Kecil

Halo, aku mau cerita tentang masa kecil ku, tapi pakai bahasa inggris. Anggap aja ini latihan buat aku ya (padahal emang ga mau pakai bahasa indonesia soalnya nanti jadi nya lebay).

So... let me start from the very beginning.

I was so pale and I had brown hair as a baby, which was unlikely for an Indonesian baby. My grandma thought I had down syndrome, because my uncle who has it looked exactly like me when he was a baby, pale and brown-haired. Fortunately I turned out to be an ordinary Indonesian baby, who slept for 12 hours and drank 8 bottles of milk a day (that's a lot, I know). Mom said that I was (and still am) my aunt's favorite baby because I got no time for crying. I just slept or drank milk. What a beautiful life.

Soon, I became 4 years old. I got bored at home, so my Dad decided to fake my birth certificate and signed me up for kindergarten. 4 y.o Hany didn't have that much interest in class. Break time was always her favorite time during the day, because she got to taste the most delicious candy she ever had, Mint candy. I was not a popular kid. I had like.. three friends that I always hang out with. One of them was so big and heavy that I couldn't spin the roundabout ride when she rode it. I still feel bad for her to be honest. She was always the one who spun the roundabout ride :(

My first lie happened because a certain boy named Rama (if you ever read this, I still remember you and your evil plan, dude) took my hat and he wouldn't return it until I gave him 2000 rupiahs (2000 rupiahs used to be a big deal especially for a kindergarten kid). I was seriously mad at him. I tried to snatch the hat but he was so much taller than me. I had no choice but to pay. I gave him 2000 rupiahs that I should've paid to my ojek, Later that night, Mom called me to the living room. She asked me, why I didn't pay the ojek. I lied, I said that I have paid the ojek. Mom got really mad because she knew that I lied. In the end, I cried and told her the truth. All I know that since then, I never spoke to Rama anymore. I never heard the news about him either because we went to different elementary school.

Moving on to elementary school.

'Girls should not grow her hair long' is kind of a thing in my father's family. So.. I spent my childhood not knowing what it feels like to have long hair. At first I thought that Dad wanted to have a boy, so he turned me into one. But I was wrong. According to Mom, he just thought that long hair is hard to be taken care of........well what a beautiful reason.

In the first grade, I was a extremely shy kid. I was not that smart and I don't have many friends either. I always rushed to home when school ended to play with my sister Intan and my buddy Epan. I remember I ranked 27th in the first semester and went up to 8 in the 2nd semester. In the 2nd grade, I became a lot smarter, lmao how could you say that with your own mouth Han? But seriously I was a lot smarter, I ranked 4 in both semester. In the 3rd grade, I got a killer teacher that every student in my school was afraid of. Legend says she has an eagle's eyes. Well, she actually is.

From the 3rd grade and on, I was a legit badass kid. I fought with another boy gang from another school. I chew gum a lot and used fake tattoo everyday. I rode bike to school. BMX one, not the girlish one, sorry. Climbed on trees, jumped from a 1,5m fence, went fishing. Became the class president for more than 3 times. I was always at the top 5 students. I can use computer really well. Joined the Paskibra squad and became the Komandan Pasukan because I could shout really loud. I remember that time in 5th grade when every week I got chosen as the Pemimpin Pasukan for Upacara Bendera. I have tasted each and every position available in upacara bendera. I have also became the aerobic instructor for the whole school for weekly school aerobic time every Friday.

I played a hella lot in elementary school. I played with numerous of friends with age ranged from 4 to 15 years old. I also played a lot with my Gang in school, Isti, Sekar, Murni, Alul, Bowo, Muti, and a bunch of other kids. We usually played hide and seek, 'benteng', 'karet', 'teprok nyamuk', 'donal bebek', badminton, monopoli, 'karambol', 'cangkulan', etc. We went fishing, into the woods, to the cinema to watch ayat-ayat cinta. Everyday, my life was full of adventure. Those golden days.

I fought really well too. Both with girls and boys. Boys usually would't tease me because they're afraid that I would pinch them. I never hesitated to pick up a fight with boys because I thought that they're dumb and super mean to girls! They thought that boys are stronger and better which I gladly proved them wrong. I once get scolded by my friend's mom, she said that I bullied her daughter. Which is certainly not true, because I wouldn't pick a fight, let alone bully someone if they did nothing to me. I didn't even remember her name clearly, why would I bully her? And why'd she do that? Up until now, I still don't know. It's still a mystery to me.

Mom and Dad have been working as a full-time employee in Jakarta ever since I was in kindergarten. They came to school only twice a year, when it was report cards announcement day. Mom didn't dress me up for school and Dad only sent me to school in Saturday because they went to work super early in the morning six days a week. Mom only accompanied me to school when it was the first day of kindergarten and first day of elementary school. If I think about it now, it is super strange that I never complain about it. I never envy those kids whose parents send them off to school everyday. I thought about them as spoiled kids and weaklings. Hany Ghina, mean person since 1997. Besides, my ojek rider for two years, Bang Jaja, and my becak rider for 4 years, Pak Ajis, who sent me off to kindergarten and elementary school everyday are probably the nicest men on earth. Riding a becak was a lot of fun too!!! I would sit on the edge of the becak which made the ride 200% more interesting. I also ride it with my sister and another two kids. Unfortunately, I stopped using becak to school in 3rd grade because I started to use my bicycle. My sister used a shuttle car once we stopped using becak, and sometimes when I am in the mood, I would ask her to go home together with me using my bike. Awww, aren't I the coolest sister?

Speaking of my sister, I don't know why but she tends to be hurt when I am around her. Two out of three scars on her body are my fault. The first one is on her forehead. Me, Intan and Epan used to play 'spin yourself around' quite a lot. One day, when it was maghrib time, I suggested to play that game. So we did. That's when my sister lost her balance and threw herself to the cupboard in the dining room. I was shocked. My sister turned around and she covered her forehead. I asked her if she was okay, but when her hand slipped from her forehead I was completely stunned. There was literally a hole about 1-1,5 cm on her forehead!!!!!!!! Fortunately she was okay after the first aid treatment, but still she got stitches. The second one was when we played cooking with real burning bamboo as our source of fire. I stepped on one of the bamboo which has been burned on the edge, so the bamboo's edge wasn't touching the ground. My sister put her right foot at the bottom of the burning edge bamboo. And then, I moved. She screamed and yap, she got the burning mark on her right foot. I felt so sorry for her to be honest but then she started to blame me every time she got the chance! That girl.

I used to fight a lot with my sister. When we fought, we gon' wild. We would ran around the neighborhood, carrying broom and screaming any foul word we knew. I even broke a door because of our fight. I also threw a TV remote to my sister's head. She cried. Lol. But it was my revenge because she said that I am 'anak pungut'. My father used to hand us knives and he would say 'Here! Try to murder each other! Be quick!' and then we would shut up and made up the next morning.

Fortunately, Mom and Dad got home from work at night, so they rarely saw us fight, lol. Still, we're the cutest sisterhood on earth. We spent our childhood together practically, because she's only one year younger than me. I'd pick her up from extra course and I'd teach her any subject that she asked me to, because she didn't want to be teach by Mom (she's scary).

My childhood is probably the best time of my life. As you've probably guessed, I wasn't raised in a fancy neighborhood. It was and still is a folksy neighborhood. I miss playing with my neighborhood friends. The ones that introduced me to horror movies. My neighborhood friends are all grown ups now. Even one of them has already been married for 3 months. Gosh, I feel old.

Elementary school was also fun. I didn't even try to get good grades, but I got good grades. I definitely miss using bike to school. Playing with my squad. Scaring the shit out of the boys in class. Climbing the table just to throw some 'f*** u gaze' to the older boys through the ventilation. Playing jalangkung. Being extra mean. I miss my mean self. I miss my brave and carefree self. Junior high school changes everything.

Hany today is a mix of shy, awkward potato, a bit of social anxiety, independent, strong-willing, sometimes cheerful and  sometimes mean. Yes, I am still mean. I just reduced the amount of it. If you never hear my mean comments or see me being mean then I'm sorry, we are not close enough. (nobody cares, Han) Anyhow, junior highschooler Hany is a total boring person. She hates herself and she always feels insecure about herself. Fortunately she has a few best friends who accept her for who she is. Thank you my few best friends.

It really feels nice to be able to write abut my childhood. Because writing good things and good memories always makes me happy!

(If you're still reading this sentence, well.. thank you. :p)