When I was in Indonesia, every holiday (we don’t have summer and winter holidays, since every day is summer), I went to the beach. While sitting under the palm trees and enjoying the cool breeze, I looked at the horizon and wondered what life was like on the other side of the world. When I decided to leave Indonesia to attend Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., people around me gave different responses. “Isn’t it too far? Your mother will be worried sick about you,” my grandmother said. “Michigan? Don’t get frostbite. It’s terribly painful,” said my uncle who lives in Minnesota. “Be careful when you’re in the United States. My friend went there for college and he changed. He likes to go to parties now,” said my high school friend. Indeed, all of the stereotypes that I knew about the United States and the fact that I would go by myself made me worried. “I believe that God’s love for you is greater than my love for you,” my father told me, and so I went.
After living in Grand Rapids for a year, I realized that coming here was not a bad idea. I have had many valuable experiences that I never could have imagined during my holidays on the beach, such as experiencing the Michigan weather and also meeting people from different cultures and ethnicities. A number of Americans I met said that they have never been out of the United States. Perhaps, you—like me—have some stereotypes about places you’ve never been to before. “Kalau tak kenal, maka tak sayang” (“if you don’t know, you can’t like”) is an Indonesian saying which means, “Of course you cannot develop true appreciation of something without taking the trouble to learn about it.” Indonesia is one of the best places to start appreciating our diverse world.
Indeed, Indonesia is far away from Grand Rapids and the plane ticket is expensive, but a trip to Indonesia is worth the expense! Indonesia has numerous amazing sights — the mountains, beaches, lakes and rivers. When I was in high school, I went to Sempu Island for an adventure camp. Sempu Island is a small, beautiful island in East Java. After half a day of hiking, we arrived at our destination. At first, the site looked like a common beach, but it was so calm. No waves. No current. Just still water. It was more like a big pool of salt water surrounded by green hills. In one hill a huge hole connected the pool with the sea just beyond. Suddenly, a roar of water surged through the hole and flowed into the pool. The water inside the pool shook a bit, but soon it became calm again.
The salt-water pool pictures my life when I came to the United States. When I was in Indonesia, I was living in my comfort zone: no culture shocks, no unfamiliarities. Being in a comfort zone is a good thing, but staying too long made me too comfortable that I did not grow. The first time I ate at the cafeteria in my college in the United States, many things were unfamiliar to me. I had never heard of the foods before. Some of them were tasteless, while others were just weird. Indonesian foods are completely different: they contain various spices. If you go to Indonesia, you will find that almost every city has its own authentic, traditional food. Each has its own unique taste. Surabaya, my hometown, is famous for its sweet, and sometimes spicy, peanut sauce. Every night, from 9 p.m. to midnight, “Tahu Tek” sellers pass through my neighborhood while pushing a wooden wagon and knocking their frying pans with a spoon to gain attention. “Tahu Tek” sellers first fry a mixture of tofu and egg. Then they dice the tofu, egg, potato, cucumber and lontong (compressed rice cake) and put them on a plate. They also add bean sprouts and pour a special spicy peanut sauce over it all, then sprinkle on some deep fried onion crackers. The flavor might be strange at first, but you will definitely miss it when you go back home.
Coming from a place with a strong collectivistic culture, I was surprised when I came to the United States. Here, everyone minds his or her own business. Yours is yours; mine is mine. Privacy is respected. Personal opinion matters. In contrast, Indonesians are very collectivistic. We share anything that can possibly be shared. Some people even share their clothes. When you come to Indonesia, you will find some of the most generous and friendliest people in the world. They may take you to lunch or dinner and even offer you a place to stay. You will be surprised by their hospitality.
Perhaps the major concern of being in a new place is safety. Everyone wants to feel safe. CSI is one of my favorite American TV series. I never actually felt its effect on me until I came to the United States. Suddenly, the scenes came alive: This is just like the place where that person was found dead! That person looks like the murderer in that episode! Moreover, the fact that guns are legal here really scared me. However, thank God, I have never been in danger while in Grand Rapids.
When you hear the word “Indonesia,” perhaps the first things that come to your mind are tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Many people are scared of coming to Indonesia because of those catastrophic disasters. Actually, the number of natural disasters in Indonesia is relatively low. Moreover, these natural disasters, while dangerous, are part of the reason Indonesia has very rich soil. Once, someone told me, “If you throw a seed on the soil anywhere in Indonesia, it will grow.” My father was weeding our front yard when he suddenly pulled out a five-inch rambutan plant. About a week before, after eating a rambutan, my sister threw its seed in our front yard. It grew.
Moreover, volcanoes are one of the beauties of nature. Kawah Ijen, one of the volcanoes in Indonesia, is especially famous for its blue fire. The burning of sulphuric gases in the mountain is the source of its gorgeous color. According to National Geographic, “Those gases emerge from cracks in the volcano at high pressure and temperature — up to 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit. When they come in contact with the air, they ignite, sending flames up to 16 feet high.”
Visiting a new, far-away place can challenge a tourist. You may not be familiar with the language, the culture, the weather or even the food. However, living in Grand Rapids has changed my life: it has widened my view of the world, and it has helped me appreciate diversity. With the advancement of technology, you can get any information about a certain place, but, you will never really know a place until you go there, see the sights, taste the foods and interact with the people. The world is rich in diversity, and Indonesia is one of the most diverse countries with five major religions, 300 ethnic groups, 706 languages and different traditional food in each city. Next time, when you are at the beach staring toward the horizon, remember: the horizon is not the end, it is only the frame of another picture.