STUDENTS GIVING BACK

It's not easy to teach a child to be compassionate, grateful and give back to others whenever possible. So I was really happy to find this video through a student that goes to the Jakarta International School, a school which Yayasan Usaha Mulia is hoping to build a long-lasting relationship with.

The Jakarta International School has a special Service Learning division where the school hopes to include notions of service (community work) in students' daily life. The high school has several clubs dedicated to local NGOs and helps in many fields including working with orphanages, Habitat for Humanity, environmental work, medical assistance, etc.

I really am at awe with what kids can do these days when they put their mind to it. These students at JIS are showing us that any kind of help, however small, can make a difference. And I hope that other schools and students can learn from this :)

BON IVER - HOLOCENE

I am deeply in love with this song and this video :)

KOMUNITAS HONG

Last Saturday, I went to a TEDx Jakarta event: always so eye-opening and just a breath of fresh air to see speakers talking about their passion, their work, their interest.

Among one of the speakers was a guy called Zaini Alif, a traditional games expert, who blew me away with his center for traditional games (pusat kajian mainan anak) called Komunitas Hong. I couldn't believe my ears: there was actually a place where traditional indonesian games was being preserved! I love that! I can't wait to take Amal there. Did you know that there are about 250 traditional games in West Java alone? That's amazing. Apparently, Indonesia beats other countries with the most traditional games. And I completely agree with him when he said that it's through these games that children learn about leadership, social structure, honesty, etc. Once TEDx Jakarta has put up his talk on their website, I'll post it here for you to see :)

In the meantime, enjoy this video I found on YouTube:

Every weekend, Komunitas Hong opens up their doors to the public in their spacious playground situated in Dago Pakar, Bandung. If you, like me, are interested to go there on your next holiday, here's their address:

Komunitas Hong
Jl. Bukit Pakar Utara No. 35
Bandung
Tel: 022 2515 773

I LOVE MY JOB :)

Working for YUM has been real fun for me cause I get to enjoy doing things that I've never done before, like making newsletters :) This is my second attempt at doing the YUM newsletter and I'm pretty proud of myself....hehehehe... I don't know, I just feel like if I can make this newsletter look nice and interesting, hopefully people will be interested with what YUM has been doing and is accomplishing!

If you want to see the full version, just click here. Enjoy!

KIDS PARTY INSPIRATION

Amal's turning 7 soon and I'm really seriously thinking of organizing a birthday party for him. I think all kids should have at least 1 big birthday party before his/her 10th birthday. I'm not sure that's gonna happen this year though because it'll be right during the Idul Fitri holidays. I could organize it after his birthday though, right? Hhhhmmm...

Anyway, if I did organize a birthday party, I'm thinking of making it at home, with homemade food and simple games and arts & crafts. I got a few inspirations from Pinterest. Check them out:

A candy station...yuuumm!!

Monster cupcakes.....gggrrrrr!

Backyard bowling!

Popsicle invites!

There are some really excellent websites out there that have great party ideas like:

One Charming Party - I especially love the art gallery party theme

Oh Happy Day has a special tab on Party and Wedding Ideas and Birthday Ideas

And did you know that you can rent toys and play equipment in Jakarta?

The Urban Mama also has great party ideas for you to check out

Last but not least, Family Guide to Jakarta has a special page filled with decorating ideas, venues, catering, entertainers to make a super special birthday party

INTROSPECTION

I'm sure you all know this song. I just thought since this is the month of Ramadhan - month of giving, of introspection - this song is appropriate, just cause it does talk about what's happening in the world and that everyone has the possibility to make the world a better place. People tend to think that making change needs lots of money or time or huge effort, but honestly, just donating once in a while, caring about someone less fortunate than you, that's already a lot :)

JALAN PERSAHABATAN

Last weekend, the big furniture were moved into the new house so now we only have our beds, tv, kitchen and some seating in the current house. The new house is looking nicer and nicer. As you can see, my parents went with an ethnic look, a mixture of Bali, Javanese and Mediterranean.

The have a balinese gebyok as front door and windows, some lovely green-colored tiles from Yogya, and an excellent terrace where we can have barbecues and just sit down and watch the back garden. There's also an interior garden with a fountain, water lilies and other water plants.

I'll show more photos once we've settled in... Oh and one more thing, I love the name of the street where the new house is located: Jalan Persahabatan (Friendship Road)... :)