Miss Harvey in Indonesia: Notes From December...

During orientation and the first few weeks in site, it is only natural to notice all the differences between your old home and new home. You start to compare everything to what you are used to. Maybe people complain about cold showers, or roosters crowing outside, the heat, or call to prayer. So many things are different when you move to a new place and although your new home is temporary, you take note of the things that are normal for you and those that are very foreign.

The strangest feeling for me was when I realized that I was not adjusting to living in Indonesia as an American, but instead I was adjusting to living in Indonesia as a Georgian.

It really takes at least two years to really understand a culture, and even then you really know nothing about that culture. In two years you learn so much, know the language, gestures, how to argue, and you can predict every move of the host country nationals that you encounter in your newly molded routine. You know that no matter what you do, you will always be the foreigner and that most people will ignore your statements about what people in your country are really like, but will continue to think what they were told their whole lives without direct experience. This is something that is very difficult to explain to people, and something that they need to learn on their own.

But when I moved to Indonesia I noticed things that others did not. I didn’t care about cold showers; I couldn’t believe how many people had running water. My concern wasn’t with how to clean my bathtub; it was trying to figure out the water system as soon as possible. So does the water come Tuesdays and Fridays? What times of day does it come? Is the main source from the neighborhood shared with other neighborhoods (or, “kampungs”)? How is electricity distributed and shared? As I assumed, the latter depends on which neighborhood you live in depending on your socioeconomic status. At school, I was concerned on who would plan with me and how to make my situation the most sustainable. These are certainly things that Peace Corps teaches you. But I also noticed that the cultural differences of Indonesians I was picking up on I wasn’t comparing to American culture, I was comparing them to the culture I was most comfortable with, the culture I spent so much time adjusting to—Georgian culture.

I may have spent two years being incredibly frustrated with Georgians, but regardless of the tough times I had, I grew to understand them. When other people complain about Indonesians not working enough, I say, but they work so much more than other people! Indonesians bathe between 2-4 times a day!! Unbelievable from a Georgian perspective (this is unnecessary in Georgia, but mostly just impractical). Certainly, Indonesians bathe more for many reasons, but this is a huge cultural difference; a pleasant one!

I should say that this was also extremely useful in adjusting to Indonesian life, as there are many similarities between Indonesian and Georgian culture (basically in that they are not western). Coming to Indonesia I knew I would mostly hang out with Indonesians. (Expats don’t really interest me). I knew that I would hang out with women more than men, which is custom in more conservative cultures anyway. I expected to hang out with women older than me. I expected that women my age were newly married with young children and households that they must attend to. I assumed that many men would talk to me inappropriately, inappropriate even for their culture, which many westerners to not pick up on. I knew there were social cues to learn, a hierarchy to conform to, and a way of life that sometimes would seem too slow, or too spontaneous and “unplanned.” That was all normal and comfortable to me, but is also something I knew would be hard for others to adjust to. I saw it all around me later at our “mid-year” conference; held only two months after staying in our permanent sites. Most of the women in my group here just didn’t understand how to live in a conservative culture. They needed time to experience things and change and learn how their actions are perceived and why.

Other things that I noticed were different, or absent, from Georgian life was the access to food! Granted I am in a very large site now, but you can find things like broccoli, squash, and lettuce, which were rare even in the most developed city of Georgia. I recognize there are many reasons for this, but still, there are more food options in Indonesia!

Driving practices are about the same though. Oh ya, definitely the same.