After the energy of silence to the PIZZA

After the energy of silence to the PIZZA
By Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta.

I am grateful to be ready to live here. Two weeks before Labor Day, we enjoyed our times together to prepare our home and family members for welcoming the new life here. It is very important  for my spirit, mental health and physical life.

When I was young to study in Holland, lived many years in Amsterdam, I enjoyed the change of weather without adding responsibility to myself except focusing in the finishing of my dissertation. I used to live in Syracuse, Upper New York and New York City but no time to unite myself with a particular activity to cultivate nature because of the attention to another job in a short time of my living there. Now I have the free time to write and do what I believe should happen before I reflect on.

So when we arrived at the Walker Center where  our current apartement is located, I immediately asked about the handling of kitchen waste. Actually I have done in Yogyakarta for five years to rotate our kitchen waste on our yard around home.  My practices of organic disposal came from my experiences living in Berkeley, California. So turns out here in Boston,  kitchen waste with other waste are mixed. Even in the United States, each state has its own rules. Environment awareness is starting from the West Coast of the United States such as California that there is no snow in winter therefore natural process of disposal still works. But this argument is also quite weak because it turns out I was told by my new friend, older than me to be right to call her "mother" who works  as a gardener, that in earlier times in every home provided  metal bins to accommodate organic waste. After full, farmers came to take them  then processesed by burying directy on ground.

Why am I paying attention to waste, why is exaggerating? Organic waste is not juts about kitchen waste, although this is where women gives their time to spend for caring family. Waste is as a very sensitive word to me.  Experiences then and now are the remaining bits in the memory. I want those experiences together, reprocessed to become a source of strength for the growth of an experience that will ccome in the future. My friend, mother Wanda came to help me when I was cleaning the field being used for growing organic waste, while cutting the long stalks, she was imagining the place as she said when the spiring and summer comes this land will be blooming with flowers around her who might be reading a book on the terrace to see and to smell the life.    Experience that would happen was incubated started with impregnating  memories in the act of preparing the land .

 

When we were preparing our home to get ready before the arrival of the new season, we have to look at the shops . There are large stores such as Target, Cosco, Walmart, Home Depot. These stores are huge malls which theorytical are seen as symbols of capitalism .   Although I know the age of those shops which are beyond my age, for example Walmart was built in the early 20th century.  The long histories of shops with symbols of capitalism I have to appreciate because of that I let myself down there looking for needs to be equipped for day -to -day life. These shops provide items that have not been used, which I will pass on to someone who will take them when we left Boston. To deal with the fall and winter, we need thick jackets. We looked at the small shops that sell mainly secondhand goods. Also, the kitchen items that do not exitst in our rental house we can get it here. Recycling existing principles as seeds in planning to transfer our stuff to someone who will accept it or make a donation to the secondhand stores,  have started to apply now.

On the sidelines looking for a source of recycling activities in the stores, I was in the early days wanted to find quickly the natural garden  where we can walk or run.  It is there. USA is very good on this natural protection! Now we can jog at  the combination of distance of the two parks which is approximately 6 miles length without being distracted by the vehicles. I am very happy because my  husband left his computer to start jogging again. Pak Bernie finished the ING New York marathon in 2005. After his dream fulfilled, starting very rarely ran.  We hope to run together now!  By training my marathon in Numerbega and Auburndale Parks, I hope will continue to run even if my dream to participate marathon bringing the awareness for USA’s people about situation of human rights in Papua has been reachedd.

Coming directly on my mind is to what extend I can prepare deep on the issues that relate to Papua to discuss some important topics on the developmental policies to be effected to the people of Papua, raising questions relate to the indigenous management of natural resources, discussing right education for children in the highland or remote sites, building understanding on how road which relates to the opportunities for the accessibility of Papua and their risk due to  the disaster unpreparedness for the transformation in the areas. I know I can list long thoughts on the issue. Papua has been my passion to be advocated. However, since I am here in the State which gives me the access to share the important issues of Papua on the the particular abusive human rights by the Indonesian militarism to the indegenous people in the areas. Strengthening Militarism in Papua helps to protect the interest of foreign especially Freeport which is the biggest American mining company in the world. Freeport has depleted the area of Papua since the 60s to now .

Some strategies have grown in my mind to address the issues of Papua.   Several meetings have been done but I need to have more lobbying to work with the experts on Papua and civil society to bring this case to the tables of USA 's legislators . The way to go is a long one. On top of that, I am preparing myself to run a Marathon in Washington DC for my campaign on justice in Papua. Since we arrived in MA, I have enjoyed the energy of silence. After two months of the journey on the great American road trip, from the West Coast to the East Coast, arriving to our new home was a big relief for me. Friends at my FB were those whom I shared the entire journey as they appeared in the form of pictures with comments. Smartphone has changed our life especially myself who could share lots of pictures from our trip as stories to my friends and families on this FB network. Travelling needs updates and moves so fast. Memories from the current experiences are captured to be shared directly before the new stories take attention from the old one. Waiting too long gets spoil and dismisses! On the other hand, those stories need to be reflected continually especially on some important aspects to answer the question on how to make efforts to learn from the USA's experience to bring home to Indonesia.

The two weeks in my energy of silence, have actually helped me to plan my targets for living here in Boston beside writing my books at the Institute for Culture, Religion and World Affairs of Boston University where I will be doing workshops for students and community outreach for building culture of peace. My newest project will be relating to PIZZA which stands for "Peace Incredible Zoom Zone Authenticity". This project will bring people to make PIZZA together and reflect on the meaning of its as I have created the authentic understanding of Peace for our earth and world. Bringing peace to Boston to be spread out to this world as the seeds planting in Fall to be blooming in Spring, I will see all people will have a good time together. Actually I have started this project, by introducing PIZZA to the community of Walker Center for the welcoming party two days ago after taking my husband to the airport to head to China. Here, in the Walker Center where the world comes to meet, I made two types of PIZZA, the salami ( non- halal ) and the salam ( halal ) PIZZA because there are friends who are Moslem and Christian living together in this area.

I will be writing more on the details of my stories , but I want this one to be posting now. Life has to move on as I am approaching  the coming of cold weather now. In September 6th, today, while typing, I can feel cold prenetating into my bone. Today the weather in the early morning has gone down to close to zero degree of Celsius or 40 degree of Fahrenheit .  I love the time when my body is wrapped with warm clothes and I walk breathing fresh air. How wonderful God creates this earth for human beings to thanking, enjoying and sharing. I love it! 

PIZZA and its new meaning! Can you guess what?