I went to refreshing trip to Makassar (South Sulawesi) on January 12-15, 2014, to visit fellow journalists and authors. And I happened to fell in love with this “Kota Daeng”–city of Daeng, since 2011. Daeng is Makassarese, meaning big brother or sister. It’s an honorable call for local Buginese-Makassarese.

To be honest, I don’t know much about the cultures on other archipelago of Indonesia, other than Java and West Sumatra. I was born in a mixed-cultures/ethnics family of Javanese, Sundanese, Batavian and Minang (West Sumatra). So, Sulawesi is something foreign for me. But on December 2011, my bos sent me on duty to the city of Makassar, altogether with the Supervision Team of The World Bank and fellow inter-dept.

I see how amazing Makassarese and Buginese people were. They live in such an honorable code of respect (siri’). Of course, all cultures has great value of their own, but somehow, Makassarese caught my heart. I fell in love with this land and I love it to the bone.

And now, even God gave me a bonus: a Makassarese boyfriend. ^_^ Yep! And he came when I didn’t even look for a boyfriend. He’s a a colleague, at first. Then we became a good friend, turned bestfriends. And later on, he declared “us” as lovers, plus as bestfriends, family, and “partner in crime” *LOL*

Don’t ask me what it really means, just pray for me and feel happy for me, because I am.
I AM HAPPY with him. ^_^ He completes me, even though we have such a different cultures. Opposite, even! Makassareans are famous with their firmness and strict principles, while us–Sundanese, are famous with our soft-hearts and a lot more flexible manner. So, sometimes we had small fights because I felt he’s too firm and he thought I’m too soft. But, we do love each other so strongly, so we are learning how to understand each other, and always try to find the most comfortable way for BOTH of us.