I walked around to see some stands, one of them is Thailand. Do you know what a man would say to express his love? They will say "phum rak khun".

Tahukah kamu, apa yang lelaki Thailand katakan untuk menyatakan cintanya? Mereka bilang, "phum rak khun".

Somehow, I went to an exhibition nearby. It's an odd exhibition. At first glance, I thought It was education exhibition, because I saw some institute's stands there. I entered the exhibition with one purpose: to get a ballpoint. When I had already inside, I realized something, the title on almost all stands is a country's name. After I asked some people around there then I know that It was a cultural exhibition.

Ketika aku mendapat waktu senggang, sambil menunggu kuliah beritkutnya, aku pun pergi ke sebuah pameran. Awalnya, aku pikir itu adalah pameran pendidikan karena aku melihat beberapa stand institut di sana. Aku masuk untuk melihat pameran itu dengan satu tujuan: aku ingin mendapat bolpen. Ketika aku sudah berada di dalam, aku menyadari sesuatu, judul sebagian besar stand berasal dari nama negara-negara. Setelah aku bertanya kepada beberapa orang di sana, aku pun tahu bahwa itu adalah pameran budaya.

Let me note some interesting things:

1. Thailand

I walked around to see some stands, one of them is Thailand. Do you know what a man would say to express his love? They will say "phum rak khun".

Aku berjalan berkeliling untuk mengunjungi beberapa stand, salah satunya adalah Thailand. Tahukah kamu, apa yang lelaki Thailand katakan untuk menyatakan cintanya? Mereka bilang, "phum rak khun".

2. Europe Union

The European Union is only about two fifth the size of the United States, but its population is 57% larger. In fact, the EU population is the world's third largest after China and India. The EU covers nearly four million square kilometers, the biggest one is France and the smallest one is Malta.

The EU began in the 1950s as the "European Communities". There were six member states: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxemburg, and The Netherlands. Then Denmark, Ireland, The United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Germany joined them. In 1992, a new treaty gave new powers and responsibilities to the Community Institutions and introduced new forms of cooperation between the member state governments, thus creating The EU. It's enlarged in 1995 to include Austria, Finland, and Sweden. That's the EU-15. In 2004 it's enlarged again to include 10 countries more.

Birth rates in the EU are falling and Europeans are living longer. Babies born in 2002 are expected to live till they are nearly 75 (men) and over 80 (women).

Uni Eropa hanya dua-per-lima ukuran Amerika Serikat, tapi populasinya 57% lebih besar. Sebenarnya, populasi EU termasuk tiga besar dunia setelah Cina dan India. Luas EU mendekati empat juta kilometer persegi, negara yang terluas adalah Perancis dan yang terkecil adalah Malta.

EU dimulai pada tahun 1950-an dengan nama "Komunitas Eropa". Terdapat enam anggota: Belgia, Jerman, Perancis, Itali, Luxemburg, dan Belanda. Lalu Denmark, Ireland, Kerajaan Inggris, Greece, Spanyol, Portugis, dan Jerman bergabung. Pada tahun 1992, perlakuan baru memberi kekuatan dan tanggung jawab baru kepada institusi komunitas dan memperkenalkan bentuk baru kerja sama antara pemerintah negara anggota, itulah yang membentuk EU. EU yang diperluas pada tahun 1995 mencakup Austria, Finlandia, dan Swedia. Itu adalah EU-15. Pada tahun 2004, EU diperluas lagi.

Tingkat kelahiran di EU menurun dan orang Eropa hidup lebih lama. Bayi yang dilahirkan tahun 2002 diekspektasikan untuk hidup sampai mereka berusia 75 tahun (laki-laki) dan 80 tahun (perempuan)

3. Japan

On the front page of the brochure, photos of Agnes Monica appeared, Indonesian Actress, with children from "Pondok Pesantren Al-Muhajirin" in Depok, West Java.

Pada halaman depan brosur, tampak foto Agnes Monica, Aktris Indonesia, dengan anak-anak dari "Pondok Pesantren Al-Muhajirin" di Depok, Jawa Barat.

Japan gave many economic helps to ASEAN countries. In 2002, the biggest help is given to Indonesia. Some of sectors that Japan helped are:

• help to reduce poverty, such as introducing "Guide Books for Mother and Child's Health"
• help to form a fair society, such as POLRI Reform Support Program
• help to increase economic growth, such as Jakarta highway project, Brantas river development project
• help to converse environment
• help for peace, such as help to rebuild Aceh

Jepang memberi banyak bantuan ekonomi pada negara-negara ASEAN. Di tahun 2002, bantuan terbesar diberikan pada Indonesia. Beberapa sektor bantuan Jepang antara lain:

• Bantuan untuk pengentasan kemiskinan, seperti memperkenalkan "Buku Panduan Kesehatan Ibu dan Anak"
  
• Bantuan untuk pembentukan masyarakat yang adil, seperti Program Pendukung Reformasi POLRI
  
• Bantuan untuk peningkatan ekonomi, seperti proyek pembangunan jalan tol Jakarta, proyek pengembangan Wilayah Sungai Brantas
  
• Bantuan untuk pelestarian lingkungan
  
• Bantuan untuk perdamaian, seperti pembangunan kembali Aceh

4. WWF

Another one that is interesting is WWF. They asked me to fill a form that stated I support them, let me present the brochure to you below. There are some interesting story about seafood there, such as:

"Lobster and are usually caught by spreading poisonous gas. The poison also kills sea's anemone and other sea creatures."

At the end, I may regret visiting the exhibition because I don't get any ballpoint, hiks... hiks... :-(

Stand lain yang menarik adalah WWF. Mereka menyuruhku untuk mengisi sebuah form untuk menunjukkan dukunganku, coba lihat brosur di bawah. Ada beberapa cerita menarik tentang makanan laut di sana, antara lain:

"Lobster dan kerapu pada umumnya ditangkap dengan cara menyemprotkan racun. Racun tersebut juga membunuh terumbu karang dan satwa laut lainnya."

Pada akhirnya, aku tidak mendapat satu bolpen pun, hiks... hiks... :-(

Here are some Indonesian WWF postcards:

5. The World

When I was visiting a primary school in Japan, they prepared a song for all of us to sing together. After all, we live on the same planet, our own planet that needs our care.

Waktu aku mengunjungi sebuah SD di Jepang, mereka mempersiapkan lagu untuk dinyanyikan bersama-sama. Memang, kita hidup di planet yang sama, planet kita sendiri yang perlu perhatian kita.

I know the English, Indonesian, and Japanese version of the song. The lyrics are quite different, but I think the Japanese version is the closest to everyday life.

Aku tau lagu yang versi Inggris, Indonesia, dan Jepang. Liriknya cukup berbeda, tapi menurutku yang Jepang paling mendekati kehidupan sehari-hari.

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears
It's a world of hopes, and a world of fears
There's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all

There is just one moon, and one golden sun
And a smile means, friendship to ev'ryone
Though the mountains divide, and the oceans are wide
It's a small world after all

It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world

Dunia kita penuh manusia
Bermacam bangsa dan bahasanya
Alangkah indahnya jikalau mereka
Hidup rukun bahagia

Hidup rukun bahagia
Hidup rukun bahagia
Hidup rukun bahagia
...?

English Translation:

All over the world, whoever it is
If you smile, you will become a close friend
Let's all of us hold our hands and make a ring
It's a small world

The endless sky and sea
The beauty of starlight
That is the small world
that one is talking about

Eliminating the distance
Putting the bridge of friendship
Let's hold hand in hand and construct it
It's a small world

All over the world, wherever it is
There are laughters, there are tears
It is the small world
that everyone help each other

The world is narrow
The world is the same
The world is round
The only one