Subscribe
The Writer just wrote about spoiled expatriates, "those who come from developed country and get a job in developing country and live like a king/queen". With salary which is unbelievably higher than a local standard - mostly due to ridiculous exchange rates and tax regulations - and lots of allowances, they soon embrace a lavish lifestyle with maids, gardeners, security guards, and so on. 
I couldn't deny that many expats are living like that. Being expats means they have to sacrifice many things: their life back home, their friends and family, their comfortable surrounding, to go to a foreign place thousands miles away from home with different customs, food, culture, temperature, and work attitudes. Many of them are reluctant to be posted overseas, especially if they have children to think about, or will be posted in a not-so-popular country like Colombia (and I don't think they will jump in joy when they know they will be sent to Indonesia!), and have to be lured to say yes (hence the allowances and first-class treatments). Lots of them are in the managerial position or even higher (because some company applies a rule that you can be posted overseas at least after 8 years serving the company), so they are entitled those allowances even in their own country, like flying with business or first class, unlimited mobile phone usage allowance (this is very handy, many occasions my mobile went dead because I exceeded the limit; very annoying when it happened when I was in a meeting overseas!), and so on. First-class treatment is automatically expected, or else they'd choose not to take their overseas posting. I have heard a story about one country manager of a Fortune 500 company who was just posted in Indonesia, and he must inspect some houses before deciding which one he would reside for the next 4 years, and my friend had to take him to several locations. 
Because it was scheduled on Saturday, my friend thought she would only meet him (and probably his assistant). She was waiting by the gate of the first house and surprised to see the guy arrived with entourage: human resources manager, 2 general affairs (GA) staffs, and several guards. I remember vaguely she mentioned about either finance director or lawyer who was there as well. There were 4 black shiny sedans (5 in total, including my friend's) which went from one house to another just to cater this guy's need.
But this doesn't only apply to developing countries, those expat staffs who are posted in developed countries also living in a good life. They get to choose their nice (and huge) house, can send their kids to best schools, can fly back home once a year, usually with business class (or depends on the agreement between them and the employers. Some prefer cash so they can use it for holiday instead), and in some case, are very pampered in every possible way you could imagine, like having a weekly free coffee morning in 5 star hotel, and an organization - with several full-time staffs - to help them to settle in their adopted countries (this is from sending an information about a party held somewhere in the castle to the news that some company is looking for a staff). Sometimes you could do nothing but smile when they start complaining about small things. I heard one was upset because they had to fly their cat from their overseas posting back home and it wasn't covered by the company (it cost them USD 4000 so I understand why she was upset). One didn't complain, but sometimes compares her house (which is big) to another one's up in the country which faces the hills and the forest and twice bigger than hers, and compares the life she gets in UK to the one she was accustomed in her last posting in Middle East and in South East Asia (yes, maids and everything).
The Writer actually wasn't talking about the expatriates. She was talking about the local girls who become their girlfriends or wives and quickly adopt this extravagant lifestyle of "expatriates" (big house, personal staffs, everyday shopping and parties, everyday dinner in 5-star hotels, and first-class treatments everywhere), and think they will get the same treatments once the partner is sent back home.
I couldn't agree more. I see so many Indonesian girls are either delusional or plain daft, thinking how rich their boyfriends are with USD 3,000/month apartment or USD 5,000/month house in posh area, complete with private pool, maids, a driver, security guards, sometimes a PA, and cooks, and of course the whole office is more than ready to assist whatever they need. But this local girlfriends and wives don't realize that it's paid by the company and if the boyfriends get to pay the rent from their own pocket they wouldn't choose five thousands dollars-a month house in a first place (for more silly house hunting experience, click here). And this housing allowance, once he gets back to his home country, wouldn't apply anymore, and he gets to live in a normal house or apartment.
These local girls only think about how they could brag to their friends that they will be moving to a Western country, but don't realize what's in the package deal. One Indonesian girl met a Briton a few years ago and they finally got married in Indonesia. When his time was up, they had to go back to UK. She was disappointed that turns out he didn't even own an apartment (compares to their posh residence next to Plaza Senayan in Jakarta) and I am very sure that the place they rent would not have a receptionist, a greeter who opens the door every time she enters the building, a 24 hours room service she could call if she's lazy to cook (who am I kidding, of course she doesn't cook, she survives by eating-outs, deliveries, and take-outs), or a bell boy she could send to buy chicken satay from across the street, let alone a private gym. She complained everything is so expensive so she couldn't go shopping everyday and they didn't go out clubbing and partying as often as they used to. She couldn't cope with the new lifestyle, and forced her husband to quit his job and move back to Indonesia so they could continue their life as it was. I think she's doing ok now, I saw her briefly a year a go in one club in Jakarta (she was sporting a designer bag and huge rock on her finger) and again in Singapore airport (moving from one designer shop to another).
I know a girl who is so accustomed to a "good life". She has a good job and is perfectly capable to afford a lavish lifestyle, sort of. She always carries expensive, branded bags and dresses immaculately. She dines and parties at the most expensive restaurants and clubs (although hardly pays, there's always someone who buys her drink because she is very pretty). So it's no wonder that her dates are usually are as successful as her: young, gorgeous, managers (mostly she targets directors), and of course, expatriates (actually she dated a local guy but I guess it's because he picked her up with a sport car). Although she doesn't have her own residence yet (she still rents the same room for almost a decade now), she never washes her hair at home, every two days she'd go to her hairstylist and have it washed and styled. But one occasion she phoned me from Bali, panicking and almost crying, saying that the hairstylist in Bali wasn't as good as the ones in Jakarta and her hair was ugly and she had to attend a posh wedding in one hour. That time I was wondering, if she couldn't survive in Bali, how could she survive overseas? I don't think anyone goes to hairdresser every two days, unless you're Victoria Beckham. I know she had lived overseas before as a student, but I'm sure the last time she was holding a toilet brush was over ten years a go. The fact that she dreams of living and working in overseas puzzles me. I'm not sure if she is ready to trade her current life now with the life here: no maid, no driver, no cook, no every two-days-hairstyling, bus or tube everyday, two pairs of shoes everywhere you go (one pair of sexy stilettos and another pair of flat shoes to run and catch a bus).
These girls live in their own bubble world and I wouldn't think they could stand living in their partner's home country and loosing all the helps and luxuries they're so used to. If you're an expatriate and dating a local girl, you wouldn't see any problem as long as you're being an expat and get pampered and served like a first-class citizen. But you might want to take your girlfriend back home for a week or two and see if she could cope with the normal lifestyle you actually have had, like washing dishes, doing laundry, buying own groceries, and cooking. You might want to explain to her why you can't take her out every night for a dinner in a nice restaurant. If their love is as thin as the dress they usually put on, they'd soon complain about how they miss their maids and driver. And it's probably a sign that they love the helpers more than their love to you.
(Uncle) Nick, who's technically not my uncle but more like uncle-in-law, is a huge opera fan. He could fly to Switzerland or Germany for the weekend just to watch the performance. His and Alison's house is full of opera singers and shows posters from all over the world.
One night Alison asked Nick to show me one performance called Surabaya Johnny. The song has been sung in several languages: I have seen it in English, German, and Italian that night. It's also performed by many artists, including Bette Midler.
I am most fascinated by the title Surabaya Johnny. Surabaya, as you surely know, is the capital city of East Java, Indonesia. And just like any other cities in Indonesia, it still carries Dutch influence almost in every corner. But the song - a famous song, apparently - is composed by a German Kurt Weill. I couldn't find his relationship with Surabaya, and I couldn't think of a link between German and Surabaya - although strangely several of my aunties and cousins are married to Germans.
But when I listen to the lyrics, this Johnny chap - a rat or swine, according to the song - claimed himself from Burma. So he could be a Burmese. But it still puzzling, because I know some people are named by the city like Paris (Hilton) or Dakota (Fanning), and I know an Indonesian artist actually named his son Indonesia. But Surabaya? Never. Until now.
The song Surabaya Johnny even becomes an inspiration for some folk to open a bar with the same name in Surabaya (click Surabaya Johnny), although I have never heard that until today.
So who is this Johnny? Was he from Burma or Surabaya? I hope the song is not based on true story, but if it is, I am glad to announce that I don't have an uncle or cousin named Johnny.
I had just turned sixteen that season
When you came up from Burma to stay.
And you told me I ought to travel with you,
You were sure it would be OK.
When I asked how you earned your living,
I can still hear what you said to me:
You had some kind of job on the railway
And had nothing to do with the sea.
You said a lot, Johnny,
All one big lie, Johnny.
You cheated me blind, Johnny,
From the minute we met.
I hate you so, Johnny,
When you stand there grinning, Johnny.
Take that damn pipe out of your mouth, you rat.
Surabaya Johnny,
No one's meaner than you.
Surabaya Johnny,
My God €” and I still love you so.
Surabaya Johnny,
Why am I feeling so blue ?
You have no heart, Johnny,
And I still love you so.
At the start, every day was Sunday,
Till we went on our way one fine night.
And before two more weeks were over,
You thought nothing I did was right.
So we trekked up and down through the Punjab,
From the source of the river to the sea.
When I look at my face in the mirror,
There's an old woman staring back at me.
You didn't want love, Johnny,
You wanted cash, Johnny.
But I sewed your lips, Johnny,
And that was that.
You wanted it all, Johnny,
I gave you more, Johnny.
Take that damn pipe out of your mouth, you rat.
Surabaya Johnny.
No one's meaner than you.
Surabaya Johnny.
My God €” and I still love you so.
Surabaya Johnny,
Why am I feeling so blue ?
You have no heart, Johnny.
And I still love you so.
I would never have thought of asking
How you'd got that peculiar name,
But from one end of the coast to the other
You were known everywhere we came.
And one day in a two-bit flophouse
I'll wake up to the roar of the sea,
And you'll leave without one word of warning
On a ship waiting down at the quay.
You have no heart, Johnny!
You're just a louse, Johnny!
How could you go, Johnny,
And leave me flat ?
You're still my love, Johnny,
Like the day we met, Johnny.
Take that damn pipe out of your mouth, you rat.
Surabaya Johnny.
No one's meaner than you.
Surabaya Johnny,
My God €” and I still love you so.
Surabaya Johnny,
Why am I feeling so blue ?
You have no heart, Johnny.
And I still love you so.
Indonesian Expatriates Forum (IEF), created in January 2008, has been doing very good. Bugilsnews puts IEF's widget which shows the list of articles we have published on their website (they also put a link to my personal blog there - big thanks to Bart and the team - perhaps because I constantly promote Bugil's, Cazbar and EP!), and with their perpetually growing number of readers and loyal fans, having IEF's link on their site will certainly boost IEF's popularity! Several bloggers also have IEF link on their blogs, like Jakartass (the most popular English blog according to Indonesia Matters), and my blogbuddies like Rima and Therry.
IEF also has gathered almost 50 blogs of Indonesian expats and returned expats around the world. (I will elaborate the term 'returned expat' later in a different posting). And the number is growing, slowly, but sure. To me, personally, just by looking at the countries that Indonesians live in, is a proof that we would be able to find Indonesians practically everywhere. Not only in popular countries like USA, but also in places like Angola (Nadia), Norway (Mulia and Alief. Well, Alief lives in Bergen, a quite big city, but Mulia lives much further up north in Tromsø, which wouldn't be the first choice to many Indonesians to live!), Hungary (Sherwin), or a place with only 70,000 inhabitants like Antibes (Maya). Interestingly though, not many Indonesian bloggers listed in IEF live in Asia (especially in South East Asia) or Australia, compares to a quite significant number of those who live in Europe. Maybe because those in Asia don't experience the culture shock as big as those who live in America and Europe. For example, what kind of shock you might possibly have when you move to Singapore except that you have to learn how the tube/subway works. Maybe because those in Australia fall into two categories: students (who have no time to write blogs due to lots of assignments and partying) and permanent residents (who don't consider themselves as expats). Or maybe it is a matter of coincidence, that now IEF has listed Indonesian bloggers live in America and Europe more than Asia and Australia. I wouldn't be surprise thought that sometime in the future we will have an Indonesian blogger in Antarctica, Siberia, or Sierra Leone!
IEF also has received and published several articles from expat bloggers. So far we have learned about The Philippines, Belgium, Tromsø, and Denmark. We would love to read about other countries or other expat experiences, so please do not hesitate to send your articles to IEF.
I have high hopes and lots of ideas for the continuity of IEF. And with tremendous supports from all of you, I hope IEF can be a first-stop resource for Indonesian expatriates.
Further reading:
Indonesian Expatriates Forum: Progress Update
Indonesian Expatriates Forum: Looking For Contributors Around The World
I read in Tasa's that Whole Food Market encourages its customers to bring their own bags by taking 5 cents to 10 cents off the bill for each. The same policy will be applied to Marks & Spencer's customers soon.
Marks and Spencer is to begin charging its food shoppers for carrier bags.
Customers will have to pay 5p for plastic bags, with the money raised going to an environmental charity.
Chief executive Sir Stuart Rose said the company wanted to "make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment".
Campaigners say plastic bags damage the environment. Some 13bn are given free to UK shoppers every year, and they take an estimated 1,000 years to decay.
 |
Let's say the cost per bag is 5 pence (or 5 cents), so stopping the shopping bag production means the company saves 650 millions. Let's say they still have to produce one third of their existing quantity, and less quantity brings the cost of production to be slightly more expensive. Even when the cost of each bag rises to be 10 pence, the company still saves over 200 millions. And don't forget every time the customers choose to use the supermarket's bags, they charge them back to the customers!
Shouldn't the customer get 5 pence discount whenever they use their own bag? Or better, have the company donated the total shopping bag production cost to charity or organization that campaign the whole eco-friendly thingy. That's what I call fair...
Train Ramblings: How Well do You Actually Know About Your Own Country?
5 comments Monday, 28 April 2008
I'm writing this in a moving train that is taking us back to Aberdeen. Yes, the train provides a free wi-fi service, which helps me to endure the 7 hours journey back from London. To think that most shopping malls in Jakarta still charge their customers for providing wi-fi service is ridiculous, especially when you have to buy different wi-fi cards on different shops. Sitting down in Coffee Club might not guarantee that the wi-fi cards I buy from Starbucks would work although they are in the same mall. Starbucks Plaza Indonesia's wi-fi card wouldn't work at the one on Plaza Senayan. Go to Cazbar or Eastern Promise for a free wi-fi. No frills. You just have to buy a glass of beer and smile at the gorgeous barmaids to obtain the password, and they will let you sit with your computer on. 
London weather had been nice with a little bit rain here and there. Definitely warmer than Aberdeen, definitely much more busier which took me a split second to get used to see a lot of people in London Bridge. I was officially sweating (first time in a year!) when arrived in Swindon to visit an old friend and her family in Marlborough and realized that all I had with me was cardigans or long-sleeves t-shirts, unsuitable for south of London temperature and I should have brought my tank tops with me instead. If I complain that Aberdeen is quiet with only 250,000 people, well, Marlborough is only occupied by 25,000 residents. But it's a lovely town, and is only 30 minutes from Bath (picture, left) one of the most beautiful city in England. Stuart was freaked out when I said I've fallen in love in Bath, because he thought I said Bart(ele), not Bath! But it's just as terrible because the villas on the top of the hills easily cost several millions. Poundsterling, of course.
Anyway, since I visited most places by myself, I had more time to really enjoy everything, rather than put myself in a hurry like in Balmoral Castle and spent only less than 10 minutes wandering outside the castle (we didn't even go inside) and had to go home because my companion was bored. Like most places, Roman Baths provides a free audio guide, a device shaped like a phone and all we have to do is to press the button according to the sign posters on each point and listen to the explanatory. What I noticed was when everybody else was busy listening to what the history of the bath and so on, most Asian tourists actually were rather busy taking pictures of themselves. Nothing wrong with that, except that they don't even bother to listen to the audio tour. What's the point of visiting a remarkable historic place if you can't tell your friends what it is about?
I am no better. Suart's aunty is visiting Indonesia this coming August and we have been busy planning which places she should visit. The reality hits me and I have to admit here - embarrassingly - that I know almost nothing about my country! I have been to Bali like a thousand times and I still don't know many things. I had to look up on the internet to find out about where she could go to see a traditional Balinese performance and how far it is to drive to Kintamani, which I have not been to either. And I am even more helpless when it comes to Central Java. I know it will take about 2 hours to drive to Losari Coffee Plantation in Magelang from Yogyakarta but I was very vague about what she could do or see in Yogya. She has been reading several guidebooks and I assume she knows about Indonesia more than I do now. What have I been doing for over 30 years? And this is coming from someone who has learned about architectural history and has a degree in architecture! Shame, shame. I have to ask my mother who is like a walking catalog thanks to her habit of collecting information and clip them for years.
Two years later I saw that building was turned into some modern, glassy, ugly building. That’s why when Alison took us to see Eltham Palace (picture, right), I was full of envy to see how Britain protects its heritage. Eltham Palace is full of gigantic wooden panels which must be crafted by the best men and is well maintained. We even had to wear plastic wraps for our shoes to protect the floor from our heels or dirt from outside. The house, designed by a Swedish architect, was built in 1930s, and it is attached to a medieval royal palace which was originally Henry VIII’s boyhood home (and a truly outstanding combination of art deco-medieval style). It is so remarkable to listen to the audio guide and find out that all the single details are never too insignificant to be passed on. From who manufactured the round carpet on the hall, to the guests who had visited and stayed with the family (including the Queen, twice). Even their exotic pet, Mah-Joong the lemur, has its own 2 minutes of fame in the explanatory; from where they bought him (Harrods) to the incident when he bit an ankle of one important guest.
When I was more into touching the wooden panels (when allowed!) and admire the woodworks (cheekily trying to figure out where the joint of each panel was), I couldn't help but amazed to see all visitors were wandering around the estate with their audio device glued on their ears, spent time to inspect each detail. I’m sure when it is in Indonesia, no one would be interested to know if some important bill was written in a certain room let alone looking at the guest list of the dinner party.
Looks like I must take a crash course of Indonesian history so I'd be able to tell others about my beloved country. I mean, if you do love your country, you could at least answer basic questions people might ask about it, right?
A combination of a scheduler who pays a great attention to details and a natural worrier would be the worst. It's me. Me. Me. I am such a pain in the butt to those who think that birds are chirping and the world is smiling and everything is perfect even though your life is not planned. I would stand by their door and tell them that it's going to rain and they're better to take the umbrella and next time read the weather forecast before taking too many tank tops.
And if it's my event, it's double worry and double attention to details. It's frustrating to see everyone takes everything very easy, while I'm sitting down and drafting schedule for everybody on hour basis. Only to a reply that they haven't even booked the flight, or they don't know what to do - but as long as beer and girls are involved, they're happy.
Geez.
So what I'm going to do, is stop caring about things which are not related to me directly. To hell with everything, I'll just take care of myself and others who appreciate my efforts (and I thought it's should be the other way around, that I should embrace the Queen of Sheba manner and sit down under the tree and let everybody runs around and serves me?). The rest can find their way to Bali and as long as they don't turn up with flip-flops or Hawaiian shirt (should I hire fashion police?), I couldn't care less.
The first time I landed in Scotland, one of my goals was to visit every single castle. That until I found a book that lists them all. There are thousands castles scattered in Scotland! Even to visit all castles in Aberdeen and Grampian area will take years, unless if I do it every day. Maybe.
In the mean time, I set my goal to be a simpler one: visit all famous castles first. Here are 5 of them:
Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
Scotland's most important and famous castle. I can't remember how many times I have been there, maybe 4 times, and counting. It is officially suggested to allocate 2-3 hours to wander around the complex. Each century has seen changes and additions on the Estate, resulting in today's mix of military barracks, palace, fortress and war memorial. The oldest part of the complex, St Margaret's Chapel, dates from the 12th century; the Great Hall was erected by James IV around 1510; the Half Moon Battery by the Regent Morton in the late 16th century; and the Scottish National War Memorial after the First World War. The castle houses the Honours (Crown Jewels) of Scotland, the Stone of Destiny, and the famous 15th century gun Mons Meg. The One O'clock Gun fires from the ramparts each weekday, scaring pigeons and the unaware on Princes Street far below.
Balmoral CastleBalmoral Castle has been the Scottish Home of the British Royal Family since 1848, and might be the last place Queen Elizabeth can enjoy her privacy. It comprises over 18,000 hectares owned between Balmoral, Birkhall and Glen Doll, 2,940 hectares of grouse moor at Corgarff and 4,688 hectares of sporting rights rented from a neighbour. It is officially suggested to allocate one and half hour to wander around the estate - it doesn't take too much time because there is only a part of the castle that is open to public. I just went to visit it today, half-hangover, and 10 minutes walk from the gate to the castle cleared my head and improved my mood. We saw at least 2 red squirrels crossing the pathways, and heard the sound of water flowing somewhere behind the line of pine trees. It is so peaceful I could imagine The Queen and her family find a serenity here. Totally different from over-exposed, perpetually-buzzing Edinburgh Castle.
Eilean Donan is one of the most iconic images of Scotland - everywhere you go, you'd definitely find Eilean Donan Castle postcards. The castle, probably the most photogenic and photographed castle in Scotland, now the headquarters for the Clan McRae, is situated on an island at the point where three great sea lochs (lakes) meet, and surrounded by some majestic scenery. What delights me the most is the kitchen. We climb up the stairs, and without warning we see what we thought other people there. Turns out they are wax mannequins, arranging like Mrs. McRae checking the preparation of the first grand meal held in the castle back in 1932.
Stirling Castle, Stirling
Fyvie Castle, Fyvie, AberdeenshireFyvie Castle is probably the grandest example of Scottish baronial architecture. We took my father to this castle when he visited us last year, which is located about 1 hour drive from Aberdeen. We didn't hear anything about the castle being haunted - but I found later, a story is told that in 1920 during renovation work the skeleton of a woman was discovered behind a bedroom wall. On the day the remains were laid to rest in Fyvie cemetery, the castle residents started to be plagued by strange noises and unexplained happenings. Fearing he had offended the dead woman, the Laird of the castle had the skeleton exhumed and replaced behind the bedroom wall, at which the haunting ceased. The castle begun as a simple building in the 13th century, and passed through the hands of five powerful families - Preston, Meldrum, Gordon, and Leith - each of whom added significantly to it until it reached its present form. When we went there there was a wedding to be held there, and lots of Scotsman with kilts were wandering around the Estate.
Many castles are claimed to be inspirations for novels, or are used as movie sets. Slain Castle
in Cruden Bay, for example, is believed to be an inspiration of Bram Stoker's most famous novel, Dracula. Bram Stoker stayed in the nearby hotel, The Kilmarnock Arms, whilst he wrote his novel. Early drafts of his novel had Dracula coming ashore at Cruden Bay after his sea voyage from Transylvania. However, this was changed to Whitby in Yorkshire for the final published work. Dunnotar Castle in Stonehaven, was a location of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. It is believed that Edinburgh Castle is JK Rowling's inspiration for her Harry Potter novels, although some of the film set like Howgarts' exterior, is taken in Alnwick Castle, 33 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne or 80 miles south of Edinburgh, which also becomes a set for other movies like Elizabeth, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and Robin of Sherwood.
Further reading:
Where is Scotland? (modified)
I Love Scotland
For the past two days I attended a settlement course in a very gorgeous hotel. It's rather late, considering I have been here since last June and know most of the absolute essentials, but it's still worth to attend, and I got to see new people and had free lunches, yay! 
The course is done to help people settling nicely in a host country. Unsettling employees and partners could jeopardize their posting, their unhappiness threaten their productivities because they are worried about other matters rather than their jobs, and the company could loose their valuable resources. So 2 days course in a very nice hotel with free lunches is worth spent.
For those who just come to a new place, or even those who repatriate back after spending years in other countries, this course is very helpful. In fact there were two Scots in our course and even they found many things they didn't know, and lots of things have changed since they left.
The abovementioned absolute essentials topic covers subjects like transportation, bank, post office, TV, garbage arrangement, and other boring stuffs, which are indeed essential when we just land in a strange land and don't even know that we have to pay a TV license or how to get the internet connection, or which rubbish that goes to which bin, or understanding postal system. It might seem too easy, but I know a true Scotsman who came back from 4 years overseas posting, and was confident enough to post very important documents without realizing that the system and the pricing has changed, and ended up having constant stomach ache for the next month when he found out his documents were sent to the central post office in Dublin because he didn't put enough stamp on the envelope and had to wait until they return it, prepare that they will be gone forever. Of course this Scostman got an earful lecture from me every single day, until he got the documents back.
But the first subject is the most interesting one for me. Although I am sure that everybody does it perpetually, it is done subconsciously. We had an exercise which helped us to understand that we can look at the same thing and we can form totally different opinions. We were given an image with the word saying "Jesus is the ONLY way", and I immediately said it's plain silly. If it's said "Jesus is the Way", I would respect it as the choice of belief. But inserting only in the sentence implies that other religions are wrong, and I wouldn't respect people who'd think that those don't worship their God will go to hell. If a person comes to me and tells me that I am right because I am a moslem and I shouldn't shake my friends' hands on Christmas, I would react the same way as I did to Jesus-is-the-only-way thing, because I believe everybody is equal before God and who are we to judge what's best for others. When the image of Ka'bah appeared, some participants associate it with conflict (as Ka'bah is a symbol of Islam, and as people know, Islam doesn't advert themselves in the right way and is always portrayed with conflict, terror and war), while I - as a moslem - simply want to go there. When the picture of three blonde girls drinking and dancing appeared, one associated the picture with excessive drinking habit of the young people in Western countries, while I said I miss it (they party, not the excessive drinking).
We can't help to jump into a quick generalization, and put people into boxes and labels because it's our way to figure them out. But our label and generalization is based on our background and experience which has shaped our perception. The exercise helped us to realise that yellow is yellow, but to some, whenever they see yellow they will think about sunflowers, happiness and carefree spirits, while Wikipedia states it commonly (?) represents age, cowardice and jealousy.
Defining our cultural icons, values, and understanding what has made us as a nation will help us to understand others. At first we will be shocked to see how different people behaving, and we immediately generalized, box and label them as an instant response. But we are blessed with brains which can help us to suspend our judgment and understand that they are simply different and most of the times don't hold the same values as we do.
Simple gesture like putting our hand on hips, in Indonesia, will be considered rude, especially if you do it towards your senior, but it's ok to shout at waiters to grab their attention. It is vice versa in Western countries. Americans will have to consciously remind themselves to whisper towards British who are famous for speaking so soft sometimes we barely could hear them. Dutch must remind themselves to use 'please' and 'thank you' in almost every sentence. Brits should realise that Dutch are not rude, their language is more direct than English. Yes doesn't necessarily means yes in Asian countries and although it could be frustrating to Westerners, it's part of Asian culture of saving-face, and it doesn't mean people are incompetence or hypocrite. I remember I was shocked the first time when my schoolmates in Sydney addressed our lecturers on first name basis, and for the first three months I kept calling them "Sir". Tattoo on Maorian face is a manifestation of his accomplishment, but we will be uneasy to see a Westerner with a tattoo on his face in the tube to Paddington station because most of us associate tattoo with rebellious behavior.
Some of us, after quick generalization and labeling, are willing to suspend their judgment and along the way will find out that their method is not always working. People are basically the same everywhere, there are good and bad ones, regardless their religion, race, age, and sex. I would like to point at a particular post from this lady, who wrote about her own generalization towards Jews due to her cultural background, and how she perceives them now. On the other hand, you and I could laugh together at this post which the writer thinks he knows everything about Javanese girls (and Javanese culture) just because he had seen, met, dated, and slept with few of them. The guy obviously has put people (Javanese girls) in a certain box with a certain label, but he didn't go further to suspend his judgment and use his brain to realise that few hundreds girls cannot represent other millions whom he hasn't met. He hadn't met me, obviously, for sure!
When we understand both of our and other cultures, we will find out that there are things that we wouldn't bend, the important values that define us and our culture. But there are things we could, would and should compromise. We can't sustain Indonesian rubber time mode in most Western countries; 10 minutes late to turn up at the restaurant and your table will be given to someone else. But as Asian and Indonesian we still strongly hold onto our family values, no matter how far our parents away from us are, or no matter how old we are now. My Asian friend would have her mother for 6 months and another her father for 2 months, staying with them in Aberdeen. On the other hand, my European friends say having guests in their house for 2 weeks is more than enough to drive them crazy and they could refuse their own parents to visit them if the time isn't right, something that most Asians wouldn't ever think of.
So I hope the waiter would be patience enough to understand that I don't know if waving to him is normal for me and I don't know that the gesture is rude in UK. And I hope I be more patient toward a Chinese girl seating on the next table who chews loudly, because although it's rude for most Indonesians, it's not rude in Chinese culture, it's even considered as an appreciation towards the food and the host.
________________________________________ Anggota DPR: "Mba, saya mau konek ke internet nggak bisa, kenapa ya?" ________________________________________ Anggota DPR: "Mba' saya ingin daftar account di yahoo.com kok nggak bisa ya?" ________________________________________ Anggota DPR: "Mba' kalau muter film di laptop, gimana caranya ya? ________________________________________ Anggota DPR: "Komputer saya rasanya kena virus" ________________________________________ Anggota DPR: "Mba, kalau mau baca blognya si artist anu dimana ya?" ________________________________________ 
Fitna is a short film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, which explores Qur'anic motivation for terrorism and Islam in the Netherlands (explanatory stolen from Wikipedia). On April 7, Indonesia has blocked access to YouTube and a couple of other websites such as MySpace and Multiply. The Minister of Information and Communications Muhammad Nuh has passed a bill that forces 146 ISP's in Indonesia to block access to YouTube. Kompas has confirmed that the reason for the block is Youtube's refusal to remove Fitna from their servers.
After a week of public debates and overwhelming protests, Nuh has apologised for ordering the blocking of Youtube, Multiply and a few other sites which host the video Fitna, and the virtual community in Indonesia can relax, sit back, and exhale for a while. 
There is still one thing to be dealt with, though. A guy who is dubbed as a telemathics expert (and I just found out that telemathics is a science of communicating over long distances, from here), accused that bloggers and hackers are behind the defacement of official website of the Communications and Information Ministry, following the protest of the Information and Electronic Transaction Bill or Undang-undang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik (UU ITE) implementation. Having someone whose voice is valued by the President and couldn't distinguish between bloggers (most of bloggers barely understand HTML anyway) and hackers is a big joke.
But isn't our government a big joke anyhow?
I dug Bov's Pandora box and found some old jokes. It's in Indonesian, unfortunately. I believe it precisely describes that most of the people who are sitting in the government office are computer illiterate despite given expensive laptops to play with. Since most of the time they don't understand what they are talking about - and have to rely on a professional's advices, whose background is communication, and not IT - no wonder they scream louder and faster than they think.
Enjoy.
Anggota DPR: "Mba, laptopnya salah."
Customer Service: "Salah gimana pak?"
Anggota DPR: "Laptopnya nggak mau hidup."
CS: "Sudah tekan tombol power pak?"
Anggota DPR: "Tombol powernya sebelah mana mba?"
Customer service: "Nggak bisanya kenapa?"
Anggota DPR: "Saya ketik www.playboy.com <<>> , gambarnya nggak keluar."
Customer service: "Pesan errornya apa pak?"
Anggota DPR: "Nggak ada pesan error, pokoknya saya ketik playboy.com di addressnya, nggak muncul gambar sama sekali."
Customer service: "Bapak koneksi internetnya pakai apa, dial up, hotspot?"
Anggota DPR: "Pakai gambar yang ada tulisan e (maksudnya internet explorer)."
Customer service: "Maksudku, bapak langganan internetnya pakai ISP apa, lalu cara koneksi internetnya pakai dial-up atau hotspot, mungkin settingnya ada yang salah."
Anggota DPR: "ISP itu apa sih mba?"
Customer service: "Wah ini sih 50 x 2 pak.."
Anggota DPR: "Apa tuh mba?"
Customer service: "CAPE' DEH!!"
Customer service: "Nggak bisa kenapa pak?"
Anggota DPR: "Ada tulisan, paswort is nat long inof, suld bi mor ten 8 karakter" (password is not long enough, should be more than 8 characters)
Customer service: "Itu maksudnya, password bapak minimal 8 huruf."
Anggota DPR: "Oooo...oke deh.., saya coba dulu."
Anggota DPR: "Mba password minimal delapan huruf itu delapannya pakai angka 8 atau ejaan delapan?"
Customer service: "Maksudnya?"
Anggota DPR: "Saya suda tulis di kolom password minimal 8 huruf, tapi bingung mau tulis delapannya, pakai angka delapan atau ejaan huruf 'delapan'."
Customer service: "Ketik ini aja pak..C Spasi D."
Anggota DPR: "Apa tuh?"
Customer service: "CAPE' DEH !!!"
CS: "Ada dvd playernya kan pak?"
Anggota DPR: "Sebelah mana tuh mba?"
CS: "Disamping kanan, pak. kalau di tekan tombolnya nanti, piringan discnya keluar."
Anggota DPR: "Ooooo.... yang keluar itu, piringan disc ya? Udah patah tuh kemarin."
CS: "Kok bisa patah?"
Anggota DPR: "Saya kira tempat buat naruh gelas minuman."
CS: "Virus apa tuh pak?"
Anggota DPR: "Kurang tahu juga, setiap mau cetak ke printer, selalu ada tulisan kennot fain printer." (cannot find printer)
CS: "Itu mungkin salah setting pak."
Anggota DPR: "Settingnya udah bener kok, kemarin aja bisa nyetak, tapi sekarang nggak bisa. Saya sudah tunjukkin printernya di depan laptop, tetap aja dia terus-terusan "searchng printer not found." Kayanya webcamnya rusak, nggak bisa lihat printer."
CS: "Mendadak laper nih Pak, ingin makan tape.."
Anggota DPR: "Lho..kok begitu?"
CS: "TAPE DEH !!!!"
CS: "Bapak cari aja di google."
Anggota DPR: "Tapi si artist anu nggak kerja di google kok mba, saya tahu persis."
Capeeek deeehhh..... ......... .... !!!!
So if FPI spokeman was throwing some tantrum (block the video, kill Wilders, sever ties with Dutch government), it's more about a result of his frustration of not being able to operate his laptop, let alone to watch the video!
Have a good weekend everybody!
PS: before forming your own opinion, it's best to see the video by yourself. Some who have watched it say it's a matter of "how you perceive the film, which is relative and differs from one person to the next". I personally can only watch the video for 2 seconds because it's bloody lousy. Seriously. There's also Almoufitnoun as the reaction of Fitna.
Shannon Matthews is only 9 years old when she failed to return home from swimming trip on February 19. Her disappearance didn't hit the news as big as Madeline McCann. Missing Madeline gets full coverages from media and attracts celebrities ' attention (on her 100th day missing, both Sunderland and Tottehnham Hotspur teams walked on to the pitch in white T-shirts bearing Madeleine's photograph and the words "Don't You Forget About Me", and the energetic campaign mounted by the McCanns to find their daughter has raised millions in donations and reward money and involved celebrities like David Beckham and Richard Branson). But the news of Shannon's disappearance could be found somewhere on the tiny corner of the newspapers. No celebrity jumped to help. No football team players wear the picture of Shannon's. 
The media was accused to pay a greater attention to Madeline's case because she was beautiful, her parents are glamorous (mother is GP and father is cardiologist), and she was snatched from family holiday in Portugal. Shannon, on the other hand, is a daughter of Karen Matthews, who is a mother of seven children from several different men, and has been living with Craig Meehan, Shannon's stepfather, who is 22 years old, for five years. Karen doesn't look as posh as Madeline's mother - blonde, skinny, beautiful - and Craig hides behind a baggy jumper and thick glasses, nothing like Madeline's father - smart looking, serious, fit and tanned after holiday in Portugal.
Luckily, 24 days later Shannon was found hidden in the base of a divan bed in her stepfather's uncle's dingy apartment. He was later charged with Shannon's kidnap and false imprisonment and is remanded in custody awaiting trial in November.
Everybody was happy.
Until suddenly the case turns into a Hollywood's day soap opera.
While Shannon is remain in a police custody, and the media has been trying to dig out some more stories about her abduction, Shannon's stepfather was arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children in April 2. Then his mother and his sister were both arrested in connection with the alleged abduction. Now Shannon's own mother, is charged with neglecting and abandoning Shannon, and is accused of concealing information about Shannon's whereabouts. Karen allegedly knew exactly where Shannon was the whole time when the entire neighborhood, hundreds of officers and 60 detectives were turning every rock to find her. It's Britain’s biggest ever hunt for a missing person that costs £5million (that's about Rp 100,000,000,000!).
On April 8 police spoke to Clarence Mitchell, the spokesman for missing Madeline McCann’s parents, over attempts by people claiming to be Shannon’s relatives to get money from the fund set up to find her.
Picture of Shannon is borrowed from The Sun.
