Indonesia is a soccer country?

Many countries claim to be the motherland of soccer. England and China, for example, claim to be the country where soccer is born.

England soccer players

China soccer players

So, how about Indonesia? Does Indonesia claim to be the motherland of soccer too? No, Indonesia could never be one. However, Indonesia can be a country where the fans of soccer are born.

Why? Because Indonesia, the country where the population is so dense that it ranks fourth, has the most people who love soccer.

Painted in red by the Indonesian supporters

Look at the amount

Even there are many people who come to watch live on TV together

Indonesia really loves soccer. From youngsters to old people, they will sleep early and wake up later at night just to watch their favorite soccer team playing. This is because Indonesia has a rather big time zone difference from the time zone where the competition is held, and Indonesia people usually like the foreign soccer team.

Do you realize the business opportunity? Those many people in the stadium could not be only watching the soccer match, right? Selling foods, drinks, and cigarette is a very wise decision, as many Indonesian people are smokers. Imagine if you can sell more than 100 cigarette to those people in every soccer match in Indonesia.

(See this video below to know the risk of taking the business opportunity)

The reason of the commotion is actually simple. It is because somebody is not happy with the result of the match, thus causing the riot. Don’t you agree that it is stupid to fight over the result, and even stupider to fight even when you are not the competitor?

But, of course you don’t actually need to be there, you just need to hire someone to do the selling.

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Indonesia is full of visual trashes

Many streets or corners around the world are very clean and free of anything, like in Singapore. This is because the government enforces a strict rule and big fine for those who break the rule. Therefore, although it is somewhat forced, the effect can always be felt and embraced. The cleanliness is now one of many interesting things proudly held by Singapore.

Clean street

Clean road

Clean and great view

But in Indonesia, you surely cannot expect the cleanliness of Singapore. These pictures below will make you understand right away.

Dirty

Very dirty

Too dirty that it deserves a trophy of dirtiness

The trashes can destroy your nose by its bad smell and your eye by its dirtiness, but that is not the visual trash I am talking about. What I am talking about is the beauty of marketing that has become nothing more than a trash.

SIM card, franchises

Cigarrete, promotion

Political campaign stuffs

Minimarkets, restaurants

Exactly, we have to blame the marketing to have put the city into a drawing paper full of pictures and letters. From the marketing view, it is beautiful because the street user would definitely see the advertisement especially if the advertisement is unique and eye-catching.

But from the word “beautiful” itself, it is not beautiful at all. Instead, it destroys the beauty of a what is supposed to be a clean city but turned into nothing more than a place to do marketing. Furthermore, the purpose is not there anymore. There are too many advertisements that the street users do not have time to see all the advertisements, and that, slowly, makes everyone stop noticing and looking at the advertisement too.

(See this video below to see just a glimpse of the visual trashes)

If you want to put your advertisements somewhere, now you know you don’t need to waste your money putting your advertisement on the trees or electrical pole near the street.
Maybe you can think of something new, like in the toilet for example. People, especially men, will definitely stand in one spot when they are doing their ‘business’. That spot can be given an advertisement, and surely they will look and read at it as they don’t have anything better to do except to finish their ‘business’ in the toilet.

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Why Indonesian people call foreigners as ‘bule’?

There are many nicknames to call someone different that you don’t know. Like dude, dudette, pal, mate, and many others.

Uniquely in Indonesia, the people have its own term to call the foreigners like the international tourists, or even a local tourist ( local bule ).
They call them ‘bule’. Bule, from its literal meaning, actually means ‘albino’. Indonesian used it to call the foreigners especially to the white people.

While this can be seen as an offense like a racist matter, Indonesian people actually do not have ill intention when they call the foreigners that way. It’s just that any person would need to have some way to address another instead of calling others by the word “Hey” or “You there”.

Some foreigners might find this offensive and abusive as the nickname ‘bule’ tends to degrade the foreigners as non human-beings or aliens.

Most sellers in Bali do not address the foreigners as ‘bule’. They just call them ‘mister’, like in “Hey mister, come and buy this!”

Nevertheless the contradiction whether the word ‘bule’ is offensive or not, the foreigners who come to Indonesia actually have the right to call Indonesian people as ‘bule’ too, because to the international tourists, Indonesian people can be regarded as foreign people to them.

The tag of this photo is ‘”bareng bule…nice”
( “with bule…nice” )

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Queue is not a word for Indonesian people

Queueing is normal. It happens everywhere in the world. Most people from any country would respect to the unwritten norm to queue or wait in line, and never ever take someone’s turn.

Queueing

Another form of queue

In Indonesia, however, there is no such thing like queueing. You are lucky if you can see Indonesian people queueing.
Indonesian people can often be so impatient. They don’t like to wait in line unless they are forced to, like in supermarket cashier or in a bank. Yet, often they do not queue in the bank.

In a bank

Queue for ration

This bad habit of Indonesian people really needs to stop. It is a shame to other country who sees it. In the event like the local government giving out free ration to those who need it, the rations are enough for everybody. Yet, those people still do not want to wait in line or queueing. They do not realize the danger of not queueing.

(See this video to see the danger of not waiting in line)

Yes, the kids got the danger. They are, strangely, queueing in the crowd with their parents knowing their bodies are small compared to the adults. Thus, they get pressed and kicked around in the crowd. Not to mention, there could be a thief in the crowd.
Indonesian people really need to realize the importance of queueing. It might take a longer time than not waiting in line, but it is worth the wait.

For supermarket owners, a queue can actually be very helpful for the business. People waiting in line will get bored, and thus a diversion might be useful so the customers do not get too bored while waiting. The diversion, fortunately, can be those little groceries or chocolates or candies that they don’t usually buy. Putting those things in the display near the cashier can be beneficial as they tend to buy what is on the display.

Display near the cashier

What happens in the line

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Indonesians’ mindset might be bad for the future

Complimenting others has always been a customary of socializing everywhere in the world. Abused by women, compliments can be honest or dishonest. It can be used to get the other person happy about us, like our boss or our partner in love.

Complimenting

The after-effect

But that is not the unique thing. The unique thing about being complimented is the reaction or the response. The American people, for example, will say “Thank you, I did my best” when they are complimented. Indonesian people, however, will not answer it like that.

Instead, they will say “Not really”. This shows that they do not feel arrogant. Of course, that does not mean the American people are arrogant.

This mindset of the Indonesian people, however, is actually bad for their future. Why?
One of many reasons that cause Indonesian people lose in international competition is this mindset. By saying “Not really”, it can also mean that they do not feel that good at doing what they are actually good at. It shows that they are not confident in themselves. It is as if they have lost the will to compete in the first place.

This must be why Indonesia moves forward slowly, and maybe a little too slow. The people work not to be successful, but to survive. They do not try their best but only so-so. They accept the routine of waking up in the morning, working from morning to evening, then reaching home just to realize the day is almost over.

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In Indonesia, food resembles people

Every country has its own unique food or drink which is special to the country. Like pasta and spaghetti from Italy or taco from Mexico.

Italian pasta

Italian spaghetti

Mexican taco

For Indonesia, the Indonesian food is not only special and dear to the country, but also characterizes or resembles the people in the area.
Two examples of this are Padang food and Middle Java food.

Padang food (See information about it in this post) is known for its spiciness which resembles the Padang people or West Sumatra people who are identically seen as people who speak loudly and speak whatever is on their mind.

Rendang, a spicy food from Padang

Middle Java food, is known for its sweetness which resembles the people living there who are calm and not big-headed.

Gudeg rice, a sweet food from Middle Java

The food there is not spicy but sweet because the condiment used is not spicy. They used fruits as the condiments to give the sweet and the sour taste to the food. Like Gudeg rice, the Gudeg is made from young jack fruit which is boiled for several hours with palm sugar and coconut milk.

The most common Gudeg rice comes from Yogyakarta, and is usually sweeter, drier and reddish in because of the addition of teak leaves. What is unique about it is that it needs around three days just to make Gudeg. It can stay delicious for two days after, though.
If you are interested, you can buy this in the local restaurant in Yogyakarta for around IDR 10.000 to 20.000 ( $ US 1 to 2).

(See this video to know more about Gudeg rice)

Of course, with all the varieties spread out throughout Indonesia, various adjustments are made to the foods to fit the tongue of the local people in each area.

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Indonesia is designed for Indonesian

A country is its people, or its people is the country? Nevertheless, every country has their everything designed for their people. In countries like the United States, for example, the design of its door is tall and wide. This is because most people living in the United States are tall and most are fat.

The door

Another door

It is fine if you are shorter than most people living in America because you do not need to worry about getting head bumps when you enter a door.
But if a tourist from the America or Europe comes to Indonesia, then you have to watch out a little.

Another thing to know is when you use public transportation like a bus. If it’s crowded, then you will realize that you are either too big or too wide to sit in the chairs designed for 1 person for each chair.

The size of the chair might be too small for non-Indonesian

This can be a rather big issue for the Indonesian government especially the one who deals with tourism. Surely, the chair size fits most Indonesian people and thus it is efficient as it can carry as many people as it can, but the possibility of tourists using it must have been considered too.

But then again, there is always alternative instead of using the public transportation. Tourists can always use a taxi or rental car as it will prove to be more efficient and not tiring if compared to traveling in a bus.

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Indonesian people are very tolerant, or too tolerant?

In many countries, if you are late to work or if you make a little mistake, they can be very intolerant. They will scold you immediately and harshly. All of them seek perfection from their workers or employees.

Getting scolded harshly

So discouraging

In Indonesia, however, if you are late to work because you got stuck in a traffic jam or you make mistakes, you won’t get scolded directly even though it depends on who your boss is or whether he/she is a temperamental person or not. This is because Indonesian people are very tolerant. They realize that people make mistakes and it really is not their place to scold those people as they surely make mistakes too once or twice in a while.

Motivating employer

Tolerance, after all, is one of the Indonesian’s best traits that will make all Indonesians proud wherever they are. But the bad thing is that if those things are tolerated too much, the people might be so laid-back. They become a person who would not worry at all even if they make a mistake. Maybe this is why Indonesian people are so relaxed and laid-back. It is because they are not afraid getting scolded by their bosses.

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‘Insya Allah’, the cliche in Indonesia

Almost all people in the hard working country like Japan or New York think that they should have everything planned out before they do it. Because they think, doing something without planning it beforehand, can be disastrous, especially when it is a crucial plan for something big.

Planning before implementing

But in Indonesia, as you might have guessed, most Indonesian people do not plan. The idea of planning something beforehand is considered ridiculous. Why? Because they believe that even though everything is planned neatly, the implementation might go awry or that the result is different from what is expected in the plan.

So, when you are in a team of wedding organizers, for example, you might be surprised with the answer “Insya Allah” even though the question demands the answer only between ‘yes’ or ‘no’. “Do you really believe we can get this stuff done on time?”. The answer to that question is only ‘yes’ or ‘no’. But often, you will hear “Insya Allah”.

‘Insya Allah’ means ‘only by God’s permission’ or ‘only if God permits’. In other words, it basically means that you let everything decided by God or by nature or fate.
It has become a cliche as it has been used so much that it has lost its real meaning.

If you ask an Indonesian to meet you the day after somewhere, most of them will not directly answer “Yes, I will come” or “Sorry, I can’t come tomorrow”. Rather, they would answer “Insya Allah”. Thus, you cannot really blame them if they do not come the day after because it is raining hard.

If you ever got asked by someone whether you can come tomorrow or not, you can answer “Insya Allah” if you are not sure.

A little comic about ‘Insya Allah’

In the first box, the girl asks the green man whether he will go to a meeting or not, and the green man answers “Insya Allah”.
In the second one, the girl says “Okay, see you later then.”
After that, the girl is confused and want to ask again. In the last panel, she asks whether it is “Insya Allah yes I will come” or the opposite.

This habit of Indonesian people, let it be on purpose or not, does have a bad effect as it reflects that Indonesian people are not really people with planning. They let the nature of fate and adapt to the situation and condition. Maybe this is why Indonesian people are so panicky in most events.

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‘As long as it is enough’, not an Indonesian style

In Japan or other developing countries in the Europe (if compared to another part of Europe), the concept of living ‘as long as it is enough’ or ‘as long as they have what they want thus they do not need more’ are really the style of living for those people. People in Japan, for instance, some of whom are really prosperous in financial and yet they still choose to live in average.

A private transportation surely is better, but almost all Japanese people still choose the train

In Indonesia, the concept of living ‘as long as it is enough’ is also followed by those living far from the cities. But to those living in the cities or near the cities, there is no such word as ‘enough’. It is never enough.

They will always want more and more. More money, more luxury, more cars, more houses, more practical things, and more wives. Wait, exclude the last one unless the person is going for polygamy, which is of course, banned in Indonesia.

The richest in Indonesia

See another example in the Indonesian news that made it internationally these last two days. The workers in Indonesia commenced a two-day strike across all Indonesia. What they want is simple. They want a raise. In Jakarta, the demand for raising their salaries to IDR 3.700.000 (around $ US 350) was not fulfilled, but they should have been happy with it  because the Jakarta’s government has decided to raise the minimum wage to IDR 2.441.301 ( $ US 214 at the day’s rate). They are not satisfied at all, so they ask for more and more.

(See this video below about the strike or demonstration)

But then, will one ever stop and finally say “This is enough”?

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