You say potato, I say kentang

I can understand why some locals speak English to their bule boss even though the boss understand Indonesian. At first meetings I’d be happy to speak in Indonesian with them, being a welcoming local, and it’s also a way to measure how good their skill is. But at times they fail to impress me, I ended up have to rephrase my sentences in English.

So with bule is totally understandable, what I can’t comprehend is locals talking to locals in English.

Colleague to colleague in front of a lower staff. OK, could be they were talking about the staff or other sensitive matter.

Colleague to lower staff. This is risky considering the possibility the language was becoming more of a barrier than a communication tool.

Colleague to colleague in the same level. I tend to say they’re bragging. Show off.

Well, I admit, I use English here (bragging? me??). But we still work and live in Indonesia, fergodsake. Of course, there are idioms that goes perfectly well in English. I can accept that, but explaining to your staff in English? I simply watched the act from a distance and later confirmed with the staff that she understood what was required.

Being a stubborn non-conformist myself I insisted to speak Indonesian with my local colleagues, unless we were talking about sensitive matter (read: gossip). Even when it was a perfect time to use English phrases I insisted on using Indonesian and translated it. It can be amusing at times, and annoying too...

x: Hi A, is the big boss free this afternoon?
a: Sejauh ini iya, kenapa? -- he’s free so far, why?
x: Well, I got a guest coming in, can we see him?
a: Diajak makan siang kan? ketemu pas disitu aja. -- he’s coming to lunch right? They can meet then.
x: Yeah I know, but he’s asking to meet in person
a: Minta namanya deh, sama keperluannya apa, nanti aku tanyain. Jam 2-an sih dia masih bebas. Tapi biasa, kita main pake kuping. -- Can I have the name and the purpose of this meeting, I’ll check with him. He got 2 o’clock slot free.
x: What? What kuping?
a: Play it by ear, hun..
x: Ohh…OK. Silly. OK, thanks A, you’re so sweet.
a: Emmm… [grin]

one million

What will you do if someone give you one million dollars?Hmm.. you can do plenty with that kind of money, get a sport car, buy a new house, travel around the world, feed the poor... (fill in the blank).

Same question but less kesh, what will you do if someone give you one million rups? Not as much as the dollar of course, a lot less, but it's still money. The range would be smaller, no you cannot buy a new ipod or that cool walkman phone, but it could pay your cellphone bills at least. Or maybe secure a year supplies of toilet papers (fun).

The range is even smaller if it comes not in form of bank notes, but shopping voucher in a prestigious shopping center. When I use the word "prestigious", even your one million seem peanut. At most you can buy yourself a pair of new pants (not of the high class designer made, but still decent) or a nice perfume.

So that was a small project I did the past couple of days, deciding what to get. Definitely would not buy lingerie as the gift vouchers were from my previous boss (!!). The cuttleries set sure looks classy, but why invest on something I won't use for the next 2-3 years? Parfume? Still a bit romantic, besides I don't have any favorite. Shoes? Already got plenty unused.

Hmm.. Perfume? Lipstick? Dress? Jewelry? Hmm.. I think I'll continue browse around until I can settle on a thing.

after all, they're MY family..

The first blow (hope there's no more tho) whenI arrived kinda turned me off for doing any kind of family stuff. Gathering, prayer, I even avoid talking to the people.

But then an aunt and an uncle were throwing a birthday celebration and invited the big family from my mom's side. I haven't seen them since last christmas (I think), so at last minute I decided I wanted to go.

The gathering was usually a drag. Had some meal (lunch, dinner or some sort) and have some prayers. But this time it was different, and I'm glad I went.

There were prayers, but we didn't do it according to the liturgy (?). In fact, we didn't have any. My aunt who initiated the meeting proposed that every single person had to share. Could be just an update on how life was, could be something they wanted to purse, could be something they're struggling with. Anything.

I felt glad that I get to know my relatives much better. I learnt that an uncle who started his own business since early this year was having problem with complaints from his wife, I learnt that a cousin would graduate from high school on June and was thinking about studying math, I learnt that another cousin was a big fans of big words and love throwing them at people when making comments, I also learn that an aunt who's facing the possibility of remarry is having a hard time making the decision.

All in all, it was a fun gathering, just what a family gathering supposed to be. People were open, people share. Although there was a possibility of embarassment and critic, everybody simply got a chance to open up their hearts and receive the kind and loving words from each other.
I think this should happen regularly. It should be good to know the update on each person, whether they passed the struggle, whether they make any progress in realizing their dreams, or even to get more support from people they should be able to trust and depend on.

!!surprise .. surprise!!

For whatever reason some people hate surprises. Fear of uncertainties, fear of changes and unexpected (bad) things. That's for the surprised party, but what about the surpriser (I know, such word doesn't exist, just having fun with words here)?

I enjoy make surprises. I do things (mostly nice of course) to others, but recently (unfortunately) hasn't been a successful one. Two actually.

Between a yes and no plan of going back, I finally bought the ticket, packed my bag and went home without telling my fam that I was coming. To my disappointment (sigh) I found some changes that wasa made without being consulted by me. To tell the truth it sort of make me feel unwelcome anymore. Don't they want me to come home anymore? I prefer not to go down to details, it's just trivia, but rather offending as it hurt my territory. Yeah, of course they had their reason, which they believed was good in their eyes, but I still personally think what I found was rather offending. Hmm.. Maybe I should just get a bigger place in Bali and settle there?

Surprise 2, I had to deliver a package to my aunt, but I wasn't clear (deliberatly of course) that it was me that was coming. When I arrived at the office she was on a meeting for the next 2 hours. I wasn't going to wait, so I decided to leave the package and left. There goes my chance of meeting her after some months.

Well, to tell the truth the beginning of my holiday in Jakarta hasn't been pleasant.. I can even say it's sh**ty. Anybody got a toilet paper?