Silent Illumination, 28 Juni - 6 Juli 2024

 Omitofo!

Sungguh bersyukur punya kesempatan untuk ikutan retret intensif lagi. Sebenarnya, musim panas tahun lalu, Zarko juga datang ke DDRC untuk retret Silent Illumination tapi tahun lalu aku lagi di Indo. 
Tahun ini karena tahu summer pasti tak pulang, dari Maret udah bilang ke Yanxi Fashi, aku mau ikutan retret. 

Terima kasih alam semesta dan semua sebab dan kondisi, sehingga bisa hadir di hari H. Beruntungnya juga, sebelum retret ini, saya berkesempatan ke seorang Shinse Chinese Medicine yang benerin energi tubuh yang rendah serta melancarkan peredaran darah. Kebetulan juga ke physical terapi karena otot yang super kaku dan trainer nya kasitahu kalau cara bernapas mendalam ku selama ini salah. Dia bilang, kenapa perut mu cuma ngembang ke depan, harusnya ke samping juga iya, rusuk harusnya gerak juga. Meski saat itu masih ga tau apa yang benar, udah keburu masuk retret, tapi minimal ada awareness itu salah dan ada info apa yang benar. 

Retret kali ini, semua hp dikumpulkan oleh Fashi. Ini baru kali pertama aku ikut retret DDRC yang hp disita. Jadwalnya:

4:30 Bangun
5:00 8 movement
5:30 Sitting
6:30 Morning Service
7:15 Breakfast lanjut working meditation
8:15 Personal time

9:00 Preparation Bell
9:15 Sitting
9:30 Dharma Talk+Sitting+ Short Break + Sitting + Stretching while standing + Short Break + Shorter Sitting
12:00 Lunch lanjut working meditation
13:00 Personal Time

13:45 Preparation Bell
14:00 Sitting + Walking meditation + Break + Sitting + Streching while sitting + Short Break + Sitting
17:00 Evening Service
17:30 Medicine Meal lanjut working meditation (khusus yang kitchen)
18:15 Personal Time

19:00 Preparation Bell
19:15 Sitting
19:30 Dharma Talk + Sitting + Prostration + Sitting
21:30 End of the day, back to dorm
22:00 Light off

Tiap sesi sitting kayanya 45 menit. 

Berikut dharma talk/teaching/interview yang kuingat: 

1.  Zarko mengatakan relaksasi itu sangat powerful, keliatan nya sederhana, tapi tidak gampang di lakukan. Dikasi instruksi: Slow down, relax and be present. Lakukan 3 hal ini untuk 2 hari ke depan. Mengapa perlu slow down? Karena dengan slow down baru kamu bisa tahu badan mu tegangnya dimana. Dan klo udah ketemu tegangnya di mana, di amati, ketegangannya muncul nya saat kamunya ngapain? Lalu baru bisa di relakskan. Intinya kenali kondisi badan kita dan penyebabnya. 

Beliau juga membagikan cara merelakskan mata. Bisa coba fokus banget ke satu titik, lalu tak fokus kemanapun, jadi ada perbedaan antara tegang dan rileks. (Mirip PMR yang Shifu Guojun share, tapi ini untuk mata saja). Bisa juga di pijat di bagian alis, agak ke tengah, katanya kamu pasti akan tahu dimana, karena itu titik yang paling sakit klo ditekan. Tips kedua yang dibagikan adalah cara merelakskan lower abdomen. Duduk, tangan dinaikkan ke atas kepala sejauh mungkin, sehingga badan dipanjangkan (seperti gerakan ke 4 dalam 8 movement tapi dengan posisi duduk), lalu turunkan tangannya, makan akan berasa kontras antara tegang dan rileks. 

Dari instruksi melambat ini, terlihat sekali energi kebiasaan ku yang selalu terburu2. Terlihat juga mengapa badanku tegang. Selalu ada pemikiran kedua akan setiap hal yang terjadi. Misal: liat makanan enak, muncul, ini kira-kira rasanya gimana ya? Atau eh botol minum itu bagus, bisa beli dimana ya? Ada banyak juga antisipasi ga penting, misal, lagi gerakan 8 movement, sambil gerak sambil mikir, habis ini kayanya ganti gaya deh. Ini sumpah ga penting banget, kan Fashi pasti akan ketok, tapi sok2an mengantisipasi. 

Setelah ini, the next step was: what mood are you in?

2. Don't give rise to the second thoughts

Setiap mengalami sesuatu, ga usah ditambah pemikiran-pemikiran macam-macam, tak usah dikasi suka atau tak suka. Ada kutipan seorang master, "not giving rise to the second thought is better than 10 years of pilgrimage".

3. Keep the practice continuously

Kita disuruh mencoba mengisolasi diri kita, mengurangi celingak celinguk tak berfaedah. Karena setiap melihat sesuatu, pasti kena trigger mikir-mikir ga penting. Ketika mencoba menyadari tubuh di luar sesi duduk, pelan-pelan ketertarikan untuk jelalatan juga semakin berkurang, masuk sitting pikiran rasanya tak begitu tercecer. Selama ini aku retret sering kurangnya di bagian ini, keluar sitting dengan badan merana sakit, mental seperti anak ayam keluar kandang, waaah, kebebasaaaan. Makanya masuk sitting berikutnya lagi merana lagi. 

4. Pentingnya postur yang benar. Kita disuruh cari postur yang nyaman, harusnya ada satu postur dimana tubuh kaya ditopang gravitasi, tegaknya bisa lebih effortless. 

5. Untuk masuk ke just sitting, bisa melalui relaksasi + following breath + counting the breath + just sitting, atau ada juga yang bisa relaksasi lalu just sitting. Ada orang yang terbiasa ngikutin napas, malah kesulitan masuk ke just sitting, karena terbiasa punya object, lalu objectnya harus lepas. Dalam just sitting, sadari seluruh tubuh sedang duduk, totalitas gitu, tak fokus ke satu bagian pun. Kalau cukup rileks, katanya kamu akan paham apa maksudnya menyadari seluruh tubuh. 

Just sitting yang terlihat sederhana, justru lebih "advance". Mengapa? Karena semakin simple, semakin dekat dengan true nature. 

6. Leave your eyes alone!

Ini kejadian pas interview. Aku bilang aku kayanya salah dalam merasakan tubuh. Aku merasa mataku selalu mengikuti bagian tubuh yang aku sedang coba rasakan. Atau aku membayang2kan bagian tubuh tersebut saat mencoba merilekskannya. Zarko lalu menyuruhku mengepalkan tangan dengan sekencang mungkin sampai agak sakit juga gak papa, lalu taruh kepalan tangan itu di punggung belakang, sambil mata menatap beliau. 

Zarko: kerasa ga sakitnya?
Aku: kerasa. 
Z: tuh, matamu masih menatapku ga ampe roll ke belakang tapi badan kerasa. Kamu terlalu aware dengan matamu. Ingat bahwa indera mata hanya menangkap bentuk dan warna. Jadi, kalau kamu merasa sakit, meski rasa-rasanya mata ikut ke bagian itu, tapi sesungguhnya tubuh mu yang merasakan. Take the body as an organ of touch. Mata tak akan bisa "melihat" sensasi tubuh. Kamu tuh punya fixed belief yang salah. 

Setelah sesi itu, akhirnya aku terbebas dari belenggu mata tegang yang ngikutin bagian tubuh saat body scanning. Wew. ini juga salah satu masalah akut ku. Omitofo. 

7. Experience it, don't think

Ini terjadi saat interview juga. Karena badanku ga rileks, pengalaman ku banyakan karena mikir-mikir, makanya makin mikir makin tegang. Meninjau balik ke hidupku, keseharian ku dipenuhi to do list, aku hanya berpindah dari satu task ke task yang lain. Aku perlu merevisi hidup nih, perlu dikasi jeda, dimana di jeda itu benar-benar utk hadir saja. 

8. Let of of all forms, lay it down to rest

Aku sangat suka kalimat ini, lumayan membantu melepaskan ketegangan, terutama kalimat kedua, lay it down to rest. Kebayang apapun itu, kita taruh saja, istirahatkan. 

9. Why it is so hard to practice? You don't need to do anything, you just have to stay with the method. 

Begitu Zarko bilang begitu, aku baru benar-benar sadar, betapa mewahnya bisa berada dalam retret. Bangun ada yang bangunin, jadwal seharian udah ada yang rancangkan, tak perlu pusing cek jam juga untuk pindah dari kegiatan satu ke yang lain, karena bakal ada yang bunyikan bel untuk mengingatkan. Tak perlu pusing mikir makan apa dan jam berapa, semua tersedia. Hidup cm pindah dari dorm, chan hall dan dining hall, simple banget. Ga usah ngomong, tak perlu berpikir opini. Tak ada to do list. Meditasi kerja pun cuma kerja sampai jam selesai, tak ada ditargetkan harus kelar apa dalam jangka waktu itu. Misal dapur ga beres, Changyao Fashi bakal take over atau chef nya bakal beresin. Sangat-sangat bersyukur. Betapa berharganya bisa berada dalam retret, kaya terlindungi oleh tanggul besar, sehingga gempuran air dari luar tak menyentuh kita. 

10. Wandering thoughts itu related ke I, me, my, mine. Kalian ga bosan? Let go of attachments. Scattered thoughts itu egocentric. 

Ceramah Zarko tidak panjang. Tapi sangat consice dan precise. Singkat padat dan jelas pokoknya. Aku sangat suka suaranya yang berat itu, wandering thoughts ku kaya ketimpa suara dia jadi lebih ga muncul. hahaha. Cara ngomongnya juga pelan tapi ga membosankan, ga banyak a e a e gitu. Trus dia kasi jeda antar kalimat, jeda agak panjangan klo habis jelasin konsep penting. Quotes2 diulang dua kali dan dikasi jeda. Jadi kita punya waktu untuk meresapinya sebentar. Banyak kutipan-kutipan puisi. Misal di akhir silent ilumination: 

Silently and serenely forgetting words;
Clearly and vividly that appears 

- Master Hung-chih Cheng-chueh

Pengalaman yang menarik di retret ini mungkin aku sempat merasakan apa itu relaksasi dan kutemukan napas ku. Hari ke 4, di ceramah pagi Zarko mengajak kami melihat kembali ke dalam perjalanan hidup masing-masing. Apa yang kamu mau tuju dalam praktik? Dimana kah kamu sekarang? Lalu beliau melanjutkan pentingnya making vow, karena vow itu yang bisa membawamu maju ketika praktik sedang stuck. Beliau mencontohkan vow Buddha, dan tentu saja kita tak dituntut vow seheboh itu. 

Ada perasaan being urged ketika mendengar ceramah itu. Aku mengambil Bodhisatva vow Oktober tahun lalu, dan melihat praktikku sendiri? Masih tak kemana-mana. Badan masih tak relax sama sekali dan napas masih tak tahu dimana, klo ketemu pun semua under control. 

Setelah ceramah itu, ada sesi sitting lagi. Begitu duduk, aku dengan patuh menjalankan semua ritual pra meditasi, menggerakkan kepala, 3 kali napas mendalam, lalu lanjut dengan PMR (berhubung kesadaran tubuh masih redup), lalu aku coba body scan yang melalui sentuhan. Anehnya, pas pegang kepala, kog jelas ya? Coba lagi ke jidat, mata, hidung, mulut, semua sangat jelas, lalu saya coba letakkan. Menikmati duduk nya. Badan otomatis sangat tegak tapi tidak tegang. Keadaan sekitar sangat jelas, kaki terasa agak kenceng tapi tidak mengganggu. Wah, sungguh kondisi yang sangat menyenangkan, so blissful! Lalu pikiran mulai meragukan, ah masa? apa iya? Jangan2 mata lagi tegang nih? Cek mata, eh lagi relaks. Apa napas lagi ditahan? eh, napas kog mulus banget, padahal belum pernah berani ke napas. Lalu kuputuskan duduk untuk menikmati. Masih ada sedikit ketegangan rasanya, kulafalkan namo dabei guanshiyin pusa, lalu benar-benar plong. Di momen ini baru benar-benar ngeh, selama ini relaksasi ku yang pake usaha, makanya tak pernah berhasil. Di momen ini, everything seems so natural. Biasanya kayanya air udah di taruh papan miring, aku nya masih sibuk dorong dia biar ngalir turun. Berusaha relaks malah menjauhkannya. Tiba-tiba teringat pesan Chichern Fashi dari retret intensive di Polandia 2011, "Fangxia ni de xiangyao, ni cai hui fangsong" (Letakkan keinginan mu, baru kamu bisa relaks). Di momen itu paham, tapi tentu itu kebetulan sekali. untuk bisa sampai disitu lagi, akan butuh banyak praktik yang konsisten, tapi minimal ada bayangan seperti apa jadinya. Dan paradoks sekali, justru semakin rileks, badan semakin tegak, beda dengan bayanganku klo niat leha-leha berarti selonjoran. 

Meditasi jalan hari ke 5, ada bagian jalan cepat. Hari itu kebetulan tubuh lumayan rileks sejak pagi, pikiran lumayan terjaga ga jelalatan. Ini juga berkat usaha sejak awal retret, mengkondisikan badan dan pikiran. Pas jalan cepat itu, tubuh dan pikiran benar-benar disana. Gerakannya cepat banget, melewati orang-orang sambil setengah berlari tanpa ada perasaan khawatir tertabrak atau terpleset, kesandung. Sangat natural, juga sangat cepat, bahu bergerak secara alami tak dibuat-buat. Semua bisa di drop saat itu. Saat Fashi suruh berhenti, tiba-tiba air mata langsung mengalir haru. Present moment itu benar-benar wonderful moment. Begitu bebas. 

Full day ke 6, aku mencoba mendekati napas ku, karena selama ini selalu kontrol napas. Aku berakhir tak bisa bernapas lagi. Kacau banget, habis tarik napas, eh kog narik lagi. Lalu ketakutan tak bisa napas kembali muncul. Kuamati, napas masukku pendek banget tapi napas keluar ku bisa panjang, tapi ga lancar, ada bagian kepotongnya. Untungnya karena beberapa hari ini selalu mengajak diri ini relaks, jadi berhasil tenangin diri dan pelan-pelan cari tahu bagaimana napas yang benar. Dengan pengetahuan PT bahwa klo perut kembang ga boleh hanya ke depan doank, akhirnya aku berhasil menemukan cara bernapas yang seharusnya!! Astagaaa, setelah belasan tahun, ternyata diafragma ku ga ikut turun naik klo aku berusaha bernapas. Lalu aku kegirangan sendiri, penuh syukur dan aku menghabiskan sesi sitting itu hanya sekadar menikmati bernapas. Hahahha (kemane aje bu?)

Overall, retret ini sangat menyenangkan, banyak meditator lama, bahkan beberapa murid master Shengyen. Tak ada yang coba-coba ngobrol, semoga serius mencoba berlatih, sebisa mungkin. Semua orang sangat on-time dan tidak grasak grusuk juga, semua ikut aturan dan jadi lebih gampang settling down. Kamar juga seorang 1 dengan shared toilet dan bathroom. Trus makin hari makin ga ada kata-kata, bahkan instruksi. pokoknya ikutin suara bell, suara board. Ah, itu yang asik dari retret Chan, tanpa kata-kata yang banyak. 

Sesi sharing di akhir, kami dibagi kelompok kecil dulu, dikasi 30 menit berbagi dalam grup kecil, lalu salah satu anggota akan merangkum dan melaporkannya di grup besar. Isinya ngakak dari awal ampe akhir. Banyak yang berbagi pengalaman interviewnya dan seberapa mereka terbantu oleh petunjuk-petunjuk Zarko. 

Take away kali ini: 

1. Tubuh benar-benar perlu dilatih. Berkat workout yang meski tak rutin, tapi otot tubuh ku lebih berfungsi, jadi bisa menopang diri saat sitting. Begitu badan bisa duduk (45 menit pun ga ngeluh), baru ada kesempatan meninjau pikiran. Kalau tidak, sepanjang sesi cuma sibuk tegakin badan dan berjuang dengan rasa sakit, boro-boro mikir. 

2. Peredaran darah lebih lancar berkat obat shinse. Meski malam tak bisa tidur nyenyak karena summer panas dan humid, bisa ngikutin kegiatan seharian tanpa ketiduran, cuma nguap-nguap. 

3. Pentingnya membangkitkan bodhicitta, meski body yang benar masih cita-cita. Demi manfaat semua makhluk itu benar-benar memberi motivasi dalam berlatih. Jika kita lebih rileks, maka akan berdampak positif ke orang-orang sekitar kita. 

4. Relaksasi itu penting banget dan ini berkaitan erat dengan hidup sehari-hari. Tak bisa hanya dibenerin dalam retret. Perlu mengkaji ulang pola hidup sehari-hari, jangan sibuk berlari. Pas bangun tidur, karena ga cukup tidur, sangat grumpy, lalu begitu ingat untuk rileks, langsung tak ada masalah. Ngantuk tetap ngantuk, tapi mood tidak jelek. 

5. Sungguh beruntung bertemu dan bisa mempraktikkan Buddha Dharma. Banyak chanting yang berakhir dengan air mata syukur. Ketika chant aku berlindung kepada Buddha, Dharma dan Sangha, baru kali ini benar-benar khusuk banget. Benar-benar wish dari lubuk hati yang terdalam, wishing all sentient beings berkesempatan belajar Buddha Dharma. 

Di akhir retret tak sempat foto selfie dengan Zarko karena beliau terlihat sibuk mendengarkan konsultasi salah satu volunteer. Aku pun harus segera cabut anterin peserta ke stasiun kereta. Kupikir ya sudah. 3 hari kemudian, aku perlu ke shinse di New York. Pas nyampe, ternyata pasien sebelum aku masih belum kelar, jadi aku menunggu di ruang tunggunya sambil membaca. Lalu pas dengar suara pasien, suara khas yang berat dan menggelegar, waaah, suara Zarko!! Lol. Punggungnya kaku karena duduk 3 jam meladeni interview kami dan pas dia cuci muka, bunyi gitu, sakit banget katanya. Dari asrama jalan ke Chan Hall butuh 20 menit. Jadi sempatkan diri treatment 2 kali sebelum pulang Croatia malam itu. Kumanfaatkan kesempatan ini utk minta selfie. 

Zarko orangnya kocak. Meski suaranya yang berat kadang menggelegar, tawanya juga membahana dan senyumnya juga hangat. Ada peserta bertanya: how do I relax my shoulder? Dijawab Zarko: just don't hold it up. hahaha. 

Thanks for teaching us, Zarko! Feel better soon! it was nice meeting you. Hopefully see you again next year. 

Deep bow in gratitude. 

Cordoba

Originally we were planning to go with the bus, leaving at 8.30 AM and to return from Cordoba at 7PM. When I talked to profe Alberto, I just realized that there is a train option. When I checked it, it costs EUR 14 more than the bus, took us less time, only 1 hour 26 minutes (2 hours 50 minutes by bus). I proposed that option to my small group and everyone agreed to opt for train.

The panic moment when you see no bus coming up next.

Train leaves at 7.10 in the morning. The drama started, out of 6 of us who planned to get to the train station with bus, only one, Santi, took the bus. The rest missed the bus because it showed up earlier than the schedule. Donovan, Jake, Aziz and Sarge decided to take taxi, meanwhile, I can't see any taxi passing by. I was lucky that the next bus showed up and the lady in the bus stop said I should make it to the train in time. However, at the second stop, three guys got in with one bus card, so the bus stop and the driver waited so that all of them paid. It made couple of minutes delayed. I was also very lucky that I had been to the train station to get the ticket, so I knew the path from bus stop to the station.

All good, we are in the train safely. Since it is a hot day, an early arrival to Cordoba have an advantage. We walked to the Jewish quarter before Cathedral since Cathedral open from 10 AM, due to Google. In Jewish quarter, we can find some Hebrew writing on the wall or on the street. I don't think I saw those in Jewish quarter in Sevilla. Also, there is a small synagogue, but we didn't get in.

After that, we walk to the Cathedral. Unfortunately, there is a service happening at the church, so we can't get in yet. Luckily, the bell tower is open, so we walked up to see the view from the top. 

Around 3 PM, we entered the Mezquita-Cathedral. For me, this is the most appealing part. The building is dominated by mostly Arabic structure, but the wall´s decoration shows Christianity. However, the colour somehow gave me an impression of an amusement park :(.  It is so hard to me to think that this is a religious place. But when I see the surrounding, the detail on the wall of Christianity is really impressive. I like this place as a building, but again, the number of tourists made this place has no religious feeling. Some tourists even took pictures as if they were in Disneyland, with funny poses. This is a bit disrespectful. 

The gold dominates the ornament made it looks fancy. Some hanging lights consists of a lot of candles light bulb, which in my opinion gives an ancient feeling. 

Other part that is very interesting is the roman bridge! Although with 41 degrees Celcius, it may be less interesting, unless you have great company!

Roman bridge from the other side.. 

Sitting under the Roman bridge to survive the heat while waiting for Cathedral to open

One super lucky thing that happened to me in Cordoba was, a pigeon pooped on my bag! Hahahaha. Jake said something is happening when I was sitting on the side of the road. I was too confused to react fast enough and of course, within a second, I saw a green-white-liquid-ish object on my bag. Hahaha. Soon after that, my bag is called a pooped bag by Donovan! I still think it is lucky that it didn't land on my head, otherwise I will have a pooped head!. LOL 

Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip. So much laughter all the way, despite a small conflict in it. Thank you Cordoba for treating as nicely :). 

Counting the Blessings

I have been three weeks in Granada and I haven't written anything about it yet. Granada is an amazingly beautiful city with friendly people. I am blessed to be here!

The Alhambra

I went to Alhambra earlier than the group because I had to be in Barcelona on the scheduled time. This place is amazing! My pictures really don't do justice at all. Even though Alhambra is very famous, but I didn't know about it until my sister told me when I said I would be in Granada, because she watched a Korean movie about it. 

The size and the details are just incredible!! After visiting Alhambra, other similar places are no longer as fantastic. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to enjoy the park because it was about to close. 

La Tarasca

Another blessing to be counted is we are here at the right month! Granada has Corpus Christi Celebration in June. The fair for this occasion lasts for a week. The day before the Corpus Christi, we saw the parade of the "Tarasca". Tarasca is a female mannequin wearing the coming summer's fashions, riding on the back of a legendary dragon, escorted by giants and big heads. 

The Corpus Christi Procession 

I was expecting Corpus Christi to be something very religious. But after standing for 1.5 hours and watching at the procession, I feel that it is just another normal parade thingy.

The procession takes place the length of the route in the shade of canopies erected for this purpose by the Town Council, and on a carpet of grasses, rosemary and other plants. Shower of petals are thrown over the monstrance as it passes.  

The Monstrance

The Waterfall

I am very lucky to leave nearby a waterfall! I didn't know about it until I started to walk along the river. The main purpose was just walking with no destination. In the middle of the path, a man pointed out to me that if I continue walking, I will see a waterfall. So, I did. I really like the view on the way there. I took me a bit more than an hour, since I walked quite slowly. I am blessed!

One interesting thing that my mom pointed out to me after I sent her the picture below, she said that the tree in the picture seems to be the Bodhi Tree, the same tree where the Buddha sat under and reached his enlightenment. I have to get back to the place and find out whether they are really the same. 

A Trip to Friendship

Out of those nice places that I visited and the events that I attended, the best part of this program is the friendship. I am beyond blessed to meet this group of people. They are soooo amazing. They have such beautiful soul and kind heart. We just get to know each other, but we protect  and we care for each other as if we are family. 

Deep bow in gratitude for my two profes that have been great parents for everyone of us. We can ask for any help, open up any conversation and borrow their wisdom at anytime.

Granada, June 28, 2019

Seville

Saturday morning we took the bus to Sevilla at 8 AM from Granada bus station. It took us 3 hours to arrive to Plaza de Armas, Seville. The view was so nice along the way that I tried so hard to keep myself awake. After arrival, we decided to visit the Cathedral and the Real Alcázar first since we can't check in yet to our accommodation anyway. It was super hot when we arrived. 

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See

This cathedral was originally a mosque, but it is converted into the city's cathedral, shortly after Seville's conquest by Ferdinand III. I would say, due to its position, the picture above don't do justice to the cathedral. 


The Giralda, the bell tower of the Cathedral was a former minaret of the mosque that stood on the site under muslim rule. We took a picture with it from the other side, so we can only see the top of it.

With friends in front of Giralda, the bell tower of the Cathedral

Unfortunately, when we got in to the cathedral, there was a procession happening in the church, which I think it's part of the celebration of Corpus Christi. 

The procession in the cathedral

For me, it is a pity that even when the procession was happening, some parts of the church were still made accessible to tourists. I just hoped that people that sat in the middle for the procession, could fully feel the procession sacredly.

When I walked around the cathedral, there were couple of "altars" that were prepared to be carried out for Corpus Christi procession. Out of so many of them, what interesting to me was the one with the statue below. There are 3 human heads under the statue. I wonder what these heads symbolize. I wish I could get any guide to tell me, but it wasn't the case.
 

I am curious what these three heads at the bottom symbolize. 

The Real Alcázar
This is a Royal palace that is built for the Christian king, Peter of Castile. The palace is an example of Mudéjar architecture in the Iberian Peninsula. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as their official residence in Seville. However, our guide told me, nowadays, the royal family prefers to stay in the Hotel Fernando III in the historical center.

To get in this place, there was a long queue. We cut through the queue by joining a guided tour in English, but this costs us more money though. Getting in to the area, it gives an impression of Alhambra, but this is not as impressive as the Alhambra.

This picture shows the journey of Christopher Columbus with three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Nina.

At this point, the guide told us a little bit about the remain of Christopher Columbus. It's only around 140 gr of his knee bone is kept (if I don't remember wrongly). DNA test had been done and it was proven that it is the real bone of him.










It is very interesting that even though the King is Catholic, the wall is full of Arabic Calligraphy which translated by the guide to be ¨God bless the King¨. He said that this shows the good relation between the Muslims and the Christian at that time.

This roof is very impressive, not only by the golden color but also the detail. 

In one of the room, there is this funny map. Can you see what is different in this map?

Well, this map is actually is upside down. We have Italy is on the left side of Spain. Haha.

The dancing floor

In one of the room, it has a unique floor. Our guide showed us that if we move according to blue tiles, you will end up in dancing movement.

In the middle of the royal palace, there is this nice garden. The pond has a lot of fish in it. I like the contrast of the color in this picture. In this garden, there are palm trees also orange trees. Our guided tour ended here. It was too hot for us to explore the garden, everyone was so exhausted, so we sat under the shade and enjoy the garden for a bit before heading toward the exit. 

Jewish Quarter
The adventure for finding out the Jewish Quarter was hilarious. We had actually passed through the quarter when we left the cathedral towards our Airbnb. But since we were rushing to check in, we didn't pay much attention. So, on Sunday, when we decided to find this quarter which is surrounded by the wall, Donovan and I were laughing after arrival. We were here! So the Sunday walk was basically walking in a circle like dejavu.

The Giralda is so close to the square

It is very interesting how Jewish quarter was so closed to the cathedral. Our guide told us that the Muslims, the Jews and Christians used to live in harmony.

The wall that defines the Jewish quarter

The walk toward the square

Plaza de España. 

My friends visited Plaza de España on Saturday, but I didn´t join them because I decided to catch up with my ex-housemate for dinner. Sunday morning, after having breakfast together, I walked toward this plaza. The first impression was "WOW! It is so Venice!"

Don't you agree with me that this looks like Venice? Well, missing gondolas. 

If it is not too hot, I probably would try to row in the canal. I walk up the stairs and basically just sit at the corridor and enjoyed the view. I was happy that I made my way here. 

The society
The life in Seville is very family centered. I had a chance to meet up with my friend who was my ex-housemate when I studied in the Netherlands, so I had a chance to have a peek to the local life. She introduced me to a lot of her family member, including all her in-laws. It is a very funny phenomena for me, that after I am introduced, some of the in-laws hangout with us. It is very different to the life in the states, where everybody has more private life. Even comparing it to Indonesian, we normally introduce our guest to some family member if they happen to pass by, but they will not stay to spend time with the guest. 


Another interesting thing was, even though it is quite a big city, horse cart is allowed to round around the city and taking passengers, which most of them are tourists. I don't think locals are using it. It goes in harmony with cars. 




To conclude this blog, here is another icon of Sevilla, las setas de Sevilla. Sometimes you can find Flamenco performance here too.

Graus

June 15, 2019

Today I went to Graus, a small village up north from Tamarite. Well, it is slightly more populated than Tamarite. I went with Nacho, my academic brother, and his daughter Abril and his wife Ana. He drove us around noon.

First we arrived to a famous main square called Plaza Mayor. It has buildings with very nice paintings, also a building with a sun clock.

What I really like from this square is the ambiance. A lot children running around, playing together and laugh. This is very similar to my childhood days, where we spent more time with friends outdoor. In my opinion, playing with friends is really important to develop social skill. I fought and cried a lot as a kid, but that taught me how to handle emotions and deal with people. I saw a lot of improvement after all those tears and bruises. Nowadays, it is more common to see kids with their own phone. Since it was a nice day, we decided just to sit there and enjoy the moments, laughing at those kids. 

Around 2 PM, we walk toward a very nice and famous restaurant in town, called Criticón. It is a restaurant in a hotel. It was not big but packed. I order the appetizer typical from this area. Leek with crispy ham (I think). For the main course, I had pork cheek and grilled potato. The dessert was cut oranges with a scoop of coconut ice cream. I choose this because when I read on the menu, "naranja sin trabajo" --> "a jobless orange". haha. It actually means they just don't do anything to it.

After lunch, we visited Basilica de la Virgen de la Peña and we walked up the Mirador del Morral. 

What interesting is, you have two options to reach the top. You can either walk it or climb it. Here is the information if you want to climb. Of course, we don't choose this option. 

Here are some pictures of the view on the way up. 

What a motivating view!

The left upper statue is the destination. 

This is a father-daughter moment, competing to reach the top.

The happy faces that we made it to the top

To conclude, here is the breathtaking view from the top. It did worth a hike.