Words from Afar

The Jakarta Post   |  Tue, 07/29/2008 3:28 PM  |  Life

Blogging has replaced letters as the means for some Indonesians living overseas to keep in touch with home. Prapti Widinugraheni examines bloggers with an Indonesian connection.

 

Indonesian expats, or any Indonesian who has spent a considerable amount of time overseas, unmistakably fall into a category of their own. Though they are Indonesians through and through, they have experienced life in places where things are different – from seasons of the year to social norms.

And so, unlike their untraveled compatriots, they bear that distinct trait of daring to have certain expectations in life. And these realities will inevitably be reflected in their blogs.

Merlyna Lim, a Bandung native now working as an associate professor at Arizona State University in the United States, believes Indonesians overseas who blog do so because it allows them to share their perspective on their host country with others.

“As a foreigner or migrant overseas, Indonesian expats … would have a tendency to (culturally, politically, socially) compare the country where they reside with Indonesia,” says Merlyna, who blogs at http://merlyna.multiply.com and http://merlyna.org/blog, among others.

Venny Ng started blogging in 2005, shortly after landing a job in the corporate finance division of a Swiss company in Basel. Initially she simply wanted to share photos and stories with friends and family back in Jakarta, but with regular additions of recipes and personal reflections, she suddenly had a blog (http://bookshop.multiply.com).

Now she reads about life and culture in different parts of the world and discusses how Indonesians fit into the great scheme of things. And like any true-blue Indonesian, she is always up for a good discussion on food.

Washington DC-based blogger Tasa Nugraza Barley started blogging early last year while settling into the United States, in the hope of sharing his thoughts with friends back home. But it was really his keen interest in Indonesian politics and culture that prompted the postgraduate student to regularly voice his opinion on Indonesian current affairs. His blog entry on religion, for instance, created quite a stir in the blogosphere.

Not all Indonesian expat blogs start when one moves overseas, of course.

Anita McKay, who was born in Surabaya, East Java, and now lives in Aberdeen, Scotland, started blogging in Jakarta in 2005 as an extension of her writing hobby.

Merlyna’s first blog, dated June 2003, started as an academic project. Her research on the Internet and political activism in Indonesia earned her a PhD from Holland’s University of Twente in 2005. She maintains seven blogs aimed at various audiences and for different purposes.

While blogging is a good way to get a load off one’s chest, just as rewarding are the friends made along the way. Indonesian expat bloggers – the majority of whom reside in developed countries – are united as much by their love for Indonesia, as by their bewilderment at why Indonesia can’t be administered just a little bit more like the host countries they live in.

Tasa believes that the more people blog about cultural issues, the more people in Indonesia will be encouraged to have a “better attitude toward others, rules and regulations, and the environment”.

“I personally think that people in Indonesia, and especially in Jakarta, are becoming less civilized … I believe that Indonesia needs a cultural revolution that focuses on the importance of progressive and positive cultural values,” he says.

Venny’s blogs often question the average Indonesian’s general attitude toward life and how, for instance, they “take pride in their strength and perseverance to the extreme”.

“In Switzerland, everything is based on fairness and each side has its own obligation to fulfill. Therefore, when I read that Jakarta had to suffer yet another flood and my friends back home wrote how they had to find creative ways to go to work, I just had to write my piece on whether such a submissive attitude is warranted,” she says.

Anita has been particularly intrigued by the question of “what it means to be Indonesian” ever since going abroad.

“Sometimes I feel frustrated because we’re not respected by other countries, but sometimes I wonder to myself whether I really know my country,” she says. Though she tries to avoid political issues, sometimes she can’t avoid it, particularly when she chooses to comment on other people’s blogs.

Leaving comments on someone’s blog often marks the beginning of a virtual relationship that may lead to friendship.

Anita says comments are important, but she tries not to take them too personally, “otherwise I’d die of a heart attack, (as) some comments are really nasty”.

For Venny, virtual friendships are almost on par with real-life friends. “Basically, in building relationships with these ‘virtual’ contacts, I proceed in the same way I do with the ‘physical’ ones: with caution at first, discard the unwanted and treasure the gems. In the end I discover that there are real people behind those aliases and personas.”

One of the advantages of virtual friendships, according to Merlyna, is the little time and energy required to maintain them. “So for a person who is kind of asocial – that is, hating to spend too much time socializing – connecting with people and making friends in the blogosphere is a good choice,” she says.

For some people, virtual social networks are what make blogging worthwhile. A blogger currently living in Legaspi City, Philippines, who prefers to go by the name Jun, says she enjoys being a part of virtual communities, such as those consisting of Indonesian bloggers, food bloggers and mommy bloggers.

“I value them the same way as my real friends, as we converse just as much – sometimes even more than real friends. These networks … have been valuable sources of information for me. We swap ideas, learn new things and give advice to each other, just like real friends – minus the hanging out and the espresso, of course,” says the Medan native who goes by the pen name Andie Summerkiss.

But at the end of the day, as Tasa insists, there can be only one reason to place such a high value on virtual relationships: “People can be much more open and truthful when they use words.”

Tasa Nugraza Barley blogs at http://guebukanmonyet.com and http://jakartabutuhrevolusibudaya.com.
Jun blogs at http://andiesummerkiss.com and co-authors http://indonesianexpat.wordpress.com.

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