10 FACTS about INDONESIANS

10 FACTS about INDONESIANS (by livpk)

This video might not represent all Indonesians abroad, but most of them are trully happening in the International world among the Indonesians. On my first time attending an International gath at my Uni, I was surprised hearing my fellow Indonesians were comfortably talking in Indonesian language to each other in front of other International people. This stereotype was also true when I visited several States, and some international friends I met would say that Indonesian friends tend to ignore them by talking in Bahasa. However, I saw that this habit is also practiced by friends from other non-English-speaking countries. 

Once I told my Italian friends in Spain that the one thing I had missed the most after a month in Valladolid is eating Indomie (this was my first solo trip abroad and I was still inexperience about traveling prep), I pictured Indomie as the can't-live-without-most-delicious-poisonous-noodle-food-man-ever-created (due to the MSG and preservatives) and how I adored Indomie that is SOLD IN INDONESIA, because the level of "poison" is higher, thus, it tastes better lol

Blackberry, I guess for some reasons, it is true, I myself never use one, but since I returned to Indonesia, I learned that most people have got used to it a lot, it is not uncommon if you meet a new person (socially or professionally) or long-time-no-see friends that they`re gonna ask you BB Pin instead of your phone number, and often my friends complain that texting me is a difficult thing to do, and expensive. In Aussie, they said, you know they`re Indonesians when you see them with BB lol.

Guling (sausage pillow), the other thing I missed in the US. I sleep with it all my life, in fact they did not have a long pillow in Arkansas (not that I knew of) :(

Nasi (Rice) and Cabe (Chilli). I can live without nasi but not without chilli, what I meant is not the common chilli sauce the Indos usually bring during traveling, but, reallll chilli people! Because I`m from the western part of Indonesia and mostly the food resembles Indian food. Some of my friends can't eat without sweet soya sauce or bottled chilli sauce, they take it everywhere with their life :P

ALMA

ALMA

A short movie that teaches children not to bother other people's stuff. Great short movie! 

The Dutch: We still have a room!

Holland, as one of the nominees in the big ten of countries who has taken the most benefit from renewable energy sources for its electricity, has installed instruments for producing alternative power everywhere in the country.  With the total of 41,543 square kilometers, the country simply requires 800 square kilometers of solar panel installed in order to cover the need of electricity. Since it is impossible to create entirely free spaces for the panels, the Dutch play it smart by installing some of them on buildings’ and houses’ roof, and even smarter that they are trying to install the panels on the road. The project is piloted on a cycling path.

But why a cycling path?

The fact that there is 113,018 kilometer of paved road and the increasing numbers of people who prefer to ride bicycle, has encouraged cities in the country to provide more lanes for the cyclists. One of the cycling paths in Krommenie, a city in Northwest of Amsterdam, is having 1.5-2.5 cm of solar panels installed on it. These solar panels are designed in such a way that they can hold truck’s weight. It is estimated that the electricity obtained from the sunrays at midday will be able to power streetlights, traffic lights, and even houses nearby. The cycling path is chosen because bicycle will not cover the entire streets even during a traffic jam.

Another creative idea has been applied in 2009, when an organization called the Sustainable Dance Club produced the Sustainable Dance Floor (SDF) and has it installed at a club and bar in Rotterdam called Watt. This dance floor panel will produce kinetic energy which is stimulated by dancing steps of the clubbers. A battery bar is projected on the wall which, according to the club owner, is to show the clubbers the level of electricity they have produced. Every person who dances energetically tend to produce 20 W, not so much in contributing to the city, but enough to cut the power bill of the building. On the same year, the variant of the floor, a single tile panel, was installed at a paved road of Toulouse, France and the two-week trial resulted in powering one street light which is derived from 8 panels.

In the future, I am picturing to have SDF installed in crowded public places such as sidewalks, crossroads, or jogging tracks in order to obtain bigger energy; or hopefully solar panels covering median of highways. Consideration of budget should not limit the benefit in the long run, it is an infestation and it is covering even more world problems, such as obesity, the decreasing of fossil fuels comparing with the demands, air pollution, etc. Furthermore, the use of public places will, as well, indirectly forced people to behave supportively other than creating a big curiosity, for example, if SDF is installed at the jogging track, jogging might become more attractive. The Dutch is right, there is always a room for everything.

Reference;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands

http://bigthink.com/ideas/26693

http://www.sustainabledanceclub.com/media/documents/pdf/9/WATT_Project_EN.pdf

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Europe/The-Netherlands-INFRASTRUCTURE-POWER-AND-COMMUNICATIONS.html

Picture is modified from http://www.sharethedamnroad.com

When Feeling Safety is Challenging

Baru-baru ini saya terlibat pembicaraan seru dengan generasi diatas saya yang protes karena cucunya ikut field trip sekolah. Menurut beliau, field trip adalah akal akalan guru sekolah yang mau traveling dengan gratis, karena biayanya dibayar oleh orang tua murid.

Perdebatan ini dimenangkan oleh generasi diatas saya yang keukeuh dengan pendapatnya. Membuat saya berpikir, kenapa bisa 'tidak perlu'?

Waktu saya kelas satu di sekolah dasar, setiap minggu orang tua saya memberi saya uang 100 rupiah dan menyuruh saya untuk membeli jajanan tertentu dikios sekolah, FYI, saat itu harga sebuah permen masih 25 IDR. Mungkin minggu ini membeli 4 buah permen, minggu depan membeli permen dan chocoballs, tapi selalu jumlahnya tidak boleh lebih dari 100 rupiah. Dengan cara ini saya belajar untuk menghitung cepat, bahwa 4 koin 25 akan berjumlah 100, bila saya menghabiskan dua kuarter saya akan punya 50 rupiah, dsb. Dikelas yang lebih tinggi lagi tiap pagi sebelum sekolah saya disuruh pergi ke kios tetangga di blok belakang rumah untuk membeli telur ayam yang jumlahnya berbeda beda setiap harinya, saat itu saya belajar menambah data base GPS saya, belajar berinteraksi dengan orang, beramah tamah dengan tetangga yang rumahnya saya lewati, belajar memilih barang yang bagus untuk dibeli. Saat saya duduk di bangku SMP, saya diberi uang untuk pulang sekolah naik angkot. Disitu saya belajar untuk berani traveling sendirian, mengadvancekan GPS data base saya, and meet more strangers.  Apa arti semua ini bila dibandingkan dengan situasi sekarang?

Sekarang bahkan salah satu field trip sekolah adalah berbelanja ke supermarket, melihat sawah, atau memandikan kerbau. Menurut orang yang besar di daerah, saya akan berpendapat sama dengan generasi diatas saya bahwa kegiatan tersebut hanya membuang uang saja. Tapi, lihatlah kondisi Jakarta sekarang,  berjalan kaki saja susah, hampir setiap kali berjalan kaki saya berantem dengan pengendara sepeda motor karena menghalangi jalan mereka.  Padahal saya sudah berjalan ditepi got. Selain itu ketakutan orang tua karena kasus penculikan cukup sering terjadi, membuat orang tua bahkan tidak tega menyuruh anaknya membeli permen di kios tetangga di ujung jalan.

Kondisi lain adalah bagi keluarga yang tinggal di gated community alias komplek mewah yang ber-cluster-cluster, disana mana ada kios, kalau ingin belanja ya harus diniatkan keluar rumah dengan menggunakan kendaraan pribadi. Maka gak heran juga kalau pada akhirnya orang tua harus merelakan budget lebih untuk field trip sekolah ke supermarket, agar anaknya bisa belajar berbelanja, belajar memilih barang yang mau dibeli, dan berinteraksi dengan strangers.

Miris memang, saya belum terlalu tua, tapi kondisi disekeliling saya berubah total dalam waktu 20 tahun. Hedonism dan paranoia makin tinggi, karena crime, karena banyak orang lapar. padahal brain development dari dulu sampai sekarang masih sama, harus “dirangsang.” Berbagai kemudahan teknologi membuat orang semakin berpikir, “Ngapain susah-susah?” Ngapain susah-susah ke kios/toko, kalau bisa belanja online? Ngapain susah-susah belajar berhitung, kalau ada kalkulator di hape, di computer tablet, di laptop, bahkan di jam tangan? Ngapain susah susah mengingat direction, kalau ada GPS yang tinggal tulis keyword and press enter?

Mungkin jaman memang harus berubah, tapi saya percaya bahwa cara-cara lama masih mungkin dilakukan bila semua orang mau bersusah susah.  Pasti tantangannya lebih besar dari pada waktu dulu, tapi tidak ada yang tidak mungkin. Atau mungkin kita yang tinggal di kota harus berkaca dengan kehidupan di desa-desa yang lebih kurang masih sama dengan keadaan waktu saya kecil diatas. Kenapa mereka masih bisa membiarkan anaknya ke kios sendirian, masih bisa berjalan di tepi jalanan dengan tenang dan aman, etc.

Should we avoid antibiotics in Jakarta? -- Opinion

Several days ago, my cousin told me about a group whose doctors are againts prescribing antibiotics to their patients. This mailing list is initiated by several pediatricians who think that antibiotic is harmful for children.

Talking about it in Jakarta context, where the air is heavily polluted and hygiene is poor, water source is dirty, trashing is very well uncontrolled, and crowded living spaces; antibiotic is believed to be necessary even for a single viral infection. 

İn western countries, nosocomial infection incidence are lower because the standard of its hospitals are mostly satisfied regarding hygiene. However, in İndonesia, one shouldn't generalize similar condition as a "should have been the same with". İn hospitals in the US for example, even in government hospital you won't see patients family members sleep over at the patient's room altogether. Thus, cross contamination is less likely to happen. On the contrary, most government hospitals patients in Indonesia would love to bring their family members along with them. The more the merrier, even though the patient is unconcious, or even in coma state, all family members would force themselves to come along and stay at the hospital for the sake of togetherness until the patient is discharged. Since they have poor financial situation, they cannot afford to rent a room at a hotel or other places nearby. Thus, they'll usually sleep under patient's bed or at ward corridor on the floor, giving it a hard time for the nurses and docs to reach the patient for regular examination.

Referring to that situation, as a medical doctor, would you consider to risk you patients by not prescribing antibiotics as prophylaxis in the treatment plan? İ wouldn't. İt is understood if unnecessary medication may lead patients to other risk of drug resistants or allergy, however, you would not prefer to risk your patients of having nosocomial infections or secondary infection, due to lack of hygiene and cross contamination, either.

İn terms of ambulatory care, in addition, it is common to prescribe antibiotics to almost every diagnosis in Puskesmas. Again it is because the health providers doubt the hygiene behavior at patients' house.

İt is not guaranteed that patients will generally be avoided from secondary bacterial infection if doctor does not prescribe antibiotics on every infectious disease he meets.

Perhaps, patients who came from middle to upper social class who are believed to live in more hygienic environment would be okay without unnecessary antibiotic regimen in their prescription. These people, who are usually well educated, formally and non formally, are more skeptical to any medical  information/terms that they just heard of, and cooperated well with doctor's instructions. 

Public Transportations in Jakarta

I know it`s kinda silly, but I noticed that many of Jakarta people that I knew don’t know about these very well. When taking public transportation, you have to have a good skill of asking questions, since there`s no maps available everywhere.

Ojek

It`s a person who gives a ride on his/her motorcycle, usually they operate near real estate, schools, open markets or residential complexes, and this is a short distance type of transportation. Housewives and housemaids use it to get to the nearest open market in the morning. Others use them to get to the nearest bus stop to go to the city or coming home after getting out from busses. The cost starts from 5000 rupiahs and is negotiable.

Mikrolet/Oplet

It`s a modified wagon that can take up to 12 people and is one of the long distance type of transportation. In the Philippines it`s called Jeepney. However, since the space is too small, many people would not prefer to choose this type for a long ride. You can ask the driver to stop ANYTIME and ANYWHERE, there’s NO specific stops. The cost depends on how long you stay in the car, but it`s not too much, usually you will start giving 2000-3000 rupiahs to the driver when you`re getting out, if it`s not enough, he`s going to let you know, otherwise, just leave.

Kopaja/Metro Mini

It`s a small ugly bus with natural air conditioner, most of the time it looks like a running bus frame. The biggest difference with mikrolet is the space, it`s bigger. Some Kopajas have a helper to collect money during the ride and shout to the driver when somebody asks to stop, or tell people the next stop so that they would walk nearer to the door (during the rush hours, you barely can walk on the aisle). The helper may tell you how much you should pay, otherwise, do the same thing like if you are taking mikrolet.

TransJakarta

The popular name is BusWay. It`s a good looking bus running on special lines identified with colors, flat rate (3500 IDR per ride), air-conditioned, take passengers only on its stops. More convenient and safe (not 100% safe from pickpockets though). Unfortunately it doesn’t reach all corners of Jakarta. But it passes business centers, downtowns, malls, etc and so it saves people from being stranded on traffic jam. You have to buy the ticket prior entering the bus stop, and then give it to the ticket man. The idea is more or less similar like taking subway. The route map can be downloaded online (http://www.rutebusway.com/data/rutebusway.com.pdf) or seen on the ticket booth.

Taxi

Taxi meter in Jakarta runs based on the time, unlike in Europe and the US where it runs based on the distance. Thus, no matter how long it takes to get to a place, you cannot be sure of how much you`re going to pay. In Jakarta, if the way to get to the destination is too jammed, people wouldn’t prefer to take a taxi or at least postpone going home until the rush hours finished. If you`re an outsider or a female, it`s highly recommended to choose certain taxi companies. Mostly people would recommend to take Blue Bird Taxi, it has the most expensive rate, but according to most people it`s the safest, the second would be Gamya Taxi, a little bit cheaper. Then there are some others like Putra and Express Taxi. Maybe there`s more, but they`re not very popular and I haven’t tried other than those four.

Metro Mini/Kopaja, Angkot and TransJakarta stops at the Grand Central Station called Blok M. You can see the route list for Metro Mini and Kopaja at the station, otherwise, find a security guy or man who are shouting to get passengers, and ask them questions.

Again, this is a one side observation from an outsider. Comments are highly appreciated!

The Art of Jalan Tikus

Jalan Tikus is the term people use for short cuts. The direct translation is "Rat Street". It is associated with how rat tries to find hidden ways from one kitchen to another without getting caught.

When you drive in Jakarta, you have to master these Jalan Tikus. Otherwise you will be stucked in traffic jam for hours. Jalan tikus are unofficial alternative streets that go through sub-urban villages and slum areas behind tall buildings, most of the time they’re very narrow, no street name, lights or signs and most of the time the conditions are very bad. How did people find them? A lot of trials and errors! The rule is that you have to have extra patience and butt-headed, because all vehicles are trying to fit in at the same time and nobody is going to let no one take over. Still, it saves time to get to places. I have been exploring jalan tikus since I arrived here more than main roads.

Since there are hundreds of Jalan Tikus all over Jakarta, would it be cool to have a GPS map for these streets instead of main roads only?? pics are coming soon!