Volume 16 | February 2018
love & the month of
prosperity The History Behind Tang Yuan Page 3
Short Story: A Thousand Shades of Blue
3 Places to Visit With Your Partner (That Isn’t Paris)
Page 1
Page 4
contents: page 1
Short Story: A Thousand Shades of Blue
page 2
The Legend of Chinese Lantern Festival
page 3
The History Behind Tang Yuan
page 4
Three Places To Visit With Your Partner (That Isn’t Paris)
page 5 Love and Hate- A Very Thin Line Between the Two Spectrums page 7
Popcorn
page 9
Interview With Dena Haura New President of HIMSI
editor’s note— Ah, here we are again. It’s been a very long journey for us. Six years, fifteen editions, so many challenges and great memories along the way. At last, we’re here in another new year, 2018 to be exact. Another long journey awaits, and this edition, our sixteenth ever, will kick off that very journey for us. As you already know, February is full of love and prosperity every year. Of course, we’re talking about two of the biggest annual celebrations of this month: Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year. To celebrate them, we’ve got many interesting articles for you, from the thin line between “Love” and “Hate” to the interesting history behind the Lantern Festival. From romantic places to visit that isn’t Paris, to the meaningful story behind the traditional Chinese food “Tang Yuan”. We’ve also prepared two interesting love films in the “Popcorn” section for you all to sit back, relax, and fall deeper into the exciting yet complicated stories about love. Oh, there’s also an interview with HIMSI’s new leader, Dena Haura, our first interview after quite a long time. That’s all for my Editor’s Note. I hope you all will enjoy this edition and have a very good life surrounded with countless love and prosperity year after year. Thank you! I Gde Swastika Arya
GLIDES Manager I Gde Swastika Arya Advisor Criscentia Jessica Setiadi S.S., M.A. Editor I Gde Swastika Arya Designer Feliana Njowito
Reporters / Writers Stefanny Zubenubiana Bisri Puspita Ayu Alifah I Gde Swastika Arya Sherenna Aurafani Rumaiza
—the team
“
ashades thousand of blue.
Retinitis pigmentosa, also known as RP, refers to a group of inherited diseases causing retinal degeneration. This condition changes how the retina responds to light, making it hard to see. People with retinitis pigmentosa lose their vision slowly over time. That was what the doctor told me when I was ten. It’s been seven years since then. But I will never forget how much I cried that day, how much tears falling from mom’s eyes. All she could think about is she’s going to lose me too like she lost dad. He was diagnosed with the same disease but he fought it hard and kept his job until the last minute. When the light faded away, so did his hope. That was when he past through the threshold between life and death. Mom was afraid that I would make the same decision. But … I didn’t. I wanted to fight it. And even if I lost, I want it to be because I’ve worked hard not because of giving up. Though I couldn’t move on as an artist, I tried to make the most of my life. Giving as much as I could. Loving each and every moment of it – the happy, the sad, and even the strangest moment.
It feels long, like a decade has passed. All I could sense is as if I was floating somewhere between time. Not knowing where and when. The time seems to stop at one place where I reside. In the wake of my consciousness, I hear the voice of someone’s I love. “Violet?” I open my eyes and the colors burst into my vision. I squint in disbelief. I turn my head and I see my mother’s face – black eyes, tired expression, traces of tears, and marks of aging. I really wish to squeeze her tight right now. But, there is something I would like to confirm. Was it a dream when I saw him in that cold darkness? “Who?” I ask, “Who is the donor?” Mom smiles. “A victim of car accident. He was brought to the hospital the day you lost your vision.” I gulp. That day when I lost my vision. The car crash near the café. My mind begins to recall every little detail of the memory from that day.
But, why did I stumble upon him? Why did I wait? Why did I let him enter my life?
A thousand shades of blue cascades into the darkness.
He is never a memory. He is the sole existence that I will keep on searching. A living proof that I have never given up. So, I decided, I won’t give up now. The wait was not long. They decided to do it today.
My heart slams against my chest. I grab mom’s hand tightly. “Name?”
“Everything is going to be alright,” mom says. I try. I try to believe her even if her hands tremble and her grip wavers. As I’m brought to the operation room, I exhale a brief sigh. Now, whether my eyes are opened or closed, it’s the same vision of blackness as if I’m lost in a dark, stagnant void. When the drug takes me to sleep, I feel a slight tranquillity surrounding my mind. And… the vision of Malibu. He’s there, smiling.
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by Stefanny
He leans in to my ear and whispers with the gentlest voice of an angel. Then, the last thing I could hear is the drop of my tears.
“Brian.” I release my grip and, in a rush, I get down my bed. The blanket tangles my foot and my knee smacks the floor. But still, even with the stinging pain, I get up and reach for a mirror. The reflection I see is a figure of a girl. A dark brown hair, a pale skin, rosy cheeks, red lips, and a pair of round beautiful eyes, illuminating in the color of Malibu. He leans in to my ear and whispers with the gentlest voice of an angel, “Goodbye, Violet. I’m sorry.”
Lantern Festival the legend
behind the
by Stefanny
Falling on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Festival marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations and the end of the Spring Festival. Always taking place under a full moon, the Lantern Festival has been celebrated in China for thousands of years, and it dates back to the Han Dynasty over 2000 years ago. There is an important legend about its origin.
In the legend, the Jade Emperor in Heaven was enraged at a town for killing his favourite goose that he decided to turn the whole town into a sea of fire. However, a good-hearted goddess in heaven heard of this act of vengeance and immediately warned the people to light lanterns throughout the town on the appointed day. The townsfolk did as they were told, and from the Heaven, it looked as if the village was ablaze. Satisfied that his goose had already been avenged, the Jade Emperor decided not to destroy the town. From that day onwards, people celebrated the anniversary of their deliverance by carrying lanterns of different shapes and colours through the streets on the first full moon of the year.
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Tang Yuan The History Behind
by Zubenubiana Bisri
Then, Dong Fangshuo had a prediction that the kingdom was going to be burnt down by the God of Fire on the 15th that month. Because of that, he asked the people in the kingdom to trick the God of Fire with lantern (yes, the one that we have talked about in the The History Behind the Lantern Festival article earlier), fireworks, and also Tang Yuan. He then asked Yuan Xiao to make it. Because she needed some help, her family came to town. That was how she was finally reunited with her family. She then lived happily ever after.
Tang Yuan, formerly known as Yuan Xiao, is a famous Chinese dessert enjoyed during many Chinese celebrations including Chinese New Year. It is usually made from glutinous rice flour mixed with some water and formed into balls. It is then served within hot water or syrup. It usually comes in white, but these days it also comes in many colours. The history of this food goes way back to the Han Dynasty. At that time, there was this girl named Yuan Xiao. She was taken from her family to work as a Tang Yuan maker for the kingdom. She was really talented at doing it, and she was known for making the best Tang Yuan in that era. However, after working for so long, she missed her family. She got depressed and almost killed herself because of that. Knowing the problem, the advisor of the kingdom, Dong Fangshuo, came to her and promise that he would get her back to her family soon.
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From the story behind it, Tang Yuan represents the meaning of unity between Yuan Xiao and her family and also among the people who worked hand in hand to protect their kingdom. The food also symbolizes the full moon that always comes in the first month of Lunar Year. That’s it, guys. Happy Chinese New Year and enjoy the greatness and sweetness of Tang Yuan!
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Places to Visit With Your Partner (That Isn’t Paris) by: Puspita Ayu Alifah
Are you and your partner are looking for some romantic places to visit together, but you two have had enough with mainstream choices (like Paris)? Well, here we’ve got some of the places around the world that can be your alternative romantic getaways!
Provence, France This place is such a heaven for a romantic break with your loved one and to roam through sweeping lavender fields in Provence. Hmm, it’s basically as if you’re straight out of Beauty and the Beast movie, am I right?
Amalfi Coast, Italy Pastel-coloured houses? Check. Endless candle-lit restaurants? Check. Amalfi Coast is without a doubt one of the most romantic places on earth.
Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena is a port city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. With its colorful mixture of buildings is what makes this place the perfect destination for couples who like exploring.
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Love & Hate
“
A Very Thin Line Between the Two Spectrums by Sherenna Aurafani Rumaiza
Speaking from her past experience, our very own writer, Sherenna, gives you an interesting perspective of the other side of love: Hate.”
Love. Something that is so pure and beauti-
gives you fear instead of confidence, when love
ful, something that can also be demanding and
makes you vulnerable, when love brings hate
painful at the same time it makes you wonder
rather than happiness.
why it exists in the first place. Hate. That is, when you have crossed that Do you remember the time when you are
very thin line between the two spectrums, when
madly in love, the time where you feel as if you
the intimacy has turned into the taste of cold-
are on top of the world? Love creates the best
spoiled soup and the scent of Rafflesia Arnoldi
version of you – love introduces you to things
flower, when the “one” of yours has somewhat
you have never imagined before, love moti-
turned into your nemesis.
vates you to get through everything, love inspires you to go many steps higher and further, love makes you realize how amazing you are as
Yes, love can hate you in the most painful way possible, my dear.
a person. On that opposite spectrum, love begins
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But we all know that there is this one side
hating you by making you really confused. You
of love, the most painful kind of love, the hurt-
think you have found the “one” whom you
ful love story that you cannot bear: When love
want to spend the rest of your life with. But
you have one doubt after another, you’re left
Again…and again.
wondering whether it’s still gonna work at all, whether you’re embarking on a once in a lifetime journey or just a short and painful one.
Love leads you to that rollercoaster ride, drives you insane in a good way, turns your world upside down. However, when hate has
Love then becomes really overwhelming.
started creeping in, when you’re reaching the
You really want to keep going, but you also
other side of the spectrum, when the thin line in
want to leave. You really want to keep hoping,
between could not hold you back from crossing
but you also want to give it all up for good.
it, love can do all these terrible things in the
At the end of the day, you’ll choose to stay, because love makes it harder for you to do otherwise. It makes you stuck there for too long and makes you believe there is still light at the end of the tunnel, a very dark tunnel your journey is going straight into. However, there is no light at the end of the tunnel, because all love does to you is delaying your misera-
“
Love leads you to that rollercoaster ride, drives you insane in a good way, turns your world upside down.
ble end. You finally realize it doesn’t give you a chance to be together with the “one”, to be loved back like what
”
name of hate. Yes, love is the culprit. Love can simply hate you that way. But when it does that, it’s just being honest to you. After all, love and hate are like identical twins with different fingerprints,
two
identical
things only with two different names. You can’t have one without the other. Again, love is just being honest to you.
you are deserved to get. Love has hurt you so bad, kicked you right in your heart, and made you not want to love ever again. Your journey ends up becoming the short and painful one. It just hates you that much. What’s next? Love then just disappears into thin air, along with the “one” walking away slowly, leaving you lonely all over again.
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POPCORN by I Gde Swastika Arya
EIFFEL I’M IN LOVE 2
CAMPUS CONFIDENTIAL
IMDb: 6.2/10
IMDb: 6.1/10
Loving someone from far away is indeed hard.
Because we also celebrate Chinese New Year,
Doing it for so many years is even harder.
we’ve also got another love film from China.
The sequel to the highly successful Eiffel I’m
As you know, love can be really complicated,
In Love in 2003, Eiffel I’m In Love 2 shows
twisting, and unexpected in so many ways.
exactly that. Taking place 12 years after the
This Chinese romantic-comedy film Campus
first part, the love story between Adit (Samu-
Confidential probably describes that very
el Rizal) and Tita (Shandy Aulia) will finally be
well. Not only complicated, twisting, and un-
put to the test. Tita, deciding to move out to
expected, this film also has something “mag-
Paris to live closely to Adit, is hoping that her
ical” to it. What? Yes, exactly. There is this
longtime boyfriend will finally propose her.
legend that says if a man and a woman meet
However, he is still not ready just yet. Tired of
with each other at the lake near the campus
waiting, her old friend, Adam (Marthino Lio),
when it is dry, they will fall in love to each oth-
suddenly comes to her life instead. Trapped
er. Then, there is this popular girl at campus,
in the complicated intersection, doubts are
Liang Hsiao-Chi (Ivy Yi-Han Chen), who unex-
starting to creeping in. Will Tita stay strong
pectedly falls in love with a man she has never
and wait for Adit even longer, or will she risk
imagined herself to be with, a geek named
her 12-year relationship with Adit and settle
Wu-Chuan Sun (Bo-lin Chen), after she’s met
her journey of love with Adam instead? Find
him at that very lake. How does it go after
out now only in cinemas near you!
that? Well, go to your favourite streaming website and find out right away!
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interview with
Dena Haura, the new president of HIMSI
by I Gde Swastika Arya Another year, another new HIMSI presi-
while she is from 2019. She says that there isn’t
dent. After Zelika, Michelle, Nonny, we’ve got
any because of how willing all the HIMSI mem-
another smart and strong woman leading the
bers are to work together as a team and reach
organisation: Dena Haura. This month, we’ve fi-
all the organisation’s goals together. There isn’t
nally got a chance to have a chat with her about
any problem with the year gap at all.
her new life as a HIMSI leader.
Moving on to the future plans, she says that
Talking via phone on the cloudy Sunday
she really wants to make HIMSI as a global or-
morning, I first congratulate her on being
ganisation, in conjunction with BINUS Univer-
the new president of HIMSI. Then, I ask what
sity trying to be a global university by 2020.
she felt when she won the election. She says
She says that she will begin realising this plan
that she was happy because she’s finally got
by making national-level events in the future,
a chance to do something big and contribute
which hopefully will take HIMSI even further
even more at the university.
outside the campus realm.
To the next question about whether she has
Lastly, I ask her for some closing words to
been very busy or not so far, she says that she
the reader. She tells me that she wants all the
hasn’t done much except for conducting some
people in English Department to keep support-
meetings and making proposals. However, she
ing HIMSI and what they do, so the organisation
expects to be even busier in the upcoming
can keep growing and contributing a lot more
months because of many events coming up.
to both the department and the university.
I then move on to the dynamics of the
That’s all guys. we hope that she can realise
organisation under her leadership. I ask her
all her targets and take HIMSI onto the whole
whether there is any difficulty working with oth-
new level under her leadership. See you on the
er members who are mostly from year 2021,
next interview!
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