Season 3 Episode 2
Level of Indonesian and English fluency: Intermediate to Advanced
Indonesian Version
Desir angin laut Pantai Pasir Putih Pangandaran menerpa pipiku.
Akhirnya sampai juga!
Saya amat menyukainya.
Udara lembab dan sedikit asin, ada sedikit amis pantai, kuanggap itu bagian dari petualangan kali ini. Kami baru saja berjalan perlahan-lahan dari Pantai Timur, dari bungalow di mana kami menginap, melintasi cagar alam.
Seekor anak rusa mendekati kami, jinak dan lucu.
Adikku berjalan semakin pelan, kemudian mengunci lututnya dalam posisi berdiri.
Kami berhenti sejenak agar bisa beristirahat di sebatang pohon miring.
Terlintas di benakku… tidak adakah cara untuk memudahkan dia? Atau anak-anak seperti dia?
Sebenarnya… saya sendiri juga sudah agak lelah sih, dilanjutkan beberapa meter lagi juga resiko jatuh, jadi memang sebaiknya kami istirahat.
Pasir putih adalah tempat favoritku.
Di darat, kami memperhatikan kumang-kumang kecil.
Ada yang bermain, ada yang sembunyi di batu karang…
Sedikit lebih ke laut… di saat surut, ada daerah di mana kami bisa berjalan-jalan di atas karang, memperhatikan batu karang dan anemon beraneka warna.
Di saat pasang, kami naik perahu sedikit lebih ke tengah. Di bawah perahu itu ada kacanya. Dari kaca terlihat pemandangan di bawah laut. Indah sekali ciptaan Tuhan!
Puas di Pasir Putih, perahu kami mengarah ke Pantai Barat tidak jauh dari situ.
Pasirnya jauh lebih lembut daripada Pasir Putih.
Papah menyewa ban dalam mobil, lalu kami main ombak.
Di pantai, kami dapat bergerak lebih bebas, air laut membantu kami melawan gravitasi.
Di saat ombak tinggi kami ikut naik… ombak rendah… kami ikut turun…
Tidak takut untuk berlari, bahkan melompat bersama ombak, karena kalaupun jatuh, disambut pasir yang lembut sekali itu.
Tiap ada liburan Pangandaran selalu jadi pilihan.
Saat kami sudah lebih besar,
karang yang dekat pantai lebih sering ditutup untuk konservasi.
Jika memungkinkan, Papah menyewa peralatan snorkeling.
Senang sekali rasanya bisa lebih dekat ke laut.
Di Pantai Barat juga mainnya sekarang kami pakai body board… ada papan yang bisa kami tumpangi, ada talinya supaya tidak hilang, dan yang asyiknya ini itu… kalau berhasil mendapatkan saat yang tepat, kita bisa terbawa ombak sampai ke tepi.
Memori seperti ini sering teringat di waktu yang tidak menentu. Selain memori, dari dulu hingga sekarang saya suka berpikir tentang cita-cita ataupun pemikiran lain yang terpicu secara tiba-tiba.
Seperti seorang anak kecil pada umumnya,
cita-citaku banyak sekali,
tapi yang paling sering muncul adalah menjadi insinyur.
Saya amat suka menonton Film Mac Gyver,
yang walaupun dihadapkan pada macam-macam masalah dia bisa membuat berbagai peralatan sebagai solusinya, dalam kondisi terdesak sekalipun. Saya pun berpikir… kira-kira dia itu belajarnya apa ya?
Apa ilmunya bisa untuk membuat alat bantu berjalan untuk anak-anak… yang nantinya bisa dipakai untuk menjelajah juga?
Di pelajaran Biologi kami belajar ada hewan endoskeleton, yang tulangnya di dalam, contohnya manusia, dan eksoskeleton, di mana tulang-tulangnya di luar, seperti misalnya kecoa.
Mungkinkah kita buat eksoskeleton itu lalu kita pasangin mesin-mesin di situ, yang bisa bergerak sebagaimana kita perintahkan?
Papah kuliah mesin tahun 1963, kemudian kimia tekstil, saya tanya apa yang dia pelajari saat kuliah mesin, penggerak mula, mekanisme-mekanisme. Beberapa diktat dan buku-buku teksnya masih dia simpan. Ada macam-macam roda gigi, statika, dinamika, ada koleksi katalog roda-roda dan sebagainya.
Dia juga punya bengkel pribadi kecil yang berisi berbagai peralatan pertukangan untuk membuat bermacam-macam barang, misalnya pudunan, sesuatu yang amat sederhana namun amat bermanfaat.
Saya pikir yang dipelajari mungkin perlu ada dasar elektronikanya, ada dasar programmingnya, yang pasti perlu ada fisika, tapi bukan yang ke arah Einstein, melainkan ke arah Edison, yang lebih praktek, apakah harus kuliah merangkap-rangkap?
Suatu hari ada mahasiswa-mahasiswa ITB presentasi ke sekolah, sebagai kegiatan Himpunan Mahasiswa Fisika Teknik, lalu mengajak kami ke open house jurusan mereka di kampus. Lab-lab nya luar biasa, apalagi bagi anak SMA sepertiku saat itu. Ada banyak fisikanya, tentu, ada elektronikanya, ada menggambar teknisnya, minimal untuk memberitahu orang bengkel apa yang kita mau buat, ada algoritma dan pemrograman, laboratorium Instrumentasi kedokteran, dan lain sebagainya.
Asyik sekali!
Ok, ini yang saya cari, saya telah menemukan cita-cita saya, passion saya, dan dengan yakin saya mau memilih untuk mengambil jurusan teknik fisika kalau kuliah nanti. Walaupun ada yang memperingatkan… Nanti malah ilmunya tidak mendalam bagaimana… ? Mana sempat didalami, kuliahnya juga sama-sama 4.5 tahun? Tak apa pikirku… itulah gunanya bekerja sama lintas bidang kelak.
English Version (7:50)
The swirl of the ocean wind of Pasir Putih Pangandaran beach caressed Lydia’s cheek.
Finally there at last!
She loved it there!
The salty balmy air, the beach’s aroma of the sea, were all part of the adventure that time. They had just walked slowly from pantai Timur, from the bungalow where they stayed, crossing through the wildlife reservation.
A fawn approached them, tame and cute.
Lydia’s sister walked slower then locked her knees in a standing position.
They stopped a while to rest by a slanted tree.
It crossed Lydia’s mind, was there no way to make it easier for her sister? Or for other kids like her?
Actually…she was also getting a bit tired, if they forced on for a few more meters, they would be risking a fall, so it was better that they rested.
Pasir Putih was Lydia’s favourite place.
On land, they observed the hermit crabs.
Some were playing, some were hiding behind reefs…
Closer to the ocean…when it was low tide, there was an area where they could walk above the reefs, observing the reefs and the colourful anemones.
When it was high tide, they took a boat further out to the ocean. The base of the boat had a glass window. Through the window, a view of the underwater world was displayed. How beautiful are God’s creations!
Satisfied being in Pasir Putih, their boat headed to pantai Barat which was not far from there.
Its sands were much softer than that of Pasir Putih.
Their father rented rubber tires and they played in the waves.
The beach allowed them more freedom in movement, the ocean helped them defy gravity.
When the waves were high, they were carried up with it…when the waves crested…they followed suit…
Unafraid to run, even to jump with the waves as even if they fell, that very soft sand will embrace them.
Every vacation, Pangandaran has always been their choice of destination.
When Lydia, her brother and her sister were older,
the reefs closest to the beach were frequently closed for conservation purposes
Whenever possible, their father rented snorkeling gears
Tremendous joy to be even closer to the sea
At Pantai Barat, they could also play with body boards…the boards which they can ride on with the rope to ensure that it will not go missing, the most fun part….was when they managed to catch the right timing, the waves would carry them all the way back to the beach
These memories often surfaced at random moments. Besides memories, from then till now, Lydia often thought about what she wanted to be or other thoughts that were randomly triggered.
Just like kids in general,
she had many aspirations
but what occurred most frequently was to be an engineer
Lydia loved watching Mac Gyver,
who although faced with many obstacles, could invent contraptions as the solutions, even under the most dire situations. That got her thinking…what did Mac Gyver study to be able to do that?
Could his knowledge be used to create walking aids for children…that can later be used for exploring as well?
In Biology, Lydia learned that there are endoskeleton animals, who have internal bones, such as humans, and exoskeletons, whose bones are on the outside, such as a cockroach for example.
Will it be possible to create that exoskeleton, on which machines can be attached to it and will move as per our directions?
Lydia’s father studied mechanical engineering in 1963, then textile chemistry; Lydia asked him what he studied during his mechanical engineering years; primer movers and mechanisms. He still kept a few of his notes and textbooks. There were various gears, statics, dynamics, a collection of wheel catalogues and many more.
He also had a small, personal workshop which had various carpentry equipment to make various things, such as a ramp, something that is very simple but very useful.
Lydia thought that what needed to be studied maybe had an electronics base, programming base, definitely some physics in there, not the Einstein physics, but more towards the Edison kind that is more practical; will this require several majors to be taken in university?
One day, university students from ITB made presentations at Lydia’s school, as part of their Physical Engineering Students Group activities, then they invited the students from Lydia’s school to the Open House of their major on campus. The labs were amazing, especially for a high schooler such as Lydia at the time. There were lots of physics, obviously, there was some electronics, there was technical drawing, at minimum to be able to convey to the workshop team on what is the desired outcome, there was algorithm and programming, a medical instruments lab, and still many more.
It was such fun!
OK so this was what Lydia was looking for, she found her aspiration, her passion, and she was confident that she would choose to major in Physics Engineering later in university. Although some did warn her…what if the knowledge was not comprehensive enough? The lectures were also for 4.5 years, same as other majors. Lydia didn’t worry about that warning too much, that’s what cross function collaborations are for later on.
This is a story from Lydia Anggraeni Kidarsa, who is originally from Bandung and currently resides there. She works as a designer for postural and mobility aids for special needs children. Some of her designs includes:
Kurolata – a wheelchair for children with cerebral palsy.
Kuronata and GoRoll – wheelchairs for children with spinal muscular atrophy
Kuroduta – a wheelchair for children with spina bifida
Stalita – a hand propelled bike with three wheels
Different kinds of standing supports and walkers.
Lydia’s Innovations and ‘to donate’ info:
Kurolata – Kursi Roda untuk anak dengan Cerebral Pasly ( a wheelchair for children with cerebral palsy).
Kuronata and GoRoll – Kursi Roda untuk anak dengan Spinal Muscular Atrophy ( wheelchairs for children with spinal muscular atrophy)
Kuroduta – Kursi Roda untuk anak dengan Spina Bifida; Two-Year Wheelchair (a wheelchair for children with spina bifida )
Stalita – Sepeda Tangan Roda Tiga ( a hand propelled bike with three wheels )
Different kinds of standing supports and walkers.
Account info:
Bank Name: BCA ( Bank Central Asia )
Account Number: 5140 5000 72
Name: Lydia Anggraeni Kidarsa
Swift Code: CENAIDJA
Email: Lydia@Kidarsa.com
IG: bioteknik93
Web: bioteknik.com
Vocabularies
Desir: swirl/swish
Menerpa: caress
Lembab: moist
Terlintas: flashed
Benak: mind
Pudunan : ramp
Surut: low tide
Pasang: high tide
Diktat: note
Himpunan: group / set
Papa / papah: father
Mama/mamah: mother
ITB: Institut Teknologi Bandung, a state university in Bandung, West Java.
It’s one of the best and the oldest universities in Indonesia.
Indonesian language used here is in the daily-conversation format, that has influences from the local culture and custom. Should you have questions on the more formal version, please consult with your guru Bahasa Indonesia.
Level of Indonesian and English fluency: Intermediate to Advanced