Ready for more Indonesian reality? Here’s another small look into what we’ve discovered during this first month.
People: It has been so great to meet people here even if it is for such a short time. So far I’ve found Indonesians to be very respectful people. Sometimes they stare at us pretty hard, but a smile & a “hallo!” almost exclusively means a huge grin & a verbal response. I have also noticed what a gracious people they are. We live in their country & when we aren’t able to understand them, they usually try really hard & are pretty generous toward our feeble attempts to communicate. They are patient with us & usually love to hear us at least attempt their language. I recently ordered grilled corn off the side of the road & my Indonesian friend was very kind to me as I slowly got a sentence out in the native tongue. We have met many people at the Center where conversational English is taught & practiced & it’s been so interesting to hear stories from each person about the culture & how the islands can be so different. We even took an adventure day with 3 of our buddies from the Center who offered to be our guides at a volcano & a tea plantation — so fun!
Transportation: Motorbikes…almost everybody rides them. It’s THE way to get around in Indonesia. We have been blessed by our BAIS family often offering to pick us up in one of the few cars available, but motorbikes are definitely how it’s done. We also catch the bus to school, & sometimes it’s empty, other times we can barely get out. But to go to school it’s roughly 15 cents per person, so that’s pretty happy for the budget.
Celebrity status: The very first day when we were out walking we realized that we are kind of like local celebrities. All kinds of people ask us for pictures basically anytime we go anywhere. School kids, middle-aged women, security guards — you name it, they want a picture. Others just covertly try to take a picture, some even while driving past on a motorbike! Most times I let them take a picture with a “bule” (pronounced boo-lay) or white person, but sometimes I have to be a little firm about it. It’s kind of amazing how bold they can get…we’ve even been chased down a few times. When we’re at the bus stop, basically all passing vehicles slow down & we get stared at pretty hardcore. But it’s now our usual expectation, so we have even reverted to calling ourselves “bules” at times.
This is one of my new friends that I met…after she chased me down 🙂
Once there were 3 of us getting a ride to the grocery store while the other 4 sat at the bus stop. But then the person driving us realized that we go right past our house to get to the store, so we swung back around to pick the other girls up. But as we got close to them, we majorly slowed down our ride & only cracked our windows while calling out “Bule! Bule!” Our girls looked annoyed at the blatant attention, but then were surprised that it was just us — we definitely got them 🙂 We all had a good laugh about it as they piled into the car. Silly bules (;
