Friday, April 14, 2006
Jakarta Memories
Dearest bros and sis in Christs reading this: thank you for ur prayers. Brought up the issue of attending church to my folks today and they said ok. Have to find a suitable church now. Thanks to Pastor for telling me the address of that church, but it is simply too far away. Pray that God lead me to a nearer church. All else failing, I can always attend the Cathedral, where I used to study here. Heehee :)
Did I ever blog abt my time studying in Jakarta? I attended a Catholic missionary school by the name of Santa Ursula. Mention that name and most Indonesians know it is one of the most prestigious schools in Jakarta. The Cathedral is attached to the school and I think both have been around since the Dutch colonial era.
I haven't been inside the school for ages, but I remember a big garden with the statue of Jesus Christ in the middle. There was a small playground with a tree that bore lilac-coloured flowers, which we as children love to gather. We especially looked for the flower buds, becos these were rarer that the blossoms. There was oso a open-air hall, called a bangsal, where we had to assemble every morning. The teachers would play patriotic songs and that was a signal for us to march back, class by class, back to our respective classrooms. On some days, we would do morning exercises there and I oso remembered dancing and painting lessons there. I had a favourite painting teacher who liked me very much and I used to call him "Seniman", which I din know was especially appropriate cos it means "Artist". Outside the bangsal was a bell which a boy would ring whenever it was time for recess or end of school. When I reached primary three, a boy from my class was put in charge of ringing it. There was oso a small library which I liked cos I've always been a bookworm. Our classrooms had that kind of old-fashioned shuttered doors and windows.
Nuns walked abt that school and I guessed some quarters where we were forbidden to go to were their living quarters. We went on some days to worship in a small chapel, which was a really pretty place, with stained glass and milky-white walls, accentuated by the white candles and colourful statues.
But my favourite place in the school has gotta be the Cathedral. The architecture is very nice, very close to those in Europe. It has one of those antique organs which made the most beautiful sounds. I liked to listen to it. On three corners of the walls were giant paintings of Jesus' journey to Mount Golgotha and the Crucifixion. A statue of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus after He was taken down from the Cross stood behind the pews, lit by candles.
As students, we had three sets of uniforms, for different days of the week. White blouse with red skirt / pants for Mon & Tue, complete with a red and white cap with an education emblem on it. This is the typical uniform of Indonesia. This is becos Mons were school assembly days and every week we had to sing our national anthem as well as observe 1-min silence for those who had sacrificed for the country. I recall seeing a poor boy who fainted during the ceremony and landed in the drain. Anyway, on Weds, we had to wear all white, with a checked green tie. White blouse with checked green skirt / pants for Thu, Fri and Sat. Yes, we studied on Sats, too.
I dun remember much of the lessons back then becos, I have to confess that I dun listen during lessons, all the way till JC :p Really! The only lesson I listen to was perhaps History and Social Studies, which explains my major heehee. My parents had to make sure that they asked my classmates' parents abt homework & stuff cos I just neva listened. Lived in a world of my own and I confess I still do, though not as much anymore hohoho.
But I recall the various class outing becos I never failed to embarrass myself by being a scaredy-cat. I was freaked out when we went swimming during my kindergarten days. I refused to watch the 3-D movie at Taman Mini becos I was scared out of watching movies by my parents bringing me to watch an action movie when I was two years old. One class outing I can never forget for some reason was visiting the house of General Ahmad Yani, which was one of the generals assasinated during the coup of 1965. The house had been turned into a museum of sorts. They even preserved the bullet holes made when he was shot through the glass door while trying to resist. Was very fascinated by those bullet holes. Remembered going to Lubang Buaya National Monument as well, the place where the generals' dismembered body parts were dumped.
Yup, yup. Just a little abt my past as a student in Jakarta. Hope everybody is doing well in the sunny island.
Did I ever blog abt my time studying in Jakarta? I attended a Catholic missionary school by the name of Santa Ursula. Mention that name and most Indonesians know it is one of the most prestigious schools in Jakarta. The Cathedral is attached to the school and I think both have been around since the Dutch colonial era.
I haven't been inside the school for ages, but I remember a big garden with the statue of Jesus Christ in the middle. There was a small playground with a tree that bore lilac-coloured flowers, which we as children love to gather. We especially looked for the flower buds, becos these were rarer that the blossoms. There was oso a open-air hall, called a bangsal, where we had to assemble every morning. The teachers would play patriotic songs and that was a signal for us to march back, class by class, back to our respective classrooms. On some days, we would do morning exercises there and I oso remembered dancing and painting lessons there. I had a favourite painting teacher who liked me very much and I used to call him "Seniman", which I din know was especially appropriate cos it means "Artist". Outside the bangsal was a bell which a boy would ring whenever it was time for recess or end of school. When I reached primary three, a boy from my class was put in charge of ringing it. There was oso a small library which I liked cos I've always been a bookworm. Our classrooms had that kind of old-fashioned shuttered doors and windows.
Nuns walked abt that school and I guessed some quarters where we were forbidden to go to were their living quarters. We went on some days to worship in a small chapel, which was a really pretty place, with stained glass and milky-white walls, accentuated by the white candles and colourful statues.
But my favourite place in the school has gotta be the Cathedral. The architecture is very nice, very close to those in Europe. It has one of those antique organs which made the most beautiful sounds. I liked to listen to it. On three corners of the walls were giant paintings of Jesus' journey to Mount Golgotha and the Crucifixion. A statue of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus after He was taken down from the Cross stood behind the pews, lit by candles.
As students, we had three sets of uniforms, for different days of the week. White blouse with red skirt / pants for Mon & Tue, complete with a red and white cap with an education emblem on it. This is the typical uniform of Indonesia. This is becos Mons were school assembly days and every week we had to sing our national anthem as well as observe 1-min silence for those who had sacrificed for the country. I recall seeing a poor boy who fainted during the ceremony and landed in the drain. Anyway, on Weds, we had to wear all white, with a checked green tie. White blouse with checked green skirt / pants for Thu, Fri and Sat. Yes, we studied on Sats, too.
I dun remember much of the lessons back then becos, I have to confess that I dun listen during lessons, all the way till JC :p Really! The only lesson I listen to was perhaps History and Social Studies, which explains my major heehee. My parents had to make sure that they asked my classmates' parents abt homework & stuff cos I just neva listened. Lived in a world of my own and I confess I still do, though not as much anymore hohoho.
But I recall the various class outing becos I never failed to embarrass myself by being a scaredy-cat. I was freaked out when we went swimming during my kindergarten days. I refused to watch the 3-D movie at Taman Mini becos I was scared out of watching movies by my parents bringing me to watch an action movie when I was two years old. One class outing I can never forget for some reason was visiting the house of General Ahmad Yani, which was one of the generals assasinated during the coup of 1965. The house had been turned into a museum of sorts. They even preserved the bullet holes made when he was shot through the glass door while trying to resist. Was very fascinated by those bullet holes. Remembered going to Lubang Buaya National Monument as well, the place where the generals' dismembered body parts were dumped.
Yup, yup. Just a little abt my past as a student in Jakarta. Hope everybody is doing well in the sunny island.
// posted by Jenn @ 11:02 PM 
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]