HOW TO LIVE IN YOGYAKARTA INTRODUCTION Y ogyakarta city lies in the heart of Java Island. Two-third of the national population live on this island, so you will be surprised to find out how crowded the cities in Java are. Yogyakarta is just one of them. Yogyakarta city is dubbed as a cultural city, a tourism city, and an educational city. Here, you will experience living in a very heterogeneous society, as Yogyakarta is also known as a miniature of Indonesia. It is a unique place where traditional culture and values give a very strong influence to its people’s daily life. At the same time, academic life gives equally strong character to its life, making the city of Yogyakarta a real paradox. Despite the national language (Indonesian), most people communicate in local languages, for instance Javanese, Malay, Sundanese, etc. Spoken Javanese itself, which is the dominant vernacular language in Java, uses nine levels reflecting rank, status, age, and degree of acquaintance between speakers. Thus, living amid a diverse culture in a relatively small place and away from your home may pose many problems to you if it’s your first time living abroad. The following parts will give you insights into potential problems you may encounter during your early stay in Yogyakarta. Part A discusses life outside campus and Part B discusses life in campus A. Life outside campus 1. Street Throughout Indonesia many of the streets are named for the heroes that all Indonesia honours. Familiarity with these will give you an appreciation for the men of Indonesia’s history. You could charm an Indonesian friend with your knowledge. You will not that it is common for a street to change its name usually at an intersection. Westerner will probably mutter that the roads are cluttered, inefficient, confusing, poorly maintained, vaguely marked, scary, venues for all manner of shops-on wheels. The Indonesian generally views the roadways as extensions of everyone’s stores, a Page 1 of 5 public area for drying crops, placing offerings, disposing of rats and snakes, a broad avenue to walk six to eight abreast, a fine area for teaching very young children to cycle. The streets never sleep. As the sun falls, the food stalls appear and attract their customers who eat, then stay to chat and watch each other watching each other. So much seems temporary or at least moveable about the street, one almost overlooks non moveable, tyre repair, news stalls, the little cigarette and candy wagons, the car oil vendors, the garbage dumpsites, and the plant nurseries. The driving habits you may notice are: It does not matter how many white lanes are painted on the road or how many lanes of traffic there should be, people just go with the flow. Whoever can place a portion of his vehicle in front of the other has achieved the right of way. Because all Indonesians are aware of this, there is incredible squeezing and jostling and pushing for position at crossroads. 2. About Bahasa Indonesia Today almost 100 per cent of the national population is literate in Bahasa Indonesia. Leaning Bahasa Indonesia gives foreigner a tool for functioning confidently, builds a bridge to the local people, and acknowledges the importance of the national language. Survival competence in Bahasa Indonesia is within the ability of almost everyone who live here. It is not tonal. The grammar is straightforward: there are no cases, genders, declensions or difficult conjugations. It is written in Roman letters. 3. Food Yogyakarta, or Indonesia in general, is truly a feast: whether in eating styles, charm, price or ambiance, there is something for everyone. The traditional convenience foods in Indonesia are those served by the colourful kaki-lima (street food vendors). They push their carts to you or sell the foods from permanent stalls. Warungs, small neighbourhood eateries that seat 4-6 round a table are everywhere, while rumah makan is the complete restaurant. Finally, you can find fast food eateries in town. There is a wide variety of western fast food chains selling chicken grilled, roasted, steamed, and fried, pizza, American hamburger and donuts, and ice cream. Page 2 of 5 4. Bargaining Bargaining over the price of goods and services is an art form. Bargaining as understood by practitioners is definitely a method for establishing and solidifying one’s status in the economic community-an item may have a variety of prices, each reflecting in the eye of the merchant the correct price for each of his customers. To offer everyone the same price removes the opportunity to ‘do a favour for my special customer’ and equally the opportunity to blatantly overcharge an unsuspecting buyer! The typical westerner-in-a-hurry is confused and vexed at the resistance to doing business quickly. Fortunately many of the stores are now ‘fixed price’-predictable, efficient, impersonal and standardized. However, in the smaller shops bargaining or at least asking for discount is the rule. Start at about 50-60 percent of the price and raise your offer as bit as the first price is lowered until an agreement is reached (which should be 10-12 per cent lower than the original). 5. Bureaucracy Indonesia used to have a ponderous octopuslike bureaucracy, but after the Reformation (1998) it is a bit simplified. However, you may still find it frustrating as everything is done manually. If you must deal with local government/administration offices (for permit, license, etc), it is highly recommended that you have local people (Indonesian friend) for assistance. 6. Bathing Being clean and bathing frequently –a minimum of twice a day for most- is a significant Indonesian characteristic. The joy of cleanliness is a topic for general conversation. A polite question asked by visitors about 4 p.m. is “How are you? Have you had your bath yet?” If the response is “No” it is perfectly correct to hasten to the bath while the visitor waits. Page 3 of 5 Bathing Indonesian splash-style is an energetic activity. Water is flung about the entire area –floor, walls, and sometimes ceiling-to the exclamation of joy or anguish at its temperature. It is common to find bak mandi (container that hold water for bathing) and the squat toilet (W.C.) sharing the same room. The water from bak mandi is dippered out to flush the toilet and also meant to be used for bath. 7. The Squat Toilet Westerners who are unfamiliar with squat toilets generally view them with alarm. The fact remains that they are used by over half the world’s people. For convenience, people usually remove their underwear or trousers to a hook or nail. There are several reasons for this. The first is it is more comfortable to have your knees free and not in a death grip with your garment. The second is that the contents of your pockets are protected from a precipitous and unplanned trip into toilet. Don’t look for a roll of toilet paper in the traditional W.C. Carry your own roll. The operative word is wash, not wipe. Commonly the left hand and copious amounts of water are used to complete the bathroom chores. 8. Doing Honour It is widely felt that the highly refined social behaviour of the Javanese more or less sets the social standards throughout the country. Arriving in Indonesia, you will immediately be aware of this. This behavior either fascinates or frustrates the westerner trying to interact with it. The Javanese acknowledge that they mask their emotions and rarely reveal how they feel. For good manners, begin by understanding that: a. Everyone has statu s in Indonesia b. No one is equal c. Status is situational d. There’s no such thing as “No respect” People should observe the formalities of greeting (honour) others with the respect their position deserved. Indonesians go to great lengths to “do honour” (pay respect). One does honour by forgiving tardiness, inconveniences, interruption by a person of higher status. You are expected to be calm and understanding (on the surface at least). One does honours by shaking hands with everyone (in a social function) and by not discussing unpleasant items. One shows respect to the elderly of all social levels. One does honour by shielding someone from bad news. If that fails, one should impart bad news with a smile. The proper response would be murmurings of concern. The outward show of civility is more important than an encounter with the truth of the situation. Page 4 of 5 9. Group socializing In a country as densely populated as Indonesia, it is probably just as well that people get used to doing almost everything as part of a group. It seems there is no such thing as private business, property, or time. It is desirable that each person feel as one with the group. One of the ways the individual is conditioned for communal living is by teasing. Teasing is probably like a game. Everyone tries to get on your nerves. You lose if you show a reaction. You win if you can give the appearance of not caring. It is a subtle and strong method of achieving at least the appearance of inner calm. It’s worth noting that men of all social classes typically walk holding hands or with arms interlocked. Women do it to a lesser degree (but they often hug and kiss when they meet). This is not a statement about widespread homosexuality; rather it reflects the Indonesian’s sense of personal space. Page 5 of 5