Berry's further abroad in Bali

When I was in grade nine, I flew beyond Australia for the first time in my life. I went with a school friend and her parents, and they took me to Bali. Whilst time has blurred many details of that trip, the memories still inspire feelings of fondness. I didn't really know what I liked about this place, all I knew is that I wanted to live there; and so on arriving home I declared to my parents that I wanted to do a student exchange in Bali. In retrospect, I think maybe this proposition was just high school naivety or the fact that I didn't want to go back to school; but there was something real in that moment that I remember distinctly; and connecting with where I am now, I can't help but think it was the ignition of my international spirit. Ironically, eighteen years on, married and into my second career, I'm livin' across the oceanic road. So last week, Nath and I decided to whip over and visit this favoured Island of the Gods.

As many Australians know, Bali can be a great little place to visit. Living and working Jakartans' will often enjoy a quick and easy dash over to Bali to absorb the blue skies, the crashing waves and general rest and relaxation. We too enjoyed a very pleasant break from school, and we now feel refreshed and revitalised!

We enjoyed blending in with the many holidaying Australians. They generally expressed surprise followed by interest when we told them that we were holidaying from Jakarta. Their familiarity with Indonesia extends only as far as Bali and we encouraged them to venture across to the capital for a taste of the new Indonesia. We have not been away very long but it is long enough to start to get a glimpse of Australian culture from the outside looking in. Various parts of our culture are highlighted in a place like Bali. Some parts of our culture are brilliant and they illicit a sense of pride whilst other parts of our culture that are highlighted in a place like Bali, are quite frankly embarrassing.
 
The differences between Balinese people and Javanese people (people who come from the island of Java e.g much of Jakarta's population) was another realisation worth noting. They look very different from each other; they speak in different dialects (although all speak Bahasa Indonesia); but the most obvious difference is their religious expression. This is generally demonstrated in the way they dress. The Javanese will generally dress conservatively whilst Balinese dress in a much more relaxed style much like we do. The other noticeable difference is in the attitudes a typical Balinese and Javanese person shows towards animals. I was so delighted when I saw a young policeman nurse a baby bird up into a tree - it was a beautiful moment and a refreshing break for me, being the animal advocate I like to think I am (or wanna be). Muslim faith doesn't place the same value on animals that the Hindu or Christian faith does. Poor old Missy doesn't get an easy ride over here but she is well loved in our household. Our Muslim helper has already been won over by her kinda ugly, kinda cute pug-lookin face.

This was our first holiday away from our new home. This was a time we were to practise the ability to switch off from all things linked to school. Coming into this career we were both acutely aware of the reality of teachers taking their work home with them. This is an unfortunate difference from our old jobs. Teaching comes home with you and is certainly not solely contained in the classroom. But as many of you wise and talented teachers have told me, if you can't learn to switch off in this job ... you'll never survive!  So - despite what many may think, teachers DESERVE their holidays - which in this case included sand between the toes and freshly squeezed juices.

    
Bye for now!

Nomes xo



The tale of the many helpers

For some of you blog readers, the idea of a full time maid, driver and/or nanny may seem quite foreign - you may consider this a luxury reserved for the fortunate few?! But here in Jakarta, what is foreign, is a home without this household help. It is a part of everyday living for Indonesians and foreigners alike; and the more you have the more normal you are. Unfortunately, stories of abuse and mistreatment towards these workers are all too common and send our western blood boiling; this treatment is just part of the so-called "norm" and it's justified and excused by the guilty as "... financial provision for millions of Jakartans".

So, our quest to find a maid was not so much an effort to fit in (believe it or not) but it was more a helpful-cultural treat that would allow our 12 hour days to become more bearable. So after we settled in, we set out in search of a house 'helper'. We had seen, heard about and experienced first hand this cultural norm, and so we "thought" it would be easy enough to manage. But our quest to find a helper became quite a saga due to the many interesting characters we met along the way. Allow me to explain in order of appearances.

Helper No. 1: Young Anise. Anise lived in a luxurious, ritzy area neighbouring my parents house in Jakarta. She met us; seemed happy; and promised she would return one week after Lebaran which would mean we would have to wait for her longer than anticipated. We organised her a taxi following her celebratory week and she arrived at my parents' home. All was good until she decided to faint in response to an anxiety attack at the thought of living and working with two clay-faced expats. Mmmmm I put it down to the size of Nath's nose, hehe.

Helper No. 2: Forty-two year old Atune. Yet again, she lived up the road from my parents and seemed an answer to our prayers when she declared in translation that she liked dogs. On arriving in Jakarta to pick her up, she made a quick dash in and out of the house declaring that her Chinese-boss was threatening her with violence if she left and therefore couldn't leave. Brilliant NOT! This is distressingly common.

Helper No 3. Twenty one year old Siti. You'll be happy to know that this young lady just turned up on our doorstep. She came with an innocent looking face and not a lot of experience; but we were open and excited to just have someone with the guts to wanna be in the same room as us. A very long story cut short - Siti ended up lying, stealing, disappearing and doing drugs all in the space of a week! Needless to say we decided that she wasn't the helper for us. (Picture the scene....trying to explain to Siti, for reasons previously outlined, that she was no longer employed in our house. The explanation had to be craftily imparted using only charade gestures and google translate to help. It was a frenzy of disapproving looks, predicted text and general theatrical mayhem)

But ....rest assured and know that this fairy tale has a happy ending .... and here it is.

Helper No. 4: Young, yet capable Tri, who as I type is sitting in our little house now helping us out! She arrived a week ago with passion, excitement and eagerness to learn about how these white people walk and talk. It's only early days but I'ma thinking she's a keeper and as we always hoped, will be a blessing to us and vice versa.

The lovely Tri and her new household friend Missy!

 

So there you have it - The tale of the many helpers - A tale that has taken us on an interesting journey which adds to the welcomed experiences and stories that we knew we signed up for.

 

That's all people. Thanks for reading,

Nomes xo

 

P.s. I can't write a blog about helpers and not mention the warm and cuddly Siti (another Siti) who lives and works for my Ma and Pa. Although not directly our employee, she is sharp as a button, has a great sense of humour and basically looks after us every weekend. She sacrificially welcomes us and the work we create, with arms open wide. Although, you do not read blogs Siti - We thank you!!!!