Growing Up in Indonesia
by : Arryo
Hola! After a long hiatus, finally I had time to
update my blog with a new article. I was busy with stuff that came up lately.
Fortunately, I could posted it here and the good news is that I finally got my
bachelor degree in Mass Communication back in January 2018. Yeay! It was a
great achievement and was so proud with it though after 4 years of ups and
downs in the university.
Born, grew up and finished school in Indonesia, I’d
like to mention about society system in Indonesia. Before that, here is a short
description about Indonesia; a country situated between the Indian and Pacific
oceans, it is the world’s largest island country, with more than seventeen
thousand islands (In case you did not know about Indonesia) while Bali is the
most popular island among others.
However, have you ever wonder how does it feel like
growing up in Indonesian? Here are some facts as an Indonesian. In Indonesia, I
see lots of differences from the way of living comparing to other countries
especially the cultures, foods, etc. Here are some facts about Indonesian:
Wish
for snow
Indonesia’s weather can be split into two seasons –
summer and rainy throughout the year. Seriously it is not fun. The only way for
Indonesians to experience the “real” snow is by travelling to other countries.
That made us wishing for winter or snowfalls, sometimes, while knowing the fact
that it is impossible. But personally, I wish I can feel the snow *one day*.
Bahasa
Indonesia language
Obviously, we use Bahasa Indonesia language as our main
language. Although, most of Indonesians have their own native languages based
on where they came from. What about English? English language rarely got a place
as a second language for Indonesian people. No wonder, some of Indonesians could
not speak English very well nor understand it at all.
Respect
someone’s older
Indonesians could not just call someone’s older by
their names, even among friends. It is considered as impolite. Alternatively, there
is an appropriate way addressing someone’s older. We add “Pak (Sir)”, “Bu (Mam)”,
“Kak/Mas (Young adult male)”, or “Mbak (Young adult female)” then followed by
their first name. It depends on their ages and genders. Often we feel
uncomfortable / unmannered when addressing someone’s older by their name.
To Hot for a Walk
According to the researcher from USA revealed that
Indonesia was the world’s laziest walkers and personally I did not deny it. Indonesian
citizens prefer to drive their own vehicles than walking down the street while
the sun burned their skin. No one can compromised the 12pm heat, unless you
have no options but walk.
Rice,
Rice and Rice
I heard some of them said that “A meal is not a meal
without rice”. It shows that Indonesians really depend on rice for their meal
and which is true. No matter what you have for your dinner, whether it was a
steak, fast food or even instant noodles, they tend to add rice with it. Even
for breakfast, Indonesians satisfy their growling stomach with high carbs
(rice) rather than breads.
After knowing the habits of most Indonesians, can you point
out any similarity or dissimilarity between your country and Indonesia?
Photo Credits: firstcovers, ferizalramli, cafemom,
tinyclipart, Kompas
