Roosters crow all night and dogs bark. The increase of traffic noise and then the brightening dawn light wakes you. It’s 6am in town and your family is preparing for the day.
Bapak works at the Regional Office for Education and Culture. He is a public servant. Even though his job is not that exciting, extended family members envy him because his job is secure. His income is reasonable and includes rice. Ibu stays at home with the younger ones. They are too small to go to school. This morning she has already been to market for the day’s food. The younger ones are still asleep. A cold mandi wakes you. Warm steamed rice, fried vegetables and fish fill you. Bapak gives you Rp 2000. Rp 1000 for the return bemo ride, Rp 1000 for lunch. Uniform on, ironed the night before, and its time to go. Another six day school week begins.
The lane is quiet but the adjoining main street is noisy. Bemos are flying by full of students and government workers travelling for their 7.00am start. Eventually your number bemo comes. The registration painted on the outside says maximum 15 passengers... of course its closer to 25. Bemos are much quieter these days, only a few have the extra bass speakers that boom and blast right through your bones.
At school you ngobrol with your friends. There is a bit of excitement at the school gate. The bule have arrived. My goodness me, those girls are wearing shorts and you can see their thighs! Their shirts are T-shirts! Their teachers seem a bit flustered like old hens, constantly pecking at the boys to make them be quiet.
Its assembly time. You stand in our class area and listen to speeches, recite the Pancasila, sing Indonesia Raya and watch as the flag is raised and then pray to the Almighty. The bule seem restless. Surely they do this every week too!
Then Kepala Sekolah chats to a bule teacher, yes they will sing their anthem. They sing. It sounds good - but those few students to the side seem to be struggling with the words .. surely not! There are a few speeches of welcome. Ester leads a group of dancers, its just normal to welcome guests this way. You laugh when the ‘bule kids’ and teachers join in. Now they are trying to teach their dance and song, the ‘Funky Chicken’. What’s that? It must be traditional.
The day continues with the normal lessons. Maths, Indonesian, English, Morals, Economics, Religion, SMU 10 has them all. Of course more specialised schools can be found around town - those that cater for tourism, economics or technology. All wear the same grey uniform with white shirt. The junior high students wear dark blue and white, while Primary school students wear red and white.
The bule come into your English class. This is a pleasant and fun disruption from grammar and writing. One of your teachers speaks English well and assists the group. The bule sing and talk about Australia...though you don’t catch much because they talk so fast. Eventually you get into small groups and chat with them. Aduh, some of them are so cakap!
At 1 pm the truck wheel rim bell clangs. Jam pulang! You shake hands with some of the bule. Some of your friends get autographs and addresses hoping to have a pen friend in Australia. It’s always good to have visitors come to your school.
Questions / activities
1. Using all the words from the kosa kata make a crossword. 2. Compare the school day of a student in Australia with that of one in NTT.3. What is the meaning of the word ‘bule’? What does it suggest to you about stereotyping of Westerners? 4. Memorise and test yourself on the vocabulary list. Play bingo with the words. Write them on cards (twice for each word), and play Memory with them. 5. If you can’t sing your national anthem from memory, then learn it! 6. Plan a flag raising ceremony at your school. 7. What can you learn from the pictures about school in Indonesia? 8. Using an Indonesian dictionary or exercises from Taylor & Sedunary’s [1991] AYO CIS Educational, Melbourne [ISBN0940019799] text write out your school time table.
Assuming that this story represents the average middle class Indonesian family, answer the following questions:
9. What time does a typical family wake up? 10. Why do relatives envy the father’s job? 11. What is eaten for breakfast? 12. How many days in a school week? 13. What time does school start? 14. What is the meaning of ‘ngobrol’ and ‘bule’? 15. What is the Pancasila? 16. What are the colours of the uniforms for Primary, Lower Secondary and Senior High School?
Discussion and Research Questions
17. How did you respond to being called a ‘bule’? (Is it only Australians who have racial stereotypes?) 18. Why is it that some Australians feel embarrassed to sing the national anthem publicly? Do you? 19. If you were a student visiting Indonesia, what would they consider inappropriate behaviour that would be acceptable in an Australian situation? 20. Why were the students shocked at the girls shorts? After discussion, make a list of appropriate and inappropriate clothing to wear in Indonesia, in both formal and informal situations. 21. Read or have your teacher read you sections of Draine & Hall [1986] Culture Shock Indonesia New Times Books, Singapore [ISBN9971650878]. This will show you what to expect and what is expected of you in Indonesia.
