A Trip to the Movies

Today my roommate and I are thinking about going into town to watch a movie. Though this may sound strange, but going to the movies is quite a "cultural" experience for me! Here are the steps you need to follow.

1. Check movie time at 4 different malls to see if any of them are playing a movie from the US that you want to see.

2. Make sure you are ready to leave 2 hours before hand.

3. Wait for the bus, which follows no particular time schedule.

4. Get on the bus and about 1/2 way into the city, the driver's helper comes around to collect the 5000 Rp (50 cents).

5. Watch for the intersection you want to get off at and yell kiri kiri! to get the bus drive to pull over to the left (people drive in the left side of the rode here).

6. Wait for an angkot to come by that is going to your particular destination.

7. Ride the angkot to the mall and pay whatever you think is a fair price- usually 3000Rp (30 cents).

8. Find the movie theater and walk up to the ticket counter.

9. Pay for your movie and using the screen, select which seats you want to sit in when inside the movie theater.

10. Stand outside your movie theater until the light (which is the theater number) flashes on so that you can enter.

After that you can enjoy your movie with Indonesian subtitles and feel a bit more in the loop with what is going on in the States.

While I enjoy going to the movies, this is a process that rarely happens. Oh, Indonesia.

Normal?

I had a chat online with a friend of mine today where he asked me, is there anything unusual about living in Indonesia? Fair question, right? I would wonder the same if I knew someone who lived in a different country from me.

Although there are things that are unusual like riding around in angkots, bathroom lights being on the outside of the bathroom door instead of inside, different foods... I had a hard time coming up with anything on the spot.

I think about my family, especially older family members, and I realize how as people age, people tend get set in their ways and in their perceptions of what normal is.

When I was at summer training, we talked about children who grow up moving all around the world and living in different countries. They have a very different perception of normal that even what I do, growing up in a very multi-cultural area of the United States. Is it normal that people walk around wearing a headdress or a burka? Is it normal that for an entire month of the year, a group of people publicly fast together? Is it normal that your class size is 15 kids? Is it normal that people live outside the country they were born in? While you and I would probably answer no to all of those questions, the kids I teach would answer yes to each without batting an eye.

This has been my challenge living in Indonesia. I ask myself questions all the time as well. Is it normal that some people live in complete poverty, lucky to have shoes on their feet while others live in large, air conditioned houses? Is it normal to live in a place where every person has a maid cleaning their house (including myself)? Is it normal to not have a car, but rather ride motorcycle everywhere?

I try to image dropping myself into a foreign country at age 35, or 45, or 65. How would I react differently to my surroundings? Would I have a harsher appraisal of my surroundings? Would I accept the "normal standard" or status quo that exists?

I challenge you to look into yourself and join this little journey with me. What is normal? And, can normal change?