Growing Up in Indonesia

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