The President’s decision on Indonesian Chief Police’ appointment

Right after Joko Widodo was elected president of the Republic of Indonesia in the 2014 presidential elections, he together with his team made a proposal for the appointment of the new chief of the national police. Recently, it was found out that the person chosen for this position, Budi Gunawan, is a suspect of corruption. As a reaction to this news, the President decided to cancel the appointment of Budi Gunawan. The peace of the Indonesian political scene was stirred after the finding of Budi Gunawan’s involvement in corruption. In addition, many politicians, including members of Jokowi’s party, are against his decision. Some of the most notorious Indonesian politicians have manifested their opinion against Jokowi’s determination. They believe that it would be more effective to put Budi Gunawan out of the police due to his suspicion of involvement in bribery (Muhamad Rizki, Syailendra, Tika Primandari, Muhammad Muhyiddin | Indri Maulidar| Anton A). Even though the cancellation appointment of Budi Gunawan has given rise to a great legal controversy, it is an effective measure against corruption because it shows that the government does not tolerate any case of corruption whatsoever, keeps the integrity of the government, and stops high level corruption thus drastically decreasing generalized corruption in society.

To begin with, the president’s election to cancel the appointment of Budi Gunawan is an effective action against corruption because it shows that the government does not tolerate any case of corruption whatsoever. That is, it makes people involved in corruption afraid because they see that the government is strict regarding corruption and truly fights it. If the government did not do anything about the suspicion of Budi Gunawan’s corruption practices, then the other people who are doing so would continue and even worse more people would join that kind of practices. This is especially important for Jokowi who is just beginning as president. If he is not firm enough, he might lose credibility.

Secondly, this decision is the right one because it keeps the integrity of the Government. Making a comparison, it is like trying to sweep a room using a dirty broom. If the broom is dirty, then how are you going to clean the room? It is impossible. That is why everybody working in Government positions must be totally clean from any shadow of corruption, especially people working in the police. The Government is an institution which is established to serve society and be an example of virtues like justice for every citizen. People working for the Government must be virtuous ones, and that is why Jokowi has taken the right decision.

Third and last, the proposal of changing the chief police is a wise one because if high level corruption is stopped, then it is easier to stop generalized corruption in society. A problem in Indonesia according to experts is that corruption is a generalized practice. When you ask somebody why he bribes the police, for example, he will answer that even the police officials do bribing. Therefore, it is clear that if people occupying high positions stop doing it, then other people will more likely stop doing it too. Besides, when high level people are involved in corruption, they are involved in cases where huge amounts of money are being handled, so a big number of people have to participate too. For example, if a city major wants to get some money from an infrastructure project, he will need the collaboration of many more people working together with him and thus corruption will be spread.

To sum up, Joko Widodo is proving to be a person with integrity who is firm against corruption. The decision to change the appointment of Budi Gunawan is one of the best actions taken against corruption in the Republic of Indonesia in the last years. Since this is only the beginning of Jokowi’s presidential turn, people have the hope that many other good actions are going to be taken by him.

What’s up in East Timor?

It was a Saturday afternoon three months ago when I met my friend Frenqui and decided to write this article. We had a long conversation in the porch area of my house. That afternoon was pleasant because of the fresh breeze which is unusual in a city characterized by hot temperatures, that is, Surabaya. Since it was Saturday, we could allow a long conversation. At the beginning we were catching up because it had been a long time since we last met. Nevertheless, the conversation turned into the topic of Frenqui’s country, East Timor. The conversation became more and more interesting. I must acknowledge that before that meeting with Frenqui, my knowledge of East Timor was very limited.

Frenqui told me that he was just nine years-old when the 1999 East-Timorese Crisis broke out. It was the time when a referendum to decide on the independence of East Timor from Indonesia took place. During that time many people chose Independence. As a result, those who preferred Indonesia to stay, decided to take arms and attack the other side. During that time many atrocities were done. Many people were killed. Fortunetely, this events took place far away from the town of Frenqui, which is Souro, in the subdistrict of Los Palos in Lautem.

In the end, East Timor gained Independence and the Indonesian troops had to leave. However,  many soldiers destroyed infrastructures upon leaving. The population also was asked to choose either staying in East Timor or moving to Indonesia and become an Indonesian citizen.  Many people chose to move to Indonesia. However, the family of Frenqui decided to stay in East Timor.

Many bad things were done in East Timor, but the attitude of the people is described in the following words that Frenqui quoted from Jose Ramos Horta:” we forget the past, we look at the present.”

These words reflect the real attitude of the Timorese people.  They are really commited to build their country and to make a better nation for the future Timorese generations. Frenqui is one of the many Timorese studying abroad. He is studying hard in Indonesia with the goal in mind of going back to Timor and to apply all that he has learned. This is Frenqui’s ambition; to give his best for the good of his country and his people. As I listened to Frenqui that day I wished that for myself, to lead a life which is meaningful and relevant for others.

I personally have learned a lot from him, and the reason why I decided to write this article in the blog is to share what I have learned from Frenqui with all the readers of this blog. 

An Afflicting Evil

On the tenth of September, a group of teens was caught after having stolen ten thousand dollars from a HSBC branch located in Long Island, the United States. Just one week earlier, another gang of teenagers escaped from the police after stealing two autos in the Big Apple. Local authorities are too worried about this situation of lack of peace and order on the streets. Juvenile crime, an evil afflicting our society, is growing. This kind of crime is caused mainly by one’s problems, family and social environment.

To begin with, juvenile delinquency is a result of personal problems. One of the main factors leading teenagers to get involved in illegal practices is the lack of emotional stability that generates aggressive impulses. This kind of mental illness results in unstable affection. These people often experience negative influences like problems with anger and anger expression. As a result, other people become the object of hate and contempt, and they end up destroying their relationships. For example, in a junior high school there was a female student suffering this mental illness. She enjoyed the company of one of her female classmates; in fact she wanted to spend the whole time with her. However, it so happened that one day the friend refused an invitation from this girl. As a result, the girl could not take it, and became absolutely distant from her friend. Likewise, emotional stability can lead to committing crimes in the form of theft or violence.

Secondly, the family and its situation can be a cause of juvenile crime. The first reason why this problem is rooted at home is that parents fail to provide a good education for their children. These kids cannot distinguish between good and evil; and therefore, they step over the red line between a worthy and a pitiable life even without being aware of it. For example, kids who have not received education regarding alcohol drinking may end up drinking a lot. Since they are under the influence of alcohol, drunkards are likely to commit crimes even without realizing what they are doing. Besides, youth delinquency stems from the need to escape from a hard financial condition experienced by the family. For example, there are boys who grow in homes where often there is nothing to eat. Because of that, these boys will go out to look for something to bite no matters whether the means are licit or not; it is just a matter of survival.

Last but not least, the society in which one lives is a main factor of juvenile crime. Many kids have started to commit crimes because of the influence from friends who are involved in criminal acts. When one is young, friendship is everything. For this reason, if someone is invited by his friend to commit a crime, it would be too difficult for him to refuse. Moreover, it is the desire for social acceptance when one lives in a criminal environment what thrusts teens into the criminal world. Everybody wants to have friends and feel accepted in his environment; that is why it does not matter if crimes have to be committed in order to attain this goal. For example, there are high schools in poor districts where a boy is bullied if is not involved in some kind of crime. The reason for this is that he is seen as lacking braveness and guts. This reason obviously does not make sense to a normal person, but this is how uneducated people who have grown up in a criminal environment think. As a result kids under this pressure are pushed into evil actions.

The regulation of asking every citizen to have a BPJS

A few years ago the Indonesian Government launched a health insurance program for those citizens who were interested to benefit from it. Recently, a regulation has been passed by the parliament that requires the BPJS for every citizen. Therefore, this health insurance is compulsory now for every citizen. Its implementation started in the beginning of 2014, and by January 1, 2015 every employer is expected to register all his employees in the BPJS. Then, by beginning of 2019 every Indonesian citizen is expected to be part of this health insurance program required by the government. This new regulation brings both advantages and disadvantages for the peoples of Indonesia. Although the new regulation of asking every citizen to have a BPJS helps the poor, it is not a good regulation because it does not provide good salaries for the doctors and nurses, it forces employers to register their employees, and it offers a health service to the poor that is not enough.

It is a fact that the new regulation facilitates the access to health services for people who cannot afford it. In Indonesia there are still many people who have this problem. It is a very sad reality the one of many people who suffer illnesses and cannot receive treatment in the hospitals. Therefore, the BPJS is indeed a noble attempt from the government to solve the problem of the lack of health service for the poor. However, this measure to help the poor to have access to medical services does not overcome its weaknesses. The BPJS unfortunately is not effective yet, and this regulation of asking every citizen to subscribe to it is making bad things worse.

To begin with, this new regulation provides unfair salaries for both doctors and nurses. The budget for the BPJS is determined by the INA-CBG (Indonesia Case Base Groups). This system allocates fixed funds for every specific medical treatment. For example, the budget for every type of CT scan is Rp 250,000. However, there are some types of CT scan that are more expensive than the allotted budget. For example, a heart CT scan is more expensive than a kidney one. Therefore, hospitals will have to pay the difference between the available fund and the real cost. Since the money received by the hospitals is less, then hospitals have to cut the salaries of doctors and nurses. However, that is not fair because doctors and nurses offer a professional work that entails a big deal of pressure and that should be rewarded properly. Beside, doctors spend many years studying, so they need higher incomes to balance the time they have not been getting any income.

Secondly, it is not fair to demand all the employers to register their employees to the BPJS. It is a lack of respect for freedom to force companies to subscribe to the BPJS program because they are free to choose the health insurance that is most suitable for them. If an employer thinks that the health service provided by the BPJS is not good enough, s/he has the right to register his/ her employees in another health insurance that is more suitable for the type of risk the employees are exposed to. For example, if somebody owns a construction company, s/he knows that employees may suffer injuries at a construction site like falling from scaffolding. Therefore, the employer would prefer to register his/her employees in an insurance company like Allianz because this insurance company is specialized in that type of injuries. Now, if the government forces the construction company to also register the employees in the BPJS, the company will have to pay a greater amount of expenses that may reduce the net income of the business and render the business less profitable. Besides, the employer and employees are already contributing to the BPJS by paying their taxes. So, it cannot be said that they do not want to help the poor.

Thirdly, it is not completely fair with the poor people because it does not really take good care of their health. Patients suffering major illnesses will be received in the hospitals and stay in intensive care units if necessary. However, once they recover and can leave the hospital, they will still need to take some medicines that will not be provided by the BPJS anymore. The problem is that those medicines are very expensive, and thus poor people cannot afford them. This is why the BPJS is not truly effective. It does not think in the long run. For example, if a patient is admitted to a hospital because of kidney malfunctioning, s/he will receive treatment in the hospital until the condition improves, but s/he will be left alone afterwards. Besides, it is not possible to get a really good medical service by paying so little. The facilities used cannot be as good because the financial resources are not high. As a result, the poor will get access to a rather low quality health service. Furthermore, the poor people still have to pay. Even though it costs Rp 25,000 per person per month, in the long run it does matter for big families. Since the income of these poor people is too low, they may end up sparing money needed for food in order to get the BPJS. For example, a family was interviewed about the BPJS in a clinic, and the mother said that only the husband and one of the two children have BPJS. The reason why is that they cannot afford the BPJS for four of them. That is why the Government should offer this service for free.

To wrap it up, although the new regulation of asking every Indonesian citizen to have a BPJS has a good aim, to provide health services for the poor, it is not a really effective means to achieve it. This new regulation causes the following problems for the peoples of Indonesia: it does not provide good salaries for the doctors and nurses, it forces employers to register their employees, and it offers an incomplete service to the poor. With the coming of President Joko Widodo, society hopes that this health insurance may become truly effective in serving the poor.

Does Gender Influence the Teaching?

There are some myths in society regarding the teacher’s gender. Those myths have blocked the access to getting teaching job vacancies for both men and women. Two sample myths are the following. The first is that women are better teachers at kindergarten, and the second is that men are better teachers at senior high school. At the beginning of the twentieth century, competition at work became high. However, that level of competition at work is nothing compared with the one going on nowadays. The advent of the state-of-the-art technology that everybody can enjoy has lead competition to rocket. As a result, employers look for the most qualified people for the needed jobs. Within this search for employees there is a study about which gender is more competent for a specific job. This is applied to education. Schools want to employ the best teachers; and for that objective, they need to know whether one gender is better than the other when it comes to teaching. Women and men can become equally professional teachers, but at the same time each one has unique gifts for making the teaching-learning experience more perfect.

Both, male and female have the same capacity to become excellent teachers. To begin with, women and men teachers have the same intellectual capability. It is a fact that no gender is more intelligent than the other. There are many studies that prove this fact, such as the one conducted by Jim Flynn and Lilia Rossi-Case in 2011. Moreover, male and female teachers have the same capacity to teach professionally; that is, helping the students to learn the subject matter in the most suitable way. Therefore, teachers of both genders can explain in a clear way that is understandable for the students. Also, they know when the students have a difficult time understanding the subject matter, and know how to adjust in these circumstances by explaining from a different perspective and offering new examples. For instance, among the winners of the Pearson Teaching Awards 2014, which is one of the most prestigious teaching awards in the world, we find the team of The King’s School, which is lead by Paula Ferrand and composed of both, women and men. Therefore, the ability to transmit knowledge effectively to the student can be acquired regardless of gender.

Women and men are gifted in its own way to make the teaching-learning experience more effective. First, women are more caring than men by nature, so they can help the students to feel more confident in the class and undertake a risk taking behavior when doing the exercises. Since the time of conception, women feed and comfort their children. This extremely close bound with their children enhances a special capacity for care and love. Therefore, female teachers are capable of exerting this care and love for those students who are undergoing a difficult emotional time. This is important because students are human and need to feel loved and cared for. As an example, in Surabaya there is a boy named Reiner, studying in Saint Louis high school, who had some personal needs, but it was only a female teacher who felt that, and was able to kindly help him find a solution. The male teachers of Reiner could not have imagined what Reiner needed. Secondly, men show more discipline than women, so they are more likely than women to engage the students in the subject matter at hand. It is a fact that men will not feel any remorse of conscience to correct students who misbehave in class. This is the reason why most of the military schools are made up of men. When something wrong is going on in the classroom, male teachers do not hesitate to take tough actions if needed. As a consequence, the students will develop the habit to focus more on the class and avoid disrupting the class, or getting distracted.

Nowadays in the midst of an extremely high competition at the workplace, schools do not need to worry whether the teachers they hire are male or female. Both, women and men can be excellent teachers. Regardless of gender, human beings have the same capacity to attain a high intellectual level. Besides, the skill of transmitting knowledge to students can be attained by both genders. However, there are differences between male and female teachers. Nevertheless, those differences do not make one gender better than the other, but rather unique. Both, men and women have unique gifts that make them special. Therefore, it is needed to have teachers of both genders. As a conclusion, schools should not look at the gender when hiring teachers, but rather at the acquired skills for teaching the given subject matter.

Official Trailer | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Here we publish the official trailer of the latest movie of the short story entitled, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. If you remember, on September 1, 2013 we published a post on this short story.

The Amazing Story of Bosco Gutierrez Cortina

In August 1990, Bosco was caught on the street by a group of criminals. They punched and threw him in the trunk of a car, stripped naked, carried in a blanket “like a little taco”. They put him on black painted goggles so that he couldn’t recognize them. Once these criminals took Bosco to the place where he would spend nine months kidnapped, which is the city of Puebla, one hour and thirty minutes away from Mexico City, they removed the goggles, and Bosco saw his raptors for first time. They were wearing white sheets covering their heads. His captors told him via written instructions, that he must answer truthfully such things as where his wife went to the hairdresser, what school his children attended, what route they took and so on. If he lied, they threatened to kill him and kidnap one of his brothers. This was the way his raptors would communicate with him, so that Bosco would not know how their voices sound like. So, he decided to answer only those questions his captors could verify if they put his family under surveillance, but he still felt as if he had betrayed them. “I felt like a piece of nothing.” He was imprisoned in a cell of three meters long and one meter wide, without windows sothat he would lose the sense of time. The criminals were playing a thirty minutes cassette over and over again during the whole day. For a couple of weeks, he sat in the corner by a makeshift toilet in a fetal position, hoping to die.


His captors realized that if they didn’t do something he was going to die, so they wrote him a message on Mexico’s Independence Day and told him he could have a drink. He asked for a high ball-sized glass of whiskey. When it arrived, he felt it “was the best thing I ever had.” It began what he called a “cult of the whiskey,” where he smelled it, ran the glass along his unshaven dirty face. But then he heard an internal prompt: “Bosco, give up the whiskey. Show me you are strong.” That internal voice persisted, “Give me something that is under your control.” So he threw the whiskey away without taking a sip. He wrote himself a note. “Today I won my first battle. I know at the end I can still be free, that I am not a piece of nothing.”


Bosco realized his family was trying to arrange for his release and praying for him. So, in order to survive to the kidnapping, he designed a regime of regular prayer and exercise and Bible study. He also realized he could not live with anxiety. In addition he was focused on living a daily routine. First: mental health; second: physical health; and third: action! He lived an impressive discipline not allowing the imagination turning him crazy. He designed a plan of physical health—one cassette for crunches and three cassettes for footing and mosquito hunting in order to keep sharp reflexes—, a plan of mental health—avoiding anguish and negative thoughts—and a spiritual plan.


The raptors contacted the family of Bosco and asked for a ransom. Bosco’s family was willing to pay the ransom; they wanted to do anything to save him. Everything was planned to pay the ransom and to free Bosco, but eventually the ransom fell through. Bosco had been for six months kidnapped in the cell, when it happened, so it was another hardship for Bosco who imagined himself free already. He had to face other three months kidnapped there, although he didn’t know exactly how time would he spend there. That situation was very hard, because he didn’t know if he would continue there for another month, one year, or even he would spend the rest of his life there. Psychologically, that is very hard to bear and to give up could seem the only choice, but Bosco didn’t give up,and after three months he decided to try out some makeshift tools—that he had done previously—while he could hear one guard taking a shower and the other sleeping. He ended up walking past them to freedom. His family decided not to pursue an investigation as a tacit agreement with his kidnappers that they leave them alone.





Bosco had to spend nine months alone in a three meter long and one meter wide cell; without sense of time, he could not know if it was night or morning, because in his cell there was not a single window. Besides, he was always listening to the same music, even at night, which makes very difficult to sleep. He had to bear the terror of knowing that he could die at any time, because his raptors had weapons. He was very concern for his family knowing that they were suffering greatly his lost, and also the fear of knowing that they could be attacked too. Even during the first months, he didn’t even have clothes to wear, which made him feel like an animal losing his dignity of man. This is how Bosco spent those nine months that lasted his kidnapping, and yet he survived, and he was able to go back home with his family and to continue having a happy life with his beloved ones, thanks to his perseverance to keep hope and keep himself healthy.

Why is Jokowi so popular?

When I arrived in Indonesia two years and a half ago, I did not know anything about politics in this country. Actually, not even during these years of my stay here I have learnt it, maybe because of the big number of political parties that makes me confused.  However there is a name that has stuck to my mind, that is Joko Widodo. Everybody speaks of him, and he appears often in the media. Recently he was appointed as candidate for the 2014 presidential elections. Therefore, I have wondered how come Joko Widodo is so popular. He was just a furniture retailer in Solo, but since the year 2005 has won all the elections he has presented to, that is as mayor of Solo in 2005, and as governor of Jakarta in 2012. To win the elections is one thing, but to be a good leader is another thing. However, Jokowi has proven the latter also. In fact, he received the 3rd place of the 2012 World Mayor Prize for "transforming a crime-ridden city into a regional center for art and culture and an attractive city to tourists. There are three main reasons why Joko Widodo is so popular, not only in Indonesia, but in the whole world, as the award he received proves.

First and foremost, he truly cares for the people. For him becoming mayor or governor is not a matter of thirst for power, but rather an opportunity to serve his fellowmen. Jokowi has a virtue which is essential for a leader, which is listening to others. This is the x-factor of Jokowi and is shown in his Blusukans or “unscheduled visits.” These consist in coming up in crowded areas where people work daily, such as markets, bus stations, etc. He goes there to have a direct contact with the people. To see what is going on in those places, and analyze how things can be improved. Besides, it is very striking because he does these visits not in an official way, but rather in a casual way, as if he were one more in those places. Even he has been confused for a Becak driver.

            Second, he has proven himself in Surakarta, which was his first testing ground as a leader. He did it very well and as I mentioned above, he got the third position in the 2012 World Mayor Prize. He had many achievements in Surakarta. First, he was able to change the fame of this city from a crime-ridden city into “The Spirit of Java.” Because of this, Surakarta has recovered his cultural value, and therefore has become a main tourist destination in Indonesia, and even in the whole Southeast Asia Region. Second, he was able to build new traditional markets, including an antiques market and a home appliances market. These kind of buildings is very much needed due to the farmer community.

Third, in his two years as governor of Jakarta has got good achievements. To begin with, he was able to successfully move street vendors from beside the road in order to create more road lanes in the area of Tanah Abang. Third, he has fought hard to stop the floods. For example, he began together with the World Bank, a $189 million flood-mitigation dredging-project aimed at reducing sedimentary buildup caused by poor maintenance and solid waste management. Besides, he has promised subsidized apartments for people living along rivers that tend to flood. Although he has not stopped the floods yet, he is working hard to get this problem solved. Besides, this is a big problem that began due to corrupt practices in the past, so it cannot be solved in a period of just two years.

            To sum up, I think Joko Widodo is a role model for politicians in Indonesia. He is a person who put someone else’s needs before his. He is willing to do his best for the future of Indonesia.

Reading English Novels

Nowadays young people spend their spare time playing computer games and watching movies. Lying in front of a screen and being passive is the trend; maybe because it does not require a mental effort. Therefore, this comfort-seeking society regards reading novels as a tiring and boring activity. However, reading English novels has lots of benefits.

First of all, it is a good hobby. Reading a novel is a time worthy spending because it is very entertaining. For instance, when I read Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, I felt as if I were sailing with the Old Man along the coastline of Cuba running after the largest fish ever seen. Reading this novel was so exciting. Moreover, it is relaxing. When I was preparing for my college entrance examination in Spain, I was studying very hard every day to get the scores I needed. It was very tiring, but twenty minutes of reading at night would help me relax and get ready to face the next day. Besides, it is available anywhere and anytime; the only requirement is to bring a book along.

Secondly, reading English novels helps mastering the English language. For one thing, it improves reading skills. For example, I like reading novels, and because of that I can read the textbooks required for my college subjects faster and getting more meaning. In addition, it improves sentence skills. For instance, I have learned the use of quotation marks intuitively by reading English novels. Furthermore, reading novels increases vocabulary. For example, after I read The Jury by John Grisham, I was able to understand the vocabulary of basic legal terms and understand simple legal issues.

Third and most important, reading novels increases knowledge. Novels depict the world as it is. For instance, reading “Around the World in Eighty Days” by Jules Verne, taught me geography by describing countries such as England, Japan, Singapore, and the United States. Moreover, novels describe people of different races, with their own cultures and religions. As an illustration, I have never been in India, but reading “The life of Pi” by Yann Martel has taught me some lessons about Indian society. Finally, some novels are based on science. For example, when I read I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, I learned some advantages that robotic research could bring about.

In conclusion reading English Novels is a good hobby, helps mastering the English language, and increases knowledge. If people who do not like reading and are deceived thinking that it is boring just knew one of these benefits, they would leave videogames behind and embark on the adventure of reading novels.

An Unforgettable Lesson

Last year I was invited to attend the “International Student Summit 2012” at Bogor, Indonesia. This was a three day seminar starting on Sunday, November 11. The participants were three representatives from each of the 25 invited universities. We met there to share our experiences studying in Indonesia; experiences such as; overcoming culture shock when coming to Indonesia, learning Bahasa Indonesia, the importance of an International Office at the university, and some others. The reason for holding this seminar is to address the growing  number of international students in Indonesia every year. The Indonesian Government is willing to support this growth and facilitate the studies of these international students. The seminar opened with a speech delivered by the Director General of Higher Education in Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Ir Djoko Santoso MSc.

In that seminar I met people from all over the world; people from Mexico, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Kenya, Uganda, and some other countries. I had nice talks with most of them, but I will never forget my conversation with a student from Ivory Coast. He looked very elegant because he was wearing a tucked blue striped white shirt, black pants, black rimmed glasses, and was bringing a black suitcase along with him. We started talking about trifling things such as soccer, then I asked him what was he doing in Indonesia, and he told me that he was taking a PhD in law in a University at Sumatra. I asked him about his studies. He told me that he was doing his best; that he was working very hard. I got curious, so I asked him, “What are your plans for the future?”, and he replied, “Well, I’m not very sure, but what I really want to do is to contribute in building up my country again”. Then I realized that Ivory Coast had just ended a Civil War, so I told him, “I understand—well—I’m so sorry for all that has happened in your country”. Then, he started telling me stories about those months of the Civil War. Despite the topic, the conversation didn’t have a sad tone, but rather it was optimistic, in the sense that my friend now is not looking backwards, but rather, he is looking to the future. He told me that there are a big number of Ivorian university students who are very committed to change the situation of their country. They are willing to work very hard in order to build up their country again. They are ashamed of those people who led Ivory Coast to war and destruction.

For those who are not very familiar with that Civil War, I will summarize it here: The Second Ivorian Civil War, that caused the death of 3,000 people, broke out in March 2011. The reason was that in the 2010 Ivorian presidential elections, the candidate Alassane Ouattara was declared the victor, but the President of the Constitutional Council proclaimed that the results were invalid and that Gbagbo, the former president, was the winner—I must mention here that the President of the Constitutional Council was an ally of Gbagbo. As a consequence, both Gbagbo and Ouattara claimed victory and took the presidential oath of office. But, it was Quattara who was internationally recognized as president of Ivory Coast by the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union, the United States, and former colonial power France. They called for Gbagbo to step down, however, negotiations to resolve the dispute failed and hundreds of people were killed in conflicts between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces. Eventually on April 11, 2011, after much fight Gbagbo was arrested at his residence. During these four months and one week of conflict, a big number of human rights violations took place by both sides, like the Duekoue massacre where 1,000 civilians were killed.

What I have just described is the experience my friend lived every single day for four months and one week. He lived in a country where people were killed every day, including civilians. He used to wake up every day with the fear of thinking that it would be his last; or even worse, thinking that he would lose someone whom he loves very much. As I see it, living in those circumstances requires a great deal of fortitude in order to keep doing everything necessary to survive and protect one’s family. To experience in first hand a Civil War is a traumatic experience; it is a wound difficult to heal. My friend suffered very much, however he has forgiven those who have hurt him and his family. Like Nelson Mandela, his only desire is to build up his country again, especially by bringing justice. To do that, he knows that he must work very hard, but he is willing to do it, and in fact he is already doing it by studying very hard. I haven’t met Nelson Mandela, but it was the closest I have ever got.

I was very impressed with this Ivorian man after my first talk with him, because he taught me the lesson of working not for one’s own benefit, but rather for the others’ happiness. As we finished I thought that unfortunately, most of the university students I have met so far have no high ideals in life; they just study, meet their friends, play sports, and maybe at most they work in a student organization, but that’s it. The people are always thinking of what they themselves need at present, and they don’t think of what the others need. They do not care about what is happening around them. Unable to see the many people suffering around them. At first I thought about the insensitivity of my friends, but eventually I included myself in this group. After meeting this friend I have also decided to have high ideals of doing good to other people, especially to those who need it the most. In  conclusion, I think that to have these ideals and to strive to achieve them is the only way to have a meaningful life, a life worthy to be lived.

The Obliging Indian

I have experienced many events in my life. Most of those events are ordinary ones. However, I have experienced some unforgettable ones.

A few days ago, I  traveled from Manila to Surabaya. As there was no direct flight, I had to make a stop-over in Singapore. Once there, I wanted to visit the Novena Church together with my friend Eddie. We went there directly from the airport taking the state-of-the-art MRT. The MRT is excellent and makes travelling within the city very comfortable. However our trip to Novena was rather tiring because we brought our heavy luggage along with us. I brought a trolley bag, but Eddie brought two ones. That physical effort was especially difficult for me because I had a cold since a couple of days ago. Hence, both of us were very tired during our stay at Novena. That’s why we decided to take a snack at the canteen before leaving. Once we were done I needed to blow my nose because of my cold, but I did not have tissue paper, so Eddie asked me: “Do you need some tissue paper?” and I replied: “I will just take some from the toilet”. Then a few seconds afterwards, an Indian approached Eddie. Until that time I barely noticed his presence at that canteen. It was like he just appeared suddenly from somewhere. Frankly speaking, he looked to be a bit poor because he was very thin. In fact all his bones were clearly noticeable. Also because the clothes he wore was very simple, it was not fashionable at all. Besides, the Indian looked a bit old, because most of his teeth were missing and the skin of his face was sagging. He was bringing along with him a little black plastic bag. When he was in front of Eddie he put his right hand in the plastic bag and then slowly drew out a green "Kleenex" pocket-sized tissue pack. Using body language he moved his hand holding the green "Kleenex" toward Eddie as if offering it to him. Obviously, I thought that he wanted to sell it to Eddie, but then Eddie asked: “Is it for free?”, and the Indian  nodded his head indicating a “yes” and gave it to Eddie. He never spoke, he just used body language. That man was special; I will never forget his keen ear ready to serve others and his silent generosity. No one asked for his help, he just overheard that I needed tissue paper, and he gave it to me without asking anything back, in spite of his poverty. This detail will seem a drop in the bucket to many people, but if everybody acted like this man did, then we would fill up that bucket, and many problems will be solved. Probably my friend you are reading this story of me now, so I give you thanks again. Thank you very much.

Q&A about "The Kiss" By Anton Chekhov

The Kiss starts on an evening when the officers of the Reserve of Artillery Brigade are invited by Lieutenant-General Von Rabbek to take tea at his home. Once in the house the officers meet the family of Von Rabbek and are invited to have a drink and dance. While most of the officers dance, Ryabovich, the protagonist, wanders around the house because he does not know how to dance. Then, when he is alone inside a bedroom, a woman enters, kisses him, and leaves right away. Ryabovich does not know what to do next. He is just confused thinking whether the kiss was intentional or not. On the one hand he becomes glad thinking that it could be the beginning of a love story, but on the other hand he thinks that it was just an accident and that he will never be loved by anybody because he is not an attractive person.

This short story written by Anton Chekhov analyzes the psychology of the protagonist, especially his decision making process after he is kissed by the mysterious woman. The Kiss is a modern short story because its conclusion is an expression of disenchantment.

The protagonist has a very low perception of himself. He considers himself to be somebody not attractive and not capable of accomplishing much. Therefore he lives a dull life in which he does not feel confident enough to undertake high projects. However, after Ryabovich is kissed, he begins to see the world in a new light. He starts thinking that after all he is not that unattractive, and that he is competent and capable of doing great things. Then, what he just hopes is to see again the woman who kissed him and to talk with her, and propose her to get married and live a happy life together until the end of their lives.

Ryabovich tries hard to find again that woman. He even went back to Von Rabbek’s house to ask whether she was back. However, there are no traces anywhere of that woman. Therefore, Ryabovich begins thinking that it was just an illusion; something beautiful to think of and that is. Ryabovich thinks that to be kissed suddenly and be looked for by someone who really loves you is something that only happen in romances, but not in real life. As a consequence that new light enkindled by the kiss just fades away with these new thoughts.

The two above mentioned positions do not succeed each other chronologically, but rather intermingle along the story. It is a fight of two opposite ways of looking at reality; that is a positive one and a negative one. The positive one looks at the future, whereas the negative one looks at the past. The positive one keeps hope, whereas the negative just damns itself to a terrible fate. The positive one enkindles a light of joy in one’s life, whereas the negative one encircles one’s horizons with the darkness of sadness. Between these two opposed forces lies Ryabovich.



Unfortunately, at the end it is the negative way of looking at reality the one that conquers the other. Ryabovich looses hope and decides to forget that kiss and give up his search for the woman. It is disenchantment that conquers the soul of Ryabovich and makes him think that in this life there is no room for joy and hope. It is disenchantment that makes Ryabovich a victim of sadness and despair. This disenchantment is a trait of Modernism, so this short story belongs to Modernism. However this is a very early type of Modernism, which does not contain some of the characteristics of Modernism. Another characteristic of Modernism in Chekhov’s stories is the stream of consciousness that later on authors like Joyce would makes use of.

A noiseless patient spider

A noiseless patient spider

A noiseless patient spider,

I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,

Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,

It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,

Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,

Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,

Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,

Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,

Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

We really like "A noiseless patient spider" because of the way Whitman expresses the theme; that is, through the comparison of the speaker in the poem and a spider. The theme is: "yearn for companionship". Like the spider, the poem's speaker is patiently waiting  in wonder in the middle of a vast open world for something to fulfill it’s yearns. While the spider yearns for food , the soul of the speaker yearns for a certain someone , maybe a companion  with whom to share thoughts and feelings and to end his loneliness.

Reflections after watching the film "Dead Poet's Society"

What do you think about the ending of the story?

Well, I think the ending of the story is really sad, not just because one of the talent students (Neil) ended his life by committing suicide, but also because a teacher (John Keating), who gave a good influence and succeeded to motivate his students to find their own potential, was treated without respect by the school and was fired from his position, poetry teacher, because of unacceptable reasons.

At the end of the story, if you watched the film. We will remember that the students gave their last respect and farewell by going up on top of the table and standing up in front of the teacher (John Keating), even with the new teacher present in the class. With sadness and calm, John Keating replies  two times: "Thank you". He really appreciates what the students do.   

What's your opinion about poetry before and after watching the movie?

My opinion about poetry before watching the movie, was that poetry is an ou of date subject that is useless to learn. Besides that, nowadays when you speak with  other people and use poetry, people will think that you are flirting. My opinion was like the one of other people; that is, that poetry is not a common lesson.

After I watched "Dead Poet's Society", I realized my thoughts about poetry were too shallow. Poetry actually is very entertaining. But also, very difficult to understand.

Reflections after watching the fim "Dead Poets Society"

What does "seize the day" mean?
Seize the day is the translation of Carpe diem which are the words that begin the last line of a Latin poem written by Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 BC – 8 BC), more widely known as Horace. The poem is in Horace's Odes Book 1, number 11. It has become an aphorism.

In Horace, the phrase is part of the longer Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero, which can be translated as "Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow (the future)". The ode says that the future is unforeseen and that one should not leave to chance future happenings, but rather one should do all one can today to make one's future better. This phrase is usually understood against Horace's Epicurean background. It is important to note that the "Carpe diem" phrase is often misinterpreted and misused in contemporary popular culture, to justify reckless behaviour ("you only live once"). However, the meaning of Carpe diem is not to ignore the future, but rather not to trust that everything is going to fall into place for you and taking action for the future today.

What is the students' attitude to poetry before Mr. Keating teaches them?

Most of the students at Welton, come from well-off families, where the parents work as doctors, engineers, businessmen, etc. Therefore they think that poetry is something not as important as mathematics, physics or chemistry, so that is why they are not very interested in learning poetry.

Theme in “God Sees the Truth, but Waits": Forgiveness

After we read "God Sees the Truth, but Waits" in class, we were asked by our teacher to think whether the message of this short story is Christian or not, and if not, what kind of message it is. At the beginning I was not sure because as everybody knows, Tolstoy developed a radical anarcho-pacifist Christian philosophy which led to his excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901. So, I did not think that such a person could write a short story with a Christian message. However, after a thorough analysis I came to the conclusion that this short story actually has a Christian message. I think it is a support for Christianity because the topic is forgiveness, which is one of the characteristics of Jesus Christ and his followers. This short story gives a wonderful example of forgiveness. Aksionov, the main character in the work, is accused of murder and sent to Siberia where he is forced to work in a mine for twenty six years. Therefore he loses everything, absolutely everything, including his family. Worst of all is the fact that the accusation and punishment are false; that is, Aksionov did not kill the merchant who was found dead. This is one of the most painful experiences one can have, the one of being unfairly accused of something. When someone experiences something like Aksionov does, what one wishes is that truth may be known by everybody, particularly the truth about the crime. Besides this desire, there is another desire which is directed towards the person who actually committed the crime. This desire can take many different forms, but only one is the perfect one, the sublime one; that is, forgiveness. It is sublime, but difficult in these circumstances. Nevertheless, Aksionov forgives the person who actually committed the crime, Makar Semenyonich. This is a high level kind of forgiveness because what is forgiven is a lot; that is, the lost of one’s job, family, external freedom, friends, house, city, and so on. How can be possible to forgive something like that? Why on earth should someone forgive a person like Makar Semenyonich? The only answer is found in the teaching of Jesus Christ. That’s why I do believe that this short story has a Christian message.

If you haven’t read the story yet, please click the following link:  http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2061/

Presentation In The Class

This picture was taking during our presentation on "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

Considerations on the theme of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

Recently Jonatan, Jordan, and I were asked in class to deliver a presentation on the short story entitled, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" published in 1939. This short story written by the American, James Thurber, is about a man, Walter Mitty, who lives a very simple life and is married with a nagging wife. However, the life of Walter Mitty sometimes gets exciting due to his daydreams. He has five daydreams during the short story. In the first one he is a pilot of a U.S. Navy flying boat in a storm, in the second one he is a famous surgeon, in the third one he is an assassin testifying in a courtroom, in the fourth one he is a Royal Air Force pilot volunteering for a suicide mission to bomb an ammunition dump, and in the fifth one he faces a firing squad. This short story presents an interesting question, which is how to face a hard life. Actually the life of Walter Mitty is not really hard, but it is true that he suffers because everybody nags him, especially his wife. So, what does Walter Mitty do to face this difficulty? The answer is, to escape from reality by daydreaming. Therefore, one of the topics of this short story is “escapism.” As a consequence Walter Mitty has a secret life.

After reading "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" I started asking myself whether I have a secret life. At first I thought it was not the case, but little by little I realized that actually I have a secret life. "How can this be possible?" the reader of this blog will ask. The answer is by reading literature. When we read a book, we are doing something deeper and greater than just looking at a number of words put together. We actually live the story we are reading, we become the protagonist of the story, and we can think and feel like the character of the story. By reading we visit new places where perhaps it might be impossible for us to go in the real life. Likewise we get acquainted with new people who in the case of biographies really existed or exist. So, this is the secret of my secret life and I really think that it is very beneficial because the number of things I can learn is unlimited. Besides, it is so fun.

Although I said that I have a secret life, I do not mean that I have a secret life as Walter Mitty does. The difference lies in the line separating the real life from the secret life. Walter Mitty does not have such a line, whereas I do have because I can distinguish between what is inside the books and what is outside the books. The difference might seem just a matter of perception, but it goes deeper because it influences our behavior. That is, when I read literature I escape from the real life, but I am fully aware of it and ready to face the problems of real life. On the other hand, Walter Mitty daydreams to escape from real life, and his daydreams become his real life. By doing that, he runs away from the problems of real life. I think we need to be brave and face our difficulties, instead of running away from them. By stating this, I do not mean that daydreaming is wrong, but rather I mean that to explode the line between real life and daydreams is wrong because it causes us to run away from our responsibilities and alienate ourselves from those people who surround us.