I have now been in this country for three and a half months. It occurred to me today that there are loads of crazy things that happen around me, some not so crazy but still pretty weird, whose impact have been dulled by the passing of time. With about five weeks left in Yogya before I move on to Jakarta, I have been reflecting once more on the many peculiar phenomena which are inherent features of daily life in Indonesia and in the life of foreign students generally.
For a start, there's the fact that I have friends from many countries here including Japan, Germany, Korea, Turkey, New Zealand. The peculiar thing about our friendships however is that, excluding obviously the English speakers, we all speak to each other in Indonesian. Of course, that is probably rather an obvious thing to most of you, however picture this scenario: a bunch of Australians, Japanese, Koreans and a German go out for dinner and spend the whole evening speaking Indonesian. White people and foreigners generally already get stared at anyway by Indonesians without needing to draw further attention to ourselves by speaking their language in their absence! They seem to find that scenario rather hilarious, but in a nice way.
Another dominant lifestyle-affecting characteristic of this place is the weather. I wake up in the morning usually to a clear blue sky and it feels about 30 degrees by about 9 am. However, more often than not, I get out of class in mid-afternoon and it is torrentially down-pouring which inevitably means - in a country with an average sewerage system, motorbikes as the dominant form of transport, and a generally, erm, flexible attitude to time - the only way to deal with such conditions is to either make friends with someone who has a car, or wait.
An example: on the way to the movies the other day, in a period of five minutes, a massive storm developed and purged itself with equally impressive speed. We were on motorbikes at the time and had no option but to park them in the middle of nowhere and huddle under the eaves of a translation shop and plough through the usual questions (Where are you from? Why are you here? etc, etc) with the owner. We waited for an hour and when we eventually decided to resume our journey, still ended up quite soaked. You have no choice but to wait. I am developing remarkable patience in this country.
Other circumstances that require patience...
The bus continues to provide me with great amusement. A new phenomena that I have observed is the proclivity of the driver to just randomly stop for a rest and drink a cup of tea or chat to his fellow bus-driving mates for as long as he sees fit. This seldom occurs when I am on the way to campus (thankfully, because I rarely allocate enough time for such unexpected occurrences in my morning schedule) but often happens on the way home when I am about 1 km from the kos. I always have to toss up whether to just get off and walk or hope that his conversation is sufficiently boring that he drinks his tea quickly and gets moving!
It occurred to me the other day also that when we all go home to Australia we are quite likely to develop psychological paranoia about being ignored by the people around us, because we will be able to once more walk down the street and not have anyone care less about where we have come from (Dari mana?), where we are going (Mau ke mana?), are we studying in Yogya (Kuliah di sini?) and why we are walking alone (Kok sendirian?). It is absolutely mustahil, impossible, to go anywhere incognito in this place.
I went down to the bakery near my kos today, "Parsley", to buy some bread and realized how that although I used to find it weird to see cheese and chocolate used in the same baked good or to see for example cheese as a topping on cake, I hadn't even thought about it for two months as being anything other than normal. In Bandung, where Brownies are apparently a specialty, they make a cheese version (ewww). The absolute over-sweetness of everything here would also be normal if it wasn't for the fact that I am constantly reminded when I smile at myself in the mirror how bad my teeth will be when I get home. The default taste of hot drinks here (Milo, coffee, tea, green tea) is hyper-sweet. Out of control, cavity-inducing, stomach-churning sweet. Alas, being an adaptable creature and one who is not prone to being fussy, I have learnt to accept it. This is in lieu of other options other than the rather unpalatable "don't have a drink" option.
Oh and by the way, I eat rice and sambal (chilli sauce) for breakfast. The girls in the kos think it's hilarious. But they all do it too. Anyway, that's a pot pourri of random tidbits.
By Adelle Neary, 22 [at the time of writing], Adelaide University [taken from HERE.]
Other interesting stuff from the same source...
Lauren’s Indonesian Experience
Fake it 'til you get Ice Cream
Jaywalking through Jakarta
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this story very well. 8 months ago I arrived in Indonesia for the second time in my life. In 2017 I already visited this country but as a tourist. Now that I actually live here, I notice things that I didn’t by that time. Neary says that it is impossible to be incognito in Yogya and I believe she is totally right. Everywhere you go people will stop you and ask questions. I have the feeling that they actually couldn’t care less about my answers, but that they just want to talk. At first I thought this was limited to sightseeing locations such as: Borobudur, Prambanan, Bromo and Malioboro street. Seemingly they’re interested in you almost everywhere.
It will be hard to rehabilitate once back in Amsterdam.
Recently I also discovered the cheese and chocolate combination Neary is talking about. I have to say that I’m in for a lot of things, but that cheese and chocolate is a bridge too far. However, you never know. Maybe I will ever try it and it will turn out to be really good after all.
Lima wrote: "I have to say that I’m in for a lot of things, but that cheese and chocolate is a bridge too far."
ReplyDelete"A bridge too far" is an interesting idiom and it is linked to the country Lima is from: the Netherlands.
It's the title of a 1974 book and 1977 film about an Allied operation WW2 in 1944 to capture bridges across major rivers in the Netherlands where the 'furthest' bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem proved too difficult to capture.
See here: https://youtu.be/tQpTc6PyAyk
It was one of my favourite films when I was a kid (I was 13 years old when I went to see it at the cinema). You can watch it here (although there are no subtitles for the German bits!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H21zi9hj9-A
Hahahaha My friends and I have been talking about how curious Indonesian are towards many things, especially ones that was explained by Neary. I was an exchange student myself, experiencing the taste of being in a different school with different curriculum in a different country. I’ve spent a year in Italy where everyone “Parlano Italiano”. If you are thinking that I was hosted in big cities such as Rome, Milan, or Venice, you are absolutely incorrect. I was placed by the coordinating foundation in a small village with less than 4.000 people living there. To make it clearer, there is not even a single traffic light exists. I was prepared with some basic Italians before departure, phrases that are actually easy to be memorized, just to answer simple questions such as: “What is your name?”, “Where are you from?”, “Why are you here?”. I have had a strong feeling that I would be questioned by many people in that village since I’ll be ‘an alien’ in between but it turned out that questions were asked by less than 10 people. This is a very positive comparison that many Indonesian are more curious on this particular topic instead of Italian. But once again, not all Indonesian are the same.
ReplyDeleteHi Aziz,
DeleteI would like to say that I enjoyed reading your story about your exchange to Italy. I find it funny to read that you went there with the expectation that people would ask you a lot of things. I feel sad to hear that they didn’t but I wouldn’t take it too personal though. I believe “we” Europeans have different thoughts about approaching people we don’t know. When I speak for myself, I would never (ever) approach someone in the street that seems to have a different nationality. Not because I’m not interested in him or his culture, but just because I consider it as rude. In my opinion you should let others be and only approach them when the right occasion is there. Nevertheless, I do think that there are some countries within Europe where people will approach you because of your skin colour. I remember being in Croatia with my adopted siblings (they’re from Ghana, Israel, Turkey and Curacao), people would stop us all the time just to feel my little brother's hair..
Reading Neary’s experience intrigued me, though I'm probably used to the things she notices as ‘peculiar’. I, myself, stereotyped most of Indonesians as ‘Kepo’ or curious people. The questions I get every time I walk pass the streets usually makes me uncomfortable, as they may be considered as cat-calling. I can only imagine how worse it is for the foreigners.
ReplyDeleteBut a thing that I can relate to Neary is her feels towards the weather. Back when I was in Jakarta, I mostly mobilize with my car and my driver. Although the weather was also unpredictable, I almost never worry much about the weather before. But now that I live here alone in Jogja, I switch my transport into Go-Jek. Riding a Go-Jek is great and handy until somehow it starts to rain and you just have no other option to pull over to some shady spot until the rain stops.
The other thing combination of food like chocolate and cheese here is just one of those things that you have to try yourself to know why it exists. There are so many things in Indonesia that you can never experience elsewhere in the world. Travelling to other countries just reminds me of how much I love my beautiful, yet peculiar, home, Indonesia.
I really enjoyed this post, it was hilarious!! I identify myself in many of her stories especially when she is talking about the attention she gets everywhere and the need of patient in Indonesia. I have been so lucky to be living in Yogyakarta since January and I have to say, I LOVE IT! There is many positive things to say and too many funny stories to tell. However for the sake of this comment, I will try to summarize it. This amazing city has been a completely rollercoaster of experiences. There is no other place in earth with such a sweet people like in Jogja. Maybe is because of the ridiculous amount of sugar they put in everything, but anyways, you feel like home. My favorite part of being a “Bule” is the response of the Indonesians when I tried to speak my basic level of Bahasa and of course the pictures. Something I have learn in my time here, is to NEVER do the things with a hurry, because you will get CRAZY. Indonesians like to take their time so better plan in advance. The best experience I have had in my time in Indonesia was to spend two weeks in a village teaching English to children. I learned so much about the culture, the people and their way of leaving.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading Neary’s experience in Yogya, I realized that her story made me smile a little and I can’t help myself to find this article funny because one of the experiences that she had, sort of actually happen to me too. When I was in Japan for two weeks as a representative for the student exchange program, almost every time when we walk around the school, we would draw the attention of the student there and if we try to speak Japanese, they would found it very funny but in a good way. Another thing that I want to add is how relatable Neary’s feeling towards the weather. You can’t really blame anyone for the bad storm that sometime came abruptly and the only thing you could do in this situation is just patiently wait for the weather to stop or just order a car from an online transportation app.
ReplyDeleteAs an Indonesian, reading the passage above made me reflect about the Indonesian culture and habits in terms of daily interaction. As the author was describing about having to encounter questions everywhere she goes, it reminded me of the "basa-basi" culture in Indonesia. A lot of people here feel the need to ask questions or communicate to show caring towards others. Approaching a stranger who might or might not be in need is often perceived as an act of kindness.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the combination of chocolate and cheese, I believe that trying it is worth the try. A lot of dessert served in Indonesia combine cheese with different types of chocolate and snacks. However, I have to agree that beverages here are extremely sweet (It’s no surprise that diabetes is in the top 10 causes of death in Indonesia). Based on my experience being an Indonesian, it’s always beneficial to ask the waiter to separate sugar with your drink in restaurants.
It is very interesting to read an article about a foreigner’s experience living for some period of time in Indonesia. I, like Jessica, took a look back towards the existing habits between Indonesian and how it may be common to us but not to non-Indonesians. I think it has been a culture of Indonesia, sitting around and just having conversations that are probably not that important at any time. Despite the fact that it is very disturbing that when the writer was on her way home the driver stopped just to have a sip of coffee regardless the passengers waiting, I find this as a proof of the existence of kinship among Indonesian people. But perhaps the problem is that Indonesians may not consider the timing to do such thing. We, Indonesians, may be very careless with the effect towards other people involved when it is not done in the perfect timing. I guess that’s still a problem for Indonesians, being very regardless towards their environment.
DeleteVery interesting experience there from Neary. I think it’s part of Indonesian culture to greet others, especially around Central and East Java, places with people speaking Javanese as their local language tend to be more friendly to strangers, they say. It is very normal in Indonesia to talk with people while you’re in a taxi, ojek, etc. I often talk with ojek drivers here in Yogyakarta every time I take either Go-jek or Grab to travel when I can’t be bothered taking my motorbike.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the frequent unexpected weather very well. As I spent my high school years in a small city in East Java, I often have to wait to go home after school because of the rain, I always took my motorbike to school so it was very frustrating when it rained, and wearing a raincoat while driving on a heavy rain is absolutely uncomfortable.
A part of Neary’s post that I relate to the most is when she told us her shock on how Indonesians take time to engage in small talk with strangers. I think of this as a testament to how Indonesian society prioritizes togetherness and collectivism, unlike the mostly individualistic west. Engaging in small talk in the bus stop or inside public transport is not seen as intruding someone’s privacy but as a courtesy. On the other hand, simply sitting next to someone’s empty seat row in a train or bus is seen as intrusive in developed western societies. Despite the courtesy and politeness of Jogja, the Javanese operates a passive-aggressive code of conduct that sometimes does not make sense to westerners. For instance, bluntly saying “no” to a request or invitation is seen as impolite or rude. So, instead of saying no, we have to make up an excuse or respond ambiguously with “if I have the time” or “Inshaallah (god willing)”.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is hilarious because I admit that I find myself to be one of those people who likes to stare at foreigners (especially the Western) when I was younger. This may be because I come from the part of Indonesia where we rarely get a visit from Western tourists in the early 2000s, so seeing a blonde haired, pale skinned person was like a dream. I used to have this voice inside my head telling me to go talk to a foreigner whenever I see one – part of it was because I was curious about ‘bule’ because they are different but another part was because I wanted to show off my English speaking skill to my friends LOL. However, I do believe Indonesians have this culture where we greet each other and ‘basa-basi’ on the street as it is a sign that we care towards each other hence why foreigners might get a lot of questions on the street.
ReplyDeleteThis article is so interesting for me. Eventhough i'm not a foreigner here, but I do understand about how people got curious when there is one. Especially when you guys are talking in Bahasa. I don't know if it is because we are "kepo" as we say in Bahasa, which means that we are curious, or if it is because we care too much about others. What I want to say is that, the people here in Yogyakarta tends to be more friendly than in Bandung, the city where I used to live. Whenever you pass by and they saw you, they usually will give you a smile or even nod to you. I'm still not used to it yet but I swear later when i get back to Bandung I will probably be the one who nods. Also, about the cheese and chocolates thing, I really really love it! And I didn't even think it was weird up until now. How come it is weird? It is so delicious! But the problem here is that they over-sweet anything. I always ordered sweet ice tea back then in Bandung but ever since i moved to Yogyakarta, I could not handle the sweet ice tea here, so I decided to just order a plain tea. That is all from me today. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI found Neary’s story really interesting and I completely agree with most of the things she said about living in Jogja. I arrived in Indonesia about three weeks ago and the first thing that I noticed was the crazy number of scooters. Then, it is also true that, by being a foreigner here, you get a lot of attention. I’m getting used to the children saying “hello” to me all the time but I’m still very surprised every time someone asks to take a picture with me. Then, I was also very surprised to see cheese and chocolate together in food. I haven’t been brave enough to try it yet, but I will definitely eat something with chocolate and cheese before leaving. Still concerning the food, the very spicy meals sometimes made me cry. But overall, I really like living in Yogyakarta, people are nice, the food is good, and I enjoy the warm weather.
ReplyDeleteAs an Indonesian, this article made me realize the habits we have in Indonesia. It is funny to know that the citizen of Indonesia sees foreigners differently with different point of view. But sometimes I experience it too when I’m in another country especially with huge difference appearance. I also sometimes see foreign students differently. Sometimes I even think that “why would they want to study in Indonesia”. I also realized that many of our cultures that seem strange to foreigners. For example, the chocolate and cheese combination. For me, I found it quite good for some foods. But it turns out, foreigners doesn’t see it that way. And it is true that many foods and beverages are to sweet in Indonesia. I personally like sweet foods or beverages. But sometimes I found something that is too sweet. But I support foreigners that study here (for some reasons). Such as the environment and the culture, or the unique combination of food and beverages.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFrom the text, I think she really had a wonderful time in Indonesia. It is very true that she will be the center of attraction because Indonesian people will be curious if they see someone from another country. They might look at her seriously and some even would ask her like where do you come from and many other questions related to her. That is the culture that I like in Yogyakarta. Most of them are like to smile a lot and very polite. Of course, that kind of an experience will be a memorable moment. For the culinary, I know that most of the Indonesian foods taste sweet. We are really addicted to sugar and we really love sweet flavor. Trying many different foods in Indonesia will be a very sweet experience. We can see from the ice tea that the local restaurant usually produces. They put a lot of sugar in the tea. If you have another chance to visit Indonesia, you may try different meal from another city in Indonesia. I hope you have a great time in Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteIt is always interesting to know about the story of foreigners in Indonesia. I always wondering about how Indonesia or even Yogyakarta look like in the foreigners perspective. So, when I found this articles and reading Neary’s experience make me remembering about my experience when I became the host family of one of the students from Netherlands. When I’m being a host of one of Netherlands students and I ask her opinion about Indonesia, the answer got me shocked and also hilarious at the same time. She said that she felt very uncomfortable when we walked in a public places because everyone is kind of staring at her and ask her for a picture. As an Indonesian I can’t deny that fact because it was true that we as an Indonesian sometimes like to stare at foreigners because they are unique and different with majority of them is blonde, having a blue eyes, and also a lot of foreigners are tall compared to Indonesian.
ReplyDeleteWhen she came to Indonesia, she was kind of confused because she feels like a lot of people are calling her name while actually it isn’t. This problem is caused by one word and that word is “Mashaallah”. Her name is Mascha and this word is commonly used by Indonesian, so whenever someone say that word she feels like someone is calling her and she is very confused since there are no one that actually call her.
DeleteReading Neary’s story gave me more knowledge about Indonesian culture that is categorized as strange in foreigner perspective. The thing is, almost all of the thing that Neary wrote on her story are true. I couldn’t agree more when she wrote about the bus problems and their nonsense driver, about the bakery that like to combine chocolate with cheese, and the other facts that she stated in her story. After all, reading Neary’s story is very amusing for me even though I’m an Indonesian.
Neary’s story was very interesting, because I also hear that from my sister’s friends from Romania. Like Neary said, even though she talked with Japanese or Australians they will talked in Bahasa Indonesia. This also happened to my sister’s friends; they try to learn Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese; they even ask me to teach them how to write in Aksara Jawa (Javanese script.) One day when we went out to see Yogyakarta City, they saw a lot of sign that say “Klinik dokter gigi” which means Dentist Clinic, and one of them say “Wow there’s lot of people named Gigi” It is so funny because gigi actually means teeth. She tells us that in Romania, Gigi actually peoples name. I like to read or hear how foreigners think about Indonesia, therefore I can understand more how we behave or what unique things foreigners find about Indonesia. Some of them find it uncomfortable when people stare at them or ask for picture on the street, even though they feel uncomfortable they find it hard saying "no" to people.
ReplyDeletelaura wrote : your comment is very interesting
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