a series of good things about the city i'm learning to love. also a journey of adapting:

• the lack of streetlights. remang-remang, that's what the streets of bandung are at night. it's romantic, in a way. as my mom had also said, "inderamu yang lain bisa kerja lebih kuat ketika minim cahaya. suara lawan bicaramu, wangi deterjennya."
• the cold and the wind. i didn't survive a night without my windbreaker the whole time i was there. the act of holding hands felt different, too, as i naturally longed a little more for warmth. besides, what are our palms if not some warmth-transferring vessels? :')
• a handful of secondhand bookstores, mostly from my dad's recommendations as they were the grip he held onto back in his college days. perhaps not as grand as kwitang & senen (now pasar kenari), but i'm grateful anyways.
• the thought (and soon to be fact) of being physically close with my friends. i've been so accustomed to living the way the pandemic forces me to, and i more than miss the littlest, most basic forms of human interactions that i pretty much failed to appreciate throughout my whole life.
• not really a thing about bandung, but the image of me officially bearing the title anak rantau. i grew up hearing stories about my dad living off magetan since he was so little and my mom taking night classes miles away from home, and i remember being in awe. i still can't believe i'm about to experience the thrill of living alone myself.
• my kost. it's beautiful, to say the least. i also love the fact that my bestfriend muthia is staying there as well, her room across mine.