Indonesia!!!

Pop quiz: which country has the most motorcycles, the largest number of guitar/ukulele players per capita, and the best fruit juices you will ever taste? Answer: Indonesia.

Since I started learning the Indonesian language 5 years ago Indonesia has always been at the top of my "places to visit" list. I got lucky enough this summer to get an internship that requires me to do a bit of traveling around Southeast Asia, finally taking me to Indonesia this past week. The stay was brief and the time was tight but I can say I have a better feel for Indonesian culture.

All Indonesians I have met in Hong Kong are very friendly people. When one of my Indonesian friends would talk to someone I could never tell if it was their first acquaintance or if they had grown up together. I thought maybe it was that way in Hong Kong because they are all far from home in the same situation so they were very open to each other. I thought wrong. It is the same in Indonesia. Everyone is very helpful and friendly with each other, it's a cool environment.

Another thing I noticed is that what many Americans, including myself, would probably look at as "just trying to get by," to them it is "just the way things are." Example: What would you think if you were sitting at a stop sign and a random guy walked out into the road to stop traffic and motioned for you to pull out? It definitely wouldn't cross my mind to give a tip to the guy. I'd probably be apologetic to the drivers he stopped and motion them to go ahead or something. In Indonesia there are people at every intersection helping direct traffic (traffic is crazy there by the way) and people give them tips for their services. And no, they are not hired by the city to do it. I asked. They just see a busy place and decide to help out for a few hours. So my point about "just trying to get by" as compared to "just the way things are," I look at bums begging for change in the street as "just trying to get by/survive" whereas directing traffic or similar services around the city is just what you do if you need some extra change. Maybe that doesn't make sense to you, it does to me. Just one example that might help you see the congeniality of Indonesians and gain a bit of understanding regarding their culture.

Also, from the little bit I saw, Indonesia is a beautiful place. I spent my time in Jakarta mostly with a one-day trip to Bandung, a mountainous region about 2 hours SE of Jakarta. The stairs of rice fields are just like you see in any Indonesian tourist book and it would seem that kite-flying is the favorite pastime of all kids. I'm excited to head back down and hopefully can have a bit more free time to visit some more places.