Who, in this melting pot, is the rudest of us all?

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 07/01/2007 10:30 AM  |  Life

As a Westerner and newcomer to the capital you are very likely to hear a multitude of horror stories about what life is like in Jakarta.

Some of the story-tellers may never even have set foot on Indonesian soil, but their stories seem to weigh much more heavily than the truth.

As a Westerner, you are also very likely to speak to many of your own kind, at least in the beginning. Many of them will dish up the most unbelievable of tales.

A lack of hygiene in warung (roadside food stalls), impermeable smog and traffic on the streets, corrupt cops and unreliable taxi drivers are just a few examples from the huge fountain of topics.

Having had my own experiences, I must say reality can sometimes be even worse than what people have told me, but you simply develop a pretty thick skin.

My initial experiences, though, of the way of life of Jakartans has left a very positive impact on my perception of the Indonesian people.

If you are prepared to forgo the luxury of working subway and sewer systems or the (presumed) hygiene in a Western restaurant, you get the geniality and kindness of Indonesian people in return.

Try to walk through a German village and make friends with strangers or start a conversation with a passerby in Washington in the rush hour -- you're most likely to fail.

It's no wonder that the film Easy Rider, in which both protagonists are finally shot by xenophobic village people, is a Western creation.

The ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers may not be able to find your destination and if you start to hassle them with a map they'll get completely lost, but they are never at a loss for asking their colleagues the way.

Sometimes they even tell you to change to a different ojek to make sure you reach your destination, without insisting on payment.

Try to find a taxi driver in Paris who would dare to lose face by stopping at the side of the road to ask people the way, let alone forgo his payment: I bet you a crpe on the Champs-lyses you won't.

*****

Now here's some worldly wisdom: Life is hard. Saying that as a European is merely a bad joke when you see how hard life can be for people living here.

Just recently, I saw a scavenger wading through the thick brown sludge in a Jakarta canal. His life is hard and he struggles to make a living from what he's doing. He does it anyway; no matter what job a person has in this country, they always seem to be able to spare a smile for a stranger.

In my native Germany, jobless people wouldn't have to wade through dirt to earn their bread; they could pick asparagus, but refuse to do so. They somehow think it's undignified to do it and thus lose a chance to earn a dignified living for themselves.

The more Indonesians I meet, the more I observe the ways in which they behave differently, depending on how much they are influenced by Western culture and lifestyle.

My time spent as a reporter in Jakarta makes it very easy for me to have access to very Westernized Indonesians in their very own environment, whereas my life as temporary resident makes it possible to meet less Westernized people, too.

What struck me when I began to compare these two groups was that the more they were influenced by the West, the more unfriendly and rude they seemed to be.

The closer their connection to a Western lifestyle, the more likely they were to be hassled and stressed.

It seems to me that Indonesians have the propensity to adopt attitudes inherent in Western culture and lifestyles, many of which we Westerners have diagnosed as a social cancer in our own societies.

When I came to Jakarta, a friend took me out to a club that could only be patronized by rich and Westernized people, simply due to its prices.

I didn't enjoy myself and felt rather uncomfortable, as no conversations with other guests would start -- which is usually the case in Jakarta.

Asked why, my friend answered laconically: ""They are too cool to talk to foreigners.""

This indifference or arrogance is something that, beforehand, I'd experienced only in the West. It would certainly not happen at the warung next door.

Recently, I visited an art exhibition at which some very important people were present. A very young and anxious, but somewhat clumsy receptionist tried to do the best she could to make everyone feel happy.

She made a completely understandable mistake when checking a guest's name on a list, but was harangued mercilessly by the woman concerned.

Maybe the receptionist was simply overworked, but as I've been told, emotional outbreaks of this kind are somewhat uncommon in Indonesian culture, whereas Westerners tend to overreact more often, at even the slightest offense.

Luckily, these experiences don't apply to the majority of Westernized Indonesians I've had the pleasure to meet, but wood fires are known to start slowly and have a huge impact if not brought under control in time.

If McDonald's in Indonesia ever starts to charge you extra for ketchup, it will definitely be too late.

-- Sascha Pries

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