Rest in Peace, Beloved Teacher

     I was taking a nap when my mom answered a call from my cousin. Shocked.

My English and German private course teacher passed away last Sunday. I could barely believe it, and so tears streamed down my face. 

     I quitted taking lessons at a famous international English course whose teachers were native speakers. I'd been studying there for over 3 years but didn't get any significant progress in my English. That time I was just accepted in SMPN 4 Bogor and I met this girl Lintang who later became one of my bestfriends. She told me that she's taking a private English course taught by a very nice old lady named Mrs. Gatoet. Seeing how good Lintang was at English, I was interested to go to the same course. So, I asked my mom's permission and she totally supported me. Off I went to Mrs. Gatoet's house the next week after school with Lintang.

     I was so nervous that day, afraid that the teacher would be very stern and strict But then when I came in, I saw an 81-year-old lady sitting on a chair before a desk with a warm, welcoming smile carved on her face. "Hello, please come in. Sit down please, what's your name?" said her. Then, we began our first conversation. I remember she asked me something I couldn't hear and I was like "Huh?" and she immediately corrected me by saying "Don't say 'huh'! Say 'sorry' or 'pardon' whenever you need a repetition!"

The very first lesson of attitude I got from her. And that is how I met her for the first time.

     I went to her house on Tuesdays for over 3 years. An hour a week. She taught me all English lessons (including grammars, vocabularies, speaking, reading, and writing) patiently and wholeheartedly. If I kept on making mistakes then she would give me more and more exercises until I master the lesson. She gave me many homework so that I practiced at home and the next week she would check it and gave me another new lesson. 

      Some days, when I wasn't feeling well or not in the mood to studying, she didn't make me become more tired by giving some exercises. She would close her books and had a chit chat with me instead for one-hour long. Those were the times when I became closer to her and got to know each other better. She would talk about her life journey, how she spent her past 80 years on this Earth. Then she told me how hard her life was, living in the colonization era, and how she got this somewhat scholarship to study languages in Europe. This scholarship made her master at least 5 different languages which are English, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch. And up until that day, at the age of 81, she was still fluent in them! I also figured out that we shared the same hobby: reading books. She loved reading books so much and she excitedly told me that she used to have an enormous collection of books which then were unfortunately perished in fire. We talked many things in every one hour we spent not studying: from life experience to dreams, from gossips to politics.

     One day I told her all dreams I had since I was a child. I wanted to be a doctor, or an architect. I wanted to be successful. I wanted to be just like her: growing old healthily, mastering many different languages. I wanted to travel around Europe. I wanted to go to Germany...

Yes, Germany. Like so bad. The country I have always admired. She knew exactly how going to Germany had always been my biggest passion. She would encourage and tell me what a beautiful country it is, and that I should keep on chasing it. 

"I had this one student whom I have taught since he was very small. He was also very smart and intelligent, and you remind me of him. He's now grown up living his dream, in the United States. Several days ago I received a letter from him and I cried reading it. I hope that one day, when you are in Germany, you won't forget to write me a letter too, Putri......"

And now she's gone, before even letting me write a letter sent from Germany.

     There are so many memories I had with her. So many fun afternoon conversations. I lost someone who patiently heard me spout and whine. Someone who helped me winning my very first speech contest. Someone who gave me a lot of life lessons and advices.

I lost someone meaning more than a teacher. Someone I consider as my own grandmother.