Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Christmas Crazyness

The Indonesian website Tempointeraktif just reported that Pollycarpus, the Garuda pilot who killed human rights activist Munir, was granted a month long holiday leave from prison. This makes my blood boil! I'm sure that this emotion does not match the Christmas spirit, but I just cannot help it. In May this year Pollycarpus was finally sentenced to twenty years in prison for pouring arsenic in Munir's orange juice three years ago. After serving six months and 'behaving well', he can already spend a months in freedom with his family.

Simultaneously, the suspected mastermind of the murder, Muchdi, former deputy director of Indonesia's state intelligence agency, is on trial and awaiting the 31st of December when he will be sentenced. The prosecution only asked the court for a 15 year sentence, which is naturally far too lenient.

The Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has stated that the Munir case would be a testcase for Indonesian democracy. He committed to ensuring the murderers would be sentenced. It is however to be seen whether these sentences will match the crime committed and whether they will actually be carried out accordingly. Read more in Inside Indonesia.

As each year with Christmas, my thoughts go out to Munir's wife, Suciwati, and their two beautiful children. And of course to all those people that strive for justice; not only for Munir, but also for all other victims of human rights violations in the world.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Oh, the Places You’ll Go…

When I graduated, my favorite philosophers gave me a little book, called "Oh, the places you'll go!". Be you young or old, this should be a guide forever!

A poem by Dr. Seuss
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
Dr. Seuss

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Gotan Project @ Melkweg

Sunday was the big day that Gotan project came to perform in Amsterdam. They put up quite a show; they first appeared behind a screen where images were projected onto - of Argentina, of people dancing the tango, pretty lips from up close. Then the screen lowered and the full band was shown with all its style. First wearing black suits, later all dressed in brisk white. The tango dancers naturally made me want to take lessons, so I can do what they do...

Despite the signs saying 'No recording of any kind', I decided to try my luck. Not the most fantastic quality imaginable, but at least it's evidence to the fact I was there ;) They played my favorite songs 'La viguela' (see below) and 'Mi confesion' of which I post the music video.





Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Every HUMAN has RIGHTS


Every Human Has Rights - Campaign Highlights from Every Human Has Rights on Vimeo.


Today is the 60th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the campaign website of 'Every human has rights' there a lot of information about the state of human rights. Amnesty urges everyone to fire up for human rights.

Below are the first ten articles as mentioned in the UDHR. I especially like the third: 'You have the right to live and to live in freedom and safety'. The rest can be read here.

1 When children are born, they are free and each should be treated in the same way. They have reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a friendly manner.

2 Everyone can claim the following rights, despite
- a different sex
- a different skin colour
- speaking a different language
- thinking different things
- believing in another religion
- owning more or less
- being born in another social group
- coming from another country
It also makes no difference whether the country you live in is independent or not.

3 You have the right to live, and to live in freedom and safety.

4 Nobody has the right to treat you as his or her slave and you should not make anyone your slave.

5 Nobody has the right to torture you.

6 You should be legally protected in the same way everywhere, and like everyone else.

7 The law is the same for everyone; it should be applied in the same way to all.

8 You should be able to ask for legal help when the rights your country grants you are not respected.

9 Nobody has the right to put you in prison, to keep you there, or to send you away from your country unjustly, or without good reason.

10 If you go on trial this should be done in public. The people who try you should not let themselves be influenced by others.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Grief and Hope




The photomuseum in The Hague exhibits three photocollections made by famous Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf. I was very impressed with his work. Even though the pictures are more like paintings than photos, in the sense that they are highly styled and perfected, the images are strong. Here are the photos that struck me most, from the series Hope and Grief - more can be found on Olaf's website

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Economics 101


Last Thursday financial journalist Keith Stafford shared the basics of financial reporting in this time of crisis with me and my colleagues at Free Voice. For me, economics has been the subject in high school I failed at miserably. I did pass eventually, but now only remember Keynes' anticyclic spending policies (and use this concept to justify spending money when I'm broke). This lunch lecture was therefore perfect for me.

The content however got me down... Of course I know this crisis will not pass in a day, but Keith warns us that it may take five years for the balance to be restored. In 2009 we can expect some really nasty stuff, including high unemployment, he says. Common people will really then start to notice the effects. And not only in the West, in developing countries even more so.

So, not a lot to be happy about. There seems to be only some good news for producers of chocolate, as in times of crisis more people apparently buy chocolate (instead of white goods). Well, luckily Sinterklaas visited the office later in the day, which lifted our spirits somewhat. It seems we all have to brace for impact.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Rodrigo y Gabriela @ Paradiso

Soon the entire concert will be available via www.fabchannel.com (and hopefully so will Lizz Wright's concert...), but for now I only have my own amateur recording to show here. Pretty amazing what music they make with just the two of them. They sure have great fingers - and knuckles ;) Paradiso was buzzing, the crowd (including me) was happily into it; very nice concert!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Sinterklaas en zwarte piet, vergeet Amis Boersma niet!

This time of the year is the very best. Why? Because Sinterklaas is in the Netherlands of course. It makes me wish I was 8 years old again... But oh well, 29 works fine for me too: I'm still in eager anticipation of the 5th of December and still enjoy the Bert and Ernie Sinterklaas CD, which I know completely by heart. Sorry, this one's actually only fun for Dutch speakers... Dus veel plezier, jongens! ;)

"Wachten duurt lang, lang, lang, wat duurt dat wachten lang"



"Ik strooi snoeeeeeeeep... Handen omhoog, Sinterklaas is in de stad!"

Inspired by IDFA

Not only my friend Miriam (who is about to make an interesting documentary herself by the way) has been inspired by IDFA; I too was very moved and thrilled by the documentaries I've seen. So here's a short impression:

Lucanamarca gave a balanced account of how people deal with the atrocities that were committed by the Sendero Luminoso in Peru. One of the filmmakers also produces the Peruvian Kids News Program NAPA (No Apto Para Adultos), so we attended the showing with a large Freevoice delegation.

The second documentary I saw was Hair India. In this film it's wonderfully shown how this world does not make sense: a poor Indian family goes on a long journey to give away their only possession - their hair - as offerings to their gods. The temple then sells all the long hair to an Indian hotshot businessguy, who has it combed, wrapped and shipped. The hair is flown to Italy, where it is treated and made into perfect hair extensions, which are sold at ridiculously high prices. 'Great Lengths' is worn by the biggest stars.. Yeah, it's all about the money.

Burma VJ - Reporting From a Closed Country was awarded twice (VPRO award and Human Rights Award) and rightfully so. It's a great portrayal of the courage and determination many Burmese journalists show. The Democratic Voice of Burma, and other Burmese media, deserve all the credit they can get. Keep it up, guys!

Shared Children was the only Dutch documentary I saw and it was quite moving as well. It tells the story of two brothers who have to deal with the fact that their parents are divorced and now have new families. This leads to many conflicts of loyalties and confusion. The filmmaker, Frans Bromet, has a great way to show Dutchness in its purest form.

Man on Wire was the last one I saw and it completely lifted my spirits after all those 'heavy' films. How great to see that someone can do the impossible! On August 7th 1974 Philippe Petit walked a wire between the Twin Towers of World Trade Center in New York, wow... The magic is even more intense since those buildings have disappeared from the Big Apple landscape.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Addicted to music

What would I do without my daily shot of music? I honestly wouldn't know. That's why I am especially happy with inventions such as Ipods and YouTube so I never have to do without. This specific trip I've been addicted to several songs, which are all so beautiful that I thought I'd share them with you...





I added two videos of Julieta Venegas, who I think is just fantastic. Too bad I didn't know of her existence when I was in Mexico, otherwise I would have bought every song she ever made (yeah, I know, I can still so that online). Both songs are great, but that duet with Marisa Monte.. wow! Due to a copyright issue, Sony has had the one posted here before removed - not sure how long these will be available...


Mariza - Minh' Alma


I first heard this duet by Jason Mraz and James Morrison on Singapore Airlines In Flight Entertainment and then had it entertain me for hours in a row - together with 'I'm yours' of course! Once a song is in my vains, just can't get it out again....


Red Hot Chili Peppers - Hard to concentrate works especially great in airplanes - but anywhere else too actually

View is nothing new


Since I have been staying at the same hotel in Jakarta several times, it's getting more and more difficult to offer you, my dear readers, a new view every time. This time I am staying on the 17th floor which allowed me to take these beautiful shots of the outside world. If only I could add the sound of traffic coming by and of five mosques starting their call for praying at the same time, all in their own different way... For now, it's just a view, so feel free to use your own imagination for audio.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

View in KL



It's the second time that my room provides me with a view on the Petronas towers (Malaysian's Twin Towers). Hope that I can finally get high up there today and look out over Kuala Lumpur from there...

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Christmas and Crocs





So, I did miss something indeed: Christmas is a big thing amongst Buddhists! Not only was there a Christmas tree in front of the mall near our hotel, all malls seemed to have at least one. And that was only the beginning! Back home we have this rule; no Christmas stuff before Sinterklaas. We celebrate this holy man's birthday on the 5th of December, after which Christmas craze can officially start (By the way, Sinterklaas arrives this Sunday in Amsterdam!). This leaves us only twenty days for preparing, which is - considering the amount of fun some us find in it - rather short. However, being all set in the beginning of November is perhaps a bit too enthusiastic.



And then there's another thing that I don't get: Crocs. The hype seems to have somewhat passed back home, but here in Asia... Crocs are hot! I can see why my brother and sister wear them when we go camping; they're easy to slip in and out of and seem pretty comfortable. But why do Bangkok's coolest wear them while trotting the mall? And the skytrain, for that matter?

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Bangkok



It's become a nice tradition, posting pictures of my hotel room views... This is my view at the Imperial Queen's Park. Must say that I haven't had the chance to try the pool - yet. However, my time here is very well spent, meeting and speaking with journalists and advocates of press freedom. At dinner tonight, we were even addressed by the Secretary General of ASEAN! Good to know he's only journalism's side...


Here's a glimpse of the airport, a great mass of concrete and steel.


Did I miss something, or is it Christmas already?!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Yes, we can!

It's been a long time coming... but change gonna come. What a miraculous moment when it was made know that Barack Obama has been elected the next President of the US!! Of course there isn't much I can contribute to everything that's already been said more eloquently by others. I feel that the citizens of this world have learned to live with a lack of self esteem, as we allowed George Bush to govern the world's most powerful country for eight years.... Now it's time to start believing in our own potential again, coached by Barack Obama. If we just put our minds and hearts to it, anything is possible.

All I can do is refer to my favorite series of all times; the West Wing. I thought it was fiction, but apparently it can be real. This is a time for (American) heroes...

Monday, October 27, 2008

Happy dog's day



Today was the second day of the Tihar festival in Nepal; the day of the dog. This means that dogs are honored. While walking around I ran into some dogs who were well taken care of...

Friday, October 24, 2008

Kathmandu





After my arrival Kathmandu, I have visited two stupa's, two community radio stations, the office of the Forum for Environmental Journalists, a hotel with a fantastic view of the mountains for breakfast, two bars (one of which is the Kathmandu's first jazz bar), the training venue and my hotel, of course. This is my view - which I haven't seen a lot as you can imagine... Now, I'm off again to eat some Newari food!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Boersma brothers



My brothers Lennart and Jesper...

Thursday, October 16, 2008

New hope





Thought that after the demise of Amy Winehouse's health, the end of wonderfull music had begun...but then there was Esperanza. Why do some people have it all??! Well, this girl definately does!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Inspiration; Ted and Obama

How do we remain inspired when we're living our daily lives and going about our business as usual? Well, the answer is to keep on listening to what other people have to say. Not everyone has luminous ideas, but fortunately some of the most inspiring people have been brought together on a platform: TED - http://www.ted.com. It's actually quite addictive... Even though it's impossible to choose, I've embedded only one speech below; Once upon a school. It's about a project started by Dave Eggers, great stuff! Watch it and do something...



Not only TED gets me going though; there's more inspiration in Barack Obama's speeches and the words of those trying to underline his... So here's Bruce Springsteen for you:



Finally, the people I work with and for never cease to inspire; journalists and human rights activists operating on the edge of what is allowed in their countries. Keep it up, my friends!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Persil





For a little more than a week I have had the pleasure to spend a lot of time with Persil. As I mentioned before she's a beautiful cat, though a bit psycho at times. Her breed apparently has a hard time spending time alone and that becomes very clear from her behavior. She craves attention, all the time. Of course, it has been practically impossible getting her in front of the webcam...

Friday, September 26, 2008

Lizz Wright







This is... Great music! The last one is the first jazz song I ever sang; Reaching for the moon.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Popsicle toes are always froze



While I was lying in Bruno and Cecilia's fatboy hammock (great buy!) the other day, this was my view. It made me wonder where my funny feet will take me. Reminded me of a cute little song my mom used to play a lot when I was growing up; popsicle toes, by Michael Franks.



When God gave out rhythm
Sure was good to you
You can add, subtract, multiply and divide by two

I know today's your birthday and I did not buy no rose
But I wrote this song and instead I call it, Popsicle toes

Popsicle toes
Popsicle toes are always froze
Popsicle toes
You're so brave to expose all those Popsicle toes

You must have been Mr. Olympian
With all that amplitude
How come you always load your Pentax when I am in the nude
We are to have a birthday party and you can wear your birthday cloths
Then we can hit the floor and go explore those Popsicle toes

You've got the nicest north of America
This sailor ever saw
I like to feel your warm Brazil and touch your Panama
But Tierra del Fuegos are nearly always froze
We've got to seesaw until we un-thaw those Popsicle toes

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Cat Man Do



As of next week, I'll be spending a month with Persil, the beautiful mixture of a Sacred Birman and Norwegian Forestcat, whom I've lovingly nicknamed psychocat... (pictures will follow). I've spent a few nights with her and must say she's quite demanding - not so much for food though, mostly for attention. Her mommy Miriam showed me the clip above - wow, this could have been inspired by Persil!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Dandelion



My mom has never been a fan of photo albums; all her photos are scattered in a couple of boxes. Every now and then I dive into them and I always end up finding something cool. This is my big brother Ed and me. See how I'm protecting my dandelion...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Opa turns 80


My grandfather celebrated his 80th birthday last week. We went on a boat trip and had a good day together.





I took the opportunity to capture images of the house my grandparents have lived since as long as I can remember... With love to both of them! - even though they are not digitally wired ;)

Friday, August 29, 2008

Maya







You go girl! If only I could vote in the US.... ;)

Chronos the cutie







A few weeks back I visited my friend Jannicke. Finally, I got to meet the newest member to her family, Chronos. Robert diligently works on a blog about the spoiled little boy. Even though he's still naughty, you gotta love him....

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Back to basic














When the world turns upside down, sometimes we need to go back to basic...

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Kids News Network @ the Olympics

The games have begun and Free Voice is there! I'm so proud of my colleagues (You go Maike!) who are now in Beijing making kids news programs with teams from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Do check out the special Youtube channel: http://nl.youtube.com/KNNSport



Friday, July 18, 2008

Let´s dance!

In the past weeks in Mexico, I´ve seen people dance everywhere. Yesterday, a group was practising on the street, probably for a performance during the Guelaguetza, a big festival here in Oaxaca. The clip below shows the same dance, even though it was quite nice to see them do it wearing soccer shirts and jeans below their skirts...

A week with Canica

This post is also posted on the Nam Jai blog, http://amisboersma.blogspot.com

After a week on the beach in Mazunte and Puerto Escondido, we headed to Oaxaca. At the bus station (after a very bumpy ride), we were warmly welcomed by Thomas, a Dutch volunteer working at Canica. We were met on the road by Munye, the Director of Canica, who immediatly introduced us with Canica´s vibrancy with her lively manner of speaking. At a nice cafe, the four of us discussed Canica´s proposal for spending Nam Jai´s donation and the plan for the week to follow was laid out.

Tuesday, we went to visit the Centro de dia, the daycare centre Canica has for the children of the vendors at the nearby market. Since it´s holiday time now, Canica organised a two-week long summer course open to all the children it works with. This means it was crowded with some 90 kids in different age groups - between 1 and 15 years old; some were being read a story, others were working with origami, and others made small carts of newspapers and glue. The atmosphere was relaxed and most kids seemed happy playing and working. During the schoolyear, the Centro de dia has about two groups of 40 children that have breakfast there and can bathe and get dressed for school there. After school they can come back to play or follow computerclasses.

Wednesday, Thomas took us to Casa Canica, a home for girls until the age of 15, who have been abused. The house is located some 30 minutes outside of Oaxaca and truely is a home. The ground floor has communal rooms, all located around a patio and upstairs are the girls´ bedrooms. In total the house has space for 25 girls. At the moment there are 11 girls living there. Even though it became clear from the stories we´d heard from Miya, the volunteer we´d been corresponding with, that the girls have difficult lives, they seemed at ease in Casa Canica. One of the girls, a student of beauty school, was cutting another girl´s hair. Two smaller girls were doing their laundry; another was just sitting around, listening to music.

On Thursday, we were introduced to the division that works with streetvendors, Traja. Leonardo, its coordinator, took us to several neighborhoods where Canica assists families that sell wares on the main crossings and big square (Zocalo) in Oaxaca. They work only with families that comply to all their requirements; the entire family is involved and all children go to school. Canica sends two educadores to the families each week of which one works with children (helping them with homework, talking about their issues) and the other focuses on the parents (giving them advice on how to arrange for paperwork and so on). Also, they work with the family as a whole, teaching them about fysical hygiene, nutricion, the importance of education etcetera. We went to two families, the latter of which was in a really depressing situation: the house was completely made of sinkplates (hot during the day and very cold at night), they had no water or electricity and the toilet merely consisted of a clay bowl. An eight year old girl welcomed us, pulled up chairs and told us her mom wasn´t there. She was taking care of her little brother and sister. How do you tell them that it´s better to send their kids to school than to bring them along to sell gum and earn some 6 euro´s on a day?

Up until now it´s been an inspiring week. It´s an honor to be around people that spend their days helping these children and their families. This afternoon we will go to the ending of the summerschool, where the Nam Jai donation will also be officially handed over. Then tonight, we´ll tag along to the Zocalo where Canica holds a gamenight every Friday. A lot of small streetvendors come up to play; this gives Canica a chance to get to know them (and often their parents) and to see if they could include them in their program.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Nam Jai @ Mexico City

This message is also posted on the Nam Jai blog - http://amisboersma.blogspot.com

After a somewhat smelly flight (There were 23 horses in the trunk of the plane), we arrived safely on Mexican grounds yesterday night. Our conclusion after day One is that it isn´t all that bad with pollution and chaos. We were not once harrased and could easily go about our business. And so we did.. we strutted around half the town, from Zocalo to the Basilica de Nuestra Signora de Guadalupe to Coyoacan. We took the Metro several times, which was quite an experience as each stop presented a new salesperson for CD´s and DVD´s. Carrying a discman or mini DVD player in the hand and a speaker in a backpack, the men and women tried hard to sell their salsa, tearjerkers or salsa dance lessons to the board Metro crowd.

The Basilica was just as ugly as seen on television. The beauty of it was nevertheless that it is actually being used as a church by its faithfull followers. While we were hiding out for the rain, a man came crawling on his knees with his daughter. Apparently, facing the virgin of Guadelupe on your knees, is the highest form of respect for her. Well, the picture was beautifull: pooring rain, a man holding a candle (which was constantly blown out by the wind) underneath an umbrella held up by his eight year old daughter. That is true faith.

Well, these are the first impressions of Mexico. Tomorrow we´ll go on our way to Miacatlan to visit Casa San Salvador. Friday, the kindergarten celebrates a graduation party to which we are invited. I was told Mariachis would be present, so I can´t wait. Now, we´re off for another tortilla. Adios!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Amsterdam












Before heading off to Mexico, I decided to take a good look around and began to wonder: "What's so special about Amsterdam?". Well, I suppose it's its calmness even when it's crowded. On my way to work I noticed the beauty of the sunlight relfecting in the ij; seems peaceful.. In fact people where running around me trying to catch trains and ferries. And then a Sunday afternoon at the Westerpark; people everywhere and still... a great place to be alone with your mind. I do love Amsterdam.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Felt like a farmer













Yesterday, me and my colleagues had a day off to gain some refreshed energy in the Dutch countryside. Some went to make cheese and others did farmer's sports. After being worked by high social pressure, I joint the latter group. Even though I still have a slight muscle ache, it was certainly worthwhile. Actually the countryside is really beautiful; the grass is green, it's quiet and the the sun even came out every now and then. The best part of course was hanging out with my colleagues.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Indonesian sunset


Coffee, clove sigarettes and a bit of jazz
that's what I long for
while the Bandung breeze
whispers in my ears
soft Sundanese sounds
like song


My love for Indonesia still has not ceased, better yet it rises to new levels everytime I visit this country. It's in my vains... I was given a compilation of poems by Mr YL Chong (http://desiderata2000.blogspot.com) and was inspired. Why not share my poems with the world? Well, I'm giving it a try...