There are only two real life of communities that I am really interested right now, one is where you can play augmented reality game that involves many players abroad and have monthly events competition, its called Ingress where I attended big event months ago in Surabaya. The other one is where I can connect life learners who travel and being hosted or surfed in the biggest hospitality exchange called Couchsurfing which I am rarely active to participate in real life aside geting in touch with other members on chat room app.
This months I decided to spend my monthly salary to participate three days of Indonesia Couchsurfing members which was held in Yogyakarta. I was interested the concept and some events that cater the participants to choose for the second day such as Temple Hunting, Instagenix, and Gallery Hopping where I took to join. The event itself was organized from local Couchsurfing members as voluntary activity to gather around 150 travelers across SEA and international as well that were currently being in Yogyakarta at the time. To participate, there were little bit cost to pay for accommodation where participants to stay for two nights.
So, I took direct flight and arrived early one day before the event started. Luckily enough, I met some Indonesian members who come from Jakarta and Bandung where later we decide to spend half day to visit one of most public spot that I have been there before but gladly ti really enjoy this travel as part of vacation and also connecting link to new travelers.
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| > Nemenin ibu ibu rombongan |
The first day event for opening the festival was actually get started at night where we might to rest in a public room before with another members who just came by and signed up the registration. I feel honored when DJ (actually his name is Djamaluddin), one of event comittee told me that I can give a speech about Couchsurfing on the opening of event representing Indonesia or Borneo participants.
So I took my gut to speech in front of public anxiously talking about what is the "difference" (the topic that came out) and how relates in Couchsurfing. The opening might sounds like this "Imagine that we are colored pen, there is not only white and black, there are bunch of color. A canvas where we live right now and we as the colored pen must decide to create something on canvas. It could be chaotic drawing or simply can be beautiful piece of art."
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| This is me speakin |
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| This is the audience |
My speech that I had said actually was sudden idea but relates what I want to do for the second day of event, its called Gallery hopping that would be attended with some of participants that has similar interest like me. After giving speech, participants are showed some Pencak Silat acts and also a movie screening which ends around 10.00 pm.
Later in the morning, I contacted gallery hopping what I was supposed to do with approximately other ten participants how to drive around the city visiting some art painting museum. First was Affandi museum, a legendary painting that scared out shit of me back in elementary school when I found a book with spooky and creepy painting. Later I found out that Affandi is experimentalist painter (a term I created my own), so we spent some times enjoying all of his paintings in his museum. After visiting the museum, I lost some interest to get focused enjoying painting on another museum instead I took some picture of participants and wander around till its finished in the afternoon where we gathered in a cafe, the rest museum I remember were about Indonesian politic painting situation and absurdism gallery about mundane things, too bad I got exhausted so I cant focus to notice.
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| Hello Mr Affandi |
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| Bunch of hipster group |
On the second day, we had a little competition called "Relung Yogya" which was not actual race, but the participants that were randomly selected must find some clues about some "interesting" parts of Yogyakarta and must take a picture and later presented tonight in the partying event. So, together with new participants we took a stroll on the spot where the comitee had referred. One of couchsurfing member who comes from Australia named Jason suggested us to make something different in taking a bit of photograph concept where later leads us into winning the competition.
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| Actually... there are more.. but this is okay. |
After Relung Yogya event was finished around the afternoon, we move away into a beach where we were going to spend the night there and also.... THE PARTYYYYYYY! Its not regular party with electronic music, but with dangdut music. After arriving, before the sun went down and event get started... I took a stroll across the beach, being in my own world, listening an spcae ambient album with sound waves as the natural background, looking back to my life, what I have been going through, what was future would look like. That was sure hell of comfy.
Back to the party event, at first I act just like on normal mode being not interested to engage instead talking with new friends and relaxing to watch another members presenting "Relung Yogya" pictures they got. Apparently and suddenly, when the dangdut get started... my mood turned change into chaotic and uncontrollable mode where I dance to the song [I am chuckling right now] and being hysterically enthusiast and later I wander around talking more with people. There was little contest where participants must wear sarong both male and female, DJ asked me to choose who was going to win the contest for female participants. There was a girl I must chose to be the winner, and it went to Aiko, to the Japanese girl who appears there. When the MC asked why I chose her, i said hysterically "I like Anime!" Haha... and I bowed to her, I had little bit conversation with her on the loudest music background where I talk random shit like drunken people even though I was not event drunk, just being hysterical and cringy at the same time, and Aiko was like... wass this guy mentally retarded look?
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| A weird background with people do dangdut behind. |
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| DJ, Achu, Aiko, and a new friend who likes anime too |
So, the dangdut was over in the midnight and some participants turned on some electronic music with drunk influence, I was exhausted and couldnt sleep. Tomorrow, the event just finished and participants got back to the city and some of them went back to their home town or simply continue their journey while I had to back working back to the kitchen and continue my cake selling and must pay my debt for the rest of PC build i owed from my dad. Before we left, we took a picture that I want to put here:
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| A big fam! |
I am so relieved to join this event and being part of Community where in the local, there were no members that eager to continue making events because years back ago. I like creating meet-up events and interesting activities around Banjarmasin city. So, after this events... I have to spread the great idea of being on hospitality exchange.
P.s : A book prize where we won the competition for Relung Yogya
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| Destiny? |
