari di sepanjang jalan Braga ini. Setahun kemudian saat aku umur 9 tahun, keluarga kami pindah ke Jakarta, ibukota Indonesia, yang selalu sibuk siang dan malam. Tidak ada lagi jalan pagi bersama lewat jalan Braga di hari Minggu. Kadang-kadang aku kangen mengingat saat-saat indah jalan kaki pagi hari bareng keluargaku di sepanjang jalan Braga. Kemudian ketika aku kira-kira umur 12 tahun, kami sekeluarga berkunjung Bandung lagi dan kami pergi ke Jalan Braga, hanya kali ini kami pergi ke sana setelah semua toko-toko buka. Jalannya sibuk sekali dengan kendaraan lalu lalang dan orang-orang yang keluar masuk toko-toko. Aku nggak bisa menikmati barang barang yang indah dan unik yang dipajang di etalase toko lagi. Aku agak kecewa akan apa yang sekarang terjadi di jalan Braga. Sekarang aku sadar kenapa ibu dan bapakku dulu selalu mengajak kita jalan kaki pagi-pagi dari jalan Merdeka ke terminal Kebon kelapa yang jauh hanya untuk melewati jalan Braga. Ini karena mereka bisa menemukan dan merasakan keunikan dan keindahannya jalan kaki bersama keluarga di sepanjang jalan itu di pagi hari. Sekarang aku sangat merindukan saat-saat indah dan damai berjalan kaki bersama keluargaku di sepanjang jalan Braga di pagi hari. Sekarang aku menyadari betapa hal-hal sederhana di masa kecilku itu sangat berarti dan betapa tradisi keluarga sederhana seperti itu bisa bikin hatiku bahagia. _______________ english version _______________ Until I was 8 years old, our family lived in Ujung Berung, a little town outside Bandung, the Capitol of West Java, Indonesia. Every Sunday we went to a church in the middle of Bandung. We had to take public transportation to get there. We always went to the earliest service at 7.00 A.M in the morning. After the service was finished at 8.00 o’clock, we walked for about 5 miles to Kebon Kelapa, the public transportation terminal to go home. We could have taken a bus to get to the terminal but our parents liked us to walk through this street called Braga, where the high end stores stretch from the beginning of the street to the end. Because it was still early, the stores were all closed and not many people were on the street. However, most of the store owners had all their window displays opened. So we could look at the beautiful and unique items displayed for sale in the windows. It was very beautiful and enjoyable. I loved walking along Braga street. Then when I was 9, we moved to Jakarta the capitol city of Indonesia, where everything is busy all the time. I miss our traditional walks along Braga street with my family. Then one day when I was about 12 years old, my family and I visited Bandung again and we went to Braga street. Only this time our visit there was after all the stores were opened. The street was very busy with cars passing by, the parking lots full of cars and the sidewalks were crowded with many people shopping and walking in and out of the stores. I could not enjoy the beautiful and unique things displayed in the store windows anymore. I am a little bit disappointed of what happened now on Braga street and understand why my parents found it so special walking along there early in the morning. I really missed the quiet and peaceful morning walks along Braga Street. I now realize how beautiful all the things are that I cherished from my childhood memories. How the simple things and family traditions can make your heart feel warm and happy.

Hackettstown

Kota tempat aku tinggal. Kota ini kecil tapi modern, dan makin padat dibandingkan saat aku menapakkan kaki pertama kali di sini hampir lima tahun yang lalu. Perkembangan yang sangat menonjol adalah semakin banyaknya tempat makan di kota ini, entah karena orang sini suka makan atau karena bisnis makanan adalah bisnis yang paling mudah dan menguntungkan? Whatever the reason is, yang paling penting adalah adanya RESTORAN INDONESIA!!! Hal ini sangat mengejutkan karena tadinya kupikir gak bakal ada indonesia-indonesianya sama sekali di kota ini, kecuali diriku yang manis ini ;-)). _______________ english version _______________ The town I live in. This town is small yet modern and getting more crowded compared to when I first stepped my feet here almost five years ago. The most significant changes are the many new places to eat being built in this town. Maybe because people here really love to eat or maybe because the food business is the easiest and the most profitable kind of business here or even in the world? Whatever the reason is, the most important thing for me is that there is an INDONESIAN RESTAURANT in Hackettstown!!! This is very surprising since I never thought that there would be anything related to Indonesia at all in this small town, except me ;-)).