The Crowded City

Jakarta has not changed from the last time I left this city 2.5 years ago. Well, what would you expect? It’s still crowded, dirty, and unmanageable. I can see many new tall buildings, massive malls, and expensive cafés that I never saw before. Yet, unemployment is still our main problem. Many people are still complaining that they don’t have enough money to feed their family and have no opportunity to work, yet they keep “producing” more kids… Sigh… what a life!

The cost of living in Jakarta is certainly going up up up. Before the fuel’s cost was increased, everything in Jakarta is cheaper than in Jeddah. But now, it’s the other way around! For a comparison: my mom went to a supermarket to buy shampoos, soaps, detergents, and other cleaning stuff for the house. They all add up to 300,000 Rupiahs which is about 150 Riyals. In Jeddah, with that amount of money, you can spend not only those chemical stuffs, but also other things like foods.

My family and I always go to the dentist every year to get our teeth cleaned. We chose to do it in Indonesia because it was cheaper than in Jeddah. So my bro, sis, and I went to the dentist. We didn’t ask for the cost because we thought it’s gonna be around 100 thousand Rupiahs. But then we were SOO shocked when we learnt from our dad that the total cost for 3 people was 800 thousand Rupiahs!!! That's almost a million! So each person costs around 200 to 300 thousands! I could get my teeth cleaned with that amount of money and BETTER facility in Jeddah. It's freakin me out! You can spend a million so easily within a day? That's the same with a lecturer's salary in a month!!

Well, I was told that a lecturer is paid for about a million Rupiah per month. It's truly unfair, when everything's getting so expensive and the education fee is increasing, but unfortunately the salary never increases. How would they pay their bills? Give their families nutritious foods? Enroll their children in to the best schools? I have no idea how they could handle this. I see how many children are "forgotten" because both mom and dad are busy working. Their parents go to work before they wake up and come back home after they go to sleep. They barely see their own parents and don't receive the love they should get. I can understand that most parents work hard for the happiness of their children. But children need attention too! I think, that's one of million reasons why my generation has no guts to stay away from drugs.

Honestly, I'd still prefer living in Brisbane or Jeddah rather than in Jakarta — although I know that one day I have to go back here whether I like it or not. I really love Bandung, although I stayed there for only 2 days, but I love it! The weather is not really hot. I honestly hate to always complain about how hot the weather in Jakarta is. The pollution, noise, and crowds are also [and always be] my problems. I also hate the fear that always haunts me every time I go out; fear of getting robbed (especially in the bus!), been in a car accident (the motorcycles almost have no rules, maaaaaan!), or probably been kidnapped. My mom always tells me: how come we're scared to live in our own country??

But Jakarta is heaven for shopping!! O yeah! Not only are there so many different varieties, but also the price is so cheap!! (Sorry, I'm not talking about branded stuff here). My favourite shopping destination (and my mom's too) is definitely Tanah Abang! The new mall was built after a fire disaster that burnt many shops over there. My mom used to refuse taking me there because the old shops were quite crowded and hot that she feared I'd faint (my stupid anemia). But now she'd happily take me there. The mall (Blok A) is so huge and convenient!! I got a nice clothe for 30 thousand Rupiahs. Hah, so cheap!

The good thing about coming back to Indonesia is that I got an opportunity to learn more about the culture of Betawi (Jakarta's native/indigenous people). My mom is a Betawinese; both of her parents are originally from Kemang, South Jakarta who were still relatives and used to own many lands over there. Although my dad is from Sulawesi (Bugis), I'm exposed and more familiar to the Betawinese culture due to the fact that I live around my mom's family whenever I'm in Indonesia. We live so close to each other which sometimes make my mom and I so sick hehehe. My mom always tells me some interesting stories about her childhood years, her family (including her great-great-great-grandfather), how she and her family used to live, and the relationships with her relatives. They're so interesting and funny! I also like to hear how beautiful and quiet Kemang used to be, there were many rice fields, trees,.. it was almost like a forest. Hmm, some people are actually surprise when they learn that there still exists “an indigeneous community” in Kemang hehehe.

Anyway, this time I learnt few things about Betawinese wedding party. My neighbour (who is indeed part of my family — though I have NO idea how I relate to them because it's freakin complicated) just had a wedding. Somebody told me that famous crocodile bread which is given to a bride symbolizes a sort of “anti-polygamy” hehehe. A crocodile is said to have only one spouse at a time; so we're wishing that the husband will not get another wife. I also realize that it's so expensive to be a Betawinese… hahaha. Everytime we held some kind of a party (wedding, sunatan, etc), we’re required to give foods (already cooked) to our families and neighbours (which are add up to about 60 houses, I guess…). This is what we called nyorog or sorog. I have no idea if this also applies to other neighbouring cultures like Sundanese and Javanese. How about your culture?

I discovered that all Blue Bird taxis have NO seat belt on the passenger seat!!!