December 5-9 2012 and Cultural Differences

12.5.2012

My friends had exams today. I went to school and went to my normal classroom but none of my usual classmates were there and the kids who were there were all studying out of an Arabic textbook. I had no desire to take a test in Arabic so I went down to the library. I 'studied' for a little while and then I went home. When I got home my host Dad was sitting at the kitchen table and he questioned me about why I was home so early. I explained that I was not learning today because I had exams and that I was free to go home. I went upstairs, changed and come back downstairs. When my Dad asked me where I was going I said Trans Studio. He then kindly informed me that Trans Studio wasn't open yet. So, I watched TV and waited to be able to go to the mall. When I go there I was looking for some pretty simple things. I wanted some food and I wanted Jeans. I bought corn oil, pasta and Prego. I had cake mix and I wanted to make dinner for my host family. When I went to buy jeans everything was very expensive. The mall only has luxury brands, I am talking about 150$ jeans at Ralph Lauren and many other very expensive stores. I never buy expensive name brand stuff, I just don't see the need to pay for overpriced things that don't fit me well. After a disappointing morning I decided to walk down the street by the mall to see if I could find any smaller stores. The street is very busy and it probably wasn't super safe but, I did it anyway. It paid off, I found a small factory outlet store and I went inside. I ended up buying the perfect jeans shorts. Yes, they were on the men's rack but the store didn't have my size in women's (because I am freakishly large). Not only did the jeans fit me they also only cost 12$ which made me feel much better. I took an Angkot home, which was my first time alone on an Angkot. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. I didn't have very much to do, so I watched a movie, took a shower, took a nap and chilled out the rest of the day.

12.5.2012 Highlight

While at the mall I went to Bread Talk. It is a very popular store here that sells all different types of bread and cakes. I found banana bread and I bought a slice. While I was relaxing at home I ate it. It wasn't as good as my Mom's and I prefer it without chocolate but it was still really good.

12.6.2012

I didn't even bother going to school today because I knew I would have nothing to do. I slept in and wasted the day. Nothing exciting. Until the Missionaries for my church came over at about 7pm. We talked and they gave me a lesson in English, which was very nice. I was very grateful to be able to talk to the missionaries and have someone give me a lesson that I could actually understand. After they left I downloaded the Indexing program onto my computer. For those of you who do not know my Church is very big into family history. Part of being able to do family history is typing up old ship records and other official documents and putting them on the database. I taught myself how to work the program and then I started typing names.

12.6.2012 Highlight

Everything I did today was pretty great!

12.7.2012

One of my friends asked me to come to school today because he wanted to give me something, so I went to school. I talked to many different people until the library opened. I listened to music, indexed more names and played more games of solitaire than I care to admit. After being at school for about 3 hours I decided to walk home even though my friend hadn't shown up. I went home and started watching a movie. It was called "The day after Tomorrow Ice Age 2" I thought that the '2' was just a typo so I put in the DVD. The movie was terrible, I got through about 10 minutes before I looked up the original actors in the real movie. I discovered that this movie was a poorly made re-make. I couldn't watch another minute so I put in another movie. My friend texted me at about noon and asked me where I was. I told him that I was already home and he said that he would drop it off at my house. It was an invitation to a Christmas party at his church (one of the few Christians at my school) but, the only problem was that it was for tonight and I couldn't go. I said that I was sorry but, I didn't know if I could go. I could not go. The rest of the day was spent doing nothing.

12.7.2012 Highlight

On the way home a group of about 7 elementary school kids stopped me. I don't stop for anything while I am walking home and I really have no idea how they got my attention but, they did. They were all super cute and when I turned around they looked very nervous. I asked them what they wanted and they asked (very politely) if they could take a picture with them. I said that they could and we sat down to take a picture. Most of the children we very nervous and did not want to be in the photo I called them over and told them to sit next to me. After the picture, they thanked me and said goodbye. I love little kids and these were very nice and cute. I hope that I was their highlight!

12.8.2012

No school again. So, I had another day at home with the maid. My family is so busy. I was planning on making dinner for my host family but at noon I got a message saying that my mom and dad had to go to Jakarta and that it would be better if I made dinner on Sunday. Nothing exciting today.

12.9.2012

I got woken up by a phone call from my second host sister. She said that her family wanted to come over and talk to me before I moved in. We made plans and I got out of bed. I got dressed and ready for church. I was able to go to church. I always love going to church but today was extra special. It was the primary program. (Primary is the class for all kids under 12 at my church and every year they sing and have little talks for the meeting). There were 6 kids and 2 babies along with 5 Moms/teachers. They were very cute and they sang all of their songs perfectly. One of the little girls was so cute, she kept waving her arms like she was the conductor. After church I went home and my 2nd host family came over to talk to me. They seem very, very nice and I can't wait to live with them. We only talked for a little bit and then they left. I went back upstairs and took a short little nap. I woke up when my mom and dad got home from Jakarta. They brought some food and after a pre-meal snack I started making dinner. It doesn't take a genius to make pasta and heat up Prego but, I was still proud of myself for doing it perfectly. It was great! And the cake for dessert was great too. It could not have gone any better and I really think that my family liked the meal. During dessert I gave my host family my little presents from America. Then, I spent the next hour completely packing up my room because, I will be moving out on Tuesday. I want to thank my host family for everything. I could not have had a better 1st host family and I will always remember you!

12.9.2012 Highlight

Everything went perfectly today, I could not have asked for anything more.

I decided to make a list of some of the biggest cultural differences, of course there are much more but, these are some of them. Enjoy!

Cultural Differences:

1.   Wet is clean

2.  Old people grasp your elbow not hold your hand

3.  "Belum makan nasi, belum makan" - If you haven't eaten rice, you haven't eaten

4.  2 showers a day

5.  Food is not made per meal it is made for the day and then left on the table under a cover. Whenever you are hungry you can just go eat. Rice stays fresh all day in the rice cooker.

6.  Time is not well defined and structured like it is in America.

7.  Condiments go with EVERYTHING. (and not just a little)

8.  Having a maid and/or a driver is perfectly normal

9.  Smoking is very popular and it is legal/normal to smoke everywhere

10.If you are sick it is because you have not eaten (or you are cold)

11. People love wearing jackets (90 degree weather year round)

12.Littering is totally acceptable

13.Most people are Muslim (this causes MANY differences)

14.People believe in ghosts

15.People are very upfront about looks. It is not unusual for someone you don't know to come up to you and say "I am the prettiest person in the class, do you think I am pretty?"

16.Most places including peoples' houses and some classrooms require you to take off your shoes.

17. Burping and making other noises with your mouth is acceptable.

18.Almost everything is paid for in cash, credit cards are a pain and they are not accepted at most stores (only very nice malls let you use credit cards)

19.Shaking hands is very different: Before you shake someone's hand their gender, age, respectability, religion and a hundred other contributing factors must run through your head. If someone does shake your hand (American style) the handshake is very weak and floppy, not strong and aggressive like we do in America. Many people will extend both hands and you slide yours in-between theirs (kind of like playing slide) and then you bring your hands to your chest. If someone is Muslim, you might be accepted to do a traditional Muslim greeting. The younger person takes the other's hand and raises it to their head and bows at the same time. Finally, some people chose to do the kisses (2 kisses one on each cheek) but, you will never kiss a man. I know it is complicated, just imagine doing it every day.

20.     Squat potties exist and just for everyone's information I am pretty good at using them now.

21.People like touching other people for seemingly no reason.

22.     School is fun and people like being at school. Teachers also don't show up.

23.     People like to ask very personal/weird questions. The word for this is "Kepo" it is used to describe a nosey person who asks too many questions.

24.     Tea is served all the time.

25.     They have local languages and most people know their traditional language as well as Indonesian.