lesson #19: Do you have a HOME?

wah wah, sekarang mo ngomongin rumah... uda kangen balik indo ya?
hmm...ngga.
klo gituu...uda mo kawin??
hmm...ngga. kok?
kan klo uda kawin, butuh rumah donk...hayoo.. mo beli rumah ya?
(geleng2)...ngga.
trus? mo ngoceh aje?
(ngangguk2)..iyaa..

tapi karena kata "rumah" dalam bahasa indo kurang akurat, kali ini gw bakal pake bahasa inggris ya.. ga sering2 kok..cuman klo ga ada bahasa indonya...

home.

i'm a foreign student livin in a university residence (or hall or dormitory).. my house (bought without even a cent from my own pocket, of course) is in indonesia (not bali)...everytime holiday comes, people ask, "Are you goin home this holiday?"...and i'll answer with a smile, "Yeah, i'm goin back to indonesia for a holiday." ...some get wat i mean, some don't.. do you?..

to me, my room in hall is my home in singapore (my home in indonesia is my house..)... it ain't a house.. it ain't a fixed place either (i moved room once already..)... cuz for me, a home is anywhere i can feel at ease, safe, and comfortable enough to let my guard down.. it is where i know i am secure and protected enough to be able to sleep sound through the nights...

a few days ago, when i came back to my room after a long day of school, somethin struck me.. i realized i have a home to "go home" to... i can say, "I'm goin home" with honesty.. and i can't help but thank God i have a home.. i can go back to a room to lie down and rest.. i can sit on the floor after a sweaty ascend to my 4th-floor-room (6 floors from main road level, mind you).. i can have somewhere to put my clothes, books, food stock, shoes, and everything else..and i can have privacy (and this has NOTHING to do with triple-sharing rooms..)...

many people in this world live on the streets,man.. they only WISH to be able to survive the cold nights.. they only WISH to find a handful of edible garbage tomorrow so they can live another day... and they WONDER wat it feels like to be able to sleep in a room.. any room.. they're lucky if the floor is tiled and it isn't filled with shit and dirt..

so maybe i need to thank GOD again... and ask forgiveness if i ever lived as if i never needed a home...

Do you have a home? If you do, thank GOD you're so lucky.