Bhinneka di Mata Joana

[Naskah produksi video yang tiga tahun lebih terbengkalai]

Halo.

Aku Joan.

Kalau orang bertanya bagaimana Indonesia di mata aku, aku akan bilang, "Indonesia itu unik dan bhinneka." Kalau mereka bertanya lagi, "Unik dan bhinneka-nya seperti apa?", aku akan jawab, "Seperti aku!"

Ayahku dari Sumatra Utara. Di tubuh ibuku ada gen suku-suku Indonesia yang ada di Sumatra Barat, Banten, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jogja dan Sulawesi Selatan. Ada lagi gen Eropa Barat dan Selatan, Asia Timur dan Timur Tengah.

Itulah mengapa aku selalu menyebut diri aku, orang Indonesia.

Kulit legam bangsa Timur Tengah bisa dilihat pada sosok atok aku (atok itu panggilan nenek dan juga kakek di keluarga besar ibu aku). Kulit kuning ada pada opa, bude dan pakde aku nomor dua. Pakde ini punya wajah dan postur jangkung khas londo.

Opa aku sama, tinggi-besar, tapi bermata oriental, seperti halnya pakde aku yang nomor satu dan ibuku sendiri. Kakak sepupu laki-laki dari bude, dan kakak sepupu perempuan dari pakde punya wajah khas bule juga. Kakak sepupu perempuan dari budeku kulitnya putih khas bangsa Eropa, lengkap dengan spruten di lengan dan wajahnya, tapi bermata sipit.

Adikku sendiri tinggi, di atas rata-rata anak seusianya, tapi dengan ciri wajah Batak -- entah efek gen apa yang akan menguat saat dia dewasa nanti ...

Itulah keluarga aku. Unik, tapi indah! Seperti Indonesia.

Oh, I haven't told you about my father. He was the eldest in his family. He was a great father, a very sociable individual, and a teacher at heart, in his own ways. There was something about him that drew people to him and to listen to him. He could effortlessly blend into a new setting or crowd. One thing I'm certain of is how proud he was when I came to this world. "I'm a man, and I'm also a father!" It was he who got me well-prepared to face the world. My father passed on many years ago, in the very hospital he was born in.

 I see life as wonderfully great; it has presented me and my family with its ups and downs, hardship and happiness. I was taught to never back down and to rebound higher, after any misfortunes. My upbringing and those life's little instructions my father and mother and my extended family have given me paid off well, especially in cases like the one I had a while ago.

Back in May, I pictured myself wearing UB's jacket, but two national university selection tests failed me. The partly-subsidized road to graduation turned to a cul-de-sac. I had to go the full-tuition path at another state college, Unpad. This time, I was fortunate to pass the three tests, but some financial constraint prevented me from completing the final registration.

I was crushed, but not for long. It would not do me any good, and would also mean precious time wasted. So, I decided to take a sabbatical year ... I mean a gap year (a prep-year, actually), and keep myself busy preparing for next year.

Itulah kenapa aku bikin rekaman ini. Aku ingin coba jadi pengisi suara karena orang-orang di sekeliling aku bilang suaraku bagus. Sepertinya mereka betul. Semasa SMA dulu, pernah pengurus sekolahku di Pontianak, membawa aku mengisi acara promosi pendidikan di RRI. Aku yang diminta bicara atau mengisi siaran di sana. Dan orang yang pertama kali guru atau teman sekolah cari untuk menjadi pembawa acara biasanya juga aku. Mungkin aku diberkati suara yang bagus karena, sekali lagi, gen keluarga besarku.

I have a distant uncle who works for a national news TV station. My father studied to be a journalist (although he ended up serving in the aviation security division of the state airport management company -- it was perhaps because of his deep and authoritative voice). A grandmother from my mother's side was a former news broadcaster at Radio Australia in Melbourne. She still loves the world of radio, by the way. My mom herself was a Catholic church lectress. I guess, public-speaking blood runs from both sides of my family.

Here's a side note: aku belajar biola dan organ elektronik (electric keyboard) semasa sekolah dulu. Talenta yang ini belum pernah aku ujikan dalam lomba. Yang sudah teruji itu kemampuan aku berpidato dan berdebat kelompok. Lomba semacam ini pernah aku ikuti tanpa, atau bersama, tim sekolahku beberapa kali. Mungkin aku menang lantaran darah Batak aku. Atau karena suara aku yang katanya bagus.

Speaking of voice (again), an uncle of mine repeatedly --and annoyingly! -- tells me I have a pretty voice. He would very much like to hear me humming the full tune of 'I loved her first'*, but I won't let him. Not yet.

I will, someday, softly in the background, at the church, alongside him, when my mom says at the altar, 'I do', for the second time. Or me, for the first time.

Until that day, my uncle will need to spend the next seven or so years to catch up with me in the singing department.

*please check this out, if you haven't -- such a lovely song!