Have you got another breath?

My baby Neru is one week old today. It feels so far away now. Many things have happened in seven days, I’ve seen places. And I long for my bed in Ubud. Not just the bed that I long, but I long to be ‘on my own’. My girlfriend said she never heard one who really likes to be by self all the time without feeling lonely. Get a dog! At least there’s another breath!! She suggested desperately. I smiled.

I spent another day with good friends yesterday. I was invited to join my friend’s Indonesian literature group meeting that I’d been once. I don’t have to feel nervous because no discussion about a book in this meeting, the group treated themselves with talk by a well-known founder of a foundation that works on translating Indonesian literature – classics and contemporary. He is American and has been living in Indonesia thirty years. Interesting personality!

My friends think he’s not a super speaker but for me it’s just his style to present the material in relaxed way – conversation style – which is perfect style of presentation for a small group of ladies. We could just ask whenever we have question. No formal sequence of presentation then Q-A. I liked that he laughed a lot, so relaxed…

He talked about the challenge of translating ‘culture’ without losing its essence from the original language. I admire his expertise that he started when he’d only been ten years in Indonesia. How much Indonesian and the culture he had comprehended at the time compares to now? He once grinned at translated Indonesian poetry he published twenty years ago. I could imagine, the comprehension must have changed over time and experiences.

He also shared the challenge of working with other translators – native speakers or Indonesians. He likes to translate more than to edit that he loses the joy of translating and the work is tougher. Ya, I know the feeling. In the end he concluded that we are born and raised in a culture so whatever other language we are fluent cannot make us express exactly the same way the native speaker does. I agree with him. He gave a simple example of the expression of ‘bad traffic’ and ‘macet’ in Indonesian that doesn't show exactly the same feeling. Macet tells all the feelings and aspects of a bad traffic. Not just a bad traffic. True.

So I’m really happy to have attended the talk. And meeting old friends? Ah super! They hugged and interviewed me about my new venture. So nice to see their excitement to visit me in Ubud soon. I feel blessed that some of nice friends I know have a house in Bali. I don’t feel remote although I never feel so with my new friends in Bali. Nice feeling, that’s all!

Now I’m looking forward to starting my journey back to my home in Ubud. Chiko doesn’t move an inch from my side since I came. If only I could take him with me for my other breath.

Picture of a wisdom I got every day in a hotel. I have published this picture last year but it feels right to do it again today.